Alice In Chains - Dirt (1992)

Wow, what an album. Dirt is the second studio album by Alice In Chains, and it rocks like hell. The Seattle-base formation is categorized as grunge band, but there is a lot of hard rock in this album.

I just cannot stop listening, and there is nothing much to say now. This album is classics and no one should miss it. Period!

The Verve - A Northern Soul (1995)

Here is another cool English alternative band - The Verve (originally just Verve). The formed in 1990, and split up and re-unite a couple of times, 2009 being the last break up.

A Northern Soul is their second studio album, which according to the critics is more traditional alternative than the previous. The title refers to the 1960s soul movement in England, Northern Soul (I know nothing about it so far, but this can change soon).

The song A Northern Soul is dedicated to our old friend Noel Gallagher from Oasis, who is a friend of The Verver's lead singer Richard Ashcroft.

Mew - A Triumph For Man (1997) 2 CD 2006 re-release

Thanks to my former colleague at SU Thomas Rasmussen (from Denmark) I was introduced to some really nice Danish rock bands. For example Mew. They formed in 1994 and they determine their style as pretentious art rock. 

A Triumph For Man is Mew's debut studio album, released in 1997. I happened to have the 2006 re-released version consisting of two CDs. Interestingly, the original 1997 release was printed in 2000 copies only and those CDs reached over $200 on eBay. 

My picks are No Shadow Kick, I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi (for You) from the first CD, and in the second one Say You're Sorry is a good one, but I a kind of don't like the noisy chorus sections.

Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May (2006)

Stone Sour is an American alternative rock band, two of whose members are also members of Slipknot - lead vocal Corey Taylor, and lead guitarist Jim Root. The band went into breaks and reunited several times due to their work with Slipknot. 

Come What(ever) May is their second studio album released after their second reunion. The most famous tracks here are the singles Through Glass, Made Of Scars, Sillyworld, 30/30-15, and Zzyzx Rd.. The entire album is pretty good and listenable.

Placebo - Placebo (1996)

Yet another amazing debut album. This time it is the self-titled album by the English alternative rock band Placebo. There is no single weak song in this CD. Bruise Pristine is my favorite anyway.

Before listening to the Placebo album I only knew their single Every You And Every Me from the Cruel Intentions soundtrack. The movie itself is pretty good, I strongly recommend it.

Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007)

Fresh and lively, this is Yours Truly, Angry Mob, the second studio album by the British indie band Kaiser Chiefs. I  decided to get this album because I saw the video of Ruby on TV and I liked it. 

Even with the punky sound I find the entire album listenable and enjoyable. The first three tracks Ruby, The Angry Mob, and Heat Dies Down are just lovely, Love's Not A Competition ... is slow and nice.  Thank You Very Much, My Kind Of Guy, Everything Is Average Nowadays, and Retirement are charming even though not exactly my favorite kind of songs. Another good one is I Can Do Without You, and Try Your Best has cool guitar sections.

David Bowie - David Bowie (1967)

His real name is David Robert Jones, but he is known like David Bowie, and he is an exceptional English musician, singer, and songwriter.

David Bowie's debut eponymously-titled album is not very recognized compared to his later work. First I thought it sounds too strange, and it is strange in a way. Nevertheless, I gave it some time and played it often on my iPod on my way to work and back, and soon I started to enjoy it. 

The nicest songs in my opinion are Love You Till Tuesday, When I Live My Dream, Little Bombardier, Come And Buy My Toys, She's Got Medals.

Sell Me A Coat

AC/DC - High Voltage (1975 Australia)

High Voltage from 1975 is the first studio album by AC/DC and it was released in Australia only. Four of the tracks are present in the 1984 EP 74'Jailbreak - Baby, Please Don't Go,  You Ain't Got A Hold On Me, Show Business, and Soul Stripper. In 1976 the band issued an international version of High Voltage, containing only Little Lover and She's Got Balls from the Australian version. 

I think She's Got Balls, Little Lover and Stick Around and pretty good ones. Love Song is quite unusual for AC/DC, without the specific guitars in the beginning I would never guess it's their song.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd (1973)

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American Southern rock band from Florida, formed in 1964. In 1977, soon after they have gained some prominence, three of the band members died in a plane crash. Lynurd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 and is still active.

Pronounced is their first studio album, from 1973, and it sounds quite good. Not surprising considering the fact that they have been playing together for almost 10 years. 

