Five that tickled the bedshaped ear in 2007.

Ok, so a little late and put to shame by the nicely presented lists from swisstoni and lordbargain, but here it is none-the-less.
Overall, I liked the musical delights that 2007 gave us. As usual , there were some big disappointments, but there were also some nice surprises. Whilst I don't think it will be remembered as a great year for music, I think we ended up with a nice bunch of ear tingling releases and some stonking stand alone singles.
With that said, let's not mention all the silly bands who decided it would be a good idea to reform. What ever happened to breaking up actually meaning breaking up?!

So here's my five favourite albums of 2007. In reverse order, just to add a little suspense.



Five - Linkin Park "Minutes To Midnight"
I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I'm not a big LP fan by any means, but this album sounded different enough to their normal stuff to warrant many repeat listens. In a nutshell it's LP grown up with great production, some brilliantly catchy songs, great guitar riffs and less of the rapper guy.



Four - Foo Fighters "Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace"
I wasn't too struck by the first single when it gained radio play, but it just wouldn't give up. After a few listens, I really liked the album and thought it flowed really well, although a few songs didn't quite reach the same bar as the rest. Some more rotation on my players soon put an end to those initial thoughts and now I'm more inclined to say I think it's a truly solid collection. dare I say my favourite Foo's album? Yes, I dare! The final curtain that is "Home" is absolute beauty.



Three - Jamie T "Panic Prevention"
Ok, so it's not a flawless album, but when it's good, it's fucking brilliant. A mish-mash collection of mini stories presented in a fun style, with so much 'tipping of hats' to certain other artists it's almost embarrassing. He's certainly got a good ear for developing hooks and I'd like to think that he can produce something even more entertaining to listen to on his next release. Please, please, please don't do a Mike Skinner!




Two - Underworld "Oblivion With Bells"
This band will never again achieve the success they did with "Born Slippy" and I'm quite happy with that thought. In fact, that particular song is probably amongst my least favourite by these guys. It's one of those 'have to be in the right place/mood' kind of songs. Their latest album slipped out fairly unnoticed, even the lead off single "Crocodile" didn't get much airplay and I think a good reason for that is because it's not a very 'commercial' album. The days are disappearing when instrumental 'choones' get lots of radio play or high singles placings and that's probably a good thing. As a late night/chill out/soak up the mood type of album though, it's excellent. The slightly moody feel of the music is best experienced at loud volume and it also makes a more enjoyable listening experience when played through, instead of picking out certain tracks. I never expected to like an Underworld album this much, but I do. I love it. Immensely enjoyable with a 'herbal smoke', but you never heard me say that, right!

One - Radiohead "In Rainbows"
I never saw this one coming. Who would have thought that these boys would have pulled their heads from out their arses long enough to produce such a fine collection of songs. It's as close to Ye Olde Radiohead as I think we'll ever hear from them, without Thom and Co giving up the looping, sampling and programming completely. Best appreciated when listened to from beginning to end and complimented even more by the second disc which contains another eight songs of pure genius. It's not been out very long, but I'm quietly confident that if I don't over-play this, then it will become my favourite Radiohead album. It's fantastically trippy and if this is the direction they're headed then the next album is certainly something I'll be waiting for with great anticipation, rather than the usual scepticism. Welcome back boys. You've been away far too long.