"What? Part 4?!" you may be saying to yourself. Did you miss something, you wonder? Nope, not at all. Part 3 is still in its infancy, a list of my favorite metal-ish albums of the year, partially written, awaiting the delicate plinking at my keyboard that will take it to fruition. In the meanwhile, this, the final installment in this far too lengthy series, has sat nearly finished for weeks, waiting on Part 3 so it could take its rightful place in line behind it. After all, shouldn't the "best of the rest" follow the "rest of the best" of every genre I cared to talk about? Technically yes, but it's already February, and since I've already poured so much time into this, I just decided that during this quiet release week, why not unleash this monster instead.
So here it is, the albums that didn't quite make the cut for the best of rock, 2006. Although they are often pretty close to doing so, they often just narrowly missed the cut, so that's why I decided to go ahead and give them the spotlight, too. They may have some flaws, but they're also going to provide a lot of enjoyment for years to come. And who knows? Given a few months, and a few mood changes, things might change a whole lot - have you revisited your previous year-end lists to see if they're still valid?
- Jay Bennett - The Magnificent Defeat: It took Jay Bennett a few years, but in 2006 he finally released the kind of album that made listeners sit up and think "Maybe Jeff Tweedy should have kept him around in Wilco after all." Full of heartfelt ballads and Stones-influenced rockers, The Magnificent Defeat hearkens back to the Being There and Summerteeth years of Wilco, only stumbling on a few tracks where Bennett stretches too far for experimental sounds that don't completely work toward the songs' benefit. Minus those minor stumbles, this is some extremely strong material.
- The Black Keys - Magic Potion: The Black Keys keep taking small steps away from their swampy blues-rock origins and, depending on how you feel about staying true to roots, that's either a good thing or a bad thing. Here, the Keys are found incorporating some Sabbathy metal licks into their early ZZ Top sound. It's a grower, to be sure, but one thing's certain: "Your Touch" is one of the year's best songs. Go ahead, try getting it out of your head.
- Decemberists - The Crane Wife: For their major label debut, the Decemberists didn't pull any punches. If anything, they seem to have gone off the deep end, as if attempting to get the label to cry fowl. But they played along ("13 minute songs? Sure, why not?") and we the listeners benefited with this odd, beautiful alternaprog album that's destined to be an underground classic.
- Kaki King - ...Until We Felt Red: When we last heard from guitarist King, she was wowing audiences with her astounding technique, which had a worrying effect on many who wanted more from her musically. Well, she delivered this year. ...Until We Felt Red lays off of the showy guitar fireworks and instead focuses on textures and songcraft. Having Thrill Jockey mainman John McEntire producing and manning various percussive duties also doesn't hurt: the album feels like a typical Thrill Jockey release but with the added benefit of King's incredible guitar skills peeking out here and there.
![A Lazarus Taxon [3-CDs + 1 DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417WVWDT16L._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites.
2 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! a Link to this article now appears on our Myspace Profile page.
3 - Holly Hughes
I expected the Decemberists and Yo La Tengo albums to be worth listening to again and again -- both are the kind of quirky bands I treasure. My kids adore that Muse album, and each of them have different favorite tracks, because it IS all over the place. I guess it's always a question for a band, teetering between finding an identifiable "sound" for an album and creating enough variation that the tracks don't all sound the same. I hate it when the tracks all sound the same.
As you said, the real revelation was the Paul Simon "Surprise." I wish all long-established artists had the guts to do something this fresh at the stage in their careers when they don't have to anymore. (Hear that, Rolling Stones?).
4 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article was selected as an Editor's Pick this week.