Notable Mentions

The trouble with doing a "Best Of Decade So Far" list, is that things that deserve to be in there keep on getting released after you've already started counting down. Instead of revising the entire list every time I heard some music I liked, I'm just adding in ten albums that would have been in there if I'd heard them before I started in September...

#10: Blink-182 - Neighborhoods


I wasn't impressed with Blink-182's last album - in which they decided to grow up, and write music that did not centre around dick and fart jokes. The band's comeback album released earlier in the year is also a "mature" effort, but is much stronger all around.

#9: Korn - The Path Of Totality


Korn do a dub-step/metal crossover album and think they've invented something entirely new. Considering dub-step just sounds like industrial metal with the metal taken out, what they've really created is something that Nine Inch Nails were working on 20 years ago. Whilst not as groundbreaking as they'd like to believe, it still has some good music in there, though.

#8: Mastodon - The Hunter


One of the strangest bands to gain mainstream success, Mastodon return with more of their trademark prog metal.

#7: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds


The second of two albums released this year from new projects' featuring the recently departed Gallagher brothers. 'High Flying Birds' is the better of the two in almost every possible way.

#6: Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist


The first Jane's Addiction album since 2003, following their successful fourth reunion tour. I'd take the chance to see them live now, because you never know when they're going to get pissed off with each other again. The role of bass player is shared between Chris Chaney (who played on 'Strays' and the subsequent tour), and David Andrew Sitek, but three songs ('Broken People', 'Words Right Out Of My Mouth' and 'Ultimate Reason') were co-written by the bass player the band originally wanted to record with them... none other than the musician that has had the most words written about him on this blog of any other, Duff McKagan.

#5: Orianthi - Fire E.P.


After the pop-rock of her previous album 'Believe', Orianthi released this five track E.P. exclusively on iTunes earlier in the year as a taster for the album she's currently working on with Dave Stewart. This is far harder in style, and I'm hoping next year will see her emerge as more than just "the guitarist for Michael Jackson's shows that never happened".

#4: SuperHeavy - SuperHeavy


Speaking of Dave Stewart, here he is again with the band he formed after hearing all of the different styles of music being played in a street in Jamaica. His first phonecall was to Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones (dooming the band to be known as a Rolling Stones side-project), and they later brought in Damian (son of Bob) Marley, Indian pop/Bollywood composer legend A.R. Rahman (he wrote 'Jai Ho' which most people probably remember for the awful Pussycat Dolls version), and one of the greatest young female singers the world has to offer, Joss Stone (she's also gorgeous... just thought I'd mention that). Doesn't sound like it should work, does it... but make no mistake, SuperHeavy is one of the most inventive, original, catchy and surprising albums of 2011. The combination of styles, and the mixture of young and old artists actually perfectly compliment each other, so you get tracks like the single 'Miracle Worker', the ragga of 'Energy' and the very Indian 'Satyameva Jayathe' all in a row. It might not be my favourite album of the decade, or even the year... but it's certainly the most unexpected.

#3: Nas/Damian Marley - Distant Relatives


It was after listening to 'SuperHeavy' that I decided to look into the back-catalogue of Damian Marley, and found this gem from 2010. Taking their common African heritage as an inspiration, he and rapper Nas produced a collaborative album which showcases both of their particular talents in hip-hop and reggae. I should probably whisper it when I say this is better than Jay-Z and Kanye West, shouldn't I.

#2: Puscifer - Conditions Of My Parole


Maynard James Keenan and a long list of collaborators bring you 'Conditions Of My Parole', the second full length studio album from Puscifer (basically an outlet for any idea Maynard has that wouldn't fit onto a Tool or A Perfect Circle album). It's hard to actually pin down exactly what kind of music this is, but one thing's for sure, it's a great one. When checking out Puscifer, please bypass 'V Is For Vagina' completely and go straight for this (and the iTunes only E.P. - 'C Is For (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here)'.

#1: Evanescence - Evanescence


Amy Lee returns with the lastest incarnation of Evanescence (this time featuring Terry Balsamo, Tim McCord, Troy McLawhorn and Will Hunt), to release a self-titled album that's far more confident than either of it's two predecessors. Not as unashamedly commercial (or compromised) as 'Fallen', and not as experimental as 'The Open Door', they seem to have found an even balance between the two that lets them just get along with writing some great tunes. Back in 2003, no one would have guessed that not only would this band (a seemingly flash-in-the-pan answer to Linkin Park) still be successful in 2011, but they'll also be ten times better than they were then. Once band members started leaving and Amy gained the drivers seat, she took a "music first" approach that they really should have taken in the first place, and decided to release albums when they thought they had something good enough to release instead of saturating the market with clones of their first album. It's working for them for the most part - though 'What You Want' is notably, well... shit, the rest of the album more than makes up for it.

#1: Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare

Nightmare
Welcome To The Family
Danger Line
Buried Alive
Natural Born Killer
So Far Away
God Hates Us
Victim
Tonight The World Dies
Fiction
Save Me

M. Shadows - vocals
Synyster Gates - guitar, backing vocals
Zacky Vengeance - guitar, backing vocals
Johnny Christ - bass
The Rev - vocals on 'Fiction' and 'Save Me', piano on 'Save Me', drum arrangements
Mike Portnoy - drums
Brian Haner, Sr. - guitar
Sharlotte Gibson - backing vocals
Jessi Collins - backing vocals
David Palmer - piano, keyboards
Stevie Blacke - strings, string arrangements
Stewart Cole - trumpet
Mike Elizondo - keyboards
The Whistler - whistling
Produced by Mike Elizondo

Well well well... how they've grown. The release of Avenged Sevenfold's second album, 'Waking The Fallen' in 2003 put them firmly on rock/metal fans' to watch list. People could hear that they had a lot of potential, even if they did rely too much on screaming. The track, 'I Won't See You Tonight Part One' showed a band that was capable of something truly great. Then 2005's 'City Of Evil' came along, with the band maturing their sound, pushing their ambition, and securing their place in rock n' roll's big leagues. Unfortunately, when they released their self-titled album in 2007 it seemed their reach had exceeded their grasp, with a few missteps - not least of which M. Shadows sounding like Cher in her robot incarnation on one track.

Tragedy however can sometimes inspire the greatest art, and at the end of 2009 tragedy hit with the death of the band's drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. All of the songs were written and in their demo stages at the time, but I can't help but feel the pain that the band felt when they entered the studio with Dream Theatre's Mike Portnoy behind the drums at the beginning of 2010 was transferred into the music granting them emotion and power that would not have been evident otherwise. Nowhere is this emotion more evident than 'Fiction', a song about dying that would have been spookily relevant to their situation on its own, but made even moreso thanks to the fact that The Rev himself sings half of the lead vocals (the last thing he ever recorded just days before his death).

Other than that song, tracks such as 'Buried Alive', 'Tonight The World Dies' and 'Save Me' rank as the greatest things ever recorded by Avenged Sevenfold (and some of the best metal music I've heard in some time). And whereas tracks such as 'Nightmare', 'Welcome To The Family' and 'Danger Line' fall down a little in the lyrical department, they are still recorded with a passion that makes them irresistable. Of the entire album, only 'God Hates Us' falls flat, but with the other ten tracks being so great it hardly detracts from the overall experience at all. So far, this decade without a doubt belongs to them... the only negative thing is that they had to lose one of their own before they could achieve it.

#2: Stone Sour - Audio Secrecy

Audio Secrecy
Mission Statement
Digital
Say You'll Haunt Me
Dying
Let's Be Honest
Unfinished
Hesitate
Nylon 6/6
Miracles
Pieces
The Bitter End
Imperfect
Threadbare

Corey Taylor - vocals, guitar, piano
James Root - guitar, keyboards
Josh Rand - guitar
Shawn Economaki - bass
Roy Mayorga - drums, percussion, piano on 'Say You'll Haunt Me' and 'Nylon 6/6'
Steve Blacke - strings, string arrangements
Produced by Nick Raskulinecz

Corey Taylor's band just keeps on getting better, and 'Audio Secrecy' counts among my favourite records ever made. Kicking off from the title track intro into the awesome 'Mission Statement', Stone Sour put you through the paces for a solid 55 minutes of modern metal.
Granted, there isn't anything on here that's a big departure from the material on their first two albums, but in 'Audio Secrecy' they've absolutely perfected their craft. In 2009 I'd have never thought Stone Sour would rank so high up in a list I've made like this, as much as I'd loved their previous work. In fact, the same goes for the album that gets ranked #1...

#3: Duff McKagan's Loaded - The Taking

Lords Of Abaddon
Executioner's Song
Dead Skin
We Win
Easier Lying
She's An Anchor
Indian Summer
Wrecking Ball
King Of The World
Cocaine
Your Name
Follow Me To Hell

Duff McKagan - vocals, guitar
Mike Squires - guitar, backing vocals
Jeff Rouse - bass, backing vocals
Isaac Carpenter - drums, percussion
Produced by Terry Date

I wrote an extensive review of this album at the time of release, that can be found here.

