1: John Cale 'Hobosapiens'
Bought on a whim and it rapidly became the most played cd I bought this year. It's worth adding the '5 Tracks' ep too. Good songs, great voice, fabulous production, stunning
2: OutKast 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below'
There's so much going on with this double album' which I got after seeing the crazy video for 'Hey Ya', that it's hard to know where to start or finish with it. Pity about the language and content some times but that's hip hop for you.
3: Gillian Welch 'Soul Journey'
Part of the, 'how I stopped worrying and learned to love country music'. This album, for me, isn't as good as it's predecessor, the wonderful 'Time (The Revelator) and yet it's still streets ahead of most things released this year. If I was to recommend where you start it would be with that predecessor first then this then the first two. These songs sound timeless.
4: Terry Hall and Mustaq 'The Hour of Two Lights'
On another day could have been my favourite of the year, numbers 1 and 2 being late arrivals. Terry Hall thinks there's no single on it, I disagree but I do wonder who'd be brave enough to play something from an album as eclectic, organic and original as this.
5: Radiohead 'Hail to the Thief'
Played to death when I had it as mp3 downloads then I never opened the cd when it finally arrived, until tonight. Probably the most important act on a major label in the world today in terms of pushing the envelope through the corporate door. This album has moments of sublime beauty
6: Manecas Costa 'Paraiso di Gumbe'
This is just joyous. I've seen some people whinging that the BBC shouldn't be doing this, (it's on the 'Late Junction' imprint), though as far as I'm aware their commercial arms have to make money and aren't subsidised by the licence fee. Then they whinged about how it seemed to be cross-promoted. Hey, it's a bloody good album and should be brought to the attention of all music lovers
7: Faltriqueira 'Faltriqueira'
The sound of young Galician girls singing and playing tambourines. Actually that doesn't do it justice and words are hard to find to explain it's magic and mysteries. Magic and mysterious, that'll do
8: Bembeya Jazz 'Bembeya'
Great album and an even better performance at WOMAD, wish I was there to hear it, glad that Radio3 and BBC4 brought some of it to us
9: Be Good Tanyas 'Chinatown'
One of my favourites early in the year, they introduced me to Townes Van Zandt and that's a good enough reason to be included, probably one of the reasons I now own a mandolin and keep looking at banjos hidden in corners. They and you are safe for now
10: Emmylou Harris 'Stumble into Grace'
A lady discovering her muse late and we all benefit. Maybe a little mellow, maybe I'm mellowing, this has little to do with country music but she does have that gloriously rich voice
There were so many other things I discovered this year, Sunn O))), The Shins, My Morning Jacket, The Ruins, Kings of Leon; Johnny Cash thanks to the unbelievable video for 'Hurt', (hint to the music press, the album came out in 2002 so stop putting it in your best of 2003 charts); Boris are wonderful live but you can only get two old albums in the UK; Acid Mothers Temple had a quiet year but each time we saw them in some form this year they were excellent as ever; The Thorns, but only acoustically the main album is produced to blandness; the music of Occitan, (La Talvera, Lo Cor de la Plana); Belgium world roots fusionists Think of One; Dr Faustus and Bellow and Spiers making fabulous English music, Jim Moray infuriating the folk police with innovative arrangements and instruments but he could take it further; Malouma from Mauritana, Souad Massi from Algeria via France, Sevara Nazarkhan, Mariza still unbelievably beautiful and starting to push Fado; the wonderful Afro-Caribbean sounds of Colombia; JJC and the 417 Squad making Nigerian flavoured hip hop in London. There were a few disappointments, Joe Strummer's last album feels unfinished, (I don't understand the universal praise it's received), though the single's suggest through their b-sides that some one has a marvellous live album to put out, a much better final release; album after album arriving with copy protection on it. There were some excellent re-issues, finally Neil Young's 'On the Beach', on cd; Japan's Tin Drum, though outrageously expensive in your high street retailer, probably why folks buy stuff from CD Wow; Echo and the Bunnymen showing how to do it at mid-price too. Scott Walker's themed 5 cd box set if only so I have 'Archangel' on cd. There's bound to be stuff I've forgotten, Asian Dub Foundation for one and there was a load of stuff I discovered late from last year that missed last year and this and I've ignored all the Brazilian music, (Cibelle, Celso Fonseca, Sabotage, City of God soundtrack for starters!!)!!
My top ten of last year is now here.