Remember that feeling when your favourite artist releases their long-awaited second album…and it’s just crap.  Very quickly they disappear and are never heard of again.

We’ve all got examples of that in our vinyl collection no doubt.

Conversely, what about the time when you discover the second album is actually better than the first? And what if the third album is actually better than the second?

All of a sudden you start to believe this band has got some talent and they’re going to be around for the long haul.

This is the case with Daughtry who has released It’s Not Over…The Hits So Far.

At the age of 26, lead singer Chris Daughtry was a finalist in the fifth series of American Idol in 2006.

Since then Chris and his band have released four recordings, have sold more than 8 million albums and over 30 million digital tracks in the USA alone!

I was lucky to see the band live at the HiFi bar in Swanston St in 2007 and he totally rocked the house.  Sadly, he is yet to return. (not too subtle hint @CHRIS_Daughtry)

This selection of 11 tracks from the first four albums only scratches the surface of the band’s song writing prowess.  Even my eldest teenage daughter admitted the song writing was pretty good.  Now that’s saying something.

Presented in chronological order, each track is classic Daughtry.  It shows the progression of song production from the post-grunge hard-rock to a modern day anthemic rock ‘n roll.

The most successful tracks in Australia have been No Surprise, Crawling Back to You and the first release It’s Not Over.

The band’s first three albums attracted a little criticism for being somewhat one-dimensional with its simple hard rock production.

Another band which attracted similar criticism was the Smashing Pumpkins.  I can recall an interview with lead singer, Billy Corgan, who made no apology for not varying the band’s production style claiming ‘if it’s what the fans want just give it to them!’  Alleluia!! The popularity of the Smashing Pumpkins speaks for itself. (30 million albums sold worldwide)

The fourth album, Baptized, and the two new tracks which feature on It’s Not Over…The Hits So Far demonstrate the continued evolution of the band’s writing style.

New tracks called Torches and Go Down are the types of quality songs we have now come to rely on and point to where the future is heading for Daughtry.

Other highlights include Feels Like Tonight and Over You.

Screw it!  They’re all highlights.

This one gets 4.5 guitars out of 5.  Truly awesome.

One of the best things about music is the discovery.

There’s nothing better than finding a track buried on side two of an album which, for whatever reason, became your personal national anthem at a particular time in your life.

Below are three absolute beauties which, in one way or another, have a perfection about them.

1. No Good For You, Cold Chisel 1982

This was actually track two on side two of the Circus Animals album released in 1982.  Written by Ian Moss, it is pop / rock perfection.  It’s melody is joyous, the Barnes / Moss harmonies are faultless and after playing it once the song becomes simply infectious.  There’s no denying the brilliance of Cold Chisel.  The fact they can drop a track this good into slot two of side two of any album demonstrates the enduring quality of their music.

2. Everything Will Flow, Suede 1999

Suede is Brit Pop royalty.  This song was track four on the 1999 album called Head Music.  Again, the song achieves absolute perfection in its lyric, its production and its groove.  The highlight is the strings arrangement for which Suede has become renowned. It builds to an elegant crescendo and represents the supreme high-point for the track.  Suede has got seven albums of this kind of pop rock majesty.

3. All Over But The Cryin’, The Georgia Satellites 1988

Remember these guys?  I was lucky enough to see them live a few years back.  They all strummed clear Perspex Telecasters and played with that genuine deep-south swagger.  This was track three on the 1988 album called In the Land Of Salvation And Sin.  It’s a somewhat sad ballad which blends an emotional Dan Baird lead vocal with that classic grinding church organ.  It’s as powerful as it is emotional.  And I bet you’ve never heard it before.

There you have it.  Three brilliant album tracks you may never have known existed.  Let me know some of your favourites.  Leave a comment.

The second album by Melbourne band Kingswood, called After Hours, Close to Dawn is one of the greatest pieces of Australian rock music of the 21st century.

Every one of the 11 tracks has an inherent sophistication rarely seen in Australian rock music.

I don’t have enough adjectives to describe it.

Just listen to the sheer beauty and hilarity of the baritone saxophone ‘solo’ on track six Big City.

And just wait for the honky-tonk piano to start on track seven Like Your Mother.  I guarantee your hips will start wiggling just like Hugh Grant’s in that scene from Love Actually.

Track five Belle would sound equally at home in a smokey whisky bar in West Hollywood as it would on a steamy summer NYC night in Greenwich Village.  This track would send Lenny Kravtiz green with envy.

And so far we’ve only been talking about album tracks!

Click here to see the video clip for the first single Creepin. Yes, the video is a bit creepy but there’s this funk to the track which underpins the bluesy coolness of the entire album.

The double-edged lead vocal attack of Fergus Linacre and Alex Laska adds a depth and variety not seen since the pairing of Jimmy Barnes and Ian Moss.

It truly has the potential to catapult this classic hard rockin’ Melbourne pub band into a global phenomenon.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely no doubt these guys can play balls-to-the-wall rock!  Exhibit A – Medusa from EP Change of Heart.

Where some reviewers have called After Hours, Close to Dawn experimental, I heartily disagree.  After Hours, Close to Dawn IS the real Kingswood.

4 out of 5 guitars.  This is a must for your 2017 playlist.

Image by deathrockstar

The latest and seventh album by Brit Pop veterans, Suede, must now surely raise them to the much-vaunted status of legends.

Titled Night Thoughts, it is an album of pop / rock mastery delivering a stunning selection of tracks which are as addictive as they are beautiful in their production quality.

In a time when many commentators lament the art of genuinely producing an album of music is lost, Suede delivers a masterpiece which ebbs and flows and almost seems to shadow one’s very own thought patterns.

Over the past few weeks I must have listened to this album more than 20 times and each time I do, I catch myself drifting in and out of reverie only to discover the music seems to be moving with me and matching my emotional state.

Or is it the other way around?

In 48 minutes Suede delivers 12 magnificently written and produced songs.

The opening track, When You Are Young, is haunting with an alluring string arrangement for which Suede is renowned.

It sets the scene for two brilliant pop anthems – Outsiders and No Tomorrow.  Then it only gets better from there!

What sets this album apart is that if you were to remove Brett Anderson’s vocal, the musical arrangement would still be as entertaining as it is with the Anderson’s strained and poignant vocal delivery.  A rare achievement for any band.

Night Thoughts by Suede is truly majestic and one which captures the maturity of Brit Pop in the 21st century.