Music of 2013

2012 was a great year for music, particularly for my preferred genre of Progressive Rock, but 2013 has proved to be an even better year. There is so much good music out there at the moment that I have found the task of producing an end-of-year review quite daunting. Where do I begin?

Last year I produced a Top 25 of my favourite Progressive albums, but this year I have really struggled to keep the number down that far. Not only that: trying to rate them in order is proving really difficult. So, what I've decided to do is to produce a Top Ten (or possibly a Top 12) for the year, and list - in no particular order other than alphabetical -  another 30 that have particularly touched me/ moved me/ spoke to me - it's been that good a year!

Before then a few minor 'awards':

Gigs of the Year
3. Rush - Clockwork Angels @ Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
2. John Mayer @ London O2 Arena
1. Steve Hackett - Genesis Revisited @ Sheffield City Hall

Live Album of the Year
Anathema - Universal
Stunning music in an equally stunning setting

Discovery of the Year
The Twenty Committee - A Lifeblood Psalm
A remarkable debut: follow the link above to read my review on Progarchy.com

Non-Prog Albums of the Year
A couple have particularly stood out for me:
The Temperance Movement's eponymous debut
Prefab Sprout's Crimson / Red - a tour-de-force of song writing brilliance from Paddy McAloon

Disappointment of the Year
This has to go to Dream Theater's self-titled album, which sadly left me quite underwhelmed. The band have just not been the same since Mike Portnoy left, and the music, for me, has lost its spark.

So, to my 'bottom 30', in alphabetical order.
Airbag - The Greatest Show on Earth
Camelia's Garden - You Have a Chance
Comedy of Errors - Fanfare & Fantasy
Days Between Stations - In Extremis
Djam Karet - The Trip
The Fierce & the Dead - Spooky Action
Flamborough Head - Lost in Time
Godsticks - The Envisage Conundrum
Haken - The Mountain
Henry Fool - Man Singing
Ingranaggi Della Valle - In Hoc Signo
King Bathmat - Overcoming the Monster 
Leafblade - The Kiss of Spirit & Flesh
John Lees' Barclay James Harvest - North
Lifesigns - Lifesigns
Johanes Luley - Tales From Sheepfather's Grove
Magenta - The Twenty Seven Club
La Maschera di Cera - The Gates of Tomorrow
Maschine - Rubidium
The Opium Cartel - Ardor
Persona Grata - Reaching Places High Above
Riverside - Shrine of New Generation Slaves
Shineback - Rise Up Forgotten, Return Destroyed
Solstice - Prophecy
Sound of Contact - Dimensionaut
Thieves' Kitchen - One For Sorrow, Two For Joy
The Twenty Committee - A Lifeblood Psalm
Vienna Circle - Silhouette Moon
Violent Silence - A Broken Truce
Willowglass - The Dream Harbour

And so to my Top 10 (or 12):

10. Cosmograf - The Man Left In Space
Star-studded line-up working with Robin Armstrong to produce a powerful interstellar concept piece - stand-out tracks 'Aspire, Achieve' & 'The Man Left in Space';

9. Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories)
Carrying on from 2011's evocative 'Grace for Drowning', this collection offers light and shade and some excellent musicianship - stand-out tracks 'Luminol' & 'The Watchmaker';

8. Manning - The Root, the Leaf, and the Bone
Great story-telling alongside some brilliant composition and playing. One of the undoubted highlights of the latter part of the year - stand-out tracks 'Among the Sleepers' & 'Palace of Delights';

7. The Flower Kings - Desolation Rose
Another excellent offering from Sweden's 'Kings' of Prog, with some simply spell-binding songs from Roine Stolt and the others - stand-out tracks 'Tower One' & 'The Resurrected Judas';

6. Moon Safari - Himlabacken vol 1
This band continue to delight me with their close harmonies and wonderful compositions: this is music to put a smile on your face - stand-out tracks 'Mega Moon' & 'Sugar Band';

5. Freedom to Glide - Rain
 A work that tells the stories of those from the front line in WW1, with a heavy dose of Pink Floyd: a bit like The Wall or The Final Cut without Roger Waters' personal angst - stand-out tracks 'Rain part 2' & 'Not a Broken Man';

4. Sanguine Hum - The Weight of the World
Thoughtful, intelligent Progressive music (in every sense), a powerful follow-up to their critically-acclaimed debut from last year, 'Diving Bell' - stand-out tracks 'The Weight of the World' & 'Day of Release'

3. Wintergatan - Wintergatan
Strange, unconventional, joy-filled music, using all kinds of eclectic instruments to create wonderful soundscapes: an absolute delight of an album - stand-out tracks 'Starmachine2000' & 'Sommarfågel'

