Vinyl Verdict

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Jamie's next pick, Carole King's "Tapestry". Released in 1971, it was her second studio album. By the time of the release of this album, Carole King was already an established songwriter, having written or co-written dozens of hit singles. This album won 4 Grammy Awards in the following year, including Album of the Year. It is one of the highest sell...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Bell's next pick, Mother Mother's "O My Heart". Released in 2008, it was their second album. A band local to us in Vancouver, they got their start on Quadra Island, which is between the mainland and Vancouver Island. In 2020-1, several tracks off of "O My Heart" went viral on TikTok, leading to a resurgence of interest in this album. But wi...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Adam's next pick, Wilco's "A.M." Released in 1995, it was their debut album. The band was formed following a series of disputes between Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar of Uncle Tupelo, with Tweedy going on to form Wilco and Farrar going on to form Son Volt. Both "A.M." and Son Volt's album "Trace" were highly anticipated because of...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Jamie's next pick, Peter Gabriel's "So". Released in 1986, it was this fifth studio album after leaving Genesis in 1976. This album is his highest charting, most critically well respected and most awarded. Five singles from the album charted, with the most successful being Sledgehammer, which we covered in the Season One episode Hot Singles in Your Area. The album was...

On this inaugural episode of CD Consensus, Bell, Jamie and Adam explore the magic world of music played by lasers! Adam brings Weird Al’s album Straight Outta Lynwood, released in 2006. Bell brings the soundtrack to the 2015 game Life is Strange. Jamie brings the Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape, released in 1997. Just like our previous incarnation as a vinyl record podcast, the choices could not be more different! Come along ...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Bell's next pick, NxWorries' "Why Lawd?". Made up of the duo of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge, this is their second album, released in 2024. Following Anderson .Paak's painful divorce, the album touches on a number of related emotions and thoughts. Critically well received, the album was praised for Knxwledge's intricate production work. At the 67th Grammy Awards, the ...

On this special epsiode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam ask their sisters to pick an album from their collection. Bell's sister Ashley picks Bill Withers' "Just As I Am", released in 1971. The album was critically well received upon release and was home to the hit single "Ain't No Sunshine", which won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Adam's sister Karen picks twenty one pilots' &...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Adam's next pick, King Crimson's "Red". Released in 1974, it was their seventh studio album, and the last King Crimson album until the group was re-formed by bandleader Robert Fripp in 1981. The album has been cited as an important work in both progressive rock and heavy metal, influencing a multitude of other artists, such as Kurt Cobain. But what w...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Jamie's next pick, Paul McCartney & Wings' "Band on the Run". Released in 1973, it was his fifth album since leaving The Beatles in 1970, and his third album with his new group, Wings. To date, it is his most successful post-Beatles album in terms of sales and critical rating. Recorded partially in Lagos, Nigeria with final overdubs recorded in L...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Bell's next pick, Pezz's "Watoosh!". Released in 1999, it is the only album from Pezz, because as it turns out, there was another band called Pezz already. The band later changed their name to Billy Talent and is now one of Canada's most successful artists. "Watoosh!" is reminiscent of a number of albums we have covered previously because it is a little bit of what y...

On the special episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam are joined by guest Jonathan Horst. Our former colleague at the office, Jonathan brought with him Jack J's second album, "Blue Desert", released in November 2024. A mix of musical sounds that are reminiscent of a number of genres popular between the mid 80s and the mid 90s, the album is skilful at sounded upbeat while having somewhat downbeat lyrics. This a...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Adam's next pick, Kendrick Lamar's"To Pimp a Butterfly". Released in 2015, it was his third studio album. Upon release, the album received rave reviews, with many critics lauding its production, the social relevance of the lyrics, and the use of many styles of music. At the 2016 Grammy Awards, it received 7 nominations, including Album of the Year, i...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Jamie's next pick, Green Day's "Dookie". Released in 1994, it is way up there on the list of the best selling albums of all time. Their major label debut, it came out of the gate strong and was amplified by an absolutely unhinged appearance at Woodstock '94. Critics have said this album marks a turning point in the 90's, moving music away fro...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Bell's next pick, Coldplay's "Parachutes". Their debut album, it was released in the distant future of the year 2000. The runaway success of the album was propelled by two of the singles, Trouble and Yellow. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album at the 2002 ceremony, and has gone on to sell upwards of 13 million copies. But is the...

On this special episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam dive into the topic of greatest hits, best ofs and other compilations! Bell brings blink-182's "Greatest Hits", their first such compilation, released in 2005. A fun, often goofy release from the masters of pop-punk, it came out two years after their fifth album. Adam's pick, Engelbert Humperdinck's "20 Great Hits", released in 1977, raises two questions. Firstly, what ...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Adam's next pick, Bjork's "Homogenic". Released in 1997, it was subject to widespread critical acclaim. Many critics lauded the production, lyrics and general vibe of the album as being excellent. The album spawned five singles, two of which were nominated for Grammy Awards for their music videos. The album itself was nominated for Album of the Year, but lost to Radio...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Jamie's next pick, Gary Numan's "The Pleasure Principle". Released in 1979, it was his first solo album following two albums with the group Tubeway Army. The album covers a number of genres that were in popularity at the time, including synthpop, new wave, electropop and electronica. Taking its title from a surrealist painting of the same name, the album has a largely...

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Bell's next pick, Beck's "Guero". Released in 2005, it was his ninth studio album. Propelled forward by the single E-Pro, the album was his best selling and highest charting, worldwide. Critically, the album was well received, with most reviewers noting it was a return to form for Beck. But what will the boys think? Will they say 'Hell Yes' to the album or will they r...

Merry Christmas from Vinyl Verdict! This year the boys decided to try something new - gifting each other albums for Christmas. Adam gifts Jamie D'Angelo and the Vanguard's "Black Messiah", the long awaited followup to "Voodoo". Jamie gifts Bell Pink Floyd's iconic album "Dark Side of the Moon". Finally, Bell gifts Adam L'Orange's "The City Under the City". As always, the picks could not be more different! Come along and hear our ta...