Wrapping up my 50 years of tunes with my stand out album of 2014. I absolutely adore Sharon Van Etten and her most recent album is packed with outstanding songs.
Heartbreaking, spellbinding and simply wonderful.
2014 - Sharon Van Etten "Are We There"
Released: May 2014 Label: Jagjaguwar Producer: Sharon Van Etten
Track List:
1. "Afraid of Nothing" 4:05
2. "Taking Chances" 3:50
3. "Your Love Is Killing Me" 6:18
4. "Our Love" 3:53
5. "Tarifa" 4:51
6. "I Love You But I’m Lost" 4:19
7. "You Know Me Well" 4:32
8. "Break Me" 4:01
9. "Nothing Will Change" 3:16
10. "I Know" 3:36
11. "Every Time the Sun Comes Up" 4:23
Low have been working their way into my affections since I heard Just Like Christmas from their 1999 Christmas E.P.
I have only recently begun working my way through their back catalogue so I have plenty to discover but all the albums I've heard so far have been consistently marvelous.
The Invisible Way was the catalyst for me finally seeing them live. I had to drive all the way to Cambridge to do so but it was totally worth it.
2013 - Low "The Invisible Way"
Released: March 2013 Label: Sub Pop Producer: Jeff Tweedy
A vast behemoth of a record and my introduction to Swans having previously been a little bit scared to explore.
The Seer did very well in the 2012 end of year polls and was stupidly cheap via eMusic so I figured I'd give it a go. It took me a while to get to grips with. There are two hours of music over two CDs, including a massively epic title track that clocks in at 33 minutes on it's own.
There were moments when I thought it was too much but slowly, track by track, I got my head around it.
Then I went to see them live and everything really fell into place. They are an amazing band and this is a truly stunning piece of work.
2012 - Swans "The Seer"
Released: May 2001 Label: Young God Producer: Michael Gira
Track List:
Disc one -
1. "Lunacy" featuring Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker (Michael Gira) 6:09
2. "Mother of the World" (Gira) 9:57
3. "The Wolf" (Gira, Christoph Hahn, Thor Harris, Christopher Pravdica, Phil Puleo, Norman Westberg) 1:35
4. "The Seer" (Gira) 32:14
5. "The Seer Returns" featuring Jarboe (Gira, Hahn, Harris, Pravdica, Puleo, Westberg) 6:17
6. "93 Ave. B Blues" (Gira) 5:21
7. "The Daughter Brings the Water" (Gira) 2:40
Total length:
64:10
Disc two -
1. "Song for a Warrior" featuring Karen O (Gira) 3:58
2. "Avatar" (Gira, Hahn, Harris, Pravdica, Puleo, Westberg) 8:51
3. "A Piece of the Sky" featuring Jarboe and Akron/Family (Gira) 19:10
4. "The Apostate" (Gira, Hahn, Harris, Pravdica, Puleo, Westberg) 23:01
Total length:
54:56
Not sure how I've got all the way to 2011 without mentioning Mogwai.
I first got into them in 1999 with the Come On Die Young Album but somehow, having seen them live on the Rock Action tour in 2001, I lost track of their output. I thought I had enough Mogwai but as I eventually heard their later albums I realised they seemed to be breaking the traditional rock'n'roll paradigm by getting better with age.
Hardcore Will Never Die ... still took me by surprise quickly becoming my favourite Mogwai album so far. I hesitate to say it is also their most commercial (I suspect my ability to spot commercial appeal is now eternally broken) but it is a fabulous album that I love from start to finish. It has an utterly epic finish too, if you have the extended version of the album, closing with the magnificent 23 minute "Music for a Forgotten Future".
