Leigh Nash – Blue on Blue: This is another album that surprised me this year. I had no expectations for it- I did not even intend to buy it. I am very glad I did. It is catchy in a sneaky, sublime, and charming way. This is not the type of album that will garner massive sales or rave reviews. It is a simple, sweet little record and I never mind hearing it. Current Favorite Track: “Angel Tonight.”
Barenaked Ladies – Barenaked Ladies Are Me: I have counted myself among the Barenaked Ladies fans for some time now but thought I was over them. BLAM has brought me back into the fold. The album is too long and there is some filler, but I found myself queuing it up again and again. I caught myself tapping my foot and cracking up during “Bank Job.” “Sound of Your Voice” still sounds like a Queen song to me and I love it. Current Favorite Track: “Adrift.”
Built to Spill – You in Reverse: YIR is not a collection of singles but a carefully crafted collection of songs that functions best when taken all at once. It can be a daunting task for those of us with short attention spans, but we are rewarded for our perseverance. I have always loved the Billy Corgan method of layering guitars (for my money, the Zwan record is the best example of this). Doug Martsch’s approach is similar, but he is a far more imaginative player than Corgan. The songs on YIR are filled with huge walls of guitars, complimenting and competing with each other. “Goin’ Against Your Mind” is a staggering opus that builds and deconstructs only to build up again. Current Favorite Track: “Goin’ Against Your Mind.”
Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways: This is as elegant a rumination on death, life, love, and loss I have ever heard. Would Highways feel as poignant if it were not a posthumous release featuring the last song Cash ever wrote and some of the final tracks he recorded before his passing? I will always hear this album through that prism. The ghosts of Johnny Cash and his beloved June Carter Cash are as important a presence as any instrument on the record. Their passing and, according to Cash’s ever-present faith, reuniting make this all the more beautiful. Current Favorite Track: "If You Could Read My Mind."
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
DJR --
Great as Hammersmith is, the E Street Band WERE better on the Darkness tour. Reference the Winterland show at Wolfgangs Vault for proof. Great list though.
-Glen
2 - El Bicho
"The Grateful Dead and other great jam bands"
Huh?! When did you convert?
3 - Mat Brewster
He's faking it for street cred.
4 - Tan The Man
Kudos on Guster. An amazing band and another amazing album.
"Ballad Of Broken Seas" is another great album.
5 - DJRadiohead
Damn misplaced commas. It was supposed to read the Grateful Dead and other, great jam bands. =)
Kidding. I meant what I wrote. The Dead are considered a great jam band whether I like them or not. I don't, but I understand their place in the pantheon.
6 - Mat Brewster
Whatever, we know you pretend so you can get some unshaven, unbathed hippie chick goodness!
7 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! A link to this article now appears at our Myspace Profile page.
8 - DJRadiohead
"Hippies suck."
---Eric Cartman
You can keep the nasty hippychicks, Sir Brewster.
Thanks for the linkage, Connie.
9 - Mark Saleski
You can keep the nasty hippychicks, Sir Brewster.
i'll take 'em!
10 - Andrew Careaga
I thought Dylan's album was just so-so, and the Leigh Nash work was just too much Leigh, too much syrup.
My top picks, for what it's worth.
AC