From Led Zep IV vs Dark Side to Nevermind vs Ten: Wax Wars! The Rock Album Battles E118

A listener threw down the gauntlet and we answered: Wax Wars, the ultimate rock album face-off. We’re talking full-catalog giants and needle-drop staples—Fleetwood Mac versus Eagles, Zeppelin versus Floyd, The Who versus Queen, Clash versus Ramones, U2 versus R.E.M., and more—decided by a mix of song strength, cultural impact, and those stubborn memories that never leave. The fun isn’t just in who wins; it’s in how certain records force you to choose between a perfect side and a perfect song, between a life-changing first listen and the album that still works anywhere, anytime.

We chart why Dark Side demands a full ride while Zeppelin IV shines in any shuffle. We revisit how Bohemian Rhapsody re-entered pop culture through a movie and stayed for good. We trace the shockwave of Nevermind, the summer-long dominance of Synchronicity, and the way Back in Black turned grief into an indestructible anthem machine.

By the end, you’ll have a fresh lens on classics like Abbey Road, Let It Bleed, Revolver, Pyromania, Blizzard of Ozz, and Elephant. You’ll also hear why some albums are built for the long arc while others are engineered for constant replay. Jump in, keep score with us, and then tell us where we blew it and where we nailed it. If you enjoyed this battle, follow the show, share the episode with a friend who loves vinyl debates, and leave a quick review to help more music nerds find us.

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Transcript

Welcome And Mailbag Setup

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Hey everybody, this is Jim Boge, and you're listening to Music in My Shoes Podcasting Worldwide. That was Vic Thrill kicking off episode 118. I'm thrilled to be here with you. Let's learn something new or remember something old. It's been a while since we mentioned listener feedback.

Introducing Wax Wars Concept

SPEAKER_02 0:41

So let's do and get right into the Music in My Shoes mailbag.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Music in My Shoes Mailbag.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

This is pretty cool, Jimmy, starting the show off with Music in My Shoes mailbag.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

Getting right into it, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

Yeah, I thought this one was really cool, and I thought it would be a good way to kick the show off. Hi, Jim and Jimmy. I love the episode and discussion around the battle of the bands y'all did. You know, again, I only say y'all when people write in on the show. I do not ever say that outside of here. But I think I say it pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

You did really well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Thank you. So the Battle of the Bands y'all did on the Ultimate Rock face-off, and I think that was uh episode 100. So that got me thinking, what about a vinyl battle? So I put some thought into this list and would like to get your thoughts. I love the podcast and look forward to it every Sunday. Kathy Kay in Athens G A. Uh that rhymes. That's great. I absolutely love it. She calls it Wax Wars the Ultimate Rock Album Battles. Now people are actually naming the whole segment. That's great. Yeah. You gotta love it.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Saves us time.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

It does. I don't have to think as much. All right. So she really put a lot of thought into this. This is pretty cool. All

Rumours vs Hotel California

SPEAKER_02 2:07

right. She's gonna start off with Fleetwood Mac Rumors vs. Eagles Hotel California. Ooh. All right. Rumors, secondhand news that kicks the album right off. That's a really good song. Dreams, Don't Stop, Go Your Own Way, Songbird. I mean, there's a ton of songs. What, uh, You Make Love and Fun.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Yeah. There's almost nothing on the album that's not a hit. Correct.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

Uh it's unbelievable. That's why it sold so many albums. But it goes against another album that sold so many albums, Hotel California. And obviously the song Hotel California, it's got New Kid in Town, Life in the Fast Lane, Victim of Love.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Hey, you know, it's a great album, but I gotta go with rumors.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

I'm gonna go with rumors also. I think there are a bunch more songs on there that, like you said, you could listen to any one of these songs, and they were popular at some point on the radio. I like rumors. Me

Led Zeppelin IV vs Dark Side

SPEAKER_02 3:08

too. Moving on, Led Zeppelin Four versus Pink Floyd, the dark side of the moon. I mean, these are like heavy hitters coming straight out of the box, you know? So Led Zeppelin Four, it's got Black Dog, Rock and Roll. I mean, this is another album you can listen to every single song. Um Battle of Evermore is on it. Of course, Stairway to Heaven, Misty Mountain Hop, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks. I mean, that is just classic right there.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Yeah, uh that's probab maybe my favorite Led Zeppelin album. It's up there for sure.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

