Pale Communion

With apologies if you have read this on Facebook already .. here is the expanded top ten albums of the year in my own unique opinion!

1) Opeth - Pale Communion
A simply breathtakingly good album. I suspect this is going to stay in my all time top ten for a long time to come! Almost musical perfection!

2) IQ - Road Of Bones 
The title track is the song of the year for me. Three monumentally good tracks on this album, the title track, Knucklehead and From The Outside In. Awesome vocals and catchy riffs .. what more can you want!

3) Tony Wright - Thoughts 'n' All
The surprise package of 2014. Former Terrorvision front man Tony Wrights acoustic album is a joy for your lugholes. Lots of quiet humour and the opening autobiographical track is brilliant .. please check this one out people!

4) The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
In a recent poll or poll of all the music magazines top ten albums of the year this came out top. Not hard to see why .. there is so much going on here. There's slices of Bob Dylan, U2, Talk Talk, Mister Mister, a real throwback sound album done superbly well!

5) Anathema - Distant Satellites 
Utterly beautiful, the self titled track almost the track of the year for me. They are playing Essex Cathedral next year, I am tempted to go. The ethereal sound of this band would be ideally suited to the acoustics of a place like that.

6) Robert Plant - lullaby and .. The Ceaseless Roar
Led Who? Easily the best Robert Plant solo album. Loads of eastern influences but essentially a solid classic rock album.

7) Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbot - What Have We Become
I bought this for Dawn's birthday expecting great things ... It didn't disappoint. Paul Heaton's lyrical genius is not waning with time .. many a giggle to be had. Great interplay between the former Beautiful South front woman and Heaton .. second album in the offing .. so glad they kissed and made up!

8) Gruff Rhys - American Interior
I've been nagged to buy this by my friends at Spillers Records. Another album with a great humour behind it. I'm going to see Gruff in February in Ebbw Vale .. I can't wait!

9) cosmograf - Capacitor
Looking for something to replace Pink Floyd ... look no further! A big proggy slab of ambient and beautiful music. One for sticking on headphones and staring at the stars and letting your mind drift too ...

10) ACCEPT - Blind Rage
Who says the old bands still can't rock ... Accept have been doing what they have been doing for decades, and this is the best they have done it for a long time .. one to turn the amp up to 11 for and just rock out too!

So there you have it .. there were some unlucky onea not to make the cut; Midge Ure, Tin Spirits, Wilko Johnson and Tom Petty spring to mind.

It's been an awesome year for music, and with Gruff, Steven Wilson and Manics gigs already booked for 2015, it looks like next year will be another great one too!