Introduction
My pals have been running a Monday “Album Club” for a wee while now. Taking it in turns, one of us picks an album to listen to each week. On each Monday evening we jump on Google Meet, blether about “matters of state” for half an hour and then we discuss the chosen album. One song from the chosen album is added to a playlist. Oh, and we each give a score to the album.
We listened to 49 albums this year.
This blog post is my review of 2025; over the festive period I’ve managed to re-listen to a bunch of my favourite albums of the year.
My Approach
I listened to our playlist this a couple of times and short listed songs which attracted me back to their respective album. I also reviewed the scores I gave to albums at the time we reviewed it to see if I’d missed any important ones.
This ended up with a short list of 25 albums which I had a target to listen to over the festive period.
Our music club has been going since June 2022. The fully Spotify playlist can be accessed at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5BFpMLFFz9Dr5fjJHuid9P?si=6aANhCKNS7Ki2kKuxRQwAw. The Apple Music version is at https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/monday-music/pl.u-55D6Pj7fAaRqa.
My Favourite Listens
The albums that I most enjoyed listening to this year (in order of listening) were:
- Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti. This one is a bit of a classic, we listened to it over the festive period last year so it was the last album selected in 2024 and the first review of 2025. I am not a big fan of “heavy metal” genres but, to me, Zeppelin are much more of a blues band, so I’m a fan. This album, their sixth, was obviously created by artists able to command their output as evidenced by In my Time of Dying, an 11 minute track. We have Ten Years Gone on the playlist which is maybe a slightly unusual choice from that album.
- World Party, Bang! World Party were a big part of my life in the early nineties. At this point they were only 3 musicians but the songs are crafted with a lot of intelligence. It was great to revisit this album which has a few bangers; sadly it also has a few songs which are more fillers so maybe not their best album.
- Richard Thompson, Mirror Blue. I’d not heard anything by Richard below despite him being part of the John Martyn Universe, so I was looking forward to hearing this. In a way I was slightly disappointed with this album despite enjoying it. I guess I was just expecting more somehow. There’s a contrast between the strong songs on this album “The Way that it Show” and “Beeswing” (sic) and some of the others sadly.
- The Band, Music from Big Pink. Selected after the sad passing of Garth Hudson the last surviving member of The Band we listened to their debut album. I’m a big fan of The Last Waltz and despite having some bangers (The Weight, Tears of Rage), this was not quite that good. But then, that was a greatest hits type setlist so maybe that’s an unfair comparison.
- The Jam, All Mod Cons. A real blast to my teenage years so it was good to revisit this album. It is, of course, impossible to ignore the feelings which the 14 year old Ian had listening to the album, so I knew I’d enjoy this week. The fact that we picked a track other then Tube Station (actually “David Watts”) for the playlist says lots about this album.
- Cardiacs, A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window. This album is totally different and was new to me. As I recall it was quite controversial choice with some guys loving and others hating it. I thought it was refreshingly different, really good listen.
- Split Enz, Time and Tide. Split Enz were a big band for us all in Aberdeen. So another good choice of listening since I had not heard this particular album for ages. They are such an underrated band and this is among their best. Containing the stupendous Six Months in a Leaky Boat banned by the BBC for being disrespectful to the Falklands Task Force.
- The Damned, Damned. Damned. Damned. Following the sad passing of Brian James, we listened to their first album and one of only two with Brian. I often talk about 1977 as being Year Zero for me, this one is not quite album zero for me but it’s close. Listening back to it now, it still feels fresh. I just had to pick “New Rose” for the playlist.
- Pixies, Surfar Rosa. What a fresh and different album this still is. I remember Pixies really erupting into my consciousness with Doolitle so I knew this album quite well. It still sounds great.
- Eels, Beautiful Freak. A new to me album. This was a good listen, quite a distinctive sound; a little raw which is great.
- Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel 3: Melt. I only met Gabriel musically with “So” and that music video. This album came out six years earlier but had a few songs which I knew; including Games without Frontiers and the amazing Biko. great to listen to some earlier Gabriel.
- R.E.M. Automatic for the People. I knew this album very well; I remember playing it on Hogmanay in Ipswich Queensland. It’s maybe R.E.M. just past their peak but is still a very good album. Starts and finishes strongly, arguably drops a little in the middle.
- Bloc Party, Silent Alarm. Another new to me album. This one again has a distinctive sound, but is a good album. It opens strongly and keeps going at a good level.