I can't argue with that. Dark Side of the Moon, 10 songs, three of them are instrumentals, and then one is a non-lyrical vocal.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

If you think about it that way. All right? Only 60% of the songs they actually sing in. You got um Speak to Me, Breathe, uh On the Run, Time, The Great Gig in the Sky. Um The Great Gig in the Sky is the non-lyrical. That's uh Claire Tory, where she just kind of sings, Well, you know, there's no words, it's just her saying what the great gig in the sky should be. Uh what else is on there? Money's on there, us and them, any color you like, brain damage, eclipse. This is a tough one. This really is.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Wow. Yeah, I'd I'd forgotten how much is on that album. That's that's a really, really tough comparison.

SPEAKER_02 4:49

It is.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

I'm just leaning a little towards Led Zeppelin 4.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

All right. So Dark Side of the Moon was one of the first albums that I listened to as a kid when I was super duper young in elementary school. And, you know, you have to listen to it the whole way through.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

My older brothers had the eight-track.

SPEAKER_02 5:12

There you go. Yeah. And you have to listen to it the whole way through. It's really difficult. Like money, you can listen to just kind of as its own one song, but really you have to listen to the whole album. Led Zeppelin Four, you can listen to any song at any time. It can come on the radio. I used to listen to that a lot, my later years of elementary school and my, you know, beginning junior high days. And I love both of them, but I'm gonna go with Pink Floyd Dockside of the Moon. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

You know, Mike Damone said, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin four.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

In Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

But instead, Mark Ratner put on Physical Graffiti, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:55

He did. Uh I'm trying to think what song um the Cashmere? Cashmere, he did

Who’s Next vs A Night At The Opera

SPEAKER_02 6:01

put that on. Yeah, that kind of showed where he was headed in that movie.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

All right. So it doesn't get any easier, Jimmy. The Who, Who's Next versus Queen, A Night at the Opera. Who's Next has Bob O'Reilly to start the album off. I mean, that's one of the most classic songs of all time, and that is what opens the album.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Yeah. And that song is uh kind of an unofficial anthem of the Georgia Bulldogs. They play that before every football game, so it it kind of hits me in the heart, too.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Oh, so should we just stop? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

We that one wins.

SPEAKER_02 6:38

Um Bargain, my wife. You make me laugh, Jimmy. As you wear the shirt that's got the Georgia Bulldogs, black and red, from what I can see from over here.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Yeah, yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

Um Bargain, my wife. My wife is a really good song. It's done by uh John Entwissel that he sings, and it's really about him and his wife and the issues he was having. I mean, he was a dude that would go out and buy uh a tank and he would buy all these things and just bring them to his house and spend money like there was no tomorrow. Um The song is over, going mobile, Behind Blue Eyes, Won't Get Fooled Again ends the album. I mean, those bookends are just incredible. Wow. All right. A Night at the Opera, You're My Best Friend, and Bohemian Rhapsody are my two songs that I like. And I can't say that I'm really super familiar with the album, but those are the two classics to me. I love You're My Best Friend. I think that's a great song. I really do. Bohemian Rhapsody, everybody knows that song. That song comes on no matter where you are, and next thing you know, everyone's singing it and banging their head.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

So I don't know if it was just because that was such a long song, but as a little kid in the 70s, I remember you're my best friend being all over the radio. That was a huge hit. I don't really remember hearing Bohemian Rhapsody, at least not, you know, maybe I was listening to top 40 radio and stuff at that point rather than AOR album rock. But I I didn't really know much about Bohemian Rhapsody until I was a little older.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

There you go. I would hear it, it would be played, you know, on the different radio stations that I would listen to it. But I definitely like you're my best friend. I really and I think that's a great song still to this day. When you hear the album and you hear that song, it's like, wow, that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Do you uh see if you can guess when I think Bohemian Rhapsody really came into the cultural zeitgeist and stayed?

