Best of the year...

My Best of the year compilations started as a single C90 cassette back when Vinyl was the only choice.

The first one I remember doing was for 1982, the year of Hughes / Thrall, Peter Gabriel 4, Whitesnake’s Album with “Crying in the Rain “ on it, Led Zeppelin ‘s Coda, Dire Straits “love over Gold” – not a bad year, all Vinyl now usurped by CD except Whitesnake, that just never  got upgraded.

Well, this year has seen a bit of a bumper glut. Back then , the tape had 2 tracks from each album…

This year I ended up with 6 CD’s, with a rule of one track per artist only.

So it would appear that I’ve acquired at least 97 CD’s that were released in 2012.

So much for the death of the Music industry…

Rather than post links or you tube videos or even a podcast of these ( that would go on and on and on) here’s the list.

Feel free to argue about who’s on it ( or who’s not) or ignore it completely and produce your own.

Every blogger, music critic, journalist or wannabe is producing a list, so mine’s in the form of those CD’s.

They are not themed, neither are the artists in order of favour, just split into 80 minute chunks…

CD ONE

 1             Train -                  Drive By

2              Butch Walker -    Summer of ‘89

3              Grayson Capps - Coconut Moonshine

4              Gotye -               Eyes Wide Open

5              Jason Mraz -       I Won't Give Up

6              Juan Zelada -     The Blues Remain

7              John Mayer -     Shadow Days

8              Trombone Shorty - Roses

9              Larry Graham – GCSDrumline/ Raise Up

10           Fdeluxe -           Beautiful You

11           Lenny Kravitz -  Black and White America

12           Beth Hart -        Baddest Blues

13           Joe Bonamassa - New Coat of Paint

14           Joan Osborne -  Shake Your Hips

15           Michael Kiwanuka -I'll Get Along

16           Philipp Fankhauser - Blues Ain't Nothin (live)

CD TWO

1              Warren Haynes Band -      A Change Is Gonna Come (live)

2              Flying Colors -                  Blue Ocean

3              The Horrible Crowes -     Sugar

4              Kassidy -                         There Is a War Coming

5              Ian McNabb -                  High On A Hill

6              Henrik Freischlader Band - Keep Playin'

7              Thievery Corporation -    Is It Over?

8              Band of Skulls -               Lay My Head Down

9              Tina Dico -                      True North

10           Jason Collett -                  Sailor Boy

11           The Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go

12           Alabama Shakes -           You Ain't Alone

13           The Imagined Village -     Get Kalsi

14           Muse -                            Panic Station

15           Matchbox Twenty -        She's So Mean

16           Coldplay -                     Charlie Brown

17           Jack Savoretti -             Come Shine A Light

18           Tab Benoit -                  Gold On the Ceiling

CD THREE

1              Richard Hawley -              Standing at the Sky's Edge

2              DJ Shadow -                    Organ Donor

3              Rendezvous -                   Blues in Space

4              North Atlantic Oscillation -           Empire Waste

5              Public Service Broadcasting -       Spitfire

6              Robbie Robertson -         This Is Where I Get Off

7              Storm Corrosion -            Drag Ropes

8              Paul Cusick -                   Tears

9              Lissie -                             Nothing Else Matters

10           Band of Horses -               Electric Music

11           The Decemberists -          Rise to Me (live)

12           Rich Hopkins & Luminarios -        Darkside of the Spoon

13           Steve Hackett -                 Broadyway Melody of 1974

14           Ryan Adams -                   Ashes & Fire

15           Waterboys -                     The Girl In The Swing (live)

CD FOUR

1              Joe Walsh                       Analog Man

2              School Of Seven Bells     Low Times

3              Led Zeppelin                   Black Dog (live)

4              Walter Trout                    Blues 4 my Baby

5              My Morning Jacket         Out of my head

6              Sean Chambers               Dust My Broom  (live)

7              Sean Costello                 Doin' My Own Thing (live)

8              Audrae Mae                   My Friend The Devil

9              Daniel Martin Moore      Dark Road

10           Bobby Womack              Stupid

11           Laura Marling                 The Muse

12           Ben Howard                   Under The Same Sun

13           Howard Elliot Payne       Walk By My Side

14           Tristan Mackay               I found You

15           The Flower Kings           Pandemonium

16           Sylvan                            Share The World With Me IV

17           Steven Wilson                 Index

CD FIVE

1              Jonathan Wilson               Natural Rhapsody

2              Laki Mera                       Fingertips

3              Dave Alvin                      Gary, Indiana, 1959

4              The Jar Family                Never Looked Back

5              Mike Doughty                 Busting Up A Starbucks (live)

6              Tedeschi Trucks Band     Midnight In Harlem (live)

 7             Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo Kings Hypnotise   bonus random track

8              Gary Clark Jnr               When My Train Pulls In (live)

9              Silhouette                       Winter's Snow Falling Down

10           Hawkwind                       Electric Tears

11           Rush                               The Garden

12           ZZ Top                         Consumption

13           Howlin' Rain                 Strange Thunder

14           Lynyrd Skynyd             Mississipp   i Blood

CD SIX

1              Prince                            RnR Love Affair (live)

2              Rupa & the April Fishes Guns of Brixton

3              OSI                               Enemy Prayer

4              It Bites                           Map Of The Past

5              Hans Theessink & Terry Evans    Pouring Water On A Drowning Man

6              Dan Stuart                      Searching Through The Pieces

7              Jason Isbell                     Like A Hurricane (live)

8              Royal Southern Brotherhood      Left My Heart In Memphis

9              Black Country Communion        Confessor

10           Big Big Train                    The First Rebreather

11           24 Pesos                          Everyone's got The Blues

12           The Blues Broads             River Deep (live)

13           Low                                Try to Sleep

14           Memoryhouse                  Bonfire                

15           Kimbra                           Plain Gold Ring (live)

16           Santana                           Shapeshifter

at the moment, "Drag Rope" From Storm Corrosion Cd is wafting out of my speakers, a rich tapestry of swirling string synth, acoudstic guitars, a hi hat drone and wonderful piano - not at all what we expected from the frontpersons of Porcupine Tree and Opeth, which makes it all the more exciting