The Album Years returns with Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness discussing the music of 1977 across 8 full-length episodes! 1977 was a pivotal year in music, with the rise of punk and disco shaking up the industry. Artists who were aware of the changing musical landscape were able to connect with the zeitgeist, while others remained oblivious and continued to create in their own style. Episodes covering artists & releases from 1977 will be released weekly, so be sure to follow the podcast on your platform of choice every time a new episode drops!

The Album Years

#25 (1977 Part 1B) Peter Hammill, Television, Suicide & more

#24 (1977 Part 1A) Pink Floyd, The Clash, The Stranglers & more

A CD length excursion into a great 'CD age' year as the boys discuss Tricky, Goldie, Radiohead, David Bowie, Scott Walker, Babybird, Momus, Red House Painters, Tears For Fears and much more. Buy The Album Years T-shirt (Graphite) Buy The Album Years T-shirt (Classic Olive)

#23 (1995) Tricky, Goldie, Radiohead, David Bowie, Red House Painters, Tears For Fears & more

Another epic two-parter as the no-man duo take on 1983, a year where bright young things and old curmudgeons alike are on creative fire, even if there’s still a lot of space for honourable eccentrics.  Buy The Album Years T-shirt (Graphite) Buy The Album Years T-shirt (Classic Olive)

#21 (1983 Part 1) Pink Floyd, Yes, New Order, Tom Waits & more

Another epic two-parter as the no-man duo take on 1983, a year where bright young things and old curmudgeons alike are on creative fire, even if there’s still a lot of space for honourable eccentrics.  Buy The Album Years T-shirt (Graphite) Buy The Album Years T-shirt (Classic Olive) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-album-years/message

#22 (1983 Part 2) Ben Watt, Tears for Fears, Genesis, The Smiths & more

Six months after they left it dangling, the boys return to 1978. Part Three features deep dives into Chic, Marvin Gaye, Kate Bush, Peter Hammill, Scott Walker, Kevin Coyne, Be Bop Deluxe, Ange, Kraftwerk, Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, Steve Reich and much, much more in a truly epic edition! Elsewhere, SW finds a Genesis album he unconditionally likes, chickens are referenced (quite a lot) and, bless the lords of commerce, there's an Album Years t-shirt available… Buy The Album Years T-shirt (Graphite) Buy The Album Years T-shirt (Classic Olive) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-album-years/message

#20 (1978 Part 3) Kate Bush, Chic, Marvin Gaye, Black Sabbath, Brian Eno & more

Steven and Tim return with 1978, a year so rich with significant albums ripe for discussion it looks like it’s going to require 4 episodes to get through them all! Part 2 of The Album Years' investigation into 1978 continues with some of the more established guard, including The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, 10cc, Warren Zevon, Elton John, Neil Young, Queen and more. Parts 3 and 4 to follow! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-album-years/message

#19 (1978 Part 2) Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Queen, The Who & more

Steven and Tim return with 1978, a year so rich with significant albums ripe for discussion it looks like it’s going to require 4 episodes to get through them all! Part 1 takes on board Tim's suggestions for 'guilty pleasures’ (a notion which Steven strongly objects to), and the non-stop rise of the New Wave goes interstellar.

#18 (1978 Part 1) Blondie, The Police, Jeff Wayne, The Stranglers & more

As Noddy Holder keeps on reminding everybody, "It's Christmas!!!". So to celebrate instead of the usual format this episode finds us looking back, and discussing the general state of the physical album based music industry. To help us in this endeavour we are joined by special guest Paul Sinclair, the founder of influential music website SuperDeluxeEdition.com. We also hang our heads in shame at numerous schoolboy errors, answer a few listener's questions, and Tim once more tries to make a case for McCartney II as a masterpiece, but this time with Paul on his side.

#17 - The Album Years 2021 Christmas Special with special guest Paul Sinclair

Steven and Tim find themselves marvelling at the greatness of what they’d assumed was a typically flat mid-1980s placeholder year. Talk Talk, The Smiths, Peter Gabriel, Arthur Russell, Miles Davis, Metallica, Momus, XTC, Prince and many an Album Years drinking game favourite are discussed. We also discover that Tim saved a man from drowning while listening to Depeche Mode, and Steven forever associates Peter Hammill’s Nadir’s Big Chance with vile pink medicine.

#16 (1986) Talk Talk, The Smiths, Peter Gabriel, Metallica, Prince & more

The boys' time machine lands in 2006 and the fresh fields of 2001 seem to have become neglected and funky (and not in a glorious James Brown kind of way). Artists discussed include Scott Walker, The Who, Thom Yorke, Joanna Newsome, Arctic Monkeys, Sparks, The Flaming Lips and more. Elsewhere, the fractious duo fiercely debate the merits of Marmite. Yum? Yuck?

#15 (2006) Arctic Monkeys, Thom Yorke, David Gilmour, The Flaming Lips & more

2001, a music odyssey! Tim and Steven venture into the 21st century and, against expectations, they like what they see. Good Lord, it might even be a Golden Age! Artists discussed include Radiohead, Opeth, Bjork, Tool, Elbow, Mercury Rev, Brigitte Fontaine, The Caretaker, Prefuse 73 and Prefab Sprout (with a special shout out to Paddy MacAloon's beard).

#14 (2001) Radiohead, Opeth, Bjork, Tool & more

Giving overviews of the years that in the duo's opinion define the era of ‘the classic album’, Season Two opens with 1981. Taking in Post-Punk, Electro-Pop, Metal, Progressive, Jazz and more, in this edition Wilson and Bowness discuss artists as diverse as Japan, A Certain Ratio, Rush, Grace Jones, Rupert Hine, OMD, Pat Metheny, Iron Maiden, Magazine and others. Against all odds, they also make a valiant attempt to defend Phil Collins' masterwork Face Value! Launched at the beginning of the UK lockdown in 2020, The Album Years ended up being in the Top 5 music podcast charts in nearly 30 countries. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-album-years/message

#13 (1981) Rush, Japan, Iron Maiden, Magazine & more

Tim declares 1974 the year of ‘Peak Prog’, while elsewhere Bowie the dog and Tim’s neighbour’s electric drill make debut podcast appearances. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-album-years/message

#12 (1974) Gentle Giant, Roxy Music, Tangerine Dream, Egg & more

In the latest episode the guys venture into the nineties. Extra fun can be had by joining in with a drinking game as you prepare to down one every time Tim mentions Robert Fripp or Steven mentions industrial music! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-album-years/message

#11 (1998) Massive Attack, Mansun, Mark Hollis, Goldie, Philip Glass & more

Music is finite, opinions are endless. On The Album Years podcast, long term friends, collaborators and music nerds Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness discuss and bicker about their favourite music released during the golden album years, which they reckon to be from around 1965 to the end of the millennium. Each episode focuses on a single year picked at random. At the end of each episode they pick their personal favourites and the album they think had the most long-term impact on music. Can you guess which albums they will pick?

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The Album Years

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