SPEAKER_02 8:47

It would have to be with Waynesworld.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

Wayne's World, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

So if I'm not mistaken, I think the album came out late 75 and then it was like a hit in 76, but a hit wasn't what it became. It was a hit from the standpoint it was on radio, but it wasn't until Wayne's World where all of a sudden they're what were they, an AMC Pacer or something? Yep. So Alright, so this is the moment, Jimmy. Who's next or a night at the opera? Who's next? I'm gonna go with Who's Next also, and this one's for you, Go Dogs. Woo! Jimmy, I'm gonna tell you right now, this person, Kathy Kay in Athens GA, she put some thought into this and she listens because I think that she tried to pick some albums that she

London Calling vs Rocket To Russia

SPEAKER_02 9:36

knew either you liked or I liked, just different things that we've talked about since the show is she's trying to make it hard.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

So since the beginning, different bands and really a lot of thought into this. The Clash, London Calling versus Ramon's Rocket to Russia. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Uh two of my very favorite albums of all time.

SPEAKER_02 10:00

You know, we've talked multiple times about London Calling being one of the best double albums of all time. So right there, it's really tough to put a lot of albums against it. But for those of you that don't remember, it's got London Calling, brand new Cadillac, Rudy Can't Fail, Spanish Bombs, Lost in the Supermarket, Clamp Down, The Guns of Brixton, Death or Glory. I mean, seriously, Lover's Rock, I'm not down. I absolutely love that song. Revolution Rock. Revolution, um, Train in Vain is on there.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

Yeah, it's not even on the track listing.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Right. All right, so we got that. Let's move to Rocket to Russia. Jimmy has a sad face on now because he's gonna have to make a decision here.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Sophie's choice.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

Cretin Hop, Rockaway Beach, I don't care, Sheener is a punk rocker, we're a happy family, teenage lobotomy, do you want to dance? I mean, that's just some of the songs.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

Yeah, no, and you you could literally name every song on that album, and for that matter, every song on both those albums. And and I would love them all. Um, I do feel like London Calling has a few down moments for me. You know, not name a name one down moment. I don't know. Like the right profile isn't a song I listen to very often. Really? Um, it's it's fine, you know. There are some songs on there that I'm like, okay, that's not uh one that I would put on as heavily. But Rocket to Russia, I don't know if it has a weak song on it. You know, I think it's just and and here's another thing. Well, this is the true of both bands, I think. I think both of those bands were at their absolute peak when those albums came out. That they were playing their best, they were writing their best, they were just absolutely clicking on all cylinders. That was 1978, that was like the best Ramones ever got, was right when uh Rocket Russia came out, and that's also when they recorded It's Alive.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

The live album.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Yeah. So right around that, end of 77, early 78 was uh the best the Ramones were. And and I would say, yeah, same thing with the Clash. You know, Santa Nista wasn't as good as London Calling, and not at all. So gun to my head, I gotta say, Rocket to Russia.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

I was gonna say, Jimmy, you were going on and on and on and on. At some time you were gonna have to make a decision. Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna go with London Calling. All right. I think it's one of the best double albums of all time. Again, I'll put that up against any double album of all time. I mean, it is in the top. I'm not saying it's the best, but it is one of the best for sure. And I love a lot of the songs on Rocket to Russia. I do. I've listened to a lot more songs on London Calling. London Calling, and I think for me, you know, London Calling, it brings back a bunch of memories, different things, you know, listening to it with friends and stuff. And I think that connection, and that's the thing about music, is that, you know, when people listen, they have different feelings and different connections and different things that come up that make you say, oh, that's the album or that's the song or or whatever it is. And I definitely have a stronger connection with London Calling.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Understood. And I'm glad you picked it because uh that would have been really sad if we left it out in the cold. Because yeah, it is. It's

The Joshua Tree vs Automatic For The People

SPEAKER_01 13:41

probably up there in the top five greatest double albums of all time, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 13:46

Aaron Powell There you go. Jimmy, I know I sound like a broken record, but you two, the Joshua Tree versus REM Automatic for the People. Another wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Uh and so you want to go through the tracks on both of those?

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Yeah, yeah. And again, I'm not going through all of them. I'm trying not to. I'm really trying to hit the ones that are the, you know, the big songs, or maybe songs that have some meaning to me. But Joshua Tree, you know, it starts off with Where the Streets Have No Name, Bull at the Blue Sky, Run in the Standstill, Um Red Hill Mining Towns on There's In God's Country, Trip Through Your Wires, One Tree Hill. I was actually at the first show that they played One Tree Hill. Oh, really? And I recorded the show uh on cassette. Uh, you know, I would sneak in a you know, like a Walkman type thing and be able to record. And and I didn't have enough tape, so I rewound after One Tree Hill and decided to record over it. Uh-huh. And uh friend of the show, Chris Cassidy, was like, Oh, I can't wait to listen to One Tree Hill. I'm like, Oh, I rewound so that I would have it all on, you know, one cassette and everything. And he could not believe that I would do such a thing.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Well, you had to give up something.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

I had to give up something. I did. But I love One Tree Hill. It's a great song. So automatic for the people.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

I'm sorry. Uh the all those uh great songs kind of rolled over me there. Did you mention With or Without You?

