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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 9, 2007 1:04:42 GMT 1
Rather handily, I bought exactly 75 'new' albums in 2006... and here is the order in which I would rank them. Oh the FUN.
#75 Red Hot Chili Peppers "Stadium Arcadium" Well this was awful then. At the time I thought you could get one decent album out of this 2 CD set, now I think you'd struggle to get a decent EP. 'Desecration Smile' is still my favourite and, rather handily, the next single.
#74 Seth Lakeman "Freedom Fields" This is loved by so many here that I decided to buy it also. For anyone who's thinking of doing so - please don't make the same mistake as it's DULL AS HELL.
#73 White Rose Movement "Kick" To think I thought this would be good. In retrospect, I really like 1 song in the shape of 'Love Is A Number', the rest is a shambolic mess.
#72 Christina Aguilera "Back To Basics" Oh Christina, this just didn't work did it? The first disc sounds good to start with, then you realise there's no real variety there. The second disc is... well... cheesy to say the least. I remember reading somewhere that it's like a worse version of Madonna's 'I'm Breathless' which says rather a lot.
#71 The Beatles "Love" I just think this is pointless now. Yes, The Beatles have great songs. Yes, they were legends. No, we don't need them all over again no matter how cleverly it's repackaged. Just remaster the Red and Blue albums and have done with it.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 9, 2007 1:05:29 GMT 1
#70 Nerina Pallot "Fires" This is ok for what it is, radio friendly girly stuff really. I've heard worse.
#69 Corinne Bailey Rae "Corinne Bailey Rae" 'Put Your Records On' and 'Like A Star' really were excellent, the rest however isn't.
#68 Basement Jaxx "Crazy Itch Radio" Remind me to NEVER buy a Basement Jaxx album ever again. I own all of them and they always disappoint. 'Take Me Back To Your House' is pretty much the only highlight.
#67 Shawn Colvin "These Four Walls" I usually love Shawn Colvin in a country-esque singer songwriter type of way. This was a bit disappointing though, all I can remember is that she makes shock lesbian references throughout.
#66 DJ Shadow "The Outsider" URGH. The worst type of album. One that you so want to be great, one that's not utterly awful so you listen and listen in the hope it will be great and end up disappointed every time. Buy his first two instead.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 9, 2007 1:06:04 GMT 1
#65 Placebo "Meds" I used to love Placebo back in the day, in fact 'Without You I'm Nothing' is still a great album. This is good really, probably better than it ought to be considering they were labelled a one trick pony about 10 years ago!
#64 Dark Globe "Nostalgia For The Future" A bit of an impulse buy, one that took weeks to arrive from HMV.co.uk too. It wasn't really worth the wait, it's perfectly ok in a harmless kinda way. Just download 'Feed' and 'Break My World' as you really won't need the rest.
#63 The Divine Comedy "Victory For The Common Muse" Somehow Mr Hannon still remains completely and utterly underrated. You either love him or hate him, I do love him but it's nothing groundbreaking or new so finishes quite low down.
#62 A-Ha "Analogue" A-Ha really are like a better version of Coldplay at times, I kid thee not. Their last 3 albums have been really rather great and are surely the only 80s stars still making decent albums.
#61 Beth Orton "Comfort Of Strangers" This was a slight departure for Beth, it has a much more rootsy and earthy feel to it than her other work. I'd recommend downloading 'Worms' to see if you like it.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 9, 2007 1:07:15 GMT 1
#60 Lou Rhodes "Beloved One" I love Lamb so had to get the lead singer's debut album. It's good folk music really, just sounds a bit dull and unremarkable at times. The fact I know her from her days in Lamb makes me listen to this and pine for a beat to jump out. I've possibly been too harsh on it, could well be one of those albums I suddenly declare to be a work of genius in a few months time.
#59 Grandaddy "Just Like The Fambly Cat" This is the newest album in the list as I only bought it last week - well, it's all of £3 in Fopp! It's your typical Grandaddy album but that's no bad thing, could have ended higher had I had the chance to get to know it better.
