Quite simply a vintage year in music, and a huge turning point for me. I had just turned 13 and having spent the last few years enjoying Britpop, this was a year that delivered some truly classic albums, including Primal Scream's 'Vanishing Point' which i bought after hearing 'Kowalski' and 'Star', and after playing it on my Walkman introduced me to a whole new world of sound. Also the year of the massive hype and major expectations for 'Be Here Now', and the first year I began regularly buying the NME and Melody Maker, as well as the first year I began listening to Radio One's legendary Evening Session (incidentally the lead up to the release of 'Be Here Now' was what introduced me to all three of these things). In contrast to the grand folly that was that third Oasis album, some other majorly successful bands from the Britpop era were beginning to create more challenging and imaginative records, for this was the year of 'OK Computer' and the self titled 5th album from Blur.
During this year i also started writing a hand written fanzine called 'Supernova', where i would review various records, report news on some bands of the time and occasionally draw comic strips. I'd photocopy about 50 copies of the zine and give it to a few local independent record shops to give away free. The cost of including a compilation tape with each issue wouldve cost me loads, so instead every issue I'd draw up a tracklist for each tape that the reader would have to compile themselves, and this is kinda where my love of creating compilations began.
Towards the end of 1997 i compiled a single 90 minute cassette of my choice tracks from the year. 13 years on in 2010, to my knowledge I no longer have the tape, so I decided to attempt to re-create an extended version of the compilation on CD. But without the original tracklist, my only method to compile this album was to find every single album of 1997 that i own and pick the best tracks from them. And obviously in the 13 years since first hearing them all, a lot of these songs have grown on me a hell of a lot, or sound better now than they did then, which has led to an 85 (plus) track compilation, spread across 4 CDs. Sitting down for an evening listening to the compilation made me truly realise what an incredible year that was for music overall, and the fact that it couldn't be anything less than 85 great songs does prove what a golden year 1997 was.
You can listen to this compilation in full via the Mixcloud players below. For Spotify users, there is a slightly edited version of 'The Best Of 1997' (note the lack of Oasis and Northern Uproar) along with a number of other great tracks from '97.
You can listen to this compilation in full via the Mixcloud players below. For Spotify users, there is a slightly edited version of 'The Best Of 1997' (note the lack of Oasis and Northern Uproar) along with a number of other great tracks from '97.
CD1
primal scream - burning wheel
oasis - dyou know what i mean
ocean colour scene - hundred mile high city
paul weller - heavy soul
teenage fanclub - start again
the verve - bittersweet symphony
radiohead - paranoid android
spiritualized - come together
chemical brothers - block rockin' beats
stereophonics - a thousand trees
gene - fighting fit
super furry animals - demons
echo and the bunnymen - nothing lasts forever
mansun - taxloss
james - she's a star
travis - all i wanna do is rock
levellers - dog train
the charlatans - north country boy
cast - free me
hurricane #1 - step into my world
CD2
beck - the new pollution
morrissey - alma matters
supergrass - sun hits the sky
blur - beetlebum
eels - novocaine for the soul
the seahorses - love is the law
primal scream - if they move kill 'em
oasis - stay young
belle and sebastian - dog on wheels
pulp - help the aged
ocean colour scene - travellers tune
mansun - stripper vicar
teenage fanclub - ain't that enough
reef - come back brighter
the verve - sonnet
radiohead - karma police
paul weller - brushed
gene - where are they now
stereophonics - local boy in the photograph
levellers - what a beautiful day
cast - guiding star
hurricane #1 - just another illusion
blur - m.o.r
eels - susan's house
CD3
mansun - wide open space
the charlatans - how high
primal scream - kowalski
oasis - my big mouth
ocean colour scene - better day
supergrass - richard III
travis - tied to the 90s
james - tomorrow
the verve - lucky man
the seahorses - blinded by the sun
radiohead - climbing up the walls
beck - devil's haircut
gene - we could be kings
reef - place your hands
cast - i'm so lonely
echo and the bunnymen - i want to be there when you come
primal scream - star
teenage fanclub - planets
stereophonics - more life in a tramps vest
hurricane #1 - let go of the dream
the seahorses - you can talk to me
travis - u16 girls
paul weller - mermaids
blur - on your own
CD 4
monaco - what do you want from me?
super furry animals - the international language of screaming
gene - speak to me someone
james - waltzing along
ash - a life less ordinary
supergrass - late in the day
cast - live the dream
northern uproar - any way you look
levellers - too real
the charlatans - get on it
blur - song 2
eels - your lucky day in hell
spiritualized - cool waves
radiohead - no surprises
oasis - all around the world
ocean colour scene - it's a beautiful thing
Spotify version of this compilation HERE.
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