SPEAKER_02 15:22

I did not. Yeah. I did not mention it because uh it's one of those songs they played so much in the beginning. I wasn't really fond of it from the moment it came out. It was a little bit too much for me. And then they played it so much, it just made it so I don't even like it.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

All right. All right, I do, but I get it.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

That's okay. You can like it. Music isn't a competition.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

No, you're the one with the list, though, so I'm having to go, wait a minute.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

I still haven't found what I'm looking for, is on there also. But that's another song that they played a million times. MTV played the video. I think it was shot in um old school Vegas, you know, downtown Vegas. And I just don't listen to those two songs anymore. And without them, though, it's still a great album. It's fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Great album with or without them.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

You know what I like about the Joshua Tree? I think for the Joshua Tree, where I had a lot of friends that were in with me on war, not as many people were in on the Unforgettable Fire that came out in '84. But the Joshua Tree, it seems like everybody I knew they were into it. And it was cool.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

It was the first real mainstream U2 album. Yeah, without a doubt. You know, because Sunday Bloody Sunday became a little bit sort of an underground hit for them off war. And and I will follow from earlier than that, you know. And those mainly in my circle got popular because of the live versions on Under a Blood Red Sky. Right. And then when Unforgettable Fire came out, like you said, most people weren't that into the whole album, but Pride in the Name of Love was a big hit. Correct. And then Joshua Tree, it all came together. They had big radio hits and they had an album full of songs that everybody liked. And yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Yeah, without a doubt. I agree 100%. Automatic for the people, Drive, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, Everybody Hurts, Monty Got a Raw Deal, Man on the Moon, Night Swimming.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

For REM, I feel like it was kind of a return to form for them. Like I wasn't as nuts about the previous album, and for whatever reason, automatic for the people, I just thought, yeah, REM's back.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

I agree with you. I definitely agree with you.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

I was living in London at the time when it came out, and I was working at this little cafe, and uh, all the people that worked there from different countries, and so I think it was somebody from like Ethiopia or Bosnia that I was working with that told me, oh, REM

Elephant vs Brothers

SPEAKER_01 18:02

has a new album out. It's called Automatic for the People. And it was such a small world moment for me because I knew where that phrase came from, Weaver D's fine foods, that I loved to go to when I was in college. So I'm like, wow, this is that's pretty cool. That someone from another country would know Yeah, told me halfway around the world telling me, yeah, this is their album's called Automatic for the People. And I just smiled.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

Well, it's time to make an automatic decision.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Okay, I to be honest, Unforgettable Fire, I like a lot more than Joshua Tree. But Joshua Tree is so important to YouTube's, you know, DNA. Gosh, it's it's a tough choice. I'm gonna go Joshua Tree.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

I'm gonna go Joshua Tree also. I love the songs on Automatic for the People, but Joshua Tree again is one of those albums where I was still young and it connected with me and my friends. I went and saw them multiple times in multiple cities on the tour, the spring tour, the fall tour, and it just a bunch of different things and just this great connection to it. When Automatic for the People came out, I was a little bit older. Right. And it's while the songs, I love the songs and the songs are great, it's just a little bit different. And and I really think when you look at all of these albums or any list of albums, I'm generally gonna pick one where that connection is.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Right. And it I think it was REM's eighth or ninth album. And you know, Joshua Tree was U2's fifth album. Right. I think you know, your first five albums are really kind of where you're defining what your band is. And again, for REM, it was like a return to form for me that they had kind of tried some

Bella Donna vs Crimes Of Passion

SPEAKER_01 19:54

other stuff and gone in a poppier direction, and this was like sounded more like REM to me.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

I agree, without a doubt. White stripes elephant versus the Black Keys Brothers. Now I love Elephant. I will say that. Hands up. That is another album I enjoy listening from beginning to end. And I don't enjoy it as much when I just hear one song. You know, I like to listen to it all the way through. And there's not a lot of you I know this is an older album now, but you know, at the time when it came out, there wasn't a lot of new albums that I was listening to where I would do that. But, you know, if you take a look, it's got Seven Nation Army. I mean, everybody in the world knows that because it's played at every sporting event for no matter what the sport is.

