Best Music of 2012 - The Compilation CD

At this time of year it is traditional among a group of friends to each compile and share CDs of what we consider to be the best music of the past year. Despite the fact that we share similar tastes in music, it is surprising how much variation there can be on the discs and I look forward to receiving them as I often discover something new that I have overlooked myself.

Anyway, here is my tracklist for 2012.

1. Ships - Anais Mitchell
2. Ice Age - Dr John
3. Jesus etc. - Bill Fay
4. Hold On - Alabama Shakes
5. Time - The Mastersons
6. Missing Pieces - Jack White
7. Crazy to Love You - Leonard Cohen
8. Sure 'nuff 'N Yes I Do - Ralph Stanley
9. Church Falling Down - Little Feat
10. Jonathan - Fiona Apple
11. Banker Bets, Banker Wins - Ian Anderson
12. Ghosts That We Knew - Mumford & Sons
13. Can't Make Me Run - Alejandro Escovedo
14. Mosaic - Patti Smith
15. Goatlord - Goat
16. Puerto - Calexico
17. Come Back Little Star - Patterson Hood
18. Wide River To Cross - Diana Krall

For 2013, I believe there will be a new album from Richard Thompson and I already have my ticket to see him live in March. I am of course looking forward to the Family reunion gig at Shepherd's Bush Empire in February and I also have a ticket to see Neil Young & Crazy Horse when they play Newcastle in June. What a night that will be!

I am sure there will be plenty of other goodies also, both on record and in the form of live events. Here's wishing you all the very best for 2013.

Keep on rocking.

Best Albums of 2012 - My Top 3

And so we come to my choice of the best three albums of 2012.
In traditional fashion, I shall present them in reverse order.

3. Bill Fay - 'Life is People'
Read here what I wrote earlier this month - http://eddie-graham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/bill-fay-life-is-people.html

A wonderful follow-up album released 40 years after its predecessor!

2. Goat - 'World Music'
I don't recall how I came to hear of this band but I was intrigued by the story that surrounds them. It is alleged that they stem from a collective of townsfolk from the village of Korpilombolo in the north west of Sweden. Wearing masks on stage, they shun individual attention but prefer to focus on the songs rather than the song sources. The village itself is alleged to have been visited by a travelling witch doctor several hundred years ago and ever since has had strong connections with voodoo.
I'm not sure I hold with all of that but what I do know is that this album slowly sucked me in until I found myself totally hooked. Described elsewhere as a cross between Can, Faust, Spacemen 3, Fairport Convention, Fela Kuti and the Edgar Broughton Band they are clearly very difficult to define. The opening track the instrumental 'Diarabi' begins hesitantly but finds its groove with a repetitive guitar phrase picked up by the other instruments until it ends in a squeal of feedback leaving just the drums to take the song to it's conclusion.
Several tracks feature a female (?) singer with a voice that is again difficult to categorise. Part Poly Styrene (X-Ray Spex), part Renate Knaup-Krotenschwanz (Amon Duul II) and part Bjork (Bjork) she howls and wails her way through the lyrics. It takes a few listens but soon becomes quite mesmerising.
'Let it Bleed' strikes me as having a Velvet Underground guitar influence but soon evolves into something more akin to Tinariwen. Then a honking sax turns it into something different again.
The most commercial song (if such a thing exists on this album) is 'Run to Your Mama' which starts off with thunderous Black Sabbath-like chords and continues over an insistent beat. There are three songs with a goat theme - 'Goatman', 'Goathead' and 'Goatlord' but each is very different from it's predecessor. Maybe the band just have a thing about goats. The middle of these songs has a driving rhythm, a fuzzy bass and strident guitar parts including Hendrix-like feedback, then suddenly it turns into a sublime version of the melody played on a lone acoustic guitar over the sound of waves crashing on a shore.
On first hearing I never dreamt that this album would end in my top three but there you go. It just goes to show that persistence pays off. I will be fascinated to hear what this lot come up with next time around.



1. Anais Mitchell - 'Young Man in America'
I first wrote about this album back in May and you can read it here - http://eddie-graham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/anais-mitchell-young-man-in-america.html

Since then, as promised, I have fully explored her back catalogue and it reaffirms my opinion that Ms Mitchell is a major talent who has progressed steadily with each piece of work released. Part of me wonders when the rest of the world will catch on to the fact that she is a sensational songwriter though there is also a selfish part of me that hopes this never happens or I will be unable to see her live again at intimate little venues such as Newcastle's Cluny 2 where I saw her in June.
In my view this album is the best of the year - no contest!