#4: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

Bridge Burning
Rope
Dear Rosemary
White Limo
Arlandria
These Days
Back & Forth
A Matter Of Time
Miss The Misery
I Should Have Known
Walk

Dave Grohl - vocals, guitar
Chris Shiflett - guitar, backing vocals
Pat Smear - guitar
Nate Mendel - bass
Taylor Hawkins - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Bob Mould - guitar and backing vocals on 'Dear Rosemary'
Krist Novoselic - bass and accordion on 'I Should Have Known'
Rami Jaffee - keyboards on 'Bridge Burning' and 'Rope', mellotron on 'I Should Have Known', organ on 'Walk'
Jessy Greene - violin on 'I Should Have Known'
Fee Waybill - backing vocals on 'Miss The Misery'
Butch Vig - percussion on 'Back & Forth'
Drew Hester - percussion on 'Arlandria'
Produced by Butch Vig

Dave Grohl reunites with both original Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear, and 'Nevermind' produced Butch Vig for this follow-up to 'Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace'. Not content with those reunions, however, there's also a track featuring Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic.
The result of these reunions is the most complete, impressive and satisfying Foo Fighters album since 'The Colour And The Shape'. Its non-stop run of great song after great song right from the intro to 'Bridge Burning' until the final moments of album-closing 'Walk' could even surpass that modern classic. This is quite simply a rock 'n' roll masterpiece.

#5: Smashing Pumpkins - Teargarden By Kaleidyscope Vol. 2: The Solstice Bare

The Fellowship
Freak
Tom Tom
Spangled

Billy Corgan - vocals, guitar, keyboards, electric sitar
Mike Byrne - drums
Mark Tulin - bass
Kerry Brown - congas
Ysanne Spevack - violin, viola
Linda Strawberry - backing vocals
Produced by Billy Corgan, Kerry Brown and Bjorn Thorsrud

The second volume of the Teargarden By Kaleidyscope project shows Billy is getting a lot more comfortable with the way he's been doing things. The songs on 'The Solstice Bare' feel more like they belong in the same project than those that made it onto 'Songs For A Sailor'. The best tracks are easily 'Freak' and 'Tom Tom', but 'The Following' and 'Spangled' are also really strong.
Unfortunately, two songs into the recording of Volume 3, the full band (Billy and Mike along with bassist Nicole Fiorentino and guitarist Jeff Schroeder) stopped and instead began work on a full length album to be released commercially entitled 'Oceania'. Hopefully, when they are done with that they'll then go back to the 'Teargarden By Kaleidyscope' project, because it shows some great promise. Though the prospect of a full length album featuring the entire band (the first time this has happened since 'Machina II' in 2000) is an exciting prospect in itself.

As before, this and every other song in the project can be listened to and downloaded for free here: http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/pages/home

#6: Korn - Korn III: Remember Who You Are

Uber-time
Oildale (Leave Me Alone)
Pop A Pill
Fear Is A Place To Live
Move On
Lead The Parade
Let The Guilt Go
The Past
Never Around
Are You Ready To Live?
Holding All These Lies

Jonathan Davis - vocals
Munky - guitar, lap steel
Fieldy - bass
Ray Luzier - drums
Produced by Ross Robinson

Ever since 2002, Korn seem to be alternating between an attempt to try something different which has mixed results, followed by something a lot more traditional and commercial that is great... so we have the mediocrity of 'Take A Look In The Mirror', followed by the pop-metal awesomness of 'See You On The Other Side', followed by the odd, disjointed, not entirely awful untitled album, followed by this album, 'Korn III: Remember Who You Are'. A return to roots in both style, and the fact that they once again have Ross Robinson twiddling the knobs in the studio.
The result is as you'd expect... not only a return to roots, but a complete return to form, complete with some of the best songs the band has released since 'Untouchables'.

Of course, true to form, Korn have just released an album where they step away from their roots once again and play a bunch of metal/dub-step mash-ups that misses the point with a few tracks, but not as often as it hits. Still, nowhere near as good as their more traditional albums.

Listen Here: Korn – Korn III: Remember Who You Are

#7: Tommy Stinson - One Man Mutiny

Don't Deserve You (Stinson)
It's A Drag (Roberts, Stinson)
Meant To Be (Stinson)
All This Way For Nothing (Reed, Stinson)
Come To Hide (Stinson)
Seize The Moment (Stinson)
Zero To Stupid (Roberts, Stinson)
Match Made In Hell (Stinson)
Destroy Me (Stinson)
One Man Mutiny (Fortus, Reed, Stinson)
Produced by Phillip Broussard Jr.

Tommy Stinson - vocals, guitar, bass, drums
Frank Ferrer - drums
Richard Fortus - guitar on 'One Man Mutiny'
Joan Jones - trumpet
George Manney - drums
Dizzy Reed - piano
Chip Roberts - guitar, slide guitar
Emily Roberts - vocals

The second solo album from Replacements/Guns N' Roses bass player Tommy Stinson takes a more chilled-out, stripped-down approach to the output from his current day job. Taking the Dylanesque approach of his earlier effort, 'Village Gorilla Head' and giving it a much stronger production that compliments his playing and voice perfectly.
Another addition that richens the experience is Tommy's wife, Emily Roberts providing backing vocals on multiple tracks (and co-lead vocals on another track). For Replacements fans, there is 'Match Made In Hell', a song that Stinson worked with former bandmate Paul Westerberg on (though a mistake in formatting means that Paul's versions were unable to be included on the record), and for Guns N' Roses fans there's the ultra-laid back title track, co-written by Dizzy Reed and Richard Fortus whilst on tour in Europe after an "inner-band dispute". However, 'Don't Deserve You', 'Meant To Be', 'All This Way For Nothing', and 'Destroy Me' also stand out.

Listen Here: Tommy Stinson – One Man Mutiny

#8: Slash - Slash

Ghost
Crucify The Dead
Beautiful Dangerous
Back From Cali
Promise
By The Sword
Gotten
Doctor Alibi
Watch This
I Hold On
Nothing To Say
Starlight
Saint Is A Sinner Too
We're All Gonna Die

Slash - guitar
Chris Chaney - bass (except on 'Watch This')
Josh Freese - drums (except on 'Watch This' and 'Starlight')
Lenny Castro - percussion (except on 'Ghost', 'Doctor Alibi', 'Watch This', 'Nothing To Say', 'Starlight' and 'Saint Is A Sinner Too'
Ian Astbury - vocals and percussion on 'Ghost'
Izzy Stradlin - guitar on 'Ghost'
Ozzy Osbourne - vocals on 'Crucify The Dead'
Taylor Hawkins - backing vocals on 'Crucify The Dead'
Kevin Churko - backing vocals on 'Crucify The Dead'
Fergie - vocals on 'Beautiful Dangerous'
Myles Kennedy - vocals on 'Back From Cali' and 'Starlight'
Steve Ferrone - drums on 'Starlight'
Chris Cornell - vocals on 'Promise'
Andrew Stockdale - vocals on 'By The Sword'
Adam Levine - vocals on 'Gotten'
Lemmy Kilmister - vocals and bass on 'Doctor Alibi'
Dave Grohl - drums on 'Watch This'
Duff McKagan - bass on 'Watch This'
Kid Rock - vocals on 'I Hold On'
M. Shadows - vocals on 'Nothing To Say'
Rocco DeLuca - vocals on 'Saint Is A Sinner Too'
Iggy Pop - vocals on 'We're All Gonna Die'
Produced by Eric Valentine, Kid Rock and Big Chris Flores

If you'd asked me in 2009 if Slash was going to release one of the best rock albums in recent memory, I would have told you that there wasn't a chance. I believed his best days to be far behind him, with Velvet Revolver's 'Contraband' being the last glimpse of how great he can be when he believes in what he's doing (which itself was the first time he'd shown that ability since leaving Guns N' Roses earlier). Since then, a series of moves made by him, as well as his lacklustre performance on Velvet Revolver's 'Libertad' had me convinced that his career from then on was to be a series of cynical cash-in's and virtual retreads of his past material.
Then in the first half of 2010, Slash released his first true solo album, and blew me away once again. Going the Carlos Santana route of writing songs for a series of guest vocalists to add their own lyrics and melodies to, 'Slash' turns out to be a surprisingly eclectic album, taking in punk, thrash metal, and even Spanish guitar as well as Slash's trademark bluesy guitar swagger. The guest vocalists range from the obvious old school legends (Lemmy, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop), to the best voices in rock n' roll today (M. Shadows, Andrew Stockdale), to the downright bizarre (Maroon 5's Adam Levine, Fergie of the Black-Eyed Peas).
Surprisingly, it's the track with Fergie - 'Beautiful Dangerous' - that stands out as the best song on the album. She might not show it in her day job, but this girl can really rock given the right incentive. Other highlights include (but are not limited to) 'By The Sword' featuring Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother, and the instrumental 'Watch This' featuring Duff McKagan on bass and Dave Grohl on drums (this has the makings of another great supergroup!)
The only real disappointments are the tracks sang by Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy. Myles can be a fantastic singer when he keeps to his natural baritone voice, but as soon as he begins stretching his voice to near-castrato levels, which is what he does to excess during both of the songs he's featured on here, he just sounds awful. Like Axl Rose circa 2002, in fact. That said, Myles has proven to be perfectly capable singing the other songs on the record in a live setting in the last years of touring, and will be the sole vocalist on next year's follow-up. Hopefully he'll be singing more like he does with Alter Bridge on that one.
Ultimately, though, Slash has proven that he still has some great riffs hidden in that top hat of his, and his credibility has been restored. Hopefully that'll last for a while....


