That Was The Year That Was

Barrons ‘Orrible Crap – The Revulsion Is Right (The Best of (?) 2006)

Nosferatu – Bloodbound (Taken from the album Bloodbound). Ok so it’s cheesier than a fromagerie but this is none of your plastic supermarket rubbish, this is high quality stilton. Great vocals from Urban Breed who has since left the band and a lovely chugging riff. It goes on for a minute or so longer than it should but, hey, I can forgive that.

Everyday – Slade (Taken from the album The Live Anthology). Remastered and re-released this year this is a great package pulling together 4 live recordings. Often thought of, somewhat unfairly, as a bit of a joke band this proves they could write a damn good love song and Noddy has one hell of a voice.

Push It To The Limit – Jon Oliva’s Pain (Taken from the album Maniacal Renderings). A straight ahead, good, old fashioned rock song recalling early Savatage (surprise). Can’t wait to see this lot ProgPower.

Hoodoo – Muse (Taken from the album Black Holes and Revelations). It’s as barking as a pack of hunt hounds and totally, totally wonderful. Muse delivered the gig of the year and quite possibly the album of the year too.

Mr. High & Mighty – Gov’t Mule (Taken from the album High & Mighty). They are perhaps suffering from taking a genre as far as it can go but each new album has a couple of tracks which suggest there is life in the old animal yet. Here we have the best AC/AC riff not written by a Young brother and a typically strong vocal performance by Warren Haynes.

Fly – Blind Guardian (Taken from the album A Twist in the Myth). Something of a return to form after the rather poor A Night at the Opera released back in 2002. It was great to see them this year in Dublin and hopefully we’ll get to see them again in the near future.

Save Me – Edguy (Taken from the album Rocket Ride). I could have picked several tracks from this album but in the end, due to space issues, you’ve got this power ballad and it’s a cracker. This, I imagine, will be performed acoustically at every live show from now on in, it just has that ‘feel’ about it.

After This War – Masterplan (Taken from the album Aeronautics). Dominated by Jorn Lande’s best Coverdale/Hughes impersonation I wouldn’t have been surprised to find this on a recent Whitesnake release, if we’d ever had one. Typically Jorn has since left the band as seems to be his style.

Sam I Am – Sammy Hagar and the Wabos (Taken from the album Livin’ It Up). THE feel good album of the year, the whole thing exudes fun. On this track we find Sammy in autobiographical mood but I would have been happy to put any of the tracks from this on my Best Of.

Broken – Sonata Arctica (Taken from the album For The Sake of Revenge). A great live recording and one which, along with the accompanying DVD, has convinced Gill that we have to go and see this lot play. I particularly love the way the guitar ‘jags’ away in the background.

Where Eagles Have Been – Wolfmother (Taken from the album Wolfmother). Australias finest young rockers evoke the ghosts of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath on a truly great debut album. I could have picked any of the tracks from the album to go on here but this is my current fave.

Orale – Los Lonely Boys (Taken from the album Sacred). Man this guy can play, imagine Santana but listenable. It took me a while to get into their second album, I don’t know why, but I’m glad I persevered because if anything, it’s better than the first.

Oliver Twist – Astral Doors (Taken from the album Astralism). Almost as cheesy as Bloodbound, imagine the bastard child of Dio and Accept and you have Astral Doors. Did a great job when supporting Blind Guardian in Dublin and Gill loves this album, so here they are.

Trivial/Travellers in Time – Inner Wish (Taken from the album Inner Strength). The finest power rock band in the whole of Greece, although I’m not too sure they have much competition. Everything tells me I shouldn’t like this but I do, though I can’t place why *shrug*.

A World Of Hurt – Drive-By Truckers (Taken from the album A Blessing and a Curse). The only band to challenge Muse in both the gig and album of the year stakes. Stunning.

Trip To The Fair – Renaissance (Taken from the album Scheherazade and Other Stories). Neither recorded nor re-released this year but I did buy it on CD for the first time in 2006 so here it is, the scariest song ever written. I still can’t listen to this alone in the dark, as much as I really, really want to.

So there you go that is my selection for 2006. I make no claims that this is the best music recorded during the year but each of the albums touched me in some way and that’s all I can ask for. Honourable mentions should go to a couple of bands who didn’t make it onto this list for reasons of time or just catching me at the wrong moment when I was compiling this disc: Tool, Pure Reason Revolution, Leaves Eyes, UFO (still don’t get it), The Moody Blues, The Strawbs, The Derek Trucks Band. Copies will be wending their way this week to the usual suspects and I might even pass a couple on to the likes of Russ, Sharon and Sid…if you are really unlucky.

Best Albums of 2006 (in no particular order as it changes daily)

Jon Oliva’s Pain – Maniacal Renderings
Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
Drive-By Truckers – A Blessing and a Curse
Wolfmother – Wolfmother
Sammy Hagar and the Wabos – Livin’ It Up

Best Gigs of 2006:

Muse – Newcastle, Arena
Coheed and Cambria – Newcastle, Academy
Drive-By Truckers – Byker, Cluny
Waysted – Newcastle, Trillians
Blind Guardian/Astral Doors – Dublin, Temple Bar Music Centre


Biggest Disappointments of 2006:

Not keep this blog up to date
Not having the willpower to practice my guitar
No holiday this year, and..................................................

UFO – The Monkey Puzzle…errr OK guys I’m puzzled, now what?

Best Thing About 2006:

Being alive to type this!

Things I’m looking forward to in 2007:

Doing this blog….honest!
Learning to play my guitar….I really need, and want to do this.
Life