Thursday, December 9, 2010

Dan Crafton's favorite albums of 2010

My favorite albums of 2010

2010 has been an overwhelmingly great year for new album releases. From recent favorites like Deerhunter, Beach House, Antony and the Johnsons, and Vampire Weekend all putting out wonderful work. To old favorites like Broken Social Scene, Teenage Fanclub, Sufjan Stevens, and Superchunk (especially Superchunk) putting out monster records as well. But what really made 2010 a really great year for music was all the fresh new bands that made killer albums, it is really refreshing to hear young bands putting time and effort into the album format as many say this medium is on it's last breath. This year brought us many many new faces who put out insta-classics like Surfer Blood, Male Bonding, Sleigh Bells, Wavves, Twin Shadow, Fang Island, Free Energy, among others. Rather than detailed reviews of each album like I have done in years past I decided to give much more brief overviews. Obviously I love all of these albums or they wouldn't have made my list, so I just added concise comments and criticisms where I felt necessary. Enjoy!

1.) Superchunk - Majesty Shredding
The first Superchunk album in 9 years and their best in 11. If you like any of their previous work you will love this. It ranks up their with their very best albums, a total surprise for a band who has been around 20 plus years. My favorite album of the year by far, even better after repeated listens. After the first spin you may not fully realize what makes this band and this album so special but they just have this special chemistry that very few bands have. So many great moments here, every song here is a classic. While the experimentation of some of their previous work is gone, it is good to hear them belt out a tight 41 minute album like this with no frills. Every verse, every chorus, every catchy melody, the viola on "Fractures in Plaster", everything about this album is just dead on and perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better return from one of my favorite bands of all time.

2.) Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
Is this as good as their previous album Microcastle? Yes, in fact it may even be better. Deerhunter is one of the best bands on the planet right now so pick this up along with all of their other albums and pick up the Atlas Sound records as well, you won't be disappointed. No one does the experimental, moody, atmospheric thing better than Bradford Cox and company. This one has less of the noisy experiments of previous releases and focuses more on traditional song structure, resulting in perhaps the most cohesive Deerhunter album to date, it is also one of the best

3.) Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Experimental, epic, and monumental; this album was at the top of my list for the majority of the year. Every song on here sounds like it would be the best song on anybody else's record. So many different styles and variations here and too many highlights to name here although "Water in Hell" sounds like a long lost Pavement song, "Chase Scene" may be the best driving song released this year, and "Ungrateful Little Father" is a subdued semi-angry masterpiece. While I never thought this band could top the classic You Forgot It in People I am almost certain they did here.

4.) Beach House - Teen Dream
Dreamy, beautiful, gorgeous, moving. Seriously a perfect record, "Take Care" may be the greatest song of the year.

5.) Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
My favorite hip hop album of the year, maybe the past couple of years. Seriously this is up there with some of Big Boi's classic albums with Outkast. This is such a fun record that was a constant companion on my many drives to the beach this summer. The beat on "General Patton" is unreal and his rapping is incredible throughout with so many great quotable lines. A total classic.

6.) Antony and the Johnsons - Swanlights
Oh Antony, you made another masterpiece this year. Oh is that a duet with Bjork? Love it. Oh is that a horn section on "Thank You For Your Love"?....even better. Thank you Antony.

7.) Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
Another perfect album from one of the most consistent bands in history. This one shows that even after a five year break between records these guys can come back with another set of absolutely beautiful songs. This is perfect music for a chilled out afternoon.

8.) Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
This new Animal Collective album is really good! Ha! I kid, but man Sufjan really took notice of what the guys in AC were up too while making this record. It truly does sound more than a little bit like a new AC record, obviously this is NOT a bad thing at all and this record actually has surprised me by being one of my favorites of the year. Challenging stuff that demands required listens, but the rewards pay off as this thing is a chaotic moody monster.

9.) Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
I am a big fan of cohesive albums, so it surprises me that this all over the place mess is one of my favorite albums of the past couple of years. Every song could potentially be performed by a different artist. I hear a song that sounds like Joy Division, a couple that sound like Prince, and a couple that sound like 80s new wave. The thing that makes this work is that every song here is great and it plays like a great mixtape made by your friend's cool older brother circa 1988.

10.) The Black Keys - Brothers
A great mix of their minimalist bluesy beginnings and their latter more psychedelic stuff, this album plays like a greatest hits of everything great about The Black Keys.

11.) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
As much as I want to dislike Kanye for his public persona I just simply can't deny the guys talent. Sampling King Crimson on a high profile first single is a pretty ballsy move that requires my attention and that isn't even one of the strangest things on the album. The entire thing is wildly creative, dark, and intense. Far from being a perfect album, the flaws are what make this such an interesting listen and one of my favs of the year.

12.) Vampire Weekend - Contra
I truly never thought they could top their perfect debut, but I really think they did here. Better songs, more interesting arrangements, and definite growth helps this avoid the sophomore slump. Such a fun and interesting band that hopefully can keep up their winning streak.

13.) Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
My favorite new band and debut album of the year. Like one of my favorite bands from last year Cymbals Eat Guitars, Surfer Blood thrive in celebrating indie rock's 90s heyday. But rather than just sounding like a Built To Spill/Pavement clone they add something that is truly their own on this record. The beach/surf imagery doesn't hurt either as this was totally a windows down driving classic this spring/summer.