Oh... back to the drawing board, then, eh?

Listen Here: Slash – Slash

#9: Filter - The Trouble With Angels

The Inevitable Relapse
Drug Boy
Absentee Father
No Love
No Re-Entry
Down With Me
Catch A Falling Knife
The Trouble With Angels
Clouds
Fades Like A Photograph

Richard Patrick - vocals, guitar, programming
Mitchell Marlow - guitar
John Spiker - bass, programming
Mika Fineo - drums
Produced by Richard Patrick and Bob Marlette

Richard Patick and co. return to form after the patchy 'Anthems For The Damned'. In fact, not only is this a return to form for the band, but also the best that they have ever released, despite not having a 'Hey Man, Nice Shot' style crowd-pleaser.

Listen Here: Filter – The Trouble With Angels

#10 - Smashing Pumpkins - Teargarden By Kaleidyscope Vol. 1: Songs For A Sailor

A Song For A Son
Astral Planes
Widow Wake My Mind
A Stitch In Time

Billy Corgan - vocals, guitar, keyboards, electric sitar
Mike Byrne - drums
Mark Tulin - bass
Kerry Brown - congas on 'Astral Planes'
Ysanne Spevack - violin, viola
Linda Strawberry - backing vocals

Produced by Billy Corgan, Kerry Brown and Bjorn Thorsrud

Billy Corgan's reconstituted Smashing Pumpkins entered the new decade with a novel idea. 44 songs, all released for free to download online, with a physical E.P. to be released after 4 songs have been made available. 'Songs For A Sailor' is the first E.P. to be released.
Entirely recorded by Billy Corgan, Mike Byrne (who replaces original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin), and temporary stand-in Mark Tulin (standing in for Ginger Reyes, who left the band to concentrate on her new family, and Nicole Fiorentino who had yet to be brought into the band), the songs on this record are definite growers. I wasn't a huge fan of any of them until repeated listens opened up their beauty to me. A perfect example of this is 'A Song For A Son', which on the face of it is just a simple piano melody that breaks down into some fairly impressive guitar theatrics.
The thing about the way these songs are being released is that Billy doesn't have to focus on any particular style to make the songs fit together, and it shows. There are shades of folk, and pop here, and other than the aforementioned guitar, the rock that the Pumpkins are known for is hardly anywhere to be seen.
There is a little bit of fumbling on here that shows that he's still getting used to this freedom, but overall this is a very strong set of songs.

Listen to/download these and all other 'Teargarden By Kaleidyscope' songs that have been released, here: http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/pages/home

Guns N' Roses and the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame

So, it's official... Guns N' Roses will be inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame next April. As soon as I heard the news, I sent three tweets to the band as well as Slash and Duff. One, a sincere congratulations for an honour that's well deserved. One a jokey reminder for someone to let Izzy know (I can actually see him not having any idea about it until it's already happened otherwise), and the other a plea to "please please PLEASE DON'T fuck it up".

Some people may confuse that plea for a plea for a reunion of some kind, but it's not. I love the current line-up of Guns N' Roses and 'Chinese Democracy', and think that what Slash and Duff have been doing on their own for the last few years is some of the best music they've ever recorded. I don't want to see any of these to come to an end because they've decided they want to tour together again. In fact, I'm pretty sure that if there is a reunion, whatever those guys had together would already be long gone.

No... I just want them all to be civil with each other for just one night. And by all, I mean the line-up that created 'Appetite For Destruction', as well as Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke and the current line-up together! Maybe there should be some room for Buckethead, Brain and Robin Finck, too. If they want to throw people a bone by having the original guys go up and perform, that'd be amazing, too, as a one-off. But that would just be a bonus... to have all of them there together would be the main goal. I'm really hoping that's not too much to ask for.

Of course, the Hall itself will have to do its part, too. In my opinion, if they want to avoid repeating the shambles with Van Halen, the worst thing they could do is tell Axl that the current line-up aren't going to be included. He's really fired up and proud of the band he has now, and has spent the last 10 years trying to convince the world to embrace the present, and let go of the past. The success of this has been mixed, but the current US tour appears to finally be doing this. If the HOF refuses to acknowledge them, that's a sure-fire way to turn the ceremony into an embarrassing drama. On top of this (and this next statement may piss people off), I think a large reason for the induction is the current line-up. Not because of their contribution to music, exactly, but because 'Chinese Democracy' and the last ten years of touring have kept Guns N' Roses an ongoing concern, with people always talking about what Axl is up to, etc. etc. They didn't give the world (or indeed the Hall Of Fame) a chance to forget about them. Contrary to popular belief, Axl has never tried to deny credit where it is due, even to people he doesn't like, so I'm pretty sure he'll accept that the original line-up needs to be included.

I know that in the long run, the Hall Of Fame doesn't matter - its relevance has repeatedly been called into question in recent years. But it's still a huge honour that 25 years after 'Appetite For Destruction' the band are still considered relevant enough to be included in such an exclusive club. People complain about the bands that have never been inducted, but a lot of those bands haven't made the required and sustained impact on music that their fans believe them to have, and it's the exclusivity of the thing that makes it so special. It's not something that will make any difference to the world, but it's a positive thing, people!

And wouldn't be nice if we could still think of it as a positive thing come April?

That Top 50: #26-11

So I got really behind on this countdown. For that reason, I'm going to do all of #26-11 en masse so then I'll only have the top ten to do in the couple of weeks until Christmas. I'll try to be more organised next time I attempt something like this...

#26 - Social Distortion - Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes

Mike Ness and co. return six years after their previous album. They sound exactly as you remember them, which is equally refreshing, and frustrating (would it be too much to ask to try something a bit different?). But still a highly entertaining record.

#25 - Riot In Rhythm - Vicious Circle

These guys from Seattle produced one of the best albums in years. Proof that there's still life in the Seattle rock scene, yet.

#24 - Star Anna & The Laughing Dogs - Alone In This Together

Star Anna is more proof of Seattle music's promise in this new decade. Star has one of the most beautiful voices in music at the moment, as well as the backing of some pretty major players in Mike McCready of Pearl Jam (who appears on this album), and Duff McKagan.

#23 - Tarja - What Lies Beneath

The former Nightwish vocalist turns out her third solo album. Just before being fired from Nightwish, she made several comments in interviews about how much she hates rock and metal music, but you can't tell from this album that is pretty much Nightwish-lite. It's still very good, though, with Tarja's voice still being as strong as ever.

#22 - Sixx:A.M. - This Is Gonna Hurt

Everyone who knows much about me knows that I hate Motley Crue. To me they embody everything that was wrong with mainstream rock music during the 80's. The very reason why the world was crying out for something that we eventually received in Guns N' Roses, and later the music that got labelled "grunge". So I did not expect to like this album. Amazingly, I consider it one of the best albums of 2011. It's all pretty straight-forward with no real risks taken, but Nikki Sixx, Dj Ashba and James Michael have produced some of the best straight hard rock albums in recent years.

#21 - Dropkick Murphy's - Going Out In Style

The Celt-punk rockers from Boston returned with their trademark mixture of originals and alternative takes on traditional Irish music. It's solid, as usual.

#20 - Deftones - Diamond Eyes

After the release of the amazing 'White Pony' back in 2000, Deftones seemed to lose their way, with their self-titled album and 'Saturday Night Wrist' being patchy at best - though with some decent tunes in there. After a near fatal car crash involving bass player, Chi Cheng, the band abandoned their planned album and started from scratch with 'Diamond Eyes' which found the band on top of their game. Cheng eventually awoke from his coma, and is slowly showing signs of improvement. Hopefully it won't be too long before he's back with the band and they continue work on 'Eros'.

#19 - The Pretty Reckless - Light Me Up

Taylor Momsen was Cindy Lou Who in The Grinch. Then she starred in Gossip Girl. Then she became a musician who appears to be trying too hard to live up to "shocking" behaviour began with The Runaways and carried on with the "riot grrrl" movement in the 90's. Imagewise, she's a complete attention whore with an attitude problem. Musically however, she is more than capable. This album was a real surprise to me, because it's actually very good. Hopefully she grows up soon, because I think she could be capable of something truly great in a few years.

#18 - My Chemical Romance - Danger Days (The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys)

Yet another big surprise. My Chemical Romance is one of those bands that always had a few songs that I could listen to, but never managed to hit me as anything very special. Then 'Danger Days' was released, and the completely absurd and over-the-top comic bookness of it all came across as inspired rather than gimmicky. For the first time, they sound like they're having fun... which enables the listener to have some fun, too.

#17 - Black Label Society - Order Of The Black

Zakk Wylde's band seem to release an album annually, which with any other band would equal over-saturation. With Black Label Society, it only seems to make them improve. The earlier BLS releases had some strong moments, but as time has gone on they've managed to actually make strong albums. Nowhere is this more prevalent thant he amazing 'Order Of The Black'.