2011 - Mogwai "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will"
Released: February 2011 Label: Rock Action Producer: Mogwai, Paul Savage
Track List:
1. "White Noise" – 5:04
2. "Mexican Grand Prix" (Mogwai, Luke Sutherland) – 5:18
3. "Rano Pano" – 5:15
4. "Death Rays" – 6:01
5. "San Pedro" – 3:27
6. "Letters to the Metro" – 4:41
7. "George Square Thatcher Death Party" – 4:00
8. "How to Be a Werewolf" – 6:23
9. "Too Raging to Cheers" – 4:30
10. "You're Lionel Richie" – 8:29
Limited edition including bonus CD featuring the 23:23 minute long "Music for a Forgotten Future (The Singing Mountain)" recorded for an art installation by Douglas Gordon and Olaf Nicolai in Essen, Germany.
Thee Silver Mt Zion, the side project of Efrim from Godspeed You Black Emperor, may just about have eclipsed my love for that original band.
Initially entirely instrumental, the ever changing named Silver Mt Zion, got better with each release. By the time I saw them live mass vocals, sung by all the band facing each other on stage, had become a key component of the band's sound.
They also took the approach of playing live shows featuring mainly new songs and these would form the core of the next album they released. Despite the lack of familiarity I found I enjoyed them live more and more every time I went. Kollaps Tradixionales isn't my favourite ASMZ album but it is up with their best and a pretty decent starting point for someone new to the band.
2010 - Thee Silver Mt Zion "Kollaps Tradixionales"
Released: February 2010 Label: Constellation Producer: Howard Bilerman
Track List:
1. "There Is a Light" – 15:19
2. "I Built Myself a Metal Bird" – 6:17
3. "I Fed My Metal Bird the Wings of Other Metal Birds" – 6:18
4. "Kollapz Tradixional (Thee Olde Dirty Flag)" – 6:09
5. "Collapse Traditional (For Darling)" – 1:29
6. "Kollaps Tradicional (Bury 3 Dynamos)" – 6:48
7. "'Piphany Rambler" – 14:19
Having discovered Bill Callahan when he was still recording as Smog (in particular the excellent Knock Knock) I wasn't expecting him to turn up with his best album so far into his career. Callahan, like Will Oldham, seems to be an incredibly prolific songwriter who can't produce a bad tune.
Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, despite it's confusing title is an immaculate album. Special mention for Eid Ma Clack Shaw, a song about Bill dreaming the perfect song but finding the lyrics are nonsense when he wakes up. Ironically this may actually be the perfect song, it's certainly one of my favourite.
2009 - Bill Callahan "Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle"
Released: April 2009 Label: Drag City Producer: Raven
Track List:
1. "Jim Cain" – 4:39
2. "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" – 4:19
3. "The Wind and the Dove" – 4:34
4. "Rococo Zephyr" – 5:42
5. "Too Many Birds" – 5:27
6. "My Friend" – 5:12
7. "All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast" – 5:52
8. "Invocation of Ratiocination" – 2:41
9. "Faith/Void" – 9:44
I first saw Youthmovies, supporting Hope Of The States in 2003, when they were called Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies and had something of a Red Hot Chilli Peppers vibe. That was probably more to do with the bare chests than their music and whilst I wasn't entirely convinced by the music they certainly made an impression.
They were the sort of band I doubt I'd have even heard about before the growth of the Internet and it was thrilling to find a band that seemed so perfect playing tiny venues. I didn't see them live again until the year this album (their only full length release) came out and by then they're musical style had changed significantly. I became a huge fan and was disappointed when less than two years later they played their last gig.
A really great band who I was sad to see fall by the wayside so soon.
2008 - Youthmovies "Good Nature"
Released: March 2008 Label: Drowned In Sound
Track List:
1. "Magdalen Bridge"
2. "The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor"
3. "Soandso and Soandso"
4. "the Last Night of the Proms"
5. "Cannulae"
6. "If You'd Seen a Battlefield"
7. "Shh! You'll Wake it!"
8. "Something for the Ghosts"
9. "Archive it Everywhere"
10. "Surtsey"
In the words of Jetplane Landing Why do they never play Les Savy Fav on the radio? The only Punk band left in America. I'm guessing if you don't know who Les Savy Fav are you've even less chance of knowing Jetplane Landing but the sentiment is still valid.
