Number Four: Ice Cube / Raw Footage
Ice Cube turns in his finest record since 2003’s Lethal Injection. The multi-faceted superstar brings his music out back to the hood with a collection of songs that can best be described as "positive gangsterism.” Instead of reveling in the trappings of “the game” Cube dissects the negative aspects and provides a musical escape route for those willing to listen. Centered around the bangers “Gangster Rap Made Me Do It” and “It Takes a Nation,” Cube creates an album that is truly inspiring and unapologetic at the same time.
Number Five: Tesla / Forever More
Tesla is one of those bands that got noticed during the 80’s hair metal boom even though they have more in common musically with Creedence Clearwater Revival than say, Poison. What they did share with hair bands was a habit of making albums that featured several hit singles and a fair amount of filler. Not so with Forever More. The album is solid from start to finish (much like their groundbreaking 1994 album Bust a Nut) and is a true rock album more than a collection of individual songs. Props to Tesla for producing something that’s getting rarer and rarer in this era of the I-pod.
Number Six: Metallica / Death Magnetic
This album made it into the top five of a lot of critics, but I gave it a lesser rating because honestly, in my opinion, I was hoping the band’s “return to their roots” would contain a bit more daring and edginess. Still the band accomplishes here what they mostly failed with on St. Anger (although I still say “St. Anger” the song is one of the best of their career). In other words, they have turned their group therapy sessions and more importantly Hetfield’s quest for sobriety into coherent, memorable songs. Especially compelling, for me at least, are “The Day That Never Comes” and “That Was Just Your Life.”
Number Seven: Scarface / Emeritus
After a long, illustrious and at times underappreciated career Brad Jordon is hanging up his Scarface persona. This album is far from his best solo work and is light years away from the musical mastery he created as one third of The Geto Boys. Still Emeritus is a great album. Scarface’s use of live instrumentation, much of it played by Face himself, coupled with his uncompromising lyrics, especially on the album highlights like “Can’t Get Right” and “High Powered,” make this one of the best albums of the year. Scarface will be missed.
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