#58 Outkast "Idlewild" Firstly, this is actually a GOOD position for a rap album! I prefer this to any of their previous work, 'Stankonia' and 'Speakerboxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/The Love Below' were major disappointments after their fantastic opening singles. This is really rather consistent and playful throughout.
#57 Four Tet "Remixes" This is genius. It's only so low due to it being a collection of remixes and not new work. The first disc is remixes of other people's songs by Four Tet, the second is of other people remixing his work. It's to his great credit that the first disc is by far the best.
#56 Gnarls Barkley "St Elsewhere" I've really gone off this of late. At one point I'd have given this a shot at finishing top 20 but I can't remember the last time I put it on. The singles are all excellent, the shortness of the tracks doesn't help the rest as they often finish just as they're getting started.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 9, 2007 1:08:29 GMT 1
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 9, 2007 1:10:26 GMT 1
#50 Booka Shade "Movements" - DARN HMV for not stocking it and ruining my pics! :angry: I've only had this album about a month and haven't given it many repeated listens due to trying to sort through everything and rank this list. It's decent enough though and I expect I've placed it too low. Dance music is really coming back again for me at the moment, a quick look through the top 40 shows 10 albums that could be classed loosely in that genre - you'd be hard pushed to find any last year.
#49 Be Your Own Pet "Be Your Own Pet" Good album of short, sharp rock songs that just bounce out of your speakers and hit you full on. The only slight criticism is that it could do with more variety but it shows definite promise. One for those moments of madness.
#48 Fujiya & Miyagi "Transparent Things" I realised the other week that this album has the most appalling lyrics. It had never bothered me before but it's contributed to it losing it's top 40 placing. The music DOES make up for it though, a bit like a modern day NewOrder (aren't all trendy dance bands these days?!!!) but ever so slightly more minimal, the same deadpan vocals though.
#47 Datarock "Datarock Datarock" This album is FUN. At times I feel it tries slightly too hard to be cool and a bit offbeat and obscure but about 80% of the tracks succeed. Favourite moment is the Grease rip off "Tell me more, tell me more" bits on 'Computer Camp Love'.
#46 Kathryn Williams "Leave To Remain" I have such a soft spot for this artist. She's got the most calming voice I've ever heard. Her albums are always very quiet acoustic affairs but her quirky lyrics and soft touches really come to the fore after a few plays. Love this to bits, only finishes so low due to it being a bit similar to previous albums and therefore not really a record that defined 2006 for me.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 9, 2007 1:12:41 GMT 1
#45 Stereolab "Fab Four Suture" Another band I have a real soft spot for are the criminally underrated Stereolab. They're not as good as they were in the 90s, admittedly, but they still weigh in way above most other acts. Check them out if you don't know them.
#44 Goose "Bring It On" - Not in HMV either! This album packs a punch. You should all know the 'Black Gloves' single from when I entered it in the CHCVision thing earlier in the year and it's reasonably typical of what's on offer here. Most of the tracks have a certain 'VROOOOMiness' to them and the album sounds fantastic when blasted out LOUD.
#43 Kid Koala "Your Mum's Favourite DJ" OK, this is strange - but in a good way. Reminds me of an album of DJ Shadow interludes all glued together. There's only two tracks really (the third is about 10 seconds long and has the sound of ONE cricket!), both tracks are about 15 minutes long and comprise of cuttings of dialogue to do with becoming a DJ and some rather cool brass and string samples. Definitely the most distinctive album on the list, though not for everyone.
#42 Peter Bjorn & John "Writer's Block" This is neither as good as some people make out, nor as bad as others make out. I'd say there's about six really great tracks, a couple of good ones and a couple of duds. Aside from the excellent single 'Young Folks', I'd say 'Up Against The Wall' is my favourite and would be my recommendation if you're looking for one to download.
#41 TV On The Radio "Return To Cookie Mountain" This really is very good, great lyrics, great musicianship. So why the finish just outside the top 40? Well, I can only put it down to me not quite connecting with it, I know that I KNOW the album is good, I can really appreciate it but I don't absolutely love it. Although a certain Mr Bowie makes an appearance which can only help it's cause. I expect it's one that will suddenly click with me in the future but for now it's #41.
