Talk Talk ‘Laughing Stock’ - Still amazingly stark and disturbing after nearly thirty years;
Peter Hammill ‘Over’ - I’ve loved this since it first came out and still find its confessional rawness astounding;
Magazine ‘Magic, Murder and the Weather’ - Underwhelming original swan-song by a great band;
Poco ‘Crazy Eyes’ - Of its time, but thoroughly fun;
Brand X ‘Masques’ - Guilty pleasure. Nuff said;
Mike Oldfield ‘Hergest Ridge’ (‘Boxed’ mix) - Still my fave Oldfield album, especially in this mix;
Mozart: Haffner Symphony (Concentus Musicus Wien/Harnoncourt) - Severe, but exciting;
Mozart: Symphony no.39 (SCO/Mackerras) - Runner up in yesterday’s Building A Library in R3. Superbly recorded, rhythmically sound but lacking last ounce of charm IMHO;
Beethoven: Hammerklavier Sonata (Richard Goode) - Enlightening, but a not quite great interpretation;
Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1 & 2(Lubin/AAM/Hogwood) - Very good, but my heart remains with modern instruments in these works;
Beethoven: Symphony no.9 (Minnesota Orch/Vanska) - Good on detail, but no sense of cataclysm;
Brahms: Symphony no.1 (LGO/Masur) - Oh dear, very dull;
Brahms: Violin Concerto (Accardo/LGO/Masur) - Another non-event;
Wagner: Die Meistersinger (VPO/ Knappertsbusch) - Wonderful, uplifting stuff, despite obviously limited 1950 sound.