3 Life With
You, Proclaimers
(W14). Craig and Charlie Reid are back, thick Scottish accents
and all, with the title track being one of their best songs ever.
Other good songs include the romantic "Blood Lying on Snow" and
"Calendar on the Wall," and the religious-with-a-twist "If There's A
God" and "New Religion." A lot of anger in the other tracks.
4 Revival, John Fogerty
(Fantasy). Fogerty is back on his original label, which is safely
out of the hands of his bête
noire Saul Zaentz. It starts off wonderfully with "Don't You
Wish It Was True," and features one overtly political song, "Long Dark
Night," which is sort of a "Bad Moon Rising" for this decade's
war. Other goodies: "Gunslinger," "Creedence Song."
5 The
Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, Josh Ritter (SMG).
Idaho native with his 5th album. It's uptempo and tuneful, a more
consistent album than 2003's Hello
Starling, though none of these songs have quite the punch of
"The Snow is Gone" from that work. Best tracks: "To the
Dogs or Whoever," "Temptation of Adam."
6 Children Running
Through, Patty
Griffin (ATO). 43-year-old rootsy singer-songwriter
from New England with a variety of songs. "No Bad News" is
uptempo and ebullient, "Stay on the Ride" is a life-affirming rap, and
"Up to the Mountain" a moving tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.
The rest are mainly slow and sad, and don't live up to these three.
7 Time Being, Ron Sexmith
(Ironworks). Another 43-year-old, Canadian Sexsmith is one of
North America's premier songwriters, and is not to be confused with
Richard Shindell, even though I often do. Most tracks are done in
a straight-ahead folk style, though "The Grim Trucker" has a sound
redolent of The Kinks. Favorite tracks: "All in Good Time" (the
first single), "Ship of Fools," "Never Give Up."
8 Sky Blue Sky, Wilco (Nonesuch).
Jeff Tweedy's group returned to their country-rock sound with this,
their 6th album. They've added two guitarists, Nels Cline and Pat
Sansone. The song "Impossible Germany" has shown up on numerous
"best of" lists in 2007. The group began in 1994 with the breakup
of Uncle Tupelo, an event that also produced the group Son Volt .
9 The Reminder, Feist
(Cherrytree/Interscope). Many people may be sick of the catchy "1
2 3 4," featured in commercials, but the rest of this tuneful album is
worth a listen nonetheless, and even "1 2 3 4" is fun after
awhile. My favorite cuts are "Sealion" and "Past in
Present." Her full name is Leslie Feist, she's 31 years old, and
was born in Calgary.
10 Teenager, The Thrills
(Virgin). Third album for the Irish band with the California
sound, their first since 2004's Let's
Bottle Bohemia. It has a grittier sound, which may make it
less appealing to fans of the earlier two albums. (So Much for the City was on my 2004
list at #3.) In any case, it hasn't sold as well, either in the
British Isles or in the U.S.
1984
Eyes That See in the Dark, Kenny Rogers
(RCA). An interesting collaboration between the veteran country
singer, pop sensations the Bee Gees who served as co-producers and
occasional backup singers, and Dolly Parton, who duets on the #1 pop
and country hit "Islands in the Stream." My favorite cut is
"Evening Star," featuring the Gatlin Brothers on backing vocals.
1985
Centerfield, John Fogerty (Warner
Brothers). Fogerty's comeback album after a decade lost to
copyright wrangles with his former manager Saul Zaentz. The
former leader Creedence Clearwater Revival got two memorable hit
singles out of this, "The Old Man Down the Road" and "Rock and Roll
Girls," as well as the baseball standard "Centerfield."
1986 Graceland, Paul Simon
(Warner Brothers). The most memorable of the three albums in
which he collaborated with a variety of instrumental styles. This
one featured a number of South African musicians, including Ladysmith
Black Mambazo. My
favorite cuts: "You Can Call Me Al", "The Boy in the Bubble," and the
Cajun-flavored "That Was Your Mother".
1987
In the Dark, Grateful Dead
(Arista). This album produced the Dead's highest-charting single,
"Touch of Grey," as well as the dark (and more typical of their work)
"Hell in a Bucket" and "When Push Comes to Shove." All but one
cut is 5:00 or longer, giving the listener a sense of long Deadish jams.
1988 Songs From The Southside, Bruce Hornsby and the Range (RCA). On my favorite of the three albums he did with the Range, Virginian Hornsby combined jazz piano licks with socially conscious folk-style lyrics. The album produced top ten singles "The Valley Road" and "Look Out Any Window," as well as "Jacob's Ladder" which was a hit for Huey Lewis.
1989 Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, Edie
Brickell
and the New Bohemians (Geffen). This band with the anguished
intellectual sounds had a huge hit with "What I Am" and a worthy
follow-up
in "Circle." After two well-regarded solo albums and marriage to
Paul Simon, she reunited with the group for the 2006 release "Stranger
Things."
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1990 An Attainable Love, Christine Lavin
(Philo).
New York based folk singer/songwriter most famous for her humorous
songs
("Sensitive New Age Guys," "Shopping Cart of Love: The Play") but she
can
be strikingly tender, as in "Venus Kissed the Moon." This was the
last "album of the year" I bought on LP, and it wasn't easy to get.
