2012 - What A Great Year !

I have enjoyed loads of new albums this year; some by established artists and some by new ones. It has been a long time since there's been so many great albums released in a year. So my "picks of the year" are :-

"Hair" (Ty Segall and White Fence) - this is full of garage-y, Beatly pop gems. The sound is raw and fuzzy, and the playing urgent and arresting. Not always easy to hear the words as the vocals are mixed back, but this wins through on songs and spirit.
"Slaughterhouse" (Ty Segall) - another top CD, this one heavier with lots of noise ! The man keeps coming out with great stuff, and there's a third CD out which I haven't heard yet...
"Temple Beautiful" (Chuck Prophet) - an album about San Francisco, the most beautiful city on earth. Each song features a strong lyric and notable playing. The vocals are full of character and there isn't a weak track. Probably gets my vote as the year's best.
"One Day I'm Going To Soar" (Dexy's) - after 27 years we finally get a follow-up to the towering "Don't Stand Me Down". If anything this surpasses it - a very coherent and committed album with a number of themes running through it. Kevin Rowland opens up more than just about anyone else in his music. Will there be another ?
"Life Is People" (Bill Fay) - another "comeback", this time after 41 years ! This is a very solemn, wise, and peaceful album. It's the sort of thing that can pull you through troubled times. There's a track on there about being thankful for what God has given you that lifts me up every time.
"Tempest" (Bob Dylan) - a deep and dark masterpiece; Bob's best since "Street Legal". The song about John Lennon gets me each time I play it. The music is raw and driving, the lyrics so sharp and real, and the vocal performance is full of expression.
"The Leaving Of London" (Bevis Frond) - his first since 2004 and his strongest since the epic "North Circular". The lyrics are bitter and incisive as usual, the melodies amongst his best, and the playing is fresh and exciting, with a minimum of the aimless sludge that he can sometimes descend into. One of his very best  albums.
"Psychedelic Pill" (Neil Young) - Jerry Garcia aside, who else would do an album of long jams this late in his career ? The whingeing about digital media on "Drifting Back" is a pain (note to Neil Young : for people who don't have the very top-grade stereo gear, digital sound is way superior to anything you could get for a similar spend with vinyl). However the playing is as arresting as ever, and you simply get lost in the inimitable Crazy Horse groove.

Three live albums recorded ages ago but only released now have also given me much pleasure :-

"Europe 72 Vol 2" (Grateful Dead) - the European tour in 1972 saw the Grateful Dead at their absolute peak. The playing is just so bright and crystal-clear, and Keith Godchaux's rippling piano runs work so well alongside Garcia, Lesh, and Weir. All the performances are very strong and focussed here; Disc 2, with "Dark Star" and "The Other One", goes to the sorts of places which only the Dead at the top of their game can reach.   
"Live At The Fillmore 1969" (The Move) - this is such a rare gem. It reveals the great Roy Wood as a blazing, lyrical guitar player. The improvisation in the middle of "Fields Of People" is one of those golden pieces of music that stops you up short whenever you hear it. It must have been incredible to see this performed. But this is also the album which shows how great a frontman Carl Wayne was, and has some moving comments on the sleeve from his widow Sue (Diane in "Crossroads", for those of you old enough to remember such things).
"Live At The Carousel Ballroom 1968" (Big Brother and the Holding Company) - Janis was the greatest singer ever, and Big Brother are such an untutored and adventurous band. James Gurley's guitar blazes in spontaneous bursts of fire. I never tire of hearing live recordings of this band as they are always so fresh and engaging. Music lost so much in the 1970s when it became "polished". Give me Big Brother or Quicksilver any time !

So 2012 has been a terrific year and rock music stays alive despite the dulling forces of post-Thatcher hyper-materialism and X-Factor shallowness. Wouldn't it be great in 2013 if people finally started fighting back against the Bankers, the Lawyers, and the oppression of global capitalism - with music at the centre of a blazing inferno of protest and idealism ! We must all WAKE UP AND FIGHT - in the meantime we've got great rock music like the albums mentioned above to keep us going.

Songs I Hate by great artists no. 1

I absolutely loathe Neil Young's song "Change Your Mind" on the "Sleeps With Angels" album. This is odd as it's a long jam with Crazy Horse and I normally lap those up. And Neil Young is just about my favourite artist of all. So why ?

Firstly, it's musically lame - it plods along with no tension or variation in either the rhythms or the soloing. The singing is soppy and insipid, with none of the bite which he normal brings to his vocals.

Secondly the subject-matter. This song is telling the listener that nothing matters in life apart from having regular sex. Well, Neil, I've got news for you - some of us have relationships and some don't. Many of those relationships don't always have a high sexual content. And many people who don't have relationships desperately wish that they could and don't want this shoved down their throats.

Thirdly the clincher - this songs has the sheer gall to tell me to "Change My Mind". It doesn't evoke anything, doesn't try to justify or persuade, it just tells me. Mr. Young - you might be a genius but you have no right to tell me that my life is not valid in some way. I happen to think that your views on God are wrong, but I'll happily listen to such atheistic ditties as "Love In Mind". Just don't tell me how to run my life.   

P.S. Psychedelic Pill is amazing, containing incredible jams and not a smug or patronising lyric to be found anywhere !