SDE’s Best New Albums of 2017
This blog, as many of you will have noticed, is largely about reissues and box sets. However that doesn’t mean that there isn’t still plenty of great NEW music being released each year, sometimes from ‘classic’ artists (who like U2 might even be reissuing old material at the same time) or sometimes from new acts who may not be on everyone’s radar. Anyway, because it’s the end of the year and just for the fun of it, SDE presents our list of the best new albums issued in 2017, as selected by Editor Paul Sinclair. In terms of managing expectations, this is a personal choice from the new albums that have entered SDE’s orbit (in other words Paul hasn’t listened to 500 new albums and is picking the best). With that proviso, have a read. These are in no particular order – although one is labelled as ‘album of the year’ – and of course, feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments…
Pål Waaktaar Savoy – guitarist and writer of most of a-ha‘s big hits, seems to be one of those songwriters who needs to keep writing and finding outlets for his songs. Frustrated, perhaps, with the politics and the slow, long-distance writing/recording practises of a-ha, he turned to young New York singer Zoe Gnecco (her dad Jimmy is in the rock band Ours) to record some songs. Talking to SDE earlier this year, Waaktaar described the album as a “happy accident” and revealed that the recordings overlapped a little bit with a-ha’s 2015 album Cast In Steel and that Open Face from this Waaktaar & Zoe record nearly made it as an a-ha song. In fact, Zoe recorded versions of a-ha’s Under The Makeup and Cast In Steel before Morten got to grips with them. Pål has written and produced all the songs on this album (not really possible these days on the more ‘democratic’ a-ha records) and it’s a superb collection. There’s quite a lot of styles on offer; Beautiful Burnout has a fine ’60s vibe, Tearful Girl is driving regret-pop (“here we are hamsters in a wheel“) and there’s nothing about Laundromat, I don’t like – great title, great beat, great melody. With break-up song They To Me And I To You Pal finally finds a home for a very old composition and The Sequoia Has Fallen brings closes the album in fine style. Waaktaar & Zoe is the very definition of grown-up pop music (or pop music for grown-ups) and – a couple of notable highs aside, such as the title track and Under The Makeup – it is better than a-ha’s own Cast In Steel. I hope this album proves to be more than a one-off collaboration.
Read more about Waaktaar & Zoe
I’ve been a fan since I bought the CD single of Me and A Gun in 1992, but frankly, getting into a new Tori Amos album can be quite hard work. The relatively simple arrangements and easy-to-digest melodies of the early era are largely gone and Tori’s songs these days can be dense, epic and spin off in randomly in all sorts of directions. Also, because of the way she records and delivers her vocals, it’s not always clear what’s she’s going on about. What does come through strongly is the emotion, and if there’s one thing you want in songs – and music in general – it is an emotional commitment. Tori always means what she’s singing, even if it takes a while to work it all out. Native Invader‘s opener Reindeer King is a good example. It runs for seven minutes, and is something of an evocative mystery… but very beautiful. There’s quite a variety in soundscapes and production too. Cloud Riders has a echoey guitar intro leading to organ-heavy verses. It’s a wonderful song, with more a traditional vocal melody; almost Beatlesque in places.
All the songs are full of little vocal hooks and memorable musical motifs, but you look at the track listing (not an easy task thanks to stupid packaging) and struggle to remember which great ‘bits’ are in which songs! Chocolate Song is a good example of this – it’s crazy and goes all over the place and has not the slightest interest in formal pop song structures – verse, verse, chorus etc. Bang is similar – just when you think Tori can’t squeeze any more melodies and ideas into one track, four and a half minutes into the six minute running time, she comes up with a brilliant outro section (“All I wanna be, is the very best machine I can be..”). The album is over an hour long in standard form and if you buy the deluxe you get two more songs (Upside Down 2 and Russia) which bring it close to 70 minutes. In summary, Native Invader is highly challenging in many ways, but also utterly addictive. It’s like some kind of puzzle; lyrical and musical clues dropped into your brain that rattle around and require more listening to (try to) solve and untangle. If you’re new to Tori, Native Invader probably isn’t where you come in, but she’s a truly unique talent and this album is highly rewarding and one I’ve found myself constantly returning to this year.
Read more about Native Invader
Not the 1979 Kenny Loggins ‘yacht rock’ record of the same name…. rather the fourth album from Canadian singer-songwriter Gabrielle Papillon. Less than two months ago I knew nothing about her, but thanks to a chance invitation to a party in Shoreditch hosted by her label State51, I saw her and her band perform live (along with a few other acts) early in November. I almost always enjoy live music, no matter how good/bad/indifferent acts are but given the situation – there weren’t that many people there and it was fairly much an ‘industry’ event – my expectations from this band I’d never heard of weren’t exactly high. I guess it shows the age old power of great songs, beautifully sung and thoughtfully arranged, that I became rather transfixed watching the show. It wasn’t an easy crowd; they were basically playing at a party and there was a lot of noise and a lot of chatting while bands played, so it wasn’t like everyone was totally focussed on what was happening on stage. But I was. “I’m loving this” I kept telling my friend, Mike, who was with me that night. I couldn’t understand why people weren’t more into it.
I sought out Gabrielle after the show had a quick chat and bought a CD of Keep The Fire (officially released in October), which she signed for me. I played it after a few days, wondering if my mind had been playing tricks on me – it surely isn’t as good as I remembered? Wrong! It’s fantastic. It’s a deeply moving, intimate record but Papillon doesn’t forget her craft by neglecting melody, structure and choruses. These are accessible pop songs but there’s always appears to be an undertow of heartbreak, accentuated by the superb string arrangements. This collection of songs will surely connect to anyone who is struggling or has loved and lost, or has dealt with bereavement, although thankfully not required for enjoyment! The band is brilliant, and the arrangements are always empathetic to the songwriting – Jordi Comstock’s drumming in particular stands out (one of the things that struck me when seeing them live). Papillon is a great lyricist and there’s some brilliant turns of phrases in virtually every song. There really isn’t a weak song on the 11-track album (opener Overture For The Fire Keeper is an instrumental). The piano-led Hold On, I Will I – which is surely destined to soundtrack a tragic/emotional scene in a major film – spends nearly three minutes building up to very satisfying resolution. I love reissues and box sets but this was a visceral reminder of how powerful and affecting great new music can be. Trust me. Buy this record. You won’t be disappointed.
When I was much younger, listening to Pink Floyd as a teenager, I could never understand why they ‘let’ Roger Waters sing some of their songs, when David Gilmour was clearly a much better singer. Of course, once Roger started taking over and dominating the songwriting, that pretty much dictated itself, but I guess such subtleties must have been lost on me! I’ve come to enjoy his performances over the years and most of his solo albums have at least one or two things on them worth the price of entry, and 1992’s Amused to Death, significantly more so. One of the highlights of Is This The Life We Really Want, the follow-up (25 years later) to that album, is the the way producer Nigel Godrich has recorded and produced Waters’ vocals. He sounds great. Really great. I don’t know whether it’s the keys the songs are written in, or whether Godrich (famously confrontational, when required – ask Paul McCartney) made Roger ‘reign it in’ a bit, but the tone is spot on, moving from semi-spoken and intimate on Deja Vu and The Last Refugee to angry and passionate on the sweary Picture That and somewhere in between, on album highlight Smell The Roses. It works really well and when Roger does occasionally let rip, and goes for what I call the ‘strangled cat’ – for example on the line “…to find someone home” on Deja Vu – it’s all the more powerful. This record is really about the quality of the songwriting, so while it does include Waters’ signature sound effects (ticking clocks, radio broadcasts, the speaking clock, seagulls… and yes, the odd explosion) in the past you’ve sometimes felt that these whizz-bang sound effects became the star of the show, whereas here they definitely play more of a supporting role. Previously, on a Waters’ solo album, you tended to excuse the dearth of great songs because it was an interesting concept, or it sounded great in Q Sound, or whatever… but not with this. I really do think this is his best work since his Pink Floyd heyday, for me just shading Amused to Death, an album that’s probably more ‘cinematic’, but as the title suggests Is This The Life We Really Want? has an appealing world-weary endearing quality to it. The album has a wonderfully warm ‘analogue’ production, noticeable especially on the vinyl pressing, and that’s such a pleasure. I don’t know if art mirrors reality, but on this album Roger comes across like one of those relatives who you can’t stand (who perhaps like the sound of their own voice, a bit too much), but you warm to over time and actually quite like in the end!
