Ramblings on Music, Texas, Etc.

Best Albums of 2009: #3 Wilco - 'Wilco (The Album)'

As Wilco has become increasingly accessible (and decreasingly connected to their Yankee Hotel Foxtrot experimentation), they've become one of the more divisive bands around.  Each new record brings cries of middle-aged mellowing, and frankly those accusations are not misplaced.  Between their previous Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album), their reputation as leading lights of sonic innovation has given way to the sound of a band who just likes to write good songs and play fantastic shows.

But here's the deal - who really cares?  Few bands have even a fraction of the musical talent Wilco brings to the table, and fewer still have their reputation for stellar live performances.  It's difficult to make records that live up to those loaded expectations, but Wilco seem fairly unfazed by the challenge.  If they sound like a band with little else to prove, it's probably because they are.

Still, if the back half of Wilco (The Album) was a brilliant as the first half, I'm convinced I would be declaring it their new masterpiece.  As it is, it's a pretty great album that I'll enjoy for a long time to come. 

If that doesn't quite live up to my own expectations, that's pretty much my problem.

Best Albums of 2009: #4 Brandi Carlile - 'Give Up The Ghost'

I alluded earlier to the lack of compelling female singer-songwriters on my list, but Brandi Carlile was the lone exception.  I wasn't entirely convinced by her last album The Story, but Give Up The Ghost has converted me into a true believer.  Very few songwriters spring to mind who put their hearts so nakedly on the line, and Carlile's passionate vocals and performances reflect that approach.

Surprisingly, producer Rick Rubin, who has a tendency to sort of dry out performances, actually delivers the most lush backdrop for Carlile's songs to date.  The album's back half at first seems to grind to a crawl, but upon repeat listenings it sounds to me a very carefully chosen pace.  The deliberate, delicate craftsmanship may not deliver the breakthrough that her record company is hoping for, but in my opinion Giving Up The Ghost has certainly propelled Brandi Carlile to the A-list of singer-songwriters.

Best Albums of 2009: #5 Allen Toussaint - 'The Bright Mississippi'

To call Allen Toussaint a "jazz" artist is to severely underestimate what makes Toussaint such a treasure.  Very little on his resume - as a producer, performer, arranger or songwriter - would pigeonhole him as such, but a New Orleans-flavored instrumental effort is bound to get stuck with the jazz label.  But if jazz is but one influence that courses through The Bright Mississippi, it is joined by elements of blues and pop standards and, most importantly, an adherence to melody over technique at every possible turn.

Joe Henry has plenty of "legacy artists" under his belt as a producer, but never before has he helped an artist redefine his own legacy to quite this extent.  One or two critics even complained that giving Toussaint only one vocal turn and ignoring his own songbook amounted to a missed opportunity.  But how can one feel that way when the music on display is so full of vigor and spirit?  It is to Toussaint's great credit that he felt at ease allowing his first solo effort in some time to be such an unexpected turn.  Of course, that is no doubt the result of an artist who is equally at ease with his own legacy and not burdened by the weight of making a career-defining statement with one record.

Hopefully, what that means is that we'll continue to hear more Allen Toussaint albums for years to come and that each of those will be at least half as revelatory as The Bright Mississippi.

Best Albums of 2009: #6 Steve Earle - 'Townes'

Was there a more inevitable album in 2009?  The big surprise was that it took Steve Earle so long to get around to recording a Townes Van Zant tribute record.

It came as little surprise, however, that Earle made each tune on this album feel authentic and lived in, as virtually no other Van Zant devotee possibly could.  Having learned many of these songs literally at the feet of the master, Earle once again reminds us why Van Zant is so highly regarded and why these songs, no matter how well-known or obscure, are bound to endure for many years to come.

Adding to the overall quality of Townes is the fact that Earle finally seems to be comfortable in his new approach to recording, which involves polishing solo demos and tracking instruments for the record later.  As such, this album feels very much in line with his solo acoustic performances of the past few years.  Who knows if this is what we can expect from Earle in the future, but I can definitely say I'm looking forward to the next Steve Earle album.