14.) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Another winner by Canada's Arcade Fire that at first had me baffled. This album really took me a lot of repeated listens to fully enjoy, there is a lot to grasp here. Being 16 songs, repeating the word "kids" more than one could count, and having a too familiar repeated theme throughout most of the album didn't really help this catch on at first. But like many great albums it slowly caught on after time now becoming one of my favs of the year. While this lacks the extreme emotional impact of their first two records, I love the cinematic theme on this. I feel like I will be grabbing for this album more than their others in years to come, which says a lot about the strength of this release. Standout track for me is the rockin' "Month of May".

15.) LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
Another winner by one of my favorite acts on the planet, while this album may not hold a candle to their first two proper full lengths this one is still full of innovative and fun dance tracks full of emotion and good times.

16.) Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts
Basically a male version of The Vivian Girls which means this band is super low-fi, punkish and not for anyone interested in musicality or good audio quality. While this sounds like it would be a negative thing, this album is actually one of my favorites in recent times, it is like a brief sonic shot to your ears, resulting in one of the most concise rock records of recent times. This is mostly due to the fact that beyond the sonic assault this band actually wrote some great and catchy songs, resulting in a pretty varied and extremely interesting record. Easily one of the best debuts in the past couple of years.

17.) Sleigh Bells - Treats
This album is basically an audiophile's worst nightmare with super brickwalled/distorted sound made for ipods and not record players. This normally would make me hate an album as the noise induced headache would ruin any fair chance I would give it, but when you make music this fun, carefree, and catchy it is hard to worry about the technicalities of sound quality. Actually in many ways the distorted sound is what kind of makes this record pop, that and the fact that you cannot help but tap your feet in pure joy while this is playing.

18.) Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
Wow! This record is a LOT to take in one setting, but this kind of big, messy all over the place R&B tour de force is truly something that needs to be taken all at once. I have played this for a number of people this year and everyone is shocked at how undeniably classic it is. Her voice is all over the place, smooth one minute and then a soulful scream at the next. The production is solid as well, adding to the drama and theatrical aspect. It is so refreshing to hear something this creative and innovative matched with a sense of style and a ton of soul, big plus for the Big Boi guest spot as well.

19.) Wavves - King of the Beach
Losing Jay Reatard was a horrible way to start 2010, it left a enormous void in the music world that will never be filled. When I heard that Jay's rhythm section were full time recording/touring members of Wavves, this album became one of my most anticipated records of the year. Thankfully it did not disappoint, this album is a 36 minute blast of energy and is fully reminiscent of Jay's best records without ever sounding like a cheap copy. Leader Nathan Williams is amazingly funny, witty and these songs are a perfect soundtrack to a lazy summer day.

20.) Twin Shadow - Forget
Produced by Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor, this new wave inspired effort is a complete winner. While many bands have hit the 80s pretty hard lately for inspiration, there is something refreshing about hearing this album. Of course hearing anything that remotely resembles favs like Echo and the Bunnymen, Moz, and The Pixies will almost always win me over but this gives a fresh slant on these tried and true influences making this one of my favorite debut albums of recent times.

21.) MGMT - Congratulations
Way less poppy and single oriented than their debut, this shows a much more proggy and experimental side of this band. While some may argue that there are too many ideas packed into each song, I feel that this record is much more interesting than the debut.

22.) Fang Island - Fang Island
Not since the Go Team's debut has an album been this over the top fun. Sounding like early Queen mixed with Andrew WK as well as some sea shanty and prog influences this is pretty much as exuberant and crazy as it gets. One of the most adventurous debuts in a long time.

23.) Brother Kite - Isolation
More people need to know about this band, their previous album Waiting for the Time to Be Right is the place to start and an instant classic but this four years in the making follow up is a worthy successor in it's own right. This is much more subdued than their previous work which had an almost Beach Boys quality to it. I have to say this record is somewhat less impressive but still a great album by this much overlooked band. Please seek them out and pick this up, this is truly a band that needs much more attention than they are getting. Great melodic guitar oriented rock.

24.) No Age - Everything in Between
No Age continue their winning streak with this more "mature" effort, while this is much less chaotically noisy than their previous work. However, there is still a good dose of the experimental sound that made their earlier stuff so compelling but this time around the songs have more room to stretch making this their most impressive work yet.

25.) Hot Chip - One Life Stand
While Made in the Dark had some of Hot Chip's best individual songs ("Shake a Fist" may be one of the greatest singles of the past 10 years) the album itself didn't gel as much as The Warning did, and even that record was still pretty uneven. It seemed that as great as Hot Chip were, they just couldn't translate that to a completely solid record. This all changed with the release of this masterpiece, easily the most cohesive work this great band has unleashed to date. The ballads don't weigh down the record like they did previously and the faster dancier songs are tighter. Sure there aren't as many crazy jaw dropping moments like some of their earlier records but this one plays a lot better from start to finish showing the amazing growth that this group has gone through.

26.) High On Fire - Snakes for the Divine
My favorite metal album of the year (sorry Maiden fans), this thing is a monster and hands down has my favorite album opener of the year with the intense and jaw-dropping 8 minute title track. Truthfully every song here is a winner, Matt Pike has one of the greatest metal voices of all time and the overall lyrical theme makes this one of their most consistent albums. Oh and the cover of this thing is just awesome (google image this now if you don't believe me).

27.) The New Pornographers - Together
Another winner from this Canadian indie supergroup. Not much to say here if you like their brand of power pop than you will find much to enjoy here, no one really does what they do better. Carl Newman, who wrote the majority of the songs here, is clearly on a roll and "Crash Years" may be their best single to date. Neko Case's voice is always a great asset to this already talented ensemble and this entire thing is more cohesive than their earlier work. This is clearly a highlight of their already classic discography.

