Many notable musical identities passed during 2023 including Vangelis, Betty Davis, Chris Bailey (of The Saints), Mark Lanegan, Glen Wheatley, Olivia Newton-John, Judith Durham, Archie Roach, Christine McVie, Ronnie Spector, Meat Loaf, Ramsey Lewis, Irene Cara, Joey De Francesco, Jim Seals (Seals and Crofts), Klaus Schulze (of Tangerine Dream), Loretta Lyn, Anita Pointer (of The Pointer Sisters), Jerry Lee Lewis and Margaret Ulrich (not to forget legends Uncle Jack Charles, Shane Warne, Rodney Marsh, Caroline Jones, Sidney Poitier, Vivienne Westwood and Pele). A handful of particular favourites left the stage in recent weeks - Jeff Beck, Renee Geyer, Pharoah Sanders, Robert Gordon and Terry Hall. Here's a selection of our favourite albums from their creative genius. Jeff Beck (24 June 1944 - 10 January 2023) The lyrical British guitarist, whose fusion of jazz, blues and rock spanned five decades - replacing Eric Clapton as lead guitarist in the seminal British band The Yardbirds in 1966, releasing a slew of solo albums and continuing to perform and record until last year's album "18" (a collaboration with Johnny Depp)! Renee Geyer (11 September 1953 - 17 January 2023) The volatile Australian lady of soul, jazz and R&B, who described herself as "a white Hungarian Jew from Australia sounding like a 65 year old man from Alabama". Robert Gordon (29 March 1947 - 18 October 2022) Rockabilly revivalist, who collaborated with similarly-minded guitarists Link Wray and Chris Spedding and seemed to capture the genuine spirit of Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Johnny Cash and Sam Cook. Terry Hall (19 March 1959 - 18 December 2022) Charismatic front-man singer and songwriter for Coventry's groundbreaking multi-racial band The Specials, whose songs expressed the angst of immigrant and working class youth amid the social decay of 1980's Britain. Hall and fellow Specials members Neville Staple and Lynval Golding subsequently formed the more pop-oriented Fun Boy Three, releasing two successful albums. Pharoah Sanders (13 October 1940 - 24 September 2022) A major figure in the development of free jazz and spiritual jazz as part of John Coltrane groups during the 1960s, Pharoah Sanders is remembered also for his many solo albums and many exceptional collaborations, including: "Journey in Satchidananda" (1971) with pianist Alice Coltrane; "The Spirits of Our Ancestors" (1991) with Randy Weston; "Promises" (2021) with Floating Points and London Symphony Orchestra.

Like everything Dylan, I find that The Philosophy of Modern Song is all-at-once exhilarating, surprising, illuminating, crafty and flawed - and I'm loving every word of it! Dylan makes over 60 selections from the American songbook, ranging far and wide in his choices. Some you know every word. Some you never heard before. Some you may hate to bits. But if you're anything like me, you will thoroughly enjoy his take on each one, nevertheless. He polishes each entry in two passes. First, to re-create the narrative of the song in the acerbic, witty Dylan-prose longtime fans will be familiar with from previous efforts, particularly Theme Time Radio Hour and his autobiography, Chronicles Vol. 1. Second, to conjure a little essay - a couple hundred words - that places each song in it's cultural, musical and historical context. Covering a diverse selection of artists that range from Stephen Foster to The Clash and Marty Robbins to The Platters, he embellishes each description with little known facts and curiosities (some so fabulous that, given his long-practiced penchant for mischief, I even wondered if he made parts of this up!). Finally, this whole marvellous collection is illuminated by dozens of fabulous photographs and formatted within folksy graphical frames that give the package a bit of retro feel, an embellishment that the volume didn't really need, in my opinion. There's an audiobook version too, which may be just as good, if not better - narrated by an all-star lineup including Dylan, Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Oscar Isaac, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Sissy Spacek, Alfre Woodard, Jeffrey Wright, and Renée Zellweger! The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan Publisher Simon & Schuster Publication date November 1, 2022 Pages 352 ISBN 978-139851941 Here's the playlist!

Welcome to the new year - better than the old year! SunNeverSetsOnMusic - new and innovative music from around the world in 2023! Since SunNeverSetsOnMusic began, our primary focus has been our monthly review of (mostly) new and innovative albums. This was a way to index the music we'd been streaming, in a more interactive and attractive format than the streaming services' playlists offered - like the display wall at a record store. Our format has evolved over time. We began by posting the cover art in a simple grid, with Spotify links to each album. Later, we added album reviews (mostly by others and with links to the original source), the recording label, the release date and a one-to-five star rating. This year, we hope that the addition of our new blog will add a more personable and expansive element to the site and allow us to post more frequently. We will also revert to displaying the albums as just a grid, with just a link to external reviews, rather than including the review itself. Our YouTube channel is unchanged. We hope you find that these changes are for the better! So click on!! And (most of all) - enjoy the music! SNSOM This will bring a Smile! Even though there's any number of The Smile's live shows appearing on YouTube, that better represent their in-full-flight power & range, this little performance at NPR's Tiny Desk is charming - especially as it includes Thom's awkward, self-deprecating mid-show reference to the day's sartorial choice. SNSOM

