2016 end-of-the-year lists

There's a right time for end-of-the-year reviews, and that's December, so why post this this now? I guess because this isn't an end-of-the-year review. How could it be? I've bought maybe 10 new records (and about 150 old ones) this year, and listened to maybe 20 more - not enough for me to make such a list. But I do buy the music papers for their year retrospectives. Last December I bought these four, so I thought I'd publish their Top-50 lists and my thoughts on them. My first impression from comparing these 4 lists is that, judging from the critics' choices, Bowie's "Blackstar" must be head and shoulders above the competition - but is this really true? IMO "Blackstar" is intellectual, emotional and original, a worthy epilogue to an unparallelled musical career. On the other hand, it's a rather difficult album which I doubt we'll often be playing a few years from now - so its unanimous top position is probably an emotional reaction to the sudden passing of one of the greatest pop/rock musicians ever. Another recently departed musical giant was Leonard Cohen whose last album "You Want It Darker" also found itself high in the lists - but then again, the same happened with his 2 previous albums. One may argue that everybody expected each of them to be his last, so maybe these were also emotional choices. But there's no denying "Darker" was, like its immediate predecessors, terrific: poignant poetry, excellent orchestration, and that raspy yet warm and soothing voice...an album every bit as good as his early material. An artist I was very glad to see featuring high in the lists was Iggy Pop. "Post Pop Depression" even deposed Bowie from the top position of Classic Rock's list, thanks to QOTSA's Josh Homme who took over as musical director. Not that Iggy's material wasn't good by itself, but he evidently needs someone to play the role that Bowie did for him in his Berlin period. I'm glad for Iggy 'cause I like him - and who doesn't? he's such a sweet and goofy character, even in his crazy drugged days all that violence was turned inward, hurting mostly himself. Another favourite of mine who made an excellent album last year was P.J.Harvey. She's about my age and through the years it's been great to watch her try out new things and evolve. Her "Hope Six Demolition Project" is a mix of music, poetry and journalism - a bit precious maybe, but it's nice to see someone tackle the big issues without ever becoming too self-important to give attention to the music - which Neil Young has been doing of late. See any Neil Young in these lists? No? Now you know why. Another singer of my generation, Antony (formerly of The Johnsons), reinvented him/herself as Anohni adopting a different, more electronic, sound for "Hopelessness". After a string of beautiful but somewhat samey albums, his/her (complicated this trans-gender thing) voice stops being so impressive, so a change seemed necessary - though I'm still not totally convinced that I should add "Hopelessness" to my collection. The discussion on Nick Cave's "Skeleton Tree" has been dominated by the accidental death of his son. Understandable, given its sombre and dramatic character, though most of it was written before his personal tragedy - and anyway Cave has never been anything if not somber and dramatic. For me it's slightly inferior to his previous one, but still outstanding. Cave is probably the last of the great ones, a poet/ musician/rocker of the calibre of Cohen or Dylan. Speaking of whom, I'm surprised by how little was made of Dylan winning the Nobel prize for literature. The man himself may have chosen to underplay it, but I expected it to be cause for celebration, a recognition for songwriters in general. Meanwhile he just released "Fallen Angels", his third album of classic standards in a row. If I didn't know better I'd worry his creative well is running dry. Radiohead released another well-received album this year, with a minimum of fanfare and promotion. 20 years ago it seemed they would become huge, the successors of classic rock titans like Pink Floyd.  Instead they left the big hooks and stadium shows to imitators like Muse and Coldplay, and embarked on an experimental low-profile journey. "A Moon Shaped Pool" sounds like they've at last stopped sabotaging themselves. I may be wrong but it seems like they're slowly reclaiming their place at the top while carefully holding on to their "artistic integrity". All the critics had nice things to say for the albums of the two sisters, Beyoncé and Solange. As far as I know I haven't heard any of them, and will not. In my universe R&B means Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye - names like Rihanna or Beyoncé ring a bell, but that's about it. Up to now, Iggy excepted, there's a notable lack of Rock in these lists, which is a shame. Thank god we have Classic Rock (CR) to redress the balance. For this magazine there's no such a thing as a guilty pleasure, and loud guitars don't have to be ironic post-something. So they keep supporting bands like Blackberry Smoke, Rival Sons and Blues Pills. I get it, especially in the case of the latter who I think are unfairly snubbed by the music press because of their frontwoman Elin Larsson. The world just isn't a fair place for 20-something blond Scandinavian chicks - if she was African-American, bespecatcled and chubby like The Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard, her band might have broken out of the CR ghetto. The Rolling Stones' Blue & Lonesome generally got positive reviews but only features on one list. Wanna bet it'd be No.1 if Keith Richards had died instead of Bowie? Looking at the CR list, one gets the idea it must have been a great year for Prog Rock: Marillion, Steven Wilson, Opeth, Dream Theater etc figure on their Top 50, despite passing unnoticed by the other magazines. Same with new albums from the likes of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Van Morrison, Heart, Cheap Trick. Guess that's why it's called Classic Rock, dah...