28.) Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love
It is hard for me to even pretend to be objective when writing about this band, they have been one of my favorites since I was in high school. I even compared them to The Smith's on previous occasions which really says a lot to how important they are to me. The one thing that I do have to say about them is their discography is wildly uneven, especially when leader Stuart Murdoch lets the other members have control. I know that technically B&S are a group and a collective but I really think the thing that stands out to me is Murdoch's voice and distinctive writing style. This is what made albums like Fold Your Hands Child so difficult me to embrace. This album is not as uneven as that record or as incomplete sounding as their soundtrack album Storytelling was but it still suffers from a definite lack of cohesion. It doesn't help that one of the tracks is completely lost on me due to it being a duet with Norah Jones whose voice grates on me so much that no matter how catchy the tune may be I deem it unlistenable the minute that thing chirps note one. The rest of the record truly does have it's moments but after the twin peaks of Dear Catastrophe Waitress and The Life Pursuit this feel like a slight disappointment.

29.) Spoon - Transference
Spoon has always been about minimalism and this has worked to great effect on classics like Girls Can Tell and Kill The Moonlight. Their past couple of records have expanded their sound somewhat and created some even more classic moments. This record, however, may be a little to minimalist for their own good. While I would never want to force an overproduced sound on this band, I do feel like they could have used some assistance in the production department here, someone to flesh these songs out a bit. Even without these minor details this album is still a winner and has more grooves and catchy moments than most bands could even dream of. This record will surely have your foot tapping and head nodding while it is on but when it is over you will find these tunes don't stick with you as much as you would have liked them too.

30.) Chemical Brothers - Further
By far the tightest most direct Chem. Brothers album in a long time, this also is one of their very best. Having no big name guests and very limited vocals also helps this achieve an atmosphere not found on some of their more recent work. These guys are the kings of the towering crescendo and there are plenty of peaks and valleys here to keep the listener engaged for the duration of this record. Also this has a very Homework era Daft Punk feel to some of these songs, resulting in a robotic trance that is hypnotic, a great headphone album.

31.) Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse - Dark Night of the Soul
While Broken Bells and Gnarls Barkley got a lot more attention, my favorite Danger Mouse collaboration was this was one with the late great Sparklehorse. Created around a 100-page book of original photography by David Lynch this album perfectly blends music and art as well as featuring a dizzying array of note-worthy collaborators. Everyone from The Flaming Lips to Julian Casablancas to Iggy Pop, to Broken Bells/Shins frontman James Mercer guests and each adds their own style to their respective tracks. While this could've come across like a hodgepodge release it actually sustains itself due to the grounded yet adventurous nature of the music created by DM and Sparklehorse. The entire thing plays like a great soundtrack to a picture book, the music supplying the visual element to the photos, it is a original idea and a great one at that, making this project a rousing success in my book.

32.) The Walkmen - Lisbon
Like every Walkmen album this one takes lots of repeated listens to fully "get". After many listens I find this to be another complete and total winner in a long list of great albums for this band. They possess a complete and total warm sound, much like The Band did, although they don't have the countrified sound that The Band possessed. They do however have great songs sung with emotional abandonment and a classic sense of musicianship.

33.) Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)
Another winner for the constantly stunning Badu, besides Janelle Monae (who is completely influenced by Badu), no one makes R&B this challenging and satisfying these days. While this may not have the overwhelming sense of experimentation that the last years previous volume had, this is just as impressive. This has much more of an organic feel to it and Badu's excellent voice and song-writing keeps getting all the more impressive through time. She is someone whose albums are always so impressive that she may be taken a bit for granted but that doesn't mean that she still can't stun and surprise as she does both to excellent effect here.

34.) Girl Talk - All Day
It would be impossible for Girl Talk to fully top Night Ripper or Feed the Animals so instead mash-up mastermind Gregg Gillis just tightened his craft to stunning effect and made the most "perfect" sounding as well as longest album of his career (71+ minutes). The albums sounds so perfectly constructed that it almost comes across as effortless, which is surely not the case here. While many may be off put by the sheer amount of pop and mainstream samples he still does find the time to appease the music snobs with snippets of Fugazi's "Waiting Room", Portishead's "Sour Times", and The Rapture's "House of Jealous Lovers" among others. The amount of really bad recent rap is a detriment as well but in a way it makes you all the more excited to see what is coming up next, and that is the beauty of an album like this. It is more about the element of surprise than as a cohesive listen, it is a perfect party album, an ipod playlist gone crazy. This is about instant fun, not lasting art and sometimes that is an okay thing.

35.) Best Coast - Crazy For You
Sonically similar to other lo-fi acts like Male Bonding and The Vivian Girls, California's Best Coast specializes in perfectly constructed brief pop songs with influences ranging from Phil Spector to 60's Nuggets-esque garage rock jams this even opens with the same drum fill as Springsteen's "Badlands". If this music wasn't so great and so unbelievably catchy than this act would be useless, as the lyrics here are mostly cringe-worthy teenage girl diary ramblings that tend to irritate at times but the melodies are so strong and the songs so well constructed that you will still finding yourself with these tunes playing on repeat in your head well after the album is over.


