Timmy the thrush piping his slender notes to the mandolin accompaniment tells us that it is time for another gripping installment of the Classic Albums Podcast, this time featuring the icelandic whale-rock of Sigur Ros and the New-York pray-along of the marvellous Welcome Wagon. PLUS a belated halloween top 5.

Two one-word wonders, Pulp and Low, this week to refresh us after our dalliance with hip hop last week. Also: our first fan mail, and the sweet treats therein. All this plus the top 5 sweet songs and the loveable fluff you have come to rely upon.

Yo check this! Stephen and Gary get way, way out of their comfort zone - after dark in South Central LA to be exact, hangin' with the home boys and trialing some dodgy automated rap software into the bargain. So will they think the hippety-hop gentlemen are wack (does this mean bad?) or fly (good??). Download, plump your cushions, brew a herbal tea and find out. It go a little somethin' like this...

Autumn is here, season of hits and mellow flutefulness and this episode we bring you a new spin on the british folk tradition and a new spin on the american blues tradition. All that and the Classic Album Kids Club. Good grief.

Well, either we rule the school or we don't. You decide as Stephen & gary introduce each other tentatively to two of their sacred cows. Another gripping installment of your favourite low fi treat.

We tackle two sacred cows today, The Aphex Twin (the revered Brahma Bull of the IDM movement) and The Rolling Stones - rock & roll institution and the world's favourite band. However, what will Stephen and Gary make of them. Will we have garlands hung or beefburgers frying?

Bluegrass meets well, just lots of 'grass' this week as Gillian Welch's fragile country opus Time is juxtaposed with The Dandy Warhols' cartoon rock masterpiece 13 Tales of Urban Bohemia. Like, uh, yeah, whatever man.

Too cold for garden games this week so we're back in Studio A, once more sipping tea and gently insisting that the other is misguided. The Lightning Seeds and David Kitt get our notice this issue and we run down our top 5 live albums before rpounding up some of your kind emails and blog entries.

Well it's raining as I post the show but the sun came out to bless us at the weekend so we hope you'll enjoy this first broadcast live from the Classic Albums Podcast garden.

As spring springs its springe and the nights lighten we bring you the cream of English folk rock in the shape of Fairport Convention and the sneering spoilt-brats of indie in the mis-shapes of Luke Haine's Auteurs. The top 5 films about music get a mention and we discover the Rza can't say his r's, which if you think about it, is a bit of a problem.

The Grand Old Man of bombast cracks skulls with the pale poet of misery this time - no, I'm not talking about Gary and Stephen, this episode we bring you Scott Walker's Scott 4 and Elliot Smith's Figure 8. All that plus the 7 ages of pop! If that's not enough, nothing's enough!

Flippin' 'eck. Sparks fly this issue as Grandaddy's blissed-out, bleeped-up slacker rock goes head-to-head with The Pale Saints' fuzzed-off shoegazey noise-pop. There's also the top 5 songs about non-alchoholic beverages and a great, great strand on all those fat-fingered typos you guys have been mashing the keys with.

Oh yes, that list again: baby, schoolchild, lover, soldier, justice (i.e. respectability) old age and death's door. It'll make sense by the end of the show, promise.

Enjoy.

Wallflowers - come out of your cracks! Milksops - charge your glasses! Your hour is at hand as we get to grips with the daddy of them all, the great, the effete, The Smiths. We also pay tribute to Bellowhead's recent folk offering Burlesque and round up the top 5 songs about clothes.

Happy New Year to all our listeners. Brace yourselves for a real waffle-a-thon as Gary & Stephen loosen their belts and chow down on the cold turkey sandwiches of the musical highlights of 2008. We also finally get the results of the Annus Mirabulus strand which has been one of our most fertile talking points ever.

A triple header this week, it is Christmas after all. That must mean a guest presenter in the Classic Albums studio. Gary and Stephen have to be on their best behaviour with Russell explaining a whole new genre 'intelligent dance'. Stephen tries to keep up but Gary gives in to his bafflement.