So that's my list. I'd love to hear your own views.

Just one more post to come before the start of 2013.

Best Albums of 2012 - The Contenders

It's always fun to look back over the past year and consider which have been the best new albums released in that period. I say new albums because of course, reissues, of which there are many these days, do not count.

I should say at the outset that I have not heard every album that has been issued in 2012, so the following are merely my favourites of those I have listened to. I confess to having had a sneaky look at some of the other lists that have begun appearing on the 'net, just to see how some of my own favourites have fared elsewhere. I see that there are a number of albums that seem to feature heavily in the other lists, but as I have not had time to listen to them, they will not appear here. These include 'Channel Orange' by Frank Ocean, 'Love This Giant' by David Byrne & St Vincent and 'Allelujah, Don't Bend, Ascend' by Godspeed You, Black Emperor. I have listened to 'Lonerism' by Tame Impala and I'm afraid it left me cold while the debut album by Jake Bugg sounds promising but I have not had the chance to give it sufficient attention to feature on my list. I may regret this in time but I guess that's the way of the world. There are just not enough hours in the day to listen to everything.

So, to the records that might have made my top three but failed to do so. Nevertheless they are all fine albums.

Bruce Springsteen - 'Wrecking Ball'
I was fortunate enough to see Bruce live twice during 2012. Obviously he performed quite a number of songs from his latest album but for me they were not as strong as many of his past songs. These days he is hard to beat as a live act but this album would fall way down my list this year.

Bob Dylan - 'Tempest'
To be honest I had almost given up on Bob. I last saw him live in 2004 and my anticipation of new albums diminished to such an extent that I was almost apathetic towards the release of 'Tempest'. Imagine my surprise when I found myself listening to it almost non stop for a three or four week period after its release. 'Long and Wasted Years', 'Pay in Blood', 'Scarlet Town' and 'Tin Angel' are among the best songs he has written for many years and what voice he has left is used to good effect on most of this album. So why doesn't it feature in my top three? Two reasons! One it is too long and two, the fourteen minute title song and the following 'Roll on John' are total rubbish. Remove these two songs and the remaining 45 minute album is a pleasure to listen to and might have been pushing for a place in my top three.

Patti Smith - 'Banga'
It's great to have Patti back writing terrific songs and sounding in superb voice. What more can I say other than that more people should have bought this album?

Little Feat - 'Rooster Rag'
In my view, this is their best effort since 1979. Read more about it here - http://eddie-graham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/little-feat-rooster-rag.html

The Decemberists - 'We All Raise Our Voices to the Air'
The only live album to feature on my list but they are currently one of my favourite bands. Read more here - http://eddie-graham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/decemberists-we-all-raise-our-voices-to.html

Neil Young - 'Psychedelic Pill'
Following on from the 'rehearsal tapes' that made up 'Americana' Neil Young & Crazy Horse gave us the real thing with this double album. Soundwise, you know what you are going to get when Young saddles up the Horse, but what lets this album down somewhat is the quality of some of the songwriting. 'Ramada Inn' is lovely but is countered by the 26 minute long opening track 'Driftin' Back' in which Young rambles on about a number of issues including the sound of digitised music and wanting to get a hip-hop haircut. 'Nuff said!

Fiona Apple - 'The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do'
What kind of title is that? Let's just call it 'The Idler Wheel' shall we?
I confess that I came to Ms, Apple cold this year, not having heard any of her previous stuff.
Having said that, I will now be seeking out some of her back catalogue because this album has knocked me sideways. It is certainly not easy listening and requires a bit of perseverance but it is worth the effort. Comparisons must be made with Tori Amos.
So why is it not in my top three? Purely because it is an album that, like fine wine, needs to be given time to savour its delights and as yet I feel I have only scratched the surface. Retrospectively I may revise my opinions on this album and it could go either way.

The Alabama Shakes - 'Boys & Girls'
A very fine debut album which I wrote about in May - http://eddie-graham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/alabama-shakes.html
I can't wait to hear how they follow up this gem.