36.) Jónsi - Go
Being the leader of one of my favorites band on the planet Sigur Ros, Jonsi's solo album was definitely one of my most anticipated records of the year. Thankfully this didn't disappoint in the least, taking the somewhat brightness of Sigur Ros's last record, the excellent Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust to an entirely new level. While some tracks here like the beautiful "Tornado" resemble Sigur Ros's atmospheric sound, most of this record is a complete departure from the mood laden masterpieces that he created with SR. Instead we get 40 minutes of wonderfully colorful upbeat songs with sweeping strings, brass, and layers upon layers of production. Jonsi's vocals are, as always, in top form and every song here is in itself a mini masterpiece of extreme joy.

37.) The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever
Coming off two twin peaks, it was damn near impossible for The Hold Steady to continue their complete winning streak and top the absolutely pitch perfect Stay Positive, but instead of trying something new or experimenting in any way possible they basically made a sequel to SP. Like most sequels this plays like a lesser version of the original, not to say that this album is without its merits, it still features all of The Hold Steady's rocking trademarks but the departure of their keyboard player may have dealt the band a bigger blow that one might have initially suspected. While this album may be a holding pattern for the band, it is still a fine record proving once again how amazing a rock n' roll band The Hold Steady truly are but hopefully they mix it up a bit on their next time out.

38.) Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Sounding much more like a fourth Shins record than one might expect, this collaboration between Danger Mouse and The Shins's James Mercer is a very solid outing. Truthfully I was expecting a little more experimentation, much like I was on Danger Mouse's collaboration with Beck on his Modern Guilt album. Still, this does offer a lots of ear candy especially on the excellent "Trap Doors" and the great closer "The Mall and Misery". Overall this album is a winner and anyone even remotely interested in The Shins will find plenty to enjoy here but for any of us expecting something completely new will be slightly disappointed.

39.) Interpol - Interpol
While the previous Interpol album Our Love to Admire was seen by most as a huge falloff after the sheer brilliance of the bands first two records, I thought it was almost just as great. Sure it had a couple of duds but any album that boasts classics such as "Mammoth" and "Rest My Chemistry" is a classic in my book. When I started to hear bad things about this record I was very quick to dismiss such criticism as I felt most people were crazy for trashing this great band on so many occasions. I have to say I agree with most of the criticism regarding this record. While there are many great moments here, there are no solid or truly memorable songs. The thing sounds pretty great while it is on, but very few of these songs really stand out after it is over. "Barricade" shows that the band can still write a killer single and there a few others that can stand along their previous work but for the most part this record is kind of dull, which is something I never thought I would say about this band. That being said, I am a huge fan of this band and I will take whatever I can get so I gave this album more than a few spins this year and I have to say I will continue to go back to it but in no way does it hold a candle to their first three records.

40.) Love is All - Two Thousand and Ten Injuries
For anyone that was slightly annoyed by singer Josephine Olausson on previous Love is All records (like I was) I have to say her screech is wayyyy less abrasive here, she is
sounding more like Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs than Poly Styrene from X Ray Spex this time out. This is a very good thing because as much as I enjoyed the first two records, they were hard to get through at times. Luckily the band has created it's best set of songs as well this time out, they are still lo-fi but each track feels much more fleshed out and catchy resulting in not only their best album to date but one of my favs of the year.

41.) The Magnetic Fields - Realism
A mostly acoustic, folky collection by the great Stephin Merritt and company that combines whimsy, singalongs, and heartbreak; in other words a classic Magnetic Fields record. After the absolute magnum opus 69 Love Songs in 1999 (one of my favorite albums of all time) Merritt decided to record a trio of albums using no synth. This, the last of the trilogy, differs from the previous albums greatly. While both I and Distortion used a majority of electric instruments and the latter used production effects to gain it's title worthy sound. This one is more focused on sounding organic. Truthfully any of the songs from his last three albums would have fit on the chaotic, glorious mess of 69 Love Songs but it is still interesting to have them broken up by subject and sound as they are here and even 69 Love Songs had a concept (hence the title). Merritt likes/needs to classify things and that is ok as each of his records is a cohesive journey and his songwriting is always something to be marveled at. This is the kind of music that I imagine would be played at a swanky cabin with Merritt leading the hoedown after drinking some tea with his pinky up. Great stuff.

42.) Massive Attack - Heligoland
A deep dark record and truly one of the best things Massive Attack has ever done, I love they way their recent soundtrack work has influenced this record. This plays like a great collection with a handful of great guests vocalists including Damon Albarn (whose one song here is better than the entire new Gorillaz album), Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval (one of my favorite voices in the universe), and the true standout on the record by TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe. This album is just a couple notches below 91's classic Blue Lines and 98's Mezzanine making this truly essential to anyone even remotely interested in trip-hop or experimental music.

43.) The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme
The best Swedish export since Ikea or Abba, The Radio Dept. make seemingly simple pop songs through a distorted haze. Each of these songs sounds like it could be a hit on some alternate universe where quality music equals record sales. This is synth pop done in such a perfect way that you forget you are actually listening to simple pop songs, these are just so well crafted and well done that they go by without much notice at first. After repeated listens you are struck by how wonderfully beautiful these tunes actually are. I hear elements of Cocteau Twins as well as The Pet Shop Boys in what they do but truly they have their own voice and it is fully represented on this, their best album to date.

44.) The Orb featuring David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres
An space sound odyssey, and a great one at that. Taking two artists seemingly very different from one another and letting them both do what they do best (in this case The Orb's minimalism and David Gilmour's distinctively tasty guitar sound, which truly shines here) and molding them into something completely new yet comfortably familiar. This is set up into two "pieces" but truly this is an experience that needs to be taken in all one complete setting. This is very cinematic stuff, much like Pink Floyd "Echoes" in it's ability to take the listener on a true journey but never bogged down by it's indulgence. Very impressive stuff that any fan of either artist's work will surely appreciate.