My featured tracks are Tuesday's Gone, Simple Man, and Free Bird.

Check out the album on Spotify.

The White Stripes - The White Stripes (1999)

This album is not something you find very enjoyable in the first place, but the more you listen to it the better it sounds. The simple guitar-drums-voice scheme of The White Stripes is actually quite efficient. I love their guitar riffs and the straightforward drums, simple and distinct sound.

I got to know about this band from their appearance in The Simpsons. Just from curiosity I decided to put my hands on their first eponymous album, and I never regret it. Among my favorite songs here are Jimmy The Exploder, Do, and Screwdriver.

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (1989)

The Stone Roses are one of the pioneers of the Madchester music scene, who unfortunately did make it only to their second album. Their eponymous debut album was released in 1989 and in my (and not only my) opinion is an everlasting one.

The best track here is Fools Gold, which appeared in US in the 1989 Re-release of the album, and in the UK in the 1991 Re-release. Really cool one!

I find the entire CD quite enjoyable, but my favorites are the opener I Wanna Be Adored, Elephant Stone, Waterfalls and I am The Resurrection.

Pearl Jam - Ten (1991)

Yet another amazing debut album. This time it is by the Seattle grunge band Pearl Jam (formed in 1990). Ten is named after the jersey number of the basketball star Mookie Blaylock. The lyrics for the album come from Eddie Vedder and deal with depression, suicide, loneliness, murder, and some social concerns.

In 1991 Eddie Vedder took part in Temple Of The Dog project, where he provided backing vocals for a couple of songs and the vocals on Hunger Strike.

The first six songs are absolutely awesome and among my favorites. Jeremy is arguably the most famous Pearl Jam song, together with Even Flow, Alive and Once. Black, Garden and Garden are also very strong, 

Here is the album on Spotify.

Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night (2008)

Only By The Night is the fourth studio album, and the only one by far I've heard, by the American rock band Kings Of Leon. It's a family band comprising of three brothers and their cousin.

I love the whole album, but Sex On Fire, Crawl, Closer and Manhattan form the upper layer. The Deluxe Edition of the album, coming with a bonus live CD, contains 7 tracks from their performance in April, 2007 in London.

The basic CD (11 tracks) is available for free on Spotify.

Coldplay - Parachutes (2000)

What a debut album! Don't Panic and Shiver sound out of this world, and Yellow and Trouble are incredibly tender and nice melodies. High Speed is also cool song and sounds a bit Oasis-like to me. Despite these highlights all the tracks are worth listening, Parachutes is just an extremely good album.

Coldplay is a British alternative rock band formed in 1997.  The group members are Chris Martin (vocals and piano), Jonny Buckland (lead guitar), Guy Berryman (bass), and Will Champion (drums, back vocals).

Here is a live performance of Yellow by Chris Martin and Noel Gallagher:

Bob Geldof - The Happy Club (1993)

Not that I was really interested in Bob Geldof and his music, but I saw this CD in the library and I just needed to stretch out my hand - why not! Robert Frederic Zenon Geldof is an Irish musician and political activist. As far as I remember I heard his name for the first time in connection with the Live 8 concerts. His charity effort picks up both both praise and criticism, but that's life, it is hard to make everyone happy.

The Happy Club is Bob Geldof's third solo album, released in 1993. I won't say it is impressive but it's not bad either, and it's a kind of interesting. My favories are The Soft Soil, A Hole To Fill, and The Song Of The Emerging Nationalist. I'll keep listening and I'll come back to this post if I have something more to say.

Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

Before the release of In Rainbows, all I used to know about Radiohead were two of their most famous songs - Creep and Karma Police. Honestly, I didn't even know the titles of these two songs. One day however, I was listening to the online radio ZRock and the program was dedicated to the new album by Radiohead. It sounded quite weird, but intriguing at the same time. I got the album and I think it is one of the best in my music library.

Radiohead is an English alternative band from 1985. The frontman Thom Yorke is acclaimed as one of the greatest and most influential singers ever. In Rainbows was released in quite an unusual way by the band - they made it available online for a download, and the customers could choose the price they want to pay (including 0).

I really love In Rainbows, it is very touching and sometimes tracks like Reckoner even make me feel sad. I wouldn't say that any song is better than the others, they all peculiar but somehow they fit together perfectly. This album should be listened from beginning to end, including the bonus disk (containing 8 tracks).

