Tosh's Favorite Albums of 2020

 Keep in mind these are albums I purchased in the year 2020. Some of the music is old, but it's new to me. And in no special order - My favorite albums of 2020 are:

The Bachelor Pad -"All Hash and Cock"

Ennio Morricone - "Peur Sur La Ville"

Jack Nitzsche -"Jack Nitzsche"

The Quick - "Untold Rock Stories"

Jarvis Is... - "Beyond the Pale"

Dan Penn - "The Fame Recordings"

Sparks - "A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip

Egisto Macchi - "Sud e Magia"

V.A.- "Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults"

A Raincoat - "Digalongamacs"

The Preachers -"Moanin'"

Various ‎– "More Lost Legends Of Surf Guitar"

Charlie Parker ‎– "The Savoy 10-Inch LP Collection"

David Bowie - "Is It Any Wonder?"

Extended Organ ‎– "Vibe"

King Crimson ‎– "THRAK"

Vince Taylor & His Playboys* ‎– "Vince Taylor Rocks!"

Marc Bölan* ‎– "Electronic Musik"

Kenny Graham And His Satellites ‎– "Moondog And Suncat Suites

David Bowie - "Is It Any Wonder?" Vinyl, EP, Limited Edition, 2020 (Parlophone)

A six-song 12" EP is another must-have if one is a David Bowie fanatic. Bowie is resembling after-life as a version of Elvis's reissues. Still, the quality is high, and I wonder if it is even possible for Bowie to make a truly bad record?  The answer is no!   The songs here are not totally new, but they are recent recordings made between 1995 and 1998, during his come back, quality-wise, after his "Outside" album and the next underrated "Earthling" recordings.    There are two songs from Tin Machine "Baby Universal" and "I Can't Read," as well as "Stay" from "Station to Station," and "The Man Who Sold The World."  The new songs (at least for me) are "Nuts,' which sounds like the technique of bass n' drums of "Earthling," but has the darker mood of a selection from "Outside." The other tune "Fun (Clownboy Mix)" is not familiar to me.   The song has a nice flow, in fact, the entire collection melts from one song to another.  

This EP is not a rehash but a fresh approach to some of his older songs or re-thought out in a manner for his electro-rock aesthetic at the time. Nevertheless, it's classic Bowie and does show the talents of Reeves Gabriel (now in The Cure) and Mark Plati.  Both contribute a lot to the mixes and their fingerprints on the work come up splendidly.   The Bowie estate is really doing a nice and thorough job in putting out these releases.  When you can, I suggest you buy "Is It Any Wonder? on the Rhino website, here: David Bowie Is It Any Wonder?