I ran across a review of this album in Stereophile. Based on the review it sounded like something I would like. What did i find? A bit of Neil Young Crazy Horse buzz guitar, a bit of The Doors on the nod, and a bit of 90’s shoegaze.
This is a wonderful rock and roll drone. It sounds both classic rock and totally contemporary at the same time.
Yesterday I posted 20-11 and today it is 10-1. In reality order does not matter that much. Depending on my mood any of these final 10 could be my favorite album of 2011. For the most part the top-10 is dominated by artists I have a long relationship with. But there are a couple of new faces – and that is what keeps me in the game – hoping to discover that artist you have never met who will blow you away. Everyone on this list was a new friend once.
Looking forward to what music I will discover in 2012. But one last time, let’s savor 2011.
#10
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks -Mirror Traffic: Malkmus and Beck together at last and what do you get? A great Pavement album.
#9
Robbie Robertson – How to Become Clairvoyant: It took Robbie to make a great Clapton album. This is classic rock with bit of a modern twist. It is mellow; yet there is a lot of rock percolating under the surface. Very cleverly arranged, but disguised as easy. Listen carefully there is a lot going on here.
#8
Lady Gaga – Born This Way: I am a latecomer to Gaga. I saw her in the summer of 2010 at Lollapalooza when she was an up and coming curiosity and in my mind a merely a refreshed Madonna. She put on a good show and what stuck me then was that she had a much Elton John as she did Madonna, and I guess that is what makes her special. She is a real musician and not just a pop star. “Born This Way” is a pop masterpiece – it is dance, it is rock, it is pop. It has deep messages and it is fluff. As a pop star Gaga is as good as it gets – genuine, but still a put on. This album is a wonderful calling card and foundation to her pop stardom, because no matter what you must have great songs and Gaga’s got great songs.
#7
Grieves – Together Apart: I am not much of a hip-hop guy, but being around Pwelbs has rubbed off on me. I like my hip-hop melodic and I like good stories. And it better invoke old school soul and funk grooves. Grieves meets all my requirements.
#6
Greg Allman – Low Country Blues: I like that this is not an Allman Brothers album, but a real solo album. The great T Bone Burnett brings out the best in an over the hill rock star and reminds us what a great blues artist Greg Allman is.
#5
Miles Davies Quintet – Live in the Europe 1967 (the Bootleg Series Vol. 1): Why is this on my list? Because it is Miles and it was released in 2011. Enough said, see full review.
#4
Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire: Ryan Adams pressed the pause button and saved us from his prolific output and allowed us to anticipate and then enjoy a new album. For a while I just could not digest the volume. It was like eating a fine dessert when you are already stuffed – it might be gourmet, but it just doesn’t taste good when you are full. I don’t know if this is his best work in years, but I enjoyed it because I was hungry and craving it. Nothing new and innovative – just finely crafted. See full review and Minneapolis solo show review.
#3
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Revelator: I have been waiting for Derek Trucks to put out a great record and this is it. I am true fan and have all his albums. They have all been good, but a bit disappointing – until this one. Derek never seemed to have the right vocalist for his foil and there it was right under his nose – his wife Susan Tedeschi. Add to that is a full band – I am true sucker for guitar and horns. Great arrangements, great songs, great vocals and tasteful guitar solos. As talented as Derek Trucks is his greatest asset is his restraint – lets call it taste. PS – special thanks to my brother-in-law Steve for getting me the cool autographed poster for Christmas!
#2
Paul Simon – So Beautiful, So What: Simon is a genius. He had hit a bit of a dull patch for me, but he pulled this one out of his ass. I would put it up there with Graceland – not as shockingly good (Graceland opened the pop world to African pop when the average rube had never heard it – I am an average rube). This is just well crafted pop magic. Youthful yet mature.
#1
Wilco – The Whole Love: Wilco has been on the top of my list for about 10 years now. Frankly I was starting to get bored. Then this album made me fall in love again. There is nothing notably different about this album from other Wilco albums – it is just damn good. It does everything they do best – it is weird, it is Beatleseque, it has great players, it is Wilco. See full review.
I do not have a particularly adventurous music taste and my consumption is limited to what I can afford to buy. I don’t have the time to do high quality crate digging – either physically or virtually. So my 2011 acquisitions were formed by what I already know and what is widely hyped in the mainstream music press.
If there is a theme in my selections for the year it is artist doing what they do best – reworking their masterpieces with maturity and craftsmanship. Most of my selections are not career defining, but rather career refining.
#20
Bill Frisell – All We Are Saying…: The Beatles continue to provide inspiration to a variety of artists. Frisell’s folk-jazz stylings are perfect for these meditations on The Bugs.
