2021 - End Of The Year retrospectives

Every year about this time, I buy the music magazines for their "Best Of The Year" retrospectives. It used to be MOJO, UNCUT, Q, and Classic Rock. Then Q kicked the bucket sometime in the beginning of the pandemic. Classic Rock  stopped giving away CD's. The new issue is out but I don't think I'll buy it this year, because without the free CD it's just not worth €12 any more. But I thought I'll present their Best Of 2021 List anyway - they're interesting to me because they're so different from the rest of the music press. I mean, Iron Maiden on Number 1? In 2021? Seriously? On the other hand... duh! For some people out there, there's no choice more obvious! Certainly more obvious than MOJO's Number 1 (and Uncut's No.2) Promises by Pharoah Sanders and Floating Points. I mean, what's that? When these magazines reviewed this album, they gave it 4* (Mojo) and 3,5* (Uncut). How come they bypassed all the 5* records, and chose this one? I think what happened is that the editor of MOJO thought he'd show his subordinates how original he is by choosing a jazz record for album of the year while they're hard at work trying to think up something new to write about Dylan, The Beatles, or The Stones (who together account for 70% of the magazine's articles). Then the editor of Uncut thought "what the hell? I can be a stuck up snob, too!" and put the same album on number 2 - because it's Uncut, and obviously it has to have an Americana artist on number 1 (Weather Station's Ignorance, in this case). Don't get me wrong - I love jazz. I listened to "Movement 1" from this album (both publications featured it in this month's covermount CD), and it's fantastic for falling asleep to. Then I played the whole album in my dental practice, and none of my patients noticed something was playing - isn't that the very definition of ambient music? For this one, think Brian Eno meets Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue with the strings playing the soundtrack of Lawrence Of Arabia in the background. If that sounds like really good music, let me tell you it is!  It may very well be the jazz album of the year. But it's jazz! There's no serious competition, all the great jazz musicians are dead! Except, obviously, for Pharaoh Sanders who is 81 years young. Another album highly rated by both publications was Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' Carnage. I've been a huge fan of Cave's work since the mid-80's, and there's some great material on Carnage, but can I be honest here? I think he's been relying on Ellis a bit too much for his own good. What's with all the synths lately? Bring The Bad Seeds back, please! The Coral are apparently bringing back the concept album with Coral Island. They are a good band, and the reviews have me convinced their new CD may have a place in this year's Christmas stocking. When she first appeared, I thought that Lana Del Rey was just the latest pop idol, but she has proved time and again that she's got real depth. Chemtrails Over the Country Club got good reviews. I'm sure they're well deserved, a bit less sure that I want to collect her whole discography. No matter how consistently good, she's just not one of the artists I can't get enough of. Robert Plant, with the exception of his 80's period, is. His new collaboration with Alison Krauss, Raise The Roof  made the Best-Of list of all three magazines. Other albums with a similar unanimous appreciation are Lindsey Buckingham's eponymous solo LP, David Crosby's For Free (the old hippy is on a roll, lately), The War on Drugs' I Don't Live Here Anymore, Paul Weller's Fat Pop (Volume 1) and, probably the most surprising of all, Mdou Moctar's Afrique Victime. What does it take for a poor guitarist from The Niger to find himself in the company of all these legends? huge fucking talent, that's what! The man sounds like Van Halen on one song, like John Lee Hooker on another, and like an African nomad playing a desert gathering on another (which he is, and probably does all the time). I thought of adding it to my Christmas list, but finally settled on the previous year's Optimisme by Moctar's neighbors, Timbuktu's Songhoy Blues. Lastly, Classic Rock surprises us once more by including albums by Styx(!), Thunder(!!), and Cheap Trick(!!!). Who even knew those bands still exist? I'm not surprised anymore by the addition of 90's alt-rockers like Garbage, Weezer, Manic Street Preachers, and Foo Fighters - that magazine has a warped idea of what constitutes Classic Rock.

