BAZINGA!
23. Amorphis – Silent Waters [2007]
Amorphis have had a career of ups and downs, but they seem to have hit their stride now, sticking to one style but doing it really very well. For me, this album is the epitome of what they can do, and how far they have come. There are a couple of very heavy songs, a handful of very melodic ones, and one all-out folk song, and all of them are top-notch. I love Eclipse as well, which was the first album in their current style, but this was the album that really showed how comfortable they were in it. The album has a nice flow to it as well, and there’s a very epic undercurrent that, even in the more straightforward songs, creates a huge feel.
22. Pain of Salvation – The Perfect Element I [2000]
So, I discovered Pain of Salvation on a bit of a whim really. I’d heard about them but not heard a single note of their music, and was in a store and came across 12:5, their acoustic live album, and decided to give it a try. Of course I loved it, and proceeded to quickly get the rest of their albums at the time. Bizarrely, I wasn’t massively keen on this album at first, but after a few months I came to the realisation that this is the dictionary definition of a “grower”. The songs are dense and at times inaccessible, both musically and lyrically, but once you get to grips with it, it’s such a rewarding listen. There is an intense personal emotion that runs throughout the album and really drags the listener in and makes them feel the pain of the characters. And the bridge section of the title song is one of the greatest moments in the history of music.
21. John Coltrane - Blue Train [1958]
This is, easily, my favourite jazz album ever. I think it’s the way Coltrane and the other musicians play so amazingly and really fast at times (as one would expect from hard-bop) but somehow all the songs still sound so laid back. I also like the fact that some of the improvised solos have duff notes here and there, which in a lot of styles of music just wouldn’t work, but here gives the whole thing a very “live” feel, enticing the listener to imagine being there at the recording. I completely appreciate how some of his later albums were more influential and ground-breaking, and I like those a lot too, but this album despite being more straightforward is simply more enjoyable. It’s cool, it’s groovy, and it’s brilliant.