1. Take Me To Manhattan – Jack Phillips – The lead off song from one of his two new albums, finds the great piano man, with a new great American songbook on his hand. The instrumental break is an old fashioned wonder and the ode to our Isle of joy a worthy addition to the pantheon of nyc songs – Grade: A
2. Johnny Appleseed – Joe Strummer – Men of good faith may well disagree, but I've always found Strummer's post-Clash work disappointing. Here is an exception – Grade: A
3. Invisible – Ken Shane – Shane deals with the aging process with benign bewilderment and melody to burn; the guitar solo is burning melody – Grade: B+
4. Vegas Girl – Conor Maynard – Oh, now I get it, he is channeling Justin Timberlake – Grade: A-
5. Lara's Theme – Cossack And Mandolin Orchestra – Amazingly enough, lives up to its billing – Grade: B
6. Spectrum (Calvin Harris Remix) – Florence + The Machine – I'm surprised this storming remix hasn't taken on the US Charts – Grade: A
7. Angels – The xx – The big question is will it make the top 10 or top 20 best songs of the year – Grade: A
8. Surrender – Cheap Trick – Off the Budoken, a much liver than it would ever be again – Grade: A
9. Praise My Soul, The King Of Heaven – King's College Choir – This is nothing like Gospel, they are more like sonnets reconfigured for multiple voices – Grade: A+
10. Heavy Cross (Burns Remix) – Gossip – And extended dance mix that never veers too far from its disco roots – Grade: A-