UNCUT 75. Rose City Band - Earth Trip 74. Rosali - No Medium 73. Sleater-Kinney - Path of Wellness 72. Marianne Faithfull With Warren Ellis - She Walks In Beauty 71. Buffalo Nichols - Buffalo Nichols 70. black midi - Cavalcade 69. Dave - We're All Alone In This Together 68. Cathal Coughlan - Song of Co-Aklan 67. Lucy Dacus - Home Video 66. Sarah Davachi - Antiphonals 65. Moor Mother - Black Encyclopedia of the Air 64. Pino Palladino & Blake Mills - Notes With Attachments 63. Chris Schlarb & Chad Taylor - Time No Changes 62. Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine - A Beginner’s Mind 61. The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings 60. Grouper - Shade 59. Strand of Oaks - In Heaven 58. Big Red Machine - How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? 57. Haiku Salut - The Hill, The Light, The Ghost 56. Damon & Naomi - A Sky Record 55. LoneLady - Former Things 54. Daniel Bachman - Axacan 53. The Black Keys - Delta Kream 52. Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble - Now 51. Yasmin Williams - Urban Driftwood 50. Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham 49. Sunburned Hand Of The Man - Pick A Day To Die 48. David Crosby - For Free 47. Elephant9 - Arrival of the New Elders 46. Israel Nash - Topaz 45. Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes 44. Rhiannon Giddens With Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home 43. My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket 42. Faye Webster - I Know I'm Funny haha 41. Damon Albarn - The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows 40. Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood & Juanita 39. Squid - Bright Green Field 38. Madlib - Sound Ancestors 37. Dean Wareham - I Have Nothing to Say to the Mayor of L A 36. Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark 35. John Murry - The Stars Are God's Bullet Holes 34. Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time 33. Chuck Johnson - The Cinder Grove 32. The Hold Steady - Open Door Policy 31. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raise The Roof 30. Teenage Fanclub - Endless Arcade 29. Steve Gunn - Other You 28. Ryley Walker - Course In Fable 27. Arlo Parks - Collapsed In Sunbeams 26. Paul Weller - Fat Pop (Volume 1) 25. Jane Weaver - Flock 24. Valerie June - The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers 23. St. Vincent - Daddy's Home 22. The Coral - Coral Island 21. Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert 20. Modern Nature - Island Of Noise 19. John Grant - Boy from Michigan 18. Hiss Golden Messenger - Quietly Blowing It 17. Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg 16. Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs 15. Mogwai - As the Love Continues 14. Saint Etienne - I've Been Trying To Tell You 13. Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime 12. Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future 11. Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club 10. Richard Dawson & Circle - Henki 9. Black Country, New Road - For the first time 8. The War on Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore 7. Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview On Phenomenal Nature 6. Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince 5. SAULT - Nine 4. Low - Hey What 3. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - CARNAGE 2. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises 1. The Weather Station - Ignorance