It might be a little harsh on the current American Punk scene but Les Savy Fav are a special band, amazing live and remarkably consistent on record. Let's Stay Friends was the first album of theirs I heard and it's an absolute corker.
2007 - Les Savy Fav "Let's Stay Friends"
Released: September 2007 Label: Frenchkiss Records
Track List:
1. "Pots & Pans" – 2:38
2. "The Equestrian" – 3:27
3. "The Year Before the Year 2000" – 2:26
4. "Patty Lee" – 3:51
5. "What Would Wolves Do?" – 2:56
6. "Brace Yourself" – 4:13
7. "Raging in the Plague Age" – 2:43
8. "Slugs in the Shrubs" – 2:40
9. "Kiss Kiss Is Getting Old" – 3:18
10. "Comes & Goes" – 3:01
11. "Scotchgard the Credit Card" – 3:06
12. "The Lowest Bitter" – 4:20
Cat Power backed by some of the best session musicians Memphis has to offer and sounding more confident than she had ever done up til this point.
The Greatest is an album I loved from the first time I heard it and has yet to fade in my affections with subsequent plays.
2006 also saw the remarkable Ys by Joanna Newsome & the excellent Fox Confessor Brings The Flood by Neko Case but Cat Power steals the limelight for me.
2006 - Cat Power "The Greatest"
Released: May 2005 Label: Matador Producer: Stuart Sikes
Track List:
1. "The Greatest" 3:22
2. "Living Proof" 3:11
3. "Lived in Bars" 3:44
4. "Could We" 2:21
5. "Empty Shell" 3:04
6. "Willie" 5:57
7. "Where Is My Love" 2:53
8. "The Moon" 3:45
9. "Islands" 1:44
10. "After It All" 3:31
11. "Hate" 3:38
12. "Love & Communication" 4:34
It is indicative of my sense of timing that I should get into a band just as their releasing their final album before going on an indefinite hiatus.
The Woods is an astonishingly powerful record that often shows me how cheap my various speakers & headphones actually are by pushing them well beyond their natural limits.
Speaker buzz aside, The Woods is a phenomenal album and the record that made me fall head over heals for the majesty of Sleater-Kinney.
I finally got to see them live this year and it was brilliant, probably my gig of the year. Hooray for hiatuses.
2005 - Sleater-Kinney "The Woods"
Released: May 2005 Label: Sub Pop Producer: Dave Fridmann
I had a few aborted attempts to get into Nick Cave but for some reason this epic double album was the one where it all finally clicked for me.
It might have something to do with Breathless, the song in the video link below, which is utterly gorgeous and a definite contender for my all time favourite song list.
Both albums are superb and, you'll be pleased to hear, I'm now making good progress with the rest of the Cave canon.
2004 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds "Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus"
Released: September 2004 Label: Mute Producer: Nick Launay
Track List:
Disc one: Abattoir Blues
1. "Get Ready for Love" (Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn P. Casey, Jim Sclavunos) 5:05
2. "Cannibal's Hymn" 4:54
3. "Hiding All Away" 6:31
4. "Messiah Ward" 5:14
5. "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" 5:17
6. "Nature Boy" (Cave, Ellis, Casey, Sclavunos) 4:54
7. "Abattoir Blues" (Cave, Ellis) 3:58
8. "Let the Bells Ring" (Cave, Ellis) 4:26
9. "Fable of the Brown Ape" 2:45
Disc two: The Lyre of Orpheus
1. "The Lyre of Orpheus" (Cave, Ellis, Casey, Sclavunos) 5:36
2. "Breathless" 3:13
3. "Babe, You Turn Me On" 4:21
4. "Easy Money" 6:43
5. "Supernaturally" 4:37
6. "Spell" (Cave, Ellis, Casey, Sclavunos) 4:25
7. "Carry Me" 3:37
8. "O Children" 6:51
All songs written and composed by Nick Cave unless otherwise noted.
An improvisational Jazz trio would not be my usual fare at all but a pal of mine told me a bit about The Necks and the more I heard the more intrigued I got.
