Top Ten of 2015

I got lazy last year and never got around to writing a review for my top ten albums, maybe I just got tired writing detailed reviews for each album or maybe it wasn’t a very inspiring year for music. I thought it was time to post both my 2014’s and 2015’s top list. It seems fitting putting those two years together in one blog since a few of those albums from Sam Smith, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran crossed over and could be on either list.

Best Albums of 2015


1.“Paper Gods” Duran Duran: The boys are like a very fine wine, they only get better with age. This album is not as cohesive as their predecessor “All You Need Is Now”, but it is one hell of an album, from the opening anthem “Paper Gods” it is superbly recorded and produced. The album is much more modern sounding then anything they done in years, from the vinyl groove of “Pressure Off” produced by legend Nile Rodgers to the best cut “Last Night in the City” which makes you want to never leave the dancefloor. For those wanting the classic “Duran” sound “Face For Today” and the “Save A Prayer like”, “What Are The Chances” fit the bill. The album’s opus “You Killed Me With Silence” with its “Chauffeur” like atmosphere, and odd verses against the chorus is one of their best. One of my favorites “Sunset Garage” is the first time I’ve seen Duran channel the Motown sound and to suburb effect, I could have easily seen the Temptations covering this. “Butterfly Girl” is kind of an odd track but it’s heavily drum sounds give it a bit of “Power Stations” feel. Yes there are a few missteps like “Dancephobia” with Lindsey Lohan, and the album kind of loses steam at the end but it still a very fine wine.

2.“Rebel Heart”—Madonna”: At 19 songs I find the album a bit long, but pruned down to about 12 tracks, it’s her best album since “Ray Of Light. From the singles “Living For Love” to “Ghosttown” which should have been huge hit, this album puts Madonna in ripe form. Best tracks include the autobiographical “Joan Of Arc”, Devil Pray” and the title song, this is the direction Madonna should take, the song “Rebel Heart” is her most heartfelt and endearing ever. “Body Shop” is a cute retro style “True Blue” song that only Madonna can pull off. I’m not a fan of tracks like “Bitch I’m Madonna” "Iconic"or “Holy Water” but then some would argue that those are more like “Madonna” the the rest.


3.  “No Place In Heaven”—Mika: Excellent album from one of the most underrated pop musicians. Best tracks include “Good Guys”,  the hilarious poppy “All She Wants” about a mother longing more for her son and the dancefloor track “Staring At The Sun”. The album has it’s tragic but beautiful storytelling with the Freddy Mercury inspired “Last Party” and the superb title track. If you haven’t checked out Mika please do so.“

4. Made In  The AM”-One Direction: Manufactured or not they make good pop records, with every album they seem to grow up just a bit. Lead single “Drag Me Down” written by their songwriting team of Julian Bunetta and Jamie Scott is one of their finest singles. Unfortunately, they chose 2 of the worst tracks to follow up, “Perfect” and “Infinity” are OK but they don’t compare to what follows. “If I could Fly” or “History” could have easily replaced them. All members of the group seem to have their hand in co- writing most of the songs. They channel a retro Fleetwood Mac groove on the fab “What A Feeling” and just as lovely is “I Want To Write You A Song”. Two of my favorites, the totally different “Never Enough” and the Harry Style co-written beatle-esque “Olivia” could have put the group in another league above the typical boy band.

5. “X”--Ed—Sheeran: A funky rhythm and soul album that infuses rock, pop and rap. Ed knows no boundaries; he does everything to perfection from the emotional ballads of “The One”, “Photograph” and “Thinking Out Loud”, to his beautiful falsetto and craftsmanship as a musician.  I prefer Ed when he gets down with the tracks like “Sing” and “Don’t”, it’s hard to believe that a ginger white guy is this funky.
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6.“L’orchestre Symphonique De Montréal”—Mika: Team up one of the most underrated pop stars with Montreal’s incredible Symphonic Orchestra and you get one of the most fabulous sounding albums. This project proves just how talented and what a great songwriter Mika is, even odd chosen tracks like francophone “Boum Boum Boum” are perfect.