Read more about Is This The Life We Really Want?
Sheryl Crow herself wasn’t hiding her inspiration for Be Myself, shortly before it came out – put simply, she wanted to recapture the aural heart and soul of her second and third albums; “I wanted to revisit that sound and that feeling. It was a complete blast and the most effortless thing I’ve ever done,” she said. In this respect, Be Myself was a complete triumph – it really does sound just like those records. It’s probably not as easy as we think, recapturing the sound of a previous era, but she had the right team on board; it’s co-written with Crow’s longtime writing partner Jeff Trott and she welcomed Tchad Blake back into the fold to mix the record (he worked on both 1996’s Sheryl Crow and 1998’s The Globe Sessions). So a big tick for ‘sound’, but are the songs any good? In short, yes. They don’t benefit from the constant radio play her singles in the mid-nineties would have enjoyed and there’s no out and out classic like If It Makes You Happy, but for me Crow writes really great pop songs, her lyrics are never banal and on this album they often pithily reference modern concerns, in particular the attention-sucking presence of social media and mobile phones. Roller Stake is a witty and catchy tune about a ‘buzzkill’ boyfriend who won’t put his phone away denying Sheryl a little ‘face-to-face’, while Grow Up and Woo Woo are both great fun and end the album in some style. Despite this, the standout track might be the thoughtful Strangers Again, which eloquently examines the roles of ex-lovers. I saw Crow live in 2017 and the tracks from this album more than held there own. Be Myself is a total blast.
When I interviewed Steven Wilson earlier this year about To The Bone he perceptively noted that “the album where you fell in love with that artist for the first time…will always be closest to your heart” and that “the artist in some ways is doomed never to be able to satisfy that kind of need, to repeat that experience of discovery”. To The Bone suffers in this respect for me, because I first properly discovered Steven’s work with 2014’s Hand.Cannot.Erase. and I’m still semi-obsessed with that record, especially in deluxe form. So while I don’t think that To The Bone is ‘better’ than its predecessor, it’s still one of my favourite releases of 2017, packed with intelligent rock/pop songs like the title track (co-written by XTC‘s Andy Partridge), Pariah and The Same Asylum As Before. The tone of the plaintive Blank Tapes is actually similar to some of Hand.Cannot.Erase. and the feeling of deja vu is further strengthened because the fantastic Israeli singer Ninet Tayeb duets on that track (she sang on a couple of tracks on the 2014 album, notably Routine). Permanating was supposedly controversial amongst Wilson diehards, apparently because it was so commercially appealing, but I just thought it was great pop song. Bonus points scored for a brilliant deluxe package (the notes are very, very interesting), underscoring the fact that Steven Wilson inherently understands the fan-artist relationship and the value of physical music sets. SDE doesn’t have such an award, but if you factor in this new album and his contributions to reissues from the likes of Jethro Tull, XTC and others, Steven Wilson would be our man of the year for 2017. Already looking forward to next year’s live shows.
Effectively a Fleetwood Mac album minus Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie‘s 2017 long-player is a delightful return to the form and effortlessness of Tango in the Night. No, it’s not as good as the 1987 album, but tracks like Feel About You, In My World and Red Sun are catchy as hell and have a production that doesn’t consider ‘pop’ to be a dirty word. Buckingham’s creative force has been long acknowledged, but McVie’s contribution here is enormous and arguably her two solo compositions Game of Pretend and in particular Carnival Begin are album highlights. A lifetime of writing and performing hasn’t been wasted and this is pure songwriting craft at its very best. The album also clocks in at an old-school 40 minutes – no bonus tracks, no deluxe edition just great music. The packaging is rubbish, and they could have given it a proper name… but this comes highly recommended.
Read more about Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie
Natalie Rose Findlay’s band Findlay have been releasing EPs and gigging around the UK and Europe for three years or so, but only launched their debut album Forgotten Pleasures in February this year (with a free gig at Hackney’s Moth Club). London-based Natalie (originally from Stockport) is a brilliant singer and live performer (cleverly using two microphones with different EQ and effects on each) and I suppose you’d describe the music broadly as indie-pop although Natalie clearly has a great record collection and is influenced by classic ’70a artists like David Bowie and T.Rex. Indeed, early song Your Sister (which didn’t make the album) is a clear tip-of-the-hat to Jean Genie. Back to the album though, Waste My Time is brilliant, with a cool EDM-style intro and a very strong hooky chorus, while Greasy Love has a wild, passionate distorted vocal and is a stompy tour-force. Monomania (which like Waste My Time was a single) is a piano-driven track and has a very soulful chorus line (of “Nobody Loves You Like I Do“) and Sunday Morning In The Afternoon is a suitably spaced out comedown track. Choosing to be in a small but tight band – guitar/bass/drums and occasional keyboard – and not a solo artist is a harder gig these days and while Findlay are constantly touring around Europe, it’s a shame that this fine record doesn’t appear to have connected with a wider audience. To quote Stuck In Your Shadow, I want to get to you – I don’t know how.
I don’t really have time for the Bono-bashers and the U2 haters. When you think that the band was formed in 1976 and here we are almost 42 years later and all four members are all still with us and in my opinion still producing great music – it’s an incredible feat. They have undoubtedly released some landmark albums (The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby come to mind) and while those records are always going to be hard, if not impossible, to match, it doesn’t mean that new ones should be dismissed as second rate. Fair enough, stunts like the giving away previous album Songs Of Innocence via iTunes, didn’t really do them any favours (and somewhat distracted from the fact that it was a very good album) but some of the reactions felt way out of proportion. Similarly, Bono’s politics and all the suggestions of hypocrisy can be debated, but let’s focus on the music here. Songs of Experience is full of superb, often exhilarating pop. Lights of Home (“shouldn’t be here ‘cos I should be dead”) refers to Bono’s still mysterious near-death experience, and features some great backing vocals, ending with a singalong-style outro section. The very beginning of Get Out Of Your Own Way cheekily references Where The Streets Have No Name and that poppy track segues into American Soul via a Kendrick Lamar spoken piece (“Blessed are the bullies, for one day they will have to stand up to themselves…“). American Soul is a good old pumping rocker and benefits from a great turn behind the kit from Larry Mullen Jr. Listen to this track on headphones, walking down the street and you’ll soon have a swagger in your step and will be glancing into shop windows and will be starring in your own imaginary pop video (or do only I do that?). Summer Of Love has an irresistible looping guitar figure and The Showman‘s ‘Little More Better’ chorus is surely more addictive than crack. The whole album continues like this and is rather moving when the final track, 13, in true ‘reprise’ style links this album to its predecessor by way of the melody and lyrics of Song For Someone. Both Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience are, by any yardstick, good albums, but I think the new record is the better of the two. But together, they are a formidable achievement, so late into a band’s career. The deluxe of Experience is recommended, since it includes the Mandela tribute Ordinary Love. The downside is you have to put up with the “U2 Vs Kygo” mix of Your The Best Thing About Me.
