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HolyMoly 
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Retired Admin
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
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Points: 26138
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 Topic: Your favorite music purchases during 2012
Posted: December 31 2012 at 06:21 |
I often look back on each year not in terms of what were the best albums released that year, but rather what did I BUY that year that really knocked me out.
Usually too, each year there's one single band/artist that I discover for the first time that becomes my "best discovery of the year".
Here's some of my "Best of 2012", please share your own, and make up appropriate "awards" or categories as you see fit.
Favorite 5 individual purchases of the year:
1. Swans - The Seer: a future classic, a real whale of an album. Just released in August. Also honorable mention for the live album "Swans Are Dead" (rel. 1999) which I got about a month ago.
2. Jandek - Brooklyn Wednesday (released 2007, document of 2005 concert). Avant garde free improv perfection. I've heard close to 20 albums by this uniquely weird musical project, and this is possibly the best.
3. Hawkwind - Onward: Released Spring 2012. They've been putting out albums steadily since about 1970 and this is one of their top five.
4. The Move - Live at the Fillmore 1969: Released in 2011 I think. Not many live recordings of the Move exist, so this was a very eye-opening archival release.
5. CAN - The Lost Tapes (box set): Released Summer 2012. Three CDs worth of completely unreleased (yet very releasable) music from the studio vaults. Wow.
Most pleasant re-purchase / remaster:
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother (2011 Remaster): My favorite Floyd album, suddenly sounds 25% better than ever before. I've been picking up a bunch of Floyd 2011 remasters in used bins, discarded by the guys who are now springing for the 2012 issues. Good deal for me.
Greatest discovery of new (to me) artist:
Franco Battiato: Obscure Italian experimental musician from the 1970s, I fell in love with his music immediately.
Greatest comeback:
Guided by Voices: Reformation of early 90s lineup of this classic indie band, and they put out THREE full length albums this year.
Edited by HolyMoly - December 31 2012 at 06:45
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
-Kehlog Albran
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Nogbad_The_Bad
Forum & Site Admin Group
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl & Eclectic Team
Joined: March 16 2007
Location: Boston
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Points: 20883
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Posted: December 31 2012 at 09:33 |
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Ignoring 2012 new releases that I listed in another thread :-
Best Remaster / Repurchase
King Crimson - Larks Tongues In Aspic CD/DVD - still absorbing the CD but the video footage is outstaging
Mike Oldfield - Platinum & QE2 - not so much for the studio albums, which I like, but for the live material on the bonus discs, wonderful stuff
Scorpions - Lonesome Crow - Had this years ago & got it for sentimental reasons, big surprise, I still love it!!
Greatest Discovery of New To Me Artist
Arteria - Mexican Chamber Rock / Avant band former from members of Nazca, Iconoclasta and Culto Sin Nombre with Univers Zero feel
Brandt Brauer Frick - Electronica with Minimalist feel
Dead Can Dance - Not sure how I didn't know band - probably going to buy a lot of this
Abus Dangereux - Zeuhl classic, been looking this for years and ended up ordering from a French specialist, not disappointed
Top albums
Henry Cow - Concerts - big HC fan, finally pulled the trigger on this, love it
Naked City - Live Vol 1 - just started exploring John Zorn's catalog & enjoying the edgy band stuff a lot.
Miasma & The Carousel Of Headles Horses - Perils - been a Guapo fan for years, this side project is just as good
Polite Refusal - Steel On Stone - Geese & Swans was my album of the year in '10, this isn't quite as good but still stellar, this bands material is just starting to become available in the West, must buy
Roy Harper - Lifemask - on a bit of a Harper kick at the moment
Edited by Nogbad_The_Bad - December 31 2012 at 09:33
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presdoug
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 24 2010
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 8628
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Posted: December 31 2012 at 13:43 |
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In the world of prog, got some great music from John Davie (Mellotron Storm), favorites being
Sloche-J'un Oeil
Soft Machine-NDR Jazz Workshop
Energit-s/t
Supersister-Iskander
Osanna-L'Uomo
Nektar-Journey To The Center Of The Eye
Vita Nova-s/t
and other favorites
Nitzinger
Back Door-s/t
and classical highlights
Kajanus conducts Sibelius
Toscanini and the Philadelphia recordings
Carl Schuricht box set
Karajan conducts Bruckner Symphony No. 8
Klemperer conducts Bruckner Sym. 4-9
Edited by presdoug - December 31 2012 at 13:45
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KingCrInuYasha
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Joined: September 26 2010
Location: USA
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Points: 1281
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Posted: December 31 2012 at 13:52 |
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Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Rising, Long Live Rock 'N' Roll
Yes - Relayer, Going For The One
Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
Rush - Fly By Night
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He looks at this world and wants it all... so he strikes, like Thunderball!