SPEAKER_01 20:49

If you had told Jack White that when he was writing that song, I think he would not have released it.

SPEAKER_02 20:54

Yeah, I there's no way I I think that anybody could have imagined that that would have been a song everybody was just, you know, crazy about. And, you know, I saw him play, you know, back in September, and he plays it, and it's just the crowd is absolutely nuts, you know? Like it's just so good. He just is does a fantastic job when he, you know, when he plays for sure. But it's got black math. I love the song Black Math. I just don't know what to do with myself. Bert Bacharak wrote that song, I think. Um who else? Uh In the Cold Cold Night, that's a great song. Uh Ballin' Biscuit, the hardest button to button. Uh man, it's a fantastic album. It really is. If we go on to Brothers, you got Tighten Up and Howlin' for You. And those are the two songs I like. I'm not, you know, I'm not a huge black keys fan, but I do like those songs.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Yeah, I I see it kind of the same way. I would go with the white stripes.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

White stripes

Nevermind vs Ten

SPEAKER_02 22:03

for me too. Stevie Nicks, Belladonna versus Pat Benatar, Crimes of Passion. So Belladonna has Stop Dragging My Heart Around with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Edge of 17, Leather and Lace with Don Henley.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:20

And Crimes of Passion, Treat Me Right, You Better Run. Hit me with your best shot. Hell is for children.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Hmm. I'm going to go with old Pat Benatar. Hit me with your best shot.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

So I'm going to be honest with you initially when I just looked at it and didn't even think about the songs to meet them like Stevie Nicks.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Right.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

But when I look at the songs, those four songs right there. Edge of 17 is a great song. I'm not big into the leather and lace song with uh Don Henley. It's okay. I do like Stop Dragging My Heart Around. I think that's really cool. I like that collaboration that Stevie and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. But hands down, crime's a passion for me.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

And you know, for whatever reason, Stevie Nicks is held up as like this this legend and that she's got the greatest voice and everything. And she's got a unique voice, but Pat Benetar is an amazing singer. I mean, that lady could sing opera, you know? Oh yeah. Heartbreaker. That that is a tough song to sing for anybody. And I think she had a really good rock band, too, you know, with her with her husband on guitar. And so yeah, I'm going with Benatar.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

Wise Choice. Treat me right, Jimmy. Treat me right. Oh, I'm not even sure what that means. Anyway, as we go through this, and Jimmy, I know we're spending a lot of time on this, but I think it's cool. Especially that a listener took the time out to put it together. Nirvana, never mind, versus Pearl Jam 10. Okay. I mean, it's like, you know, putting, you know, these big top albums, you know, up against each other.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

It's easy for me, though.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

It's easy for me. All right? So before I even say the songs, go ahead. Never mind. Never mind, without a doubt. Never mind change so much in music. Exactly. Without a doubt. One song that changed everything, and then you listen to the rest of the album and we're just like, man, this is just unbelievable. This is so good that these three guys could do what they did, you

Permanent Waves vs Synchronicity

SPEAKER_02 24:36

know? And I'm talking about Smells Like Teen Spirit.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Of course, yeah. But but Smells Like Teen Spirit was the tip of the iceberg. You know, that's what that's what drew everybody in as the first kind of song that got played on the radio. But it worked. It worked, and it worked for a reason because it it was like nothing that people had heard at that time. And it everything down to the the chord progressions that he used, it everything else was so tired out, and he found this new way to connect with people through the music. It was it was really kind of shocking.

SPEAKER_02 25:09

Yeah, without a doubt. So some of the other songs, In Bloom, that's probably my second favorite song on the album. Come as You Are, Lithium, that's my favorite song on the album. Um Polly's on there, Drain You, On a Plane, Something in the Way, a whole bunch more. Yeah. And then Ten has, you know, Evenflow, Alive, Black, Jeremy, which are good songs, but they're very different. You know, when when the whole Seattle grunge and you know, I hate using that word and terminology, but when that came out, to me, there really is no comparison between Nirvana and Pearl Jam. They're just like two totally different bands that do really good what they, you know, what they did, they did a great job of that. And I think it was kind of unfair to both of them to kind of compare them because they just weren't the same at all.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

To me, Pearl Jam was more of a natural extension of rock from where it was, and Nirvana was more of like an abrupt turn in a new direction.

