There are a few unintentional themes in this selection - the randomiser seems to have a thing for San Franciscan disco and hip hop. I love disco, but alas, not all disco is created equal. Once disco was shown to be a decent way to make a buck, labels were ready to find ways to… Continue reading 50 Albums: Session #43
There are three albums that we can dispatch quite quickly. Cilla Black might have been the The Beatles' favoured female singer from the mid-60s, but she sure isn't mine. This Best of compilation has her big hits on and, so far as I know, the only two anyone would want: Alfie and Anyone Who Had… Continue reading 50 Albums: Session #42
A lot of people rate Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding (1968) and there are some good reasons why. It has some classic Dylan songs, including his original version of All Along the Watchtower, I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine, I'll Be Your Baby Tonight. They're all good tracks and the album is a pleasant one.… Continue reading 50 Albums: Session #41
I'll tell you right now, more than six are going through... Normally when I start a session, I quickly appraise what's pretty much a cert to stay, to go, and what's in between - it's usually 2 and 2 and 8, or thereabouts. Even then, sometimes I'm wrong; my memory is out and I've over-estimated… Continue reading 50 Albums: Session #29
This is definitely a tougher group, although it still doesn't compare with the next session (#12). (If you look to the bottom, you'll see.) But anyway, #11 has more than the normal number of albums that count as slam dunks, and only two that count as whatever the opposite of a slam-dunk is. Of the… Continue reading 50 Albums: Session #11
In which James considers why Noir Desir's greatest record isn't on his list of 500, and blames singer Cantat.
I'm not quite sure when I became aware of David Bowie. It feels like he's been with me forever but despite my being alive and an avid Top of the Pops watcher during his 70s reign I don't have any recollection of him. My first proper memory was of the Ashes to Ashes video in… Continue reading 500 Albums #1: David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
As ever, these are my 'best', not the best. There are a LOT of great records kicking about in 1977. I'm not sure why but this was evidently a period of phenomenal creativity. Quite often, the big story is held to be the proper arrival of punk. I'm not sure how true that is, to be honest.… Continue reading Ten ‘Best’ Albums from 1977
1976 has been a weird year. Initially it seemed like it was going to be unusually weak. Since 1973, I have written up a long list. Each time, there were way more than 10 records vying for the top - often around 20. For 1976, I had about 5. I was worried. This was the… Continue reading Ten ‘Best’ Albums from 1976
10 Albums from 1972 Another very strong year (perhaps not as strong as ’71, though). One problem that I have been facing here has been what to do when an artist has a particularly fertile flurry of releases. For instance, this year marks such a patch for two artists, Stevie Wonder and Al Green. Taking… Continue reading Ten ‘Best’ Albums from 1972
James Writes Stuff 