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Slartibartfast
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Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam
Joined: April 29 2006
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Posted: December 31 2012 at 14:36 |
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I slammed the brakes on buying this year more so than the last but I did treat myself to a few things:
Anderson, Ian Thick As A Brick 2
Ohmphrey Posthaste
Samuel Jackson Five, The Samuel Jackson Five, The
Stereokimono Intergalactic Art Café
Knifeworld Clairvoyant Fortnight
Remez, Nadav So Far
Zorn, John Nosferatu
Big Big Train English Electric
Reasoning, The Adventures In Neverland
Edited by Slartibartfast - December 31 2012 at 14:36
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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Polymorphia
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Joined: November 06 2012
Location: here
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Points: 8856
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Posted: December 31 2012 at 17:46 |
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Haven't made any bad purchases this year:
Olivier Messiaen—Turangalila Symphony (City of Birmingham Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle)/Quatuor Pour La Fin Du Temps (Erich Gruenberg, Gervase De Peyer, Michel Béroff, Sir Simon Rattle and William Pleeth)/Le Merle Noir (Aloys Kontarsky, Karlheinz Zoeller & Sir Simon Rattle)
Olivier Messiaen—Poemes pour mi (Françoise Pollet, Cleveland Orchestra, and Pierre Boulez)
Einojuhani Rautavaara—Piano Concerto No. 3/Autumn Gardens (Vladimir Ashkenazy and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra)
Berg—Lyric Suite (Dawn Upshaw and Kronos Quartet)
Gentle Giant—Free Hand
Magma—Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh
Velvet Underground—Velvet Underground and Nico
Jan Dukes de Grey—Sorcerers
Jan Dukes de Grey—Mice and Rats in the Loft
Grizzly Bear—Veckatimest
Miles Davis Quintet—Miles Smiles
Greatest discovery of new (to me) artist(s):
Einojuhani Rautavaara—Post-Romantic composer with lush orchestrations
Philippe Cauvin—Uppsala's frontman who plays stripped down, zeuhl-ish music on classical guitar.
Dun—No introduction needed
Penguin Cafe Orchestra—Very imaginative, childlike chamber-folk
Spires that in the Sunset Rise—Outsider folk ala Harry Partch
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MillsLayne
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Joined: September 14 2010
Location: East Bay, CA
Status: Offline
Points: 2504
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Posted: January 01 2013 at 02:11 |
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I bought more this year than probably any year in my life. I discovered my love for the Canterbury scene and overall, added to my classic prog collection where I was missing quite a bit. Also, I found out about a few bands that I had no idea about, and some of those albums have become personal favorites. So, this list might get kind of long, but what the hell.
Astra - The Black Chord
Khan - Space Shanty
Sensations' Fix - Music Is Painting In The Air (1974-1977)
Van der Graaf Generator - Godbluff
Camel - A Live Record
Camel - Rajaz
Camel - A Nod And A Wink
Bark Psychosis - Codename: Dustsucker
Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
Steven Wilson - Get All You Deserve (Blu-Ray)
The Dandy Warhols - The Dandy Warhols Come Down
The Tangent - The Music That Died Alone
The Tangent - Down And Out In Paris And London
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Joy Division - Substance
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division - Closer
Miles Davis - In A Silent Way
Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
Steve Hillage - Fish Rising
Quiet Sun - Mainstream
ELP - Tarkus
Soundgarden - King Animal
Hatfield And The North - S/T
Hatfield And The North - Rotters' Club
Rush - Clockwork Angels
Yes - Magnification
My Brother The Wind - I Wash My Soul In The Stream Of Infinity
Beardfish - The Void
And I think that's it...
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
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Points: 9869
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Posted: January 01 2013 at 03:06 |
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No new discoveries, really.
