Opeth ‘Ghost Reveries’ - no-one does the contrast between tender and (very) heavy music so devastatingly well as Opeth. And here they do it superlatively;
Muse ‘Drones’ - and what a racket this trio can nurture;
Blackberry Smoke ‘You Hear Georgia’ - which could’ve been made forty years ago, yet still sounds fresh. Hard rock and southern boogie in perfect accord;
Big Big Train ‘Common Ground’ - a bit of a mish-mash of styles this time around for the Train, with probably the most upbeat sounding song about lockdown you’ll ever hear. But the magic of their new album comes later, particularly with ‘Apollo’ and the epic ‘Atlantic Cable’;
Tangerine Dream ‘Phaedra’ - still my go-to Tangs LP, those unique and wonderful Ohr albums notwithstanding;
The Who ‘My Generation’ - not a classic debut, though it has its moments;
Lou Reed ‘Coney Island Baby’ -borne out of financial desperation as it was, there’s an element of crowd pleasing about this record but some cool stuff too: the amazing ‘Kicks’, for example;
David Crosby ‘For Free’ - I’ve said it here before: this is a fabulous album, irrespective of its creator entering his ninth decade. Do try to hear this;
Van der Graaf Generator ‘Godbluff’ (2021 remix) - maybe not as revelatory as the ‘Still Life’ revamp, but still sounding great. And what an album;
Beethoven: Symphony no.5 (Staatskapelle Dresden/Herbert Blomstedt) - excellent, powerful performance with a beautifully poised second movement, in my view the heart of this perfect symphony. You can pick up Blomstedt’s entire 1977 Dresden Beethoven cycle for just a few quid on Brilliant Classics and it’s finer than many bigger named, more expensive sets;
Shostakovich: String Quartet no.4 (Hagen Quartet) - music that stays just the right side of tonal, played with appropriate commitment by the Hagens;
Dvorak: String Quartet no.1, Op.2 (Prague String Quartet) - goes on for far too long, but has enough lyricism to hold the interest.
Thanks for reading, and keep on enjoying your music. It’s a true and faithful friend, far more so than anyone outside of one’s own mother and father can ever be. IMHO of course.
Dave x
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