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Best of 2011 and early 2012

March 27, 2012Music'60s concerts, '60s rock, alternative, Americana, Anais Mitchell, Anna Calvi, Aruba Red, blog, blues-rock, Booker T. Jones, British Rock, Buddy Miller, country, country rock, country-folk, Dr. John, Dusty Springfield, Emmylou Harris, Esperanza Spalding, folk, Garbage, Gillian Welch, Greg Allman, Imelda May, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Jackie Deshannon, jazz, Jimi Hendrix, Kala Farnham, Laura Marling, Lindsay Buckingham, Lucinda Williams, Mark Lanegan, Music, Nick Lowe, PJ Harvey, rock, Rocket Juice & The Moon, Ry Cooder, Sharon Van Etten, Shelby Lynne, soul, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Beach Boys, The Black Keys, The Blues Project, The Civil Wars, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Yardbirds, Tom Waits, Top albums, Urge OverkillPaul Rosano

Finally a list of favorite albums from 2011. I’ve included the best albums of early 2012 as well. Here are the top albums from 2011:

1. El Camino, The Black Keys: No they haven’t lost their way. No, this isn’t a step back or a step to the side. This is infectious, rocking and raw, though not as raw as their early releases, tuneful and driving. They keep moving forward.

2. The Harrow & The Harvest, Gillian Welch and Let England Shake, P.J. Harvey: It’s a tie. Second choices each. Can’t separate them. Welch and her partner David Rowlings have produced an extraordinary duet album underpinned with roots guitar and banjo and enchanting vocals. The songs are spare country-folk pieces beautifully executed. As for Harvey, I’ve already mentioned this one in an early 2011 best-of list. It continues to grow on me if that’s possible. Highly thoughtful, enveloping musical statement featuring Harvey’s and her friends’ expert muscianship and musicality. There, I’ve used a form of music three times in that sentence.

4. I’m With You, The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Talk about an overlooked album. Oh, I’m sure it sold well. The only problem with this album is that it had to follow Stadium Arcadium, which was a career effort in creativity and popularity. Still, it’s more of the Peppers and the Peppers are quite something.

5. Hard Bargain, Emmylou Harris: This was my top choice for the early list. It’s dropped a few places, not because it isn’t worthy, because the later releases were just that good.

6. Tedeschi Trucks Band, Revelator: Another early choice that stood up. Blues, soul, R&B mix with Tedeschi’s heartfelt, soulful vocals on top and Trucks’ dynamic, penetrating slide running through it all. Continue reading Best of 2011 and early 2012 →

Best of 2011 so far

August 16, 2011Music'60s rock, alternative, Bill Frisell, blues, Buddy Miller, classic rock, country, country rock, Derek Trucks, Emmylou Harris, Greg Leisz, Imelda May, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Jack White, Jackie Deshannon, Lucinda Williams, Marc Ribot, PJ Harvey, pop, pop-rock, Spotify, Susan Tedeschi, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Majestic Silver Strings, The Raveonettes, The Strokes, Urge Overkill, Wanda JacksonPaul Rosano

Best 10, plus one, I’ve heard this year:

1. Hard Bargain, Emmylou Harris: A longtime fan, I was still stunned by the beauty and poignancy of this record. Dark but not despairing lyrics that hold a wealth of experience and ring Emmylou Harris Hard Bargain true. Spare instrumentation expertly chosen, and a clear, full production by Jay Joyce. Harris, whose voice — gorgeous and penetrating — is one of the best in not only country but contemporary music today, has consistently released quality albums, but this is the best of recent vintage.

2. Revelator, Tedeschi Trucks Band: A delectable brew of blues, R&B and southern soul. Tedeschi’s voice is suited well for the material and Trucks is stellar on his signature slide or single string guitar playing. Augmented by a fine horn section, the material, from slow burners to infectious grooves, brings out the best in the musicians with opener Come See About Me, Until You Remember and Learn How To Love standouts from a quality set.