But my favourite purchase was of a 2012 album - Idler Wheel (Fiona Apple). I am a 'new' fan of Alice in Chains and bought Dirt this year, which also gave me a lot of pleasure.
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Dean
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout
Joined: May 13 2007
Location: Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 37575
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Posted: January 01 2013 at 04:15 |
2012 was a good year for music as far as I am concerned.
Favourite Prog albums of 2012:
Francis Lickerish ~ Far and Forgot - From The Lost Lands
Some 30 years ago Lickerish left The Enid and dropped off the face of the music world. He returned with Secret Green, an fully-fledged Prog band cast from the same stuff that made The Enid such a cult band back in the dying throws of the so-called classic era of Prog. This year he's released Far and Forgot - a solo album in a similar vein that oozes music with a capital "Mmmmm"
The Enid ~ Invicta
Back in1975 The Enid emerged as an instrumental Prog band forging symphonic rock that was truely infused with classical music that was more integral and germaine to the music than any of the big names in symphonic Prog could ever hope to achieve. However, they never intended to be an instrumental band even though for the next 38 years they released predominately instrumental albums with the occasional "novelty" vocal song, sadly their original singer commited suicide just before they recorded their debut album. Now they have found a suitable replacement in Joe Payne and have released a vocal-driven album. As someone who has been a fan of The Enid ever since I purchased the Buk Records release of In The Region Of The Summer Stars, I found this hard to take at first, but the effort to overcome my initial reticence was worth it - it's a great album - one that looks forward not back, an album that isnt dragging it's heals in the past that never happened.
Threshold ~ March of Progress
I love progressive metal. Damnint, I love metal, and for me Threshold are one of the leading lights of the Prog Metal scene - never flash, never overstated, always thoughtful and well crafted, a testament to Karl Groom's skill as a musician, composer and studio wizard. I also love Damian Wilson's vocal abilities, he's also a bloody nice bloke, full of charm and wit, so his return to Threshold was a welcome one for me and this album does not dissapoint.
Storm Corrosion ~ Storm Corrosion
A collaboration by two of the leading lights of the modern Prog scene was always going to receive mixed reactions from the fans, the intelligentsia and the Prog community in general. From the die hards who love everything Wilson and Akerfeldt touch to the naysayers who would find fault at any cost few would have predicted exactly what this collaboration would produce, a sum of the parts, something more or a train-wreck, all things were possible and anything was possible. It's eclectic and esoteric, it's sometimes dull, it's sometimes enthralling, it's different, and for this listener, it's captivating and immensely pleasurable in a gloomy Wednesday kind of way.
Favourite non-prog albums of 2012:
Gabby Young and Other Animals ~ The Band Called Out For More
I love Ms Young and her cabaret jazz-pop (dubbed circus-swing for the want of a more apt tag), her first album was a revelation and this sophomore release just gets better and better with every play. I saw her live a while back and the moment I heard A Male Version Of Me my heart melted.
iamamiwhoami ~ Kin
iamamiwhoami is an ambient-eclectro-dream-pop-trip-hop-synth-pop mutli-media project by Sweden's Jonna Lee and is basically a box-ticker for everything I love about this kind of music.
Swans ~ The Seer
Like - wow! with extra wow on top. Swans was one of my favourite post-punk bands of the 80s and 90s and now 15 years on Michael Gira reforms Swans and releases what is shaping up to be one of their strongest albums.
Favourite Rehash of 2012:
Rick Wakeman ~ Journey To The Centre Of The Earth
The original Journey was flawed simply because it was recored live. Back in 1974 even with the success of Six Wives and his contribution to the success of Yes, his record company wouldn't foot the bill for a studio recording of this ambitious project. How the times have changed, now with the backing of Classic Rock magazine Wakeman has produced the definitive studio recording so we can hear his vision as it was intended. Some do not like the addition of a female singer, and from the strictly male-oriented make-up of Jules Verne's story it would be incongruous on paper, but given the vocal range of the original live singer she has replaced, I think it works perfectly. Unfortunately on the strength of this I purchased Hayley Sanderson's solo album, which also features Wakeman's keyboards, I say unfortunate because it's a dire MOR disappointment of cover songs poorly interpreted.
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What?