Their albums tend to be hour long one track affairs and Drive By may be their most well known piece of work, it's certainly my favourite Neck's album so far.
Live they take a genuinely improvisational approach, I got to saw them at the impossibly hip Cafe Oto last year and was utterly blown away.
Another album I discovered by chance. Like 99's dEUS album also down to a review that caught my attention and intrigued me. This is Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame doing Emo with his friends and doing it really well.
They pretty much disappeared off the planet having released this LP. I guess Conor was back doing Bright Eyes & solo stuff and didn't have time to do any thing more. But then, in 2013, SongKick Detour helped crowd fund a short tour and I got to see them play most of this album (bar the opening track which only featured on the International release - oddly as it's one of my favourite tracks) and some new stuff live at the Electric Ballroom. Awesome gig.
2002 - Desaparecidos "Read Music / Speak Spanish"
Released: February 2002 Label: Saddle Creek
Track List:
1. "What's New for Fall" 3:46
2. "Man and Wife, The Former (Financial Planning)" 3:16
3. "Manana" 3:24
4. "Greater Omaha" 4:14
5. "Man and Wife, The Latter (Damaged Goods)" 3:39
6. "Mall of America" 2:41
7. "The Happiest Place on Earth" 3:02
8. "Survival of the Fittest/It's a Jungle Out There" 2:56
9. "$$$$" 5:10
10. "Hole in One" 3:08
2001 was a straight shoot out between the band that really got me into Garage Rock (The White Stripes) and the Garage Rock band - though they might deny that tag - I love the most. The Dirtbombs win out as they're brilliant and this was the album that I first discovered them with. It's actually a collection of Soul, R&B and Motown covers with Your Love Belongs Under a Rock the only original Dirtbombs composition.
The Dirtbombs were originally a side project for Mick Collins, of Garage Rock Legends The Gories, and only planned to release singles. Ultraglide is their second full length LP and began a pattern of LPs that would represent different genres. It's a policy that has kept their music fresh and seen the band produce collections of Punk, Detroit Techno and Bubblegum Pop.
They're bloody ace live and if they ever get back over here you absolutely HAVE to see them.
2001 - The Dirtbombs "Ultraglide In Black"
Released: May 2001 Label: In The Red
Track List:
1. "Chains of Love" J.J. Barnes, M. Davis, D. Davis (J.J. Barnes) 2:21
2. "If You Can Want" Smokey Robinson (The Miracles) 2:57
3. "Underdog" Sly Stone (Sly & the Family Stone) 3:35
4. "Your Love Belongs Under a Rock" Mick Collins (The Dirtbombs) 2:20
5. "I'll Wait" George Clinton (The Parliaments) 3:00
6. "Living For the City" Stevie Wonder (Stevie Wonder) 3:07
7. "The Thing" Larry Bright (Larry Bright) 2:02
8. "Kung-Fu" Curtis Mayfield (Curtis Mayfield) 5:42
9. "Ode to a Black Man" Phil Lynott (Phil Lynott) 3:38
10. "Got to Give It Up" Marvin Gaye (Marvin Gaye) 4:03
11. "Livin' For the Weekend" Kenny Gamble, Cary Gilbert, Leon Huff (The O'Jays) 3:29
12. "I'm Qualified to Satisfy You" Barry White (Barry White) 3:53
13. "Do You See My Love (For You Growing)" R. Beavers, Johnny Bristol (Junior Walker & the All-Stars) 4:20
Post Rock royalty. This album sprawls over four sides and is the moment Godspeed changed from intriguingly different to absolute must hears. It's an epic LP that builds to huge crescendos but never loses your attention. Probably my favourite GYBE album though they're incredibly consistent.
