Cranky's Favorites for 2003: Pop & Rock & Whatever
Published December 23, 2003
Ok, we're almost at the end of the road. Dick Clark will apply the magic faerie dust...the ball will drop and we will finish off that bottle of champagne.
But before that happens...before you get sick of eggnog, the A Christmas Story marathon, It's A Wonderful Life, or visits from relatives....read my list of favorite pop, rock & whatever records for 2003.
- Cat Power - You Are Free
This one really grew on me. Articles here, there & everywhere about the mysterious Chan Marshall. I finally gave in after the New Yorker bio. You Are Free is full of interesting melodies, sparse instrumentation and Marshall's beautiful voice.
- Richard Thompson - The Old Kit Bag
If Thompson releases music in any given year, chances are it'll be on my best-of list. This year's model is no exception. To go along with his classic wit you get piles of Thompson's guitar...one of the most singular guitar voices in rock.
- Rickie Lee Jones - The Evening Of My Best Day
I've been listing to this lady for years and years and she never disappoints. For reasons I can't quite nail down, this record reminds me of Pirates-era Rickie Lee.
- Dar Williams - The Beauty Of The Rain
I keep wondering when Dar's gonna run out of steam. Not here. Guest appearances from John Popper, Bela Fleck, Cliff Eberhardt, John Medeski and Allison Kraus really spice things up. So does Williams' textured and expressive voice. Her cover of The Band's "Whispering Pines" is just about perfect.
(BlogCritics review here)
- Joe Jackson Band - Volume 4
A fun reunion of Jackson's original band. With so many years between now and the skinny tie era, I'm just amazed at the freshness of Volume 4. A big blast from a group of new wave geezers.
(BlogCritics review here)
- Trey Anastasio - Plasma
Some Phish-y tunes getting a big-band (by way of New Orleans) treatment. Dismiss this as typical jam band fodder and you'll miss out on some skronky-good fun.
- Ellis Paul & Vance Gilbert - Side Of The Road
Two old friends get together to make some contemporary folk magic. I called this the folk record of the year, and I think I'll stick by that.
(BlogCritics review here)
- King Crimson - The Power To Believe
With Trey Gunn leaving the group and Tony Levin coming back home, The Power To Believe marks the end of an era. The well was sort of running dry on the previous ConstruKction Of Light, but they cranked things up a bit here. My wish for 2004? At the first show of the 'new' lineup, Tony Levin stops the proceedings to take a flash photo of Mr. Fripp.
- Metallica - St. Anger
Yea, Yea...it sucked. They've sold out (again!). It's the worst thing they've ever done. Hetfield's voice is shot. The bass is lame. The guitar solos are gone. Lars' drums sound like crap, he's a jerk...and his mother dresses him funny.
Whatever.
St. Anger has a unique sound...and goddammit, it rocks!
- Warren Zevon - The Wind
To me it's the most powerful record of the year. Zevon and his friends got together and really came up with something special.
The record of the year.
(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)
Mark Saleski is a writer and music obsessive based out of the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. On his best day, he hopes to channel the ghosts of Lester Bangs and Jack Kerouac. He spends the hours of 9:32PM to 1:37AM carving out music reviews and essays for Jazz.com, Blogcritics.org and other publications.
- Cranky's Favorites for 2003: Pop & Rock & Whatever
- Published: December 23, 2003
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- Section: Music
- Writer: Mark Saleski
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Comments on this articleComments
I like Metallica. even this album listed below. Can I buy it from here?
All fans of metal, lets be honest. Metallica started sucking the minute the black album was released. Not to say that Unforgiven II was not a fantastic epic showcasing the endless possibilities of the genre.
I think the black album is Metallica's lowest point - yes, lower than the Load era. I can listen to most of either of those albums, but the black album sounds cheesy and dated, and time has revealed how much of a sellout that album was. In comparision, the Load discs were a calculated step away from their sound, which, at the time, looked shocking. They've held up a lot better than the black album, I'm afraid. That is an album locked in a particular time period, dated because it was a watered down Metallica that utilized many of the genre's more insubstantial traits, where before that the band had concentrated on making music that consciously tried to be differnt - more intelligent, faster, heavier. The black album was a calculated attempt to score the big hit. And they did. Rip on them I may have when they were released, but Load and Reload garner a lot more time in my CD player than the black album does. Time will only tell how St. Anger fairs, but I think it's going to do okay. Fans will get over the "shock" someday and will be able to look at the album with fresh ears again. I have my problems with the production (too harsh, not unlike the new Ministry, which is quite good otherwise) but musically I find it quite enjoyable.
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i WOULD SUGGEST sTACY'S mom, Fountains Of Wayne.