Best music for grown-ups in 2007

Tis the season for list-making … Music for Grown-Ups is keen to carry your list of the best of 2007: please email your picks to gerry@musicforgrownups.co.uk

Thanks to valued regular contributor Mike Ollier for starting us off in such fine style:

“Can I be the first with my list of the year? Here goes:

CD Of The Year
* Steve Earle ~ Washington Square Serenade
Earle's move to New York and 7th marriage (yes, 7, to singer Allison Moorer) seems to have re-invigorated him. A cracking modern country folk album; make sure you get the edition with the DVD on which Earle eulogises about Dylan while walking around Greenwich (that's Village, not London suburb) and shamelessly telling a native about his home town.

* Robert Plant/Alison Krauss ~ Raising Sand
'Percy can sing' shock! Quite captivating collection of American folk roots which gave Plant a compelling reason to resist Jimmy Page's overtures of extra Zep dates (as I write I notice that gigs have been announced for a Plant/Krauss tour). Also, special mentions here for guitarist Marc Ribot and producer T-Bone Burnette.

* Levon Helm ~ Dirt Farmer
The best Band album since Robbie Robertson left. Helm's voice is fantastic, a miracle when you consider he's just beaten throat cancer. Produced by Dylan acolyte Larry Campbell who also plays some superb guitar and fiddle, the album also provides further proof (as if any was needed) of what a fantastic drummer Helm is.

* Danny & Dusty ~ Live In Frankfurt
A Green On Red and Dream Syndicate side project featuring Dan Stuart and Steve Wynn. A 2CD set with live DVD for 12quid; messy, loose and soulful and rocks like a rocking thing.

Honorable Mentions
John Fogerty ~ Revival
Bruce Springsteen ~ Magic
Arcade Fire ~ Neon Bible


Re-Issues Of The Year
* Tandy ~ For A Friend/Did You Think I Was Gone
Tandy are the best band you've never heard of; folk, blues and country rock-tinged, 7 albums into a 10-year career and leader Mike Ferrio is writing better than ever. These were two 500 limited edition own label releases that were picked up by Brooklyn indie 00.02.59 Records and re-released to reach a wider audience. A twofer for a tenner at today's exchange rate … go on, you won't regret it. I will personally buy the album back if you don't like it.


Compilations Of The Year
* Uncut's Neil Young CD
A real treat, a collection of some of Mr Grumpy Trousers' finest songs given a makeover by Cowboy Junkies, Jay Farrar, Dream Syndicate etc.

* "The Sandanista Project" Various Artists
Remember the Clash album? Yeah, it was terrible, right? So, this is gonna be worse, right? Wrong! It's 25 times greater (really) and even gets better as it goes on so you get to hear those tracks that were buried away on side 6 and never listened to. Biggest names here are Willie Nile and Amy Rigby, but John Langford trumps out with Junco Partner.

* Mick Jagger ~ Very Best Of…
Some bad uns on here, especially the early '80s synth and drum stuff which hasn't weathered well. But the second half of the album is terrific and shows that Mick was a viable option to the Stones and unfairly vilified by some sections of the press. Interesting videos, too.


Not Compilation Of The Year
* Van Morrison ~ Still On Top: The Greatest Hits
The music's fine (though no place for Summertime In England?), it's the packaging which is crap; the non-chronology of the selections (if I wanted that I'd press shuffle on my player), the awful cover painting with the dog from Veedon Fleece lolling about (oddly, no selection here), the terrible painting of Van as some sort of English dandy with a brolly, the dreadful sleeve notes which are basically a (bad) discography and in which the writer seemingly lost interest half-way through, and, finally, nothing from Astral Weeks. Pah! And just to compound my feelings, the re-releases in January 2008 have poor 'extra' tracks selections on them, too.


Gigs Of The Year
* Tandy/Mary Lee's Corvette ~ 13th Note, Glasgow
A great club, a great, appreciative knowledgeable audience, great beer, and two great bands all equal a great night. A special mention here for Konrad Meisner (drummer for The Silos in his day job), who almost stole the show when his drums were lost by the airline. He used a cardboard box, sat on a tea chest (kicking it as a bass drum) with a selection of shakers and brushes. All superbly mic'd up by the expert soundman in the venue. Mike Ferrio on top of his game and Mary Lee's warmly humorous personality and perfectly crafted songs made this a great gig.

* The Yayhoos ~ The Cluny, Newcastle Upon Tyne
A dose of straight-down-the-line, Faces/Stonesey style rock 'n' roll from Dan Baird and Keith Christopher (Georgia Satellites), Eric Ambel (Steve Earle's Dukes, Joan Jett's Blackhearts) and Terry Anderson. It was big and loud, it wasn't clever, but by God it was more fun than a night out with Scarlett Johannson. In a curry house. And Match Of The Day afterwards.

* Laura Cortese & Neil Cleary ~ The Morden Tower, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Promoted by the superb Jumpin' Hot Club, this small venue is situated up a back alley in Chinatown, built into the old city walls and is about 1,000 years old. Normally a poetry venue (Ginsberg played here), there is no bar, the toilet is outside and back down the narrow steps and you need a key, it's certainly not warm in there and if there's 30 people in it's a sell-out. A GREAT venue in which to see superb songsmith Neil Cleary and fiddler extraordinaire, Laura Cortese. She plucks, pulls, taps, scrapes and plays the violin whilst singing to create a fresh sound; her version of The Cure's Just Like Heaven is a great idea (and available on her MySpace page) and Josh Ritter's BlueJay is touching and heartfelt. She's my discovery of the year.


TV of The Year
* New York Doll (BBC4)
The tale of Arthur 'Killer' Kane, bass player from the NYDs. You don't have to be a fan of the band to enjoy this full-length rockumentary (and I'm certainly not) but you'd have to have a hard heart not to enjoy, and weep, at this incredible tale. The BEST programme on music I've ever seen.

* Iggy & the Stooges ~ Glastonbury
Rabble-rousing punk which caused a stage invasion and Iggy was loving it. As with the NYDs, I've never been a Stooges fan, but this was one of the freshest, most exhilarating sets of live music I've seen for years (and I didn't get wet).”