Bob Dylan - Street Legal (1978)

I just discovered Bob Dylan! Better late than never, people say. His real name is Robert Allen Zimmerman and he is an American artist performing with guitar, keyboard, and harmonica. Bob Dylan's discography lists countless number of studio albums, live albums, singles etc. He is just a legend in the popular music and I'm gonna consider seriously his work.

Street Legal was my random choice at the library a few weeks ago. The 18th studio album by Bob Dylan is very pleasant and easy to listen, and brings me really lovely emotions. I find it more moving on the headphones than on the stereo, but probably on a good stereo in the right environment it will be equally enjoyable. 

Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power) is maybe my favorite track. The opener, Changing Of The Guards, is quite heartwarming, New Pony is a slow rocker, and No Time To Think is catchy but it could've been shorter. The rest of the songs are all just really good.

That's it for now. I'm really excited about Bob Dylan's works and I'm happy that I reached out for Street Legal the other day.

U2 - How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)

U2 is an Irish rock band formed in 1976, which remained intact with the original band members - Bono (real name Paul Hewson) (vocals, guitar, harmonica), The Edge (real name David Evans) (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass) and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums, percussion). Their success is out of discussion with over 150 million records sold and 22 Grammy Awards.

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb is the eleventh (out of twelve) studio album of U2. I start my U2 posting with it, just because it is the first one I have listened from beginning to end. 

I won't really make comments at this point, before exploring carefully other U2 albums. It's enough to say that the record is good, it has the peculiar U2 style, and it sounds quite refined. Besides the single Vertigo I like City Of Blinding Lights, All Because Of You and Original Of The Species, but the entire album is listenable and enjoyable.

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb is available on Spotify!

Since I love the live performance of U2 I can't help myself for embedding this one:

Temple Of The Dog - Temple Of The Dog (1991)

Temple Of The Dog is a Seattle rock band formed as a tribute Andrew Wood (1966-1990). He was an American rock singer and bassist who died 24 years old of a heroin overdose. After his death his roommate and friend Chris Cornell initiated the band together with future Perl Jam members.

The reason I got to this album is my enthusiasm about Chris Cornell, and particularly his work with Audioslave. I was taken with his remarkable voice and after some googling I found out among the other stuff, his one-album project Temple Of The Dog.

Chris Cornell alone wrote the first two songs, Say Hello 2 Heaven and Reach Down, when he went touring in Europe after Wood's death. Later on, he and some of Wood's former bandmates  decided to form a band, and they recorded the album in 15 days.

The album is melodic, slow, and sounds emotional, but it still rocks. Lots of nice guitars together with Chris Cornell's sterling vocals... that's Temple Of The Dog. Don't miss it! Apart from the above mentioned singles, Pushin' Forward Back and Call Me A Dog are one of the best tracks, in my opinion.

The album is freely available on Spotify!

Dio - Holy Diver (1983)

The mighty Ronnie James Dio is dead, what a sad news! Rest In Peace Ronnie, you were wonderful and we'll always remember you.

He passed away yesterday, May 16 2010, of stomach cancer. Ronnie took part is several rock bands -  Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and Dio. Thanks to his Italian grandmother he "invented" and popularized the famous sign of the horns in heavy metal. The powerful magnificent voice of Ronnie James is something that nobody can take away from us, and it'll never be forgotten.

Writing this, I am listening to the debut album Holy Diver (1983) by Ronnie's own band, Dio. Excellent classic heavy metal CD, where the peculiar voice of Ronnie James reveals itself in a fantastic manner. Holy Diver and Rainbow In The Dark are killer hits that probably everyone have heard. Another favorite is Don't Talk To Strangers, but the whole album is quite enjoyable. 

Holy Diver on Spotify

Jamiroquai - Emergency On Planet Earth (1993)

Jamiroquai is actually a band. I just want to make it clear for everyone that never bothered to check Wikipedia and thought this is the name of the sneaky guy that sings and makes freaky moves. The guy is Jay Kay, his real name is Jason Cheetham, he's British, and he's got a Grammy Award. I disliked him when I was younger but things change, luckily.

Nowadays I do not only like his music but I sympathize his passion for fast cars and motorcycles. Jay Kay is currently the fastest man on the BBC show Top Gear. He made the lap in 1:45.81 in Chevrolet Lacetti. With the previous "Reasonably-Priced Car", Suzuki Liana, he was down on 12th place with time 1:48.0.