2. The Tangent - Le Sacre du Travail/ L'Étagere du Travail
A breath-taking couple of albums from Andy Tillison & co., that I just can't separate from each other: 'Le Sacre' tells a symphonic story of the working day as only Tillison can, and 'L'Étagere' - by no means the sweepings from the cutting room floor - is a collection of very strong songs along with out-takes and live recordings - stand-out tracks '5th Movement: Evening TV' & 'Supper's Off'

1. Big Big Train - English Electric (Part 2)/ English Electric: Full Power
The 'English Electric' sequence came to its fruition with these two releases, following on from last year's English Electric (Part 1) - my album of the year for 2012. Again I cannot separate these two. Full Power contains all the material from Parts 1 & 2, along with four additional tracks, all of which showcase the band's ability to craft exquisite progressive music that elicits strong emotions from the listener. This is nothing more than a stunning piece of work, that will, I have no doubt, become a classic of the genre to rival 'Close to the Edge' and 'Selling England by the Pound' in years to come. This is a complete package: song-writing, musicianship and vocals of the highest order from Greg Spawton, David Longdon, Dave Gregory, Andy Poole, Danny Manners & Nick D'Virgilio; production & engineering second to none by Rob Aubrey; and a physical product that is quite simply a work of art - stand-out tracks 'East Coast Racer' & 'Curator of Butterflies (perhaps the most stunningly beautiful song I've heard in years).

So, there it is: one among many end-of-year lists. But what a year it's been! On a par with 1973? I think so.

A Late Birthday Present

I turned 52 in April of this year, and throughout the course of the day I received a number of messages and greetings. One of those was from my eldest son, Mike, who rang me from work. The conversation went something like this...

"Dad, could you buy me 2 tickets for John Mayer for your birthday, and I'll pay you back when I've got some money?"
"Erm, OK."

Now I enjoy Mr Mayer's work, but Mike is a BIG fan, so I was left wondering just who this present was for, but, whatever...

Those tickets were for the first of his two London shows this month, which took place at the O2 last night. Let me tell you about it...

We travelled down on the National Express from Sheffield on Sunday morning, arriving in Victoria Coach Station at around 15:15. The journey was uneventful, and the weather when we arrived was pretty miserable. We grabbed a bite of lunch in Subway, then hopped on a tube to Greenwich. The O2 Arena - the old Millennium Dome - is quite an impressive place, and this was the first time I'd visited the place. A touch of t-shirt shopping (a necessary ritual at any gig) and then a spot of Fish & Chips before taking our place in the queue.

Having booked the seats on the day they went on sale, and having asked for 'best available' when I booked, we were, naturally, almost as far away from the stage as it was possible to be and close to stratospheric in height. Despite not being able to make out much detail on the stage, however, it wasn't a bad view once the screens came into play, and by 19:30, along with around 18,000 others, we were ready to enjoy the show.

First on, for an opening 30 minute set, was Gabrielle Aplin. When she was announced as the support act Mike was doubly delighted as he'd been enjoying her music since before she became 'big' and had seen her last year at 'The Plug' in Sheffield. This was clearly a scary prospect for her, playing such a large venue and to such a huge crowd, but she managed very well indeed, despite the screens not being on and the lighting not being tailor-made for her set. Her music spoke for itself, and spoke eloquently.

John Mayer's set was brilliant throughout. He covered material from a number of his albums; his guitar-playing, both electric and acoustic, was tight and energetic - in fact I would say that, on his day, he is one of the top blues guitarists around at the moment; his voice, which had been causing him some problems recently, was back to its best, and whether it was country, blues or rock, he was throughout the consummate showman. The knowledgeable crowd joined in with most of the songs, too.

The Set-list:
Wildfire
Half Of My Heart
Paper Doll
I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)
Something Like Olivia
Going Down The Road
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room
Free Fallin'
Blues Run The Game
Queen Of California
Dear Marie
If I Ever Get Around To Living
Belief
Waiting On The World To Change
The Age Of Worry.
Why Georgia
------------------
Can't Find My Way Home
Gravity


The show was accompanied by a backdrop of scenes from Monument Valley animated with stars, snow, blossom falling, Chinese lanterns taking off, and people dancing around camp-fires among other things, which visually enhanced the spectacle, particularly for those of us who couldn't make out the players on the stage. The band were excellent (I didn't make a note of their names, sadly) and all-in-all it was an excellent evening in a great venue.


All that was left was to find Mike's friend's place in Lewisham, where we were crashing for the night, which took us about an hour, as every taxi I tried to hail completely ignored us. Home today after a tourist-y stroll around Westminster & St James' Park.


I can truthfully say that, as birthday presents go, it was definitely worth the wait!