That's the ones below the top 40 out of the way with then... Even as I type this, part of me still can't believe these 5 haven't made it.
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Post by Admin on Jan 9, 2007 9:39:36 GMT 1
Blimey, I'll comment at the end dandy.
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Post by Maximo Mark on Jan 9, 2007 16:21:19 GMT 1
#44 Goose "Bring It On" - Not in HMV either! This album packs a punch. You should all know the 'Black Gloves' single from when I entered it in the CHCVision thing earlier in the year and it's reasonably typical of what's on offer here. Most of the tracks have a certain 'VROOOOMiness' to them and the album sounds fantastic when blasted out LOUD.
You should really make sure comments are appropriate for all forums which you post this on #Canadian#
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 9, 2007 18:18:29 GMT 1
Oh haha! I didn't think about that.
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Post by Laurence on Jan 10, 2007 13:38:16 GMT 1
Really interesting read - so the Nerinal one isn't worth buying then? On C4 Teletext they had the Muse album as no.1 of the year - I kid you not! (And it's a pretty cred list overall). I hardly ever listen to it - I just don't get the hype at all.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 10, 2007 23:53:30 GMT 1
#40 Jim Noir "Tower Of Love"
Starting off the top 40 then is Jim Noir and his wistful album. I first heard of Mr Noir with his 'Key Of C' single which introduced me to his playfully simple formula as he told us 'I wanna be in the key of C, it's easier to play it...' over a simple and ever so slightly funny backing. Next came 'My Patch' as he stormed onto the stereo with the playful threat of 'If you ever step on my patch... I'll bring you down, I'l bring you down!' If you've heard these singles, the rest is on par with it really, just good acoustica fun.
#39 Trentemøller "The Last Resort"
This is still a relatively new purchase for me but it's yet another one of a clutch of really decent dance albums this year. Opening track 'Take Me Into Your Skin' is frankly one of my favourite dance tracks ever made and paves the way for a spellbindingly beautiful and subtly rather edgy album. Another I've possibly placed too low but take it's #39 placing as a show of 2006's quality.
#38 Damien Rice "9"
OK, the first one in the top 40 that some would possibly expect to be higher. I really DO like this but, without the unique elements of his debut (opera singing anyone?!!!), it doesn't really stand out from the crowd as clearly. Opening track and opening single '9 Crimes' is quite possibly his finest moment to date and, tellingly, it's the only one to give Lisa Hannigan such a starring role. She really is an asset that's been sorely underused on this record. 'The Animals Were Gone' is another highlight and does have a bit of a trick up it's sleeve as it breaks into an all out strings finish before surprising you by breaking again into a beautiful choral ending. Only 'Me My Yolk & I' totally disappoints but there just isn't quite the same amount of standout tracks either.
#37 Primal Scream "Riot City Blues"
This was a rather unexpected album. After three albums of forward thinking electro-punk, Primal Scream returned to wanting to be the Rolling Stones - but, who cares, it made for quite possibly their most consistent album ever. From the rollicking 'Country Girl' onwards, this is an album of ten high quality and darn right fun rock & roll songs. My favourite tracks would probably be 'Dolls', 'The 99th Floor' and the epic 'Little Death'.
#36 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah"
Tipped to be HUGE in 2006... yet somehow not. This is an album I've been going back to a lot of late after initially dismissing it at the beginning of the year. Without meaning to sound harsh on the guy, it was all entirely down to the vocals too as I just found them too whiny and repetitive to bare. Now however I've gone full circle and think they are great - the songs themselves have also grown with 'Is This Love?', 'In This Home On Ice', 'The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth' and 'Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood' being particular favourites.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 10, 2007 23:56:22 GMT 1
Really interesting read - so the Nerinal one isn't worth buying then? On C4 Teletext they had the Muse album as no.1 of the year - I kid you not! (And it's a pretty cred list overall). I hardly ever listen to it - I just don't get the hype at all. The Nerina one is exactly what you'd expect from the singles - not bad but hardly fantastic! As for the teletext rundown, I was disappointed with it... the Muse album is certainly not the best of the year (as you can tell from the #54 before it!) and I thought it was horridly mainstream and untypical of them to choose it. Although kudos for their #2 album if you can remember what it was.