#16 - Within Temptation - The Unforgiving

The Dutch symphonic metal band release a concept album complete with a comic book tie-in.

#15 - Ozzy Osbourne - Scream

Ozzy Osbourne proved his many critics wrong last year with the release of 'Scream'. Whereas after the release of the decidedly mediocre, 'Black Rain', people were claiming his best days were behind him, this could actually be his strongest non-Sabbath release.

#14 - Weezer - Hurley

Another band who have managed to pick themselves out of the pit of mediocrity in this decade, Weezer released their best album since 'The Green Album'... and most say that even that paled in comparison to 'The Blue Album' and 'Pinkerton'

#13 - Apocalyptica - 7th Symphony

The Finnish four-piece (formerly four cellists, but now three cellists and a drummer) come back with another strong effort, despite the strength of their guest vocalists drying up. When your most impressive vocalist is Gaving Rossdale, you'd think that you have a problem, but Apocalyptica prove that this isn't necessarily the case. His track 'End Of Me' is actually just as strong as the group's previous collaborations with Corey Taylor and Cristina Scabbia.

#12 - Return To Earth - Automata

Return To Earth is a metal band featuring the head of Bald Freak Records (Ron Scalzo, aka Q*Ball, aka the eponymous Bald Freak), and drummer Chris Pennie of the awful band the Dillinger Escape Plan. From the opening track, this schizophrenic freak-out of a record puts people on a rollercoaster ride that never lets up. All I can suggest is that you seek this one out, because I can not describe it any better than that.

#11 - Joss Stone - LP1

Since the age of 16, Joss Stone has been one of the most promising vocalists of this generation. Her first two albums featured a few songs that really showcased what she was capable of, but she quickly fell victim to record label interference, resulting in 'Introducing Joss Stone' - an album that took any positive thing about those two albums, and threw them out of the window, resulting in a mess. Disappointing sales led to the label indefinitely delaying her follow-up 'Colour Me Free!', until Joss eventually brought herself out of her contract along with the rights to the record and released it herself. That album was just as bad, but it did free her up to do what she wants when she wants as an independent artist.
'LP1' - produced by former Eurythmic, Dave Stewart - is the first result of that new-found freedom. And finally, at the age of 24, Joss Stone is living up to the potential that everyone saw that she had 8 years ago. Stone and Stewart have crafted an album that's equal parts soul, blues and rock n' roll in the exact same way she should have been encouraged to all along.
This year's SuperHeavy project (along with Stewart, Mick Jagger, Damian Marley and A.R. Rahman) has proven that this album wasn't a fluke. I look forward to hearing 'LP2' that is being worked on now.

Duff McKagan's Loaded at the Garage

Okay, I'd promised this review to a friend of mine last week and never got around to writing it until now. People who know me or have read any of my previous blogs raving about this band will probably see me as quite biased. So to begin with I'll say that whereas I've never seen this band play badly, I have seen them play shows that I don't think live up to what they are capable of.

The most recent of those was earlier this year at Donington Park's Download Festival. Once again, they didn't play badly, but there was a problem... they were on the main stage. Absolutely amazing to see a band like that on the main stage, and it was a great opportunity for them, but it made it clear to me that they are not a band that thrives on a larger stage. Along with the actual music being played, the quality of Loaded shows relies on the energy that the band and audience feed to each other. On a large stage, that's not possible. You could say that about any bands I suppose, but I think there is a big difference between a band that is meant to play large stages, and a band that is best viewed in a small sweaty club on a stage too small to contain all of the personality's playing. Later in the day, I saw Korn who are one of the former. For Loaded small, raw and sweaty is where they belong.

The very definition of that was the second time I saw the band play back on their UK tour in support of the 'Wasted Heart' E.P. back in 2008. The show was at Nottingham's Rock City, in a room that can't have more than a 200 capacity, with a stage only just big enough to fit all four band members. I was lucky enough to be on the barrier to witness Duff McKagan, Mike Squire, Jeff Rouse and Geoff Reading play one of the greatest shows I've ever been to in my life, if not the best.

I specifically mention that one, because it's so hard to top that show that it is a truly impressive feat that last week's show at The Garage came such a close second. Playing a well-balanced set between material from their albums, as well as a few choice covers that delve into Duff's back-catalogue, Duff, Mike, Jeff and Burke Thomas (filling in for Geoff Reading's replacement, Isaac Carpenter) played 90 minutes of non-stop raw rock n' roll, starting with three tracks from the bands most recent album, 'The Taking'.

Other than the tracks from 'The Taking', and the previous album, 'Sick', the real treat was hearing songs from the band's debut album 'Dark Days' that haven't been given a live airing in some time (most notably the title track, and 'Wrap My Arms'), as well as a couple of impromptu tracks not originally on the setlist. At one point, just before the acoustic section of the evening when Squires had just set up his acoustic guitar and getting ready to play 'You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory', Duff suddenly enquired, "is she really goin' out with him?".... yep... next came three quarters of the band playing The Damned's punk classic 'New Rose' whilst Mike had to quickly change back to his electric guitar. It's nice to see that there's still room for spontonaeity in rock n' roll sometimes. Not quite as amusing, but apparently 'Wasted Heart' wasn't originally meant to be played either.

As great as it was, though (and it was great), it's about time Loaded play more of their own material instead of falling back on old GN'R/punk covers. Not that I don't like hearing those songs, and I'm all for having a couple of them in the set, but 7 of 19 songs is a bit much.

Executioners Song (from Wasted Heart E.P./The Taking)
We Win (from The Taking)
Dead Skin (from The Taking)
Sleaze Factory (from Sick)
Dark Days (from Dark Days)
Seattle Head (from Duff's Beautiful Disease/Dark Days)
So Fine (Guns N' Roses track from Use Your Illusion II)
Wrap My Arms (from Dark Days)
Sick (from Sick)
Good News (Neurotic Outsiders song)
Cocaine (from The Taking)
Your Name (from The Taking)
Lords of Abbadon (from The Taking)
New Rose (The Damned cover/from the Guns N' Roses album, The Spaghetti Incident?)
You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory (acoustic) (Johnny Thunders cover/from the Guns N' Roses album, The Spaghetti Incident?) - ends with a singalong of GN'R's Patience
Wasted Heart (acoustic) (from Wasted Heart E.P./Sick)
Attitude (Misfits cover/from the Guns N' Roses album, The Spaghetti Incident?)
Dust N' Bones (Guns N' Roses song from Use Your Illusion I)
It's So Easy (Guns N' Roses song from Appetite For Destruction)

Loaded were supported by Riot:Noise and Dear Superstar. I've known Martin, Riot:Noise's singer for years thanks to the Velvet Revolver forum, and until last week every time they've somewhere I could get to I've always had something else that needs doing, or know money for travel/tickets. I was beginning to think I'd never see them, and when I finally did, I was not disappointed. They played a strong set including the one song that I knew well - 'Never Wrong' - and ending on a fantastic rendition of a song called 'Fight The People'.

Dear Superstar is another story. Their singer obviously thinks that he is a rock star already from that swagger he obviously thinks makes him look cool. A note for everyone it may involve... it takes a certain type of person to walk around a stage like that and look cool. If you're not that kind of a person, you just look like a twat. Dear Superstar's singer looks like a twat. An incredibly creepy twat who likes looking directly into people's eyes with a murderous kind of look that I can't help but think he believes is a sexy look. This could all be forgivable if the songs were good, but... well. "Damn your damn religion", is the most hilariously awful attempt to be controversial I've ever heard in song lyrics. Maybe if it was the 1950's it wouldn't be so funny, but this is a world which has Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor in it. Hell, even Lady Gaga does a better job of controversy. All of this combined left me struggling (and failing) to keep a straight face throughout their set.

Smashing Pumpkins at Brixton

Ever since Billy Corgan announced the return of The Smashing Pumpkins without founding members James Iha and D'Arcy Wretzky back in 2006, a lot of criticism has been leveled at him, some fair, some not. Of the former: Yes, he is incredibly arrogant with his head wedged firmly up his ass - although I have to add that this has always been the case. Yes, ever since he's joined Twitter his insanity is becoming more and more clear, from his rants about climate change being a fraud despite all evidence to the contrary, to his jumping on some even weirder conspiracy bandwagons (chemtrails, Billy? Really!?). And yes, he does tend to take himself far too seriously.