7. “Unbreakable”—Janet Jackson: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis return to produce her best album in over two decades”. On the title track they turn Janet’s velvet vocals and sprinkle their magic slow jam groove that moves throughout the record. Janet uncannily channels her brother Michael on the fabulous “The Great Forever”. Favorite tracks include “2 B Loved”, “Shoulda Known Better” and the retro “Jacksons 5/Escapade” “Gon' B Alright”.






8. "1989"--Taylor Swift: What can I say about this album that hasn’t been said. Like it or not it’s a pop juggernaut. From the solids hits “Blank Space”, “Shake It Off", “Style” and “Wildest Dreams”, producer Max Martin and Swift made a blueprint to the perfect pop album and put the music industry back on it’s feet. The one misstep is the childish nursery rhyme “Bad Blood” whom without Swift's name and billion buck video, in my opinion, would have never hit #1. My favorite is still “I Know Places” co-written with Ryan Tedder.



9. “Get Up”—Bryan Adams: Produced by ELO’s Jeff Lynn, Bryan puts out another fantastic album. Opener “You Belong To Me” is a rockabilly Traveling Wilburys type record, but the rest of the album is all Adams. The retro sounding rock anthems “Go Down Rockin’” and “That’s Rock And Roll” could have easily followed up “Reckless” back in 1985. “We Did It All” could be up there with some of his biggest hits as well as lead single “Brand New Day”. “Don’t Even Try”, feels like a long lost early Beatles record. In case you want to hear what the some of the song would sound like without Lynn’s production, Adams give you 4 acoustic tracks.

10.“All American Boy”-Steve Grand: One of the biggest Kickstarters campaigns, Steve Grand delivered a great album to his fans and backers. They dubbed him the “gay country singer” but I would place him more in the Bryan Adams area of music. The title track was one of my favorite songs a few years ago and he follows it up with superb tunes like “Stay”, “Say You Love Me”, and “Time”. A bit out of place on this album but my favorite, is the dance anthem “We Are The Night”, maybe he can one day do a full hi NRG album. Looking forward to hearing what Steve does next.



Best Singles of 2015

1. “Marvin Gaye”--Charlie Puth and Meagan Trainor
2. “Ghost”—Ella Henderson
3. “Drag Me Down” One Direction
4.  “Ghosttown”—Madonna
5.  “One Call Away”--Charlie Puth
6. “Living For Love”—Madonna
7. “Last Night In The City”—Duran Duran featuring Kieza
8. “Pressure Off” Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monae and Nile Rodgers
9.  “More Then Silence” Culture Club
10. “Sugar”—Maroon 5
11. “Sing” Ed Sheeran
12. “Uptown Funk”—Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

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Top Albums of 2014

1. "50 St. Catherine's Drive" Robin Gibb

2. “Sweet Talker”Jessie J.

3. “In The Lonely Hour” Sam Smith 

4. “High Hopes” Bruce Springsteen 

5.  “Xscape” Michael Jackson

6. “Kiss Me Once” Kylie Minogue 

7. “Songs Of Innocence” U2

8. “Never Been Better” Olly Murs 

9. “Four” One Direction 

10. “3” Take That  

 
Top Singles of 2014

1. Alan Freeman Days--Robin Gibb
2. Love Never Felt So Good--Michael Jackson
3. Stay With Me—Sam Smith
4. Let It Go-Idina Menzel
5. Take Me To Church—Hozier
6. Masterpiece—Jessie J.
7. The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)—U2
8. Night Changes--One Direction
9. Up-- Olly Murs & Demi Lovato
10. I’m Not The Only One—Sam Smith
11. Into The Blue-Kylie Minogue
12. Wrapped Up-Olly Murs

Top Albums and Singles of 2010

2010 the year in music review

In a year where pop music was back it was unusual hard for me to find 10 top albums, as usual a flood of releases came in at the end of the year. The year was packed with great pop dance singles while albums kind of suffered. In North America The chart were ruled by Eminem, Rihanna, Justin Beiber, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Kei$ha, Lady GaGa continuing from last year, and the cast of a little musical show called Glee. Who would have thought that their acapella version of “Teenage Dream” would rival its creator's Perry.

