Grinderman: Grinderman

When most men hit their mid life crises they normally buy a Porsche or have an affair, Nick Cave’s answer seems to be to make a raw grunge album. The album consists of a harsh sonic attack of brutal edgy blues that must seem quite unpalatable to those brought up on boy bands and similar easy listening commercial filth. I think my favourite lyrics of the year come from the second track of the album “No Pussy Blues” which recants the tale of a girl he meets and invests a certain amount of time and effort into but alas she just “doesn’t want to”. Other highlight include “Depth Charge Ethel” and the excellent “Go Tell The Women” its main refrain of “Go Tell the Women we’re leaving” could be an anthem for Men’s Lib (if there is such a thing).

Kula Shaker: Strange Folk

It could be argued that I have a bias for any group whose lead singer is called Crispian. However, this was one of my most anticipated albums of the year being a massive fan of 1996’s “K” and 1998’s “Pigs, Peasants and Astronauts”. In the intervening years Crispian put out a couple of albums with the Jeevas before reconvening with rest of Kula Shaker (minus Jay Darlington) last year on a few warm up gigs and a brief EP. This years full resurrection of the band and their first new album in 9 years sees them not too far from where they left off. The Eastern influences are not as prominent but are still there and the Hammond Organ still take a key role in most of the tracks. The opening lines to “Die For Love”, “Don’t Wanna be wrapped up in a flag, or spill my blood upon the sand, don’t wanna die for some pack of lies” is a good summary of the band’s feelings and politics that are sprinkled throughout the album. One of my favourites is “Persephone”, (the bonus track on the limited edition CD), an acoustic vision of Mother Nature’s only daughter lying dead underground waiting to be reborn..

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: Raising Sand

Despite loving this album, my greatest fear is that Alison Krauss is likely to be lynched by an angry mob of hairy arsed Zeppelin fans following the announcement of the duo touring the new album in early 2008, and thus putting a kybosh on any immediate Zeppelin tours in 2008. Although I was disappointed not to be afforded the opportunity to see the mighty Zeppelin at the O2 in December and regularly check the websites for a glimmer of hope on a possible tour, I’m still very much looking forward to seeing Percy and the American Country singer at Wembley in May. Plant rightly believes this is some of his best post Zeppelin work and understandably wants to set aside the time to promote and tour the album. Raising Sand is an elegant album that leans heavily on the major influences of its two performers, namely Blues and Country. The selection of covers, predominately I believe, chosen by album producer T. Bone Walker provide an innate late 60’s ambience to the piece. Highlights include the opening track, “Rich Woman”, with its distant sliding guitars providing the stage for Plant and Krauss’s complimenting vocals.

The Waterboys: Book of Lightning

This gem of an album seems to passed under the radar of much of the music press that I have read this year which is a real shame as this album is up their with the best of their work. It has the typical Waterboys sound featuring the intricate Irish fiddling of Steve Wickham, evocative of Fisherman’s Blues and the more rocky guitars of Dream Harder. The stand out track is “Everybody Takes a Tumble” which is a showcase for Wickham’s mastery of the fiddle.

Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II

Titling an album “Chrome Dream II” automatically begs the question “What happened to Chrome Dreams I?” Chrome Dreams I is in fact one of a number of either unfinished or unreleased Young projects that never officially saw the light of day. Although some of the new songs on Chrome Dreams II actually come from unreleased material from the 80’s I don’t really see the connection with the unreleased Chrome Dreams I from 1977. Still, it sounds like a good title for an album so why not? Anyway, this claimed sequel is my favourite album of 2007 by a clear margin and the two pivotal tracks strategically positioned near either end of the piece greatly exceeded my expectations. The first of these 2 epics, “Ordinary People”, at 18 minutes plus contains Young’s prophetic vision of the human condition emphasising as usual the scary neo con dominated culture. Each verse contains a glimpse into a society of factory workers, drugs, security and guns punctuated by substantial horns (courtesy of the Bluenotes) and a few grinding guitars. Menacingly loitering at the other end of the album is the even better “No Hidden Path” with its hammering rhythm and a most welcomed and lengthy ZZ Top style bluesy guitar solo.