Emergency On Planet Earth is Jamiroquai's debut album, released in 1993. Even though acid-jazz music is not the one that brings me real pleasure, it sounds cool and it's good for any occasion. And this album is surprisingly consistent and complete for a debut. Nothing extraordinary but just good.

Here is the Spotify link.

In Flames - A Sense Of Purpose (2008)

Another Swedish rock band - In Flames, formed in Göteborg, 1990. Their style is broadly featured as melodic death metal, which I think is not the case with their ninth studio album A Sense Of Purpose. This is melodic and it is metal but alternative, rather than death.

It sounds really good and consistent. Obviously, In Flames have started with melodic death metal (as many other self-respecting scandinavian rock bands) and somewhere on the way they moved away. Which is a good thing (I like changes), but I am curious to hear their early work.

Fast and solid drum sections attract my attention in this album. The vocals remind me of some Nu Metal band, but right now I cannot figure out which one. 

I should give credits to Solna Stadsbibliotek, where I got this CD from. The album is freely available on Spotify. 

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden (1980)

Iron Maiden is certainly one of the most significant heavy metal bands. They were formed by Steve Harris in East London. Iron Maiden's mascot is called Eddie (right), and apparently he brought them some criticism to be Satanists. Eddie's full name is by the way Eddie the 'Edd or Edward The Head, or even Edward The Great.

The band was initiated in 1975, and the first studio album, the self-titled Iron Maiden, came in 1980. I haven't yet been on Iron Maiden concert unfortunately, but I can see that some of the songs from this album are present in the set lists of almost all their stage performances - these are Running Free, Phantom Of The Opera, Iron Maiden and Sanctuary. 

I think Phantom Of The Opera is exceptionally good one, also Transylvania, Remember Tomorrow and Charlotte The Harlot. Charlotte is a fictional prostitute who is mentioned in several other songs.

It is quite strange fact that many Iron Maiden fans tend to overlook the band's first albums. I personally find them really good and they are among favorites.

Iron Maiden on Spotify.

The Doors - Waiting For The Sun (1968)

The Doors was the most hated band in my life. Ten years ago most of my friends used to adore this band and couldn't stand it. On every party, the moment they (my friends) started playing Doors was a nightmare for me. These strong negative feelings started to fade away with the years and now I it seems I'm ready to give The legendary Doors a chance.

My friend Pesh, whom I consider as a Doors expert, said Waiting For The Sun is not the best choice to start with. Nevertheless, since I happened to find this album in the library (Solna Stadsbibliotek) I start from it.

The opener Hello, I Love You is catchy but not really my favorite kind of song. Love Street and Not To Touch The Earth are a bit better. I like Summer's Almost Gone, Wintertime Love, and The Unknown Soldier. I wonder what the spanish guitar is doing in the beginning of Spanish Caravan, but the track is not bad. I cannot bear My Wild Love I, I never liked such kind of songs and I tend to doubt that I'll ever do. We Could Be Together and Yes, The River Knows, and Five To One are good.

There is something weird with this music. It doesn't really sound enjoyable to me but at the same time it is quite catchy. I still need to force myself to listen to it.

I've heard the album a couple of times and I'll continue trying, hoping that it will come.

Nirvana - Bleach (1989)

It's time for Seattle grunge, another favorite rock line for me. Nirvana was formed in 1987 by Kurt Cobain (vocals and guitars) and Krist Novoselic (bass).

Even though Nirvana's big success came with Nevermind (1991), their debut album Bleach is, as a matter of fact quite good. I appreciate every single track from Bleach, without exceptions. I knew the most famous Nirvana songs from a long time ago but never bothered to hear full album. Bleach surprised me in a very good way when I first played it, I simply didn't expect something so enjoyable. 

Highly recommended CD.

kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden (2007)

kent is a Swedish rock band formed in 1990 in Eskilstuna, about 110 km west from Stockholm. They are quite popular in Sweden, with 20 Grammis Awards (the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards) and over a million records sold, but are barely known outside Scandinavia. I guess the main reason is that they sing in Swedish only.

The first kent album I heard is titled Tillbaka Till Samtiden, which is supposed to mean Back To The Present. Its their seventh studio album released in 2007. Very good and pleasant to listen album, in my opinion.

Those disco beats that I hear in most of the tracks are a typical Swedish feature, their understanding for entertainment is strongly coupled with the disco music. Exceptions are Vid Din Sida, Colombus, Sömnen, LSD, Någon?.

