Monday, December 10, 2007
Straight in at Number One - my favorite album of 2007
It's finally time to reveal that the laurels for my favorite album of 2007 go to an artist who goes straight in at Number One with his first release - at least with under the recording name of Yusuf.
Congratulations to Yusuf aka Cat Stevens, whose An Other Cup has been my favorite album of 2007 by a long mile. I bought it a year back, in November 2006, when it was first out. A year ago, I knew Cat Stevens' music, but not that well. So I decided to buy the new Yusuf album and see if the old man could work his magic.
The verdict: Indisputably yes. This is another album I've given as a gift to others, because it's so gentle, so charming, so relaxed, so simply knowledgeable and worldly-wise. I'm not planning to discuss religion at all, suffice it to say that Yusuf sounds enlightened. I'd love to have An Other Cup of coffee and a chat with him.
Listening to this album has helped me slow down / relax more than once. Then there was the time I let it lull me to sleep when feeling unwell. It's a nice touch that Yusuf has re-recorded I Think I See The Light, one of the tracks from Mona Bone Jakon. It's not just Bowie who can re-arrange old standards. The real achievement is that I like both versions.
Rousing final paragraphs has never been my strong point but in the case of An Other Cup, it's not a cop-out to finish off with a recommendation to purchase at least two copies of this album - one for yourself and one for a friend. There?s even a possibility that it might replace Donald Fagen?s epic The Nighfly as my "standard gift album" for any deserving male music fan.
Talking of Fagen, what's missing from my 2007 Top 10? Some artists / albums that nearly made it, but ultimately missed the cut:
Congratulations to Yusuf aka Cat Stevens, whose An Other Cup has been my favorite album of 2007 by a long mile. I bought it a year back, in November 2006, when it was first out. A year ago, I knew Cat Stevens' music, but not that well. So I decided to buy the new Yusuf album and see if the old man could work his magic.
The verdict: Indisputably yes. This is another album I've given as a gift to others, because it's so gentle, so charming, so relaxed, so simply knowledgeable and worldly-wise. I'm not planning to discuss religion at all, suffice it to say that Yusuf sounds enlightened. I'd love to have An Other Cup of coffee and a chat with him.
Listening to this album has helped me slow down / relax more than once. Then there was the time I let it lull me to sleep when feeling unwell. It's a nice touch that Yusuf has re-recorded I Think I See The Light, one of the tracks from Mona Bone Jakon. It's not just Bowie who can re-arrange old standards. The real achievement is that I like both versions.
Rousing final paragraphs has never been my strong point but in the case of An Other Cup, it's not a cop-out to finish off with a recommendation to purchase at least two copies of this album - one for yourself and one for a friend. There?s even a possibility that it might replace Donald Fagen?s epic The Nighfly as my "standard gift album" for any deserving male music fan.
Talking of Fagen, what's missing from my 2007 Top 10? Some artists / albums that nearly made it, but ultimately missed the cut:
- Lily Allen
- Arctic Monkeys
- The Eagles - although it was a close call
- Fergie
- Happy Mondays - reformed in 2007 and sounding just the same as ever. Uncle Dysfunktional is officially at Number 11 in my top 10 for 2007. The beats are great, and you know that these days, they care even less than ever, if that were possible - the lyrics provide an insight into what's possibly going on in Shaun Rider's drug-addled mind?
- I still listen regularly to The Nightfly, I know all the tunes and all the words, but for the sake of change it's not in the top 10 this year. It probably should have been, but it isn't. That's that. And the judge's decision is final :)
# posted by Nesjo : 09:38
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