Love Songs – Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard was one of my early music heroes. He sang in a beautiful voice and his songs were simple to understand. My father loved his music and to top it all he had an Indian connection - he was born in Lucknow. In fact, I used to feel very good about this particular aspect

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars – David Bowie

Very few albums in the history of popular music are so complete right from start to finish. Many contain material of which not a note can be skipped. And no album has created a fictional character of this dimension. In popular culture, Ziggy Stardust is perhaps as prominent as Sherlock Holmes or The Joker.

Anytime….. Anywhere – Rita Coolidge

If you rewind to the mid 70s Rita Coolidge is one artist you might remember. Pop, country or jazz, Coolidge manages to take off easily on all these genres. Listen to her smooth vocals on this album.

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.