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Post by Laurence on Jan 12, 2007 10:26:47 GMT 1
No idea - Joan of Policewoman or something?
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 12, 2007 12:44:57 GMT 1
You must think I'm obsessed with her! Anyway... I'll point it out when we get to it...
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Post by Laurence on Jan 16, 2007 12:57:56 GMT 1
By the way finally got round to listening to your CD last night. I love love love that Merz track 'Verily' and Joanna Newsom is fascinating. That Cerys Matthews song is surprisingly good too. Will definitley keep playing it.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 16, 2007 23:18:35 GMT 1
Yay! Glad you liked it, Mo seemed to prefer the first half but suspected you'd be more into the latter songs. Talking of Cerys...
#35 Cerys Matthews "Never Said Goodbye"
I've not really paid attention to Ms Matthews since Catatonia split up but this album brought her quite firmly into focus again. It's a very solid album with every track showing Cerys showing she's developed since her early days (the voice seems less grating now for starters) into a traditional folkster with the odd splash of modern beats or unusual string breakdowns. It's a really coherant album that deserved to give her more success than it did.
#34 Boris "Pink"
This wouldn't usually be my thing at all but I decided to buy it after seeing an interesting review on one of the blog sites. I guess you'd call it metal music... There's a lot of fuzzy distortion and loud guitars - which I would usually shy away from and leave it to the beardy blokes in the local rock pub - but there's something that just works on this for me, trouble is I have no idea what. I'm tempted to say it's because it's by an obscure Japanese band and I may be right... 'Blackout' is my favourite track, it's all noise but it's the sound of something making it's way slowly across a vacant landscape. Urm, I can't describe this that well can I? I may put something in g-mail instead and you can describe it for me!
#33 Scissor Sisters "Ta-Dah"
From one metal band to another... no that wasn't the link... urm from one album called 'Pink' to one pink kinda group. Here's my beloved Scissor Sisters. #33 seems really rather low for the follow up album from my favourite band of 3 years ago but, despite my initial love, it's not really as good as the debut. It's still better than a lot of people are making out with 'IDFLD', 'She's My Man', 'Other Side', 'Intermission', 'Lights' and especially 'Kiss You Off' being highlights. The trouble is that in the job of following a near perfect pop album, it was always destined to fail.
#32 Jason Mraz "Mr A-Z"
I have Strebbers to thank for this one, he kept sending me mp3s until I decided to relent and purchase! Opener 'Life Is Wonderful' is really rather stunning, despite it's cheesy "la la la la la la la life is wonderful" chorus - there's one bit in particular that is great where the backing drops away only to come back like a wave of beautiful noise, it's kinda breathtaking. The first half of the album is the best, 'Wordplay' is an awfully poppy thing for me to like while 'Geek In The Pink' reminds me of Paula Abdul's 'Straight Up'. I succumb, it's great...
#31 Merz "Loveheart"
Got this for a fiver in Fopp and it was a great impulse buy. It reminds me of David Bowie as the almost forced vocals pine over some beautiful acoustic backdrops. 'Verily' was my favourite thing on it as the vocals intertwined with a harp before dropping away into an echoey void, all rather lovely. A very consistent album again, recommended if you ever see it cheap.
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Post by Chris on Jan 16, 2007 23:34:49 GMT 1
Interested to see this Dandy but only just noticed it.Hope we won't have to wait too long for the rest.I prefer Eyes Open to Final Straw by a mile.Have to agree about Scissor Sisters though,their debut was great,near perfect.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 16, 2007 23:46:49 GMT 1
#30 Pet Shop Boys "Fundamental"
This was rather a flop then, despite being a really solid pop album containing some of their best ever work. 'Minimal', 'The Sodom & Gemorrah Show' and the criminally unreleased 'Integral' (which I am convinced Elliot would LOVE) are two of the best pop songs I heard last year. The latter is the album standout really and harks back to their synthpop days with great style. It's been in the sales for as little as £3 at times and it somehow stalled on silver status, ah well.