In The UK Robbie Williams shocked fans by reuniting with his boyband Take That, Kylie Minogue was back on track with her dance Opus Aphrodite, and a new electronic group “Hurts” reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys came onto the scene.

The Scissor Sister came back into form with the Stuart Price produced “Nightworks”, Stuart produced 3 albums on my list . Swedish electronica/dance artist Robyn wowed us with not one or two but three albums and showed us she does beats and melodies better then most of her contemporaries.

By the end of the year all things came full circle. The Beatles came back into our heads and hearts as their catalogue was finally available on Itunes, and just before the year's end Michael Jackson's estate released an album of unreleased songs. The debate will go on forever, for or against releasing the material, but let's face it most us fans were curious and wanted to hear it.

Top Albums of 2010

01 Aphrodite—Kylie Minogue 

Her album “X” was criticized for being un-cohesive, (I loved it and don’t get all the fuss) for her 11th studio production “Aphrodite” Kylie enlists the help of dance music wizard Stuart Price (Madonna, The Killers, Scissor Sisters) to produce a tightly woven piece of dance floor heaven. The album opens up with one of Kylie’s most hypnotic songs “All The Lovers” and like the video it places her at the top of her game, like the Goddess of music amongst her adoring fans.

From there on the disc doesn’t stop from the soon to be smashes “Get Out Of My Way” and “Put Your Hands Up”. Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters fame offer the frisky “Too Much” and Stuart does a great job on the heavenly “Looking For An Angel” and “Better Than Today”. The less successful tracks are the slower “Everything Is Beautiful” and “Illusion” I would have replaced both with the Xenomania produced songs “Mighty Rivers” and “Heartstrings” which ended up as bonus songs on Itunes and the latter on the Japan version of the album. Best tracks are the title song with it’s African flavoured drum beats, and anthem “I’m fierce and I’m feeling mighty, I’m a golden girl, I’m an Aphrodite Alright.. alright!”, and the last song tucked away at the end “Can’t Beat This Feeling” which sums up the album.

“Aphrodite” is up there with her best albums “Light Years” & “Rhythm Of Love” and dare I say better then “Fever”. 9/10


02 Body Talk--Robyn

3 times the charm for Robyn who released 3 records this year. Part 1 & 2 of this EP trilogy only wet our appetites for more. The Final Body Talk compilation has produced one of the finest albums of the year. From the Grammy nominated dance anthem “Dancing On My Own”, to the other singles “Hang With Me” and the beautiful orchestrated “Indestructible” make this Swedish Pop star Queen of da beats. Robyn can take the best of the old school groove and mix it with a new twist; she has a style all her own and doesn’t mince her words like most throw away modern pop stars. Songs like "In Your Eyes" has multiple layers of rhythms and grooves that give it a full large band quality to it. She can go all out pop for “Time Machine”, dip into reggae with the delightful "Dancehall Queen", or dish it out with Snoop Dogg on "U Should Know Better" (“then to F*ck with me”). “None Of Dem” and “We Dance To The Beat” strips her sound down to the essential primitive beats, a beat all her own but enticing enough to make you just want to jump in and dance. The only song missing to make the perfect record would have been the track “Cry When You Get Older” from Body Talk Part 1. 9/10


