Sunday, 8 December 2013

HERE WE GO AGAIN - IT'S TOP 40 TIME 2013



A fun part of hosting The Musical Box each week is that I get to listen to a huge range of albums across the year. Many of them of them don't pass  muster, but there is a sizeable minority that end up in the show - and then a smaller number that become an Album Of The Week. And then there are albums that slip under the radar and I only discover them weeks after release - or those which on repeated listen grow on me and start to become classics.

A weekly radio show is ephemeral - here today, gone tomorrow - but the albums persist and we like to do our bit to recognise the work that  artists have gone to in order that we can hear some great music across the year. Some say that the album is a dead thing, a beast that is dwindling away to extinction and becoming increasingly irrelevant in the digital world. But, although there are far fewer releases which end up selling millions of copies, the range and quality is just as high as ever.

And this is where The Musical Box Top Forty Albums Of 2013 comes in. Building on the success of last years' initial foray in to the world of listings and voting, here we go once again.

Your Vote Counts


I'm a great believer in keeping things simple - and also in encouraging listener input. So, as before, I've whittled down all our featured releases, be they Albums Of The Week or just single tracks that were played, and created a pool of forty potential Albums Of 2013. 

That's the hard work done.

All you need to do, is cast your vote for your choice of Album Of The Year 2013.

And it's very simple to do that:

And that's all there is to it.

Do make sure your vote is received by Midnight on Monday, December 23rd.

I'll then set the mighty Musical Box electronic brain to the task of calculating the final run down - and the full results - plus a representative track from each album - will be featured in my two festive shows on December 26th and January 2nd.
  • December 26th - 10pm - The run down between 40 and 21
  • January 2nd - 10pm - The run down between 20 and The #1 Album Of The Year
After each show, the listings will be summarised right here in The New Musical Box Blog.

No prizes - but clearly, what could some bauble be in comparison to the satisfaction gained by contributing to this magesterial musical marathon?


THE TOP 40 ALBUMS - MAKE YOUR CHOICE



These are your choices - and to avoid any sense of favourtism, I've listed them in a completely random order. 

I've also added a few "neutral" words about each album to provide a little bit of background colour, plus a relevant You Tube link so you can check them out. You may have heard them all, or just the odd few - either way, your vote is most welcome.

Right then.

Get to it!



MAZZY STAR "Seasons Of Your Day"

The comeback album for this Californian indie band, their first since 1996. With original members Hope Sandoval and David Roback at the helm, it was almost as if they hadn't been away.







JOHN GRANT "Pale Green Ghosts"

John Grant is a one-time member of the US band The Czars, and since leaving them, he's carved out a fascinating solo career. Despite his odd appearance on the cover, this is a clever and articulate set of songs - some with occasional left-field diversions.







NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS "Push The Sky Away"

Another complex and intriguing release from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, proving once again that he's one of the most thoughtful and creative musicians around. It took twelve months for Cave to write the songs - but the end result fully justifies his approach.  







SAVAGES "Silence Yourself"

Highly promising new London-based post-punk band, The Savages released this, their debut album, to much acclaim back in May and it soon reached the top 20 on the UK album charts.








JOHNNY MARR "The Messenger"

Since The Smiths feel apart in the late 1980s, guitarist Johnny Marr has been a much in-demand producer, session man and band member. This release, though, is his first solo album.








DAUGHTER "If You Leave"

London indie band formed in 2011 and this year saw the release of their debut album, "If You Leave". This followed up several EPs and earnt the band some very favourable reviews.









THE NATIONAL "Trouble Will Find Me"


A fine five-piece indie rock band from Ohio, The National's sixth album emerged in May of this year. It's already received several award nominations and will no doubt appear in a number of Best Of lists for this year.








ARCTIC MONKEYS "AM"


Quite possibly their most complete and striking album, The Arctic Monkeys confounded their critics with this year's release "AM". Full of high quality numbers, it's sold very well indeed on both sides of the Atlantic.








CAITLIN ROSE "The Stand In"

To say that Cailtin Rose is a "country singer" is to do her a dis-service: she's one of the new breed of singer-songwriters who are unafraid to use the rock idiom where needed, but to also write heartfelt songs too. Her vocals add the icing to the cake.







