Środa 5 Lis 2008, 8:06
The following are the top 10 albums of 2007 that I currently own. I probably own more than 10 albums from that year, but these are my favourites.
Note 1: I will be including compilations, live albums, ep's, re-issues etc, but no singles.
Note 2: If I do only own 10 from this year, the releases towards the end of the list may not be favourites of mine at all, but the best I do have from that year.
Note 3: If you think my list sucks, or needs improvements, please feel free to RECOMMEND me albums from 2007 and I will certaintly try to listen to them and give my opinions.
All comments welcome.
1. In Rainbows
The first time I heard this I thought it was the greatest album ever. The next few times I didnt like it as much and eventually thought it had little replay value. Baring in mind that I had heard only half of this album before the official release, I began listening to the songs I hadnt heard more closely. When I started to appreciate those songs, the album as a whole just clicked. I have now listened to this more than enough to give an honest opinion. Like a lot of people have already said, I agree that this is a lighter, more positive album in places, musically and lyrically, which is in no way a negative thing. It is not like The Bends at all, except it is beautiful in the same slightly optimistic, hopeful way. Thom's vocals are the best I've heard them since Pyramid Song, so much emotion in every song, Nude and Reckoner in particular.
Almost every fan has heard a lot of these songs before this release because they have been played live for a long time. So how do they compare? I always think that there are good and bad points about both live and studio versions of songs, however I must say that I very much disliked Weird Fishes/Arpeggi live, and it took me a lot of listens to appreciate it on the album. 15 Step is slower, and less frantic than the version I had previously heard, which took some getting used to. On the other side of the coin though, All I Need is 1000 times better on the album. I somewhat overlooked this song live, but it gains so much atmosphere on studio version. Jigsaw Falling Into Place is one of the songs I had not heard of before this album was released, and it is fucking awesome, and I feel it is a good choice for the first single release from this album. The first disc is 5 stars for me.
I originally downloaded this album and did not pay anything for it upon release, however decided to purchase this 'limited edtion' box set (mainly for the bonus disc). Now, I thought £40 was a bit steep, but when I eventually got this boxset I was not dissapointed. First of all, the packaging in wonderful, well presented, and full of great artwork, including the lyrics. However the real treat is the bonus disc which is only currently officially available in the boxset.
The bonus disc is basically the tracks which were recorded at the same time, but did not fit in on the main album. So what we have here is a EP (like My Iron Lung, Airbag/How Am I Driving, Com Lag etc), less than 30 mins of bonus material. Now, I personally think that a few of these tracks are just as good quality as the main albums material (Go Slowly is better than most of the main album), so I feel they certaintly were not left off because they were not good enough, but as usual because they did not help the album flow, or did not fit with the theme of the album. This is the case with virtually all of Radiohead's b-sides, some of which are often regarded as better than their album material. The highlights of the bonus disc are 'Go Slowly' (beautiful), Last Flowers and 4 Minute Warning. Those three tracks are all amazing in quality, however there are a couple I don't really love yet (especially 'Bangers And Mash'). 'Bangers And Mash' sounds like a rough cut of Bodysnatchers. So, 4.5 for the bonus disc.
Overall, this is a quality album, my favourite purchase for sure from the year 2007.
Update
I was so wrong about 'Bangers And Mash'. Even though bangers and mash may be the worst metaphor Thom has ever used (if it is a metaphor), the rest of the track is so addictive, and there are some great lyrics if you take the time to look them up, because cmon Thom mumbles more than ever in this track. Extra 1/2. 5/5
2. Live
I have been a long time casual listener of R.E.M. I had their greatest hits album plus Automatic For The People and neither blew me away or made me want to take this band seriously and explore more of their work. I thought I'd give them one more chance with this live album.
For me, I think this is the best place to start with R.E.M. This live album impressed me a lot. Their greatest hits album is filled with songs that I had heard a thousand times on the radio, however this live album is a good mixture of popular songs and album songs, and shows at least to me, that R.E.M have more to offer than the ocaasional good single.
Michael Stipe does not have the best voice ever, but R.E.M can write some brilliant songs that speak for themselves. This is the first R.E.M album I have rated above 3.5, and I will be getting some more of their studio albums after this. Recommended. 5/5
3. Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded
Good Girl Gone Bad re-released with 3 new songs. I am a big fan of the original album, and the 3 extra tracks, which were all singles, are all brilliant. This album has put Rihanna in the spotlight more than ever over the last year, she has dominated the music channels and radio airplay with her infectious pop, proving she is one of the best acts in todays music charts. 5/5
4. So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley
This is one of my favourite compilations ever. The version of Eternal Life is exactly how it should have been (not that the original isnt great). It just has a lot more feeling and anger, Jeff's vocals are so powerful on this track.
The alternate take of Dream Brother is really interesting, and the live songs are all breathtaking. This compilation has also introduced me to a few songs from 'Sketches For My Sweetheart', which are all fantastic, the best being The Sky Is A Landfill.