Alejandro Escovedo - 'Big Station'
When is Alejandro Escovedo going to get the recognition he so richly deserves? This is now his 11th studio album and the third to be produced by Tony Visconti who stamps his mark all over this album in the form of handclaps and female backing vocals. Co-written with another of my favourites, Chuck Prophet, there is not a weak song on the album, in fact I rate it more highly than Prophet's own 'Temple Beautiful' which was also released this year. This almost made my top three, but not quite, as we shall see.

Calexico - 'Algiers'
Yet another of my Americana favourites, Joey Burns, John Convertino and colleagues do what they do best. Relocating from their native Tucson to New Orleans to record this album, one might have expected them to come out sounding like Dr John. Not so! Despite the album title, these songs are clearly set in the California/Mexico region that gave the band their name. In my opinion the album is not quite as strong as 'Feast of Wire' or 'Carried to Dust' but it is a good album nevertheless. The deluxe version is worth getting for the bonus live disc 'Spiritoso'.

Dr John - 'Locked Down'
Having just mentioned Dr John, it is only fitting that I mention this album. Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, this album finds the band in great form and Mac Renennack in fine voice. There is not a weak song on it. Oh, and I also enjoyed seeing him live in July.

Leonard Cohen - 'Old Ideas'
Another 'oldie' who released an album this year, I feel that Cohen has outshone both Dylan and Young with this offering. Strong songs that are thankfully uncluttered by the synths that dominated some of his later albums. Beautiful female backing vocals and even some sublime Leonard Cohen guitar on 'Crazy to Love You' that harks back to his very first releases. True, I could have done with more from his touring band instead of the one meagre song on offer ('Darkness') but perhaps now I'm being picky.

Jack White - 'Blunderbuss'
Despite the fact that ex-wife Karen Elson contributes backing vocals, this album is being touted as White's 'divorce album', Certainly there are bitter feelings being put on display here, such as during my favourite track, the opening 'Missing Pieces' in which White sings "When they tell you they just can’t live without you/They ain’t lying, they’ll take pieces of you/And they’ll stand above you/And walk away". As so called 'divorce albums go, this ain't no 'Blood on the Tracks' but it's still a mighty fine album.

The Mastersons - 'Birds Fly South'
Husband and wife team Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore have really caught my eye this year. Having met at a music festival they soon found themselves both working as part of Steve Earle's backup band (The Dukes & Duchesses). Their musical pedigree suggests that they are great musicians but additionally they are both terrific singers and harmonise beautifully. A very fine debut album indeed.

Patterson Hood - 'Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance'
I wrote about this in November - http://eddie-graham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/patterson-hood-heat-lightning-rumbles.html

Among the other albums I have enjoyed this year have been:-
Ian Anderson - Thick as a Brick 2' - http://eddie-graham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/so-what-did-become-of-gerald-bostock.html
Mumford & Sons - 'Babel'
Mark Knopfler - 'Privateering'
Diana Krall - 'Glad Rag Doll'
Nick Cave & Various Artists - 'Lawless Original Soundtrack'
The Shins - 'Port of Morrow'

However for my top three albums of the year, you will have to wait until next time. Meanwhile have a very happy Christmas. See you soon.

Box Sets #5 - Family: Old Songs New songs

 

 I reported last month that a new box set featuring Family will be issued early next year to coincide with their live reunion after 40 years. Billed as the ultimate Family box set, the package will be named 'Once Upon a Time' and will contain all of their released albums plus many alternate versions and demos. For full information about the package, check out my earlier post - http://eddie-graham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/box-sets-4-family-once-upon-time.html

 

It would seem a good time therefore to have a look back at the last box set to feature this excellent band. 'Old Songs, New Songs' is essentially a four CD package although early buyers were also treated to a fifth CD of more rare material. It is not strictly accurate to refer to this as a box set as it comes in hardback book format with the CD's housed in the inside front and back covers. CD 1 is the original 'Old Songs, New Songs' album which was issued at a budget price (just under £1.50) in March 1971. This served as an opportunity for the band members to remix some of the material from their first three albums, with which they had been unhappy. Additionally it gave them the chance to include some singles and B sides that had not previously featured on albums. Incidentally the title of the album is taken from a song that appeared on the first album, but curiously is not included on this album or in the box set. I should add that some of the remixes are radically different from the original versions and include Roger Chapman singing on 'Observations From a Hill' in place of Jim King who by then had left the band.