Spotify link.

Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla (1974)

Good old stuff again! One day I decided to checkout Judas Priest, and since I had no idea of their music I opted to start from the beginning - Rocka Rolla from 1974. Judas Priest is a legendary British heavy metal band, one of the pioneers of the genre.

From the very beginning there was something unusual but due to my poor musical expertise I couldn't realize what it is. Not until I read a fantastic review of the album and the "secret" was revealed - they are using two leading guitars.

For me this album doesn't really sound like heavy metal, but rather hard rock, and probably that's why I like it so much. The original record has very low quality so one should get a remastered version in order to fully enjoy the music. Here it is on Spotify.

Favorite songs from Rocka Rolla - Run Of The Mill, Rocka Rolla and Cheater (in the end of Winter/Deep Freeze/Winter Retreat)

Keane - Hopes And Fears (2004)

Keane are often compared with Coldplay, and they do have similar style, but the piano rock sound of Keane is for sure distinctive enough. The band was formed in England in 1995, under the name Lotus Eaters. In 1997 they changed the name to Cherry Keane, and soon after that to Keane. The same year one of the founders of group Tim Rice-Oxley was invited by Chris Martin to join Coldplay, but he preferred to stay with Keane.

They started using piano as a lead instrument, instead of guitar, somewhere around 2001. Keane's debut album Hopes And Fears was released in 2004 and has gone 9x platinum in the UK. 

The album is really good, I think, with nice tender melodies, and vocals that remind me the vocals of Radiohaed and sometines Muse. It should be pleasing for any fan of britpop and indie music.

Hopes And Fears on Spotify.

AC/DC - 74'Jailbreak (1984)

The discography of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC looks really crazy. They started in 1975 with High Voltage, and they are still active, releasing their last soundtrack album in April this year. The reason to go for AC/DC for me is my friend Batkata. He is an old rock fan and he never misses to praise AC/DC, so one day I decided to check them out.

Initially I didn't get very excited, but it came pretty soon. What I noticed is that AC/DC's music is very suitable for listening on the stereo when you spend time with the family or with friends. It is not too noisy and dense, and yet it really rocks.

74'Jailbreak is an EP that was released in 1984 in US, Canada and Japan. It has only 5 tracks (24 minutes total length) that are just excellent and thoroughly enjoyable. It is really hard to pick favorites, even so mine are You Ain't Got A Hold On Me, and Soul Stripper. I want to mention that the vocals are by Bon Scott, who was the lead singer and lyricist of AC/DC until his death in 1980.

The Shins - Wincing The Night Away (2007)

My interest in indie started with The Charlatans, and now it develops a bit slowly because of my obsession with the classic 70's hard rock. Anyhow, occasionally I listen to such stuff, and The Shins is one of my favorite indie bands. It is an American band formed in 1997 as a side project of a couple of musicians, which I've never heard of. Here I want to share my opinion about their third studio album Wincing The Night Away, released in 2007.

The album is Grammy-nominated and, I think, for a good reason. This music is exceptionally good, pleasant, and charming. I like every single song on the CD, and I listen to it quite often.

I'm looking forward to hear something else from The Shins and to comment it here.

Wincing The Night Away on Spotify.

Megadeth - Endgame (2009)

I just got the latest Megadeth album Endgame, and I took my time to hear it several times in the last couple of days. When Dave Mustaine was kicked out from Metallica for drug and alcohol problems, and violent behavior, he started Megadeth with the intention to create a band more successful than Metallica. While he didn't managed to outperform Metallica commercially, he proved to be very productive and made Megadeth one of the thrash metal's "big four", together with Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica.

Endgame is well made, solid album, just like United Abominations, but I still cannot find some really catchy songs. The instrumental opener Dialectic Chaos sounds particularly good and has some complexity that reminds me Dream Theater, real joy. Another favorite moment is the guitar riff in the beginning of the title track Endgame.

Endgame on Spotify.

Metallica - St. Anger (2003)

Metallica is a heavy metal band formed in 1981 in California. Their eight studio album, called St. Anger, was released in 2003 after almost six years pause. It is fun to read the reviews for this album, people seems to either hate it or love it. And their arguments are even more fun, ranging from "poor recording" to "everything Metallica plays is great stuff for me" :).

