David Bowie ‘Station To Station’ - halfway through an amazingly productive decade (and midway through his biggest drug dependency), Bowie came up with this. The relatively conventional ’Golden Years’ notwithstanding, it’s even more out there than the Berlin trilogy that followed, and totally timeless. There’s nothing quite like the title track in Bowie’s entire back catalogue, or anyone else’s for that matter - and that’s only the first ten minutes of the album. I played this in the 2010 remaster which sounds awesome to my ears, alongside the ace Nassau Coliseum ’76 gig it’s packaged with. Coked up he may have been but jeez, his creative muse was even more on fire than it’d been during the Ziggy and soul years;
David Bowie ‘Hunky Dory’ - as different an album as it’s possible to imagine from the above, yet equally essential. Did Bowie ever pen a more enigmatic song than ‘The Bewlay Brothers’?
The Farm ‘Spartacus’ - God, I hadn’t played this in decades. Very much of its time in its sub-Mondays kind of way, but quite enjoyable;
Graham Parker and The Rumour ‘The Up Escalator’ - final peak-era LP by Britain’s answer to The Boss and his E Street Band, both suitably represented on this still fresh sounding release;
The Beatles ‘Rubber Soul’ - because I just have to hear this at least once a month. My desert island Fabs LP, especially in mono;
Boards Of Canada ‘Tomorrow’s Harvest’ - genuinely inventive, undefinable instrumental music;
Edgar Froese ‘Aqua’ - ditto. This is quite the equal of ‘Phaedra’ and ‘Rubycon’ (as its timeline might suggest) and better value too;
Echo and the Bunnymen S/T - their last decent album methinks, although its typically 80s production puts a synthetic edge on Pete de Freitas’ precision drumming;
Bob Dylan ‘Under The Red Sky’ - a couple of meh songs aside, I reckon this is one of the Zim’s better albums from his middle years. I dig Don Was’ production a lot, and Al Kooper’s organ is a reminder of greater times;
Paul McCartney & Wings ‘Venus and Mars’ - this has always been in the shadow of ‘Band On The Run’ but is almost as good IMO;
Peter Gabriel ‘Peter Gabriel’ (‘Scratch’) - Gabriel’s most unsung “proper” album sounds better now than it did 43 years ago, and is one of Robert Fripp’s greatest non-Crimson legacies thus far;
Keith Jarrett: Kyoto, Nov 5, 1976 (from ‘Sun Bear Concerts’) - one of my favourite Jarrett solo dates, starting and ending with beautifully lyrical motifs and, a dodgy atonal sequence beginning Part II excepted, maintaining real quality over 78 minutes. I love Jarrett’s funky vamp midway through the second half;
Keith Jarrett: Bregenz, May 28, 1981 (from ‘Concerts’) - and this is another solo cracker, this time devoid of any avant garde noodlings and particularly well recorded;
Keith Jarrett: June 4, 1994 First Set (from ‘At The Blue Note’) - cool trio date with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette. One day I’ll lash out on the whole box set;
George Adams ‘Sound Suggestions’ - semi forgotten tenor sax led ECM gem from 1979 with a stellar back up band including Kenny Wheeler (on ace form) and David Holland;
Haydn: String Quartet in A, Op.55 no.1 (Panocha Quartet) - fleet but sensitive reading of a typically lyrical Haydn quartet;
Mozart: Violin Sonatas K 377 - K 380 (Arthur Grumiaux & Walter Klien) - civilised chamber music, idiomatically rendered;
Beethoven: Symphony no.3 (BBCSO/Sir Colin Davis) - powerful and direct interpretation, newly reissued;
Beethoven: Symphonies 4 & 8 (Minneapolis SO/Antal Dorati) - old Mercury LP preserving two forgotten performances of real character. I’d love to hear this on CD;
Beethoven: Symphony no.2 (ORR/John Eliot Gardiner) - good live performance from Cadogan Hall, slightly lacking in grace but with plenty of excitement;
Beethoven: Egmont Overture (RPO/Andre Previn) - straight, reliable reading with just enough drama at the end;
Beethoven: Piano Concerto no.2 (Kristian Bezuidenhout/Freiburg Baroque/Pablo Heras-Casado) - wonderfully refreshing and vibrant account of this great early work. One of the finest Beethoven anniversary releases of last year..
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