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Your albums of the year
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Fitter Stoke
Fitter Stoke
2611 posts

Edited Dec 20, 2008, 15:14
Re: Your albums of the year
Dec 20, 2008, 15:10
For me, 2008 has been the year of Steve Winwood, the eternally-young genius providing my greatest musical thrills both live and on record. His 'Nine Lives' shows him doing what he does best: prime R&B (in the old, correct sense of that term) based songs itching with infectious licks and those perfect, perfect vocals. And he has a fabulous band backing him.

I've also really enjoyed the latest Wedding Present album proper - 'El Rey' - and its sister mini-album 'How The West Was Won'. Okay, so those guitars might not blister as before, but they still deliver a punch and hey, David Gedge is pushing fifty. More importantly, there's an increased subtlety and hidden power to his songs these days that really slays me. Great stuff.

Ian Gillan released a fine double live album this year in 'Live in Anaheim', a selection of mostly forgotten songs from his IGB, Gillan and Purple years performed by a superb scratch band occasionally augmented by esteemed guests like Jeff Healey (RIP), Ronnie Dio and Lars Ulrich. The man himself mightn't quite have the chops and range of his twenties (how could he?) but the enthusiasm, love and good humour evident in every track more than compensates. To be honest, I'd far rather this than the technically slick but often cold and soulless products that have come out under the Purple name in recent years.

Another old rocker really did exactly what was said on the tin in 'Along Came A Spider', wherein Alice Cooper returned to the epic psycho-concept album format that helped make his name all those decades ago - and in style. There's an impressive array of musical styles and thrills on this record. Hope he tours it next year;

Van der Graaf Generator made a very low-key (in the context of unpromoted) return with 'Trisector', a real slow-burner of an album with an impressively contemporary - even commercial (!) - edge, with short, punchy songs taking the place of the symphonic epics of yore. I was less than impressed at first, but every time I've returned to this record more of its charms have been revealed.

Compilation wise, I love the new Kinks box as much for for educating me in the hidden joys of the band's unsung 70's and 80's output as the obvious genius of the 60's stuff, and really enjoyed Barclay James Harvest's 'After The Day' collection of Radio 1 sessions.

Stand-out classical releases for me were Andrew Manze's refreshingly pointed and dynamic 'Eroica', John Eliot Gardiner's imaginative juxtaposition of Brahms first symphony with lesser known choral works by Brahms and Mendelssohn, and the finest recording of Brahms' lovely Horn Trio I've ever heard by Isabelle Faust, Teunis van der Zwart and Alexander Melnikov. All are available as cheap downloads from eMusic if you're curious.

All told, not a bad year.
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Your albums of the year (shanshee_allures)
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