- PJ Harvey, To Bring You My Love. I got this album when it came out but had not listened to it in it’s entirety in ages so enjoyed listening to it again. PJ has a stunning voice, and her music matches just perfectly. There’s a real depth to the music on this one.
- The Stone Roses, Second Coming. I love the Stone Roses; their first album is in all of my lists of my favourite albums of all time. This album is maybe not quite as good as their first but I still love it. In the week we had selected it, I remember sitting down to listen to this album, headphone on, music turned up, etc. And it was the night that Donald Trump and Elon Musk had their fight on Twitter. I had such a good night listing to this album and following that spat.
- Gallery of Stolen Dogs, I Need to Let it Ride Now. This band is a bunch of our pals so had to be listened to. It’s pretty amazing that a bunch of our pals can make music in someone’s home, produce it and get it on Apple Music for anyone around the world to listen to. I enjoyed this album, it maybe kind of slipped into a little too heavy from time to time but there were a good few tracks where the musicianship and song craft really stood out.
- Magazine. Real life. Magazine are another band that I remember from early in my music listening life, this album was released in Year 1 via the Ian Music Calendar (1978 via the more common Gregorian). I love the sound on this album, it’s so spaced out to me (musically not spiritually) and a lot of the techniques e.g. drums moving through stereo audio space, which are features of earlier yet significant to me, music like Dark Side of the Moon, I met through this album.
- Oasis. Definitely Maybe. This was released in 1994 when I was in Sydney, Britpop was less of an event there and the band only entered into my consciousness via the song Slide Away which was on a compilation CD. My wife and I used to slow dance to Slide Away in those quiet moments after the kids were finally asleep. Listening back to this album, whilst the band were back touring again, was interesting. What a modest opening track, NOT! Unfortunately Slide Away was not chosen for the playlist.
- Gretel. Slugeye. This is really an EP at only 21 minutes but I’d heard Unbloom on the radio and wanted to listen to her music more. It’s an interesting album, a couple of real stand out songs. She has quite a voice and a definite ability to craft melodies. Will be interesting to see how her career develops.
- The Clash. London Calling. The Clash are definitely the favourite band of my youth, perhaps still. I can clearly remember, in year 0 (Ian Music Calendar not Gregorian), listening to Garageland on my parents old mono cassette player, rewinding it back and listening out for the stark of the track via the high speed audio you’d get rewinding cassettes. London Calling, a double album but priced as a single, was their third. With a stunning opening track the release format allowed for them to demonstrate a much wider style of music. I saw this tour; perhaps the third gig I’d been to. I remember my mum got me tickets for row L and, after the support band, the venue staff came in to unscrew all the seats, row by row, in front of me, thereby creating my first mosh pit.
- John Martyn. Solid Air. John is probably my favourite artist of my university or Aberdeen years and I continue to listen to his music with fondness. This is one of my favourite albums of John’s. I think one of the things about this album is that if you consider the three tracks Solid Air, I’d Rather be the Devil and May you Never as being the bangers, certainly proving the core of his live sets; well the following tracks, strange as this sounds, are maybe better. There’s not a weak track on this album. It’s an impressive piece of music. All the guys wanted to be as talented as John Martyn, sadly he was a total dick personally.
- Nico. The Velvet Underground. Released late in 1966, only two years after “I Walk This Line” by Johnny Cash which we listened to last year. Musically, it’s just so different so Mr Cash; I think it’s amazing to think music moved so far in only two years! It still sounds fresh and challenging. And just as good today. I find Heroin a really uncomfortable track to listen to, but one of the points of art is to challenge. Oh, and what a stunning vocal performance by Nico.
- Surrealistic Pillow. Jefferson Airplane. This was released very close in time to Nico but, I’m afraid has not stood the passing of time so well. I listened to this album a lot when younger and was kind of disappointed listening back to it. A couple of magic tracks though.
- Funkadelic. Maggot Brain. This was not what I was expecting! A stunning opening track, much rockier than I expected. A really nice album, quite a variety of styles and the artists explored their music making.
- Bellybutton. Jellyfish. I had not heard of this band before and really enjoyed this album. Quite poppy, maybe traces of Crowded House or the Beach Boys at times.
- Primal Scream. Vanishing point. This was selected in memory of Mani, his first album after joining The Scream. I got this when it came out, I am a fan of Primal Scream, but never really got into this album back then. On re-listening, I think I appreciated it more. There are still some tracks which are too electronic for my ears but there are some cracking tracks too.
- Rodriguez. Cold Fact. This singer never made it in Detroit but was huge in South Africa, it’s definitely worth checking out the documentary “Searching for Sugar Man”; what a great story. Super opening track on this album. Maybe the rest is not quite so strong.