03 Progress--Take That

The first six tracks is the start of a solid album. It open's up with the mega single “ The Flood”, one of the few songs that make them sound like a full fledge arena rock group. On track two Robbie and Mark vocals blend perfectly as they rock the dancefloor on their urgent cry “ S.O.S”...“Liberate your son's and daughter, some are G_ds some are monsters”...this is no longer the sugar sweet boyband of he 90's who made it's success on ballads by Gary Barlow. Williams and producer Stuart Price head this ship. Price who has produced albums for The Killers, Madonna and Scissor Sisters gives it an overall electronica feel which you can hear on tracks like the bubbly but not sweet “Happy Now” and “Wait”. The best track is the Mark and Robbie political protest song “Kidz” , Stuart's bleeps and blobs make it border on Depeche Mode mixed with Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation, unfortunately due to the recent student protests in the UK this favoured 2nd single was pushed to 3 rd place in favour of S.O.S . Despite Robbie's stalker-ish lyrics the Beatles-esque melody “Pretty Things ” is a nice slice of synth-pop.

Unfortunately the album looses steam on the latter 5 tracks where each member takes a stab at singing solo. “Affirmation” is a clever little tune lyrically reminiscent of Darren Hayes and Savage Garden but Howard Donald has really weak vocals and he can't seem to hit the notes on the refrain. Mark Owen's “ What Do You Want From Me” is no where near as good as his contributions to previous albums. Robbie's steampunk electro rockin' “Underground” and Gary 's cute “Eight Letters” which samples Ultravox's “ Vienna ” are just OK. Oddly my favourite solo is Jason Orange's hidden track “Flowerbed”. A valiant effort, my only complaint is that their best new composition, the Gary and Robbie duet “Shame” was used on Robbie's recent Greatest Hits and not saved for this album. 8.5/10


04 Michael--Michael Jackson

I thought I would like a song or two but I’m blown away at how a set of unreleased demos can rival most modern releases. The album doesn't really have a theme or concept but these ten tracks are superbly produced and carefully made to sound like a Michael Jackson record. Producers Teddy Riley, "Tricky" Stewart, Akon and others did a superb job piecing together the tracks to create a finished product.

The opener Hold My Hand a duet with Akon, the only song not penned by Michael was recorded in 2007 and just completed; proves that Michael can have had a modern hit. Hollywood Tonight is very reminiscent of the Dangerous era and has all the Jackson signature vocal beat boxing groove. Keep Your Head Up High is a lush gorgeous inspirational ballad that could easily be his new Man In The Mirror. On (I Like) The Way You Love we hear a bit of his genius, a rare recording of Michael explaining how he wants the song to sound imitating the drum beats and instrumentation with only his vocals. It goes right into the full lush production making this beautiful Motown style groove sound magical. Monster another song about the pitfalls of Hollywood, while not the best track on the album it still gets you grooving. I could have done without the 50 Cents rap cameo but apparently Michael had wanted to work with him on his new record. Best Of Joy sound eerily familiar like a long lost 80’s R &B ballad that could easily be part of his Greatest Hits. “Everybody wants a part of Michael Jackson” he sings on Breaking News, making fun of how media would tear him apart, but the urgency of the beats suggest he was more then just laughing. I Can’t Make It Another Day teams up Michael with Lenny Kravitz to produce a heavy rock “Dirty Diana” groove. The last 2 track were taken from around the time of “Thriller”. Behind The Mask is a haunting robotic dance groove that sample’s Japanese Electropop pioneers Yellow Light Orchestra’s song of the same name, “Who Do You Love?...Where is your soul, where did it go?” Michael screams with his signature Hee-Hee’s. The closing track Much Too Soon is a beautiful country style ballad reminiscent of Gone Too Soon, I don't understand why it was never used. it could have been a huge hit.

To the reviewers who slammed the album saying it's just slim pickings from someone who was a perfectionist, and Michael would have never released them … well Michael's slim pickings is miles beyond the drivel that gets released as a record these days. 8.5/10


