Polyphonic Press
23 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingPolyphonic Press is a podcast dedicated to exploring classic albums. Every week, Jeremy Boyd and Jon VanDyk will pick an an album at random that has either had an impact on the artist's career, or has changed the musical landscape in a big way, and analyze it track-by-track.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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Episodes
Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard | #18
July 20, 2022 12:00 - 23 minutes - 32.7 MB"461 Ocean Boulevard is Eric Clapton's second studio solo album, arriving after his side project of Derek and the Dominos and a long struggle with heroin addiction. Although there are some new reggae influences, the album doesn't sound all that different from the rock, pop, blues, country, and R&B amalgam of Eric Clapton. However, 461 Ocean Boulevard is a tighter, more focused outing that enables Clapton to stretch out instrumentally. Furthermore, the pop concessions on the album -- the sleek...
Jackson Browne - Late For The Sky | #017
April 12, 2022 12:00 - 35 minutes - 49.2 MB"On his third album, Jackson Browne returned to the themes of his debut record (love, loss, identity, apocalypse) and, amazingly, delved even deeper into them. "For a Dancer," a meditation on death like the first album's "Song for Adam," is a more eloquent eulogy; "Farther On" extends the "moving on" point of "Looking Into You"; "Before the Deluge" is a glimpse beyond the apocalypse evoked on "My Opening Farewell" and the second album's "For Everyman." If Browne had seemed to question everyth...
Jackson Brown - Late For The Sky | #017
April 12, 2022 12:00 - 35 minutes - 49.2 MB"On his third album, Jackson Browne returned to the themes of his debut record (love, loss, identity, apocalypse) and, amazingly, delved even deeper into them. "For a Dancer," a meditation on death like the first album's "Song for Adam," is a more eloquent eulogy; "Farther On" extends the "moving on" point of "Looking Into You"; "Before the Deluge" is a glimpse beyond the apocalypse evoked on "My Opening Farewell" and the second album's "For Everyman." If Browne had seemed to question everyth...
Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) | #016
April 05, 2022 12:00 - 54 minutes - 74.4 MB"The Allman Brothers came first, but Lynyrd Skynyrd epitomized Southern rock. The Allmans were exceptionally gifted musicians, as much bluesmen as rockers. Skynyrd was nothing but rockers, and they were Southern rockers to the bone. This didn't just mean that they were rednecks, but that they brought it all together -- the blues, country, garage rock, Southern poetry -- in a way that sounded more like the South than even the Allmans. And a large portion of that derives from their hard, lean e...
Dr. John - Dr. John's Gumbo | #015
March 29, 2022 12:00 - 47 minutes - 65.7 MB"Dr. John's Gumbo bridged the gap between post-hippie rock and early rock & roll, blues, and R&B, offering a selection of classic New Orleans R&B, including "Tipitina" and "Junko Partner," updated with a gritty, funky beat. There aren't as many psychedelic flourishes as there were on his first two albums, but the ones that are present enhance his sweeping vision of American roots music. And that sly fusion of styles makes Dr. John's Gumbo one of Dr. John's finest albums." - Stephen Thomas Erl...
The Band - The Band | #014
March 22, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 98.8 MB"The Band's first album, Music from Big Pink, seemed to come out of nowhere, with its ramshackle musical blend and songs of rural tragedy. The Band, the group's second album, was a more deliberate and even more accomplished effort, partially because the players had become a more cohesive unit, and partially because guitarist Robbie Robertson had taken over the songwriting, writing or co-writing all 12 songs. Though a Canadian, Robertson focused on a series of American archetypes from the unio...
Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight | #013
March 15, 2022 12:00 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MB"In 1974, Richard Thompson and the former Linda Peters released their first album together, and I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight was nothing short of a masterpiece, the starkly beautiful refinement of the promise of Thompson's solo debut, Henry the Human Fly. In Linda Thompson, Richard found a superb collaborator and a world-class vocalist; Linda possessed a voice as clear and rich as Sandy Denny's, but with a strength that could easily support Richard's often weighty material, and she...
The Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray | #012
March 08, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 91.8 MB"If Lovey captured Evan Dando as he found his signature blend of punk-pop, jangle pop, and folk-rock, It's a Shame About Ray is where he perfected that style. Breezing by in under half an hour, the album is a simple collection of sunny melodies and hooks, delivered with typical nonchalance by Dando. None of the songs are about anything major, nor do they have astonishingly original melodies, but that's part of their charm -- they're immediately accessible and thoroughly catchy. Dando's laid-b...
Fiona Apple - Tidal | #011
March 01, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 82.6 MB"Fiona Apple demonstrates considerable talent on her debut album, Tidal, but it is unformed, unfocused talent. Her voice is surprisingly rich and supple for a teenager, and her jazzy, sophisticated piano playing also belies her age. Given the right material, such talents could have flourished, but she has concentrated on her own compositions, which are nowhere near as impressive as her musicianship. Most of Tidal is comprised of confessional singer/songwriter material, and while they strive t...