LAURA MARLING "Once I Was An Eagle"

Laura Marling has grown in quality and popularity over the past four years since the Hampshire-born singer-songwriter first emerged. She's recently moved to Los Angeles and has produced another great album, her fourth, which was critically acclaimed when it came out in May.







JOANNA GRUESOME "Weird Sister"

Joanna Gruesome hails from Cardiff and this year saw her debut album, Weird Sister, a fine collection of post-punk and new-wave sounds that borrows from the past but also adds a modern twist.








DAVID BOWIE "The Next Day"

The surprise release this year was the first new studio release from David Bowie in some 11 years. With barely any fanfare other than an on-line posting of the debut single, the music world went all a-flutter. The album was quite possibly his best since his Berlin days - and he's still not carried out any interviews nor offered to undertake a tour.






VAMPIRE WEEKEND "Modern Vampires Of The City"

New York indie rockers Vampire Weekend return with their third album, "Modern Vampires Of The City". It's a bit of a departure from the heavier sound of their first two releases, but it's a more cohesive collection of songs and has received almost universal critical approval.







THE BLACK ANGELS "Indigo Meadow"

Four-piece psychedelic rock outfit from Texas, The Black Angels released their fifth album back in April. They take their cues to some extent from The Velvet Underground - including the band name which was taken from the VU number The Black Angel's Death Song.

 Video: Indigo Meadow




QUEENS OF THE NEW STONE AGE "Like Clockwork"
The sixth studio release from Californian rockers Queens Of The New Stone Age - and it's an album which has sold in huge quantities this past year. It's been nominated for several awards and hit #2 on the UK album chart upon initial release.


Video: My God Is The Sun







GOLDFRAPP "Tales Of Us"

Goldfrapp returned with their first album in three years - and what a release it was for the London electronic outfit. Alison Goldfrapp is as smart as usual with her lyrics and vocals - and there's a semi-conceptual thread running throughout the album.

Video: Drew






PRIMAL SCREAM "More Light"

Glaswegian indie-rockers Primal Screamed re-merged this year with their first release since 2008's Beautiful Future. It was a real return to form for Bobby Gillespie and the band.

Video: It's Alright, It's Okay









DODSON & FOGG "The Call"
It's the fourth album in two years from Yorkshire-based latterday folk-rockers, Dodson & Fogg. Main man Chris Wade has kept up the quality and this is the band's second successive appearance in our top forty (having been in the top 20 last year).  


 Video: Suddenly




STORNOWAY "You Don't Know Anything"
Oxford-based indie band Stornoway released their second album this last March and it's another refined collection of songs - sometimes folk, sometimes rock, it's an engaging mix.


Video: Knock Me On The Head






MIDLAKE "Antiphon"
Texan indie rockers Midlake lost their lead singer Tim Smith when he left the band in late 2012. An album was in progress and was pretty much re-worked from scratch - and it's turned out very well indeed for them. Definitely up to the standards of earlier releases - and critically well received too.

Video: The Old And The Young






THOSE DARLINS "Blur The Line"
Those Darlins are an out ans out rock and role band from Tennessee - but they've also got a mischievous streak to their creativity and as a a result, have a loyal fan following. Their third album "Blur The Line" was recorded in Nashville and released in October.
Video: Blur The Line





FRANZ FERDINAND "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action"
There were rumours that following their previous album, Scots indie-rockers Franz Ferdinand would call it a day - but they regrouped, got the creative juices flowing and four years after their last album, their fourth appeared at the end of August and has done very well for them. 

Video: Right Words







DRENGE "Drenge"
At the tail end of 2012, Derbyshire based rockers Drenge released a couple of raw and energetic singles - and quickly gathered impressive reviews for their music. Brothers Rory and Eoin Loveless have certainly got an energetic and fresh approach - and their self-titled debut release hit the market in August.
Video: Nothing





WHITE LIES "Big TV"

West London based indie rockers White Lies released their third album back in August on the revived Harvest Records label. It's a good step forward from their previous release and has had some good notices.