05 Happiness--Hurts

Hailed as the new Pet Shop Boys, UK duo Hurts debut "Happiness ” is not a stomping dance music album but a sophisticated electronica soundtrack, think Depeche Mode which they channel on the single "Better Than Love” . From the opener "Silver Lining” to the beautiful orchestrated ending track “Water” they deliver a delightful atmospheric sound with emotional lyrics and pretty melodies reminiscent of the 80's new wave movement. The dark but hopeful "Wonderful Life” reminiscent of the Jimmy Stuart X-mas film has a character contemplating suicide; the track is without a doubt one of the best singles of the year. "Blood Tears & Gold" channels a bit of Erasure, while the track "Sunday" leans on U2 . The album never gets boring with the gospel tinged choired “Stay” and "Devotion" which features pop princess Kylie Minogue. Lead singer Theo Hutchcraft's vocals are glorious and soar on tracks like "Evelyn" and "Water" . Their music isn't as sweet, danceable or happy as the likes of Ke$ha, Katy Perry or Lady GaGa but it's well crafted and sophisticated which will unfortunately will keep them off the radio in North America. 8/10


06 Nightwork--Scissor Sisters

After a disappointing sophomore album Scissor Sisters get back to basic as their 3rd album “Night Work” takes its influence from Giorgio Moroder and the late 70’s early 80’s dance grooves. From the Robert Mapplethorpe cover butt shot to the bright magenta colours this disc is unmistakably gay. Produced by dance wizard Stuart Price (Madonna, The Killers, Kylie Minogue), is a tight album with only the lead single “Fire With Fire” feeling out of place. Not sure why it was chosen, but it does have an Elton John quality to it, not unlike their previous mega hit, “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing”. Best track is “Invisible Light” the Pet Shop Boys-esque fabulous six minutes of disco trance heaven with special guest Ian McKellen, (think of Vincent Price’s part in Thriller) the song was chosen as a buzz song before album came out, a real mistake not to release it as an official single.

Other fun grooves are “Any Which Way” a 70's flavored R & B Jam, the title track which sound like a cross between the Cars and Flashdance's "Manic", “Something Like This”, and “Running Out” which sounds eerily familiar to The Cure. Ana Matronic’s sultry vocals take the lead on the electronic 80’s sounding “Skin This Cat”. There’s no doubt the disc with songs like “Skin Tight” which segues right into “Sex And Violence” were influence by lead singer Jake Shears trip to Berlin Germany, where he “cut loose” after suffering from burn out.

The only thing missing from this set is a real killer commercial single, but then the Sisters have never been main stream, and remain a cult favorite in North America. 7.5/10


07 A Christmas Cornucopia--Annie Lennox

I never thought a Christmas album would ever grace my top 10 list but this is the best Annie Lennox has sounded in a long time, her voice is absolutely glorious on tracks like “Angels From The Realms of Glory” and haunting on “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” which is quickly becoming my favourite version. Annie didn't pick the typical sweet saccharine X-mas songs and her arrangements are refreshing and superb. Annie enlist the help of the incredible African Children's choir on more then half the album, and she gives track like “Lullay Lullay (The Coventry Song)”, and “As Joseph Was A Walking” an African rhythm makeover, For those looking for original material the last track “Universal Child” is a beautiful song written by Annie herself. 7.5/10


08 Flesh Tone--Kelis

Taking a completely new direction Kelis drops her mainstay of Hip Hop for an electronica synth house celebration to produce some of the best dancefloor anthems of the year. The short 9 track album is just perfect, from the first song it grabs you right in for 37 minutes of pure ecstasy and bliss. This isn't a sweet pop record but something you would hear in a hard core dance club, while her vocals are not soaring like most Diva's her husky voice blends just perfectly with the music.

The album grooves and grinds to the 22th Century with the help of French producer David Guetta on the fabulous first single “ Acapella” a dance floor rhythmic anthem written for the birth of her son and “Scream” dealing with emotions of her splitting with hubby Nas. She spouts fireworks with Italian dance king Benny Benassi on the “ 4th of July”, and Emancipate . On “Home” she takes us to another universe of lights and blinding beats of desire. The album ends with the poignant and most commercial track “Song For The Baby” . Unfortunately this project will probably alienate her older fans and is not made for American radio, but as she sings in “Brave” “I'm super cool, but now I'm super strong, I've got nothing to loose”. 7.5/10


09 Katy Perry--Teenage Dream

“Don’t bore us get to the chorus” is the mantra of Perry’s album producers Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald) and Max Martin. Luke is the new superstar songwriter who has produced mega hits for the likes of Kelly Clarkson (Since You’ve Been Gone) and Pink. Martin reigned supreme in the late 90’s and produced the magic behind The Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. You would think that somebody like Perry would be right down my ally but my problem with Perry is that she doesn't come off as genuine; it feels like she is going through the motions, doing what will make her popular.

