Surprises -
Tracey Thorn - Out of the Woods.... with Metro Area at the helm, this couldn't disappoint...and it didn't. A must-have album.... but it sold about 3 copies in Britain. Shameful, because it's undoubtedly the album of her career. Grand Canyon's worth the entry price alone - if you haven't already, go check this album out.
Siouxsie Sioux's frankly stunning first soplo album Mantaray - way too intelligent and glorious for the masses - but a classic album all the same.
Husky Rescue - their 2nd album Ghost Is Not Real was even better than Country DFalls, their debut. Criminally underrated.
Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque..... ok, an album of covers by Bob Dylan doesn't sound like a good night in... but Ferry's Dylanesque shimmers... stunning. 'Make You Feel My Love' is jaw-droppingly wonderful.
Alison Moyet's glorious return to form, The Turn. Brilliant songwriting, sounding better than ever and with her usual clever way with words.... but, of course, the UK simply didn't 'get' a Moyet album that challenged them and wasn't top 40-friendly.
Underworld - Oblivion With Bells - hurrah! They've FINALLY gotten round to making the justified, deserved, gorgeous true follow-up to Dubnobasswithmyheadman.... this is as good if not better - a stunning return to form for a band I'd almost given up on.
Nick Drake remasters - the box set was lovingly presented and restored..... an unmissable purchase.
Dame Shirley Bassey - The Living Tree single is right up there with her 007 themes - a classic track that should've seen her back in the top 10. Plus - to have performed a set as downright incredible as she did at Glastonbury at 70 years old (Happy Birthday for today, too... 71 years young)... respect is undoubtedly due.
Disappointments -
Bjork - Volta - however much hype surrounded this album, there's no getting away from the fact that it's an EP with a helluva lot of unlistenable substandard filler - standard fare these days for Bjork, then.
Air Pocket Symphony - stunning artwork, but too wispy by half..... it seems they really have lost their touch.
Groove Armada - same again.... and working with Mutya didn't help. Gone are the glory days of Vertigo, I fear.
Annie Lennox - Songs of Mass Boredom..... ok, maybe I shouldn't be disappointed as the woman hasn't recoded a single thing of any value since Diva... but I held high hopes for this album. They weren't to be met - it's awful, sludgey, AOR/MOR tripe.
Client..... Zerox Machine deserved to be a HUGE hit single.... record company wranglings and a British media that simply aint interested ensured it wasn't. The album Heartland was great, too - definitely worth a tenner of anyone's money.
PJ Harvey - White Chalk.. I can only scratch my head in amazement at the musos who've named this as one of their albums of the year - I have a feeling they'd nominate Polly if she released and album of her farting along to the Goombay Dance Band. This album was bleak, dark and downright depressing... which can be a good thing if you've got the songs to back you up. She didn't.
Looking forward to....
Jamie Hewlett, Damon Albarn's take on Monkey..... from what I've heard, it's going to be pretty incredible. Friend of mine's working on it - Albarn's apparently a total nightmare.
Duffy - she deserves all the success she gets - simply stunning.
Elizabeth Fraser - her first solo album, now just about in the can...and my mate who engineered it says it's her best work to date.... he had goosepimples working on it.... string-laden and not unlike Mezzanine in places, he reckons. CAN'T WAIT!
Portishead album - the world is waiting..... if it's half as great as Beth Gibbons album, we're in for a treat.
Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree - most of us have heard it...and we're all in agreement - it's a groundbreaking, phenomenal and welcome return to the glory days of Felt Mountain. Thank God. Sublime.
Massive Attack - the Bristol contingent are gonna be busy this year - let's hope this is better than the underwhelming 100th Window.
Kate Bush? She shocked us all with Lyra.... could a new Bush album be forthcoming?