Video: Getting Even








EMILY BARKER & THE RED CLAY HALO "Dear River"
Emily Barker is originally from Western Australia, although these days is based in the UK. Together with her band The Red Clay Halo, she's released four albums and the latest emerged in late spring. Pop and folk is very much her thing - and this album provides consistently good music all the way through.

Video: Dear River






JJ GREY & MOFFRO "This River"
A fine blues and soul band from Florida, JJ Grey and Moffro have now been working together since the mid-nineties, although it's only in recent years that they've started getting real recognition. Aside from regular touring and jams sessions, they released their latest album (their eighth) back in the spring. 

Video: Somebody Else






YEAH YEAH YEAHS "Mosquito"
A welcome return for New York rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs - and their first album since 2009. Full of fine music and strident vocals from Karen O - and sold well around the world, hitting #9 in the UK charts.

 Video: Sacrilege








WIRE "Change Becomes Us"
Long-lived punk and post-punk rockers from London, Wire released their thirteenth studio album back in March - an album that also included a special Record Store Day vinyl edition. It's pretty much their trademark sound - and it gained solid reviews. 
Video: Doubles & Trebles








SUEDE "Bloodsports"

Suede were one of the stalwarts of 1990s Britpop and indie-rock, so it was a pleasant surprise to see them return with their first album in eleven years this last March. And it was almost as if  time had stood still, the band had certainly still got their trademark sound - and the album is full of fascinating songs.


Video: Hit Me



JIMI HENDRIX "People, Hell, Angels"
This is no barrel-scraping exercise but a studio-recorded sequence of songs that never saw the light of day: one or two escaped as rough demos some years back, but these are decent recordings with a full band. A very welcome addition to the Hendrix canon.
Video: Somewhere



STEREOPHONICS "Graffiti On The Train"
March saw the release of Welsh indie-rockers Stereophonics' eighth album, Graffiti On the Train. It's the distillation of over 30 songs the band wrote - and in 2014, front man Kelly Jones says that he's looking to write a screenplay version of the album for possibly making into a movie.  

 Video: Graffiti On The Train




RICHARD THOMPSON "Electric"
A fresh outing for the electric side of Richard Thompson's virtuoso guitar-work here with his current live band providing fine support. Pleasingly, the album reached the UK Top 20, his highest placing as a solo artist. It got good reviews too. 

 Video: Good Things Happen To Bad People




FOXYGEN "We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors If Peace & Magic"
Foxygen is a four-piece indie band from California, founded back in 2006. They recorded an album a year later - but didn't release it until 2012, when to the band's surprise, it was well received. A new studio release followed this last January and it's very much at the "experimental" end of the rock spectrum. A slew of good reviews followed.

 Video: San Francisco




NEKO CASE "The Worse Things Are, The Harder I Fight; The Harder I Fight, The More I Love you"
The new release from indie-rock songstress Neko Case was not only a fine return to form, but also holder of the record for longest album title of the year. It's a good selection of material and met with critical approval on both sides of the Atlantic.

 Night Still Comes 





MY BLOODY VALENTINE "MBV"
Irish indie rockers My Bloody Valentine released two well received albums in the late 80s and early 90s - and that was it: but, almost out of the blue, their first release in 22 years arrived in the stores this past February. With a mixture of songs written at various stages over that period, it might have been a damp squib, but it stood up well and gained positive reviews.

 Video: New You



PARQUET COURTS "Light Up Gold"
Post punk and indie rock - that's what you get from Parquet Courts, a Brooklyn-based quartet formed in 2010. "Light Up Gold" is their second studio album proper  and it gained almost universally positive reviews in the music press.

 Video: Master Of My Craft





DAFT PUNK "Random Access Memories"
French electronic music duo Daft Punk returned this year with their first album in eight years. They added session musicians to the mix and created a more organic sound - and it's certainly worked for them: it's sold well and received a slew of award nominations across the year.

 Video: Instant Crush    




HAIM "Days Are Gone"
The three sisters Haim hail from Los Angeles and started the year by being nominated by the BBC as one of their "Sounds Of 2013" acts. And what a year they've had - and their debut album, released in late September, is indie-pop of the highest order.

 Video: Days Are Gone




LINDA THOMPSON "Won't Be Long Now"
The first album in six years from Linda Thompson and it's a fascinating and important release. Often in the shadow of one time partner Richard Thompson, she shows here - once again - that she has not lost her ability to write and perform classy songs.

