Aaron Neville has one of the greatest voices in the history of pop music. He has the body of a linebacker and the voice of an angel (sorry I stole that line). He has a distinctive vibrato and falsetto. He is a member of the first family of New Orleans soul music (Neville Brothers).
This album is a doo-wop project. Don Was (a great musician in his own right and now president of Blue Note Records) curated the project and had the genius (and the clout) to get Rolling Stone Keith Richards to help him produce. Richards and Was put together an amazing band. That band, with Richards at the helm, is brilliantly understated. It truly supports Neville’s singing and never overshadows – 50 years of backing a megalomaniac like Mick Jagger must have prepared Richards for this project.
All these songs will be familiar to even the most casual pop music fan. Neville loving and gently rocks these gems. This is a subtle affair – it reminds me of purring cat rubbing up against your leg on a cold night. Neville’s voice is really indescribable – pure honey or has he sings in “This Magic Moment:”
Sweeter than wine
Softer than the summer night
Hear Aaron Neville talk about his new album at NPR.
Neville, Was and Richards
Another classic musician is crossed off my bucket list. The 86-year-old legend was amazing. He oozed old-fashioned class and charm. He worked the Great American Songbook (his greatest hits) genuinely owning it. I can’t imagine what this guy was like when he was younger. His voice still is still there – dynamics and tone. He works a crowd with finesse and elegance. He takes these classic standards and makes them fresh – like you are hearing them for the first time. His voice and phrasing are so clear it forces you to recognize the poetry of lyrics.
The highlight for me was his finale where he set the microphone down and sang “Fly Me To The Moon” without amplification. You could close your eyes and imagine the old vaudeville theater smiling at the memory of its glory days reignited for one night. This music and The State Theater are a match made in heaven.
My wife, who has accompanied me to many shows over the last 30 plus years, declared this top-5. I agree and I feel privileged to now have a Tony Bennett ticket stub in my collection. Happy Birthday Pea – tonight will be a great memory. Tony we salute you!
A review from the St. Paul Pioneer Press is here. A review from CityPages is here.
Graham Parker’s Howlin’ Wind (1976) is one of my favorite albums. I am not much of a Parker fan, but that one album has really resonated with me over the years. When I heard Parker had The Rumour back together (the backing band that put Parker on the map) I through I would give this album a try.
Parker’s voice sounds fantastic – it is both snarling and soulful. It is a complex voice – pinches of electric Dylan, Elvis Costello, John Hiatt, Face’s era Rod Stewart, and Sam Cooke.
The Rumour sounds great too; a tastefully swirl of guitars and keyboards. Listen to this album about 10 times and music which seemed so simple and easy-going at first blush, reveals itself as the work of consummate professionals who have been perfecting their rock and roll craft for fifty years. Deceptively simple but perfectly executed rock, or as the title says “Three Cords Good.”
Like Howlin’ Wind this album mixes rock and roll, reggae, and folk rock. Where early Parker reeked of “angry young man,” this album is the work of a mature, but not quite satisfied man. He is not happy-go-lucky, but the bitterness has faded. Or as one of the songs on the album states, Parker has become “an old soul.”
At the height of his popularity, jazz guitarist, Pat Metheny recorded an immensely challenging album with free jazz king Ornette Coleman.
What a statement. After starting his career with the atmospheric European jazz label ECM, Metheny makes his debut on the pop label Geffen with a free jazz tour de force. How he negotiated this deal is amazing.
So what about the music? This is really a Ornette Coleman date – he wrote or co-wrote all of the songs. Metheny follows Ornette’s lead by either doubling along with Coleman or by squawking with his own horn like leads on guitar or guitar synth.
This is hyper music – over caffeinated. But in the right mood it makes total sense. I have had a long day and I finished it off by watching the Vikings get their buts kicked by the Packers. In the 4th quarter I turned down the sound an listened to CD 1 of Miles Davis the Complete Jack Johnson Sessions. That put me in the mood to spin a thought-provoking album prior to retiring.
As I looked through my hot pile (recently acquired or actively listening to vinyl) I stumbled upon this release. I had originally picked it up when it was first released in 1986 on CD, but somehow I recently picked up a used vinyl edition. I have no recollection of buying it and tonight was my first listen to this vinyl edition.
This is a student and his guru in a deep conversation. This is not easy listening, but if you are in the mood to listen to two giants spar this will capture your imagination.