2000 - Godspeed You! Black Emperor "Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Atennas To Heaven"
Released: October 2000 Label: Constellation, Kranky Producer: Daryl Smith
Track List:
Disc one
1.1 / Side 1: Storm
No. Title Length
1. "Lift Yr. Skinny Fists, Like Antennas to Heaven..." 6:15
2. "Gathering Storm/Il Pleut à Mourir [+Clatters Like Worry]" 11:10
3. "'Welcome to Barco AM/PM...' [ L.A.X.; 5/14/00]" 1:15
4. "Cancer Towers on Holy Road Hi-Way" 3:52
Total length: 22:32
1.2 / Side 2: Static
No. Title Length
1. "Terrible Canyons of Static" 3:34
2. "Atomic Clock" 1:09
3. "Chart #3" 2:39
4. "World Police and Friendly Fire" 9:48
5. "[...+The Buildings They Are Sleeping Now]" 5:25
Total length: 22:35
Disc two
2.1 / Side 3: Sleep
No. Title Length
1. "Murray Ostril: '...They Don't Sleep Anymore on the Beach...'" 1:10
2. "Monheim" 12:14
3. "Broken Windows, Locks of Love Pt. III." 9:53
Total length: 23:17
2.2 / Side 4: Antennas to Heaven
No. Title Length
1. "Moya Sings 'Baby-O'..." 1:00
2. "Edgyswingsetacid" 0:58
3. "[Glockenspiel Duet Recorded on a Campsite In Rhinebeck, N.Y.]" 0:47
4. "'Attention...Mon Ami...Fa-Lala-Lala-La-La...' [55-St. Laurent]" 1:18
5. "She Dreamt She Was a Bulldozer, She Dreamt She Was Alone in an Empty Field" 9:43
6. "Deathkamp Drone" 3:09
7. "[Antennas to Heaven...]" 2:02
Total length: 18:57
One of those chance discoveries. I read a very brief but positive review of The Ideal Crash but I really, REALLY, liked the cover so bought a copy without knowing much about the band or hearing any of their music. This seems odd in an era of online streaming and instant downloads but back then it's the sort of thing I did quite a lot.
Initial plays didn't blow me away, it was alright but not amazing, but over time - without any deliberate effort - I noticed that it became one of my most played albums. I think shuffle mode on my iPod had a lot to do with this. I began to pick up odd songs and like them individually so that when I went back and played the album I found I liked every song.
I've only recently started to explore the rest of dEUS' catalogue and though I'm making progress I don't think they've come close to this before or since (though maybe a bit more shuffle play will sort that out too).
I still really like the cover too.
1999 - dEUS "The Ideal Crash"
Released: March 1999 Label: Island Producer: David Bottrill
After the brilliance of '97 less to pick from in '98. Car Wheels was the first Lucinda Williams album I heard and still sounds utterly sublime. She has a wonderful voice, full of character but never harsh and Car Wheels is packed with fabulous song writing that really lets her vocal shine.
Two of my favourite tracks from the album are on this YouTube clip which I couldn't embed in this post. Ride In Time is a good time tune which you can watch from the video below but the second track, Drunken Angel, sends a shiver down my spine whenever I hear it.
Excuse me, is it a bit dusty in here ... ?
1998 - Lucinda Williams "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road"
Released: June 1998 Label: Mercury Producers: Roy Bittan, Steve Earle, Ray Kennedy, Lucinda Williams
Track List:
1. "Right in Time" – 4:35
2. "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" – 4:44
3. "2 Kool 2 Be 4-gotten" – 4:42
4. "Drunken Angel" – 3:20
5. "Concrete and Barbed Wire" – 3:08
6. "Lake Charles" – 5:27
7. "Can’t Let Go" (Randy Weeks) – 3:28
8. "I Lost It" – 3:31
9. "Metal Firecracker" – 3:30
10. "Greenville" – 3:23
11. "Still I Long For Your Kiss" (Williams, Duane Jarvis) – 4:09
12. "Joy" – 4:01
13. "Jackson" – 3:42
(All tracks composed by Lucinda Williams, except where noted)
They missed out on the 95 slot but it was always going to be Radiohead for this one. 1997 was another Year Zero for me and new music (1983 & 1991 being previous epiphanous years) and OK Computer was the main reason for this.
