Top 20 albums for 2019

 There were a lot of great releases this year. These are some of the ones that I played the most and enjoyed. I could have easily made the list 50!!! 

1. FRANK MARINO- LIVE AT THE AGORA THEATER DVD BOX (CANADA)

What can you say??? 6hrs of live Frank Marino playing songs from his first to his last studio album plus a range of covers.  Frank has not released anything in years and this show was recorded in 2011!  Stunning….  His vocals are truly amazing and the guitar playing brilliant.  An incredible release.

2. GOV’T MULE- BRING ON THE MUSIC VOL 1&2 4LP

 

         Wow.. Gov’t Mule never play a bad show and this was an awesome one that focused almost entirely on their original material with only 2 cover songs.  Excellent recording, filming and performance. Great light show in this historic theatre!  Killer…

3. THE BLACK WIZARDS- REFELCTIONS LP (PORTUGAL)

         This is an album that I have played a lot this year. Just great songs, vocals and playing. A band I still have never seen live but met the people and they are really cool.  Highly recommended female fronted psychedelic rock!

4. BIG SCENIC NOWHERE- DYING ON THE MOUNTAIN LP (US)

         This is a really excellent new band with the guitar player for Fu Manchu and Gary from Yawning Man plus their local Desert crew. Fantastic songs..  Great EP…

5. DEVIL AND THE ALMIGHTY BLUES- TRE LP (NORWAY)

         I was really looking forward to this album and it did not disappoint me at all. It was great to get to see them live as well and they played a lot of songs from the new album. Wife really digs these guys as well.

6. JOHN GARCIA AND THE BAND OF GOLD LP (US)

         This was John rocking out once again after a couple of more laid back solo records. The vibe is great on this.  Vista Chino got into his blood.  Great record…

7. ELDER- THE GOLD & SILVER SESSIONS LP (US)

         I really like Elder and they are really cool people as well.  This is something really new for them, doing improvisations but it worked great forcing them into uncomfortable territory.  A great EP….. the last with Matt on drums…

8. WHITE MANNA- APE ON SUNDAY LP (US)

         What a psychedelic trip this LP is. I did not know what to expect but I played this a lot when I got it. Andy from Carlton Melton fit in perfect and perhaps pushed them into exploring some different psychedelic vibes. Great album.

9. PAPIR- VI LP (DENMARK)

         Papir are back with another original album title!  Don’t worry about that. After a very laid back 5^th album the band give this one a bit more energy. It is a small evolution in the sound but one I dig. Amazing playing from all three world class musicians.

10. MOTORPSYCHO- THE CRUCIBLE LP (NORWAY)

         I did not expect anything less from Motorpsycho! Another intense musical journey. Great songs, intense lyrical themes and more mellotron!!!  I hope they leave that off the next one..  The band is on the top of their game at the moment.  Wow..

11. SACRI MONTI- WAITING ROOM FOR THE MAGIC HOUR LP (US)

         We have been waiting a long time for this record and it finally arrived and I got to see and hang out with the guys as well.  Another fantastic record. I think might like it more than the first. Great 70s hard rock with a unique vibe and tones of killer solos.

12. COSMIC DEAD, THE- SCOTTISH SPACE RACE 2LP (UK)

         This record can seriously fuck you up. The band has two new members and they seriously push the band hard on this one. Powerful almost metallic punk space rock at times.  Quite the mindblower….

        

13. NUKLI- THERE IS ANOTHER WAY CD (UK )

         This album totally caught me by surprise. I knew the band were still playing all the time but this was recorded like 8 years ago and finally came out. Just a great psych rock album. Lovely memorable songs with positive lyrics.  I am so happy SRP will release this on vinyl in 2020!!

14. GIN LADY- TALL SUN CROOKED MOON LP (SWEDEN)

         Gin Lady¨s last record was my top record in 2018 and while I like this one a lot as well, it did not reach the same height for me. A had hoped for a bit more rocking and a few longer songs. Anyway, it is still an awesome album and I love the artwork!!

15. GOATESS- BLOOD AND WINE 2LP (SWEDEN)

The last Goatess record is one of my faves of the last decade.  I still get totally into it when I play it LOUD.  I was very excited about this one but I have to say, the music is still totally amazing but I am not a big fan of the new singer. He is growing on me though..

16. DATURA4- BLESSED IS THE BOOGIE CD (AUSTRALIA)

         My wife and I really dig this band a lot.  We have played their previous albums a lot. This one as the title suggests throws a bit of Status Quo into the vibe on a few tracks but they stick to what they are great at.  Another nice set of tracks…

17- PYRAMIDAL- PYRAMIDAL LP (SPAIN)

         This is my favourite band from Spain. I always look forward to see what direction they will take. We had a preview of a few of the tracks from this record on the live from Wurzburg record. Another great 40mins journey.

The next releases are all ones that I appear on but I think they all deserve to be on this list.

18- BLACK MOON CIRCLE-THE STUDIO JAMS VO 1-3 BOX SET (NORWAY)

         This is a 5CD box set with over 150mins of bonus material from our BMC studio jam sessions.  What a great value plus all three of the studio jam volumes mastered for CD with the original album artwork and a large booklet with all the details and a history of the band, thus far.

19. ØSC meets BMC- FREAKOUT IN THE FJORD 2CD (2019)

         This amazing jam session took place in Nov 2017 in Trondheim the day after the Freak out in the Fjord Festival, where both bands appeared. A 3LP gatefold with amazing artwork by Ed Unitsky.  2hrs of music.  I am very proud of this release.

20-. 3RD EAR EXPERIENCE WITH DR SPACE- EAR TO SPACE 2LP (US)

This was a really fun collaboration with one of my fave US bands, 3^rd Ear Experience.  They sent me tracks and asked me to set up and jam a long as if I was there and then I sent them two tracks. It was fun and the music turned out excellent..

 Hope that 2020 will bring us many great albums.  Thanks for reading. Have a great new year everyone in this crazy world.