This week we listen to the best of the 'Best Ofs'. Little Stevie Wonder goes head to head with the mighty Neil Young and the Cure. Are we full of the joys of Christmas or do we Bah Humbug our way through the show? Listen in and find out.

In a change to our advertised programme (listen in to find out why...) we bring you the disjointed genius of the Djinn of the bop piano, Thelonious Monk and the gold-and-green splendour of the angel of the acoustic guitar, Martin Simpson. The top 5 b-sides get a chewing and we have more on our Rock Vintage chin-stroker.

FULL VERSION 35 Mins now online. Apologies:

It's a real clash of the titans this week in the Classic Albums studio - two totally gaga doyens of the homemade masterpiece and two dubious northern reviewers stroking their chins over them. So, will the honking, skronking pot-and-pans of Tom Waits get a thumbs up from Gary and will Stephen warm to the romantic fantasies of Kate Bush? Just fix yourself a sandwich, get into some loose-fitting trousers, and find out.

Apologies to our devoted listeners and bloggers. The file I posted last week seems to have been corrupted in some way as some of you complained. Thanks for spotting it. This new'un is just the mustard. Please download/overwrite, relisten etc.

Two sides of the same coin this show: sunshine-spangled, country-flecked, guitar pop from the venerable indie kids Teenage Fanclub and odd clankings and backroad melodies from the strange and beautiful Jim White. We bring you the top 5 songs about Autumn (well, we try - well, one of us tries!) and discuss the oddest records in our already odd collection. All you have to do is get comfy and enjoy.

We're back - sorry it's been a while, O devoted few. We explain all in the show. For your delectation then, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's bruised and broken folk on Master & Everyone and Wilco's broken and bruised rock on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. An althogether cheerful brace of records for an altogether cheerful pair of reviewers. Which one is voted 'ravishing' by an enraptured podcaster and what are the longest song titles in pop? Don't forget to tell us what you think on the messageboad at www.classicalbums.libsyn.com!

The 90's was the ample mother of a range of styles and genres and this issue Gary and Stephen bring you their take on the punky britpop of Supergrass' dayglo debut I Should Coco and Kim Deal of the Pixies' stylish bubblegrunge side-project, Last Splash with her mainly female offshoot, The Breeders.

Which one, in the opinion of the Classic Albums Podcast's corduroy boys is 'too varied' and which 'not varied enough'? All this plus a top 5 to match the recent summer deluge, the aridity of the current music scene and the results of our 80's challenge. Better value than cheese at fourpence.

Irresponsibly, the normally clean-living boys from the Classic Albums Podcast present two albums about sex and drugs, The Velvet Underground's debut set from 1967 and Queens of the Stone Age's scary thunderbox Rated R. Also, the top 5 songs with 1 word titles (which Gary gets muddled - again). Remember, bloggers. Albums from the 80s please, by next issue or else.

We're 1 year old this week! Happy birthday to us all!

So, in a fight between the street-ready, razor carrying Clash and the soft-centered, dewy-eyed Welsh wizards Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, who would come out on top? Is that like asking who'd win a war between the babies and the panthers? Tune in to the show and find out which band gets the most grooves and which the least boos. Also in this programme, as summer is here and the kids are alright we chinwag about the best summer songs and issue a fresh challenge familiar to regular listeners. The Classic Albums Podcast - never knowingly under-opinionated.

We're back, devoted listeners, after a brief sabbatical, bringing you our partisan musings on Stereolab's motorik masterpiece Emperor Tomato ketchup and the Eels' string-washed sobfest Daisies of the Galaxy. That, and all the quality and charm you have come to expect from The Classic Albums Podcast. Often imitated - never bettered.

Power pop and Americana are discussed this week when we consider Armed Forces by Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Regard the End by Willard Grant Conspiracy.