45.) The Roots - How I Got Over
Easily one of the most consistent bands in history, The Roots take a more subdued tone here on their ninth studio album. Guests ranging from personal favorites like The Dirty Projectors, Monsters of Folk, and John Legend all provide great moments but truly the band themselves, as per usual, are the real stars here. Solid, tight, and consistently exciting; they move from one groove to another without any hesitation or awkward moments. Main MC Black Thought is great throughout this thing as well, providing a ton of witty quotable lines and deep reflections on daily life. The dark subject matter on most of these songs is actually a welcome thing as most hip hop these days is way to caught up in parties and money. It is good to see The Roots make a socially relevant album in 2010 when so many others are not.

46.) The Futureheads - The Chaos
Another great album by this amazing band, this is easily their most angular and interesting work since their classic debut. Every song here is a winner and their willingness to experiment makes this album extremely interesting.

47.) Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
Dark and bluesy, this second record by the Jack White led project Dead Weather is another total winner. This album is tight and skeletal and truly sounds like it was recorded in the basement of a haunted mountain house in the middle of a dark cold night. It has evil undertones and singer Alison Mosshart is truly an ass kicker throughout. Every song is a monster in it's own right and while we all wait to see if The White Stripes will ever make another record if Jack White keeps putting albums out as good as this then we all really have nothing to complain about.

48.) M.I.A. - MAYA
While this album in no way compares with M.I.A.'s first two, it is still a solid outing with a few classics. The lyrical content is a bit limited here though as is the musical diversity, it seemed like her first two records were bursting at the seams with creativity and ideas, while this one feels a bit claustrophobic and stifled. Still when this record is good, it burns, like on the excelled "Born Free", "XXXO", and the reggae influenced "It Takes a Muscle". But too many of the songs feel rushed and not completed which bogs the pacing a lot. All in all I feel that this is an extremely interesting album, a bit schizophrenic, but extremely exciting at times but taken as a whole it never really gels like her previous records did.

49.) Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
An extremely impressive album and one that took awhile for me to fully grasp as it's dizzying array of sounds can be a bit overwhelming at first. After repeated spins the varying textures start to make sense though and you begin to realize how insanely great this entire album is. Some tracks resemble the harshness of recent acts like Sleigh Bells while other resemble the icy quality of groups like The Knife. Truly though Crystal Castles have developed into an act all their own here, one that can't be compared easily to anyone else at the moment.

50.) Bryan Ferry - Olympia
When this album was first being worked on I read that this would be the first Roxy Music since 1972's For Your Pleasure to feature Eno, and the first overall RM album since 1982's Avalon, needless to say I was beyond excited. While this project eventually morphed into another Bryan Ferry solo record, it still does feature three members of Roxy (including Eno on a couple of tracks) and sounds like it could be the follow up sequel to Avalon. This is a gorgeous record, while not quite a pitch-perfect as Avalon or some of Ferry's 70's and 80's solo work it is still a highlight in his discography. While there are a large number of quite impressive guests including David Gilmour, Scissor Sisters, Nile Rodgers, Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, and Flea, among many others there is a cohesiveness to the entire thing and shows how larger than life Ferry's persona is. His voice, or croon as it is, is still in fine form and his ability to turn a phrase has not been diminished by time one bit. Much like latter day Roxy Music this is complete mood music, something best experienced at home after a long day.

51.) Jenny and Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now
Reeling herself in a big after the HUGE feel of her last album, the excellent Acid Tongue. Jenny Lewis comes back with AT producer (and boyfriend) Jonathan Rice to create this easy-going, laid back fun duet record. There is not much heady stuff on here, no over-thinking, it is just as the title indicates a "fun" simple record. It really sounds like two people who just decided to write some fun songs and sing them together, nothing more or less. This downplays a lot of the ambitious nature of Lewis's previous records but at the same time it is really refreshing to hear her come back down to earth a bit. As for Rice, he is clearly overshadowed by Lewis here which isn't surprising given her talent range plus his songs here are nothing to be embarrassed about, even if they are a bit slight. This album is everything that She and Him is not, meaning it is good and I can listen to it without cringing.

52.) Neil Young - Le Noise
Every new Neil album is an entity unto itself, you really have no idea what "kind" of record he will put out next. It could be a hard rocking album, a country album, an acoustic album, etc. The one thing Neil has a handle on is that each album will have it's own concept, be that a lyrical concept as in last years Fork in the Road or a musical concept as in this album. Lyrically this balances songs on war, autobiographical songs, and songs on death. None of these are new lyrical territory for Mr. Young so musically is where the surprises come in. This is a solo album in the truest sense. It is just Neil and his guitar (both electric and acoustic) and anyone expecting producer Daniel Lanois's beautiful atmospherics from his work with U2 and Dylan will surely be in for a surprise when they hear the minimalism enclosed within this record. The starkness of the music and production brings to life a great (albeit very short) set of Neil songs, although this isn't one of his very best albums, it is one that I feel I will be puling out from time to time as it truly is completely different than anything in his long and winding catalog and that in itself is quite an accomplishment.