The songs stick in your brain like a bad toothache with hits like “Teenage Dream”, “Last Friday Night” and the summer anthem “California Gurls”. The best track is the faux rock Heart sounding song “Circle The Drain” it’s one of the few track that seems genuine, the lyrics actually sound like Perry wrote them from personal experience of a lover who falls victim to drug abuse. "Fireworks" is a cute dancefloor tune, while “Peacock” with its cleverly hidden subject matter has one of he most annoying choruses in over a decade. “The One That Got Away” is the last good song on the album. The rest is kind of weird “E.T” sounds like Russian faux lesbians T.A.T.U., her pronunciation of the title makes her sound drunk. She tries to be arty with “Pearl” but it doesn’t quite work. “Who Am I Living For?” seems like filler and "Hummingbird Heartbeat" sound like “Teenage Dream” part two, or is it the other way around? Why must producers always program a boring ballad at the end of an album like “Not Like In The Movies"? Snooze…

Interestingly Luke said that the # 1’s “Teenage Dream” and “California Gurls” where last minute additions to the album and he had to convince the label to halt the release till those 2 songs were completed. I wonder how big the album would have been without them. 6.5/10

 

10 Natasha Bedingfield--Strip Me

She's a young, hip, has a unique voice, doesn't need auto tuning and always has something interesting to say, but Natasha seems to have a hard time keeping success. For her 4th outing Natasha works with an array of producers like John Shanks, Ryan Tedder, and Andreas Kleerup of Robyn fame. I must admit on the first listen I was a bit disappointed. Her last album “A Pocketful Of Sunshine” was fabulous, this album is well polished but it seems to be missing something especially that one huge radio single that could propel it. The album runs like marathon of upbeat female empowerment, at her best she rock off with Kevin Rudolf on the dancable “All I Need”, and make's you smile on the catchy pop Ryan Tedder collaboration “Neon Lights". Ryan's other song, the title track and 2nd single is a great anthem but like most of the songs it sounds like something we've heard before. I love Natasha's signature vocal tone and lyric delivery which can be heard on songs like “Weightless” and the fabulous dancefloor single “Touch” , unfortunately even with the benefit of being the star of a big commercial campaign for Nevea it still bombed on the charts. “Run Run Run” and “No Mozart” are cute but tracks like “Can't Fall Down” , “Try”, “Break Thru” and “Recovery” seem more like filler. 6/10

Singles of the year 

1. All The Lovers--Kylie Minogue
2. Shame—Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow
3. Facing A Miracle—Taylor Dayne
4. Release Me—Agnes
5. Get Outta My Way—Kylie Minogue
6. Hang With Me—Robyn
7. Teenage Dream—Glee Cast
8. Gave It All Away—Boyzone
9. Acapella—Kelis
10. Dancing On My Own—Robyn
11. Higher -Taio Cruz featuring Kylie Minogue
12. Better Then Love—Hurts
13. Fireworks—Katy Perry
14. Lights Out—Rick Astley
15. Wonderful Life—Hurts
16. Hold My Hand—Michael Jackson featuring Akon
17. All You Need Is Now—Duran Duran
18. I like It--Enrique Englesias Featuring Pitbull
19. Bulletproof—La Roux
20. Touch—Natasha Bedingfield
21. Break My Heart—Taio Cruz
22. Dynamite--Taio Cruz
23. Better Than Today—Kylie Minogue
24. 4th of July—Kelis
25. Just The Way You Are--Bruno Mars

Stealing From The Brits

Many artists do cover songs but it really annoys me when American singers cover recent British hits. So much great British music goes unnoticed in North America. It’s a good strategy to cover a hit unheard of in the USA, but I would rather the original artist get the credit. Jessica Simpson's ex Nick Lachey new single is "Patience". The song is a cover of Take That’s big #1 comeback song. It won a Brit awards for the quartet as best single last year. It’s not like Nick put a new twist on the song it’s very similar, but it doesn’t come off as genuine as when it's sung by it’s songwriter, Take That’s lead singer Gary Barlow. You be the judge.