#29 Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Show Your Bones"
This is mainly about the singles for me but it's certainly an improvement upon their debut album. 'Gold Lion' was a great first single that made me like them for the first time, subsequent singles 'Turn Into' and 'Cheated Hearts' were also great and are the highs of the album really. Still, Karen O is a decent frontwoman and the album oozes her personality, one I've returned to a fair bit in 2006.
#28 Camera Obscura "Let's Get Out Of This Country"
Firstly, the title track to this is one of the best kept secrets of 2006, a brilliant slice of Belle & Sebastian-esque pop/folk. Secondly, the album is one of the best kept secrets of 2006, a brilliant slice of Belle & Sebastian-esque pop/folk. Good stuff throughout really, quirky, calming and upbeat at the same time, you really should investigate them further...
#27 Jarvis "The Jarvis Cocker Record"
Decent return for the ex-Pulp front man. To me it sounds like the quieter moments on the 'This Is Hardcore' lp, conveniently always my favourite type of Pulp song. Politacally and socially observant as ever, Cocker struts his stuff through potential classics such as 'Fat Children' 'Baby's Coming Back To Me' and current single 'Don't Let Him Waste Your Time'. Could potentially have finished higher but I only bought it in December...
#26 Ladyfuzz "Kerfuffle"
This album is just plain fun and deserved bigger things really. A handful of great catchy singles ('Bouncy Ball', 'Oh Marie!' and the title track 'Kerfuffle' - mixed for the single though) and a lot of quirky tracks ('Hold Up', 'Staple Gun', 'Immer Diese Liebe' etc) make for a really memorable listen. Good stuff.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Jan 17, 2007 0:17:46 GMT 1
#25 Islands "Return To The Sea"
"Rough Gem" was one of the best singles released last year, a brilliant pop song. The parent album is varied in terms of style with many tracks being more sprawling than the 3 minute single. 'Swans' opens the album in epic style and it flows taking the fun 'Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby', the rap interlude of 'Where There's A Will, There's A Whalebone' and the appropriately titled 'Jogging Gorgeous Summer' along the way amongst the more typical 5 minute epics like 'Humans' and 'Volcanoes'. It's a playful album but one that takes a fair few listens to fully appreciate.
#24 Gotan Project "Lunatico"
I was rather surprised to see this as Elliot's album of the year, not because it's not a great dance album but because it's a rather sophisticated wine bar type of dance album ( ). It may be the French side of me coming out but this album makes me feel strangely at home when I listen to it, the typical vocal samples over stereotypical French street music set to modern dance beats, all rather lovely. It ranks as my 6th favourite dance album of last year...
#23 CSS "Cansei De Ser Sexy"
I was debating whether CSS were getting too cool for their own good when I last had the album on. They write about trivial and pointless things set to arty backgrounds, almost as though they're poking fun at the vacuous nature of the whole art and music culture - but does that in itself make the album have a meaning after all, ARGH?!!! No matter how much it messes with my head, it's a good album and one with many potential hits aside from the obvious singles of 'Alala' and 'Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above'.
#22 Juliette & The Licks "Four On The Floor"
You know I didn't realise this was Juliette Lewis until just recently, probably a good thing or I'd possibly never have bothered buying the album one rain soaked Monday lunchtime. The girl can't half rock, all ten tracks here are really rather fantastic and the pace doesn't let up for even a second - if you liked the singles so far, you'll love it. I'd say investigate 'Pergatory Blues' and 'Bullshit King' next and then BUY BUY BUY! (Especially as it's so darn cheap everywhere at the moment...)
#21 Herbert "Scale"
I've loved everything this guy's ever produced, one of my all time favourite dance artists. He specialises in making tracks entirely from unusual samples, he's used things like food, body parts etc before but on this one he's used a wide variety of things people would usually use in the process of recording an album - he's tapped on cars, microphones, cassettes, screws, hot air balloons(!) and loads of other stuff to make yet another fantastic experience. The good thing is that they still sound like songs, very soulful songs at that too as Dani Siciliano purs her way over yet another of his albums. Again, recommended to anyone who wants to try something a bit more unusual.
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