I am not a school-years Metallica fan, so I consider myself unbiased in this dispute. Everything Metallica plays is simple but effective, I would say. So is St. Anger, and it is also brutal enough that I like it. I listen this CD very often when I run or bike, or just whenever I want to hear something strong.

My favorites are Frantic and Shoot Me Again. Since Metallica are so concerned about their commercial success and the albums in not available on Spotify, I suggest you to check out this version of St. Anger by Metal Militia.

Deep Purple - Shades Of Deep Purple (1968)

Shades Of Deep Purple is the debut studio album of Deep Purple, one of the most famous and successful British hard rock bands. It's a very interesting album, containing four covers.

Hush is a Joe South's cover that is probably the most recognized song in the album.

Prelude: Happiness is a cover of Skip James's song I'm So Glad. It starts with instrumental section full of spanish motifs. The same thing I can hear in Hey Joe, a cover of song by Billy Roberts. I wonder where this spanish impact comes from! Anyway, I like the touch of Deep Purple in these covers.

There is also a cover of Help!, the song by The Beatles. I can notice Beatles influence in One More Rainy Day and Love Help Me.

I can strongly recommend this early Deep Purple work to every rock music fan.

Spotify link!

Depeche Mode - Violator (1990)

Not that Depeche Mode needs any introduction, but still, this is an English electronic synthpop band formed in 1980. They emerged in the new wave era and became one of the most successful and influential bands ever. I saw them live in 2006 at the Stockholm's Touring The Angel concert, and it was an astonishing experience.

Violator became a big hit when it appeared, but I remember that I didn't like this kind of music so much. This was partly because the records we had at that times had really bad quality, and the sound was indistinct and disturbed, like coming from the beyond.

Today on the contrary, I am fascinated by the sound of this album. I can't believe that songs like World In My Eyes, Enjoy The Silence etc. were created 20 years ago. Violator is an amazing album and I enjoy it often. Sweetest Perfection, Blue Dress and Clean are a bit moody tracks, but still good.

Violator on Spotify.

Hammerfall - Glory To The Brave (1997)

Here comes some power metal from Sweden. Hammerfall was formed in 1993 by members of another Swedish metal band - Ceremonial Oath. Hammerfall's story goes a bit messy and confusing for someone like me, not very familiar with power/heavy metal area. Jesper Strömblad from In Flames was involved in Hammerfall during their first years, and he was listed as a drummer for the debut album Glory To The Brave, although the drums were actually played by Patrik Räfling (he joined the band as full time member after the album release).

I think the album is very good, with a lot of speed and powerful guitar work. The epic vocals remind me of the early Iron Maiden, especially the first three tracks - The Dragon Lies Bleeding, The Metal Age, and Hammerfall. Steel Meets Steel is also a good one, but it would be even better without the repeating "Steel Meets-Steel...Steel Meets-Steel...Meets-Steel". The CD end with admirable emotional metal ballad - Glory To The Brave (the title track).

A must have album for the metal fans. Try it out on Spotify.

And this YouTube video will go into the Crimson Thunder (Hammerfall's fourth album from 2002) post, when I write it, but I couldn't hold myself :). Such thing can only be done by Swedes:

James Blunt - Back To Bedlam (2004)

James Blunt is a British musician and songwriter, whose real name is James Hillier Blount. Before releasing Back To Bedlam, his first album, he made a military career as a NATO peacekeeper in Kosovo. He was on duty for the funeral of the Queen Mother, 2002. As a child James Blunt took piano and violin lessons, and at the age 14 he started playing guitar and write songs. His style is a mix of pop, rock and folk.

Back To Bedlam was recorded in 2003 at a studio in LA, where James Blunt himself performed on different instruments for the recording. The actress Carrie Fisher supported him by suggesting the album's name and providing him a bathroom in her home for the recording of Goodbye My Lover.

I like the high voice of James Blunt, the tender melodies, and the beautiful lyrics. The whole album is an irresistible pleasure. The singles High and You're Beautiful are well known to everyone, I guess. My personal pick is Tears And Rain. Back To Bedlam is accessible on Spotify.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood (1983)

This is the debut album for Stevie Ray Vaughan, a brilliant American guitar player, and one of the most influential blues musicians. Credits to Pesh for making me aware of him.

I was never too much into the blues style, so this is "new" for me and I don't have too much to compare with. Nevertheless I find the album Texas Flood really enjoyable. It makes me feel like I'm sitting in an old bar with a glass of bourbon. I like the clear electric sound and the rhythm, just amazing guitar performance.

