So here it is, the Album of the Year. It's been a great year for music, some truly amazing albums that have thrilled us no end and have given many hours of listening pleasure. The one album though that has dominated the year and has never been off the playlist is Bruce Springsteen's 'Wrecking Ball'.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Probably one of the finest releases by Springsteen since 'The Rising' and one that speaks right into the times we are living in.
It was live in a concert setting though that the songs of 'Wrecking Ball' found their loudest voice and that's why the Concert Bootleg of the Year also goes to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for their performance on the final date of the European Leg of the Tour in Finland at The Olympic Stadium, Helsinki on 31st July.
CONCERT BOOTLEG OF THE YEAR
A couple of shows on the European Leg had flirted with the 4 Hour mark but this show now goes down in history as the longest show of his career - 4 Hours and 6 Minutes and if you include the 5 Song Pre-show Acoustic Set, it clocks in at just under Four and a Half Hours!
Tim Armstong of Rancid did a wonderful job on this of bringing back the sound of old school 1970's Reggae and Jimmy Cliff sounds as good as he ever has done.
POP ALBUM OF THE YEAR
People tend to write her off because she is a little bit eccentric at times but this album saw her at her best for many years, great writing and superb tunes, and some brilliant live performances throughout the year showed that she still has something to offer.
ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR
After patching things up with Cherrie Curie and Joan Jett, 2013 is looking promising for a return of The Runaways. In the middle of the peace talks came this nice slice of rock and roll. Lita Ford kind of lost her way a bit but this was a nice return to form.
BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Dion D'Mucci seems to get better with age and after a four year absence he returned with an album loaded with fantastic blues numbers that proved that he is still very much 'The King of the New York Streets'.
COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
There was a wealth of good Country Music released in 2012 (yeah, I know that sounds like a strange thing to say!) but the standout album was clearly this one by the King of Country music, Johnny Cash. Drawing upon the Gospel sounds of Cash this 51 track collection is just too wonderful for words.
PUNK ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Cockney Rejects seemed to have found a fresh breath of air since the making of their movie of the same name as the album, and whilst I would not confess to being the biggest fan of all that the band have done through the years, this album really took me by surprise. It's hard to find a track on it that is not good.
THE OLD MAN WHO'S STILL GOT IT ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Okay, it's not a real category but I couldn't end this without giving some kudos to the 73 year old Ian Hunter for releasing a really brilliant musical explosion of old school rock and roll that still shows that he's got it and is not likely to lose it anytime soon. Really worth getting.
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