Best Albums of 2014

Well I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas. I'm just catching my breath after all of the festivities and while everyone else seems to be at the sales, I at last have time to sit and ponder on the best new album releases of 2014.

I have to say, for my money it hasn't been a year of outstanding album releases. For a start there were a few disappointments which included a lacklustre album from Bruce Springsteen with the ironic title 'High Hopes'. Neil Young released not one but two albums but neither quite hit the heights of his best work. 'A Letter Home' featured some fine cover versions but was recorded in such a lo-fi way as to drastically reduce any enjoyment one might have had of listening to it. The other, 'Storytone' did feature Young's original material but sadly fell well short of what we have come to expect from him. The fact that we were presented with two versions of each song, one performed solo and the other performed in front of an orchestra or band, did little to alleviate the disappointment with the material.

Goat were a band I had high hopes for after their 2012 debut 'World Music'. Despite plaudits from a number of critics, I found the follow-up, 'Communion' to be just more of the same. I was also disappointed with '... And Star Power' from Foxygen who had impressed me greatly with last year's 'We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic'. Shame, but that gets the disappointments out of the way so we can move onto the good stuff.

The early part of the year saw the release of 'English Oceans' by the Drive-By Truckers. As I asked at the time, have they ever released a duff record? OK this may not be quite up there with their finest work but it is good to see Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley equally sharing the songwriting credits again. For some time it looked as though it might make it into my top slot.

The album 'Benji' by Mark Kozelek who operates under the moniker Sun Kil Moon was another early contender. Pitchfork were even daring enough to declare it one of the best albums of the decade so far. Heavy praise indeed! The subject matter of the album tends to be mortality so there are a few deaths to deal with but there is humour in there also. All in all it is a very fine album though fans of Sun Kil Moon don't need me to tell them that.

I was impressed with the return to form of Jack Bruce with his album 'Silver Rails' on which he was supported by several family members and friends. It was almost as if Jack was saying his goodbye and although he sounded strong on the album itself I watched a documentary about the making of the album and I thought he looked vary frail. Of course as we now know, he did not have long left with us which makes this album all the more poignant.

Another elder statesman, Leonard Cohen also returned with another fine album 'Popular Problems'. Full of bluesy themes and witty lyrics, the album carries on from where 'Old Ideas' left off which isn't a bad thing.  

Two British bands that are forging quite a reputation in the melodic jazz style are the Neil Cowley Trio and Gogo Penguin, Their respective 2014 albums, 'Touch & Flee' and 'V2.0' were very much on my playlist in a year when I have been absorbing myself in an awful lot of jazz music both old and new. Of course Ginger Baker also produced a very jazz influenced album this year with 'Why'.

I have already commented on the releases from Lucinda Williams, Jack White, Jolie Holland, Royal Blood, Robert Plant, Pere Ubu, Opeth, Ryan Adams and Anais Mitchell. Clicking any of these links will take you to my original thoughts.
They are all very enjoyable albums but you may be surprised to hear that none have made it into my own personal top 3 this year.

To find out what has, I suggest you check back here in the next few days.


 

Opeth - Pale Communion

Although Opeth have been in existence since 1990, I confess that to the best of my knowledge I have heard nothing by them. Perhaps the fact that Wikipedia describes them as a a Swedish heavy metal band has something to do with that. I may have wide ranging tastes in music but aside from the first couple of Black Sabbath albums, I have managed to steer clear of heavy metal.

Nevertheless someone suggested I may enjoy the most recent Opeth album, 'Pale Communion' and when comparisons were made with Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree I felt compelled to give it a listen. I'm pleased that I did!


It just goes to show that one should not pay too much attention to the labels that critics and others are inclined to attach to artists these days. Far from being a heavy metal band, I detect in this album shades of prog-rock, folk, jazz, blues and what I suppose could be called, new age. But there I go with the labels again. 

I understand that front man Mikael Akerfeldt has toned down his usual death metal vocals for this album and they have been replaced by a mellower sound that would not be out of place on a folk-rock album particularly on parts of, 'Moon Above, Sun Below'. This one track features some blistering rock, sublime electric guitar, almost CSNY vocal harmonies and some even more sublime nylon strung guitar. It may be almost 11 minutes long but I never get bored listening to it.

Following the rather less successful instrumental, 'Goblin' the seven minute 'River' begins with a catchy melody featuring acoustic guitars and beautiful harmonies before the whole thing takes off in a wild race between electric organ and guitar. 

Even better is 'Voice of Treason' with its hypnotic riff, synthesised strings and driving drum patterns. Then to end the album come the lush, stately strings that take us into 'Faith in Others'. In it's beauty it reminds me of the closing title track to Steven Wilson's 'The Raven That Refused To Sing'. It is gorgeous and about as far removed from death-metal as one can get.

The new direction taken by Opeth over the past couple of albums may be causing some consternation among some of their long-standing fans as they yearn for the harsher death-metal sounds, but for one I am grateful for this change in focus. There's nothing wrong with a bit of very well done prog-rock. And after all, it's only a label you know.