MOJO 75. BLK JKS - Abantu/Before Humans 74. Gruff Rhys - Seeking New Gods 73. Stephen Fretwell - Busy Guy 72. Hiss Golden Messenger - Quietly Blowing It 71. Emma-Jean Thackray - Yellow 70. black midi - Cavalcade 69. Dinosaur Jr. - Sweep It Into Space 68. Loretta Lynn - Still Woman Enough 67. AC/DC - Power Up 66. Lucy Dacus - Home Video 65. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! 64. Tony Allen - There Is No End 63. Howlin' Rain - The Dharma Wheel 62. Parquet Courts - Sympathy for Life 61. Steve Gunn - Other You 60. Cedric Burnside - I Be Trying 59. Billy F Gibbons - Hardware 58. Ryley Walker - Course In Fable 57. Reigning Sound - A Little More Time with Reigning Sound 56. Lorde  53. Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood - LIVE 52. Nathan Salsburg - Psalms 51. Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2 50. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Matt Sweeney - Superwolves 49. Public Service Broadcasting - Bright Magic 48. Squid - Bright Green Field 47. Tyler, the Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST 46. Faye Webster - I Know I'm Funny haha 45. Jungle - Loving In Stereo 44. Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark 43. Damon Albarn - The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows 42. Durand Jones & The Indications - Private Space 41. Nala Sinephro - Space 1.8 40. Chrissie Hynde - Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Dylan 39. Jane Weaver - Flock 38. Saint Etienne - I've Been Trying To Tell You 37. Sturgill Simpson - Cuttin' Grass - Vol. 2 (Cowboy Arms Sessions) 36. Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend 35. The Stranglers - Dark Matters 34. Greentea Peng - MAN MADE 33. Endless Boogie - Admonitions 32. Paul McCartney - McCartney III 31. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - L.W. 30. Yola - Stan 27. Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham 26. Mogwai - As the Love Continues 25. The Black Keys - Delta Kream 24. SAULT - Nine 23. Teenage Fanclub - Endless Arcade 22. Amyl & The Sniffers - Comfort to Me 21. The Bug - Fire 20. Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime 19. David Crosby - For Free 18. Idles - CRAWLER 17. The War on Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore 16. Manic Street Preachers - The Ultra Vivid Lament 15. Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg 14. Black Country, New Road - For the first time 13. Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs 12. The Weather Station - Ignorance 11. John Grant - Boy from Michigan 10. Villagers - Fever Dreams 9. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raise The Roof 8. Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future 7. The Coral - Coral Island 6. Paul Weller - Fat Pop (Volume 1) 5. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - CARNAGE 4. Low - Hey What 3. Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club 2. St. Vincent - Daddy's Home 1. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

CLASSIC ROCK 50 MONSTER MAGNET A Better Dystopia 49 PAUL WELLER Fat Pop 48 HAWKWIND Somnia 47 VEGA Anarchy And Unity 46 DAVID CROSBY For Free 45 THE WAR ON DRUGS I Don’t Live Here Anymore 44 THE DEAD DAISIES Holy Ground 43 WEEZER Van Weezer 42 JERRY CANTRELL Brighten 41 THE STRANGLERS Dark Matters 40 THE RECORD COMPANY Play Loud 39 GARBAGE No Gods No Masters 38 DENNIS DEYOUNG 26 East Vol 2 F 37 SAMANTHA FISH Faster 36 BLACKBERRY SMOKE You Hear Georgia 35 GOJIRA Fortitude 34 AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS Comfort To Me 33 PRINCE Welcome 2 America 32 DANKO JONES Power Trio 31 BUCKCHERRY Hellbound 30 INGLORIOUS We Will Ride 29 ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS Raise The Roof 28 STYX Crash Of The Crown 27 BIFFY CLYRO The Myth Of Happily Ever After 26 MASON HILL Against The Wall 25 THE DEAD DEADS Tell Your Girls It’s Alright 24 MASTODON Hushed & Grim 23 DEEP PURPLE Turning To Crime 22 AYRON JONES Child Of The State 21 GRETA VAN FLEET The BattleAt Garden’s Gate 20 THE DUST CODA Mojo Skyline 19 MYLES KENNEDY The Ides Of March 18 MDOU MOCTAR Afrique Victime 17 THE DARKNESS Motorheart 16 WOLF ALICE Blue Weekend 15 ALICE COOPER Detroit Stories 14 THE BYSON FAMILY Kick The Traces 13 CHEAP TRICK In Another World 12 THUNDER All The Right Noises 11 BIG BIG TRAIN Common Ground 10 FOO FIGHTERS Medicine At Midnight 9 LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM Lindsey Buckingham 8 MANIC STREET PREACHERS The Ultra Vivid Lament 7 ROYAL BLOOD Typhoons 6 STEVEN WILSON The Future Bites 5 BILLY F GIBBONS Hardware 4 JOE BONAMASSA Time Clocks 3 THE WILDHEARTS 21st Century Love Songs 2 MAMMOTH WVH Mammoth WVH 1 IRON MAIDEN Senjutsu