In no order, except the order of what my little brain comes up with.
1. Devendra Banhart, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
At first many die-hard Devendra fans were not sold on this album. I will agree that it is not like Cripple Crow, but if you look at the over all arc of his musical career this should not come as a surprise. Smokey's sound is according with Devendra's style, eclectic. But, unlike really anything before, this album is very busy. Not sloppy busy, or over produced, but very well layered. I love how, to make this album, they rented out a cabin and invited all their friends over. You hear the layers, you hear the interconnections and the love. Yes, this sounds like a bunch of hippie babble about the perfect way to live, our utopia. But, this album holds all this. Smokey has so much to offer. There is dub, tropicalia, do-wop, and in the case of Seahorse, a damn near full orchestral suite. Damn! OK, on to more.
2. Beirut, The Flying Club Cup
Oh, Beirut. To fully appreciate Beirut I feel you also have to know the back story. Zach Condon, the man behind the band, dropped out of school when he was 16 and toured Eastern Europe. There he fell in love with Balkin music. If you can't hear this influence in Beirut's first major release Gulag Orkestar, well, then I don't have much to say to you. What surprised me though was in Beirut's second release, Zach did not, like I would of assumed, follow up with another Balkin inspired album, but he was influenced more by French pop. I'm not saying that he totally switched gears, but he just sampled a different part of Europe. For someone so young this was a brilliant move, yes I'm young too, but I have an old soul and so does Zach. Flying Club is a treat, it's robust and energetic, but not without emotion. It does start to lean towards dark and heavy, both not bad things. I think the best word would be contemplative.
3. George Harrison, All Things Must Pass
I have a hard time talking about this album. Is simply amazing. It's a classic. The most constructive statement that I have for All Things is that every time I listen to it, I feel as if I am finding it for the first time again. Out of all the solo work that all the Beatles did, I feel that All Things Must Pass, stands alone at the top.
4. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Worlds Apart
*Nerd Alert* As Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons would say, "Best Album Ever!" Yes, as a whole album from start to finish. Trail of Dead's Worlds Apart, would hold that spot. The album flows ever so gracefully from beginning to end. They transport you to a netherworld, where you're out at sea, moving to the ebb and flow of the sea of rock. With Trail of Dead's previous albums, you had very driven and hard songs, that had little connection at all. Like most "popular" artist (I will not drop names), their albums felt like a mass of singles. But, it all changed (for the better) with Worlds Apart. The songs, still have a very driven beat, but they artfully move in and out of this and contrast full tilt guitars and drums with quiet strings and minimal drums. The ornimentation of the music is perfect, it never is to far over the top. If you listen to this album you (in my opinion) MUST dedicate the time to listen to the whole thing straight through. You will be treated to a complete thought. I'm glad that there still are artists out there that make FULL ALBUMS and not a bunch of singles. Thanks boys!
5. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
To be completely honest, the first time I heard The Crane Wife, it did not jump out to me. But then I forced myself to listen to it, start to finish. You ever had one of those moments that felt like you just got hit over the head, not literally (been there, did that, now I'm dyslexic), but figuratively? Well after listening to the album straight through, the realization that I had was as big as the 1000ft Lakers that I see out on Superior. What a truly wonderful album. The pictures that are painted in my dysfunctional mind are brilliant. I have always loved how The Decemberists almost go out of their way to tell a full story with every one of their songs. Yeah, an artist is supposed to, but few do with such a mastery and dexterity. The second song on The Crain Wife, The Island:Come And See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Not Feel The Drowning, is especially not worthy. What a tale, what a story, what a song! I'm hoping that the next project that they take on is a collaboration where they perform Beowulf or some other epic! I know that they did do the Irish folk tale, but I feel like they could take on one of the classics and turn it into a masterpiece. If this does happen, I hope you all attend my funeral, for I will die from sheer joy!
Well that will do it for know, I need a nap. I'll finish this off at a later date (tonight?), and then you, the reader, might, just maybe will have a better idea of who I am. Peace
4 comments:
Steve, I'm with you on The Decemberists. The first time I listened to it, it was on my mp3 player on shuffle, and it really didn't do the album justice. But after I listened to it straight through, I was addicted. I guess once the story they wrote gets mixed up, it just doesn't make sense in the same way!
For me that's what defines a great album. A true album is a lost art, not many bands do it well any more. It is way to easy to just trow together a bunch of singles and call it good, but to write a full album that is one coherent piece of art straight though now that's really, really hard. I'm going to have to go through your top ten and listen!
Yes, I must say that I was a skeptic about Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon upon first listen, but the more I listen to it, the more I love it. Shabop Shalom and Little Seahorse (which was incredible live btw...) are the two tracks that really made the album for me. The Decemberists may very well make my list as well (hmm... Picaresque maybe?), although I guess I sort of like all their albums equally for different qualities.
Yeah, every day that I check the blog (99 first time visitors yesterday), I want to re-tweek my top 10.
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