Top Albums of the Year
My favourite “new to me” albums were The Cardiacs and then, in no particular order, The Eels, Bloc Party, maybe Funkadelic.
This year we picked three of my favourite artists of all time so it’s hard to see past The Second Coming, Solid Air or London Calling as my favourite albums of the year overall.
Least Favourite Albums
My least favourite albums probably include:
- Tool, 10,000 Days. This was a little too “Heavy Metal” for me. Some of the tracks were just too long to. I’m afraid this didn’t appeal to my ears. Some of the guys loved this one, so it was a bit marmite.
- Sleep Token, Take me back to Eden. This is a bit of a combination of some heavy music with rap lyrics. Not a good combination for Ian. Sorry, not for me.
- Mastodon, Crack the Skye. Chosen following the sad passing of Brent Hinds. This again was a little too much “heavy metal”, I’m begging to see a pattern here, for me. Some of the album felt very formulaic to me, quiet piece, then loud bit and I can just picture Wayne and Garth headbanging away. Maybe if you were a 15 year old boy in your bedroom then this might work, but it’s not for Ian.
Some Overall Stats.
We listened to 49 albums in 2025. These were spread across the decades as:
- 60s: 4
- 70s: 10
- 80s: 9
- 90s: 11
- 2000s: 8
- 2010s: 1
- Current decade: 5.
The album we collectively loved the most (highest average rating) was Solid Air which is maybe not surprising since John Martyn was a big part of our lives when we all met and started being best pals. Notable mentions to Time and Tide (for similar reasons) and Physical Graffiti. The most disagreed about albums were Tool and The Cardiacs by far.
Full List of Albums
The full list of albums reviewed is:
| Artist | Album | Year Released |
|---|---|---|
| Led Zeppelin | Physical Graffiti | 1975 |
| World Party | Bang! | 1993 |
| Richard Thompson | Mirror Blue | 1994 |
| TOOL | 10,000 Days | 2006 |
| Boz Scaggs | Silk Degrees | 1976 |
| The Band | Music from Big Pink | 1968 |
| Warren Zevon | The Wind | 2003 |
| The Black Crowes | Happiness Bastards | 2024 |
| The Jam | All Mod Cons | 1978 |
| Cardiacs | A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window | 1988 |
| System of a Down | Toxicity | 2001 |
| Split Enz | Time and Tide | 1982 |
| The Damned | Damned Damned Damned | 1977 |
| Pixies | Surfer Rosa | 1988 |
| Eels | Beautiful Freak | 1996 |
| Thomas Dolby | Aliens Ate My Buick | 1988 |
| Peter Gabriel | Peter Gabriel 3: Melt | 1980 |
| Stevie Wonder | Talking Book | 1972 |
| Buffalo Springfield | Buffalo Springfield Again | 1967 |
| R.E.M. | Automatic for the People | 1992 |
| Bloc Party | Silent Alarm | 2005 |
| PJ Harvey | To Bring You My Love | 1995 |
| The Stone Roses | Second Coming | 1994 |
| Sly and the Family Stone | There’s a Riot Goin’ On | 1971 |
| Gallery of Stolen Dogs | I Need to Let it Ride Now | 2025 |
| Prefab Sprout | Steve McQueen | 1985 |
| Magazine | Real Life | 1978 |
| Oasis | Definitely Maybe | 1994 |
| Ween | Quebec | 2003 |
| Sleep Token | Take Me Back to Eden | 2023 |
| Stevie Nicks | Bella Donna | 1981 |
| Black Country, New Road | For the first time | 2021 |
| Sons of Southern Ulster | Sinners and Lost Souls | 2020 |
| Surfjan Stevens | Illinoise | 2005 |
| Mastodon | Crack the Skye | 2009 |
| INXS | Kick | 1987 |
| Gretel | Slugeye | 2022 |
| The Mute Gods | Do Nothing till You Hear from Me | 2016 |
| The Clash | London Calling | 1979 |
| John Martyn | Solid Air | 1973 |
| The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground & Nico | 1967 |
| Jefferson Airplane | Surrealistic Pillow | 1967 |
| Funkadelic | Maggot Brain | 1971 |
| George Michael | Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 | 1990 |
| Jellyfish | Bellybutton | 1990 |
| Francis Cabrel | Quelqu’un de l’intérieur | 1983 |
| Idlewild | The Remote Part | 2002 |
| Primal Scream | Vanishing Point | 1997 |
| Rodriguez | Cold Fact | 1970 |