Read more about Songs of Experience.
SuperDeluxeEdition.com helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.
Related Content
Reviews
News
134 Comments
134 thoughts on “SDE’s Best New Albums of 2017”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Albums of Slowdive and St Vincent are really GREAT in 2017 for me !!!
I’ve been a Johnny Come Lately to the Chris Robinson Brotherhood and have been working my way through their back catalogue. I’ve now reached the 2017 album Barefoot In The Head. It’s pretty damn good!
My Top 30, listening from Los Angeles:
1.) Slowdive – Slowdive
2.) Jesus & Mary Chain, The – Damage and Joy
3.) St. Vincent – Masseducation
4.) Waxahatchee – Out in the Storm
5.) Afghan Whigs – In Spades
6.) Ride – Weather Diaries
7.) LCD Soundsystem – American Dream
8.) New Pornographers, The – Whiteout Conditions
9.) Alvvays – Antisocialites
10.) Adams, Ryan – Prisoner
20 Honorable Mentions, listed alphabetically:
*Beck – Colors
*Charley Bliss – Guppy
*Charlatans, The – Different Days
*Cherry Glazerr – Apocalypstick
*Del Rey, Lana – Lust for Life
*Depeche Mode – Spirit
*Fleet Foxes – Crack Up
*Gainsbourg, Charlotte – Ruins
*Gallagher, Liam – As You Were
*Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins
*Japandroids – Near to the Wild Heart
*Lamar, Kendrick – Damn
*Middle Kids – Middle Kids EP
*National, The – Sleep Well Beast
*Phoenix – Ti Amo
*Queens of the Stone Age – Villains
*Shins, The – Heartworms
*Swift, Taylor – Reputation
*War on Drugs, The – A Deeper Understanding
*U2 – Songs of Experience
Has anybody listened to the latest Wolf Alice album? If you did, it would be on your list.
If the current single is anything to go by, I think not.
Return To Ommadawn by Mike Oldfield. Quality Music!
don,t forget great return for cousteaux .debut solo for alison pierce and new bands of the year for me tiny magnetic pets and empathy test[all omd fans check out these two quick!!]
Thanks for the Gabrielle Papillon and Waaktaar & Zoe suggestions. I like what I hear.
Enjoy…
Enjoyed the list Paul. Definitely agree about the Waaktaar & Zoe album – so much better than Cast in Steel. Also agree on Buckingham & McVie. I was surprised the War on Drugs “A Deeper Understanding” didn’t make the list. I also thought The National’s “Sleep Well Beast” was excellent.
Cats in Space – ‘Scarecrow’, an album chock full of massive songs, hooks and melodies. Should be heard by every Queen, Sweet, ELO, 10cc,Jellyfish etc fan. Nothing else came remotely close for me.
Anybody got their Heroes replacements yet ?
Was hoping the Bowie box was going to be reissue of the year but sadly not :(
Not yet.A few people on Steve Hoffman have said they have received their replacements so the process has begun.If I don’t have it by February I will contact them again.
Thanks for the review of the Gabrielle Papillon show and album. I’d never heard of her, and I’m Canadian! After reading about her here, I went to her website and purchased a download of Keep the Fire. (It’s available in WAV format, for those who care about such things). It’s lovely album – one that I’m sure will be in heavy rotation here for quite awhile.
Thanks for SDE, and Happy New Year!
It’s been another year of mainly back catalogue for me. The most significant older musical find for me of 2017 was All Over This Town by The Upper Room. Amazing song, and discovered as I found the album in a charity shop and it was cheap enough and interesting looking enough to take a punt on.
British Sea Power’s new 2017 album, “Let the Dancers inherit the party”, is superb – check it out if you like emotionally-intelligent rock music laced with strong melodies…
I enjoyed reading your Top 10 List Paul.
I am still getting around to listening to the new album by Tori Amos.
I have it, just havent had a chance to listen to it yet.
Here is my Top 10 List of greatest albums of 2017:
1. The Jesus And Mary Chain – Damage And Joy (2017)
*This is by far my favorite album this year. What a Return! And so sexy. I am often drawn to electronic music, but this album had me doing that thing you described Paul, walking through the streets, looking at reflection in windows, pretending I am in a music video. This album rocks, and I like the little touches of electronic bits, and the duets with the chicks are a great addition. I really enjoy this album. I like that the Reid Brothers went back to their industrial, electronic-trash-alternative-punk sleezy sexy sound. It’s so dirty. Great lyrics. This album sounds like it could have been released back in 1989, in that attitude yet with obvious modern technology. Stand out tracks are: “Amputation”, “All Things Pass”, “Get On Home”,…. but the entire album is great and catchy as hell, for a Jesus and Mary Chain album.
2. Beck – Colors (2017)
* Funnest, summer-time, Dance-Pop album of the year. Excellent from beginning to the end. Stand out tracks: “Wow”, “Dreams”, “Colors”. But entire album is great.
3. Marilyn Manson – Heaven Upside Down (2017)
* This is his come-back album. And it rocks. The electronic elements really work for him, and this album reminds me of 1997’s “Mechanical Animals” to some degree. Perhaps more darker. But I love that the songs get stuck in your head, the clever lyrics, the sinister vibe. This album was a surprise when I first heard it. Stand-out tracks: “Tattooed In Reverse”, “Say10”, “Saturnalia”… but the entire album is excellent.
4. The New Division – Precision (2017)
* Been following these guys. This (EP) is not actually a full length-album but worth noting. There are only six tracks on this EP. Has elements of “The Bravery”, The Presets”, “The Faint”, “Depeche Mode”… … perhaps some “New Order”. Great stuff! Stand-out tracks: “Pressure (In Decay)”, ” Precision”, “Walk”.
5. Depeche Mode – Spirit (2017)
* My favorite band has delivered again! Albums flows nicely, great from beginning to end. Surprised at some of the evolved style in sounds and style, yet remaining true to their classic sound. Love that this album is written well and has more of an edge. The Political message weaved throughout gives this album more of a purpose than their last album did. Stand-out tracks: “So Much Love”, “Scum”, Poison Heart”, “Where’s The Revolution”, “Cover Me”. But the entire album is great IMO.
6. OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark) – The Punishment Of Luxury (2017)
* Wow! They keep getting better and better in their new era of music recording’s. Some stuff here is very Kraftwerk-esque. Some tracks seem experimental. But what I love is their very clean, sleek, santized electronic sound they are going for. This is what I wish Depeche Mode would get back to. This type of electronic music. Honestly, this album seems to be the one I am still playing often (along with Jesus and Mary Chain) so maybe this should be closer up to the top. I also love they are still releasing Singles and Remixes. Like Depeche continue to do. But this album is fun, I enjoy exploring this electronic landscape and for me the entire album is excellent, but stand-out tracks are: “Isotype”, “Kiss Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Bang”, “The Punishment Of Luxury”, “One More Time”. The entire album is great.
7. Vitalic – Voyage (2017)
* Great album. “Strange Experimental electro-punk-clash-y electronic dance Music” is a great description for this. Stand-out tracks: “Waiting For The Stars (Feat. David Shaw)”, “Use It Or Lose It (Feat. Mark Kerr)”, “Hans Is Driving (Feat. Miss Kittin)”. They have some great artists featured on some tracks.
