I know this is a little late in coming, and I apologize (I’ve been having some computer problems as of late). However, because of said problems, all earlier drafts of this post are gone for good thanks to good ol’ Word. So instead of a thoughtful, potentially insightful and possibly witty post, you get this. Thank the twang gods that there was enough good music out this year that I could write just about anything and it wouldn’t matter. There’s simply no escaping this level of quality. Without further ado I give you my 10 favorite albums of 2006 in no particular order (I have a hard time playing favorites when it comes to my favorites):
1. Prairie Home Companion Soundtrack – Various Artists An album that reminds me of family reunions in East Tennessee. A great mix of bluegrass, comedy and American classics, this soundtrack evokes a nostalgia for good Midwestern Americana, even if you’ve never encountered it.
2. Ways Not to Lose – The Wood Brothers What can I say about this album that I haven’t already? Think about sitting on a dimly lit porch at dusk on a muggy night and singing your heart out. This album is the easiest way to transport yourself to that place.
3. Lemonade – G. Love Again, this is an album that I’ve already written about, and one that I’ve become quite attached to over the past few months. A few weeks back a friend and I realized that we could play it overhead at work and have been dancing our way through shifts ever since. It doesn’t hurt that every time we play it, at least two or three customers come up and ask if they can buy it.
4. In The Dark – Josh Ritter An irish album recorded by an Idaho boy. You can’t buy it in stores state-side but it is available on his website (or was, at any rate, I think it might have been a limited printing). On ‘Snow is Gone’ and ‘Lillian, Egypt’, the crowd gets going so loudly that you can clearly hear the lyrics they’re singing and Ritter feeds off the energy. Easily one of the best live albums I’ve ever bought.
5. Out Louder – Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood A solid new album from some of my favorite boys. Out Louder melds all the jazz talent of MM&W and experiments with Scofield’s incredibly funky guitar. As my friend Austin would rave, “It’s nasty, son.”
6. Nightmares & Daydreams – WeakSauce Ah, yes, the Sauce. How could I not include what was easily one of the most anticipated local albums of the year? I remember when I first got a copy and was listening to it in my car in St. Augustine. A lady in the parking lot followed me until I parked and then asked what it was I was listening to, because it was amazing. Nightmares & Daydreams was everything we wanted and whenever I’m forced to go more than a month not seeing the guys live, I bust out this CD and rock out for a few days. As a local album, it’s also not available in stores, but you can buy it from them online.
7. Half the Perfect World – Madeleine Peyroux I love pretty much anything Madeleine Peyroux creates and that has only continued with this album. Her voice sounds like a blend of Billie Holiday ad Etta James, and every song she sings makes me want to create a little cafe in my backyard to read in and drink tea. Talk about more than half the perfect world.
8. Ben Kweller – Ben Kweller I’ve realized that many of my favorite artists are bens and joshes. While I love Ben Kweller in the band The Bens, I have to say I love him much, much more on this self-titled album. Songs like ‘Penny on a Train Track’ show just how far he has come in his songwriting, and considering he was always a great writer, this story just keeps getting better and better.
9. Subtitulo – Josh Rouse This album is so wonderfully diverse that I pick it up whenever I want to relax, and sometimes when I want to get energized. It has a quiet energy that there is no other word for but delightful. Rouse simply knocks it out of the park.
10. Supply & Demand – Amos Lee Amos Lee’s music has an old-town Louisiana-Americana feel to it that works so well with his voice that it’s hard not to get sucked in. I stumbled upon his older work just as this album was about to come out. The timing was great, as I got to explore his changes in his older work and immediately see how he had grown in his newest work as well. Another great collection of what I can only really describe as porch music, which is swiftly becoming my favorite genre as more and more artists seem to fall into the category. I think I need to have a bonfire and get everyone to sit around and play guitar and sing tonight. Who’s in?
About the author: To change this standard text, you have to enter some information about your self in the Dashboard -> Users -> Your Profile box.