Britpop was finally over (if it ever really started) and I began to discover some really interesting bands. OK Computer was the clear leader but Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, When I was Born For The Seventh Time, F#A#oo & Dig Me Out where close behind. What a flippin' year!
1997 - Radiohead "OK Computer"
Released: May 1997 Label: Parlophone Producer: Radiohead & Nigel Godrich
Track List:
1. "Airbag" 4:44
2. "Paranoid Android" 6:23
3. "Subterranean Homesick Alien" 4:27
4. "Exit Music (For a Film)" 4:24
5. "Let Down" 4:59
6. "Karma Police" 4:21
7. "Fitter Happier" 1:57
8. "Electioneering" 3:50
9. "Climbing Up the Walls" 4:45
10. "No Surprises" 3:48
11. "Lucky" 4:19
12. "The Tourist" 5:24
(All songs written and composed by Radiohead [Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Philip Selway, and Thom Yorke])
The second American Recordings album that didn't just put Cash back on the map, it crowned him king of all he surveyed.
I had some Johnny Cash stuff already but this album really spurred me into greater exploration of his back catalogue. There's till about 78 albums I've not heard to be honest but that's not a bad place to be.
The YouTube link is a playlist of the whole album, so, if you're short of time head straight to the track Unchained. It's my favourite.
1996 - Johnny Cash "Unchained"
Released: November 1996 Label: American Producer: Rick Rubin
Track List:
1. "Rowboat" (Beck) – 3:44 - Originally recorded by Beck for Stereopathetic Soulmanure (1994)
2. "Sea of Heartbreak" (Paul Hampton, Hal David) – 2:42 - Originally a hit single for Don Gibson (1961)
3. "Rusty Cage" (Chris Cornell) – 2:49 - Originally recorded by Soundgarden for Badmotorfinger (1991)
4. "The One Rose (That's Left in My Heart)" (Del Lyon/Lani McIntire) – 2:26 - Originally recorded in 1930 by Jimmie Rodgers, also recorded by Larry Clinton, Bing Crosby, Art Kassel (all 3 in 1937), George Morgan, Hank Snow, and Michael Nesmith (1970)
5. "Country Boy" (Cash) – 2:31 - Originally recorded by Cash for Sun, appears on With His Hot and Blue Guitar (1957)
6. "Memories Are Made of This" (Richard Dehr/Terry Gilkyson/Frank Miller) – 2:19 - Originally a hit single by Dean Martin and The Easy Riders (1956)
7. "Spiritual" (Josh Haden) – 5:06 - Originally recorded by Spain for The Blue Moods of Spain (1995)
8. "Kneeling Drunkard's Plea" (Maybelle Carter/Anita Carter/Helen Carter/June Carter Cash) – 2:32 - Originally recorded by The Louvin Brothers for Satan Is Real (1960)
9. "Southern Accents" (Tom Petty) – 4:41 - Originally recorded by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers for Southern Accents (1985)
10. "Mean Eyed Cat" (Cash) – 2:33 - Originally recorded by Cash for Sun, appears on Sings Hank Williams (1960)
11. "Meet Me in Heaven" (Cash) – 3:21
12. "I Never Picked Cotton" (Bobby George/Charles Williams) – 2:39 - Originally recorded by Roy Clark for I Never Picked Cotton (1970)
13. "Unchained" (Jude Johnstone) – 2:51 - Later recorded by Johnstone for Coming of Age (2002)
14. "I've Been Everywhere" (Geoff Mack) – 3:17 - Originally a hit single by Lucky Starr (1959) and Hank Snow (1962)
1995 could have been Radiohead's year, I love The Bends, but then I remembered Will Oldham's best album (or at least of the ones I've heard which is probably only about 20%). I notice this is another Steve Albini recorded release too, I'm a big fan of Albini and might have to tally up how many of these choices he was involved with come the end.
1995 - Palace Brothers "Viva Last Blues"
Released: August 1995 Label: Drag City Producer: Steve Albini