#19
Decemberist – The King is Dead: Best R.E.M. album in a long time.
#18
Rolling Stones – Some Girls: Normally I would not put a reissue on the list, but CD number 2 is a “new album.” Like last year’s Exile reissue the Stones dredge up outtakes and buffed them up into a new “lost” album from the late 70s. Why are the Stones special? Because their floor scraps/throw-aways make it to my best of list. Their garbage would be another band’s gold. See full review.
#17
Radiohead – King of Limbs: It has taken me a while, but I am finally getting post OK Computer Radiohead.
#16
Adele – 21: The retro British soul divas have had quite run now. But Adele is the best of the bunch. The album was hugely popular and it is amazingly good for something so popular. This is tasteful music that appeals to young and old. Not particularly original but impeccably executed with style and grace. No one will be embarrassed to be an Adele fan. This is not quite a masterpiece – some songs are hall of fame caliber and others are filler. Adele needs to make a great album from end to end before she has a masterpiece.
#15 
Superheavy – Superheavy: This is a gimmick, but so what. Diverse musicians mashing it up creating world pop. Best thing Jagger has done outside of the Stones (I know that does not say much). See full review.
#14
Wheedle’s Groove – Seattle’s Finest In Funk & Soul 1965-79 (Limited Edition 45 Box Set): This is what motivated me on Black Friday. The music is fun, it has a great back story (see full review) and it has great packaging for a vinyl junkie like me. If you thought vinyl was engaging, well 45s really keep you engaged – you can barely take a leak before it is time to flip sides.
#13 
Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part Two: Just a bunch of old hip-hop guys reminding us why they popularized the genre for the masses.
#12 
Yuck –Yuck: Didn’t get enough Pavement with the new Malkmus album? Lost your Sonic Youth albums? Listen to Yuck. Hey someone has to play the sounds we miss.
#11
Bon Iver – Bon Iver: – Can we still love Bon Iver now that he is a big star? I think we can. This is “For Emma” with a budget. Bon Iver takes his folky sounds and melds them modern hip-hop production values. You can see why Kanye wanted to borrow this guy. This is probably the most original sounding album on the list.
To be continued…
Per Allmusic.com:
“Rock fans had been waiting for a Steve Winwood solo album for more than a decade, as he made his way through such bands as the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. When Winwood finally delivered with this LP, just about everybody was disappointed. Traffic had finally petered out three years before, but Winwood, using such former members as Jim Capaldi and Rebop Kwaku Baah, failed to project a strong individual identity outside the group. That great voice was singing the songs, that talented guitarist/keyboardist was playing them, and that excellent songwriter had composed them, but nothing here was memorable, and the long-awaited debut proved a bust.”
Hindsight is 20/20. When I listen to this album now I can see the foreshadowing of mega-success that would come few years later with “Arc of Diver” and “Back in the High Life.” In 1977 this was failure, but by the mid 80s this would be seen as amazing. As always Winwood was an innovator. Nothing like Traffic – Winwood could see the future of pop music. Brilliant.
Steve Jobs is a cultural icon. I can’t think of another CEO who could have been eulogized and mourned like Jobs was – it was on par with the death of Princess Diana. To use the cliché he was a rock star.
Walter Isaacson is a very fortunate man – he was given free access to Jobs, friends, associates, etc. to write a very candid biography and timed to be released shortly after Jobs’ death. It has been a huge best seller.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel like a know the man – the genius, the visionary, the charmer, the asshole.
I have to admit that I am sucked into being fascinated by Jobs and Apple. I have lots of Apple products in my family and I write this blog on a 5-year-old MacBook (which is a testament in itself). I think Apple products are the best, but I also know they are not perfect and they are priced like a luxury item. In general I am underwhelmed by the iPad. So I am not a complete sucker for all things Jobs and Apple. But I still remain fascinated by Jobs.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how to run a business. I recommend this book to anyone who loves their Apple products. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in successful people. I recommend this to anyone who reads rock star biographies (most of the books I read).
What did I learn? As a business person you need to be focused on something other than profits. For Jobs it was about creating great products through an enduring company – the proverbial company built to last. With that focus things like profits, shareholder return, market cap, etc. will take care of themselves.
However, there is some magic here – you must have that “vision thing” and Jobs had that. Do we all have that as business people if we just dig deep in our hearts and souls?
I also learned about drive. Jobs knew what he wanted and pushed as hard as he could to get it. Did he push too hard? He was hard on people. He was candid – more than “brutally candid,” he was cruelly candid. Could a kinder more gentle Jobs been just as successful?