UNCUT 

1. David Bowie – Blackstar ★ 2. Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool ★ 3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree ★ 4. Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker ★ 5. Ryley Walker – Golden Sings That Have Been Sung ★ 6. PJ Harvey – The Hope Six Demolition Project ★ 7. Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide To Earth ★ 8. Anohni – Hopelessness ★ 9. Teenage Fanclub – Here ★ 10. Beyoncé – Lemonade ★ 11. Thee Oh Sees – A Weird Exits ★ 12. Brian Eno – The Ship ★ 13. Drive-By Truckers – American Band ★ 14. Bon Iver – 22, A Million ★ 15. Wilco – Schmilco ★ 16. Hiss Golden Messenger – Heart Like A Levee ★ 17. Cavern Of Anti-Matter – Void Beats/Invocation Trex ★ 18. Solange – A Seat At The Table ★ 19. Lambchop – Flotus ★ 20. Angel Olsen – My Woman ★ 21. William Tyler – Modern Country ★ 22. The Avalanches – Wildflower ★ 23. Margo Price – Midwest Farmer’s Daughter ★ 24. Paul Simon – Stranger To Stranger ★ 25. Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression ★ 26. Cate Le Bon – Crab Day ★ 27. Shirley Collins – Lodestar ★ 28. Case/Lang/Veirs – Case/Lang/Veirs ★ 29. Kendrick Lamar – untitled unmastered ★ 30. Frank Ocean – Blonde ★ 31. Cass McCombs – Mangy Love ★ 32. 75 Dollar Bill – Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock ★ 33. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity ★ 34. Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts Of Highway 20 ★ 35. Eleanor Friedberger – New View ★ 36. Jenny Hval – Blood Bitch ★ 37. Tim Hecker – Love Streams ★ 38. Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band – The Rarity Of Experience ★ 39. Shovels & Rope – Little Seeds ★ 40. Let’s Eat Grandma – I, Gemini ★ 41. Anna Meredith – Varmints ★ 42. Brigid Mae Power – Brigid Mae Power ★ 43. Róisín Murphy – Take Her Up To Monto ★ 44. Okkervil River – Away ★ 45. King – We Are King ★ 46. Swans – The Glowing Man ★ 47. Handsome Family – Unseen ★ 48. Skepta – Konnichiwa ★ 49. Christine And The Queens – Chaleur Humaine ★ 50. Kevin Morby – Singing Saw

MOJO

1. David Bowie - Blackstar ★ 2. Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate ★ 3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree ★ 4. Lambchop - FLOTUS ★ 5. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker ★ 6. Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression ★ 7. Frank Ocean - Blonde ★ 8. Paul Simon - Stranger to Stranger ★ 9. PJ Harvey - The Hope Six Demolition Project ★ 10. Heron Oblivion - Heron Oblivion ★ 11. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool ★ 12. Beyoncé - Lemonade ★ 13. Teenage Fanclub - Here ★ 14. Charles Bradley - Changes ★ 15. The Cult - Hidden City ★ 16. Bon Iver - 22, A Million ★ 17. Dinosaur Jr. - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not ★ 18. Syd Arthur - Apricity ★ 19. Modern Studies - Swell To Great ★ 20. Bob Dylan - Fallen Angels ★ 21. Ryley Walker - Golden Sings That Have Been Sung ★ 22. Solange - A Seat at the Table ★ 23. Kevin Morby - Singing Saw ★ 24. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial ★ 25. Skepta - Konnichiwa ★ 26. Cass McCombs - Mangy Love ★ 27. case/lang/veirs - case/lang/veirs ★ 28. Angel Olsen - My Woman ★ 29. Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits ★ 30. The Monkees - Good Times! ★ 31. Fat White Family - Songs for Our Mothers ★ 33. Suede - Night Thoughts ★ 34. David Crosby - Lighthouse ★ 35. Field Music - commontime ★ 36. Wilco - Schmilco ★ 37. James Blake - The Colour in Anything ★ 38. William Bell - This Is Where I Live ★ 39. White Denim - Stiff ★ 40. Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book ★ 41 Steve Gunn - Eyes on the Lines ★ 42. ANOHNI - Hopelessness ★ 43. Bitchin Bajas & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties ★ 44. Meilyr Jones - 2013 ★ 45. Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered. ★ 46. Christine and the Queens - Chaleur Humaine ★ 47. Van Morrison - Keep Me Singing ★ 48. The Comet Is Coming - Channel the Spirits ★ 49. Nada Surf - You Know Who You Are ★ 50. The Divine Comedy - Foreverland