Mary Had a Little Lamb and Testify are my personal favorites, otherwise the whole CD is highly recommended. A expanded and remixed version of the album is available on Spotify.

Madrugada - Industrial Silence (1999)

It took my wife more than a year to turn me on to Madrugada (Wikipedia). She discovered them at the Last.fm online radio and got hooked, but I never bothered, until recently. The band is formed in 1995 in Norway, and the name means "early morning" in spanish and portuguese. A spanish guy told me recently that this is in fact the time between midnight and six in the morning.

Sadly, in 2007, the guitarist and songwriter for Madrugada Robert Burås died 31 years old, R.I.P.!

I start here with their debut album called Industrial Silence. The album is excellent not only because they have already been playing together for 5-6 years before releasing it. They are just great, with nice melodies, versatile guitars, and the special deep voice of the singer Sivert Høyem.

My favorites are Norwegian Hammerworks Inc., the melancholic ballads Electric and Quite Emotional, and... all the rest. I love the whole album indeed. It's available on Spotify.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way (2002)

When I got this Red Hot Chili Peppers video, about 8 years ago, I watched it hundred times that same day. I still think it's quite cool. No wonder some call Anthony Kiedis "the sexiest man alive". And the long-haired guy with the guitar, having so much fun, is John Frusciante who actually wrote most of the album's melodies, bass and guitar parts.

By The Way is one of my favorite albums of the Californian band Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP). No song is bad here, they are all fun and cool. My personal favorites are Can't Stop, The Zephyr Song, By The Way, and Dosed, which doesn't mean that I don't like the rest. This album is a real pleasure to listen on any occasion.

"If you don't know what music to choose on the party, play Red Hot and you won't make a mistake!". My friend Stan said that long time ago, and even though we always used to accuse him for sloganeer, he was surely right. By The Way is an album that definitely confirms this rule of thumb.

Queen - Queen (1973)

I need hardly introduce Queen to anyone, for this is one of the greatest and most influential bands in the history of rock music. I've heard about them already in my childhood, at a place where serbian folk music had been ruling for decades. Back in 1991, when Freddie Mercury died, all that noise and attention felt like hype to me. I guess I was simply too young to realize that Freddie was one of the biggest, most charismatic frontmen ever.

You cannot imagine how happy I got one day when I decided to take a look at the early Queen music. I started with the debut eponymous album Queen from 1973.

Surprisingly for me the album seems to be slightly underrated. I think it's just great. The complexity of the Queen ingenious style shows up already in this first record, coated with solid hard rock guitars. The heavy rockers are Keep Yourself Alive, Great King Rat, Liar, Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll, Son And Daughter, and Jesus.

Check out Keep Yourself Alive on YouTube, amazing rhythm, really cool bass, and excellent vocals from Freddie Mercury:

Muse - The Resistance (2009)

July 2006 I saw the supporting act of Muse at the Depeche Mode concert Touring The Angel, in Stockholm. On the concert I didn't even know who they are but I liked them. Soon after that I noticed the ads for their new released album Black Holes And Revelations on tv.

This post, however, is about their last album The Resistance, released September 2009. Unfortunately I have to say that I don't like it so much as an album, even after several plays in the last couple of days. In the first place the mix of rock, new wave, classical piano wrapped in typical Muse style sounded quite messy.

Most of the songs are really good taken alone. I can go further and divide the songs in a few groups that go well together. Undisclosed Desires, Guiding Light, MK ULtra, and I Belong To You remind earlier Muse stuff. Uprising, Resistance, and Unnatural Selections sound newer and catchy. Finally United States Of Eurasia and Exogenesis:1, 2, 3 can form a group of their own.

This is probably too complicated for me at the moment. But I'll keep trying because after all I think Muse are very good. I intend to listen the above groups of songs separately and add to this post later. In the meantime enjoy the album on Spotify!

Steve Miller Band - Children Of The Future (1968)

Steve Miller is an American musician who formed the band Steve Miller Band (official website) in 1967. Children Of The Future is their debut album, and it's a mixture of psychedelic and jazzy blues. It sounds interesting, but it seems I don't yet completely understand the psychedelic music in general, so that I can really enjoy it.

Interestingly, I find this album hard to listen on my headphones, but it goes very well as a background on the stereo. Overall I have mixed feelings about this particular album, but I can't deny that the blues songs are good and catchy.