8. Erasure – World Be Gone (2017)
* Another surprise album that I didn’t see coming. I found some of these songs are really beautiful in their arrangements. Erasure has a way of moving me emotionally, but set to a drum machine and often aimed at the Clubs. It’s the slower, more mellow tracks that are the most beautiful and memorable this time around. And I can name four of them that really grab me as classics. Stand-out tracks are: “Still It’s Not Over”, “World Be Gone”, “Lousy Sum Of Nothing”.
9. Blancmange – Unfurnished Rooms (2017)
* Like OMD, these guys have been releasing new music again over the recent years. They surprise me with the past few quality albums. Love their adventurous and experimental touches, like OMD has adopted on their last few albums. Stand-out tracks are: “We Are the Chemicals”, “Anna Dine”, “Old Friends”.
10. LCD Soundsystem – American Dream (2017)
* Another surprise to hear. Glad to have them back. Pretty damn good stuff. Stand-out tracks: “Change Yr Mind”, “Tonite”, “Call The Police”. Great album (“Tonite” is fu*#ing weird, LOL”)
I have to say, 2017 was a great year for music, and I look forward to exploring Tori Amos’s new album and U2’s new album among others. Thanks for your top 10 list Paul, now I have more music to explore.
No order but my top 10 for 2017 would look as follows.
OMD – Punishment of Luxury (Like the last album this returns then to more experimental sound)
Tim Bowness – Lost In The Ghost Light (Steven Wilson’s band mate from N0-Man has put out some great solo records)
Depeche Mode – Spirit (Great to see them live this year as well, typical good album from DM)
Steven Wilson – To the Bone (nice slight departure from his last few albums)
Paul Weller – A Kind Revolution (busy year for Weller, nice to see him live in Toronto as well)
U2 – Songs of Experience (didn’t see liking this as much as I did)
Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie (not Fleetwood Mac but really good)
Ray Davies – Americana (grew on me after a few listens)
Neil Finn – Out of Silence (Fantastic!)
Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band – Body And Shadow (always outing out great albums, this one is no exception)
My top 3 new releases from 2017
1. Elbow – Little Fictions
2. Aimee Mann – Mental Illness
3. Mike & the Mechanics – Let Me Fly
And 20 other faves from 2017 (in alpha order)
Beck – Colors
Andrew Belle – Dive Deep
Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie – Buckingham McVie
Justin Currie – This Is My Kingdom Now
Neil Finn – Out Of Silence
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott – Crooked Calypso
Nick Heyward – Woodland Echoes
Iron And Wine – Beast Epic
LCD Soundsystem – American Dream
Maroon 5 – Red Pill Blues
John Mayer – The Search For Everything
The National – Sleep Well Beast
OMD – The Punishment Of Luxury
Ron Sexsmith – The Last Rider
Sam Smith – The Thrill Of It All
Wesley Stace – John Wesley Harding
Stars – There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light
Starsailor – All This Life
U2 – Songs Of Experience
War On Drugs – A Deeper Understanding
@DiscoDave2000, Iron and Wine’s Beast Epic was nearly in my top ten. Great album.
Hardly bought any “new” releases this year (Robyn Hitchcock’s eponymous comes to mind), but did just slip in the Steven Wilson “Transience” compilation (thanks to SDE’s sale alert), which arrived last week and is growing on me. It’s likely to get me to buy more of Wilson’s stuff. Speaking of him, my copy of XTC “Black Sea” deluxe STILL hasn’t arrived (shipped 11/20 from UK) and I’m getting real antsy! Now I’ll probably miss out on the signed (by Terry Chambers) postcard I was to receive for ordering early. Anyway, as ever, SDE remains my favorite music blog… Besides my own. Shameless plug for non-competing with SDE music blog: NuDisc.wordpress.com
Here are my favourites of 2017:
1 Roger Waters – Is this the life… Paul has said it all above
2 Future Islands – The Far Field. Better than Singles, this ones had heavy rotation.
3 Flo Morrissey and Matthew E White – Gentlewoman Ruby Man (its all covers but the way they are done is sublime)
4 Buckingham McVie. Knew this would be great from its announcement
5 Procol Harum – Novum. The first third is classic solo Brooker and the last two thirds are classic Procol Harum.
6 Pere Ubu – Twenty Years in a Montana Missle Silo. Brilliant, leaves you wondering how do they still do it? Also the best produced SQ wise on the list.
7 Lee Renaldo – Electric Trim. Just beats his old team mate Thurston. Different to Sonic Youth in a great way.
8 Thurston Moore – Rock and Roll Consciousness. His best stuff since Goo.
9 The National – Sleep Well Beast. Great solid album as we’ve come to expect from them.
10 Neil Young – The Visitor. As usual the reviews are split on a new NY product, but it must be me, but I really have enjoyed most of his latter albums and this is no exception.
I’d pick The Waterboys’ and Morrissey’s ones.
Happy New Year to everybody from Bologna, Italy.
Thanks for these Paul and all your work for us throughout the year. Here’s your list on a Spotify playlist For anyone that wants it.
https://open.spotify.com/user/shinty1958/playlist/3Cmhu3PBeOaHzcfeXeALPR?si=_iSDDPAtTF6MCbKmUxXMrg
Hi Paul. Just wanna say Happy New Year to you, your family and all of your readers. Your work is inspiring for me and i hope you will be able to continue for many many years
5. Is this the life we really want. Roger Waters.
This, to me, completes a trilogy with The Final Cut and Amused to Death. So glad he made a new record.
4. A Deeper Understanding. The War on Drugs.
It just soothes me. It took a while to get past the cextremely Dylaesque vocals, but only two weeks after buying it it is in my top 5.
3. Return to Ommadawn. Mike Oldfield
The best thing he’s done since Guitars. I love this from start to finish. Much more original than the TB retreats but tied to the arrangements and feel if the original. A lot of guitawork on side 2 demonstrates his debt to Hank Marvin.
2. Every Valley. Public Service Broadcasting
Some days this is no 1. Lovely Dena by moment when Richard Burton talks of miners watching the posh people “with hostile eyes.
You would expect Roger Waters to take the prize for Bitter Irony in any year he released an album, but the track “People Will Always Need Coal” using a 1973 recruiting ad is one of the best archive steals from this band yet.
1. Little Fictions. Elbow
This just edges it for me because in the year of Brecit and Trump turning social media into a toxic dumping ground, Guy Garvey’s hopeful and positive lyrics are a welcome respite. Even the oblique reference to Brexit on K2 has a positive spin.
This also contains my Song of the Year “Magnificent, She Says” which is beautifully illustrated in the album artwork.
A great year for new music!
My favourites:
Slowdive
Mew
Wolf Alice
BNQT
Liam Gallagher
Ride
Paul Draper
Gary Numan
The Horrors
Morrissey
And my favourite album of the year:
Pale Seas
Not sure if you’ll allow this as it was actually released in December 2016, but Oxygene 3 by Jean Michel Jarre has become my favourite album of all time, replacing Mike Oldfield’s The Songs Of Distant Earth which had held the top spot since it’s release in 1994.
I wanted to put Oxygene 3 on my list too, since it is the album I listened most to in 2017. Btw The Songs Of Distant Earth is an amazing album as well – one of my absolute favourites.