SPEAKER_02 26:21

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

True. You know, if if Nirvana hadn't put that album out and Pearl Jam had just released theirs, I don't know that the hair metal stuff would have died off as quickly as it did. Because And it did. Yeah, it did. It was like, oh, they look stupid now playing that music. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:39

Yeah. But fortunately, it's 2026 and all the 80s things are back, and everybody's willing to go to anything now.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Oh, everybody, yeah. So what do we know?

SPEAKER_02 26:49

All right, let's move on. Rush, permanent waves versus the police synchronicity. Permanent waves, really two great songs on it. It's got spirit of radio and free will. And synchronicity has synchronicity one, synchronicity two, every breath you take, king of pain, wrapped around your finger. And on the cassette version, because I had the cassette, it had murder by numbers. That was not on the album. And I think Murder by Numbers is the best song on the whole album. And I've mentioned that before. That's my favorite song on the album.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

It's a little bit more like the previous albums, though, you know? Yes. That song could fit in on Outlandos or one of those albums.

SPEAKER_02 27:31

And it could. And I remember that I didn't, well, what I remember is that I didn't know it wasn't on the album. And I would be playing it, and then people are like, What is that? And you know, I'm singing it like I know it because I do. I'm like, it's murder by numbers. And they're like, I that's not on the album. Like, yes, it's on the album, it's gotta be on the album. It was not on the album.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

Do you know the song that's on the jam snap on the double album, but it's not on the compact disc? No. Away from the numbers.

SPEAKER_02 28:05

Really?

SPEAKER_01 28:05

Yeah. So there you go. Very similar.

SPEAKER_02 28:08

Kind of funny. All right, Jimmy. Rush Permanent Waves or the Police Synchronicity?

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Definitely synchronicity. That album, the summer that that album was out, it was like the summer of synchronicity. Like the police took the world

Van Halen Debut vs Back In Black

SPEAKER_01 28:25

over. And it you heard it everywhere you went. Every couple weeks, there was a new hit out on the radio. I mean, it was just, yeah, you couldn't stop that album.

SPEAKER_02 28:36

Yeah. And so, Jimmy, you grew up here in Atlanta. I grew up in New York, and it was the same exact thing. It was the summer of synchronicity. Saw the police summer of 83 at Shea Stadium. It was fantastic. Went with a ton of people to the show. Great memories. Synchronicity, we would have these parties all summer long, and that album, you'd listen to side one and it was over, and then side two would go on and just nonstop at parties for sure. So I'm gonna go synchronicity. But I love Rush. I do. I just like synchronicity better than I like permanent ways.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

Trevor Burrus, Jr. And I may have mentioned before, but that was going to be my first concert. I wanted to go to see the police. The go-go's were opening, and my parents said no. And uh and I finally convinced them later to let me see the Ramones.

SPEAKER_02 29:30

Very nice.

SPEAKER_01 29:31

Because my brother took me.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

So the go-go's opened up for the police in 1982. I think it was like January. At least it was in New York. And I remember so many people went to the show, and the next day at school, everybody's got the shirts on. I was jealous. I didn't get to go to the show. And I was like, oh man, I would love to go see the police. And then the police came in April and they played, and I got to see them, and I was like, But that was still the Ghost of the Machine Tour. It was Ghost of the Machine Tour. It was actually the last night of the show. Uh excuse me, last night of the tour that I saw them, and it was fantastic. Definitely have some pictures that you know what? I'll see if uh Chris Cassidy, friend of the show, will let us share that he took at the show.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_02 30:24

Um I I believe it was that show that he took him at. You know, we all used to do that. I don't know, did you guys used to do that, Jimmy?

SPEAKER_01 30:38

Yeah. Yeah. So I usually didn't buy the shirt, but uh, you know, I didn't have the money. But yeah, if you did, you wore it the next day.