Take That-Patience




Nick Lachey-Patience

Top Albums Of 2007 the year in music review

2007 the year in music review


2007 was the year of the Umbrella ella ella, even I couldn't escape the success of the Rhianna track. The song ended up at 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 countdown of 2007 following Beyonce's Irreplacable at 1. Fergie ended the year with 5 top 10 single from her debut album The Dutchess, and 2 songs in the top ten of the year. American Idol winner Chris Daughtry and his band notched Billboard's biggest selling album of 2007.

The year started off big with a big bang with newbie Mika and the comeback of the decade as Brits Take That reformed. It started slowing down and as usual and picked up speed a few months ago for the Christmas rush. I really wish artists wouldn't do the Christmas release, too many albums come out, some fall by he way side, and I never know if I should qualify the album for this year or use it for next year. Annie Lennox and Darren Hayes turned out stellar albums. In the end all the Divas turned out in full force for a great year. Of course Kylie is back.

Top Albums of 2007


01 Life In Cartoon Motion--Mika
It's not very often that an album blows me especially a debut effort. This album is like nothing you will hear on the radio. It's a mixture of Freddie Mercury, The Beatles and Scissor Sisters all rolled up into one. Mika's a singer songwriter that can tell a story and write beautiful melodies with hooks that grab you right in. He voice is incredible it goes from a wisper to a falsetto effortlessly. The production and arrangements is superb. Every tack is great from the debut hit single "Grace Kelly" to the Beatles influenced "Billy Brown", The big choir songs Any Other World" and "Happy Ending" send chills up my spine. If you want to dance "Relax (Take It Easy)" and the single "Love Today" delivers in spades. The album is like a fantastic journey, no song is skip worthy. 9.5/10


02 This Delicate Thing We've Made--Darren Hayes
Out of 25 songs on this double disc there are only 2-3 songs I don't like the rest just brilliant. Darren's voice is gorgeous and the melodies are beautiful. My favourite would be Listen All You People which could end up becoming an anthem. I love songs that have this positive energy about change, the hook is so catchy. A lot of the album deals with the idea of space, time and dimension, including 2 great tracks Waking The Monster and How To Build A Time Machine. Listening to this album is like reading a really great novel or watching a movie, I love albums that tell a story and this album delivers in spades. For the fans of Savage Garden songs like Sing To Me , and the fabulous first single On The Verge Of Something Wonderful won't disappoint. Every listen I discover a new song 9/10


03 Songs Of Mass Destruction--Annie Lennox
After a few disappointing solo efforts Annie comes back in full force with a breathtaking album. This project is on par with her releases for Eurythmics. My favourite track is Ghost In The Machine which brings back the "kick ass" attitude of their albums like Revenge. Her voice is haunting and gorgeous on tracks like Dark Road , and Smithereens. Womankind and Sing has the making of classic anthems like the 80's hit Sisters are Doing It For Themselves. Welcome back Annie 8.5/10


04 Kylie X--Kylie Minogue
After 40 demos leaked on the net Kylie X (named by her fans) is paired down to 13 tightly produced tracks. Kylie sounds best when she is doing "Kylie". Songs like Calvin Harris's track In My Arms, Stars and The One are as good as any of her PWL classics. I like her less when she ventures into Britney territory with vocal manipulation on Speakerphone, and Heart Beat Rock. Cosmic and No More Rain are a welcome change of pace. Knowing she had to fight to get the beautiful athem No More Rain on the album makes you wonder. The album takes a few chances with the lazy/rock first single Two Hearts and the Serge Gainsbourg sample of Bonnie and Clyde in Sensitized. The only songs that don't work are the Rn/B inspired All I see and Nu-Di-Ty. This album will keep you Wow-ed on the dancefloor 8.5/10