1991 Ragged Glory, Neil Young (Warner Brothers). The veteran Canadian rocker seemed to recover his old spark with the CSNY project "American Dream." This is a powerful record, both lyrically and in terms of volume. Best cuts: "Country Home," "Days That Used To Be," "Mansion on a Hill."
1992 The Visit, Loreena McKennitt (Quinlan Road). The third album by a Canadian woman who plays the harp. There are some instrumentals ("Tango to Evora") but also some orignal songs ("All Soul's Night") and striking settings of old texts, including Tennyson's epic poem "The Lady of Shalott."
1993 The Future, Leonard Cohen (Columbia). Poet-turned-folkrocker from Montreal. Cohen's best songs are so unremittingly morose that they can't fail to cheer you up. His voice isn't much, but the beat's infectious. Best songs: "Democracy," "The Future," "Closing Time."
1994 Singer Songwriter Beggerman Thief, Five Chinese
Brothers
(Prime CD). This is actually copyright 1992, but must have been
caught
in indie hell because it didn't get airplay here til spring '94.
Best cuts: "Paul Cezanne," "Stop Talking," "All I Need."
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1995 Lost Dogs and Missed Blessings, John Prine (Oh
Boy).
A veteran singer-songwriter from Melrose Park, Illinois, has penned
some
memorable songs including "Ain't Hurtin' Nobody," "He Forgot That It
Was
Sunday," "Lake Marie," and "Leave The Light On."
1996 Matapedia, Kate and Anna McGarrigle (Hannibal). The first album in six years from the singing sisters of Montreal, but less dark and more folky than "Heartbeats Accelerating" was. Even "Why Must We Die?" is done with their old wryness. Other outstanding tracks include the title and "Goin' Back to Harlan."
1997 The Book Of Secrets, Loreena McKennitt (Quinlan Road). Another remarkable set of compositions by this harpist-singer/songwriter/musicologist from Stratford, Ontario, reflecting Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. Favorite tracks: "Skellig," "Night Ride Across the Caucasus," "Mummer's Dance."
1998 Mermaid Avenue, Billy Bragg and Wilco (Elektra). The folk music event of the year--Woody Guthrie lyrics, heretofore rotting in an attic, set to music by English Marxist folkrocker Bragg. What's amazing is that the songs don't sound dated in the least. I don't know whether that's due to Bragg's contemporary settings or Guthrie's timeless lyrics.
1999 Morning Light, Paula
Joy Welter (Starry Sky Music). This is drawing outside the
lines--the
album is copyright 1995--but it was released privately in California
and
only made it to Iowa this year. A gentle singer with superlative
songs, including "Each Brings A Light" and "Long Ago."
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2000 Red Dirt Girl, Emmylou
Harris (Nonesuch). Wonderful songs about people, many of whom
have seen pretty tough times. But sung in Emmylou's gentle way,
they
suggest that they have achieved some kind of requiem. Best
cuts:
title, "Bang the Drum Slowly," "Michelangelo."
2001 Essence, Lucinda Williams (Lost Highway). Very intimate songs from a singer-songwriter from Lake Charles, Louisiana. Her first album appeared in 1978. She wrote all the songs on this album, which was produced by Bo Ramsey. "Lonely Girls" and title cut are good, but "I Envy The Wind" could grow hair on a cement post.
2002 Looking for the Moon, Tom
Paxton (Appleseed). This veteran folksinger turned 65 in
2002,
but celebrated by releasing some of his best songs yet, with the mix of
warmth (title, "Early Snow"), humor ("My Pony Knows The Way"), and
poignancy
("The Same River Twice") his fans have come to expect. My
son Eli really likes "The Bravest" about firefighters responding to
9/11.
2003 The Mavericks, The
Mavericks
(Sanctuary). Latin-influenced
country band featuring lead singer and songwriter Raul Malo.
Confusingly,
their first, independently-released album had the same name. This
one is an enjoyable listen from beginning to end. Best
tracks:
"Would You Believe" and "I Want To Know," as well as "Time Goes By"
which
features Willie Nelson.
2004 Lonely Runs Both
Ways,
Alison Krauss & Union Station (Rounder). Krauss is a
33-year-old fiddler born in
Champaign, Illinois, who records solo albums as well as group efforts
with Union Station. She does lead vocals on 10 songs, guitarist
Dan Tyminski on three, and guitarist Ron Block on one. Other
members are Barry Bales (bass) and Jerry Douglas (dobro).
Production, by the group, is incredibly clear and vibrant.
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2005 Country
Man, Willie Nelson
(Lost Highway). One from the vaults, recorded about a decade
earlier
but only in 2005 did any record company realize that an album of
Willie Nelson singing reggae songs would be a genuine contribution to
Western civilization. The collaboration with Toots Hibbert on
Johnny Cash's "I'm A Worried Man" joyously soars.
2006 The Seeger Sessions, Bruce Springsteen (Sony). Minus the E-Street Band, using a group of musicians assembled specifically for this album, The Boss gives the Springsteen treatment to traditional fok songs as a tribute to Pete Seeger, the man who may have done as much as anyone to keep that tradition alive. Best tracks: "Old Dan Tucker," "Oh Mary Don't You Weep."
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last update: 1/4/08