SPEAKER_02 30:46

Yeah,

Pyromania vs Slippery When Wet

SPEAKER_02 30:47

I did.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

You know, you still do.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

I still do. Yeah. Now I buy I buy a lot less shirts now. I really do. There's no doubt about it. I like to buy prints and posters that I can hang up and you know just gaze on, but I don't buy as many shirts as I once did. Let's move on, Jimmy. Okay. Van Halen, the self-titled debut album versus ACDC Back and Black. A lot of thought that went into this whole thing here. Van Halen's got Runin' with the Devil, Eruption, You Really Got Me, Ain't Talking About Love. I'm the One, Jamie's Crying, Feel Your Love Tonight, Little Dreamer, Ice Cream Man. Back in Black, as Hell's Bells, Shoot the Thrill, Givin' the Dog a Bone, Back in Black, You Shook Me All Night Long, Have a Drink On Me, Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

Yeah. No, that that album has a special place in my heart. That's definitely the winner, in my opinion. But Van Halen's first album is incredible. It is. And talk about somebody that changed music. Those guys. Like they really changed things around. Like all bands throughout the 80s were imitating what Eddie Van Halen was doing in 1977.

SPEAKER_02 32:04

Yeah. And you know what? I'm going to go with Back and Black also. Great album. Can listen to it in its entirety, or you can listen to it song by song. It is good. Def Leppard, Pyromania versus Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet. Pyromania, Photograph, Too Late for Love, Foolin', Rock of Ages, Slippery When Wet, You Give Love a Bad Name,

Heaven And Hell vs Blizzard Of Ozz

SPEAKER_02 32:32

Living on a Prayer, Wan A Dead or Alive, Never Say Goodbye.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

I enjoyed the uh Def Leopard album Pyromania. It came out when I was in the eighth grade, and it was all everybody was listening to that fall of eighth grade year. So I'm going with that.

SPEAKER_02 32:51

I'm going with Pyromania also. Um Foolin', I think, is a fantastic song. Too late for Love is fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

When I'm uh filling up my car with gas, and you know, the little sign on the thing on the pump says fueling.

SPEAKER_02 33:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

I always in my head say phu ph ph fueling.

SPEAKER_02 33:13

Wow, you have a lot of time on your hands when you're pumping gas there, Jimmy.

SPEAKER_01 33:16

What am I supposed to do? Uh you know, go somewhere and get a sandwich? Oh, you gotta sit there and sing the little deaf leopard.

SPEAKER_02 33:25

All right. Well, let's move on from there. I'm a little hungry now, Jimmy. Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell versus Ozzy Osborne, Blizzard of Oz. So this Heaven and Hell album is the first one without Ozzy. He got fired in 1979.

SPEAKER_01 33:41

Dio.

SPEAKER_02 33:41

So Dio is the lead singer. Very, very different styles of how they sing. And it's got Children of the Sea, it's got Heaven and Hell. It's got Neon Knights opens up the album, but that song to me almost reminds me of in the 80s, the earlier 80s, when there was a movie that would come out and there would be like this like heavy metal sounding song. You didn't know who it was. The song Neon Knights that opens up this album reminds me of that song could be in so many of these 80s movies during you know different scenes and so forth. Yeah. Blizzard of Oz, I don't know, Crazy Train, Goodbye to Romance, Mr. Crowley.

SPEAKER_01 34:28

Mm-hmm. I I want to say that might have been that same year, maybe the year after of uh Pyromania, but yeah, it feels like it was that when I was in the eighth grade. And really a great album for Ozzy to show that it wasn't just Black Sabbath that was great. You know, he he came out and Randy Rhodes playing guitar and everything. So yeah, I'm going with Ozzy.

SPEAKER_02 34:54

I'm gonna have to go with Ozzy also. And I think that Ozzie did a great job after being booted out of Black Sabbath, and I think he was a little tired of it, you know, in different directions, trying different things. I think it was good for him to be out and to be in a place where he had a new start with the new band, like you were talking about, and be able to do some things that he wanted to do. We're getting close to the end here, Jimmy.

Abbey Road vs Let It Bleed

SPEAKER_01 35:20

All right, yeah, this is quite a long mailbag segment.

SPEAKER_02 35:22

It sure is. And we only did one thing so far: The Beatles, Abbey Road versus the Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed. All right, Abbey Road, come together, something, oh darling, octopus's garden, I want you, she's so heavy. Here comes the sun, you never give me money. Me, Mr. Musset, Polythene Pam, Golden Slumbers, The End. That's not all the songs. That's just off the top of my head. Let It Bleed, Gimme Shelter, Love in Vain, Live With Me, Let It Bleed, Midnight Rambler, You Got the Silver. I love that song. That's a Keith Richards song. Fantastic. Monkey Man, you can't always get what you want.