 Video: It Won't Be Long Now






THERE WE HAVE IT, THEN

 That's our randomly ordered listing of the 40 albums selected by The Musical Box to represent the best new music of 2013.

 Don't forget - your vote counts, so to nominate The Musical Box "Album Of The Year", just let me have your name and nomination. You can:
Nice and easy.

The deadline is MIDNIGHT on Monday, 23rd December - and as noted before, the full run-down (in order) will be split between my shows on Boxing Day (26th) and January 2nd.

Happy voting.

Alan Dorey
December 8th 2013

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Friday, 6 December 2013

THE MUSICAL BOX TOP 40 ALBUMS 2013 


It's that time of year once more - and in the next 24 hours or so, check back here to see the chosen albums and then how to vote to nominate The Musical Box Album Of The Year 2013.

Alan Dorey
5th December 2013
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Saturday, 30 November 2013

FROM NOW TO THEN....AND BACK AGAIN


Big celebrations this week from the folks behind the long-running "Now That's What I Call Music" series of hits compilations as it reaches its 30th birthday. The brash and unruly child has now entered adulthood for real and despite all the changes since 1983, it still manages to sell more than 100,000 copies of each release. In these days of rapidly changing positions in the singles charts and a number 1 release rarely sitting on top of the heap for more than a week or two, it's good to see some degree of continuity at play.



The First Edition of Now That's What I Call Music
When that first edition hit the record stores it started a bit of a revolution. Unlike previous "hits" packages, this one was unique - it was backed by both EMI and Virgin and thus meant that a far wider choice of chart hits could be licensed for inclusion. More than that, most of the songs chosen had been big hits - and recent hits too, thus providing a cost-effective way for charts fans to acquire all their favourite songs. It did make for some odd bedfellows as bands such as The Smiths jostled for space alongside Genesis, Tina Turner and Kajagoogoo, but it did seem to be a pretty fair reflection of the charts. Now That's What I Call Music #1 had 11 number 1 hits across its four sides of vinyl - and as the months went by, future editions saw that proportion increase even more. Sales increased rapidly and  the series soon became a vital part of the UK music industry.  

As the format was such a winner, it gradually spread to other parts of the EMI/Virgin empire. Parallel series have now run successfully in many countries and, oddly enough for a British concept, performed very well indeed in the USA. The main series kicked off there in 1998 and this months' release (#48) features all the likely suspects such as Lady Gaga, Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey and Miley Cyrus.  

But whilst the Now series may be a key aspect of the music business, the idea of hit compilations is far from new. Indeed, compilations, be they hits or themes or "best ofs" have been a staple of the charts for many a year. To give a comprehensive view of the compilation story would take up more time and space than I have right now, but some key themes are worthy of a little exploration.

Top Of The Pops Volume #15 (1971) 
The UK precursor to Now was the Top Of The Pops series of LPs which first appeared on the Hallmark label in 1968. They were usually a single LP of hit songs, but it wasn't until buyers had got their record home that it became obvious that they were anonymous cover versions of their favourite hits. The LP cover highlighted just the names of the songs, usually assisted by a scantily clad model, and made no mention of the artists who knocked out the songs themselves. A house-band of sessions musicians provided most of the musical accompaniment with (then) young and unknown singers providing the vocals. Tina Charles, Trevor Horn and a certain Elton John were key contributors - and for some years, the format proved to be successful - especially as the LPs were sold at budget prices in chain stores such as Woolworths. The series finally came to an end in 1985, but many a dusty copy can still be found lurking in charity shops up and down the land. 

Island Sampler 1968
"You Can All Join In"
The late 60s also saw the flowering of a number of new, growing, independent record labels such as Island, Transatlantic and Vertigo. They hit on the idea of promoting their roster of bands through the release of compilation "samplers", single or double albums full of representative songs and sold at a discount price. Two of the most distinctive came from Island Records - 1968's "You Can All Join In" (which sold for the equivalent of 72p and featured tracks from Jethro Tull, Free, Traffic and Fairport Convention amongst others) and then in 1971, a fascinating double-album with the amusing title of "El Pea" and a cover which featured, obviously, a huge garden pea. This sold for £1.99 at a time when a typical double LP would have been £3.00 or more.