He did what he did without typical “hard skills.” He was not a programmer and he was not an engineer. He did not even have conventional managerial skills. Apple was not the originator of any of its great products or ideas – they just executed and monetized it better than everyone else.
He had weird habits around eating, hygiene, spirituality, etc. So weird they would be socially crippling to most.
So in the end I am more fascinated with Jobs today after reading this book than I was when I started and I am inspired to do more with my own life – that is about all you can ask from a biography.
I received an odd transmission for the holidays. Have the twisted psyche of Charlie Moonbeam whistle through you ears and corrupt your soul. It will put you in a Yuletide mood. Check it out here.
A couple of yea’s ago I stumbled on Wheedle’s Groove “Kearney Barton” album on emusic. I had no idea what it was. It was new, but retro in a Daptones sort of way.
I had no information about this “band” other than I knew it was from Seattle.
That album was amazing. It had a very solid soul cover of Soundgarden’s Jesus Christ Pose.
Fast forward to 2011’s Black Friday Record Store Day and I see that this set will be available.
Now I know the Wheedle’s Groove story. Turns out that Seattle was yet another northern destinations for the great Black Diaspora. Seattle had a vibrant music scene – it was no Motown or Memphis, but remember it is the home of Jimi Hendrix and Quincy Jones.
Wheedle’s Groove is a catch phrase to capture the funk and soul scene in Seattle. It turns out the mysterious Kearney Barton album was the result of an impresario gathering members of the old scene for a revival. There was a concert, a documentary film and an album of new material. There was not a single label like Motown or Stax, but there was a studio, whose producer, Kearney Barton, who was the glue for the whole scene.
This special box set pulls together some stunning original singles and reissues them as vintage reproductions. The scene was diverse with James Brown imposters, Meters inspired groups, soul divas, etc. It is literally like stumbling across a lost funk and soul civilization.
And what is Wheedle? Turns out there was a local children’s book with a Muppet-like character named Wheedle (actually a grumpy Sasquatch). Wheedle eventually became the mascot for the Seattle Supersonics and came to represent the black music community of Seattle.
Below is a short video that shows off this amazing little box set:
I don’t know squat about Vijay Iyer other than a couple of years ago I picked up one of his albums on emusic and found it delightful. Not sure why I picked up this release earlier this year but I find this album equally fun.
Per the label’s website (ACT): “Tirtha” effortlessly blends Indian musical traditions with contemporary jazz in this innovative trio setting, creating a musical conversation that stretches across both, continents and centuries.
Well that just about says it. This is a piano, guitar and tabla trio (with occasional Indian vocals). That alone should grab you attention. The piano is pretty straightforward jazz styling and the tabla is pretty straightforward Indian. But the guitar pulls it all together. Sometimes Indian, other times rock, and yet other times jazz.
I had kind of forgot about this album until today when I was browsing for something to exercise my new Grado headphones and this was the perfect fit.
PS – ACT has some of the best album art around!
Despite the Kindle, the iPad, etc. the physical book store is still relevant. I was browsing in Barnes and Nobles yesterday and I tripped on this magazine. It was about a year ago that I discovered the Oxford American. That issue was also their Southern music issue focused on Alabama.
I read about half that issue before I lent it to the one and only Charlie Moonbeam. He convinced me that because he was an Alabama native it should be in his possession and I acquiesced.
My daughter was in search of an appropriately colored Moleskin when I nearly wet myself at the sight of this issue of the Oxford American. My wife and daughter were already in the buying queue when I rushed them in a near incoherent state – “here buy this – I must have it.”
I still have not yet broken it out of its plastic bag so hopefully there will be a follow-up post with a review of the contents. For now merely savor this amazing cover with the one an only Howlin’ Wolf.
Just when you think you know a genre you are reminded of how ignorant you really are. I picked this up at Half Priced Books in Highland (St. Paul MN) yesterday based on the fact that I knew Larry Coryell was a great jazz guitarist and because the cover was so outrageously 70s. Change the guys and this could be an Earth Wind and Fire album cover. So based on that I figured it was worth my $4.00 investment.
- Well it turns out this is an outstanding jazz rock fusion album – on par with anything Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, or Weather Report was putting out at the time (mid 70s). Although it echos those bands, it does have an original sound-perhaps a bit more accessible than those bands.
Coryell’s playing is diverse – from funky to metal. I particularly like that it has a trumpet player on it – Coryell’s tone mixes well with the horn. The other big time player on this is Alphonse Mouzon on drums/percussion. He was dominant player of the time (Weather Report, Miles Davis, etc.)
I did a little research and sure enough this was a pretty influential band within the genre and this LP is considered one of their best. As best I can tell it is not available on CD or digitally. Highly recommended.
Axl's Catch Groove 