It’s been an incredible year for music. And to be fair, you don’t have to look too hard to find it. While the majority of radio stations are commercial and stick with the oldies, you can easily find music that challenges you, if, that is, you want music that challenges you. I do and I don’t. I just want to listen to the music.
I’m preparing my own music review of the year for the benefit of my loyal reader so I won’t drone on about every album I have liked and even loved in 2026, but I will mention a few highlights. The efforts of Fontaine’s D.C., Rainbow Body, This Is Lorelei, Beck, Westside Cowboy, Ezra Collective, Sheerwater, James Ellis Ford, Steven Wilson and Antony Szmierek have been truly exceptional. There are many more. I am just scratching the surface. But interestingly, it’s been an incredible year for well-established artists, too.
Paul McCartney’s The Boys Of Dungeon Lane shows a legend, a genius, still at the top of his game. Foreign Tongues by the Rolling Stones, while overproduced and a little too antiseptically clean, is nonetheless packed with absolute bangers, as is Madonna’s storming return to form on Confessions II. As I never tire of saying, although you probably tire of reading, this is the best time ever for music. We have all the music that’s ever been made and a non-stop conveyor belt of brand new music which usually stands up well in comparison to what has come before. It is only people who aren’t listening who say that music isn’t as good as it used to be, the audience of Boom!, Greatest Hits Radio and Smooth Radio. But hey, each to their own. My taste buds, at least the musical ones, appear to be expanding, my ears more receptive to music I have never heard before. Music makes me happy, it satisfies my soul. Along with love, music is all I need to get by. Now, I am beginning to surprise myself.
In the coming days and weeks, there are new albums by artists I have not always considered to be on, or even near, my playlists. I refer here to U2 and Bryan Adams. The former are often criticised, even ridiculed, for their strongly expressed political views. Some say, they should just stick to the music. That, I feel, has tarnished their reputation, at least to some, and put people off. Not me. I’ve been more disappointed by the lacklustre music they have put out in recent years. Their new album, Carnaval da Luz, appears to be a bona fide classic, if the music I have heard so far is in any way representative of the whole record. On their day, they remain the best live rock band in the world, right up there with Radiohead in my opinion. The modest sounding The Greatest Show On Earth is a stone-cold classic. The last U2 album I bought was Under A Blood Red Sky, a live record released in 1983. I have dabbled with the odd single – I bought Beautiful Day, for example – and now, 43 years on, I am set to buy another one. If you find that surprising, just wait for this.
A year after I bought Under A Blood Red Sky, I heard a song called Run To You by a Canadian singer-songwriter called Bryan Adams and promptly went out and bought it. I then became aware of his album Reckless, which contained not just Run To You, but also Heaven, Somebody, Summer of 69 and It’s Only Love (featuring Tina Turner). It was a fantastic album, all killer, no filler, but after that I rather lost interest, not just in Adams, but music in general. Life rather got in the way and ever since I have half-listened to his stuff but I’ve never been drawn in to listen seriously until now.
Today sees the release of How’s It Goin’ which is said to be the most Canada album ever (Adams is Canadian, in case you have been living in a cave and didn’t know). I’ve heard some of the tracks and I’ve been quite staggered by the quality. Lake Ontario, or Lake America as Dementia Donny calls it, is a powerful, emotional and quite excellent song. I used to joke that I’d rather buy a record by Ryan Adams than Bryan Adams any day of the week. I am not so sure now. Whatever next? Queen?
No, definitely not ‘Queen Budapest 40th Anniversary’ thank you very much and certainly not Muse and their wretched The Wow! Signal. I want to be broad-minded, but I have to draw the line somewhere! Wherever you come from musically, these are heady days. In a year when I have also acquired albums by UB40 (the eternally brilliant Signing Off) and Frank Sinatra (At the Sands), I’d like to think I’m doing my bit for musical diversity.
Music is there for however you want it, whether that’s to stay safe in your comfort zone or to take a chance that you might find something new and wonderful. I’m happy to say I am enjoying both and at least from the music point of view, the world is a great place to be right now.