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richardh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 28126
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Posted: January 01 2013 at 04:19 |
Weather Systems - Anathema
my best new discovery and the only album released this year that really blew me away.
For slighly older releases then worth a mention is Pallas - The Dreams Of Men as recommended by someone on here to me. Will likely become a favourite album of mine. Never liked Pallas before but this is a beauty.
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Canterzeuhl
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 06 2011
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 452
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Posted: January 01 2013 at 10:42 |
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Top 3 Purchases of 2012
Solution - Divergence
Whilst not the proggiest of albums, it is definitely one of my favourite albums of all, and has been for the past three months since I bought it. I guess the slightly haunting and melancholy tone of the entire album just suits my disposition.
Yes - Relayer
When I bought this the guy at the counter told me it was his favourite album of all time, especially 'the bit on the first track where it just goes mental for about 5 minutes' (his words, not mine). Yeah, I have to agree with him, it is a brilliant album.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Between Nothingness and Eternity
Live albums can never just be decent. They're either crap or, in comparison to the studio versions, supreme. In comparison to The Lost Trident Sessions I much prefer this. So much power it somewhat induces me into a trance.
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presdoug
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Joined: January 24 2010
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 8628
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Posted: January 01 2013 at 11:14 |
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^Divergence is one of my very favorite albums,its very special to me.
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Barbu
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 09 2005
Location: infinity
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Points: 30850
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Posted: January 02 2013 at 20:57 |
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Phideaux - Doomsday Afternoon. Best thing i've heard in 2012.
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Kirillov
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 03 2011
Location: Wales
Status: Offline
Points: 700
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Posted: January 03 2013 at 09:06 |
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5 favourite prog/ prog-related purchases in 2012:
Magma - MDK
Tull - Isle of Wight 1970
Patto - Patto
Procol Harum - Broken Barricades
Can - Soon Over Babaluma
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someone_else
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: May 02 2008
Location: Going Bananas
Status: Offline
Points: 24329
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Posted: January 03 2013 at 09:34 |
Haven't purchased many albums during recent years, but the yearly number is increasing again... Alquin - Nobody Can Wait Forever Alquin - Best.Kept.Secret Big Big Train - English Electric (Part One) and maybe one or two more last year (in that case, I can't remember which ones now). Next purchase will be (as I guess): echolyn's self-titled 2012 masterpiece
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Moogtron III
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 26 2005
Location: Belgium
Status: Offline
Points: 10616
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Posted: January 03 2013 at 10:02 |
 someone_else wrote:
Haven't purchased many albums during recent years, but the yearly number is increasing again... Alquin - Nobody Can Wait Forever
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Yes, it's good, isn't it? I never tried out Best Kept Secret, though.
My biggest discovery: Maxophone's self-titled album, the Italian version. I tried out many albums, but have trouble finding real discoveries. No problem, I keep on searching. 
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Pelata
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Joined: January 04 2010
Location: NC-USA
Status: Offline
Points: 364
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Posted: January 04 2013 at 09:10 |
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The coolest musical things that happened to me in 2012:
- Discovering Les Discrets and Alcest
- Re-discovering Anathema via 'Weather Systems' (amazing album)
- buying the 3 Dio and 2 Rainbow Deluxe Reissues
- Re-kindling my love of Pink Floyd and buying my first ever copy of 'Obscured By Clouds'
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Luna
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 28 2010
Location: Funky Town
Status: Offline
Points: 12794
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Posted: January 04 2013 at 11:06 |
I'm forgetting so many albums I got this year, but the one that stands out the most would be Godflesh - Streercleaner.
Extremely heavy for its time, and I really haven't heard much like it before (though early Swans comes close). This album has also inspired me to pursue the rest of the discography as well as all 68390 of JK Broadrick's projects.
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zeqexes
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 19 2012
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 1238
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Posted: January 05 2013 at 02:15 |
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Grace for Drowning by Steven Wilson. Blew me away.
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smartpatrol
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 15 2012
Location: My Bedroom
Status: Offline
Points: 14169
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Posted: January 05 2013 at 02:24 |
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Lucas Bielijewski - 2 fast 2 Swizzle
But sense that was free, I guess it didn't really count as a purchase
Trioscapes - Separate Realities
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Your favorite music purchases during 2012