Of the latter: No, it's not impossible for a band to keep up its high standard with only one or two original members. No, the comeback album, 'Zeitgeist' was not the disaster that it has been portrayed as. No, a band shouldn't just go out and play the hits once they reach a certain age, and no, when selfish people decide to leave a show early because they're playing new material, he was not wrong for berating them. Especially when the new material is of the quality showcased last night at Brixton Academy, where they played a perfect mixture of old ('Window Paine', 'Geek U.S.A.'), new (six tracks from the soon-to-be-released 'Oceania', and two from the work-in-progress 'Teargarden By Kaleidyscope'), familiar ('Siva', 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings') and obscure ('Starla', 'Frail And Bedazzled') tracks. In fact,take a look at the setlist in full:

Quasar (from Oceania)
Panopticon (from Oceania)
Starla (from Pisces Iscariot/I Am One B-Side)
Geek U.S.A. (from Siamese Dream)
Muzzle (from Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness)
Window Paine (from Gish)
Lightning Strikes (from Teargarden by Kaleidyscope)
Soma (from Siamese Dream)
Siva (from Gish)
Oceania (from Oceania)
Frail And Bedazzled (from Pisces Iscariot/Siamese Dream outtake)
Silverfuck (from Siamese Dream)
Pinwheels (from Oceania)
Pale Horse (from Oceania)
Thru The Eyes Of Ruby (from Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness) - this song featured an extended outro which included parts of I Am One
Cherub Rock (from Siamese Dream)
Owata (from Teargarden By Kaleidyscope)
My Love Is Winter (from Oceania)
For Martha (from Adore) - one of the most epic moments of the night

ENCORE
Zero (from Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness)
Bullet With Butterfly Wings (from Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness)

People hoping for a greatest hits set were surely disappointed, but anyone just willing to take in whatever the band were willing to throw at us appreciated an epic set combining hard riffs (from both guitars and drums), soaring guitar solos and gentle balladry as only the Smashing Pumpkins can. The perfect example to draw from here is the rendition of 'For Martha', which seamlessly combined all of these elements into one of the most awe-inspiring and grand moments of the night. I was worried when I'd seen that the band had been ending the regular set with a track from the ultra-mellow electronica-tinged 'Adore', but they created an arrangement worthy of the rest of the set.

When the band first appeared with two tracks from 'Oceania' followed by a rarely played live B-Side, I thought that whereas Billy and the band which now includes guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Nicole Fiorentino and drummer Mike Byrne were firing on all cylinders, I'd be extremely disappointed by the reaction of the crowd. Fortunately however, it seems that their timid response was largely due to their lack of familiarity with the songs, and not through a lack of appreciation, as as soon as the first chords of 'Geek U.S.A.' rang out the energy picked up, and soared even higher as they went into 'Muzzle'. This subsided whenever new material would be played, but unlike the shows in the U.S.A. in which people would leave whenever a new track was played, the crowd at the Brixton Academy would listen attentively and genuinely seemed impressed with the tracks from 'Oceania' - which if live performances are anything to go by, could possibly be the best Pumpkins album since 'Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness' - although the two tracks from the much less accessible 'Teargarden By Kaleidyscope' didn't seem to go over quite as well. If people haven't heard those songs, yet, they should head over to http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/ and download the ten tracks released for that project so far (they're all free!). They really do grow on you after a while.

Unlike Guns N' Roses - a band in a similar position what with only having one original member left - who make sure almost everyone in the band gets a spot of their own to showcase their skills, the Smashing Pumpkins prefer to let their performance of the songs themselves do the talking for them. Almost every song featured at least one solo from either Billy or Jeff, with the pair of them duelling on a couple of occassions, and channeling Scott Gorham and John Sykes in a guitar duet. For the 21 year old Mike Byrne, his moments came in the heaviest parts of the set - most notably 'Silverfuck'. As the replacement for Jimmy Chamberlin - previously the only original member other than Billy to still be around - Mike had a lot to prove, and I can safely say that I actually didn't miss Jimmy one bit. Finally, the beautiful Nicole Fiorentino got a chance to let loose during the extended outro of 'Thru The Eyes Of Ruby' with the riff from 'I Am One' (also the riff from Black Sabbath's 'Zero The Hero'... also the riff from Guns N' Roses' 'Paradise City'). Nicole really impressed me both with her bass-playing (I believe she's a much more proficient bass player than D'Arcy Wretzky and can't wait to hear what she brings to the table on 'Oceania'), but also for her backing vocals during the new tracks.

The encore which included 'Zero' and 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' came complete with the warmest crowd reception of the night. Feedback overheard when leaving the venue was incredibly positive. I have a feeling that at least in Europe, 2012 could be a big year for this band.

On another note: during 'Siva', I'm pretty sure Billy ad-libbed the line "Billy Corgan's bald and can not sing". I'm not sure though.

#27: Jay-Z/Kanye West - Watch The Throne

No Church In The Wild (West, Carter, Njapa, Dean, Breaux, Nash, Wright, Manzanera, Brown, Roach)
Lift Off (West, Carter, Bhasker, Dean, Williams, Hernandez, Samuel)
Niggas In Paris (West, Carter, Hollis, Dean, Donaldson)
Otis (West, Carter, Woods, Campbell, Connelly, Robinson, Hammond, Brown, Roach)
Gotta Have It (West, Carter, Williams, Brown, Roach, Pinckney, Wesley)
New Day (West, Carter, Diggs, Dean, Bricusse, Newley)
That's My Bitch (West, Carter, Fareed, Bhasker, Vernon, Brown, Byrd, Lenhoff, Lordan)
Welcome To The Jungle (West, Carter, K. Dean, M. Dean)
Who Gon Stop Me (West, Carter, Joseph, Dean, Simmonds, Kierkegaard)
Murder To Excellence (West, Carter, K. Dean, Griffin Jr., Mescudi, Jones, Mason Jr., Rosenbaum, Semenya, Summers, M. Mordorcea, G. Mordorcea)
Made In America (West, Carter, Joseph, Dean, Breaux)
Why I Love You (West, Carter, Dean, Cerboneschi, Blanc-Francard, Camillo, Sawyer)

Frank Ocean - guest on 'No Church In The Wild' and 'Made In America'
Beyonce - guest on 'Lift Off'
Otis Redding - guest on 'Otis'
Mr. Hudson - guest on 'Why I Love You'
Produced by Kanye West, 88-Keys, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker, Q-Tip, Pharrell, Don Jazzy, Hitboy, Anthony Kilhoffer, The Neptunes, RZA, Ken Lewis, Swizz Beatz, Shama Joseph, and S1

Label: Roc-A-Fella/Roc Nation/Def Jam

Though this has been billed as the "first collaboration" between hip-hop behemoths, Jay-Z and Kanye West, the two have actually been working together pretty consistently for over a decade at this point, with West always producing at least one track on each of Jay's albums in that time.
This is however the first time the two of them have created a full album together, with both of them sharing vocals throughout and West co-producing most of the tracks.
As you would expect from two of the hip-hops sole shining lights in the 21st century, this is tightly packed with some great moments, and though there are a couple of things I would regard as mistakes - the sample of 'Try A Little Tenderness', complete with vinyl pops and sputters in 'Otis' make the raps recorded crisp and clear sound out of place - but this is largely a very impressive album. I hope to hear more of what these two can do together in the future.

(Apologies if you've been waiting for this... I found that doing it every day was really burning me out for finding things to say, so decided to give it a rest for a while).

#28: Jimi Hendrix - Valleys Of Neptune

Stone Free
Valleys Of Neptune
Bleeding Heart
Hear My Train a Comin'
Mr. Bad Luck
Sunshine Of Your Love
Lover Man
Ships Passing Through The Night
Fire
Red House
Lullaby For The Summer
Crying Blue Rain

All tracks written by Jimi Hendrix, except 'Bleeding Heart', by Elmore James and 'Sunshine Of Your Love', by Brown, Bruce and Clapton

Jimi Hendrix - vocals, guitar
Noel Redding - bass (except 'Stone Free', 'Valleys Of Neptune', and 'Bleeding Heart'), backing vocals on 'Fire'
Mitch Mitchell - drums (except 'Bleeding Heart')
Billy Cox - bass on 'Stone Free', 'Valleys Of Neptune', and 'Bleeding Heart'
Rocky Dzidzornu - percussion on 'Sunshine Of Your Love', and 'Crying Blue Rain'
Roger Chapman - backing vocals on 'Stone Free'
Andy Fairweather Low - backing vocals on 'Stone Free'
Juma Sultan - percussion on 'Valleys Of Neptune'
Rocky Isaac - drums on 'Bleeding Heart'
Chris Grimes - tambourine on 'Bleeding Heart'
Al Marks - maracas on 'Bleeding Heart'
Produced by Jimi Hendrix, Chas Chandler, Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer and John McDermott

Label: Legacy

Mainly recorded in 1969, 'Valleys Of Neptune' is the other posthumous release that I spoke of in the entry about 'Michael'. Unlike that album, these recordings were actually intended to be used on the unfinished follow-up to the final Jimi Hendrix Experience album 'Electric Ladyland', rather than a collection of outtakes from previous records.

Looking through the tracklist, there are a number of tracks that you'll think that you've heard before. They aren't as you remember them, however, but rather alternative versions of tracks from previous albums. The versions on here of 'Stone Free', 'Fire', and 'Red House' don't replace the original versions in any way, but it's nice to hear another interpretation of the tracks, even if they are pretty unnecessary. The real gem of this album is the title track, that had remained unavailable for the 40 years following Jimi's death - I wasn't born at the time, and even I can't believe that it's been 40 years.

There's enough here to keep any Hendrix fan without the patience to sift through the numerous bootlegs available (like myself) happy.

