Pick of the pops for your family
IF YOU’VE left Christmas shopping late this year, don’t despair! The Mail’s music critic ADRIAN THRILLS has come up with a gift guide guaranteed to put a song in the heart of everyone on your list . . .
POP PRINCESSES
Parents of teenage girls are spoilt for choice, with plenty of stocking fillers on offer. Taylor Swift’s superb 1989 ( Big Machine) isn’t available via music streaming services such as spotify, so the only way to hear her quick-witted confessionals is by buying, or downloading, the new album.
the biggest group in pop is also back for Christmas. One Direction’s Four (Syco) isn’t quite up to the standard of last year’s Midnight Memories, but the band’s wholesome accounts of young love are still aimed squarely at teenage girls. Other bright ideas could include Grimsby teenager Ella Henderson’s Chapter One (Syco) and Ariana Grande’s My Everything (Republic).
BOYS
TEENAGE boys are tricky to buy for, but bracing, guitar-driven rock is a good idea for those bothersome brothers. Leicester rockers Kasabian put their swaggering self-belief to good use on 48:13 (Columbia), an album that mixes Oasis-style Britpop and dance. for those with heavier tastes, The Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways (Columbia) taps into the musical undercurrents of eight american cities by blending hard-hitting guitars and the blues.
TRENDY 20s
there are hints of amy Winehouse’s no-nonsense attitude in Paloma Faith, and the London singer explores amy’s love of classic soul and jazz on her third album, A Perfect Contradiction (RCA), now repackaged with five new songs. another option is New Eyes (Atlantic), the debut album by Clean Bandit. a surprisingly effective fusion of chamber-quartet strings and electronic beats, it features emerging singer Jess Glynne and the chart-topping single rather Be.
MUM
If mum is a fan of big-voiced divas, there is again plenty of scope. Annie Lennox’s Nostalgia (Island) is a stroll through the show tunes and blues numbers of the Great american songbook, while Whitney Houston’s Her Greatest Performances (Legacy) contains live versions of hits such as I Will always Love You.
for more fun, Bette Midler’s It’s The Girls! (east West) is a classy celebration of female vocal groups through the ages — and it contains some truly outstanding songs.
DAD ROCK
WITH sales of vinyl albums now at their highest level for two decades — and men the most avid buyers — those who still put the stylus to the groove are well catered for this Christmas. In a bid to replicate how the fab four were first heard in the swinging sixties, the first nine Beatles albums, from Please Please Me to Magical Mystery tour, have been re-issued in glorious mono on heavyweight vinyl (Parlophone, £22).
Other seasonal delights include a glossy box- set of all eight T. Rex albums, The Vinyl Collection ( Demon, £ 130). Led Zeppelin’s fourth LP, the one that contains stairway to heaven, is also out again on vinyl (Swansong, £25).
On CD, there is Pink Floyd’s The Endless River (Parlophone) plus a Joni Mitchell box- set, Love Has Many Faces (Rhino, £20).
GRANDPARENTS
FOR those who might be found foxtrotting around the Christmas tree, a Strictly Come Dancing CD (Sony) contains a wide selection of Charlestons and cha- chas, all performed with poise by the strictly house band. On a similar theme, Dutch waltz king André Rieu has produced his traditional Christmas off ering with Love I n Venice (Decca), a collection of popular Italian tunes.
Frank Sinatra’s London (Universal, £46, out on Monday) is an impressive CD and DVD package that gathers together the only LP that Ol’ Blue eyes’ made in the UK (1962’s sinatra sings Great songs from Great Britain), radio specials and footage from London concerts.
there is also a ‘steelbook edition’ of the all- conquering Abba Gold (Universal, £20). now Britain’s second best- selling album ever (behind only Queen’s Greatest hits), it is crammed with tuneful classics.
All prices are approximate.