Ramones - Ramones | #010
February 22, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 65.5 MBIn this episode we review Ramones' self-titled debut album. The album contains the classics Blitzkrieg Bop, 53rd & 3rd, and Judy Is A Punk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Alice Cooper - Love It To Death | #009
January 11, 2022 13:00 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MB"Alice Cooper's third album, Love It to Death, can be pinpointed as the release when everything began to come together for the band. Their first couple of albums (Pretties for You and Easy Action) were both largely psychedelic/acid rock affairs and bore little comparison to the band's eventual rip-roaring, teenage-anthem direction. The main reason for the quintet's change was that the eventually legendary producer Bob Ezrin was on board for the first time and helped the Coopers focus their so...
The Go-Go's - Beauty & The Beat | #008
January 04, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 64.9 MB"It’s not quite right to say that the Go-Go’s' 1981 debut, Beauty and the Beat, is where new wave caught hold in the U.S., but it’s not quite wrong, either. Prior to this, there had certainly been new wave hits -- Blondie had been reaching the Top Ten for two years running -- but the Go-Go’s ushered in the era of big, bright stylish pop, spending six weeks at the top of the U.S. charts and generating two singles that defined the era: the cool groove of “Our Lips Are Sealed” and the exuberant ...
Arcade Fire - Funeral | #007
November 02, 2021 12:20 - 1 hour - 57.5 MB"Fronted by the husband-and-wife team of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, the Arcade Fire's emotional debut -- rendered even more poignant by the dedications to recently departed family members contained in its liner notes -- is brave, empowering, and dusted with something that many of the indie rock genre's more contrived acts desperately lack: an element of real danger. Funeral's mourners -- specifically Butler and Chassagne -- inhabit the same post-apocalyptic world as London Suede's Dog M...
Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out | #006
October 07, 2021 12:00 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MB"Dave Brubeck's defining masterpiece, Time Out is one of the most rhythmically innovative albums in jazz history, the first to consciously explore time signatures outside of the standard 4/4 beat or 3/4 waltz time. It was a risky move -- Brubeck's record company wasn't keen on releasing such an arty project, and many critics initially roasted him for tampering with jazz's rhythmic foundation. But for once, public taste was more advanced than that of the critics. Buoyed by a hit single in alto...
T. Rex - Electric Warrior | #005
September 29, 2021 02:00 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MB"The album that essentially kick-started the U.K. glam rock craze, Electric Warrior completes T. Rex's transformation from hippie folk-rockers into flamboyant avatars of trashy rock & roll. There are a few vestiges of those early days remaining in the acoustic-driven ballads, but Electric Warrior spends most of its time in a swinging, hip-shaking groove powered by Marc Bolan's warm electric guitar. The music recalls not just the catchy simplicity of early rock & roll, but also the implicit se...
Joni Mitchell - Hejira | #004
September 21, 2021 12:00 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MB"Joni Mitchell's Hejira is the last in an astonishingly long run of top-notch studio albums dating back to her debut. Some vestiges of her old style remain here; "Song for Sharon" utilizes the static, pithy vocal harmonies from Ladies of the Canyon's "Woodstock," "Refuge of the Roads" features woodwind touches reminiscent of those in "Barangrill" from For the Roses, and "Coyote" is a fast guitar-strummed number that has precedents as far back as Clouds' "Chelsea Morning." But by and large, th...
Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul (1968)
September 15, 2021 13:11 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBThis week we review Aretha Franklin's classic album Lady Soul. Featuring many well-known songs in her catalogue including Chain of Fools, and You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman.
Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul | #003
September 15, 2021 13:11 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MB"Appearing after a blockbuster debut and a sophomore set that was rather disappointing (in comparison), 1968's Lady Soul proved Aretha Franklin, the pop sensation, was no fluke. Her performances were more impassioned than on her debut, and the material just as strong, an inspired blend of covers and originals from the best songwriters in soul and pop music. The opener, "Chain of Fools," became the biggest hit, driven by a chorus of cascading echoes by Franklin and her bedrock backing vocalist...
Grateful Dead - Anthem of the Sun (1968)
September 07, 2021 12:00 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MBThis week, we review the Grateful Dead's second album Anthem of the Sun!
Grateful Dead - Anthem of the Sun | #002
September 07, 2021 12:00 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MB"As the second long-player by the Grateful Dead, Anthem of the Sun (1968) pushed the limits of both the music as well as the medium. General dissatisfaction with their self-titled debut necessitated the search for a methodology to seamlessly juxtapose the more inspired segments of their live performances with the necessary conventions of a single LP. Since issuing their first album, the Dead welcomed lyricist Robert Hunter into the fold -- freeing the performing members to focus on the execut...
U2 - The Joshua Tree | #001
August 31, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBIn this episode, we travel to 1987 and take a look at U2's breakthrough album The Joshua Tree. Listen to The Joshua Tree: https://open.spotify.com/album/5vBZRYu2GLA65nfxBvG1a7 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)
August 31, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBIn this episode, we travel to 1987 and take a look at U2's breakthrough album The Joshua Tree. Listen to The Joshua Tree: https://open.spotify.com/album/5vBZRYu2GLA65nfxBvG1a7
What is Polyphonic Press all about?
August 26, 2021 00:10 - 1 minute - 1.59 MBPolyphonic Press is a podcast dedicated to exploring classic albums. Every week, Join Jeremy Boyd and Jon VanDyk will pick an an album at random that has either had an impact on the artist's career, or has changed the musical landscape in a big way, and analyze it track-by-track. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.