Best Albums of 2009: #7 Dave Rawlings Machine - 'A Friend of A Friend'

This late-year release held up my final list somewhat, and I wasn't disappointed to find that a Dave Rawlings album could be nearly as satisfying as a Gillian Welch release.  Not that it's easy to distinguish their work, other than who is pulling lead vocal duty.  It's fair to say that A Friend of A Friend doesn't stray too far from their previous work but is also consistently more upbeat than most Welch albums.  Surprisingly, the record downplays Rawlings' unparalleled fretwork with a tighter focus on the songs themselves.

If I'm being totally honest, I find myself still desperately hoping for a new Gillian Welch album as we round the bend of yet another year.  But in the meantime, it sure is nice to have this album to remind me why I still care.

Best Albums of 2009: #8 Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women

Okay, this countdown is going painfully slowly so I'm gonna blow through a few of these today.

At No. 8 comes Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women's eponymous album.  Ironically, a project that sprang from the pain of losing Alvin's best friend and bandmate Chris Gaffney will also be remembered as one of the last projects for fiddler Amy Farris, who was found deceased in her LA home just as the Guilty Women tour was winding down.  But hopefully that dark cloud won't diminish the fact that this was one of Alvin's most vibrant recordings in some time and also was a showcase for a group of exceptionally talented women.

Here's also hoping that this won't be the last project for Alvin and the remaining Guilty Women.

Best Albums of 2009: #9 Heartless Bastards - 'The Mountain'

Heartless Bastards seemed to me like the breakout act of the year, and The Mountain certainly was my favorite among bands I hadn't really heard before.  Interestingly, Erika Wennerstrom made her biggest leap only after scrapping her bandmates and relocating to Texas.  Though I went back and found the band's first two efforts to be equally engaging, there's no question that The Mountain is the Wennerstrom's most diverse offering yet.

Producer extraordinaire Mike McCarthy assembled most of the players in the studio, but a long year on the road proved that the Bastards are back to being a proper band.

Best Albums of 2009: #10 Chuck Prophet - 'Let Freedom Ring!'

 I've always been a fan of Chuck Prophet's work, but until now none of records really held up end-to-end for me.  What sets this record apart from his recent albums is the sheer immediacy of it.  Embracing the same speaker-blasting aesthetic that he lent to Alejandro Escovedo's Real Animal, Let Freedom Ring! is every bit as fun as it is smart.

New Allison Moorer track! "The Broken Girl"

 You can hear a track from Allison Moorer's new album Crows (due Feb. 9 on Ryko).  The song is called "The Broken Girl" and, to my ears, seems to fully realize Allison's more pop-oriented ambitions from Miss Fortune and Getting Somewhere.  I believe in the press materials, she calls this track the best pop song she's ever written.

You can go here to check out the new song.

Best Albums of 2009: Honorable Mentions (and a preview)

Well, Josh Hurst is busily compiling his list, which means I better get started since I expect some overlap (and know that Josh will have infinitely more incisive things to say about his selections).  Christianity Today has published their list (to which both Josh and Andy Whitman contributed), and in what has to be a first, there are a couple of albums on their list that will show up near or at the top of my list.

In fact, this year will probably have one of the biggest disparities I ever recall between my #1 and #2 slots and the rest of my list.  I simply lived inside these two records for months at time and have continually found new angles to my appreciation of them.  So I'll make every effort to make it seem like I'm not blowing through the list just to get to the Top Two, but I can't promise anything.  Who knows - I might even feel differently after making my way through the Top 10.

With that out of the way, how about some Honorable Mentions for 2009 (in no particular order)?

• Tift Merritt - Buckingham Solo
• Lyle Lovett - Natural Forces
• Miranda Lambert - Revolution
• Rosanne Cash - The List
• John Doe & The Sadies - Country Club
• Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Ready For The Flood
• Justin Townes Earle - Midnight At The Movies
• Over The Rhine - Live From Nowhere, Vol. 4
• Grant-Lee Phllips - Little Moon
• The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
• Bill Frisell - Disfarmer
• Tim Easton - Porcupine
• Ramblin' Jack Elliot - A Stranger Here
• Sara Watkins - self-titled