Lists. Do they matter? Does anyone care anymore? In this day of Spotify, do we still need people pointing out what to listen to? Or do we need suggestions more than ever because of the volume of releases? I don’t know. All I know is that I find it fun to compile a list of releases that I enjoyed for that particular year. There’s always ones that I “missed†or releases that didn’t “resonate†with me at the time I heard them, so it’s interesting to have these written down so when I look back I can see which releases had staying power. So, without further blah, blah, blah, here’s my 2015 Best of List that all of you twangers have been patiently waiting to read:
1. Blur/The Magic Whip – Blur beats Oasis this year as Damon and Co. put out a better album than Noel G.
2. Jason Isbell/Something More Than Free – online casino Still doing that songwriting thing better than anyone else on the alt-country scene in my opinion.
3. My Morning Jacket/The Waterfall – Rock and Roll man…rock and roll.
4. Josh Ritter/Sermon on the Rocks – Preaching the truth with a nice backbeat.
5. Dwight Yoakam/Second Hand Heart – Screw Nashville, all you need is Yoakam.
6. Kevin Gordon/Long Gone Time – Fine songwriting and foot stomping good times.
7. Leon Bridges/Coming Home – Can we go back to 1957? Yes we can.
8. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats/s/t – Son of bitch!
9. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds/Chasing Yesterday – Not quite Oasis, but worthy.
10. Dave Rawlings Machine/Nashville Obsolete – I used to hit the weekend like a freight.
11. Chic Corea & Bela Fleck/Two – Masters of their instruments in action.
About the author: Producer, Engineer, Musician and all around music enthusiast.