3. Buddy Miller’s The Majestic Silver Strings: Miller leads a dream guitar band of Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz with guest singers, including Ann McCrary, Patty Griffin, Lee Ann Womack, Emmylou Harris and Shawn Colvin through a roots-style outing with western, country, jazz and rock overtones. The playing is a joyful listen, as expected, on material in part from Lefty Frizzell, Libby Cotton, Tex Owens and traditional pieces.

4. Mayhem, Imelda May: May’s follow-up to the big success of debut Love Tattoo sees her stretching out from her rock-a-billy base to show jazz and R&B leanings. Don’t worry there’s plenty of ’50s and early ’60s rocking material on hand. She’s been attracting a lot of attention for her collaborations with Jeff Beck in the past two years, but her own steamy, proficient delivery shines here.

5. Let England Shake, PJ Harvey: With each new album it seems Harvey perfects her playing on an instrument or learns a new one and for this one it’s autoharp, last seen with the Lovin’ Spoonful in the late 1960s. Much has been made of the lyrics on this record being more outwardly directed and socially conscious rather than a reflection or Harvey’s inner self. That’s true, but it’s Harvey’s wonderful vocals, melodies, instrumentation, arrangements and production that make this another compelling addition to her strong catalogue.

Continue reading Best of 2011 so far →

Three for 2010: Chieftains, Farnham & Beck

July 22, 2010Musicblog, blues, blues-rock, classical, classical piano, Classical rock, country, Emotion & Commotion, folk, Imelda May, Jason Rebello, jazz, jazz fusion, jazz-rock, Jeff Back, Joss Stone, Kala Farnham, Music, music blog, Naked Honest, R&B, rock, rock-a-billy, Ry Cooder, San Patricio, singer-songwriter, soul, Tal Wilkenfeld, The Chieftains, Vinnie Colaiuta, world musicPaul Rosano

In the first half of the year, I’ve been listening to three CDs quite a bit, all beautifully executed but quite different from one another. They are easily three of the best records from the first six months of 2010 and three you should give a listen.

Chieftains San Patricio The Chieftains’ San Patricio gives a featured billing to Ry Cooder, an occasional collaborator with the Irish group who writes, plays, sings, produces and arranges on this unusual yet intriguing mix of Celtic and Mexican music based on a fictionalized version of the story of Irish soldiers fighting with the Mexican army.

San Patricio is somewhat reminiscent of Santiago, another Chieftains’ effort from 1996 on which they blended Celtic sensibilities with Galician music from northwest Spain.

The group showed the direct link between the two musical heritages while including collaborators Cooder, Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos, among many others.

The music on San Patricio is joyous, celebratory, heartfelt, forboding and ultimately upbeat and forward moving. The highlights are many, including the opener La Iguana with sensuous vocalist Lila Downs, who also appears on El Relampago; Ronstadt’s tender La Orilla de Un Palmar; the Cooder compositions The Sands Of Mexico and Cancion Mixteca (Intro) along with the song proper by Jose Lopez Alavez; March To Battle (Across The Rio Grande), which features a narration by Liam Neeson; and traditional numbers that feature Los Folkloristas and Los Camperos deValles.

It’s all a rich tapestry of the blending of these two musical styles that share so much in common.

The Irish soldiers, led by Captain John Riley during the war with Mexico (1846-48) were discriminated against and treated brutally by the American troops. So much so they defected to join a people with whom they had much more in common.

Although the thread of story on this record is entirely fictitious, there is no doubt music must have been a big part of the Irish soldiers’ experience as it is imbued so deeply in both cultures. A wonderfully realized example of what we now call World Music but is simply an inspiring work under any title. Continue reading Three for 2010: Chieftains, Farnham & Beck →

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Tag Archives: Imelda May

Best of 2011 and early 2012

Best of 2011 so far

Three for 2010: Chieftains, Farnham & Beck

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