1. Wolf Alice – Visions of a Life
2. Ryan Adams – The Prisoner
3. Bully – Losing
4. Psychedelic Witchcraft – Sound of the Wind
5. Gary Numan – Savage
6. Ginger Wildheart – Ghost in the Tanglewood
7. Chelsea Wolfe – Hiss Spun
8. William Patrick Corgan – Oglilala
9. Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark
10. Brix & The Extracated – Part 2
My choice for album of the year is by a Belgian jazz singer
Meleanie De Biasio – Lillies
This was playing in my local record shop and I was hooked immediately. Never would have crossed paths with this otherwise so big thumbs up to Tallbird Records in Chesterfield.
Happy New Year
Barely no-one on that list under the age of 40 or indeed 50….
Around 25% are under 40, if you count Zoe as ‘half’ an artist: Waaktaar & Zoe, Gabrielle and Findlay. Why are the ‘age police’ knocking on my door, anyway? :)
Music is about the ability to make good music – not about age
TOP 10 NEW RELEASES 2017
1. Dan Auerbach – Waiting On A Song
2. Dave Rawlings – Poor David’s Almanack
3. Kraftwerk – 3-D
4. Depeche Mode – Spirit
5. John Mayer – The Search For Everything
6. Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie
7. OMD – The Punishment Of Luxury
8. Jack Johnson – All The Light Above It Too
9. Alison Krauss – Windy City
10.Penguin Cafe – The Imperfect Sea
TOP 5 RE-RELEASES 2017
1. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. Ry Cooder – Boomer’s Story
3. Gerry Rafferty – Can I Have My Money Back?
4. Nick Lowe – The Rose Of England
5. Marillion – Misplaced Childhood
I don’t remember another year when so many good albums were released!! Of course #1 has to go to the triumphant return of SLOWDIVE!! Then Ride, Charlatans, Eyelids, Jesus and Mary Chain, Sparks, Cigarettes After Sex, Airiel, Saint Etienne, OMD, Starsailor…and that’s not even going into the excellent reissues!! It’s been an expensive year!!
My favourites:
LCD Soundsystem
Slowdive
The Magnetic Fields
Idles
Thurston Moore
Thanks for the “heads up” re Gabrielle Pappilon -Not come across her before but loving what I’m hearing…
I can’t believe Grandaddy’s amazing comeback album ‘last place’ isn’t getting any love. No fans?
My albums of the year, listed in chronological order:
The xx – I See You
(January 2017)
Building on Jamie xx’s accomplished solo debut In Colour, The xx successfully extend their musical palette to include four-to-the-floor beats and judicious sampling (including Hall & Oates’s I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)), justifiably bagging a 2017 Mercury Prize nomination in the process.
Key track: On Hold
Vagabon – Infinite Worlds
(February 2017)
A major new talent, Lætitia Tamko, is introduced to the world on this diverse but focused eight track debut.
Key track: The Embers
Magnetic Fields – 50 Song Memoir
(March 2017)
Stephin Merritt’s autobiographical epic – one song for each of the first fifty years of his life – is a songwriting masterclass, best listened to in a single (two-and-a-half hour) sitting.
Key track: ‘14: I Wish I Had Pictures
The Shins – Heartworms
(March 2017)
A bravura display of infectious indie-pop songcraft courtesy of James Mercer on The Shin’s fifth album.
Key track: Mildenhall
Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked At Me
(March 2017)
Phil Elverum’s stark meditation on the memory of his wife, who recently died of pancreatic cancer a year and a half after the birth of their daughter, is also an acutely observed account of the grieving process and a deeply affecting celebration of life.
Key track: Real Death
Charly Bliss – Guppy
(April 2017)
This urgent debut album positively brims with youthful energy and recalls Kim Deal in her early 90’s Breeders pomp.
Key track: Percolator
Father John Misty – Pure Comedy
(April 2017)
This brilliant, if often over-ambitious, treatise of humanity and its inexorable decline as seen through the twisted prism of Josh Tillman’s alter ego, features some of the most gorgeous piano ballads since Elton John’s early 70’s heyday.
Key track: Ballad Of The Dying Man
Mac DeMarco – This Old Dog
(May 2017)
DeMarco’s seemingly effortless ability to craft a collection of deceptively simple melodic songs remains gloriously intact on this, his third long-player.
Key track: My Old Man
Paul Weller – A Kind Revolution
(May 2017)
Weller’s late-period purple patch continues apace with this latest ten song collection featuring guest appearances from Robert Wyatt, Boy George and P. P. Arnold.
Key track: The Cranes Are Back
Fleet Foxes – Crack Up
(June 2017)
Almost taking the form of a continuous musical suite, this difficult and complex multi-layered third album from Robin Pecknold generously repays successive listens.
Key track: Third Of May/Ōdaigahara
Saint Etienne – Home Counties
(June 2017)
This nostalgic nineteen-track love letter to London’s surrounding commuter towns is laden with polished pop hooks and knowing references.
Key track: Whyteleafe
Waxahatchee – Out In The Storm
(July 2017)
Katie Crutchfield moves away from the low-fi folk stylings of her first three albums to embrace a full band and John Angello production with exhilarating electric results.
Key track: Silver
Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley
(July 2017)
J. Willgoose, Esq.’s inspired wheeze of marrying samples from archive footage and public information films to progressive electronica and krautrock soundscapes continues to generate pleasing musical dividends; in this instance, a paean to the decline of the Welsh coal mining industry.
Key track: Progress
Susanne Sundfør – Music For People In Trouble
(September 2017)
This stripped-back sixth album provides the perfect opportunity for Sundfør’s striking voice to shine and features a guest appearance from the ever-reliable John Grant.
Key track: Undercover
LCD Soundsystem – American Dream
(September 2017)
James Murphy pulls off the comeback of the year with this virtuosic tour de force. Berlin-era Bowie, Talking Heads and New Order influences are all pleasingly present and correct.
Key track: Call The Police
St Vincent – MASSEDUCTION
(October 2017)
Annie Clark delivers a fully-realised art-pop masterpiece.
Key track: New York
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile – Lotta Sea Lice
(October 2017)
This cosy collaboration between two musical kindred spirits proves to be an easy and satisfying listen, mixing original songs with well-chosen covers including the Tanya Donelly deep cut Untogether.
Key track: Over Everything
Billy Bragg – Bridges Not Walls
(November 2017)
Armed with his trusty buzzsaw guitar, a reinvigorated Bragg’s attempt to make sense of these post-truth times reveals itself as his finest album for at least twenty years.
Key track: The Sleep Of Reason
Father John Misty for me. Pure Comedy
Thought Wolf Alice and Weller were ok.
The Depeche Mode one disappointed me more than Exciter and could be my least liked album of theirs. Most of the songs sounded either unfinished or unfocused.
I agree with only one of Paul`s selections (Roger Waters), I have and enjoy some of the others. But to proclaim in an editorial `The Best Albums Of 2017` is, well Paul`s favorite albums of 2017.
We all have our own choices and to proclaim that any album is the best of 2017, or any year or ever is subjective.
Most important what we all have here is a great love of music, whether it`s old or new and long may that reign.
Peace, Love and Good Health in 2018 to you all. X
Selections are always subjective, at the end of the day. Any editorial (NME, MOJO etc.) “best” = “favourite”, doesn’t it? Only a reader-voted poll is different. Q Magazine used to do the 50 best albums of the year – basically their favourites. I suppose the only difference is if you have a large team and spread of journalists, it’s not slanted so much to one person’s tastes. I made it fairly clear in the intro that these were my favourite albums that had entered my orbit. I don’t believe any magazine who proclaims ‘these are the best albums of the year’ have listened to EVERY album released, therefore on that basis you could argue everything is invalid!! :)
Fair comment Paul.
