I got a brand new game I wanna lay on you:

Eels ‘Hombre Lobo’ - my fave Eels album, at least until I play another one. One thing you can never accuse Mark Everett of is inconsistency;

Mike Oldfield ‘Ommadawn’ (‘Boxed’ remix) - Mike’s first three albums still define him for me. I liked some of his later, song-based records in their day but they’ve faded with time, unlike this one. Fifty years old? Never;

Dexys Midnight Runners ‘The Projected Passion Revue’ - ace document of their all too short lived Mk 2 line up. Contains the best version of ‘Respect’ by anyone, Otis or Aretha included. Quite frankly, this and their classic debut are all the Dexys I really need;

Eloy ‘Live’ - essential live document of a fine German prog band at their Seventies peak. Ignore the comical cod-English vocals and dig their music;

Saxon ‘The Inner Sanctum’ - even in old age I need a bit of mindless metal nonsense every now and again. And no-one does that better than Saxon;

ABBA ‘Arrival’ - the terminally overplayed ‘Dancing Queen’ aside, this can still make me smile. And that’s some achievement for a morose twat like me;

Captain Beefheart ‘Bluejeans & Moonbeams’ - Don’s most critically panned album, quite wrongly in my opinion. And I know I’m not alone here. It just sounds like a damn good rock album to me;

Paul Weller ‘Saturns Peaks’ EP - Weller regularly puts out EPs of outtakes and remixes that actually improve on their parent album tracks. This is a particularly good one from 2015;

Henry Cow ‘Western Culture’ - the Cow’s fourth* and final studio album vies with their first, ‘Leg End’, as their most accessible - not that either’s exactly easy listening. There’s some excellent and creative music going down here that sounds like no-one else, then or since. File under "Avant jazz rock chamber music". Or better still, forget meaningless genre silos and just enjoy the mother on its own terms - as with everything;

Return To Forever ‘No Mystery’ - jaw dropping dexterity is one thing; memorable music is another, and the latter’s only about 50% achieved here. Their following album achieved both, and in spades;

OM ‘50’ - what I assume to be OM’s studio swan song (due to the sad passing of the great Fredy Studer) is a great way to sign off. Even freer than before and as unique as ever, I’ve never heard a band so singular yet team focused at the same time. And what a superb sounding record;

The Dave Brubeck Quartet ‘In Amsterdam’ - 1969 release of a terrific 1963 concert, currently only available to stream or download. Which is a shame for obsessive Bru collectors like me who crave tangible formats;

Beethoven (?) Cello Sonata in E flat, Op.64 (Maria Kliegel & Nina Tichman) - LvB attribution of doubtful provenance but lovely anyway, whoever wrote it;

Elgar: In The South (Alassio) (Bournemouth SO/Constantin Silvestri) - quite the most wayward and wonderful rendition of this masterpiece I’ve ever heard. Not a basic library choice perhaps, but I’d never be without it;

Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini (Lamoureux/Igor Markevitch) - anyone who considers classical music boring should expose themselves to this little viper. You wanna hear what it’s like to be repeatedly storm bashed against the burning walls of hell? You got it. Makes Motorhead sound like Teletubbies;

Sibelius: Four Lemminkainen Legends (Philadelphia/Eugene Ormandy) - one of Ormandy’s last records, and a definitive reading of Sibelius’ wondrous symphony-in-disguise;

Beethoven: Violin Concerto (Nicola Benedetti/Aurora Orchestra/Nicholas Collon) - I’m in two minds about this new release. Even though I hear instrumental subtleties I don’t in some long acclaimed recordings of this work - and there’s plenty of vim and excitement going down here - the whole thing comes across as a little too micro-managed, a few ensemble imprecisions notwithstanding (that messy final chord - ugh). But, but, BUT… I really enjoyed it. Had I heard this in a concert environment I’d be thrilled to bits. I’m just not sure it cuts it as a record to be played over and over again, especially given its mean playing time.

(* Fifth, if you count ‘Desperate Straights’ which, although fab, I regard as a Slapp Happy record.)

That’s me.

Long may your lums reek

Dave x