lefreeakblog

      It's been a strange year but the music has come thick and fast, despite the limitations of the pandemic which cancelled pretty much all touring and live music. Artists either completed planned recording sessions in time or worked around these limitations to produce a really wide variety of work. The following are my favourite ten albums and singles of the year. Enjoy.. Album of the Year 1   Fetch The Bolt Cutters         Fiona Apple         Arriving a matter of weeks after the  start of the first worldwide lockdown, this wild and brilliant album, Apple's 5th, took a direct wrecking ball to any doubts that the music industry was not involved in #MeToo.  Apple sang powerfully about assault, abuse of power and coercion, over complex  and unusual arrangements.  The opening piano led one two of I Want You To Love Me and lead single Shameika recalled Tori Amos, whilst th e title cut that followed payed...

Tis the season to be jolly and there's no doubt that this year's festive joy has come as somewhat of a tonic for this most difficult of years. Amidst the festive songs are the songs about Christmas that are the best at making me dance, chuckle or just sing and so here are my favourite ten songs about Christmas in chronological order. Merry Christmas!! 1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Frank Sinatra (1957) For some reason the winter season always makes me want to listen to jazz and along with Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis, it's Frank who I go back to again and again and this hymn on his 1957 Christmas album hits the spot perfectly. 2. Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes (1963) It wouldn't be Christmas without some Ronettes and their festive take on Phil Spector's wall of sound. Genius. 3. Little Saint Nick - The Beach Boys (1963) Arguably one of the best originally penned Christmas songs, this minor Brian Wilson classic is for rock aficionados who don't want to listen t...

Bruce Springsteen   Letter To You     Colombia The Boss is back with the E Street Band for the first time since 2014's High Hopes   AFTER THE PASSING of former E Street Band member George Theiss and   a period of writer's block, Springsteen was  inspired to book 5 days of studio time at his before cajoling himself to come up with some brand new songs for his former band. Assembling them again, all recording was completed in just four days, as they rattled through them and they were recorded live, with minimal overdubs.       These new songs make up nine of the album's 12 songs, whilst the remainder were originally written by Springsteen for his 1973 debut Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and have been subsequently released by others since then including The Hollies' Allan Clarke and Warren Zevon. Springsteen stumbled across his original recordings while assembling a compilation album and decided to complete them.       Opening...