Long Live Great Music!!!
Very little in the way of new music personally this year. I tend to sit back on new stuff and wait for best albums lists for info. I tend to think these days with a new album will I still be listening to it in a few years time before I buy it. Unless its a PSB, Depeche or Steven Wilson album or a few others I won’t rush out and buy it. I’d actually class a new album as one released in the last 2 or three years- it feels that way.
The latest Dutch Uncles album from this year was an exception- it’s still a bit of a revelation to discover something new and open the door to an artists back catalogue.
Despite saying all that I hate all those comments under old vids were people slag off “the music of these days” or state the charts these days are shit- when they usually always had plenty of shit in them. Great new stuff is out there- hardly in the singles chart of course- sometimes you have to filter out the other stuff to find it
I’m by no means a U2 hater. Although not sure about the comment about not having time for U2 haters with regard to how long they’ve existed and sticking together all that time. Impressive for sure but if I was a hater then all the reason to hate them more surely? i.e. the old familiarity breeds contempt scenario.
Best album of the year for me has been Skyscraper Souls by Downes Braide Association. Check out the title track 18 minutes of pure bliss.
Keep meaning to pick this up along with Steve howes nexus…both next on my list I think
Nice list, Paul. Will pick up on some of those I haven’t heard. My top 10 of the year:
1. U2
2. Steven Wilson
3. The War On Drugs
4. Benny Andersson
5. Max Richter
6. The National
7. Loney Dear
8. Lana Del Rey
9. Arcade Fire
10. Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds
Firstly, a Happy New Year to You Paul! Your website is a daily “must visit” for Me, actually probably a “2 or 3 times a day” to be honest!
Happy New Year to everybody out there too !
I think I’ve probably bought more new music this year than the last 5 years put together!
My favourite new album of 2017 is “Modern Ruin” by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes.
I first heard it when My Son bought up an album to try out on some new hi-fi gear. We sat talking (catching up, he’s at Uni) with the music on in the background, & after 10 minutes or so I found myself saying “Hey, this is really good! ……Who is it ?” The conversation stopped, the volume went up, & that was me hooked !
Other faves this year are
Father John Misty “Pure Comedy”
London Grammar “Truth is a Beautiful Thing”,
Loyle Carner “Yesterday’s Gone”
Royal Blood “How Did We Get So Dark”,
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile “Lotta Sea Lice”
Rag n’ Bone Man “Human”
& Liam Gallagher’s “As You Were”. The Jury’s still out on Noel’s LP. I haven’t really given that enough spins yet, same case with Van Morrison’s “Versatile” but enjoying that one a lot. Also still not sure about Morrissey’s album yet
Also, old favourites who I think have made really good new albums this year are Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp, Beck, Gary Numan, Roger Waters & Foo Fighters
And the live album sets by David Gilmour & Kraftwerk are a joy !
The new U2 is indeed fantastic. Also loved Beck & LCD Soundsystem. Album of the year for me is Dua Lipa’s debut. Had it on repeat for weeks now, not a bad track on the disc.
Thanks for doing these year-end lists.
I realize you don’t have a crystal ball and post news as you have it, but should we also expect a preview of what is/might/should be coming in 2018 ?
It’s an SDE tradition, so yes!
For me, OMD’s Punishment of Luxury made me a huge fan of their’s now. So that is my album of the year. There probably are not any other 2017 albums close to that for me. But I dod enjoy Sophia Kennedy’s debut and the new Depeche Mode.
Did, not dod.
Paul, you can relax, you’re not the only one who stars in their own imaginary pop video with earphones on while walking around town. But let’s just keep that between you and me, ok?
Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Alison Moyet’s Other. The Minutes was great, too, but easier to listen to. Other is a piece of art.
Thanks to you I’m looking into Gabriell Papillon now, maybe my New Year pleasure?
Happy New Year to you and everyone else
Goldfrapp – Silver Eye
Bjork – Utopia
Kelela – Take Me Apart
Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins
Saint Etienne – Home Counties
The National – Sleep Well Beast
Barry Adamson – Love Sick Dick
Loney Dear
Purple Disco Machine – Soulmatic
Blade Runner 2049 O.S.R.
Thelonious Monk – Les Liaisons Dangereuses
But hands down, the album of the year for me (and one I’ve yet to see on any end-of-year list) is UNKLE – The Road: Part 1. Just incredible!!
Radiohead
Loved Neil Young’s the visitor,
stills, Collins everybody knows
David Crosby – sky trails
Ringo – give more love
World trade – unify
Ray Wilson – time and distance
Both Gallagher albums were great… probably Liam’s slightly better for me
Gorillaz – humanz
Steve Hackett – night siren
Bucking ham/ mcvie
Rick wakeman- piano portraits
I’m sure I could think of some cooler ones..but since I’ve hit 40 I seem to care less what people think about my music choices!!!
Oh missed
Dylan’s triplicate
Cast – kicking up dust
Both of those were great too!!
Guided by Voices – How Do You Spell Heaven?
Bash & Pop – Anything Could Happen
Robyn Hitchcock – s/t
Jesus & Mary Chain – Damage and Joy
Squeeze – The Knowledge
David Crosby – Sky Trails
Todd Rundgren – White Knight
Paul Draper – Spooky Action
Sweet Apple – Sing the Night in Sorrow
Dream Syndicate – How Did I Find Myself Here?
Having only listened to it on spotify all year, I picked up Buckingham McVie on vinyl while out Christmas shopping. The album sounds lovely and it really is all killer, no filler. It’s Fleetwood Mac without the angst and friction, which isn’t a bad thing because it makes it a different thing. Such a great album. And a new Lindsey album is coming in April apparently.
(Oh and the LCD Soundsystem & Spoon album’s are great too! Happy New Year, Paul!)
Godfrapp
Slowdive
Blade Runner 2049 ost
Glaare(new shoegaze band)
Depeche Mode(don’t have the album yet but like all the new singles)
Kraftwerk(in 5.1 yes!)
Function
Many thanks to Paul/SDE for a great site/blog always something cool to read. cheers
Totally agree with Paul that the U2 album is great – perhaps not a classic but with some classic tracks. Summer of Love, the Showman, Get Out of Your Own Way, the Blackout and my particular favourite Red Flag Day are excellent. Truly one of the greatest rock bands of all time, U2 should be celebrated and this is a terrific return to form.
I really loved the new Soulwax album ‘From Deewee’ and also Gary Numan’s ‘Savage’ was damn good considering the rather mediocre period he had a few years back.
Hi Paul, no Kraftwerk. This was a Highlight in Surround Sound and 3D Performance for me. My neighbours hate me from time to time. You can imagine why. Have a good new year.
Far and away, the best CD I bought this year (and I bought a LOT of music, both new and old in 2017) was “Glow And Fade” by Steve Kilbey (from Oz space-rock, classic/psych exponents “The Church”) and Martin Kennedy (from atmospheric instrumental band “All India Radio) going under the rather uninspiring, but at least accurate banner “Kilbey Kennedy”.
“Glow And Fade” possibly also qualifies for best album cover of 2017 too; one of those that magnificently and accurately both reflects and embellishes the music contained within. Beautiful seventies-era painting of Saturn (with the planet’s rings made up of human skulls) from “Dune” book cover artist Bruce Pennington. Wonderful stuff – one of those covers you can just stare at endlessly and get lost in while listening to the music.