Listen Here: Jimi Hendrix Experience – Valleys Of Neptune

#29: Pearl - Little Immaculate White Fox

Rock Child (Aday, Wilson, Blake)
Broken White (Aday, Wilson, Blake, Colt, Ian)
Nutbush City Limits (Turner)
Check Out Charlie (Aday, Wilson, Blake)
Mama (Aday, Wilson, Blake)
My Heart Isn't In It (Aday, Wilson, Blake)
Nobody (Aday, Wilson, Blake, Ian)
Worth Defending (Aday, Wilson, Blake)
Lovepyre (Aday, Wilson, Blake)
Whore (Mother Superior)
Anything (Colt, Aday)

Pearl Aday - vocals
Scott Ian - guitar, backing vocals
Nalle Colt - guitar
Marcus Blake - bass, backing vocals
Dominique Davalos - bass, backing vocals
Matt Tecu - drums
Eric Leiderman - drums
Ted Nugent - guest on 'Check Out Charlie'
Jerry Cantrell - guitar on 'Anything'
Produced by Joe Barresi

Label: Megarforce Records

The first time I heard of Pearl, the band featuring Meat Loaf's daughter Pearl Aday, Anthrax's Scott Ian and members of a band called Mother Superior was when I had the pleasure of seeing them play on Velvet Revolver's last UK tour. That was the tour in which I learned three things... firstly, if you want a badass rock show, sometimes chemistry is no match for the entire band being so pissed off with each other that they're taking it out on their instruments. Let's take a moment to thank Scott Weiland and co for a truly memorable show.
Secondly, I learned that the Dharma Initiative responsible for a lot of the shit that went down in Lost (and most of the characters supplies) also apparently makes guitars. (Just imagine that this statement was followed up by a picture of Scott Ian's custom guitar that I used to have, and seem to have lost, damnit!)

And thirdly I learnt that Scott Ian is married to Meat Loaf's adopted daughter, who has lungs that seems to call into question everything we know about genetics. Can it still be hereditary even though they don't share any actual DNA? Apparently so!

The debut album 'Little Immaculate White Fox' is one of the best pure hard rock albums in recent memory, with fantastic tracks like 'Whore', and a note perfect cover of Ike and Tina Turner's 'Nutbush City Limits'. It's the kind of fist-in-the-air stuff that is hardly ever made any more. Coincidentally, when it comes to music like this, I don't think there's been anything that's been this fun without just being shallow and ultimately disposable since Velvet Revolver's 'Contraband'. And if that isn't recommendation enough, I don't know what you need to hear. Give it a listen! If you don't like it, you probably don't like rock 'n' roll... that's all.

Listen Here: Pearl – Little Immaculate White Fox

#30: Serj Tankian - Imperfect Harmonies

Disowned, Inc.
Borders Are...
Deserving?
Beatus
Reconstructive Demonstrations
Electron
Gate 21
Yes, It's Genocide
Peace Be Revenged
Left Of Center
Wings Of Summer

All tracks written, performed, produced, engineered and orchestrated by Serj Tankian

Mario Pugliarulo - bass
Troy Zeigler - live drums
Vincent Pedulla - additional orchestrations
Dan Monti - additional guitars on 'Borders Are...', 'Electron', and 'Wings Of Summer'
Brain - live drums on 'Left Of Center'
Shana Halligan - additional vocals on 'Beatus' and 'Wings Of Summer'
Ani Maldjian - operatic vocals
David Alpay - solo violin on 'Wings Of Summer'

Label: Reprise/Serjical Strike

Inspired by a live collaboration with the Auckland Symphony Orchestra, Serj Tankian's follow-up to the brilliant 'Elect The Dead' features full orchestration on all tracks. Rather than being a classical album or what has become known as "symphonic metal", this still sounds like a Serj Tankian record.

System Of A Down are a great band, but Serj sounds far more comfortable singing his own songs than Daron Malakian's, and the result is a usually superior end product to his band. 'Imperfect Harmonies' never reaches the same heights musically as 'Elect The Dead' or SOAD's debut album, but it's always very good to listen to. Even if there is a bit of a failed experiment with electronics on 'Deserving?' which can be best described as "disco rock" and them promptly forgotten.

Lyrically nothing has changed. Serj is still singing about the same subjects he always had. So we have yet another song about the Armenian genocide, etc. It's not a huge problem, but I do wish he'd find something else to write about sometime.

'Imperfect Harmonies' isn't an easy listen, and sometimes it can be quite frustrating, but if you're in the right mood for it, it's oddly effective, and surprisingly mellow-sounding compared to his other output.

Listen Here: Serj Tankian – Imperfect Harmonies

#31: Die So Fluid - The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime

Figurine
Mercury
Storm
The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime
Hearts Are Hollow
Raven
Themis
How Vampires Kiss
If Wishes Were Bullets
What A Heart Is For
Sound In Colour

All songs written by Die So Fluid

Grog - vocals, bass
Drew Richards - guitar
Al Fletcher - drums, backing vocals
Produced by Mark Williams

Label: DR2/Global Music

Die So Fluid are an alternative metal band from London. Their music combines the crunchy riffs of most modern metal, combined with female vocals from Georgina "Grog" Lisee. Despite how that sounds, this isn't another band in the vain of Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, Evanescence, or Nightwish. The vocals are quite a bit rougher than that, but still just smoothe enough to be fun to listen to - none of the Arch Enemy style growling here. 'The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime' is the band's third and by far their best album.

Listen Here: Die So Fluid – The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime

#32: Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - Go Down Under

Never Tear Us Apart (Farriss, Hutchence) - originally by INXS
All Out Of Love (Russell, Hitchcock) - originally by Air Supply
Friday On My Mind (The Easybeats) - originally by The Easybeats
Have You Never Been Mellow (Farrar) - originally by Olivia Newton-John
I've Done Everything For You (Hagar) - originally by Rick Springfield

Spike Slawson - vocals
Chris Shiflett - guitar
Joey Cape - guitar
Fat Mike - bass
Dave Raun - drums
Produced by Me First And The Gimme Gimmes

For those of you who don't know, Me First And The Gimme Gimmes are a pop-punk supergroup consisting of members of Swingin' Utters, NOFX, Foo Fighters and Lagwagon. With every release, the band perform pop-punk covers of songs based on a particular theme. The theme for this E.P., is Australia and was released within a couple of weeks of Amanda Palmer's similarly titled album.

I've got to admit, I've never heard the original versions of any of these songs, and based on the artists that did them I don't particularly care to. All that matters is that these songs are done in a light-hearted manner, and are above all fun to listen to. They've succeeded on both counts, and that's enough to please me in this regard - the band were never meant to be taken seriously, so judging it on anything more than that would just be silly. They've since released a similar E.P. titled 'Sing In Japanese' that I've yet to hear.

Listen Here: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Go Down Under - EP

#33: Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

Monarchy Of Roses
Factory Of Faith
Brendan's Death Song
Ethiopia
Annie Wants A Baby
Look Around
The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie
Did I Let You Know
Goodbye Hooray
Happiness Loves Company
Police Station
Even You Brutus?
Meet Me At The Corner
Dance, Dance, Dance

All songs written by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Anthony Kiedis - vocals
Josh Klinghoffer - guitars, keyboard, backing vocals
Flea - bass, backing vocals, trumpet, piano
Chad Smith - drums, percussion
Greg Kurstin - piano, keyboard
Money Mark - organ on 'Look Around'
Mauro Refrosco - percussion
Lenny Castro - percussion
Michael Bulger - trumpet on 'Did I Let You Know'
Produced by Rick Rubin

Label: Warner Bros.

After the departure of John Frusciante for the second time in 2009, the big question was whether the Red Hot Chili Peppers could come up with something worth listening to without him. This, I feel severely underestimated the influence of the other three members of the band. It's true that they never really got the kickstart they needed until John joined for 1999's 'Mother's Milk', but their one album without John between then and now - 'One Hot Minute' - was one of the band's very best. It's unfairly maligned by almost everyone in the world, but it really is a great album.

'I'm With You' doesn't really live up to that - though the sonics in the intro of 'Monarchy Of Roses' harkens back to that record - but it does manage to stand on its own. Replacement, Josh Klinghoffer doesn't really make his mark nearly as well as he should have, leaving Flea and Chad Smith to hold the fort musically. This is no bad thing, though, as it opens up an opportunity for one of the best rhythm sections in rock to stand in the spotlight for the first time. They've been overshadowed by the guitarist for the past 22 years, so it's a nice change of pace.

Not that they really do anything differently. Flea has always done the thing where the bass goes smoothly back and forth from lead instrument to rhythm, with the guitar doing vice-versa. But now with a fairly non-descript guitarist, he might actually get the recognition for it. Similarly, Chad Smith has always taken the 'whatever's needed' approach to his drums, never succumbing to the need to be flashy, whilst at the same time not being simple. Anthony Kiedis' vocals are, of course, forever dependable, and he doesn't really cover any new territory here, keeping very much in his post-'Californication' voice.

The songs are for the most part solid, with only 'Dance, Dance, Dance', really being a disappointment. They are however very much songs that sound like what they've been doing for the last 12 years, just without the distinctive guitar/backing vocal tones that has characterised that music. The exception being the fantastic, 'Even You Brutus?'. I hope this line-up of the band stays together long enough to record another album together once they've gotten more used to playing with each other, and maybe have Josh actually leave his mark on the album next time. The big fear being that John will return once again, and just as with 'One Hot Minute', this album gets completely discarded from memory and victimised for who it doesn't feature.

