Forget novelty oven gloves or ironic band Christmas jumpers, this year MOJO have rustled together a selection of gifts music fans will actually like. From hair-raising music bios, deluxe vinyl packages, boxsets, rarities and a wealth of fantastic albums hand-picked by MOJO’s team of experts, here’s our suggestions for the best Christmas music gifts…
For That Special Britpop Fan In Your Life
Blur
The Ballad Of Darren, Deluxe Vinyl
Parlophone. LP
Voted the best album of 2023 by MOJO’s expert team of writers, The Ballad Of Darren found Blur casting an eye over their past with a direct lyrical honestly that, by Damon Albarn’s own admission, they have sometimes skirted around. Moreover, Blur’s ninth album presented such soul searching from Britpop’s former golden boys within one of the best set of songs of their entire career. Sadly, the optical illusion-spinning zoetrope LP is no longer available, but this limited-edition marbled vinyl - which comes with an additional 7” featuring two bonus tracks, a deluxe CD, 12-page booklet and poster, all housed in a gatefold sleeve - should bring cheer to anyone who ever donned a Fila tracksuit top and dropped their aitches during Blur’s mid-90s heyday.
BUY: Blur.co.uk
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For Hair-Raising Thrills, Narcotic-Fuelled Spills And Glorious Music
Sly Stone
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
White Rabbit/Auwa
Long rumoured, often dismissed as an impossible chimera, Sly Stone’s memoir delivered all the wonder, excess and car crash rubber necking readers could have imagined. Some of it beggared belief: Sly’s falling out with Family Stone bassist Larry Graham that ended in threats of hits taken out against each other. Some of it was comic: when Sly blows up his bathroom smoking crack. And there was sadness, as one of the most brilliant musicians of the ‘60s is becalmed amid drugs and paranoia. A must-read for fans and soon-to-be fans alike.
For A Festive Dive Into Bob Dylan’s Archives
Bob Dylan
The Bootleg Series Vol. 17: Fragments – Time Out Of Mind Sessions (1996-1997)
Columbia. CD/DL/LP
Bob Dylan’s long-running bootleg series has proved no end of mouth-watering Dylan quarry over the years and the latest instalment more than delivered, providing a full excavation into the mammoth sessions for his mid-90s masterpiece, Time Out Of Mind. A de-mixed album and treasure trove of outtakes and alternative versions opened up a whole new world of wonder, and shone new light on the album that prompted Dylan’s popular reintroduction – entailing Grammys, bigger tours and an unbroken streak of intriguing albums ever since.
BUY: Amazon/Rough Trade/Hive
The Best Music Film For Hell Raisin’, Taboo Breakin’ Rock And Rollers
Little Richard
I Am Everything
Magnolia Home Ent. DL/DVD/Blu-Ray
Released earlier this, Little Richard: I Am Everything was a long overdue feature length examination of one of the chief architects of rock’n’roll. Both in her selection of vintage material and choice of contemporary interviewees – including a Yale professor, an ethnomusicologist and film maker John Waters - director Lisa Corté approached Little Richard’s story in the context of his sexuality, his ethnicity and his religion. From Elvis to The Beatles to Elton John, Freddie Mercury and more, Little Richard set the template for almost everything that was to follow, and I Am Everything presents a fascinating, and often overlooked, take on his astonishing story.
BUY: Amazon
Deep Cuts For Soul Brothers And Sisters
Various
Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos
Craft. CD/LP
Who knew that in the mountain of songs Stax Records didn't put out were often as great as those they did? An absolute must for soul fans still searching for allusive deep cuts, Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos presents a seven-disc treasure trove of 149 unreleased demos and overlooked songs, recasting familiar hits, revealing lost gems and shining an extraordinary new light on Memphis’ soul explosion. Talcum powder sold separately.
BUY: Amazon/Rough Trade/HMV/Hive
Explore The New Folk Vanguard
Lankum
False Lakum
Rough Trade. CD/DL/LP
One of the most exciting things to have happened in music over the past twelve months has been the wave of Irish artists spinning off traditional music into wilder terrain. At the vanguard have been Dublin collective Lankum, who’s journey from squat punk outliers to the most acclaimed folk band in years has been miraculously navigated without compromise – hence the imposing landmark of their fourth LP. False Lankum, with its gothic shanties and glowering noise, located a space where avant-doom met traditional song and somehow made both more accessible. Modern folk’s OK Computer or The Dark Side Of The Moon pronounced MOJO’s review.
BUY: Amazon/Rough Trade/HMV/Hive
Spend Christmas In Dub
Joe Gibbs & The Professionals
The 1970s Dub Albums Collection
Doctor Bird. CD
Released in 1977, Joe Gibbs & The Professionals’ African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 3 had a seismic impact on the London punk scene, sowing the seeds for PiL’s Metal Box, The Slit’s Cut, the dub explorations of Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound label and more. Though reggae’s ‘mighty two’ might not have the kudos of Lee Perry or King Tubby …Chapter 3 remains one of the greatest dub albums of all time, and this year got a long-awaited reissue boxed with the six other chapters, all masterpieces in their own right. An essential gift for all reggae fans and bass heads.
BUY: Amazon/Rough Trade/Hive
A New Jazz Masterpiece For People Who Might Not Realise They Like Jazz
Jaimie Branch
Fly Or Die Fly Or Die Fly Or Die
International Anthem. CD/DL/LP
Calling late trumpeter Jaimie Branch a jazz musician might be an unfortunately reductive way of describing her colossal talent – one showcased in all its exuberant complexity on this final LP, recorded four months before her death in 2022. Branch’s third FlyOrDie LP straddled carnival hardcore, a Meat Puppets cover, protest ballads and her free and joyous rethink of jazz orthodoxy. A landmark album, tragically pulsating with life, which anyone should add to their collection.
BUY: Amazon/Rough Trade
The Best Album From A Band You Might Not Have Heard Of
Natural Information Society
Since Time Is Gravity
Eremite. CD/DL/LP
2023 has been an excellent year for returning musical heroes – Blur, P.J. Harvey, Everything But The Girl and Paul Simon to name just a few. As is so often the case, however, some of the most exciting records have been fermenting out on music’s more esoteric margins. The seventh album from Joshua Abrams and his Natural Information Society is a case in point and MOJO’s pick of the year’s best underground album. As with the previous six Natural Information Soceity albums, Since Time Is Gravity was rooted in the North African three-string bass pulse of Abrams’ guimbri, and the seesawing hum of Lisa Alvarado’s harmonium. This time, though, the group expanded to include a six-piece horn section and harpist, adding a modal big band dimension; think John Coltrane’s Africa/Brass. MVP is Chicago vet Ari Brown on tenor, swinging out of the rhythmic grid on Is. But it’s Stigmergy, named after a concept of collective action, that best encapsulates the ecstatic NIS groupthink: one hypnotic soloist after another – including Ben Lamar Gay, brilliant on cornet – drifting elegantly in and out of systems repetition.
BUY: Amazon/Rough Trade/Hive
Enjoy The World’s Greatest Music Magazine
Subscribe To MOJO!
We might be biased, but there is no better place to read the stories behind the world’s greatest records and discover the very best music – both new and old – than within the pages of MOJO Magazine, the home of great music, and the home of great writing about music. There’s no better time to sign up to a subscription of MOJO and receive every issue direct to your door. Enjoy our seasonal offer of six issues for just £19.99, including MOJO’s bespoke monthly CD and free UK delivery.
BUY: Great Magazines