Most websites have been posting up their “Best of the Year” top ten and such like, but there’s been too many for Mr Teeth to mention – although the Roger Daltrey and Wilko Johnson collaboration stands out as a contender for album of the year, even though it sounds like it was recorded back in the late 60’s or early 70’s.
It’s near impossible though to try and single out one release, I recently re-listened to the genius that is Jack White and his 2014 release of “Lazaretto” which is a fantastic album and one that also went all out on the limited edition vinyl with hidden songs, double grooved intro’s and holograms that appear within the vinyl of the record as it rotates.
It may have included various artistic ideas but in its entirety Jack White produced something truly unique and more than just a record, showing physical copies of an album are still very much in demand as a collectable item.
Which leads onto the year that the legend that is Neil Young has had, I’m intrigued to discover if anyone I know (or indeed reads this) has looked into purchasing his self-claimed revolutionary Pono player which is apparently going to be the best quality recordings you can lay your hands on in digital form and thus the opposite to that of the humble 12inch record.
So how did Young back this prototype up? By releasing possibly the worst quality recording you could lay your hands on, in “A Letter Home”, whereby he teamed up with the aforementioned Jack White in order to record straight to vinyl on Whites home Voice-o-graph recording booth. Once you get past the intriguing lo-fi production the album itself is a throw away set of covers, however Neil Young was soon back on top form with his second release of the year and “Storytone” a big over the top production sporting another top political rant on “Who’s Gonna Stand Up?” and soon enough Young was back in my good books within the blink of an eye.
Other full on releases came towards the latter end of the year too, Devin Townsend giving himself the concept album of “Z” which is almost too surreal to put into words (there’s a review by myself elsewhere on this here interweb) and then there was Primus. Good old Les Claypol and co went all out to reinterpret the world of Willy Wonka on “Primus and the Chocolate Factory”, another concept album quite unlike any other, at times insanely clever and at times slightly disturbing much like the story itself.
It wasn’t all older artists though, for this year I’ve kept up the tradition of seeing numerous local/unsigned bands, checked out various demos and read up on a number of new up and coming acts online… plus there’s been the privilege of interviewing the Smoke Fairies, reviewed new releases by Exit_International – a three piece duel bass led rock band who will blow your speakers apart and had the likes of Marmaduke Dando, John Bassett and the Coathangers (a sort of female Ramones) all pass through my speakers.
Speaking of the Ramones we’ve lost a few great names this year too, not only Tommy Ramone but Johnny Winter, Dick Wagner, Pete Seger, Jack Bruce and most recently Joe Cocker to name just a few… so be sure to raise your glass in respect come that New Year’s Eve tipple.
In more doom and gloom music relatedness I’ve finally gotten round to listening to the weird collaboration of Sunn O)) and Scott Walker which works in a way that it shouldn’t… plus in other dark and sinister aspects of 2014 back in the summer I managed to see Black Sabbath again, who I personally thought were amazing, yes at times Ozzy’s voice is a bit on the dubious side but on the whole they nailed it and the day out was great fun with a corner of Hyde Park being transformed into its own little village, with Soundgarden and Faith No More amongst the other highlights from the festival.
It may only have been a one day festival, but they can often be the best, locally it was Southsea Fest that was as always something special – again far too many artists to name, so feel free to read elsewhere but everything from the solo acts of the Lion and the Wolf or Ed Harcourt and the hard-core antics of Employed to Serve and Joythief… locally in fact hard-core has always stood out, many a great night watching bands crowd surf and spill beer putting a smile on the onlookers faces in small sweaty venues, as do the local punk nights in the Milton Arms, a venue that is soon to close its doors.
It wasn’t just Southsea Fest that put my home city on the map though – there was the mighty success of Victorious Festival, headlined one day by Dizzee Rascal and Seasick Steve the other, bringing together big stars alongside those of yesteryear (Menswear, Ocean Colour Scene and Razorlight) mixed in with newer bands British Sea Power and Public Service Broadcasting alongside local talent with the likes of Kassassin Street attracting one of the largest crowds for the second stage.
There were of course times during the year that has seen the odd hiccup: I’m still trying to forget the support act for Frank Turner’s Mongol Horde for example, who thought hitting one note on a bass guitar and having two singers (and I use the term loosely) to try and out scream each other classed as entertainment, or the release I had to review by Evi Vine that was just terrible… and even my own personal favourite band AC/DC weren’t without their troubles, the devastating news that Malcolm Young suffered a stroke and dementia has since been pushed out the limelight by drummer Phil Rudd’s arrest for meth amphetamine and charges relating to allegedly trying to arrange the murder of not one but two men – still at least he didn’t go on to behave bizarrely after that, oh no wait a minute, yes he did.
It does seem a little strange that the band that started my love of music should be in the headlines as the year comes to a close for all the wrong reasons, but I can’t end my random review of the year on a downer for there have indeed been many a highlights that I’ve not had time to mention – discoveries of new venues, road trips to Brighton, the low key gig by Damon Albarn, train journeys to London and more music both old and new than you could shake the proverbial drumstick at.
So let’s just leave it that 2014 has been another wonderful year… music is great both live and on record, support your local scene and that of the wider market with as much equal passion as they deserve and in the meantime I’d just like to say thanks for supporting my little ole website, if you like what you see over the upcoming months please help spread the word in 2015 but even if there’s only one or two of you that read this, it really means a lot.
Love music, love life
Mr Teeth x
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