Monthly Archives: February 2014

Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 1997

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

1997 is, for me, the Year of Leaving Out Obvious Choices. The first such Obvious Choice is OK Computer. Oh, look at Tom, being all underground and contrary. It’s not like it’s one of the few albums that regularly challenges Sgt. … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 5's | Tagged A Short Album about Love, Ben Folds, Ben Folds Five, Divine Comedy, Egyptology, Flaming Pie, Karl Wallinger, Neil Hannon, Paul McCartney, She's the One, Sister Hazel, Somewhere More Familiar, Top 5 Albums of 1997, Whatever & Ever Amen, World Party | 3 Comments

Track Spotlight: Tonbandgerät, “Halbmond”

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

Great music is a language beyond language, comprehensible whether you can understand the lyrics or not. That’s certainly the case with Hamburg-based quartet Tonbandgerät’s (German: tape recorder) and their truly delightful “Halbmond,” one of the singles from their 2013 debut … Continue reading →

Posted in Track Spotlights | Tagged Deutsch, German, German music, guitar pop, Halbmond, Musik, pop, Tonbandgerät | Leave a comment

Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 1996

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

As the 90s progress, I notice that World Music constitutes a larger and larger proportion of my library. For the purposes of this exercise, I have chosen to limit myself to rock/pop/R&B. Most of the time, it’s not an issue … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 5's | Tagged Andy Latimer, Belle & Sebastian, Camel, Casanova, Divine Comedy, Golden Heart, Harbour of Tears, If You're Feeling Sinister, Mark Knopfler, Masquerade Overture, Neil Hannon, neo-prog, Pendragon, prog, progressive rock, Stuart Murdoch, Top 5 Albums of 1996, Vartinna, Värttinä | Leave a comment

Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 1995

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

After a solid decade of struggling to find full albums that I’d even listened to, 1995 marks, for me at least, the beginning of something of a rock & roll renaissance. Maybe it’s that bands were finally getting away from … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 5's | Tagged (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, Back in the World of Adventure, Ben Folds Five, Britpop, Dead Winter Dead, Flower Kings, Oasis, power metal, prog, progressive rock, Savatage, Spock's Beard, symphonic metal, The Light, Top 5 Albums of 1995, Trans-Siberian Orchestra | 2 Comments

Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 1994

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

It is a testament to how deeply my love of 1960s/70s rock runs that, until recently, I considered any album released during my lifetime to be “modern.” And yet 1994 was fully 20 years ago – the same span elapsed … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 5's | Tagged 11 Tracks of Whack, Anglagard, Definitely Maybe, Epilog, Oasis, Pink Floyd, prog, progressive rock, The Division Bell, Tom Petty, Top 5 Albums of 1994, Walter Becker, Wildflowers | 1 Comment

Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 1993

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

1993 is the first year of which I have any distinct memories as a child. I remember going on a hike in the Black Hills, where I grew up, with my father and our yellow lab, Rio, and finding a … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 5's | Tagged Back into Hell, Bat Out of Hell II, Billy Joel, Classic Rock, Donald Fagen, Jellyfish, Kamakiriad, Meat Loaf, Off the Ground, Paul McCartney, River of Dreams, Spilt Milk, Top 5 Albums of 1993 | Leave a comment

Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 1992

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

In many ways, the fun of the early years of this Top 5 Albums project consisted in trying to choose five albums from such a vast pool of worthy possibilities. As I shared my lists with friends on Facebook and … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 5's | Tagged alternative, Anglagard, Automatic for the People, bluegrass, Dream Theater, folk, Hybris, Images & Words, Infamous Angel, Iris DeMent, prog, progressive metal, progressive rock, R.E.M., Ringo Starr, Time Takes Time, Top 5 Albums of 1992 | 1 Comment

Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 1991

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

When my tastes were being molded during my teenage years, I had a number of friends who were deeply into Nirvana. Suffice it to say, I didn’t understand the attraction. But the fact that so many of the people I … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 5's | Tagged Camel, Dire Straits, Dust & Dreams, Freddie Mercury, Girlfriend, Innuendo, Into the Great Wide Open, John Prine, Matthew Sweet, Nevermind, Nirvana, On Every Street, Queen, The Missing Years, The Show Must Go On, Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Top 5 Albums of 1991 | 1 Comment

Tom’s Top 5’s: Albums of 1990

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

1990 is a big year for me. As in, it’s the year I was born. It’s also a year whose Top 5 reveals another major galaxy in my musical universe: power pop. Now, I love experimental music, progressive epics, synthesizers … Continue reading →

Posted in Top 5's | Tagged Armchair Theatre, Bellybutton, Dear 23, Enlightenment, Goodbye Jumbo, Jeff Lynne, Jellyfish, Karl Wallinger, Posies, power pop, Top 5 Albums of 1990, Van Morrison, World Party | 3 Comments

Album Review: Transatlantic, “Kaleidoscope”

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Tom Emanuel

Forming a supergroup is always a risky proposition. If you aim high, you risk alienating your fans, and the record-buying public at large, if/when your material doesn’t hit the mark. And if you aim high, no matter how good the … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Reviews | Tagged Albums of 2014, Black as the Sky, Dream Theater, Flower Kings, Into the Blue, Kaleidoscope, Marillion, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Peter Trewavas, prog, progressive rock, Roine Stolt, Shine, Spock's Beard, symphonic prog, Transatlantic | 4 Comments

Monthly Archives: February 2014

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