Tupelo Honey – Van Morrison

True to its name, ‘Tupelo Honey’ is sweet. But it’s much more than that. It’s happy, beautifully, melodious and celebratory, guiding the choice of this album for the first review of 2016.

Twelve Songs of Christmas – Jim Reeves

One of the Greatest Christmas albums ever. Christmas songs and the voice of Jim Reeves make for one great musical Christmas. I grew up listening to this LP on vinyl way back in the late 70s and I still treasure this LP everytime Christmas comes.

Rumours – Fleetwood Mac

One of the largest selling albums ever. Rave reviews from the critics. Grammy’s Album of the Year in 1977. The album figures in almost every Top 10 album list. How is all this possible?

True Blue - Madonna

This album is the pop diva’s third album of her career, and spurned a number of hits, dashing critics who said Madonna was just another run of the mill singer who would come and go. Now past her 50s, the sexy songstress still manages to bring in a crowd wherever she may perform.

After The Gold Rush – Neil Young

If 60’s was one big night of party in the world of popular music, this album will easily go down as the best morning-after hangover cure. Appropriately released in 1970, “After The Gold Rush” presents the singer-songwriter Neil Young largely in a mellow country-folk mode, creating one of the finest work in his vast repertoire.

MTV Unplugged - Mariah Carey

If you thought Mariah Carey’s voice was manufactured, listen to this unplugged version of hers and you will change your mind. By the time she made her mark on MTV Unplugged, she was already a multi-platinum-selling artist who owned the charts, but didn't command much respect because no one had ever seen her perform live.

Imagine – John Lennon

This album can just have a one line review – The title track overshadows everything else that John Lennon ever did in his entire career, becoming one of the top-most icons of world peace. But then there is a lot more to this album than Imagine.

Black is Black - Belle Epoque

If you were a 70s person chances are you would’ve grooved to the music of disco beats by Belle Époque. Belle Époque consisted of a female vocal trio based in Paris. The album ‘Black is Black’ which in India was released in late 1978, has both sides playing a nonstop mix medley.

Hearts in Motion – Air Supply

Their history together began in 1975 in Melbourne, Australia where they were both performing in the musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’. In their time off, Graham Russell (guitar and vocals) and Russell Hitchcock (vocals) began rehearsing together and found they greatly complimented each other, with Graham's compositions and Russell's four-octave range.

Born and Raised – John Mayer

John Mayer always meant two things to me. A decent blues guitarist who gets encouragement from seniors like Eric Clapton and Budy Guy, with appearances in festival like Crossroads, and a pop-ish singer who did songs like the cheesy Your Body Is A Wonderland and became big in the music world.