 

Sweep is a guest on the show and his squeaks of joy are a testament to the quality of the Classic Albums experience. We look at swearing in songs, listeners' failed excursions into the world of rock and pop and rules for gigs.

 

What more could you possibly want?

 

Stephen returns, so let the ranting begin. This week we discuss a Britpop giant, Oasis's 'What's the Story Morning Glory'. Pitted against it is a stream of consciousness – folk – jazz masterpiece in the form of Van Morrison’s ‘Astral Weeks’.

More views from the blog. More talking points. More top fives.

We really are the show that gives you more.

 

We are back. Sorry if you thought we had disappeared. In order to swell listener numbers Stephen has taken it upon himself to reproduce. Still busy with dad duties Dan is drafted in to replace Stephen for one show only (Stephen was very specific).

This week we look at Pearl Jam's 'Versus' and Ride's 'Carnival of Light'. Dan and Gary muse over a whole range of artforms in order to make a musical point and discuss food's relationship with the musical form.

See whatya think.

Two very different albums this week. We have the Aussie 'mash fest' that is The Avalanches' 'Since I Left You' and Nick Drake's pastoral masterpiece 'Five Leaves Left'.

Also within this weeks cultural smorgasbord we have top five dance tracks and pop's top to toe; charting the body from the head to the soles of the feet.

Stephen tells the kids to 'keep it real' and Gary reveals some of his fantasies, but what has provoked this reaction? Well it is the opportunity to review two albums never before heard in the Classic Albums studio.

Two albums from the 90's suggested by listeners of the podcast: This Mortal Coil's 'Blood' and Leftfield's 'Leftism'. Also on offer, 'a year in the life of rock' and opinions about rock, pop, indie and life in general.

 

Never too concerned about brevity, our intrepid podcasting partnership ramble on at great length about all things musical. This week it is the turn of Bob Dylan with his critically acclaimed double album ‘Blonde On Blonde’, together with a nineties classic ‘Dummy’ by Portishead.

Top five this week is ‘best last track’. There is lots of action on the blog, recent listening favourites and the outcome of our competition to select an album from the 1990’s that Gary and Stephen haven’t heard, but would like to review.

 Lots going on then.

 

Add a couple of bottles of cheap Lidl beer to the equation and it just gets silly. A tired and emotional Gary and Stephen discuss Elbow's slowburning smoothfest Cast of Thousands and The JAMC's late flowering of crunchy sleaze-rock Honey's Dead, plus the top 5 songs about bad weather, and an un-called-for Dylan rant. Now by whom could that be...?

Well, we're back after a slight hiatus with our usual chewing of the fat of rock's great and varied hilights. This issue Stephen asks Gary to get his ears around The Beatles' seminal psychedelic concept album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Gary serves up Stephen a steaming slice of Joni Mitchell's heartfelt confessional Blue. Also - the top 5 songs about the Demon Drink, Stephen in New Music Shock and a challenge for regular listeners to get themselves heard on the podcast!

FYI the email address given in the programme is slightly wrong. It should be classicalbumspodcast@hotmail.co.uk not .com. Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Back on fine form after our festive hiatus, the podcast bursts back onto the airwaves with Beirut's 'The Flying Club Cup' and Laura Veirs' 'Saltbreakers' identified as the two must-hear albums of 2007.

Also discusssed: top songs and finest musical events.

Have a listen, see if you agree and let us know.

Merry Christmas from the Classic Albums studio. A real treat this week; a special guest demonstrates that even geeks have friends. The topic is guilty pleasures with 'Enya' by Enya, 'Misplaced Childhood' by Marillion and 'Fallen' by Evanescence.

Will the chuntering continue, or will a third person ensure Stephen and Gary are on their best behaviour.

Listen in and find out.

Two corkers this week. Surely there won't be any disagreement about either of these thoroughbreds. The Pogues outstanding second 'Rum Sodomy and the Lash' vying for praise with Super Fury Animals first outing 'Fuzzy Logic'.

