The important news is that there isn’t any. I have spent an arduous day keeping the house in decent order and burning my Christmas CDs onto iTunes. The latter was highly enjoyable as it gave me the opportunity to listen to it all.
Including the CDs (yes, I still buy CDs, don’t steal music and download only when there’s one particular song I can’t find anywhere else, like Jim Gilstrap’s Swing Your Daddy) I have recently picked up, those burned were:
Illusion by Fonseca. Juan Fonseca is the second biggest pop star in Columbia after Shakira. The lyrics were helpfully provided, but I don’t know what they mean because they are all in…er…Columbian!
Antiphon by Midlake. I came to Midlake a bit late, fell in love with the music of band leader Tim Smith, only to find he had left the band. This album is without him and it’s terrific.
Wrote A Song For Everyone – John Fogerty. Here, John bangs out many of his greatest tunes in collaboration with some fellow rockers, as well as giving us two new tunes. Stand outs are Fortunate Son (with Foo Fighters), Long As I Can See The Light (with My Morning Jacket) and Who’ll Stop The Rain (with Bob Seger).
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers by, well, you guessed it. The vinyl is in the loft, picked it up for £3. It’s only 38 years ago since he made it. (Gulps!)
Live At Wembley Arena by Abba. By who, did you say? Abba? Yes, them. I always liked the blonde one. Benny, wasn’t it? Anyway, a stunningly great live album from a band who hated playing live. The songs sound so simple but are actually so complex. If It Wasn’t For The Nights a personal favourite.
Fly By Night by Rush. Any album that has a song called By-Tor & The Snow Dog surely deserves some credit. This is my very favourite Rush album.
Greatest Hits by Nazareth. Very Alan Partridge – ‘What’s your favourite Nazareth album?” “Their greatest hits.” Most if not all of them are here and they feature the extraordinary vocals of Dan McCafferty, right up there with Bon Scott if you ask me. Features the astonishing Joni Mitchell song This Flight Tonight, not quite how she imagined it and Woke Up This Morning, which begins with the epic line, ‘Woke up this morning, my dog was dead. Someone had shot him in the head.’ How we laughed, at my friend Jeff’s house near Brislington School in about 1972.
CNSY 1974 by Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Epic, incredible live stuff from 1974 from a great band at their very greatest. I cannot stop playing it. I have now met Graham Nash (twice), Stephen Stills (once) and been tweeted by David Crosby. Only Neil Young remains on my list.
The iPod, the iPod Classic I hasten to add, now deceased, has over 12,000 songs to listen to wherever I am, ranging from the Top Cat theme to Animal Collective. Who’d have believed all that, just 20 years ago when I’d go on holiday with my Sony Walkman and a dozen cassette tapes?
