My Album of the Year 2025

Your 2025 was a vibrant tapestry woven from YELLO’s avant-garde electro-beats and the earth-shaking rumble of sub-bass, all interlaced with the timeless prog-rock sagas of Pink Floyd and the intricate brilliance of classical masters. You orchestrated an unforgettable, boundary-pushing sound journey. –Tidal

Subscribers to music streaming services such as Tidal receive a stylised annual summary report of their music listening history, usually in December. I realise it may seem like a trivial thing to drool over, but it’s a fun way to recap and take stock of your listening habits.

Oftentimes, you will be surprised at what you have been listening to. I, however, was pretty sure which album impressed me the most this year, and was therefore not surprised when Tidal confirmed it in their Rewind 2025 report.

Back in August, I wrote about Eva Cassidy and the tragic, premature end to her life. Cancer robbed Eva of what would have been an exceptional musical career, and us of the chance to enjoy and celebrate a gifted talent. I became a devoted fan the instant I heard her sing.

Nightbird is a double live album released in 2015, nineteen years after Eva died in November 1996, at the age of 33. It was recorded and captured on video at the Blues Alley club in Washington, D.C., in January of that year. The album contained 31 songs, 12 of which were not previously released. In years to come, I am sure Eva will be honoured as one of the all-time greatest female vocalists.

To reinforce just how amazing her voice was, I have chosen to highlight below another song off the Songbird album, written and composed by Curtis Mayfield, which has been covered by Bob Marley and the Wailers, Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, and Jeff Beck. Martin Luther King Jr. even named People Get Ready as the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.

For anyone interested, my full Tidal Rewind Report is available here.

Edit: It’s funny how things work out. I came across this documentary in my YouTube feed after publishing the above post. It features in depth interviews and background video on how the album was recorded at Blues Alley.