SPEAKER_01 36:02

That's tough. To me, nothing can beat Abbey Road, though. I mean, that's like, come on.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

I'm gonna have to disagree with you, Jimmy. Really? I and and the Beatles are my favorite band, okay? But I'm gonna take Let It Bleed. I love those songs. Those songs are fantastic. Okay. I love Abbey Road. I listen to Abbey Road a ton. But those songs on Let It Bleed, those are some classic Rolling Stone songs right there.

SPEAKER_01 36:31

They are for sure.

SPEAKER_02 36:32

So I'm gonna go with it.

SPEAKER_01 36:34

That's why this is hard.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

Yeah, that is. The last one, the Beatles Revolver versus the Beatles Abbey Road.

SPEAKER_01 36:42

Oh, well, oaks. So now we're doubling up.

SPEAKER_02 36:44

Doubling up. You know what songs are on Abbey Road? I just mentioned them. Revolver has Tax Man. Oh, let me preface. I'm talking about Revolver, the American version.

SPEAKER_01 36:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:58

Because that's what I grew up listening to. That's what I

Revolver vs Abbey Road

SPEAKER_02 37:03

have on my phone. That's what I still listen to. So Tax Man, Eleanor Rigby, Love You Two, which is George Harrison's song, play sitar on it. Here, there, and everywhere, I think one of the most difficult songs to sing. Even when I was a kid, I was like, I sound terrible. Like, how does he get these notes? You know? Because as a kid, you all you always think that you sound good. Even as a kid, I was like, well, man, this is bad. We're serious, I'm not joking. Yellow submarine, she said, she said, Good day, sunshine for no one. I want to tell you. Got to get you into my life. Tomorrow never knows.

SPEAKER_01 37:43

Yeah, it's so hard, man, because I think of Revolver as one of my favorite Beatles albums, and I and as such a great part of the turning point that they had with Rubber Soul and Revolver, is where they went from the old Beatles to what the Beatles became. And but just listening to the track list of that album versus Abbey Road, I still gotta go Abbey Road.

SPEAKER_02 38:08

I'm gonna go Revolver.

SPEAKER_01 38:09

All right.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

I would pick Rubber Soul first, if that the American version, again, the US version, I would pick that over all of them. But Revolver, it was just fantastic. You know, putting that record on, spinning it, and listening to it. I love Abbey Road. I listen to Abbey Road so much. I have the deluxe version where I'm listening to all the outtakes and everything. But for this uh exercise, I'm gonna have to go with uh Revolver. Jimmy, that was fun. Thank you again, Kathy Kay from Athens GA. Thanks, Kathy. Go dogs. Jimmy, I know we're running out of time, but I just wanted to mention it's been about three months since we had Kevin Kinney and his wife Anna Jensen in the studio to talk about the Let's Go Dancing Project. I can't believe three months has

Kevin Kinney And Anna Jensen Exhibit

SPEAKER_02 39:00

gone by that quickly. It really has. So a couple of weeks ago, I went to the Kevin Kinney and Anna Jensen art exhibition at Young Harris College, which is in the mountains of Northeast Georgia. And when you're driving, there is no doubt you are in the mountains of Northeast Georgia for sure. And Kevin did a show beforehand that was held in the chapel. So no, he did not play straight to hell.

SPEAKER_01 39:26

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_02 39:27

On display. Where? Yeah, so on display and available to purchase was artwork that Anna did for some of the Let's Go Dancing singles that she talked about when she was on here and did the interview. She also had other artwork on display, and Kevin even had a few pieces that he did that were pretty cool. And that art exhibition is running until February 22nd, 2026. And again, that is at Young Harris College. Well, that's it for this episode of Music in My Shoes. You can reach us at musicinmyshoes at gmail.com. Please like and follow the Music in My Shoes Facebook and Instagram pages. I'd like to thank Jimmy Guthrie, show producer and owner of Arcade160 Studios, located right here in Atlanta, Georgia, and Vic Thrill for our podcast music. This is Jim Boge, and I hope you learned something new or remembered something old. We'll meet again on our next episode. Until then, live life and keep the music playing.