If you like “classic era Pink Floyd”, it’s quite possibly in your wheelhouse. Simply amazing album! Trippy, spacey, atmospheric, epic, cinematic, melodic…can’t speak highly enough of the musicianship and stellar songs on this one. A great starting point would be the stunning “The Game Never Changes” which I think goes for something like 14 minutes; every one of them simply epic.
Runner up for me is St Vincent with “Masseduction”, the album where it all came together for her and where all that earlier promise and potential became satisfyingly FULLY realised. This will be a difficult one to follow up for her and may well prove to be “peak St Vincent”…but who knows; she’s both brilliant and surprising and is now ploughing both Bowie’s and Byrne’s fertile field as a truly original, genre-pushing, left-field, artist.
Lastly, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! …to Paul and thank you for making every day just that little bit better in 2017 with your much-loved site. Much appreciated from this music obsessive in Melbourne, Australia. Cheers everyone!
Thanks David for putting the Kilbey/Kennedy record to my attention as i had never heard of its existance before although i really love most of The Church catalogue. Not easy to keep up with all the side-projects and solo stuff from all the (ex-) members of the group on the not native English speaking other side of the world (from your pov at least), so your input is much appreciated by me.
You’re welcome Klaus!
There’s so much under-exposed music out there, it’s often hard to find and sometimes stuff you end up having a lifetime love of is only discovered by accident, so I’m very happy to champion this music.
I’ve always seen The Church as one of those amazing bands that barely rates a mention in mainstream music publications like “Q” or “Uncut” which is really strange, because if you look online at a very highly regarded site like the All Music Guide (AMG) you’ll see that The Church are second only to The Rolling Stones in scoring the most number of 4-star (or higher) albums of any band in the world. Any one of their “best-of” compilations would get the love-affair going on this band, but I’d really recommend “Deep In The Shallows” as a really great place to start.
Re: Kilbey Kennedy, best site for them is http://www.thechurchband.net – go to the discography page, then to “side projects” under “K”…this is an extremely comprehensive site with great attention to detail. It’s all there waiting for you!
Aside from the incredible “Glow And Fade” from 2017, either 2015’s “Inside We Are The Same” or 2013’s “You Are Everything” are both fantastic places to start.
Happy New Year from Oz!
Thanks again David,
i happen to find several albums of Kilbey/Kennedy on Napster, most of them even in expanded editions and will sure look into them for the next couple of weeks.
I discovered The Church way back in the 1980s with the “Seance” album because “Electric Lash” at the time was featured on the LP of a short-lived music mag that came with a free LP. I try to follow them from that time on, have even managed to see them three times in concert (and they don’t tend to tour Germany on a regular basis) but, as i already wrote, it’s really an exercise to keep up with all the solo-, duo- and side project efforts they’re doing.
Happy New Year to you too from Germany.
Thanks for the tip David Bricknell! I love the Church and had not heard of Kilbey Kennedy!
Hi Shawn,
If you love The Church, their lead singer/bassist/original driving force, Steve Kilbey’s got some absolutely amazing solo stuff and collaborations out there too.
I own literally thousands of CD’s and one of Steve’s collaborations he released I think around the late 80’s I would rate in my top ten albums by anyone. It’s called “Hex” (as is the “band” itself) and is a collaboration between Steve & Donette Thayer (from Game Theory). I cannot recommend this highly enough.
All the details can be found on the link I provided above….
Happy listening!
No LCD Soundsystem or The National? Godspeed.. would make my list as would Richard Dawson.
P.s. For the record 13 isn’t the only track on Songs of Experience to reference lyrics from Songs of Innocence.
Betsy for me.
My top 10
1 Prisoner-Ryan Adams
2The Nashville Sound-Jason Isbell
3 A Deeper Understanding-The War On Drugs
4 To The Bone-Steven Wilson
5 Mental Illness-Aimee Mann
6 Passaic 1978-Bruce Springsteen
7 Hitchhiker-Neil Young
8 Sleep Well Beast-The National
9 Trouble No More 2 disc-Bob Dylan
10-Little Fictions-Elbow
Just starting to enjoy The War On Drugs – if I’d listened to it a few months ago, it may have sneaked it, because I’m liking what I hear…
Thinking Of A Place, one of the tracks of 2017.
I bought that and found it really dull. It reminds me of Dire Straits, only without the good guitar solos. And no, that isn’t a favourable comparison.
Slowly getting into SW, thanks to SDE, but haven’t bought anything yet, just streaming so far. I prefer Hand. Cannot. Erase too.
Not really bought anything in 2017 that I’ve been blown away by, but the albums by Bicep and the Hempolics would be the ones I’d consider my favourites.
My vote for best album is
Cigarettes After Sex / Cigarettes After Sex.
I guess I am old. Todays music is nothing for me. The only “modern” album from this year I really liked was Curtis Hardings “Face Your Fear”.
Like what I hear. Thanks for the recommendation.
The Blow Monkeys – The Wild River is a sublime album.
Elbow, U2 and Public Service Broadcasting for me so far but looking forward to the Christmas discs of OMD and LCD
Ive really enjoyed V by The Horrors , an under rated joy
The only 2017 album I will remember in 20 years – if I will live long enough – will be “Americana” by Ray Davies.
Agree completely regarding U2. They’re new album is amazing and they have produced nothing but quality albums since the minor speed bump that was Pop (still has many great tracks though). In fact I’ll gladly admit to anyone who will listen that No Line On The Horizon is fully on par with any of the holy trinity (Unforgettable Fire, Joshua and Achtung).
Very few bands have been around as long as them while remaining album relevant. They’ve just gotten so huge that they invite a ton of scrutiny for opinions, etc.
Best album of the year Peter Perrett How The West Was Won.
Honourable mentions to Sparks and Oh Sees.
Nice one Prem.
As a long time fan of The Only Ones, Peter’s LP is great.
Glad he is still alive and making music.
St vincent
Liam Gallagher (far superior to bro Noel’s latest)
Wendy james (underated)
Mew
Slowdive
Alison Moyet
Three great albums, three unforgettable gigs.
How weird agree with you there and went to all 3 gigs well. Mew at Shepherds Bush, Slowdive at The Roundhouse and Moyet’s senational ‘hometown’ gig in Brighton.
Haha, that’s funny indeed: I went to see all three of them in Amsterdam.
And Slowdive played Alison, by the way :)
The one album that took me by surprise this year was Dhani Harrison’s first solo album IN///PARALLEL
Not quite what I was expecting and even the better for it.
Fascinating read Paul, thank you! Quite a few surprises in 2017 for me including Buckingham/McVie (which is a GREAT pop album!), Morrissey’s “Low in High School” (which is a return to greatness), Depeche Mode’s “Spirit” (of which at least half the songs were really good!).
Looks like I need to give the Alison Moyet album a listen as well
Happy New Year to you Paul. Thank you for such a wonderful site
Best album (and tour) of the year: “Soulfire” by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul.
Great list and I know exactly what you mean with Tori, like you i enjoyed the simplicity of her earlier stuff but still enjoy her trying to push the boundaries, being a life long Blondie Fan I was sceptical about the new album with collaborations with other artists but it is my favorite album of the year and is strangely addictive, not a fashionable choice I know but hey! you like what you like! Happy new year to you Paul and all of those who take the time to contribute.
For me the albums that I enjoyed most this year were from Paul Weller, Sleaford Mods, Thundercat, Public Service Broadcasting and The James L’Estraunge Orchestra.
I’ve enjoyed many of those mentioned above, but would like to put the new albums from Ride and Public Service Broadcasting out there as well.
