Mark’s Lp’s of 2006
(Yes,
sorry, this is now an annual event!)
Classic
year. So many great songs, but, single
of the year goes to Peter, Bjorn & John for the life affirming Young Folks
Live
Highlights: Soulwax’s Nite Versions Live, stormed this year including a highly charged
performance at Canvas... Belle & Sebastian completely united
the whole of Trafalgar Square who were really there to see Pete Doherty. (Funnily enough, Pete had just been
arrested!)…. Primal Scream continued showing the others how Rock n’ Roll should
be performed live; highlight for me was the Astoria in April and at Hyde Park
when I turned around and realised just what a monster ‘Country Girl’ was
becoming…. Wolfmother downstairs at the Zodiac was the best gig I witnessed in
Oxford this year, with the Klaxons and James Dean Bradfield also worth a
mention…. Regina Spektor made the barn at Truck the most intimate venue in
the world, she was stunning!... Reading highlights included The
Raconteurs, Dizzee Rascal and an emotional last performance by Hope of the
States…. Attended my first Bestival which has quickly become my
new favourite festival, Pet Shop Boys, M Craft, Carl Cox and Rob Da Bank ruled
the roost here. Already bought tickets
for 2007, this festival rules!
Highlight
of my lifetime? DAFT PUNK AT GLOBAL
GATHERING. This was better than I
thought anything could possibly be.
Musically and visually this was the most intense and joyous experience
imaginable. Guy-Manuel de Homem
Christo & Thomas Bangalter receive the first ever Mark Taylor, World Hero’s
of Visionary Music & Art Award!
1.
M. Craft – Silver & Fire. Hypnotic, sparkling, warm and romantic.
This is the most simple and basic idea turned into a masterpiece. M Craft has done what so many others have tried;
he has created the perfect heart wrenching love album. Whilst not instantly standing out as a
classic it quickly gets inside you and has accompanied me like a best friend
ever since it was released in May.
2.
Brakes – The Beatific Visions. No longer a combination of people from whatever bands they used to
belong. This is now Brakes. Images of the boys sat on rocking chairs in
wooden porches, chewing tobacco whilst recording this in Nashville create the
vibe which lifts this album to its level of splendor.
3.
Tiga – Sexor. Seemingly ignored by the general public this album has been the
soundtrack to the year. Saturday nights
are not the same until Tiga launches into the chorus on (Far From) Home. Sleazy sing-a-long dirty house music at its
absolute best. A live show next year
Tiga? Please!
4.
Two Gallants – What the Toll
Tells. The sophomore album brings 9 tales of southern state life. Jail, whiskey, racism, sunshine and lots of
killing. All from just two voices,
guitar, drums and harmonica. Storytelling
at its best.
5.
Isobel Campbell & Mark
Lanegan – Ballad of the Broken Seas. Comparisons are rife with Lee
Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, rightly so, the combining of these two was pure
genius, the angelic with the rough. This
sun-bleached classic rightly deserves every drop of praise lavished on it.
6.
The Raconteurs – Broken Boy
Soldiers. How does he do it? Jack White must never get to rest with his
wife and new daughter Scarlett (like red, gedditt!); his love for the music is
never more evident than it is here. The sound of four mates making the kind
of rock n roll they grew up on. A huge
rock album which spawned some of the best singles of the year. And if you are yet to hear it, ‘Blue Veins’
live is the unholy apocalypse!
7.
¡Forward Russia! – Give Me a
Wall. A UK band that can rock with the best of
them. Constantly remind me of At the
Drive In. At the end of this album you
feel bloodied, beaten, twisted and totally euphoric.
8.
Pet Shop Boys – Fundamental.
What a return, pop music at its best.
Big Trevor Horn productions mix with tracks here that wouldn’t be out of
place in a sweaty basement club. The
Soddom & Gomorrah Show is the best tune they have done for years. This is pop perfection and has put the
biggest smile on my cheesy face all year!
9.
CSS – Cansei De Ser Sexy. ‘Tired of being sexy’ is the Portuguese
translation. Hopefully Lovefoxx can
muster up just a little more to keep the infamous live shows going. Rude, in ya face, squelching beats ignite
this energetic and pulsating party album.
‘Lets make love and listen to death from above’ yes please!
10.
Joanna Newsome – Ys. I can’t remember the last time an album came along that challenged the
norm as much as this. Pronounced ‘ees’
it has 5 tracks ranging from seven to seventeen minutes. This is a wide-screened vision of beauty, as
Joanna’s voice and her harp meet with a full orchestra to create ambitious
tales, which sound like a walk through the most enchanted of forests.
11.
Cut Copy – FabricLive: 29
12.
Beck – The Information
13.
Wolfmother - Wolfmother
14.
Nicky Wire – I killed the
Zeitgeist
15.
Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope
16.
The Sleepy Jackson – Personality
(One was a spider, one was a bird)
17.
Peter, Bjorn and John – Writers
Block
18.
Sufjan Stevens – Songs for
Christmas
19.
Hope of the States – Left
20.
Primal Scream – Riot City Blues
I
really struggled not to include any of the Lp’s listed below. It has taken me ages adding Simple Kid then
remembering I hadn’t included Brakes etc.
Anyway this year’s near misses were:
Tapes ‘n Tapes – The Loon, Simple Kid - 2, Giant
Drag – Hearts and Unicorns, Phoenix - It’s Never been Like That, Hot Chip – The
Warning, Flaming Lips – At War with the Mystics, Justin Timberlake –
FutureSex/LoveSounds, James Dean Bradfield – The Great Western, The Futureheads
– News and Tributes, Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
2007?
Glastonbury is back, along with much awaited new Lp’s from the Manics
and Nick Cave. Klaxons might just go on
to prove that Gravitys Rainbow wasn’t a fluke.
I’m also looking forward to hearing much more from David E Sugar, U.S.E. (United State of Electronica),
The Little Ones, Uffie, Think About Life and Cherry Ghost.
I hope 2006 was
equally stunning for you. Have a
brilliant Christmas and a rockin’ 2007.
Mark xx
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