This album isn't available on Spotify.

Happy Belated Birthday, 'Use Your Illusion'

There were a lot of great albums that came out in 1991. It's probably one of the best year's for new music since I've been alive. But the constant stream of great music seemed to get completely insane in the months between August and October. In those few short weeks, the world was given Metallica's self-titled "Black" album, 'Ten' by Pearl Jam, 'Use Your Illusion I & II' by Guns N' Roses, Nirvana's game-changing 'Nevermind', 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and 'Badmotorfinger' by Soundgarden... and that's only the most prominent selection.

I'm two days late, but Saturday was the 20th birthday for the 'Use Your Illusion' double set by Guns N' Roses. Two albums, filled to the brim with new music that still gets unfairly treated by music fans, and in some cases from members of the band. With a combined running time of over two and a half hours, they are definitely not for the faint-hearted, but for those who are able to brave it, there is an epic rollercoaster ride of emotions, with each song going into different directions, forcing you to question everything you've ever known about Guns N' Roses.

Before 1991, who would have imagined that Axl Rose could write songs as tender, heart-breaking and epic as 'Estranged'? That he would prove himself as a lyricist who can look into himself, pull out the deepest of emotions, and lay out his turmoil so succinctly in words? Somehow, the songs where he does that give the songs in which he expresses emotions of anger, etc. more effective. As if his honesty in those songs makes you take a look at previous tracks and realise he's being just as honest there, too. It's pretty scary when you force yourself to think about it. But it's also quite refreshing. The 80's in rock music (or more specifically, rock music in LA) was a time when the lyrics of songs were a series of boasts, grand statements and shamelessness that most modern hip-hop has since fallen victim to. Hearing someone actually mean what he was singing was a welcome relief. And whereas you got a sense that he meant every word before the release of 'Use Your Illusion', it wasn't until he proved that he wasn't afraid to show his vulnerable side that it was confirmed.

A lot of people criticise the albums for taking too many divergences from the sound the band established on 'Appetite For Destruction', but I've found that some of my least favourite songs on the albums ('Right Next Door To Hell', 'Perfect Crime', 'Back Off Bitch', etc) are the ones that sound most like the tracks on that album. My favourite ones, are the ones where they let their imaginations run wild and didn't limit their ambition. Some people may call it self-indulgent, but when you're writing music, I think self-indulgence is the key. If you're not making music that you yourself are happy with, how are you supposed to convince people when you're performing it? Even the greatest band can't convince when the material isn't what they'd make if they had the choice. The aforementioned 'Estranged', as well as 'November Rain', 'Breakdown', 'Coma' and 'Locomotive' were the sound of a band growing as songwriters in a way that nobody had imagined they could.

Overall, 'Use Your Illusion' when taken as one product is not perfect. There is a noticable difference in quality between 'I', and the more imaginitive 'II' - my favourite of the two. As an overall piece of work, 'Appetite For Destruction' is indeed the better album. But there are songs on 'Use Your Illusion' that blow anything from 'Appetite' out of the water. It's 20 years old now, but it has aged incredibly well. Some of my favourite music ever recorded is still on those records. Are they overblown? Yes... but that's what I find appealing about them.

Happy belated birthday, 'Use Your Illusion'



EDIT:
One of the things that people often say is that 'Use Your Illusion' should have only been one album. I don't think so, because there would have to be far too much left out, and you wouldn't get the insane rollercoaster ride effect you get from listening to the whole thing in one sit-through (something I don't think was done again until the Smashing Pumpkins released 'Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness'). But below is my playlist for the 'Best Of The Illusions' for anyone interested...

1) Civil War
2) You Could Be Mine
3) Pretty Tied Up
4) Don't Cry
5) November Rain
6) Breakdown
7) Locomotive
8) Dust N' Bones
9) 14 Years
10) Estranged
11) Yesterdays
12) Coma

That comes to just under 80 minutes. You'll completely fill up a CD with those twelve tracks..

#34: Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man

(It's Not War) Just The End Of Love
Postcards From A Young Man
Some Kind Of Nothingness
The Descent (Pages 1 & 2)
Hazelton Avenue
Auto-Intoxication
Golden Platitudes
I Think I Found It
A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun
All We Make Is Entertainment
The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever
Don't Be Evil

All tracks written by Bradfield, Moore and Wire, except 'I Think I Found It', by Bradfield and Moore

James Dean Bradfield - vocals, guitar, mandola on 'I Think I Found It'
Nicky Wire - bass, vocals on 'The Futures Has Been Here 4 Ever', backing vocals
Sean Moore - drums, percussion, trumpet
Ian McCulloch - second lead vocals on 'Some Kind Of Nothingness'
John Cale - keyboards and noise on 'Auto-Intoxication'
Duff McKagan - bass on 'A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun'
Loz Williams - piano, Hammond organ, mellotron
Nick Naysmith - piano - Hammond organ
Catrin Wyn Southall - backing vocals
Melissa Henry - backing vocals
Osian Rowlands - backing vocals
Gareth Treseder - backing vocals
Fflur Rowlands - backing vocals
Roland George - backing vocals
Aled Powys Williams - backing vocals
Strings by Andy Walters, Joanna Walters, Carly Worsford, Bernard Kane, Simon Howes, Nathan Stone, Richard Phillips and Claudine Liddington
Produced by Dave Eringa, Loz Williams and Manic Street Preachers

Label: Columbia

After the release of 'Everything Must Go' in 1996, the Manic Street Preachers seemed to go onto a downward spiral of ill-advised directions, with every release losing some of the quality that had marked their work beforehand. Some people cited the still-unsolved disappearance of Richey Edwards, not taking into account that Richey's playing is only featured on the one track that had been completed on 'Everything Must Go' prior to his disappearance. I assume it was a case of feeling lost, and not knowing in which direction to go.

2007, however, saw the band return to some of their former glory on the album 'Send Away The Tigers'. Since then, the Manics have once again been on an upward curve, culminating in last years 'Postcards From A Young Man'. Returning unashamedly to the radio-friendly rock that made 'Everything Must Go' a hit, this album is undoubtedly the best the band has done ever since that album. First single '(It's Not War) Just The End Of The Love' hits all the same notes 'A Design For Life', and does it well.

With some bands such a step backwards would be something to bemoan, but in the case of the Manic Street Preachers, they are a band who by 'LifeBlood' had lost their way so much that I didn't hold any hope of them finding the road again. The step backwards they've taken since that album is what they needed in order to push further onwards.

Listen Here: Manic Street Preachers – Postcards From A Young Man

#35: Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer

The Lady Killer Theme Intro (Callaway)
Bright Lights Bigger City (Allen, Callaway, Reyes)
Fuck You (Brown, Callaway, Mars, Lawrence, Levine)
Wildflower (Callaway, Smith)
Bodies (Callaway, Remi)
Love Gun (Callaway, David, Livingston, Simpkins)
Satisfied (Callaway, Nowels)
I Want You (Callaway, Smith, Splash)
Cry Baby (Callaway, Nowels)
Fool For You (Callaway, Splash)
It's OK (Callaway, Ceon, Fisher, Ofstad)
Old Fashioned (Callaway, Kasirye)
No One's Gonna Love You (Barrett, Bridwell, Hampton)
The Lady Killer Theme Outro (Callway)

Lauren Bennett - guest on 'Love Gun'
Philip Bailey - guest on 'Fool For You'
Robin Finck - guitar on 'The Lady Killer Theme Outro'
Tommy Lee - drums
Pino Palladino - bass
Produced by Grey Area, Ben H. Allen, Graham Marsh, The Smeezingtons, Fraser T. Smith, Salaam Remi, Cee Lo Green, Jack Splash, Element, Paul Epworth and Alan Nglish.

Label: Elektra, Roadrunner

Time to make a confession here... when I first heard 'Fuck You' - or rather 'Forget You' - on the radio last year, my first thoughts were, "This guy sounds like Gnarls Barkley!" Imagine my surprise when I found out that Gnarls Barkley isn't actually a person, but a duo of which Cee Lo Green is the singer. This is how much I knew about this guy before this record came out.

Man, I wish that I'd known about him sooner, because his combination of classic soul with modern beats has resulted this album... one of the best non-rock albums out there. At a time when black music is considered to mainly be modern R&B and/or hip-hop, Cee Lo gives the world a reminder of a time when the likes of Stevie Wonder ruled the roost. There actually isn't a bad track on this album that I can find listening to it. Of course, some are better than others - 'Fuck You' and 'It's OK' are both far better than 'Cry Baby' for instance - but nothing ever goes below good. There are some records that I'm going to be talking about that although I find better albums overall, still don't accomplish that.

For a true example of what Cee Lo is capable of vocally, check out the pure 70's-style number, 'Old Fashioned'.