05 Taking Chances--Celine Dion
A slightly new direction for Celine as she leaves the dance floor, for a more mature rock/ballad sound. The title track written by Eurythmics Dave Stewart and Kara Dioguardi is a diamond of a find. The Best tracks are the Shakira inspired song Eyes on me, which is oddly place on this project and Shadow of Love. The haunting This Time produced by Ben Moody of Evanescence is gorgeous. Canadian Rocker Aldo Nova adds his touch throughout the album with the catchy Hooked On A Feeling and the rock power of Fade Away. Celine does an amazing raspy jazzy voice on the song That's Just The Woman In Me to the point where you're checking to make sure it's really her. The 16 track CD could have been paired down to fewer tracks. Her foray into Rn'B with Ne-Yo on A song For You just doesn't work. 8.5/10


06 Light At The End Of The World--Erasure
I liked a few tracks from Erasure back in the 80's but I never really got into them. This new album is pure dancefloor bliss. It blasts off with Sunday Girl, one of the finest dance songs in ages and the album just keep on going. The melodies and music is heavenly and Andy Bell's voice if just as beautiful as it was 20 years ago. So many great track, If I Could Fall In Love With You, Sucker For Love, Storm In A Teacup, Fly Away. Too bad radio won't play them. 8.5/10


07 Beautiful World--Take That
After a decade, Britain biggest boy band returns with the biggest comeback in UK history. This time the album is written and song by all four members (Sorry Robbie Williams is not here), unlike previous efforts which were headed by lead singer/songwriter Gary Barlow. The result 2 1 singles Patience and the Beatlesque Shine. The music has a mature grown up quality and proves you can go beyond the dance routines of a boy band. Great album favourite tracks include the title track, Like I never Love You At All, Mancunian Way and Wooden Boat. 8.5/10


08 Trip The Light Fantastic__Sophie Ellis-Bextor
After a disappointing sophomore album Sophie is back on track. From the start of Cathy Dennis's lead song Catch You, the album transports you to the world of neon colours and BPM's. From the Euro track I Can't Dance, to the 70's inspired Your Love Is Here. Best track is the Blondie inspired China Heart. 8/10


09 Back To Black--Amy Winehouse
She took the UK by storm in 2006 and now North America has been captured under her spell. It's too bad that her music has been overshadowed by her personal life. A throw back to the 60's, her sound is an infusion of jazz and Motown. Best tacks are Rehab, You Know I'm No Good, the haunting title track, and the Supremes/Diana Ross inspired Tears Dry On Their Own. 8/10


10 N.B.--Natasha Bedingfield
After a stellar debut album I had high hope for Natasha's sophomore disc. The album has some great tunes but nothing is as radio friendly as the mega hits Unwritten or These Words from her fist album. The lead single I Wanna Have Your Babies didn't start this project off to a great start. The best tracks are Say It Again, the haunting Pirate Bones, Backyard, and (No More) What Ifs. The album has been re-tooled in the US with the new single Love Like This with Sean Kingston but at this writing the song has stalled in the top 20. 7/10

Singles of the year

01 Grace Kelly--Mika
02 Sunday Girl--Erasure
03 She's Madonna--Robbie Williams
04 Love Today--Mika
05 Shine--Take That
06 On The Verge Of Something Wonderful--Darren Hayes
07 Big Girls Don't Cry--Fergie
08 If I Could Fall In Love With You--Erasure
09 Change--Kimberley Locke
10 Sing--Annie Lennox
11 Out Of Control (Song For Mutya )--Mutya Buena and The Groove Armada
12 Two Hearts--Kylie Minogue

Please feel free to post your top picks