An Album A Day 💙

Playing an album a day until I run out...

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

Was listening to a CD the other day and was trying to remember when I’d last played it. 2015? I’ve got so many albums, and so little time... So here’s what I’m going to do: an album a day until I’ve played them all. Every single one. Discover what they are at: @AnAlbumADay1

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

@kathy_glista @allrockmusic Saw Zeppelin at Knebworth (first Saturday). Still the best gig I ever attended. But if I could go back, I think I’d quite like to see The Doors. Or Joni. It’s a coin-toss.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

@BillSchuster68 @Mikehomeseller How on earth did Time And Motion fall between the cracks? Such a great and underrated album.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2255: The Best Of 2010 (2010) What went wrong with Classic Rock, eh? As in the genre, I mean. One minute it was chugging along chucking out diamonds, and the next it was just churning out generic, formulaic pap. Nothing stands out here. Like picking over the menu of a bad diner.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2254: In Concert (1991) Comprising the best of three previous live albums, this may not be definitive but it certainly gives a flavour of their live act. Krieger’s guitar is sharp, his solos perfect, while Mr Mojo is gruff and dominant, an ideal front man. The End also features.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2253: Steel Wheels (1989) I don’t recall ever hearing much of this lot in the 80s, so when I read that this album was actually quite decent I took a punt. And it’s a lively one, certainly. A Rock And A Hard Place and Continental Drift jump out on first listen. Quite unexpected.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

After playing the Arthur Wills version the other day, I realised I don’t have the Ravel orchestration on CD, so…

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2252: Pictures At An Exhibition (1990) Two versions, back-to-back. The Brendel is just about perfect, his timing and phrasing second-to-none. The Ravel arrangement is the first I’ve heard in quite a while, and I’d forgotten just how good it is: the choices and tones a benchmark.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2252: Pictures At An Exhibition (1990) Two versions, back-to-back. The Brendel is just about perfect, his timing and phrasing second-to-none. The Ravel arrangement is the first I’ve heard in quite a while, and I’d forgotten just how good it is: the choices and tones a benchmark.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2251: Room On Fire (2003) A second album that is a carbon copy of their debut, apparently, though it’s news to me. It was left on a wall and I scooped it up not sure what to expect. It’s Garage-y but mainly I hear flavours of Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I’m left mostly unimpressed?

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2250: Lah-Di-Dah (1991) I recall some of these being performed on TV years ago by Jake Thackeray and they’re still as sharp and witty years later, but I’m not sure an entire album and bonuses doesn’t wear thin after an hour+. Comedy can be a hard gift to parcel to the listener.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

@yffcyeshead I’ll check that out.👍

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2247: Close To The Edge (1972/2013) This is the 5.1 version which is awaiting a DTS compatible system here. Otherwise, it’s the Wilson remix, so that’s good and the extras give an insight into the creation of the album, but how often will you play them? UHQCD is still the king…

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

@Mikehomeseller Drama

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2249: Greendale (2003) A family in a small town is the basic premise of this double album that’s also a novel. Sort of. Everybody stays below the speed limit here, but it has a hypnotic pull that takes you along with it. You’re not supposed to laugh when the FBI shoots the cat…

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2248: White Music (1978/2013) Was there ever a band less authentically punk than XTC? They ride in on its coattails, hiding what they are really about, though there are hints and sniffs of who they’ll become: a chord change, a clever rhyme, a wacky whirligig of stumbling organ…

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

@punt_rd Pictures Of Home

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2246: Music For Organ And Brass (1999) I’ve almost lost count of my versions of Mussorgsky’s Pictures, but this might be the best. Wills’s transcription is beautifully arranged. Elsewhere, the Elgar is splendid, the Walton regal. The Fenlands suite was almost titled ‘Fenlandia’!

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

@Mikehomeseller All decent, but Driven for me. That bass!

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2245: Wonderful Wonderful (2017) Loving the cover on this and the sound of “the conch” on the opening title track. It’s The Killers again and this vibrant slice of upbeat rock had me straight off. Didn’t expect the funk of The Man, or the subject of Tyson vs Douglas. First spin.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2244: Buzz! (2011) A decidedly below-par compendium of poodlerock that can’t be salvaged even by the presence of Whitesnake or the Von Hertzen Brothers. I imagine there’s a dwindling audience for such pap, except perhaps in the US, but someone must be investing in it, elsewhere.

[An Album A Day 💙 @AnAlbumADay1]

#2243: Requiem (2010) Sadly, I have no Spanish (or German for the parts sung by Death). A Prog Opera, the sheer ambition here is magnificent. The band is supplemented by a choir and I particularly like the flute. A man’s wife dies, he’s left behind. It’s rich, gothic, huge. 2CDs.