 

 



Until the issue of this box set the album had never been released on CD and it was promised that it would only ever be available in this set. Sadly that was not to be the case and the album is now available separately and will also feature in the forthcoming box. Nevertheless, I purchased the set and had no regrets.

Disc 2 begins with a previously unreleased demo of 'Drowned in Wine' and then features four songs taken directly from the third album 'A Song For Me'. There are then another couple of demos including a lovely version of 'No Mule's Fool', followed by some unreleased live songs and material from 'Anyway'. The remaining two discs then mix live material with stuff from the final three albums. The centrepiece of the package is a 26 page book featuring an article by Pete Feenstra that is interesting but not without it's typographical errors, and finally a reproduction of an article from Issue 34 of esteemed rock magazine 'ZigZag'.

As I have said previously, I was fairly pleased with the package and had no qualms about forking out something like £30 for it. It is unfortunate that quite a lot of the material was already available on other official albums but it was worth my money to get my hands on those previously unavailable tracks. Oh I should add that I also received the bonus 5th CD which has five more demos and a clutch of live songs from a concert in Munich in November 1970. The quality of the sound on these is sub standard but to be fair the record company point this out on the cover and explain why this was not included in the box itself.

The package seems to be a bit difficult to find now though I have just seen it on Amazon.com for $150.00 so maybe it has been a decent investment. I understand that the forthcoming ultimate box set (in a real box) will be limited to 2000 copies, so perhaps that will become a collector's item in due course, but at £125, I think I will give it a miss.

Bill Fay - Life is People

I am currently listening to what I consider to be the best albums of the year in an attempt to decide upon my top three. More on this in due course but one album that is sure to make the final cut is 'Life is People' by Bill Fay.

I first became acquainted with his name through a 3 CD compilation set entitled 'Strange Pleasures: Further Sounds of the Decca Underground', which features three of his songs, one of which was the title track from his 1971 Deram album, 'Time of the Last Persecution'. I quickly sought out that album and immediately became a 'fan' of this critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful gem.

As a massive fan of American band Wilco, I was intrigued by a song performed by Jeff Tweedy during the excellent documentary DVD 'I Am Trying to Break Your Heart'. The song in question turned out to be called 'Be Not So Fearful' which was written by Fay and appeared on his first album in 1970. So what became of Bill Fay after 1971? Well, not a lot it would seem. Dropped by his record company, he did return to the studios in the 1970's but the results were not released until 2005 when 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow & Tomorrow'  appeared on a small independent label, credited to The Bill Fay Group. In the same year a wonderful collection of demos was issued entitled 'From the Bottom of an Old Grandfather Clock'. And although Fay has continued to live in London and write songs, that has been the sum of his recorded output until earlier this year.

'Life is People' is a collection of twelve songs, eleven of which were written by Fay. Comparisons have been made to Randy Newman, Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen but musically this album offers so much more. The hymnal 'The Healing Day' evokes Procol Harum while the following 'City of Dreams' begins like something from Pink Floyd. After 'The Never Ending Happening' in which Fay sounds world weary over his own beautiful piano accompaniment, the more upbeat 'This World' features Fay and Jeff Tweedy taking the lead vocals on alternate verses.

Religious themes recur throughout the album and the organ and choir on 'Be at Peace with Yourself' is almost churchlike. It seems appropriate therefore that the following track should be a cover of Jeff Tweedy's own 'Jesus etc.'. With just Fay singing the beautiful melody over block piano chords, the result is simply astonishing.

At 69 years of age, Fay is a contemporary of others who have released albums this year. Namely, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen. He has never attained their level of success and I suspect he now never will. Forty years is a very long time to wait for a follow-up album but hopefully we will not have to wait much longer for his next effort. Until it comes, I suggest you immerse yourself in this album and his meagre, but wonderful, back catalogue. I hope and trust you will not regret it.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland - Bamburgh

You will be aware of my passion for walking and this is not just confined to the summer months. Yesterday I took advantage of the cold but dry and calm conditions to accompany a group of friends on a ten mile walk from the Northumbrian village of Warenford to the historic village of Bamburgh.