Also under discussion 'Winter Warmers', songs to help you while away those long winter evenings. Contributions from the blog and details of Stephen's first gang.

Listen, laugh, learn?

Two more different albums could not have found their way into the Classic Albums studio. 'Songs of Leonard Cohen' by the legendary poet and song smith, pitted against a Britpop landmark 'Elastica' by the band of the same name. Listen in and find out whether there is agreement or discord when Gary and Stephen discuss the merits of these two albums.

Bloggers suggest super groups and the top five looks at tunes best listened to in the car. All in all, a top notch slice of geeky opinionated whinging.

A debut album special with the eponymous Stone Roses offering, 'Stone Roses' up against Jeff Buckley's 'Grace'. There is laughter and tears in the Classic Albums studio, with one of the discs getting a universal thumbs up whilst the other causes pulses to race and blood pressure to rise.

All the usual features are here: Top Five this week is album artwork featuring the artist and this rubs shoulders with current listening favourites and the singles and albums that kicked off our music buying obsession.

Download. Listen. Enjoy.

Life affirming rock takes on the ultimate break up album when Stephen and Gary discuss classic albums by AC/DC and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Will there be more ranting or will the podcast studio be a picture of calm agreement?

Another countdown is suggested by podcast devotees 'Rock the Week' looks for song titles about days of the week. Can we make it from Monday to Sunday without Stephen mentioning either The Wedding Present or Belle & Sebastian?

Tune in and find out.

Two very different albums this week. Guitar driven kitchen sink drama from the Wedding Present's 'George Best' pitted against Bjork's dance beat driven pop on 'Debut'. One receives praise, the other a drubbing. But which is which?

We have 'A day in the life of rock', with a timeline stretching from dawn til dusk and beyond. The top five this week features songs about death and neither Stephen or Gary can keep their list within the specified number. This is probably an indication of their morbid musical proclivities.

A "rawk" special this issue as Gary and Stephen consider the old skool merits of Led Zeppelin's 1973 offering Houses of the Holy and the new-skool barking-mad-a-thon of The Pixies' poppy swansong Trompe le Monde. We also get to hear the Top 5 songs with girl's names in the title and as much partisan and jaundiced opinion  in half an hour as anybody should ever need.

What was Stephen thinking? He knows that Gary comes out in a rash at the merest mention of jazz. Does his choice of Kind of Blue by Miles Davis elicit a rant, or was Gary won over? Ok Computer by Radiohead should be a safe bet, but a decade on does the Indie masterpiece stand the test of time?

The quiz continues to flummox, top five this week puts the boot into bands who hung around beyond their sell by date and the talking point looks for suggestions for bands with more fashion sense than musical ability.

 

It's daggers drawn this episode as the heat rises in the Classic Albums studio. Gary and Stephen almost fall out over the Sex Pistols' punk blueprint Never Mind the B*ll*cks and XTC's pysyc/pastoral/power-pop concept album Skylarking. Also featuring the Top 5 songs from films and the answer to last week's sleeve note teaser.

The third installment of the Classic Albums Podcast gives the lowdown on My Bloody Valentine's seminal shoegazing epic Loveless and The Blue Nile's acclaimed follow-up to Hats, Peace at Last. Also featuring the top 5 covers of all time, (well, the top 17-ish) and another fiendish music teaser.

Episode 2 of The Classic Albums Podcast gets to grips with Beck's dour and dusty break-up album Sea Change and tackles Tori Amos' epic third offering Boys For Pele. We also find out the greatest Album opening tracks of all time and get the answers to last week's fiendish teaser.

Gary and Stephen debate the rival merits of Ryan Adam's groundbreaking debut "Heartbreaker" and Vol.1 of the Magnetic Fields' gigantic opus "The 69 Love Songs". They also debeate the definitive Top 5 debut albums and set the first of many music indie music teasers.