53.) The Sword - Warp Riders
This is some sweet nerd metal right here, I have no other words to describe this band except awesome. This is a science fiction concept album that has so many great "did that just happen?" moments that you are left breathless and bewildered after it's completion. While this bands debut Age of Winters is probably the best place to start, this album absolutely destroys their second album, the dull and lifeless Gods of the Earth. Hooking up with a good producer has helped this band tighten up and truthfully they never sounded better. This is also the most varied record musically the band has released to date. While they are not up to Mastodon levels of excitement and prowess (who is?) The Sword has bounced back and made a truly original and exciting record here.

54.) Black Francis - NonStopErotik
Black Francis/Frank Black no matter what you call him, this is easily his best solo record since his absolute 1994 masterpiece Teenage of the Year. It is also his easily his most Pixies sounding album in a long time as well which is obviously a good thing. Judging from the title you can tell what most of these songs are about, but they aren't creepy or disturbing like you may think. Also his cover of The Flying Burrito Brothers "Wheels" is a great addition. This is the perfect starting point for any old Pixies fans who have avoided Frank Black's solo records.

55.) Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
Sounding like a drunken mix of "Lifted.." era Bright Eyes, The Replacements, and The Pogues, New Jersey's Titus Andronicus is surely ambitious. While this record is pretty stunning in spots, I find I do not want to listen to it for a loooong time after it is complete. It's 65 plus minutes are simply exhausting, the band is surely giving it their all and that is commendable but they tend to overdo it, a lot. Also, I find some of the lyrics a bit trite and rather annoying. In short bursts this thing is great and if this album were a half hour shorter it would have probably been way higher up on this list, sometimes what you leave off of the record is just as important as what you leave on. In short, with some proper editing this thing could have been a stone cold classic but brevity is clearly not what this band was aiming for and this album unfortunately suffers for it.

56.) The National - High Violet
This album will probably be way closer to the top of every other person's list this year. It's not that I don't like this band, I still think their album Alligator is a masterpiece it is just that they don't do anything that really excites me here. I can't really pinpoint what it is that doesn't excite me about them, sure Matt Berninger's voice is monotone, but so are many singers I love. They are mellow for the most part, but again so is a lot of what I listen to. The songs are well written and well performed, so there is no complaint there either. I listened and re-listened to this album time and time again this year to see what I was "missing" and I still don't get it, sure certain songs here are great "Bloodbuzz Ohio" and "Lemonworld" are complete standouts and the line about eating brains is pretty entertaining but after listening to this album I want to run to my collection and put a Gang of Four or Minutemen record on, anything with some excitement and passion to overcome what I just went through for the past 40 minutes. Even with all the negatives, this album still belongs on this list as I have enjoyed it from time to time but I am still wishing that their next album will have some of the conviction of their earlier stuff.

57.) John Legend and The Roots - Wake Up!
Mostly featuring covers of classic Soul, R&B, Gospel, and Reggae songs, this excellent collaboration (named after the Arcade Fire song!) showcases both Legend's excellent soulful voice and the undeniable versatility of the amazing Roots. While Legend is great throughout it is nice to hear The Roots' Black Thought on two songs, as well as an appearance by Common, and an classic cameo by CL Smooth. The entire record plays like a great oldies station on a roll, you have some nice quiet storm classic tunes, a reggae song, a 12 minute cover of a Bill Withers number, and even a reggae jam. While most of these are "message" songs, this rarely is preachy. Instead it feels like a bunch of jaw droppingly good musicians just jamming through some of their favorite songs, it turns out to be a fun album and proves how great classic 60's and 70's R&B truly is.

58.) Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame
Philly's Dr. Dog has been at it awhile now making great records, touring, rinse, repeat. While none of their albums are that remarkably different from one another it is always a treat when they unleash another on us like they did this year. This album follows in the step of their previous record Fate, meaning more world weary, slightly psychedelic offerings all with a down home touch and great vocal harmonies. Some songs resemble The Band, others The Beach Boys, others contemporaries like Band of Horses or Great Lake Swimmers but what makes them so special is the vulnerability shown throughout. Standouts like "Shadow People" and "Jackie Wants a Black Eye" show their songwriting is still remaining consistent as well. All in all, it's another winner by this great band. It's not going to surprise if you are at all familiar with them but it you will no doubt have a great time while it is playing.

59.) Scissor Sisters - Night Work
After perhaps stretching out a bit too far on their previous record Ta-Dah, the excellent Scissor Sisters reel themselves back in a bit on this record. That's not to say that this isn't over the top and crazy, because it is, but the fun is more direct and sharper here. This isn't music for everybody (just check out the cover if you don't believe me) but man no one can deny the energy that these songs have. Even the ballad "Fire With Fire" is HUGE and never weighed down in any way. The 80's obsession is super fun here as well, while their first album tried to meld The Bee Gee's with Elton, the second tried for solo McCartney bombast, this one just takes all of the trashy influences of the me decade and spits them back at us for 12 fabulous tracks.

60.) Sade - Soldier of Love
Truthfully many of the songs here could easily be interchanged with any other tunes from Sade's previous records, but the familiarity here is definitely not a bad thing. Simply put, besides the excellent title track, this album kind of just floats by without much excitement or commotion, but that doesn't take away from how good it sounds once it is on. It is perfect dinner party music, meant for the background, not to interrupt or stick out but just to sound good while it is on. That is not taking anything away from the excellent performances on here, as they are all great, but sitting and listening to this thing with full attention is just not what it is meant for in my opinion. The aforementioned title track is a monster though, a total barnburner with a great beat, Sade's excellent voice and just a brutal vibe throughout. The rest of the album can't help but pale in comparison, but as stated previously this is mood music and when taken as such it is pretty damn close to perfection.