SunNeverSetsOnMusic prefers not to wallow in nostalgia but, as an exception, I recall how even in my teens, my musical interests were already broad-based and embracing folk, blues, jazz, "world" and classic rock, and open to more. Influence(r)s at that time included ABC radio's "Room To Move", TV's "GTK" and the vinyl collection at the house of my friends Doc and Jim. Listen to complete Spotify playlist "Banyan Street, 1972"

Clicking image opens Spotify Playlist CELEBRATING NAIDOC WEEK - 2025 PLAYLIST This week we celebrate NAIDOC Week (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Organising Committee) with a playlist from 2023-2025 that highlights the diverse excellence of Australia's indigenous musicianship. Artists represented include Jungaji, Kankawa Nagarra (Olive Knight), DOBBY, Emily Wurramara, ICONYX, Selve, Christine Anu, 3%, Ripple Effect Nabe, Jen Cloher and Gurrumal. They join the dazzling lineup from our 20023 NAIDOC Week playlist - Ngulmiya, William Barton, Bumpy, King Stingray, Charlie Needs Braces, Jess Hitchcock, Jem (and Troy) Cassar-Daley, Thelma Plum, Mo'Ju, Miiesha, Aodhan, Robert K Champion, Ziggy Ramo, KIAN, Budjerah, Aachem, Tasman Keith, Yirrmal, Electric Fields, Andrew Gurruwiwi, Izy, Pirritu, Emma Donovan, Aimee Hannan, Loren Ryan and many, many more. There's a wide range of approaches from the spiritual to the profane, folk to hip-hop, country to urban. Select your favourite artists, discover new treasures or shuffle-play and enjoy! Clicking images below opens Spotify playlists NAIDOC WEEK 2025 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST NAIDOC WEEK 2023 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST NAIDOC WEEK 2020 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Click to open Audiobook on Spotify An essential read/listen for all Australians (Original and non-Original) So-called Australia is built upon a lie: that 97% of the population are human, and the others simply 'Indigenous', devoid of the same basic rights. Human? is the story of acclaimed Wik artist Ziggy Ramo's experience growing up under the weight of this lie. We've had 236 years of continued destruction in the name of 'civilised progress', under an oppressive colonial system that punches down on almost everyone. We all deserve more. But to move forward we have to be honest about the past. Written on the precipice of becoming a parent, this is Ziggy's offering for the future – an attempt to bridge a nationwide knowledge gap, and start a new conversation. Prerequisite listening for anyone searching for a way forward, together. Human? is a book, an album and an exhibition by one of the most exciting voices of this generation. With his powerful debut, Ziggy asks: Would you still fight for human rights if it meant giving up your privilege? A groundbreaking, provocative call-to-arms. 2025, Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) Audiobook of the Year, Short-listed LINK TO OPEN AUDIOBOOK ON SPOTIFY

In addition to their "mainstream' careers in pop, jazz and classical music, some of the most prolific and innovative contemporary composers are also hard at work in the parallel universe of computer games. Here are some of our favourite albums in this genre, released in the past year. 2023's Best Game Soundtracks Final Fantasy XVI - 祖堅 正慶, Soken Masayoshi The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, and Tsukasa Usui, with Hajime Wakai Under the Waves - Nicolas Bredin Alan Wake II - Fried Music, Various Finnish Artists Starfield - Inon Zur Planet of Lana - 古川 毅, Takeshi Furukawa Hi-Fi Rub - Masatoshi Yanagi, Various Artists Baldur's Gate 3 - Borislav Slavov Lies of P - Yeakun Yoo Octopath Traveler II - 西木 康智, Yasunori Nishiki

We hear some of our best music at the movies and on TV and they often expose us to music that we'd otherwise never hear. Here is our selection of the most outstanding soundtracks from the past year. 2023 Year's Best Film Soundtracks BEEF - Bobby Krlic Rye Lane - kwes. Saltburn - Anthony Willis, London Contemporary Orchestra Kagami - Ryuichi Sakamoto Killers of the Flower Moon - Robbie Robertson The Boy and the Heron - Joe Hisaishi Oppenheimer - Ludwig Goransson Maestro - Leonard Bernstein Marbie - Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt Poor Things - Jerskin Fendrix Ferrari - Daniel Pemberton The Killer - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross Past Lives - Christopher Bear, Daniel Rosen A Haunting in Venice - Hilda Guðnadóttir The Boys in the Boat - Alexandre Desplat The Crown: Season Six - Martin Phipps Cassandro - Marcelo Zarvos Big George Foreman - Marcelo Zarvos May December - Michel Legrand Master Gardener - Devonte Hynes Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One - Lorne Balfe Knock at the Cabin - Herdís Stefánsdóttir Infinity Pool - Tim Hecker Asteroid City - Various Artists Polite Society - Tom Howe, Shez Manzoor Nitin Sawhney - What's Love Got To Do With It?

