Pacific Ocean Blue - Reissue

I've just read in the May issue of Mojo that Sony are finally going to re/re-issue Denis Wilson's "Pacific Ocean Blue" - last available on CD back in 1991. About time too.

However I'm sure I have read similar stories over the years without anything appearing, so I'll believe it when I finally have a legit copy in my hand. Now where is that Neil Young rarities box set I've been waiting 10 years for ...

Albums of the year - My final selection 2007

Remember these are NEW TO ME or even some really old ones that I am playing at the moment. Okay my top 10

1. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away. Just about the most life affirming, no nonsense pop music on the planet at the moment, this isn't to say that it is in anyway trite or predictable stuff. The album got a bit of a panning in some quarters of the music press when it came out, some claiming that it suffered poorly in comparison to their previous efforts Oh, Inverted World (2001) and Chutes Too Narrow (2003), - don't believe them.


2. Radiohead - In Rainbows. I know, I know rather predictable. Radiohead reinvent/kill the music business with the release of their new one. This could almost be described as Radiohead's 'soul' album and has some sublime moments on it with Thom Yorke's voice is at its best on opening track "15 Step".


3. Burial - Burial (2006). It is isn't even the most recent one from the allegedly anonymous (William Bevan) London-based dubstep creator/producer. This was WIRE magazines album of in 2006, a dark doom laden urban masterpiece - truly chilling


4. Neutral Milk Hotel (1998) - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Another oldie. Although I have had the track "Oh Comely" on my MP3 player for a good few years now it has taken till now and the album's recent re release for me to investigate further. I can't put it any better than the All Music Guide who described the album as "lo-fi yet lush, impenetrable yet wholly accessible, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is either the work of a genius or an utter crackpot, with the truth probably falling somewhere in between." - A big influence on The Arcade Fire.


5. Scars - Author! Author! (1981) Originally released in 1981 and finally put on CD. This is a much underrated album by the Edinburgh post-punk band, a gem and definite must for fans of Joy Division and Joseph K. Don't be fooled by the back cover that depicts the band after a rather unfortunate Duran/Visage style make over. This reissue doesn't include perhaps their finest moment the Horrorshow/Adult/ery single that they put out on Fast records - shame.
   
6. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (1984). This must seem like a very odd choice to any US readers as this 44 (many of them under the 2 min mark)track album has been hailed as a classic since its release by the American alternative music press - virtually unknown over here (at least to my mates). My only excuse is that I was probably listening to The Smiths at the time. Has been described by the All Music Guide as "...one of the very best American rock albums of the 1980s..."


7. Battles - Mirrored. It's very difficult to pin down the Battles sound although they seem to draw inspiration from the US hardcore scene, prog rock, experimental electronica and perhaps some funk in there too. Stand out tracks Atlas and Tonto.
   
8. Panda Bear - Person Pitch. Sample heavy solo album released by Animal Collective member Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox). This album comes on like Smile era Beach Boys put through some weird machine - he even sounds a bit like Brian Wilson in places. I'm still really getting into this but thought it deserved to make the list anyway
   
9. Tinariwen - Aman Iman: Water Is Life. Tuareg desert blues music produced by a gang of exiled Mali nomads living in the Western Sahara.


10. Various Artists - Larry Banks' Soul Family Album. This was the project that Dave Godin was working on when he died. Its a collection of some the finest soul cuts recorded for a number of labels by Larry and Bessie Banks and many cuts written, produced and composed by Larry for soul groups of the day such as The Exciters and The Cavaliers. The overall quality is so high it is difficult to pick highlights, however the two cuts by Jaibi - What Good am I and You Got Me are just incredible slabs of the deepest soul music you will ever hear. Those of you who already own the Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures series will not be disappointed.