61.) Free Energy - Stuck On Nothing
Produced by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, this excellent debut by Philly's own Free Energy is pretty much a perfect pop/rock album. Being on the DFA label and being produced by Murphy will immediately give a lot of people the wrong perception of this band. A lot of people's initial reaction to hearing this would make one think that this album would sound like The Rapture or LCD but truthfully this couldn't be farther from the truth. This is a rock n' roll record, plain and simple. It is drums, guitar, bass, and vocals played with conviction, emotion and (pun intended) energy. This sounds a lot more like Cheap Trick or The Knack than any synth based band of today. This records plays along so effortlessly that it impossible not to get swept away by the sheer laid back fun of it all. This thing rocks, plain and simple, in an old school kind of way. Great stuff.

62.) Mastodon - Jonah Hex: Revenge Gets Ugly EP
It makes perfect sense for a band as cinematic as Mastodon to do a film score and this 6 song soundtrack ep for the film Jonah Hex does not disappoint in the least. While this really is only 4 actual songs (the last two tracks are alternate versions, which are actually better than the original versions) the entire thing plays like a great atmospheric soundscape. Completely instrumental and rather subdued for a band as over the top as Mastodon, it is a great to hear this side of the band (although I still miss their trademark prog heaviness).

63.) Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
A MUCH more pop affair then their previous work, I kind of slagged this record for a long time this year. As I have recently been giving it more spins this record does have it's own certain charm. For those of us looking for more of the country tinged folk seen on their first two records, it is here but in much smaller sugar coated doses. Some of these songs resemble MOR 70's act's like America rather than previous BOH contemporaries like Fleet Foxes of My Morning Jacket. Benjamin Bridwell's voice is still in very fine form here and the band is very tight and impressive throughout. Impressive mostly because this album features a mostly new lineup than their previous releases, although a lot of these songs were fine tuned and road tested on their last tour before recording this album. Either way this is a mostly interesting album from this great band that if you get over the poppier sound will eventually grow on you.

64.) Hot Hot Heat - Future Breeds
Hot Hot Heat may be a guilty pleasure now, but I still can't get over how great those first two records are. They struck out big time on their third album, the absolutely horrid Happiness LTD and I pretty much wrote them off. This album was out awhile before I actually gave it a full chance and I have to say I kind of love it. Sure it is not as insanely catchy and fun as their first two but it is a different, grown up version of the band. They experiment more here than they ever have previous and it is all to great effect. More bands that are four albums in need to take chances like HHH did here (I'm looking at you Interpol!). Sure the lead singer may irritate even the most patient listener and they still do consistently rip off early XTC but any album that packs this much punch and energy is a complete winner in my book.

65.) Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back
Peter Gabriel's music has played such an important role in my life that truly any album he puts out would have made this list, but man oh man this record is kind of tough to get through. On paper this sounds like a great idea, one of my favorite artists of all time covering songs by some of my favorite bands. It sounded like a dream come true for me, he does songs by The Magnetic Fields, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, and he even does one of my favorite Talking Heads songs. The issue isn't the material he chose but the execution, Mr. Gabriel sucks the life out of these songs, making even the most melancholic songs seem somehow more depressing. His cover of Bowie's "Heroes" starts things off on a pretty awkward note. Simply put, "Heroes" is not a song that should be covered by anyone. It is Bowie's signature song and truthfully the original version recorded with Eno is untouchable, there is really no reason for anyone to try and put their own spin on it. Things somehow only get worse from there with Paul Simon's "The Boy and the Bubble", the original version kicks off one of the best albums of the 80's on a positive note, but here Gabriel sucks every bit of joy out of it. Another issue I have with this album is that it only features Gabriel's voice (which still sounds great, that is not the issue here) and an overblown orchestra courtesy of producer Bob Ezrin. If there were a small organic band on some of these tracks, a lot of these songs would have been a LOT better off. Of course not every song is terrible, his version of The Magnetic Fields "The Book of Love" is pretty great as is his version of Radiohead's classic "Street Sprit (Fade Out)" but these songs deserve better especially for someone as talented as Peter Gabriel is. Also, after waiting almost a decade since his last album, it was a bit disappointing that this is what us diehards got.

Remasters/Reissues:

1.) The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street (Deluxe Edition)
A strong contender for my favorite album of all time, this record finally got it's deluxe edition this year. While there were a number of different versions of this out this year I opted for the simple two disc set which contained the original album remastered and a bonus disc of 10 tracks. There really isn't much that can be said about the original album, it is pretty much everything that makes rock n' roll music great all on one album. It is easily my favorite Stones album, my favorite album of the 70's, and like I said a strong contender for my favorite album of all time. I would pretty much be speaking in pure hyperbole if I even tried to review it here. So I will just discuss the remaster job and the bonus tracks. The previous remaster of this sounded fine to my ears, if not a big muddy, but that is part of the charm of this record. This new version has the vocals wayyy up front, just try listening to the opener "Rocks Off" and not hearing the difference. It is immediate and instantly gave me chills. The rest of the record sounds great as well, I thought by brightening this album up it would take away from its drugged out ambience but it does nothing but enhance the greatness of all of these songs. The bonus disc is pretty great, if not revelatory, the alternate version of "Loving Cup" is interesting even though nothing will ever compare to the original (it's my favorite Stones song) "So Divine (Aladdin Story)" is a great tune that is pretty much worth the price of admission here, a great lost classic that slightly points the direction The Stones would take on their next record Goat's Head Soup. The other tracks are all good to have as well, even though Jagger clearly re-recorded some of the vocals in the present day it is still rewarding to have these tunes in my collection.

