Best of 2013 - Part Two

Welcome to part 2 of my 'Best of 2013'. The second and final part looks at reissues, favourite songs and, last but not least, compilations.  So, without further ado, the rest of the best of 2013...

Reissues

Hawkwind – Warrior on the Edge of Time:  Finally, after far too many years and all manner of mysteries regarding contractual disputes and personal wranglings, this album sees the light of day on an official CD release.  Esoteric must be commended for finally making this happen, and what a happening – a variety of packages including a triple disc with multiple mixes and extras and a vinyl box set.  It’s worth it for the intro to ‘Assault and Battery’ alone…

Brainticket – Cottonwoodhill:  The album comes with a warning: “Only listen once a day to this disc. Your brain might be destroyed.”  There can be no higher recommendation for any piece of music.

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica:  Hot on the heels of the release of the original ‘Bat Chain Puller’ the estate of Frank Zappa come up trumps again with the ‘definitive’ version of TMR. The recording is clearer and more ‘open’ than the Warners version; if you love this album you have to hear this release.  If you want to avoid paying a silly price for this, get it direct from Barfko Swill the shop front of the Zappa estate.  This can be found here.

Keith Tippett Group – Dedicated To You, But You Weren’t Listening: In 2013 Esoteric continued extending their excellent reissue catalogue as well as releasing more new albums under their Esoteric Antenna label.  Along with the Hawkwind reissue (see above) this was a reminder of how invigorating “old stuff” can be.  Anyone who’s a fan of Soft Machine should give it a listen – see also 68!

Microdisney – Everybody Is Fantastic and The Clock Comes Down The Stairs:  Cherry Red (which is also parent of the wonderful Esoteric label) came up trumps with extended reissues of the Microdisney back catalogue.  These two albums showcase the developing writing talents of Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan: marrying O’Hagan’s love of melody and harmony with Coughlan’s vitriolic, cutting and often angry lyrics – an enjoyably contrasting combination.

Tracks / Songs

Julia Holter – Hello Stranger: Bliss. The album from which this song comes (‘Loud City Song’) was also a contender for the best album list.

Lifesigns – Fridge Full of Stars:  An album of great moments, amongst which this track is the most complete. A band worth watching.

David Bowie - Where Are We Now?: Melancholic, wistful song that showed Bowie could still write a great song.  Though I’ve listened to the album several times it’s an anticlimax after this song and isn’t likely to vie for space in my collection any time soon.

Sanguine Hum – Cognoscenti: Another album full of great moments, but ultimately this track is the one I come back to the most.

Goldfrapp – Stranger: ‘Tales of Us’ was a brave departure after the previous poppier excursion, which I applaud, but it was ultimately disappointing.  ‘Stranger’ was a great Goldfrapp song in any context.

Compilations

Various Artists – Love Poetry And Revolution: A Journey Through The British Psychedelic And Underground Scenes 1966 To 1972: Three CDs of British Psych – 65 tracks spanning six years – including obscure tracks from well-known bands along with obscure tracks from obscure bands and some songs that were never officially released. I enjoyed this so much I almost grew my hair and dropped out maaaaannnnn.  The accompanying booklet is cool too!

Various Artists – Deutsche Elektronische Musik 2: Experimental German Rock and Electronic Musik 1971-83: Second volume of Soul Jazz labels exploration of German music uncovers some gems and old favourites. “Krautrock royalty” (Can, Neu!, Popul Vuh and Amon Duul II amongst others) mixed with some less well- known artists fulfils brief admirably. Roll on volume 3!

Various Artists - Who's That Man: Tribute To Conny Plank:  4CD box set covering different aspects of the music career of one of Germany’s most influential producers/artists.  First two CDs cover his production and tune, CD3 is remixes and CD4 is a previously unreleased live show featuring Conny Plank, Dieter Möbius and Arno Steffen in Mexico 1986. Guess this one’s for fans or the curious. Nice! (To be said in “Fast Show” smoky “jazz” voice).

So ends my review of my favourite music of 2013.  It's been a pretty good year - there's loads of other music that didn't make it on to the list which could so easily have done so - no doubt some of that will crop up in 2014...