I need to read The Lefstez Letter more regularly. A recent post talked about a great 1970 album simply titled Stephen Stills. The point of the post was to remind us all of a great album, but also to remind us that what once was considered the epitome of hip has not stood the test of time for hipness – even though it really is still hip.
I pulled the CD off my shelf and gave it a fresh listen. I have always been more of a Stephen Stills 2 guy (another great album), so his first solo album has always gotten kind of short-changed in my listening.
It really is an outstanding album. The first cut, “Love The One You’re With” is a pretty well-known song and most people probably assume it is a CSN song. Stills had friends in high places (literally and figuratively) – the album has guest appearances by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
There are some pretty funky grooves in this album (check out Clapton assisted “Go Back Home”) – not what you would expect given is CSN pedigree. But Public Enemy was clever enough to snip Stills/Buffalo Springfield hit “For What Its Worth” for their hit “He Got Game.” So Stills does have some serious funk credibility in my book.
This is an album that will appeal to the classic rock crowd and to younger music heads too.
I don’t know diddly squat about classical music. But if you have ears you have heard parts of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. It is constantly in movies. For the classical music snob it is so often heard that it is hated – like a pop song that has had too much air play.
I read a review in the Wall Street Journal that was enough to stir my interest to sample it. That sample was enough to get me to buy it.
This is an amazing piece of work – classical music for the Radiohead fan. I can’t get enough of it. I listened to it 5 times today. It works in the background and you can just sit and listen to it. I have no idea what it must mean to someone intimate with the source piece, but judging by the reviews it is a brilliant reinvention. For an ignorant slob like me it is just a plain mind blower.
If you want a little taste check out this You Tube video below:
This year we tried to spice up Christmas Day (day 3 with the family) with a beer tasting. It was my daughter’s idea and maximized by my wife procuring 4 oz mini pilsner glasses. Each branch of the family was to come up with the selections – but a special shout out to my nephew Michael for picking up truly exotic selections. All went well until we had traditional Christmas dinner of Swedish meatballs. We all ate too much and we hit the wall. It took everything in our power to muscle through the last selections (beer drinking should not be so hard).
We had a collection of beer snobs, regular beer drinkers (American lager of the lighter variety) and non-beer drinkers.
First up was as pale ale – Indeed’s Day Tripper. Indeed is a Minneapolis craft brewer. Per Indeed: Day Tripper’s description:
Regionally grown American pale malt is blended with rich European malts to produce a lighter bodied beer, bright in color, with a taut white head that keeps track of time as you sip. Then there are the hops – four pounds per barrel to be exact. Willamettes, Cascades, CTZ and Summits give this brew a citrus punch and spicy character that greets you in the nose and embraces your mouth with a clean, crisp bitterness. (ABV 5.4%)
Our crew had a variety of reactions: flat, dry, hoppy, spicey, “don’t mind it,” nasty, long after taste and KKLUKC (a cry of disgust from a light beer drinker not used to a hoppy beer). The pale ale fans found it a light first taste followed by a nicely bitter after taste. Over all on the mild end of bitter hoppy beers.
Next up was New Ulm Minnesota’s Schell’s Doppel Alt Schmaltz’s Ale Per Schells:
The rich, sweet malty flavor with hints of licorice is balanced by a chocolaty bitterness. Dark brown in color and topped by a thick, creamy tan head.
The light beer drinkers found this an acceptable dark beer – smooth and drinkable. The beer snobs found it unremarkable – not bad, just not special.
Next was Grimbergen Double Ale. This is beer brewed in Belgium. The official website is worthless – all flash and no legitimate content. I guess that is the value you get from Heineken ownership. My favorite quote from our crew was: “It smells like wet dog, but it tastes pretty good.” An inexperienced beer liked the sweet taste. The beer snobs found this yet another unremarkable beer.
I could have stopped here – this was the most remarkable beer I have ever tasted – Founders Backwoods Bastard. Per Founders:
Expect lovely, warm smells of single malt scotch, oaky bourbon barrels, smoke, sweet caramel and roasted malts, a bit of earthy spice, and a scintilla of dark fruit. It’s a kick-back sipper made to excite the palate. (ABV: 10.2%)
Holy Crap was this a good beer – it tasted like bourbon candy. Some found it a little too boozy, but even the light beer drinkers found this beer appealing. If you had an extra bottle it would make an amazing meat marinade. This is beer would go so good with a rare steak!
