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bedsitter23It's that time of year. It may be easier to make a Top 40 than a 20, but I thought it was a bountiful year.
As always, best is subjective- even when you are talking about one person's opinion- so these are at least the 20 albums that impacted me the most or brought. Since I have wrote about some of these before, i will try to keep the descriptions brief.
Here goes:
The Beat Feat. Ranking Roger - Public Confidential (DMF Music) - Ranking Roger's death is sad, of course, but artistically, I am really going to miss him as his incarnation of the Beat was pretty great. With great harmony singing with his son, and a stellar band, I don't have much trouble putting their last two releases with the Beat/General Public discography.
Andrew Bird - My Finest Work Yet (Loma Vista) - I've watched Bird since his circa-Y2K breakthrough where he was one of the many interesting instrument brigade with the Arcade Fire, Beirut and the Decemberists. His discography has certainly taken an unusual route. MFWY is Bird at his most interesting lyrically, with as song as good as any I heard this year, "Sisyphus", but it's a pretty solid piece of work
Tracy Bryant Hush (Taxi Gauche)- Bryant is one of my favorite current artists, and Hush is pretty solid. Reviews tend to focus on Bryant's voice, but it is a perfect compliment to his music- which touches melodic pop, a little psychedelica and garage rock. Produced by someone who gets it - Kyle Mullarky (Growlers, Allah-Las)- this is really one of the great unsung records of the year.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds- Ghosteen (Ghosteen)- Selfishly, this isn't really the type of Nick Cave record that I like. It, however, is still a pretty magical record with Cave, Ellis, et al making what is almost an ambient record. Credit to Cave's artistry that he has turned this grief into something so listenable and yet maintaining that raw emotion.
Leonard Cohen - Thanks for the Dance (Columbia/Legacy/Sony)- Improbably, Adam Cohen had some recording of his father's You Want it Darker sessions and made a record that would pass the ear test as a Cohen album. A tribute to the talent of both father and son, that this record stands up so well. Otherwise, it would probably be a very good record (like Iggy's 2019 offering), but it's something more.
Rodney Crowell - Texas - (RC1 Records)- I was a big fan of Crowell in the late 80s/early 90s, and I suppose this all-star concept album is meant to get him back on the radar. Crowell's sound tends to mimic his guests here (Billy Gibbons, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson, even Ringo Starr), but it's strong lyrically, and though Crowell doesn't need it, this places him in the tradition of Delbert McClinton, Jim Lauderdale, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore as grand old men of Americana roots music.
Danger Mouse and Karen O - Lux Prima (BMG) - Such an interesting album that surely would have been huge 15 or 25 years ago. Danger Mouse gives Karen O her most commercial sound, but Karen is the real star here. At times, the pop princess, but at other times, very much the same singer she was in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Like much of Danger Mouse, the end results seemingly transcends genre.
Pete Doherty and the Puta Madres- s/t (Strap Materials) - Like that self-destructive icon Johnny Thunders, Dohery's discography is a mess, best to be cherrypicked. Outside of those first two Babyshambles records, his best work is an acoustic bootleg (doing business these days as The Freewheelin'...) So, no real surprise this quickly recorded seemingly throwaway project is the best Pete has sounded in years.
Steve Earle & the Dukes - Guy (New West) - Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark loom heavily over Earle's work. While I wasn't a big fan of his Townes tribute, Earle really seems to make Clark's songs his. You can tell there was a lot of love in this album, and it ends with a perfect celebration of Guy- "Old Friends" with Jerry Jeff Walker, Emmylou Harris, and Rodney Crowell among others.
Ezra Furman Twelve Nudes (Bella Union) - When I first heard Furman, I thought he was a Billy Bragg style folk singer. On his last album, he sounded like a late 70s Lou Reed with some Springsteen. Here, he is a lo-fi punk or a noise rocker. Who's the real Ezra? Well, they all are. Definitely a talent to keep your eyes on.
To be continued
As always, best is subjective- even when you are talking about one person's opinion- so these are at least the 20 albums that impacted me the most or brought. Since I have wrote about some of these before, i will try to keep the descriptions brief.
Here goes:
The Beat Feat. Ranking Roger - Public Confidential (DMF Music) - Ranking Roger's death is sad, of course, but artistically, I am really going to miss him as his incarnation of the Beat was pretty great. With great harmony singing with his son, and a stellar band, I don't have much trouble putting their last two releases with the Beat/General Public discography.
Andrew Bird - My Finest Work Yet (Loma Vista) - I've watched Bird since his circa-Y2K breakthrough where he was one of the many interesting instrument brigade with the Arcade Fire, Beirut and the Decemberists. His discography has certainly taken an unusual route. MFWY is Bird at his most interesting lyrically, with as song as good as any I heard this year, "Sisyphus", but it's a pretty solid piece of work
Tracy Bryant Hush (Taxi Gauche)- Bryant is one of my favorite current artists, and Hush is pretty solid. Reviews tend to focus on Bryant's voice, but it is a perfect compliment to his music- which touches melodic pop, a little psychedelica and garage rock. Produced by someone who gets it - Kyle Mullarky (Growlers, Allah-Las)- this is really one of the great unsung records of the year.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds- Ghosteen (Ghosteen)- Selfishly, this isn't really the type of Nick Cave record that I like. It, however, is still a pretty magical record with Cave, Ellis, et al making what is almost an ambient record. Credit to Cave's artistry that he has turned this grief into something so listenable and yet maintaining that raw emotion.
Leonard Cohen - Thanks for the Dance (Columbia/Legacy/Sony)- Improbably, Adam Cohen had some recording of his father's You Want it Darker sessions and made a record that would pass the ear test as a Cohen album. A tribute to the talent of both father and son, that this record stands up so well. Otherwise, it would probably be a very good record (like Iggy's 2019 offering), but it's something more.
Rodney Crowell - Texas - (RC1 Records)- I was a big fan of Crowell in the late 80s/early 90s, and I suppose this all-star concept album is meant to get him back on the radar. Crowell's sound tends to mimic his guests here (Billy Gibbons, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson, even Ringo Starr), but it's strong lyrically, and though Crowell doesn't need it, this places him in the tradition of Delbert McClinton, Jim Lauderdale, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore as grand old men of Americana roots music.
Danger Mouse and Karen O - Lux Prima (BMG) - Such an interesting album that surely would have been huge 15 or 25 years ago. Danger Mouse gives Karen O her most commercial sound, but Karen is the real star here. At times, the pop princess, but at other times, very much the same singer she was in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Like much of Danger Mouse, the end results seemingly transcends genre.
Pete Doherty and the Puta Madres- s/t (Strap Materials) - Like that self-destructive icon Johnny Thunders, Dohery's discography is a mess, best to be cherrypicked. Outside of those first two Babyshambles records, his best work is an acoustic bootleg (doing business these days as The Freewheelin'...) So, no real surprise this quickly recorded seemingly throwaway project is the best Pete has sounded in years.
Steve Earle & the Dukes - Guy (New West) - Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark loom heavily over Earle's work. While I wasn't a big fan of his Townes tribute, Earle really seems to make Clark's songs his. You can tell there was a lot of love in this album, and it ends with a perfect celebration of Guy- "Old Friends" with Jerry Jeff Walker, Emmylou Harris, and Rodney Crowell among others.
Ezra Furman Twelve Nudes (Bella Union) - When I first heard Furman, I thought he was a Billy Bragg style folk singer. On his last album, he sounded like a late 70s Lou Reed with some Springsteen. Here, he is a lo-fi punk or a noise rocker. Who's the real Ezra? Well, they all are. Definitely a talent to keep your eyes on.
To be continued