Listen Here: Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer

#36: Michael Jackson - Michael

Hold My Hand (Thiam, Tuinfort, Kelly)
Hollywood Tonight (Jackson, Buxer, Riley)
Keep Your Head Up (Jackson, Cascio, Porte)
(I Like) The Way You Love Me (Jackson)
Monster (Jackson, Cascio, Porte, Curtis Jackson)
Best Of Joy (Jackson)
Breaking News (Jackson, Cascio, Porte)
(I Can't Make It) Another Day (Kravitz)
Behind The Mask (Jackson, Mosdell, Sakamoto)
Much Too Soon (Jackson)

Akon - guest on 'Hold My Hand'
Taryll Jackson - guest on 'Hollywood Tonight'
50 Cent - guest on 'Monster'
Lenny Kravitz - guest on '(I Can't Make It) Another Day'
Dave Grohl - guest on '(I Can't Make It) Another Day'
Shanice - guest on 'Behind The Mask'
Produced by Michael Jackson, Akon, Tuinfort, Teddy Riley, Theron "Neff-U" Feemster, C "Tricky" Stewart, Angelikson, Brad Buxer, Lenny Kravitz and John McClain

Label: Epic

The first of two posthumous releases that made it into this list, Michael digs up music recorded over around a 25-30 year period to give fans a taste of the Michael Jackson we'd never gotten to hear before now.
The first track, 'Hold My Hand' gives you a dark sense of foreboding. Is this really all they've got? Luckily, that track was originally intended as an Akon release with Michael guesting, before getting delayed indefinitely and then having it marketed as a Michael song with Akon guesting after his death. Therefore it's not at all representative of the rest of the tracks.
I didn't think I'd ever get to hear the up-beat, hip-hop styled tracks from MJ's 'Dangerous' and 'HIStory' eras again... he appeared to have changed his focus to increasingly sappy ballads that weren't worthy of his legacy by the time of 2001's 'Invincible', but 'Michael' showcases plenty of the type of thing that I was hoping for, beginning with 'Hollywood Tonight' and reaching its height in 'Monster', featuring a rap recorded after-the fact by 50 Cent. There are those balladic type tracks as well, but they work better than on 'Invincible' almost entirely because there is a bit of variety in the tracks, making 'Hold Your Head Up' and '(I Like) The Way You Love Me' genuinely interesting tracks to listen to rather than just more of the same.

Ever since the release of 'Thriller' there was a tradition on Michael Jackson albums to have at least one track featuring some heavy rock guitar featuring the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Steve Stevens and Slash. Well, 'Michael' manages to uphold this tradition, with the guitar this time supplied by Lenny Kravitz, who also wrote, produced and sings backing vocals on '(I Can't Make It) Another Day'. Though nowhere near as impressive as 'Beat It', 'Dirty Diana' and 'Give In To Me', it's nice to hear a guitar solo on the record, as well as have Dave Grohl playing drums. It's not exactly as much of a rock track as I was expecting, but it's a very good song nonetheless.

The two stand-out tracks from the album were actually recorded during the 'Thriller' era. 'Much Too Soon' is heartbreaking, and 'Behind The Mask' - a reworking of a track by Japanese group The Yellow Magic Orchestra - features a melody that Michael brought to the song that showcases just how strong of a vocalist Michael was. In the end, this was never going to be a focused and cohesive album, and is not a great Michael Jackson album. However it is a good Michael Jackson album, which is a lot more than I was expecting. And that it's better than 'Invincible' is a very nice surprise to have.

There was a lot of talk before the albums release - from who I perceive to be self-serving members of his family - that the three tracks co-written and produced by Eddie Cascio were not in fact Michael singing the lead vocals, but soundalikes brought in to sing over barely audible backing vocals that he'd recorded before his death. Well, I was raised on this man's voice, and it's his throughout. Some people are just looking for publicity any way they can by exploiting their family name.
Listen Here: Michael Jackson – Michael

#37: The Jane Austen Argument - Plan Behind (The Beautiful Mess We Made)

Under The Rainbow
Made Your Mark
Staying Single
Silver Suit
Reunion Song
Plan Behind

All songs written by Tom Dickins and Jennifer Kingwell

Tom Dickins - vocals, ukulele
Jennifer Kingwell - vocals, piano
Produced by Lance

This is a live E.P. from a show at a venue called Revolt in Melbourne. Usually, I wouldn't include a live E.P., but in this case all 6 tracks are previously unreleased, so I'll let it off.
Earlier in the year, The Jane Austen Argument's Tom Dickins quit his day job in order to chase his dreams full-time. To celebrate this dramatic decision, Tom and Jen performed this one-off show under the name "Fuck Plan B". The moral of the night was that there is no time for a plan B, so don't have one. Take the risk and put yourself fully into what you want to be doing. It's advice that I wish I had the balls to take myself.
Anyway, the actual music ranges from the emotional melancholy previously seen on 'The Birthing Pyre', to the comedic 'Staying Single' which features a section in which Tom reads out messages from the crowd about their funny break-up stories, with answers like, "You left me for a midget, Nazi", and "I've never had a boyfriend, so fuck you". It's a nice change of pace, which I hope they will do more of.
Next up, The Jane Austen Argument will be recording their debut full length album, made possible thanks to donations from fans on the fund-raising website, Kickstarter.com

Listen And/Or Download Here: http://thejaneaustenargument.bandcamp.com/album/plan-behind-the-beautiful-mess-we-made

#38: Eminem - Recovery

Cold Wind Blows (Mathers, Smith, Byrne, Marsh, Perry, Synge)
Talkin' 2 Myself (Mathers, Rahman, Injeti, Honeycutt)
On Fire (Mathers, Porter, C. Wilson, L. Wilson, R. Wilson)
Won't Back Down (Mathers, Rahman, Alcock, Rodrigues, Smith)
W.T.P. (Mathers, Resto, Chin-Quee, Gilbert)
Going Through Changes (Mathers, Heynie, Osbourne, Iommi, Ward, Butler)
Not Afraid (Mathers, Resto, Samuels, Evans, Burnett)
Seduction (Mathers, Samuels, Burnett, Jordan)
No Love (Mathers, Carter, Jr., Smith, Halligan, Torello)
Space Bound (Mathers, Scheffer, McEwan)
Cinderella Man (Mathers)
25 To Life (Mathers, Rahman, Rodrigues, Tannenbaum)
So Bad (Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence, Cruse, Brongers)
Almost Famous (Mathers, Rahman, Rodrigues, Alcock, Injeti, Tannenbaum)
Love The Way You Lie (Mathers, Grant, Haffermann)
You're Never Over (Mathers, Smith, Mainieri Jr., McMahon)

Erik Alcock - guitar
Mark Batson - keyboards
Matthew Burnett - strings
Sean Cruse - guitar
Jordan Evans - strings
Nikki Grier - vocals
Chin Injeti - bass
Jim Jonsin - keyboards, programming
Sly Jordan - saxophone, vocals
Danny Keyz - keyboards
Trevor Lawrence - keyboards
Nick Low-Beer - drum programming
Steve McEwan - guitar, vocals on 'Space Bound'
Danny Morris - keyboards
Dawaun Paker - keyboards
Dwayne Chin-Quee - drums
Rahki - keyboards
Khalil Abdul Rahman - keyboards, drum programming
Luis Resto - keyboards
Liz Rodrigues - Vocals
Matthew Samuels - drums
Daniel Seeff - guitar
Mike Strange - guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards
Kobe - guest on 'Talkin' 2 Myself'
Pink - guest on 'Won't Back Down'
Lil Wayne - guest on 'No Love'
Rihanna - guest on 'Love The Way You Lie'
Produced by Just Blaze, DJ Khalil, Denaun Porter, Supa Dups, JG, Eminem, Emile, Boi-1da, Matthew Burnett, Jim Jonsin, Script Shepherd, Dr. Dre, Nick Brongers, Alex da Kid and Makeba Riddick

Label: Shady/Aftermath/Interscope

2009's 'Relapse' was supposed to be Eminem's triumphant return after a five year self-imposed exile. Instead it had all of the same problems as its predecessor, 'Encore'. There were a few strong tracks on both albums, but it mostly ranged from bad to okay.

Just a year later, this album came out and was everything that 'Relapse' should have been. There is nothing especially groundbreaking about any of the tracks, but it features some of Eminem's best music. For the first time, this album doesn't feature a novelty comedy track to be released as first single. The album features more of the confessional type tracks that has proven to be when he is at his strongest ever since the classic track 'Cleanin' Out My Closet', as well as the harder-edged tracks that he made his name with.

Of the former, a highlight is the track 'Talkin' 2 Myself' in which he admits that his last two albums weren't up to scratch, and that his self-esteem was so low because he couldn't write tracks that he was proud of. It seems to have gotten to the point where he stopped himself from writing lyrics insulting Lil' Wayne and Kanye West because "I'd have got my ass handed to me, and I knew it". And the latter is hands down the best track Eminem has put his name to in at least 8 years... 'Love The Way You Lie' featuring Rihanna is the kind of track that even non-fans could appreciate.

The result is the finest album Marshall Mathers has ever released. Yes, even better than 'The Eminem Show' (I actually find 'The Slim Shady LP' and 'Marshall Mathers LP' quite over-rated, though both good themselves).

Listen Here: Eminem – Recovery