Q MAGAZINE

1. David Bowie - Blackstar ★ 2. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker ★ 3. PJ Harvey - The Hope Six Demolition Project ★ 4. A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service ★ 5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree ★ 6. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool ★ 7. Cass McCombs - Mangy Love ★ 8. Angel Olsen - My Woman ★ 9. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It ★ 10. Christine and the Queens - Chaleur Humaine ★ 11. Skepta - Konnichiwa ★ 12. GOAT - Requiem ★ 13. Beyoncé - Lemonade ★ 14. Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate ★ 15. Dexys - Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul ★ 16. Cate Le Bon - Crab Day ★ 17. Frank Ocean - Blonde ★ 18. The Avalanches - Wildflower ★ 19. Parquet Courts - Human Performance ★ 20. ANOHNI - Hopelessness ★ 21. Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression ★ 22. Steve Mason - Meet the Humans ★ 23. Pet Shop Boys - Super ★ 24. Julia Jacklin - Don't Let the Kids Win ★ 25. Wild Beasts - Boy King ★ 26. The Lemon Twigs - Do Hollywood ★ 27. Underworld - Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future ★ 28. Anna Meredith - Varmints ★ 29. Let's Eat Grandma - I, Gemini ★ 30. Jamie T - Trick ★  31. Kate Tempest - Let Them Eat Chaos ★ 32. Bat For Lashes - The Bride ★ 33. Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered. ★ 34. Lady Gaga - Joanne ★ 35. Savages - Adore Life ★ 36. Biffy Clyro - Ellipsis ★ 37. Brian Eno - The Ship ★ 38. Fat White Family - Songs for Our Mothers ★ 39. Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits ★ 40. Bastille - Wild World ★ 41. Kevin Morby - Singing Saw ★ 42. Solange - A Seat at the Table ★ 43. The Coral - Distance Inbetween ★ 44. The Last Shadow Puppets - Everything You've Come to Expect ★ 45. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo ★ 46. Peter Doherty - Hamburg Demonstrations ★ 47. Blossoms - Blossoms ★ 49. Richard Ashcroft - These People ★ 50. Primal Scream - Chaosmosis

CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE

1.Post Pop Depression-Iggy Pop ★ 2.Blackstar-David Bowie ★ 3.Everybody Wants-The Struts ★ 4.Fuck Everyone And Run (F E A R)-Marillion ★ 5.White Bear-The Temperance Movement ★ 6.Hollow Bones-Rival Sons ★ 7.Bury Me In My Boots-The Cadillac Three ★ 8.Blue & Lonesome-The Rolling Stones ★ 9.Solas-The Answer ★ 10.Skeleton Tree-Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds ★ 11.4 ½-Steven Wilson ★ 12.Bang, Zoom, Crazy... Hello-Cheap Trick ★ 13.Folklore-Big Big Train ★ 14.The Last Hero-Alter Bridge ★ 15.Desire's Magic Theatre-Purson ★ 16.Kentucky- Black Stone Cherry ★ 17.The Machine Stops-Hawkwind ★ 18.Mud-Whiskey Myers ★ 19.Fed To The Lions-Tax The Heat ★ 20.Lady In Gold- Blues Pills ★ 21.Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel-Chris Robinson Brotherhood ★ 22.Heart Like A Levee-Hiss Golden Messenger 23.Fingers Crossed-Ian Hunter 24.Sorceress-Opeth ★ 25.Hardwired... To Self-Destruct-Metallica ★ 26.Like An Arrow-Blackberry Smoke ★ 27.Alone-The Pretenders ★ 28.I Still Do-Eric Clapton ★ 29.The Astonishing- Dream Theater ★ 30.A Sailor's Guide To Earth-Sturgill Simpson ★ 31.Keep Me Singing-Van Morrison ★ 32.Are You Real?-Beware Of ★ 33.Here-Teenage Fanclub ★ 34.Book Of Shadows II-Zakk Wylde ★ 35.Loud Hailer-Jeff Beck ★ 36.Divides-The Virginmarys ★ 37.Weekend Man-Royal Republic ★ 38.Acid Roulette-Scorpion Child ★ 39.Femejism-Deap Vally ★ 40.Apricity-Syd Arthur ★41.Painkillers-Brian Fallon ★ 42.Welcome To Fat City-Crobot ★ 43.Ellipsis-Biffy Clyro ★ 44.Hey! Hello! Too!-Hey! Hello! ★ 45.Lemon- Ming City Rockers ★ 46.American Band-Drive-By Truckers ★ 47.Blues Of Desperation -Joe Bonamassa ★ 48.Bodacious - Purple ★ 49.Weezer (The White Album)- Weezer ★ 50.Beautiful Broken-Heart