Mart 48

Yep, that day is fast coming when people officially mark the fact that I have got older. I like the presents, but why the cards that rub it in, why the 'there, there' pats on the head from my children, why the fuss? And to top it off, the mother of my first grandson is in labour! I am too young to be 48, and too young to be a grandfather!

Anyway, as is my custom, I have put together my CD collection of the songs I have enjoyed the most over the last year. They are not ranked, rather, they are mixed. They either flow nicely into each other or provide startling contrasts, though the first track is rather sublime and deserves the first place.

On the whole the songs are mellow - maybe that is the aging thing - and there are some songs from the 1970's by The Moody Blues & Supertramp, and even a track from the 1960's from The Beatles. It has been a year of collecting Beatles, Supertramp and Moody Blues Cd's - I have loved these bands for a long time but had stuff on tapes and LPs. My favourite albums by each band are: Abbey Road (though A Hard Day's Night is a close second), Crisis? What Crisis? and A Question of Balance. However, the Beatles track I have chosen is off Magical Mystery Tour, and the other Supertramp song was originally on Even in the Quietest Moments. I haven't found a copy of Rodriguez's Coming From Reality CD yet, otherwise I would have had his fabulous To Whom It May Concern on the list.

I also want to express a word of lament - it is harder to get Cd's in this country. This love affair with downloading is undermining the CD industry - I (probably operating from a getting old perspective) love handling the CD - I love browsing the sleeve - I love the tactile placement of the CD into the machine. I love being able to put a collection of Cd's together in the machine and pushing 'random play', and I love removing one of the Cd's if it doesn't quite fit. I love these things in the way I loved LP's.

A few songs didn't make the cut because they didn't fit onto the CD - one of them, Isn't it Amazing by Hothouse Flowers has been on a past compilation and it should be on here as well - and Falling Slowly & Motherland were also on last year. That is a tribute to the quality of their music as I have listened to those tracks many many times and still love them.

Of course, this is a U2 year with the release of No Line on the Horizon. There are four songs that could also have made the cut - they do make it hard!

Where possible, a sample of the song is included.

Mart 48
#1 moment of surrender - U2 [from No Line on the Horizon]
The Edge has created one of the most beautiful and simple guitar solos on a track with Bono in fine voice and a signature U2 theme well-explored. The best track since With or Without You? - I think so but my son Josh thinks I'm nuts - he likes Get On Your Boots - of course!
#2 magic - bruce springsteen [from Magic] http://www.last.fm/music/Bruce+Springsteen/Magic/Magic
I love this album - I'm a relatively recent Springsteen fan - it seemed that the Trade Towers needed to come down before I was ready for him.
#3 falling slowly - glen hansard & marketa irglova [from The Swell Season] http://www.last.fm/music/Glen+Hansard+and+Marketa+Irglova/_/Falling+Slowly
#4 live with me - massive attack [from Collected] http://www.last.fm/music/Massive+Attack/_/Live+With+Me
This man's voice is stunning - a moving love song.
#5 unknown caller - U2 [from No Line on the Horizon]
An unusual song - a nice surprise on the album. I wonder if it is a sign of where music might go in the future.
#6 question - the moody blues [from A Question of Balance] http://www.last.fm/music/The+Moody+Blues/_/Question
There are many songs I could have chosen - I'm a pre-1972 Moodies fan.
#7 sandrevan lullaby - sixto rodriguez [from At His Best] http://www.last.fm/music/Rodriguez/_/Sandrevan+Lullaby check him out at http://www.sugarman.org/index.html
I was introduced to Rodriguez (who only produced two studio albums) in 1982. He comes from the social comment school of songwriters. He has quite big following in South Africa but never really made it in his native US.
#8 motherland - natalie merchant [from Motherland] http://www.last.fm/music/Natalie+Merchant/_/Motherland
Great social comment about the spread of concrete - Josh the skater likes concrete but I don't.
#9 two of us - supertramp [from Crisis? What Crisis?] http://www.last.fm/music/Supertramp/_/Two+of+Us
I found Crisis... in the excellent Penny Lane second hand CD store here in Christchurch (http://www.pennylanerecords.co.nz/) - it is probably the least valued of the wonderful series of 1970's Supertramp albums, but one I love to listen to as a whole.
#10 cash - the panics [from Acoustic - various]
I don't know anything about this band, but this track, accidentally ripped onto my songs list, has become a favourite.
#11 cortez the killer - neil young [from Live Rust] http://www.last.fm/music/Neil+Young/_/Cortez+the+Killer
The track on my collection is a live one - Will Jensen (late of Sunset Cinema http://www.myspace.com/sunsetcinemanz and now in the rather unusual Brains http://www.myspace.com/brainsmorebrains) had this track playing a lot over the summer. And to his delight, Neil Young played it at Big Day Out.
#12 hearts and bones - paul simon [from Concert in the Park]
I have had the original track on the Hearts & Bones LP since it came out in 1982, and now have the CD on order. Sublime!
#13 breathe - U2 [from No Line on the Horizon]
Brian Eno rates this and Moment... as two of the best U2 tracks he has been involved with. That's quite a statement from the co-producer of The Joshua Tree and Acthung Baby!
#14 i am the walrus - the beatles [from Magical Mystery Tour]
John Lennon at his wicked best. My recent access to this song has been though the movie Across the Universe, Bono's excellent version of I Am The Walrus from the movie nearly made it instead of the original.
#15 from now on - supertramp [from Anthology] http://www.last.fm/music/Supertramp/_/From+Now+On