Top ten albums of 2006
Are the Muse boys number one?
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Monday, 11, Dec 2006 10:36
What's it all about?
As 2005 drew to a close with the odd whimper and fart from what had come before, critics geared themselves up for 2006.
This year was always set to be fascinating, partly due to how elaborately planned it all was. In November 2005 everyone knew what was coming up; huge albums from Muse, the Streets, Arctic Monkeys and the Strokes were all scheduled for the first half of the year. Not to mention the unveiling of pop royalty in the autumn, with Justin, Christina, Beyonce and a rumoured Take That reunion all planned. None of these records disappointed their respective audiences, but once again it was the odd surprise that made 2006 a great year for music. Artists that had expected a top 40 spurt followed by months of tiresome oblivion were treated to over 30 weeks on the chart and it's these shock successes that revitalised the live music scene even further. So enjoy this list of rock 'n' roll excesses that reached the pinnacle of critical heaven, and if you happen to have some rather large holes in your record collection, it's time to plug them with this top ten.
10 - Morrissey: Ringleader of the Tormentors
Morrissey had the novelty of expectation in the build-up to the release of his latest record; something that had evaded him for many years while he wandered around in the purgatory of releasing abysmal solo albums and performing Everyday Is Like Sunday for ten years.
Thankfully the former Smiths front man produced another bunch of great pop songs and began playing Smiths' classics live again. This album is the sound of Morrissey reborn; You Have Killed Me charted well and Tormentors shot straight to the top of the album charts on the back of some of his strongest work.
Key track: Life Is A Pigsty
9 - Dirty Pretty Things
Aside from his good looks, tumultuous talent and famous friends, not many people would have envied Carl Barat at the beginning of this year. Although everyone wished him well, you couldn't help but think the Libertines hangover may have enveloped him and that his song writing would be stuck in some Pete-shaped mud.
However, Waterloo To Anywhere was a runaway success. Bang Bang You're Dead, Doctors & Dealers, Blood Thirsty Barstards and Gin & Milk proved that Carl will be around for a fair old time.
Key track: Deadwood
8 - Muse: Black Holes & Revelations
Black Holes & Revelations was nominated for a Mercury Prize and has elevated the band's reputation so much that they are now set to play Wembley Stadium. It took the epic noise of their previous records and added a notable pop element, combining with Matt Bellamy's raucous scream with guitars reminiscent of howling banshees.
Supermassive Black Hole, the first single to be lifted from Black Holes, provided the shock factor and showed a band that had moved on from their previous album, Absolution. Starlight delivered a pop song rivalling Plug In Baby and Knights of Cydonia marked their first stadium size anthem.
Key track: Knights of Cydonia
7 - The Kooks: Inside In/Inside Out
The Kooks arrived to much glee and merriment in late 2005, with the NME trumpeting them as one of those bands set to achieve cult status this year. At first it looked like they were right, with single You Don't Love Me and Eddie's Gun heralded on indie radio as some of the hottest tracks around.
Then a song called Naïve hit the airwaves and what seemed like the entire population of the UK stared at the radio and declared: "I like that!"
The Kooks are still in the top 40 with Inside In/Inside Out.
Key track: Jackie Big Tits
6 - The Strokes: First Impressions of Earth
The Strokes' third album proved not only that they could meddle and produce different songs, but that Julian Casablancas could really sing. When first single Juicebox hit the airwaves, most people either covered their ears or hid under a mound of Lou Reed t-shirts, it was that different.
First Impressions managed to mix glam rock with 80s style and New York City cool, it was tough to fathom but highly listenable and guaranteed that the Strokes will go down in folklore as the defining band to emerge from the US in the last decade.
Key track: Eyes Of The World
5 - The Flaming Lips: At War With The Mystics
Wayne Coyne - the front man of the Flaming Lips - has never hidden his anti-war sentiment, nor his phenomenal dislike for George Bush. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song launched the Lips' new album which mocked their favourite guy for wanting to blow up the world, all done with some 'squidgy' beats and nerve shredding guitar bends.
The W.A.N.D followed closely behind, with Coyne shouting into a loud speaker and cranking up the politicised mood. "We've got the power now, Motherf*****s it's where it belongs", he screams, all backed by a thudding base and rhythmic squeal. It's a lot more likeable than it sounds and the Lips have consolidating their position as the best band in Oklahoma, they've even had a street named after them.
Key track: The W.A.N.D
4 - Gnarls Barkley: St Elsewhere
Cee-Lo is the face of Gnarls Barkley, but its creator and genius hovers around the back sporting a tremendous afro and an amazingly diverse musical mind.
Danger Mouse achieved cult status with his Grey Album - a remix of the Beatles' White Album with Jay-Z's Black Album, you have to hear it to believe it - which is still hovering around on the web.
After producing Demon Days for Gorillaz, he turned his attention to his own project and in one take Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse produced the track of the year, which everyone from your nan to your little brother owns. An intricately laid and faultlessly produced album which will have you beaming smiley faces for weeks.
Key track Crazy
3 - Kasabian: Empire
When Empire came crashing out of Kasabian's canon, it did so with flares, explosions and crescendos of applause. This record marks the point at which the lads from Leicester decided to get serious and write about ecstasy in a way that didn't involve downing bottles of Stella and throwing up over your girlfriend.
The band have a songwriter of notable talent in Serge Pizzoro, who rises to prominence on tracks like Me Plus One and Stuntman. No wonder Oasis love them to pieces.
Key track: British Legion
2 - The Streets: The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
Mike Skinner never ceases to amaze the majority of the music industry, which is wrapped around his little finger, weeping at the thought that Mikey might be finding it tough being famous.
The Streets are miles ahead of their beatific/laddish/rhyming competitors, and even when Skinner guests on another's record, you can't help but feel it's just to add a touch of class that saturates a Streets album. And what an honest fellow, as everyone's still left to ponder, who is that girl in When You Wasn't Famous?
Key track: Prangin Out
1 - Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not
After hearing the Arctic Monkeys' debut single (Fake Tales Of San Francisco) and the follow up (I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor) it seemed impossible to even imagine that the youngsters from Sheffield would fail to produce an exceptional album.
They managed it commendably - even the b-sides were classics - and they carried it all off with an element of carelessness. There is something for everyone on this record, doubters who see them as pop gimmicks are dumbfounded by Riot Van and people apprehensive about their song writing fall in love with Mardy Bum.
Arctic Monkeys came from nowhere, quickly taking the country by storm and appealing to every man, woman and child in England. It's hard to pick fault with a single track on this album, it's better than any other drivel on the airwaves and it carries a critique of British culture that hasn't been seen since Britpop.
Key track A Certain Romance
The ones that nearly made it.
Babyshambles: The Blinding EP , The Beatles: Love , Oasis: Stop The Clocks, The Fratellis: Costello Music, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly: Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager , Nelly Furtado: Loose.
Karl Pike