The ground was frozen solid but this made walking easier and more pleasurable than some of the muddy conditions we have had in recent weeks. Three days earlier, one of our group had been walking in the region of Los Gigantes on the west coast of Tenerife and he commented that the scenery had been stunning, yet the scenery that we saw as we approached Budle Bay was in its own way, just as spectacular. The North Sea had the appearance of a lake as it stretched out before us, a glorious blue colour and as calm and flat as I can ever recall seeing it. From our viewpoint close to Bamburgh Castle Golf Course, we also saw seals basking on the nearby rocks.

Bamburgh Castle was first built during Norman times and still stands on an imposing rock overlooking the sea and the magnificent Northumbrian coastline towards The Farne Islands and Lindisfarne. As we approached, the late afternoon sun cast a beautiful orange glow an the castle walls. These were photo opportunities not to be missed.

The walk was enjoyed by all of us, as were the pints of Alnwick Amber Ale we enjoyed in the welcoming Castle Hotel afterwards. I'm now looking forward eagerly to my next walk.

 

Is Vinyl Really So Good? Are MP3's Really So Bad?

Those of you familiar with the recent out-pourings from Neil Young, will be aware of his views on the quality of modern, digital music files. In his book 'Waging Heavy Peace' and on the opening track of his album 'Psychedelic Pill', Young rages repeatedly against the quality of the sound on CDs and particularly on MP3 files. In fact he goes so far as to say that 95% of the sound is lost when recorded music is transferred to such formats.

So strongly does Young feel about this matter, that he has developed his own system for storing and playing files digitally whilst retaining the quality of the original recordings. His PONO system is due to be released next year and is said to be compatible with existing music files but will enhance the sound considerably.

Now, far be it from me to disagree with the illustrious figure of Neil Young, of whom I have been a lifelong fan. However, I just cannot believe that 95% of the sound is lost when files are transferred. In my lifetime I have purchased my music on vinyl, tape, CD (including many so called variants such as SACD) and MP3. Oh, and I have also used so called 'lossless' formats such as FLAC. I was never a huge fan of music cassette tapes although I appreciated their portability and the fact that it was possible to record music onto them, something you obviously couldn't do with vinyl. However, I generally steered clear of buying pre-recorded cassettes as I was unconvinced by the quality of the sound when compared to vinyl. Ironically, this applied particularly to the first album by Neil Young which was absolutely dreadful on cassette. The sound was muddy and Young's voice was almost buried in the mix.

When I started buying CDs in the mid 1980s I was swayed by the hype that surrounded this new way of listening to music. True some of the digital recordings were crystal clear when compared to the warmer sound of some of my vinyl albums, but at the end of the day, the only true difference between vinyl and CD lies in the longevity of the latter. Of course, that is only my opinion. You may disagree.

The emergence of MP3 files has brought about a revolution in the way we listen to music. Being so portable, it is now possible to carry around huge music collections on a wide variety of MP3 players that are available. In fact mobile phones now fulfil this function and I can now use my own mobile to play anything from my music collection wherever I happen to be. And the music is not even stored on my phone, but is held somewhere magical that is known as a 'music cloud'! What the hell???

Consequently I would say that the majority of my time spent listening to music is done so in MP3 format. I have literally tens of thousands of music files stored on my computer (and backed up on an external hard drive) and they take up no room at all. Unlike the racks of vinyl that I used to possess and the shelves of CDs that I still do.

So, we now come to the difference in the sound.

Well frankly, I can't differentiate between an MP3 file, a CD and a song on vinyl. Well actually I can usually spot the vinyl because of the distinctive surface noise. Otherwise - no difference. Possibly this might be because my ears are now 61 years old. If yours are younger, you may have an advantage over me and be able to tell MP3s from MP4s but returning to the gentleman who started me off on all of this. Neil Percival Young has a pair of ears that are six years older than mine and I suspect that standing in front of speaker stacks for much of his adult life has not left them undamaged. Yet, he dares to berate me for listening to only 5% of the sound of his 26 minute opus 'Driftin' Back'.

I look forward to hearing Young's PONO system when it does hit the streets and I will gladly revisit this subject in a post if I find myself convinced that I have been missing out. Meanwhile I will carry on listening to my MP3 files most of which sound superb to me. Anyhow, I'd love to hear what you think. Let me know.