2.) Bob Dylan - The Whitmark Demos (1962-1964)
I have always been a HUGE fan of early Dylan, obviously everyone loves Freewheelin' and his other early records but his self titled debut doesn't seem to be held in the same regard as the others. Sure it is chock full covers with only three Dylan originals (all of which are classics) but the album has an innocent charm and his voice sounds so youthful and great throughout. This new collection collects 47 demos Dylan recorded between 1962 and 1964 for his first two publishing companies, Leeds Music and M. Witmark & Sons. They all have the same charm that surrounds his first album, and while some of these songs eventually made it on to Dylan's proper albums and others found their way onto previous bootleg series volumes this is the first time they have all been collected together with really great sound quality. There is a certain appeal to all of these songs, and it is great to hear Dylan's "young" voice as well, it is so pure and innocent. Even when he stops the song in the middle of the recording to fix a mistake it adds to the ambience of the whole thing. These two discs literally fly by, the entire thing is over before you know it and all you want to do is re-listen to the entire thing. It is like eavesdropping on the greatest songwriter ever create some of the best songs ever put to tape, it the sound of a genius being born. What is also remarkable is that Dylan was in his early 20s throughout the entire recording of these songs, already at such a young age he was creating these timeless masterpieces.

3.) Bruce Springsteen - The Promise
Springsteen was clearly on a roll in the 70's; after his landmark Born to Run album in '75 he was involved in a lawsuit that prevented him from releasing any music for the next three years. By the time the incredible follow up Darkness on the Edge of Town was released in '78, Springsteen had enough material for four albums. Between this new collection and the outtakes from this era that were compiled on the excellent Tracks box set you will own most of this incredible wealth of music. While this collection would have been well worth the price of admission just for all of the unearthed "new" Springsteen songs from this era what really makes this set special is how incredible all of the music actually is. This truly does play like a great "lost" album between B.T.R and Darkness and even has the same epic feel as his 1980 classic double album The River. There are too many great songs here to name and a couple of tracks that were made familiar by other artists renderings such as "Fire" by the Pointer Sisters and "Because the Night" by Patti Smith. The other, and perhaps most important, thing about this collection is what a great judge of his own work Springsteen was. He clearly wanted Darkness to be a tight and cohesive record, which it was. If any of these songs were added it would have taken away from the dark feel of that record and by leaving them off we are now given this chance to rediscover all of these amazing "lost" songs.

4.) Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come (Deluxe Edition)
Easily one of my all time favorite records, this Swedish band's third and final record is a masterpiece of experimental political hardcore punk. This album sounded NOTHING like anything else when it was released in 1998 and at first I must admit I wasn't a huge fan. The techno beats, the jazz breaks, the pure schizophrenic energy were all too much for me to take. After giving this album many listens it all clicked and I now considered it to be one of my favorite albums of all time. I was extremely excited when they announced this deluxe version coming out this year. This generous package comes with the original album on the first disc, an excellent live show from 1998, and a DVD of a documentary on the band and the making of this album titled Refused Are Fucking Dead. The only thing that this doesn't come with is the 5.1 surround mix of the album that came out in 2004 but the DVD has live versions of every song in this configuration. The extreme highs and lows of this record take you on an emotional journey, seriously this goes from the most extreme hardcore to the most beautiful jazz breaks in the same song, no other band since have melded such sonic extremes this successfully since.

5.) Jimi Hendrix - Valleys of Neptune
Featuring 12 previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix studio recordings, this is a mostly interesting look at some songs that would have maybe been included on Jimi's fourth studio record. Truthfully, this doesn't paint the entire picture but if you put this record together along with 1997's excellent First Rays of the New Sun you have a good look at some of the final studio sessions of Jimi's career. While it is always exciting when you get to hear new unearthed material from an old favorite like Hendrix there are a few duds here that would have probably been left in the can, but for completest sake it is a good collection. Plus some of these songs are really raw and you get the full emotion of his guitar playing, especially on his instrumental cover of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love". All in all it is good to finally own many of these recordings as one can never really have to much Hendrix in their collections but this isn't going to change your life like Axis:Bold As Love or Electric Ladyland will.

6.) Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power (Legacy Edition)
Another one of my all time favorite albums gets the deluxe version this year. While I actually prefer The Stooges' previous album Fun House, this one is the more popular and the one most people start with when discovering this band. This set brings back the original mix (the previously released CD version of this was the 1997 Iggy Pop remix) as well as a raw and great live show from Atlanta in 1973. While I like having the original mix of this album now, my ears are still used to the remix that I have owned for over a decade so I decided to keep my old CD of this as well as owning this set. This is surely an album I don't mind owning more than one copy of but I still think that the remix should have been presented here as well. Either way this is essential listening for anyone even remotely interested in rock music, simply put, one of the greatest American rock records of all time.

7.) Neu! - Neu! 86
While in no way comparing to their groundbreaking 70s work, this previously unleased fourth album by German's Neu! has some unbelievably gorgeous moments with an undeniably 80's touch. This was the 80s's version of Krautrock, less abrasive than Can, less experimental then Neu!'s previous work and more pop based than Kraftwerk. It is great to hear this "lost" album after all of this time as it truly does stand the test of time and sound completely relevant today, hugely influential stuff here.

No comments:

Post a Comment