Unfortunately this is a very seasonal beer (November) and rare in Minnesota.
This was followed by another Founders – Centennial IPA. Per Founders:
Get ready to bask in the glory of the frothy head’s floral bouquet. Relish the citrus accents from the abundance of dry hopping. This one’s sweet, yet balanced. Malty undertones shake hands with the hop character for a finish that never turns too bitter.
Inexperienced beer drinkers found this sour with a strange after taste – one called it perfume. One of the beer snobs calls this his all time favorite IPA. It has a nice fruity flavor – it is hoppy without being overly bitter.
Ok this Founders beer is pretty damn good. A couple of days after the tasting I had their Porter. That does it – every beer I have tried by this brewery is fantastic!
WARNING – this is where the food coma took over – this seriously compromised some very good beers – I am so sorry.
Delirium Noel was the first post dinner tasting. Per Delirium’s website here is some descriptors:
Colour and sight: chestnut amber. A fine, white, creamy and lacing foam.
Scent: A complex entity of caramel malt, fruit, spices and the sweetness of the alcohol.
Flavour: A strong presence of alcohol, very spicy, slightly bitter. The aftertaste is sweet, spicy and slightly bitter.
Our gang was not over impressed with this beer – even the beer snobs. Comments included: yeast smelling (in fact a suggestion of semen-like smell); vinegar taste; hard first taste, but mellow with repeated sips; and finally “not overwhelmed with joy” from one of our beer snobs.
However the coolest bottle in the bunch – especially for the season!
Surly Smoke was exactly what it is called – a good beer and campfire rolled into a single punch. Per Surly’s website:
Ebony-hued, Smoke wafts out of the bottle and into your senses, borne on the wings of European traditions, wrapped in American innovation. Lager-brewed, like any true Baltic Porter, with smoked malts from Bamberg, Germany, the home of Rauchbiers, then mellowed by oak-aging. Black malt flavors mesh with notes of raisins, plums, figs and licorice with the subtle smoke on the side, for a complex and luxurious, yet silky smooth drinking experience. It’s a sipper at Alc. 8.2% by VOL., but everyone knows you can’t have Smoke without fire!
Per our crew: Our 91-year-old drinker cried out “Timber!.” A light beer drinker said “Worcestershire sauce!” Lots of complex flavors here – would love to have this with a big piece of red meat! Malty goodness.
Bourbon County was even more intensely bourbon than Backwoods Bastard. This would make an amazing marinade. Very powerful stuff that I am sure I would have enjoyed if I was not so over the top full at this point. This is a thick and boozy brew.
This is a Goose Island product and per their website:
Brewed in honor of the 1000th batch at our original Clybourn brewpub. A liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with thick foam the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer.
Like Jesus, nephew Michael saved the best for last. Unfortunately it was wasted on this bloated and by now inebriated crowd . I have no recollection of the taste, but fortunately I scrawled some notes – barely legible they say: “serve over ice cream, chocolate, coffee, goodness.” This is basically a desert beer, I look forward to my next chance to taste with a clearer palate and state of mind.
Per Surly: This massive Russian Imperial Stout brings waves of flavors; chocolate, cherries, raisins, coffee, and toffee. We add a touch of hops to make this delicious brew even tastier.
In summary this was a great idea for what would have been a very boring day 3 of holiday with the family. Lesson learned – less beers – I think four would be the right number – then you could really savor and analyze each one. I would be more deliberate about the choices. A couple of beers for before dinner (one bitter or sour and one simple lager for the non-beer snobs), a beer selected deliberately for a meal paring, and finally a desert beer. We ate dinner too early – a later dinner would have probably helped with the food coma. The tasting glasses made a huge difference – it made it seem more special. Another act of grace was the hostess had pretzels on hand. These were essential for pallet cleansing. It was nice to have a mix of drinkers: wine/cocktail drinkers, regular American lager drinkers, and some beer snobs. It was fun to see the inexperienced try some of these beers. Too many beer snobs would have been a drag.
See you next year!
10. Tord Gustavsen Quartet The Well
The ECM record label has been a reliable source of music for me for many years, but the I have not followed the label lately. This release brings me back to that great atmospheric sound the label has always been known for, yet this is entirely contemporary too. This is a traditional jazz quartet format (sax, piano, drums and bass), but this is not traditional jazz. There is folk music feel to the music. Very mellow and thoughtful music. This is gentle snowfall at twilight – I don’t have to go anywhere – but sip fine Bourbon by the fire music; reflective and relaxed.