I have knocked off 1/2 star because of the closer I Know Its Over. I just dont particularly like this. I mean its not bad, it just doesnt do anything for me. 4.5/5
5. Neon Bible
This is nothing like Funeral. At first I was very dissapointed, Funeral was magical, this is not. However, we all knew it was not going to be as good as Funeral. Anyway, this album is still a fantastic follow up. The subject matter is somewhat darker, though the sound is, at times, as intense as some parts of Funeral.
It took me a long time to get into this album, but the wait was worth it. I particularly like Intervention, Black Wave/Bad Vibrations, Ocean Of Noise, and The Well And The Lighthouse. That part of the album is the best.
The closer is also pretty great, My Body Is A Cage being the most different/experimental thing they have done so far.
The only songs I dislike are Antichrist Television Blues and Windowsill.
Great start to 2007. Recommended. 4/5
This is very awesome. Its different altogether from Live At Massey Hall which sounded so crisp it was like a studio recording, and although that album is amazing, this one is just as good even with a lesser sound quality. The sound quality in live recordings in one of the main things I look for with there being so many live albums which sound terrible. The sound quality here is decent, you can here the crowd but it takes nothing away from the performance.
The songs are also pretty great, there is nothing much to complain about except the intro is pointless and i'm not keen on When You Dance I Can Really Love You
. Sedan Delivery
is brilliant and the album is full of Neil Young classics, such as Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)
, Cortez The Killer, Like A Hurricane and After The Goldrush are particular good.
Just get this, theres not much else to say except its Neil Young rocking out, that cant be bad, right? 4/5
Neil Young is awesome. This live recording has especially good sound quality, everything is crystal clear, and he performes for the most part his most loved and well known songs.
I don't know an awful lot about Neil Young at this point and have just started to get into his music, but he just sounds so good, he really sings these songs. My favourite here is A Man Needs A Maid/Heart Of Gold which is just spectacular.
Brilliant. 3.5/5
8. This Delicate Thing We've Made
Very, very difficult to get into at first. I will be honest and say that I have just been waiting for Darren Hayes to release another album which sounds like Savage Garden. This is not going to happen. Once you get over this, and just listen to this music with an open mind, it becomes rather good. Of course seeing him in concert a few weeks ago helped too. He put on a great performance and sang an ashtonishing amount of this albums material.
Ok, this is a double album. Double albums are good in a way and bad in a way. Bad because I find it hard to give them very high scores because there is almost always filler, but good because they usually have a lot of variety.
What suprised me when I first heard this album is the fact that there seemed to be a lot of electronica/pop/dance music that was not present at all on Spin (the only other Darren Hayes album i've currently heard). This is suprisingly refreshing if not overwhelming at first (is this the same Darren Hayes that released the likes of Truly Madly Deeply and I Knew I Loved You)? Of course there are a few 'love' songs which he is so well known for (see Words) thrown into the mix.
Now, disc 1 is in my opinion flawless. Totally awesome, even the experimental Bombs Up In My Face has a place on here. This is an album which is fun and should be played in the background. The lyrics are not deep and meaningful for the most part, but musically it sounds great, and his vocals are what is to be expected from him - spectacular. Particular highlights for me on disc 1 are Step Into The Light, A Fear Of Falling Under, and How To Build A Time Machine.
Disc 2 starts out on a high note, including the first single (I believe) On The Verge Of Something Wonderful. However, it was inevitable that the filler would come, I was just suprised it was this far into the album. From track 4 through to track 8, the album gets really weak and boring. This disc is far worse than disc 1, however it does contain my (current) favourite song from the entire album in Setting Sun.
I am very impressed with this effort, it far supasses 'Spin'. He is certainly going in the right direction, and has created something here which sounds fresh. 3.5/5
9. Hvarf-Heim
I had not listened to Sigur Ros for some time, but have always liked what I heard, and I recently bought this when it was on special offer. When I put the first disc in my player (Hvarf), I was shocked at how bored I was for the most part of it. I was seriously questioning if I ever liked Sigur Ros or was blinded by the massive amounts of positive review this band gets, I was seriously questioning if the 5 stars I gave () was worth it. After several listens I stand by my opinion of Hvarf, that its mostly boring with the exception of 1 or 2 tracks.
However, from the first listen to now, disc 2 (Heim) totally blows me away. I was/am so relieved at how amazing the live versions of some of Sigur Ros best songs are, that I almost forget the first disc. I did not need to listen and re-evaluate () because Heim reminded me why Sigur Ros are one of the best bands of recent years, who definitley have released some of the most beautiful music of recent years.
This release is worth it for Heim alone. 3.5/5
10. Dylan
The reason I generally buy compilations of any artist is to either introduce me to that particular artist, or to have certain tracks in my collection, where I dont really know much about/dont really like the actual release they are on.
I already own a lot of Dylan's studio albums and a fair few of his compilations. I bought this one because the third disc has a lot of material from his latter years and up to the present which are not on his previous compilations. This is the period which I own the least Dylan material, and I really want to find stuff to like, which make me want to explore his latter albums.
The first 2 discs are pretty solid, covering a lot of brilliant material from his career, from the beginning up until his early 80's material.
Again, it is the third disc which is really patchy, I just cannot get into it. Maybe I just need to accept that I will never like the latter years of Dylan's career. 3.5/5