Here it is, almost mid-June and no one has put forth a Best of 2010 mid-year list. Well then, I’ll give it a go. Feel free to correct me as needed…
Best Reissue
Chicago Transit Authority – Chicago (JUST KIDDING! It’s obviously Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street. I mean, could this award even be up for debate? Exile isn’t my choice as the all-time all-time, but it’s one of the few reissues I bought and didn’t feel at least a little cheated afterwards.)
Concert of the Year
Wilco April 7, Concord Center For the Arts (I saw them from the front row at a tiny old theatre in New Hampshire. An absolutely stunning 3 hour show. Nels Cline could make a cup of coffee nervous.)
Overlooked from 2009
Carolyn Marks & N.Q. Arbuckle (my iTunes stats say that this is my most listened to album this year. Every song works.)
Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers (such a nice, sweet voice. “You Only Believe Me When I‘m Lying“ was a totally radio ready song. Should have been a major hit.)
2010 Used Discs For Sale (only used once)
Willie Nelson – Country Music (Willie is on this list? That seals the deal – I’m going to hell when I die)
Ray Wylie Hubbard – A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment Hint, There Is No C (I must have something against Texas, I guess.)
Widespread Panic – Dirty Side Down (I’m really disappointed in myself that I don’t like these guys more than I do. “North” should be my theme song. Good musicians; good songs; whats not to like? I can’t explain it.)
Shelby Lynne – Tears, Lies, & Alibi’s (I remember going to see her live in ’08. The room was filled with single guys in their 40s who were there to gawk at Shelby. A total sausage-fest, the audience had to be 80% males, most of whom appeared to be alone. Anyway, I was alone too, as my wife had to bail on me at the last minute. I felt like showing everyone my wedding ring – “hey, I’m married, okay? I’m no pathetic loser. It just so happens that my wife had to work O.T. tonight, alright? That’s why I’m alone!” I suppose I’m not the most secure guy in the world. Anyway, it’s not that this album is bad. It’s just the same as Identity Crisis or Suit Yourself. Move forward, Shelby.
Ryan Adams – Extra Cheese Not really an album, these (mostly) previously released songs were released as a playlist on iTunes for Valentine’s Day as Ryan’s love letter to Mandy. Extra, extra cheese.
Random “Out of Character” Album that I like (or can tolerate, at least)
LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening (and I mean really, REALLY out of character.)
Album That My Fly Fishing And Hunting Buddies Would Beat Me Up If They Heard Me Play
Rufus Wainwright – Songs For Lulu (This album is my guilty pleasure for 2010. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Also, be aware that a guy who fishes for trout with flies and fly rods will ALWAYS identify himself as a “FLY fisherman”. If you call him a fisherman, he will correct you immediately – “No, I fly fish”. It’s kind of like calling an orthodontist “a dentist”.)
2010 Best So Far (in no particular order)
Solal – The Moonshine Sessions (Phillippe Cohen Solal is a DJ from France. He’s probably the last guy you’d expect to see on this list. But his foray into country music – with help from Jim Lauderdale, Melonie Cannon, et al – is truly unique. Check out the covers of Dancing Queen, Pretty Vacant)
Karen Elson – The Ghost Who Walks (I just bought this last week so I don’t know if this is puppy love or not, but I really like this a lot. She’s a little bit Neko Case, a little bit Jenny Lewis, but darker. Song titles “The Birds They Circle”, “Thief At My Door”, “The Truth Is In The Dirt” prepare you for the trip. Jack White’s wife, for what it’s worth.)
Tift Merritt – See You On The Moon (She’s got a voice I put in the same camp as Zoe Muth (see above) and Laura Cantrell. Unabashedly feminine. Nice cover of Danny’s Song)
Kris Kristofferson – Please Don’t Tell Me…. (part music, part history lesson, all great)
Yarn – Come On In (fun stuff, great lyrics, their best yet. Check out “These Bars Don’t Look Too Friendly”, “Alone On The Weekend”.
Holly Go Lightly – Medicine County (Okay it’s 1977 and you’re driving your Plymouth Scamp thru the backwoods of Georgia on a typically hot and sweaty August night, when the car overheats and breaks down. You grab your flashlight and walk thru the dark down the unpaved road, searching for help. Finally, hours later, miles later, you hear the faint call of music coming from a small broken down barn. Exhausted, you stagger past the bedraggled locals who eye you suspiciously with drunken stares as you enter the barn. Holly Golightly is the band on stage.)
Black Keys – Brothers (blusey, psychodelic, wild.)
Courtyard Hounds (this could have been worse, much worse, had they chosen to take the country pop route. Happily they didn’t go that way as this album is more akin to the Chicks “Home” then some of their earlier material.)
Black Prairie – Feast Of The Hunter’s Moon (An ad on nodepression.com attracted me to this album. So advertising does work. At least it works on me.)
Cowboy Junkies – Renmin Park (I first thought it was their Sgt Peppers, but after repeated listens I’ve decided it’s their “Sandanista”. Great album. Come back to Londonderry, Michael.)
Natalie Merchant – Leave Your Sleep & Patty Larkin – 25 (pretty much the same album.)
Merle Haggard – I Am What I Am (I’m a late, but fervent worshiper at the alter of Merle. I put this album into a category of records I call “Old Guy Music” which includes albums like the last one from John Mellencamp or practically anything from Johnny Cash or Kris Kristofferson.)