Staying with atmospheric, is this marvelous Big Cats release. Big Cats comes from the hip-hop genre, but this is a very accessible release for the jazz fan. There is a great back story here – see my original review for some great links regarding that story. Mellow beats that will appeal to young and old.
8. Donald Fagen – Sunken Condos
Donald Fagen is the classiest sick fuck you will ever witness. Fagen has made a career out of wrapping his twisted thoughts in jazz/pop ear candy. Old man leering at a young lady – no problem – Fagen disguises it in perfect pop. If you like Steely Dan you will like this release.
Try to figure out the motivation of Fagen’s cover of Issac Hayes’ “Out of the Ghetto.” If you got some ideas leave me a comment.
7. Dr. John – Locked Down
I can’t believe I never reviewed this album given it was huge part of the soundtrack of my mind in 2012. The collaboration of Dan Auerbach (of the Black Keys) and Dr. John is totally inspired. This is deep dirty blues and funk. A great introduction for young audiences to the genius of Dr. John.
6. Father John Misty – Fear Fun
What a great album – pick your influences here: Beatles, Byrds, Gram Parsons, Jeff Buckley, and on and on. Ultimately this is a great classic California singer songwriter album – with one foot in the past and one foot in the present.
PS – coolest album cover of the year too!
I liked this album right away and it has grown on me even more. Dylan has been on a late career roll for over 15 years now. If you think gangsta rap is the only music filled with violence, when then you have not listened to folk music. There is more death and mayhem here than in a Tarantino flick.
Dylan late career surge has been filled with timeless folk songs that sound like they were composed 100 years ago and the punch line is that Dylan composed them last week. I admit Dylan’s voice takes an open mind or experience, but it is worth it – learn to like it – you will be rewarded.
4. Poliça – Give You the Ghost
Every once in a while, even I can’t miss a hip band on the local scene. And this band is about as hip and contemporary as you can get. Normally I hate auto-tune, but this band has figured out how to use it effectively and soulfully. I was crazy about this album for months and I still am.
3. Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill
2012 was a Neil Young year with two albums (Americana and Psychedelic Pill) and an autobiography. It was really a trilogy. The autobiography was meant to reflect on the past and to cure Neil’s songwriter’s block. My guess is all that reflecting on the past got Neil thinking about old songs he used to play – that coupled with writer’s block produced the covers album Americana. Finally out of all that comes Psychedelic Pill. Neil has had so many great albums in his career it is hard to rank it – but it was the perfect album of the moment. The three pieces are one interlaced whole. An aging artist still on top of his game. This is wondrous and ponderous shoe gazing grunge for aging hippies.
2. Pat Metheny – Unity Band
I have been a Pat Metheny fan since 1978. He is in my top 5 artist list. But that does not mean he is a shoo in for my top-ten every year he releases an album – he has had some duds. But this release is in my top 5 Pat Metheny releases. As a bonus I got to see this band live at the Dakota in Minneapolis this year. Pat does not typically play with a horn player, but when he does it is a treat. This album features a great sax player in Chris Potter. As far as I am concerned jazz guitar does not get any better than this.
1. Chris Robinson Band – Big Moon Ritual
Well my number one is probably the least hip choice a guy could pick. But I fell in love with this album the first time I heard it and have never fallen out of love with it since.
This is plain-old 70’s rock – you can hear Grateful Dead, Traffic, even early Springsteen. Most of the songs are extended jams that feel as good as your favorite jeans.
The arrangements are wonderfully spacey. The recording is superb without being fussy. If ever there was a contemporary album was meant to be heard on vinyl through a tube amp this is it.
Well that is it for my top-20. It was hard to narrow the list down and if I get the energy I will provide you a list of honorable mentions. Most of those honorable mentions could easily have been on the top-20 list – depending on my mood at the time. Have a great 2013!
20. Alicia Keys – Girls On Fire: This is adult R&B. That is not meant to suggest this is old fart music, but that there is a maturity to Alicia Keys’ music (always has been). Alicia is my favorite diva and I feel like her last few albums have been misfires, this one is on fire.