Island Records Sampler 1971
"El Pea"
These "samplers" served to promote the bands on a record label, the labels expecting to recoup the possible loss on income with increased sales of the albums "proper". Some years into a band's career, the label would seek to promote the band some more with a Greatest Hits release, even if the band was largely an albums act and the word "hit" might have passed them by. Sometimes, the issue of a Greatest Hits compilation was the sign that a band had jumped ship and joined a new label. The label wanted one more bite of the cherry before the hit-making money machine was out of their hands. Such is the case with The Rolling Stones when they left Decca Records in 1969 to start their own label with distribution backing from EMI. Numerous "Hits Packages" and compilations followed from Decca for most of the 1970s and until recent years, fans looking to buy a comprehensive Stones "Best Of" release would have found it nigh on impossible. It was only with the release of "Forty Licks" in 2002 that their whole career was brought together, such an achievement brought about by Decca and EMI/Virgin now being distributed by the Universal Group. 

The Rolling Stones - Forty Licks
The first comprehensive whole-career compilation of Rolling Stones hits


We've seen hit packages, samplers and band compilations so far -  and next on our list is another interesting phenomenon. This is the licensed compilation as released by music magazines and, occasionally, record store themselves. Some might see them as yet another way to squeeze cash from the consumer, but often, with intelligent curators at work, the releases added variety and interest to the market. Long-lost tracks and bands were rediscovered, new music was more widely promoted - and (it has to be said) the record stores and magazines saw their sales hold-up too. HMV, for example, produced a long-running series of CDs promoting new music and bands called "Playlist". They sold for £2.99 - free if a CD featuring one of the tracks was also bought -  and for a while
HMV's Playlist
managed to achieve their aim of bringing regular punters into HMV shops. Their frequency of issue started to decline though as downloading became more popular and the series was quietly dropped. The music press - as I've noted in previous blogs - has taken to producing cover-mounted CDs, some based on a thematic idea ("The Blues Routes of Led Zeppelin") whilst others have taken a similar approach as HMV's Playlist by promoting new music. I'm not sure how long these will survive in the download and You Tube era: the licensed tracks all seem to be the same as those that appear on that self-same You Tube or are offered at a discount (or indeed, for free) via Amazon or iTunes.  


The NME charity release
"Sgt Pepper Kmew My Father"
Finally for now, we shouldn't forget another related strand of musical compilation - the tribute album. This is worthy of a blog in its own right, but for now, we'll take a brief overview of some key aspects of them. Possibly the first widely known release was one produced by The New Musical Express back in 1988 in support of the Child Line charity. Released on vinyl it was a complete reworking of the Beatles' Sgt Pepper album called "Sgt Pepper Knew My Father". Bands such as Wet, Wet, Wet, The Christians, Sonic Youth and The Fall all added their take on those iconic songs and it sold very well indeed. More recently, artists have done their own tribute albums to bands that were part of their musical education, interesting examples including Canadian prog-rockers Rush with "Feedback" (covering amongst others, The Who, Cream, Love and The Yardbirds) and in the past 8 years, Matthew Sweet and
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
"Under The Covers Vol. 3 (2013)
one-time Bangles lead singer Susanna Hoffs have released three volumes of Under The Covers. It's a chance, I guess, for artists to name-check their influences, but it's a fine line to tread between the virtuous approach of tribute and the more cynical route of copyist. Indeed, some argue that artists resort to these tributes and covers compilations because they've run out of their own ideas and energy and it's an "easy" way to keep the income rolling. Perhaps there is something in that - and we'll certainly be turning to the whole idea of covers and tributes in a future blog.

In the meantime though, it's a Happy Birthday to the Now series and although it's often de rigeur to wish the recipient a further 30 years of success, I'm not so sure that this will necessarily be the case. Music purchase and distribution will continue to splinter and change and the whole idea of hundreds of thousands of people buying a fixed-format set of "hit" songs every four or five months does seem to me to be just a little passé.

But, I'll help in blowing the candles out - just as long as I can have my cake and eat it.



Alan Dorey
30th November 2013

     
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