Interesting list. I just checked and Waaktar & Zoe is only available in MP3 format on American Amazon. I need to check it the Moyet release others have mentioned.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Paul! I actually have 4 of the records on this list, will have to check out your album of the year. Here’s some random thoughts off the top of my head on some 2017 new releases:
Roger Waters album was way better than I expected. I kind of bought it without high expectations because I wasn’t a fan of ‘Amused to Death’. Glad I took the chance.
I thought the new Noel Gallagher album would have stuck with me but it hasn’t yet. I liked the ‘singles’ they put out but the album as a whole hasn’t grabbed me. We’ll see.
Also, I thought Depeche Mode’s ‘Spirit’ was a good album. Didn’t really blow me away but I think it’s better than their last album. This new one feels more ‘industrial’ to me, and I’m a big fan of that kind of sound.
Sheryl Crow’s album was so good it’s actually the first album from her I’ve bought. Always thought her earlier hits were a bit overplayed on the radio (remember those days). Get the deluxe version of her new album at Target in the US and you get a few exclusive bonus tracks.
The jury is still out on U2…
It’s been a long time since I bought 25 albums of new music in a year. Between the general dearth of current music that says anything to me, and the continuing tendency of most new releases to be squashed to death (if not 0utright brickwalled), I can’t justify devoting that much attention or expense to acquiring new music.
Consequently, my 2017 list is very short. In no special order:
New music I actually purchased—and this is literally all of it:
Garland Jeffreys—14 Steps to Harlem
Ruby Throat—Baby Darling Taporo
Paul Weller & Stone Foundation—Mother Ethiopia (single)
Rhodri Davies/David Sylvian/Mark Wastell—There Is No Love
Other new music I listened to online or got from the library:
Taichi Master—Toshio Nakanishi Tribute Mix
Twin Peaks Limited Event Series Soundtrack
Twin Peaks: Music from the Limited Event Series
Diana Krall—Turn Up the Quiet
Pussy Riot—Police State (single)
Older music I revisited this year:
China Crisis—Working with Fire and Steel: Possible Pop Songs, Volume Two (deluxe edition)
naomi & goro—Café Bleu Solid Bond
Simple Minds—New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (deluxe edition)
Various Artists—Major Force Compact
Skylab—#1
Kraftwerk—Computer World
Various Artists—Stardust: Original Soundtrack Recording (US edition)
Duke Ellington—Ellington at Newport 1956
David Bowie—Aladdin Sane
Surprised to not see OMD or Sparks on the list. I’d also include Spoon and Jesus and Mary Chain as personal choices.
I wasn’t personally into the OMD, but First Wave on serious was practically owned by them the last quarter. I wasn’t sure if it was reactionary to listeners, or paid spots, regardless they’d no doubt’ve been part of many an 80s conniseur’s musical s soundtrack of 2017.
That said, yes, I’m surprised they weren’t on here as well. And the ever reliable PSB had a new LP out, not?
Quite a few goodies this year…not done making my list yet but right now, my Album of the year 2017 is Cheap Trick’s “We’re All Alright!!”… Their finest album in 30+ years Has to be my #1 pick…exciting, loud, catchy as hell, consistent, outpunking the current punkrockers, great songwriting…on and on…when my list is done, I will post it…but some great ideas here and picks I either forgot about or didn’t know about…most other Critics lists have a good portion of hip-hop like Kendrick Lamar or Jay-Z and stuff here gets overlooked… NON rap stuff…I like SOME hip-hop but I would not call myself a hip-hop fan or connoisseur whatsoever…which makes this list utterly refreshing really…
yes, i liked the cheap trick as well… being an 80s website, one begins to think of their 80s heyday *shudder* … but still, the 70s and late nineties onwards were great for these guys. the 80s only re-exposed them to a younger generation.
again, the new LP was great, fun, loud, power pop as it should be.
Nadia Reid ‘Preservation’ for me, and any year that Sparks release an album is a cause for celebration.
Is that Steven Wilson the same one that’s responsible for producing loads of reissues? If you know what I mean lol
Yup. Same SW.
Some favorites this year:
Beck
Erasure
OMD
Jesus and Mary Chain
WPC (Billy Corgan)
Saint Etienne
Josh Ritter
Randy Newman
Neil Finn
Squeeze
Sparks
Alison Moyet
The Church
Morrissey
Depeche Mode
Paul Weller
Weezer
Josh Witter… now there’s a name I haven’t heard of since the 80s! Absolutely LOVED him in Three’s Company. Ace comedic actor for sure. I thought he died a few years back, but I’ve been wrong about that before.
Josh Ritter, American folk singer.
Track from prior album The Animal Years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqLssKusGzM
You talk about John Ritter, actor/comedian from the US (besides Three’s Company most well known for playing the leading role in Blake Edwards’ Skin Deep (not to be confused with The Stranglers’ same-titled hit single) and sadly you’re right in one point: He died a few years ago.
The only “new album” I listened to in 2017 was Jane Weaver’s ‘Modern Kosmology’.
Plus 1 for the Jane Weaver who i discovered this year and love the album,currently going into her previous stuff.
I’ll give the Waaktaar & Zoe album a go after this review, For me, he writes the best Aha songs some of the Savoy songs were great too,
Didn’t think I’d ever think so, but Noel Gallaghers new album and Morrisseys album are up there with the best for me, along with Depeche Mode of course, Goldfrap, and Alison Moyet.
Moyet ‘Other’ for me too. It’s an astounding piece of work.
Interesting.. better than The Minutes, then?
At first I didn’t think so but now I think it surpasses Minutes. Especially after seeing it live. The spoken word piece is beautiful.
Agreed on Sparks.
I would separate out “new” in 2017 and “New to me” in 2017.
Hippopotamus is my favourite new release of the year.
The Nightfly is my favourite album of the year that I had not heard before.
Alison Moyet’s Other is a masterpiece, easily my album of 2017.
Notable mentions to Everything Everything and Vitalic.
Bought “Other” recently in the 4 CD for €18 sale! Look forward to listening to it…
I’ve not listened much to of Songs of Experience but it could well be the first time I’ve found a U2 album too boring to get into. I think it ends well with the last three songs on the album proper, and I like the low key other, but I’ve struggled to play the album as a whole. I find I can think “it took three years for this?!” or wondering how four producers on one track hadn’t produced something that I appreciate much more. Maybe it’s a grower and I will end up loving it. There’s plenty of U2 tracks I’ve not necessarily loved but this is possibly the first time I’ve found so much of it boring rather than perhaps challenging. Maybe I was expecting too much or a different direction to this after Innocence.
*low key opener
Great list! The 2017 album that surprised me with its greatness: IGLOOGHOST Neō Wax Bloom
I can’t remember the last year I listened to 25 albums from that year…!
Surely a sign of aging
Planetarium for me ( Bryce Dessner Sufjan Stevens Nico Muhly James McAlister )
Interesting choices. Thanks for this and for maintaining such an enjoyable blog all year.
St Vincent and Wolf Alice for me.
An interesting list with many of my choices on it.
Hippopotamus by Sparks for me however stands head and shoulders above any other new album release in 2017 that I’ve heard.
Agree….No mention for The Waterboys Out of all This Blue either
Peter I want to love this album but I can’t !!! It’s the first Waterboys album I haven’t bought..
Hippopotamus by sparks is the most original and creative album of 2017 . It’s an album I still can’t stop playing , the Mael brothers are absolute geniuses to produce a work of art at this time in their lives. As a live band they put many to shame
That is a great album, perhaps the best Sparks release in quite some time. I strongly agree!