Music Flashback '10: My Favourite Seven Albums of 2010

The past twelve months brought mixed tidings in music. Eminem and Lady Gaga showed that staggering album sales is not entirely a thing of the past, but it became painfully clear for folks like Christina Aguilera that perhaps it’s time to call it a day. Usher got his mojo back, talented newcomers like Bruno Mars and B.o.B sizzled but, unfortunately, countless seasoned vets (who shall remain nameless) failed to rediscover the magic that made them stars. All in all, after wading through this year’s overwhelmingly mediocre crop of albums, I managed to settle on these seven (a weird number, I know) as my top picks of 2010.

Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
No one man should have all that talent. A spectacular, hypnotic 13-track record that is nothing if not an instant classic, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Def Jam) delivered indisputable proof of his genius as a hip hop revolutionary. What’s more, this is rap music like it was meant to be: menacing, dramatic beats, intricate rhymes and rhythms, lush and flawless instrumentation. As with each of the rapper-producer’s previous four albums, the music consistently pushes the status quo into a new realm and challenges the mind, all the while entertaining and charming your socks off. Epic and mind-blowing, West’s Fantasy is a sonically pleasant peek into the rapper’s spectral visions, dreams and desires. By far the best rap/hip-hop album of the year, it’s a powerful artistic statement that takes listeners adrift in time and experience. You can’t help but surrender to the raw passion and luminous intensity of the priestly protagonist.

Katie Melua: The House
Listeners appreciated The House (Dramatico Entertainment) perhaps mainly for representing a mild departure for Melua into more energetic territory, yet not completely abandoning the soulful, melancholy delight that made her a beloved indie star. That Melua can transform simple poetry into transcendent, profound music, as she does beautifully on The House, is testament to her astounding skill as a lyricist and her finely tuned ear for melody. The album is a warm, melodic collection of tuneful folk-pop and acoustic tracks, with traces of jazz, blues, bluegrass, naked music and art-house goodness. The highlights are numerous, most notably the wonderfully jazzy “Plague of Love,” about longing and intimate human relationships, two subjects Melua consistently explores with mastery on her albums. She conjures up stunning imagery on the sublimely poetic “Red Balloons,” a complete study in heartbreak and desolation, and goes for Broadway-esque sensibility on “A Moment of Madness.”

Article Author: TYRONE S REID

Tyrone S Reid is an award-winning Jamaican writer and cultural critic who is passionate about the arts and providing cultural information for people who need it.

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