19. Norah Jones – …Little Broken Hearts: Norah was in need of serious makeover and this album is just that. The sound was foreshadowed last year on Danger Mouse’s Rome LP. Norah reinvented herself without destroying herself. This is not a stretch toward false hipness, but a natural progression. For me this was the best thing she has done since her debut.
18. Cat Power – Sun: I did not manage to review this album in 2012 despite the fact is was in my heavy rotation. I first stumbled on to Cat Power on what I call her Al Green album – The Greatest. I loved that album. Where that album was soulful and Memphis, this is cold and New York. That coldness is not a turn off, but an alluring aloofness. The songs are generally slow-moving, yet urgent. I can’t put my finger on the appeal to this album – but the appeal is strong.
17. Various – Twin Cities Funk & Soul: It freaks me out that this compilation comes from my hometown. It was like there was this underground culture in the Twin Cities; well I guess there was. When Prince came on the scene it was like he was this mutant, but this collection proves he a natural outgrowth of this hidden scene – he was its genius appearing at the right time.
16. Frank Ocean – Orange – I have always been a sucker for over the top epic R&B and Frank Ocean fills that category with this ambitious release. I don’t think there is anything particularly innovative here, but the execution is perfect. In a world filled with lousy musicians spewing out crappy pop, it is worthy to draw attention to the true craftsman. Frank Ocean is that true pop craftsman.
15. Matthew E. White – Big Inner – Although we don’t live in pop’s golden age, we live in a different kind of exciting pop age: when anyone with talent and a vision can create a pop symphony. No big record label no name producer, just one man and one music community’s creativity. I am continually amazed that pop music of this quality can come out of thin air. This is not a demo tape, but a fully realized LP. Bold arrangements and an excellent recording.
14. John Mayer – Born and Raised – This is probably the least hip album on my list. But I can not deny what would have been a huge hit if it was released in 1977. This s a great late 70s singer-songwriter album. You just have to ignore that Mayer is a douche bag and just listen to the music. If you like James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac and the pop version of Eric Clapton you should like this little pop masterpiece. In a distinguished career, this is Mayer’s best and most mature and consistent album.
13. – Bonnie Raitt – Slipstream – This album was in my heavy rotation this last spring when it came out. Unfortunately I never got around to writing a proper review. This is a fantastic pop blues album and as good as anything Bonnie has done in her long (40 plus years) and distinguished career (multiple Grammys).
Highlights for me are:
- The opening song “Used to Rule the World,” which could have come from Bonnie and Prince’s never heard 80s collaboration – or at least it sounds like what I imagine that session could have sounded like: Bonnie Funk.
- Gerry Rafferty’s “Right Down the Line” is reimagined as reggae lite.
- Two Dylan covers (produced by Joe Henry) that are perfect. Specifically “Million Miles” is an absolute masterpiece.
12. Soundgarden – King Animal – After a serious lay off, my favorite Seattle grunge band is back. A wonderful rumbling collection of heavy rock. I give a lot of credit to a band of Soundgarden’s stature that they don’t hit the road with an oldies show, but feel compelled to create new material. The fact they that material is solid and on par with their old stuff is a bonus.
11. Chastity Brown – Back-Road Highway – Thank goodness for yearend “best of” lists, otherwise I would have completely missed this outstanding release. Chastity has a great soulful voice wonderfully presented in Americana arrangements.
I love year end best-of lists for two reasons: they validate my taste and they turn me on to albums I have missed. I was looking at City Pages Best Minnesota Albums of 2012 list the other day and found this Chastity Brown release. The short review said the right things to suggest this might be something I would like. I ran over to emusic, previewed it and downloaded it.
Wow – what a great tip City Pages. Chastity has a soulful R&B voice in Americana arrangements. Chastity reminds me of the first time I heard Joan Armatrading or Tracy Chapman. Women who refused to be musically pigeonholed by their skin color and who have unique and distinctive pipes. Chastity voice is Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon – neat.
I knew nothing of this artist and embarrassed to find out she has been crafting her critically acclaimed art in my backyard for a half decade. I guess I need to pull my head out of my ass and check out a local show every once in while. This is an absolutely mind-blowing album and is immediately on my best-of for 2012. This is exactly why I read best-of lists!
PS – could a recording artist have a cooler name? Sounds like a Pam Grier character: bad ass and beautiful – which is exactly what Chastity Brown is.
Check out this sample of Chastity from a recent live performance on the The Current:
Axl's Catch Groove 