Happy New Year everyone! As we do every year, we've combed our monthly playlists for the past 12 months for all the five star reviews (almost exactly 100, as it turns out) and created our "BEST OF" playlist for 2023. It's an impressive lineup that we're sure we'll come back to throughout the coming year(s). We hope you do too! Click to connect to 2023 YEAR'S BEST ALBUMS playlists Click to connect to 2023 YEAR'S BEST ALBUMS playlists

If you are not familiar with the name of Karl Berger, you are not alone. Sadly, I only became aware of this exceptional man by reading of his recent passing in the NYT. Karl Hans Berger (March 30, 1935 – April 9, 2023) was a German-American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer, educator, and musical thinker. With Ingrid Sertso (his wife) and trumpeter Ornette Coleman, Berger co-founded the Creative Music Foundation (1971) and Creative Music Studio (1972), a premier study center for contemporary creative music during the 1970s and 1980s; it closed in 1984. Based in Woodstock, New York, the Foundation and Studio brought together students and leading innovators in the jazz and world music communities. Unprecedented in its range and diversity, CMS has provided participants with an opportunity to interact personally with musical giants of improvisation and musical thought. The Foundation's advisory board included John Cage, Gil Evans, Buckminster Fuller and Willem de Kooning. Mr. Berger was a pianist and vibraphonist who performed and recorded with leading jazz musicians including Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, John McLaughlin, Carla Bley, Anthony Braxton, Jack DeJohnette, Pharoah Sanders, Dave Brubeck and Lee Konitz, among many others. The Studio's teaching alumni includes Cherry, Braxton, DeJohnette, John Cage, Steve Lacy, George Russell, Richard Teitelbaum, Cecil Taylor and Dave Holland. However, Berger also leaves behind an impressive discography that is well worth a listen. I've compiled a playlist of just four of his richly collaborative albums for our enjoyment.

Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist Gordon Lightfoot (17 November, 1938 – 1 May 2023) achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music and is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. Lightfoot was the first in a generation of Canadian singer-songwriters that included Cohen, Mitchell, Young, Sainte-Marie, Robertson, Cockburn, lang, Morissette, Sexsmith, McGarrigle, Feist, McLachlan, Adams, Furtado, Lavigne and others. Lightfoot's career and reputation soared to great heights in the decade from 1966 to 1976, when most of his albums received critical praise and commercial success. Subsequently, his output became less frequent. As many other similar artists lit up the scene with more dynamic alternatives to Lightfoot's familiar baritone voice and folk-based twelve-string acoustic guitar routine perceived as middle-of-the road. In 2002 Lightfoot underwent emergency surgery following a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. This delayed the recording and release Harmony, his 20th original album, which he had mostly recorded prior to his illness) until 2004. Further misfortunes followed - a minor stroke in 2006, that temporarily left him without the use of the middle and ring fingers on his right hand, the death of his manager Barry Harvey in 2007 and a death hoax (which he quickly dispelled) in 2010. Nevertheless, Lightfoot continued to tour, particularly in US, Canada and UK. Harmony would be Lightfoot's penultimate album. It was generally well received, but paled in comparison with his early classics. His last album Solo (2020), made up from demos that dated back to 2001, was similarly well received, especially as Lightfoot returned a stripped-back production that was reminiscent of his early recordings.

The Queen has left the stage, but her songs will forever be sung. Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) We commemorate a career that began in the nightclubs of St Louis in 1957 and soon after joining Ike Turner's band. Over the next 15 years, Ike & Tina Turner released a string of hit albums and singles, including "River Deep - Mountain High," "Proud Mary," and "Nutbush City Limits." They toured extensively, and they became known for their energetic live performances. However, Turner's personal life was not as successful as her professional life. She was in an abusive relationship with Ike, and she finally left him in 1976. Turner filed for divorce in 1978, and the divorce was finalized in 1979. After leaving Ike, Turner began a successful solo career. She released her first solo album, "Rough," in 1978. The album was a critical and commercial success, and it spawned the hit singles "What's Love Got to Do with It" and "Better Be Good to Me." Turner continued to release successful albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She also starred in several films, including "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" and "What's Love Got to Do with It?" (the latter of which was a biographical film about her life). In 2000, Turner announced her retirement from music. However, she returned to the stage in 2008 for a series of sold-out shows in Europe. She continued to tour and perform until 2013, when she announced her final tour. In addition to her musical achievements, Turner has also been active in philanthropy. She is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, and she has worked to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and other global issues. Tina Turner is a true icon of music. She has inspired generations of fans with her powerful vocals, energetic performances, and glamorous style. She is a role model for women everywhere, and her story is one of triumph over adversity.