Top 20 Albums of 2007

1. Babyshambles Shotter's Nation - This guy always seems to be balanced on the precarious edge of near death, so I probably sucked on this album like the last drag on a cigarette stocked with the knowledge I might not have one for a litle while. It's also gotone of my favourite songs of the year, that maybe not so coincidentally mentions cigarettes as well. Addictions are great.

2. Pride Tiger The Lucky Ones - I love Thin Lizzy, and the relentless comparison to that band may either help or harm Pride Tiger. In my case, it was the former. This is pure rock and roll, and the title track is one of the most genuinely fun singles I've heard in a good ten years. And the album cover is doubly good.

3. Izzy Stradlin Miami - An iTunes only release. Has it really come to this for Izzy Stradlin'? After reading Slash's autobiography recently it became pretty apparent who Guns 'N Roses really was: Izzy, Slash and Duff. Axl is, and always was, a sideshow. A terribly unfunny joke. Izzy plays the soul of rock and roll, the same spirit that bled through the Stones and Faces. He even takes one of the best songs on here to nearly 10 min, with the majority of it being a slow, reggae jam that feels like Keith noodling and nodding around Black and Blue'. This album, this artist deserves more than an iTunes only releases.

4. John Doe A Year in the Wilderness - A shockingly great return from an artist I've come to know more through his film and television appearances than his music as of late. He plays a great badass. Also he was Mr. Amber Waves. But here he's just classic.

5. Deadstring Brothers Silver Mountain - I love this group. You mix in some Dead, Exile-era Stones, The Band...what more would you want out a group like this? Well, for this guy I heard Road Apples era Tragically Hip which pretty much solidfies it as one of my favourite albums of the year. Few albums are so immediately appealing. They lack the sinisterism of the Stones, the spirituality and fragile beauty of The Band, and come into a sweeter niche all their own.

6. Spoon GaGaGaGaGa - Somehow every song on this album became my favourite at some point. I try to keep the Spoon love on the down low, at the risk of them becoming something unspeakable. This week it was "Ghost of You Lingers", it echoes in my brain at the earliest and latest hours. I'm going to be crafting my Last Will and Testament in the next few weeks as a New Years Resolution. Lately when I listen to that song I consider the ultimate narcisstic act of what songs would be cool to hear at your own funeral. I decided the 'Ghost of You Lingers' is one of those songs.

7. Patti Sciafla Play It As It Lay - Mrs. Bruce's albums is one of those easy-going, loose albums that seem most appealing first thing in the morning. She's got a wonderful voice, and this music pairs with it so well, a loose bluesy vibe that is a genuine pleasure to listen to. This was love at first play with me. This isn't important music, it's utterly unpretentious and sung with a playful vibe that reminds me of drunk, fallen off the wagon Bonnie Raitt at times.

8. Kings of Leon Because of the Times - I think it's pretty ballsy to open their third album with a 7 min song mid-tempo song. I think 'Knocked Up' is the first person perspective of 'The Deeper In' by the Drive By Truckers, and also sounds like something I might have heard on FM radio in the middle of the night. It took me awhile to warm up to this album, but when it clicked, it was firing on all cylinders.

9. Bruce Springsteen Magic- So where does this fall in the Bruce canon? I think this is one of those 'time will tell' kind of things. Someone with a shadow as long as Bruce Springsteen is doomed to suffer with a new release, particularly with his old backing band. Neil Young is the same with Crazy Horse. Sometimes you get Sleeps with Angels sometimes you get Broken Arrow. Now this Springsteen album is nowhere near as middling as that latter-day Crazy Horse album. I think Magic will be judged fairly well; In fact, it's got some of the better songs I've frankly heard this year. I really love 'Girls in their Summer Clothes' .

10. White Stripes Icky Thump - I think the White Stripes are one of the best rock and roll bands in the world. This definitely has a rawer feel than anything since White Blood Cells, but spun with a mariachi dream weave. The title track is fucking great too. I'm nearing the point where I'm willing to listen to whatever Jack White puts out.

11. Ike Reilly We Belong to the Staggering Evening - This album worked its magic on me nearly immediately. Frankly, I'm quite glad it happened because I was starting to wonder what the fuck was wrong with me that I couldn't hear the genius of Ike Reilly. Everyone I knew, who's music tastes nearly always jive with mine always when it comes to artists like this, LOVE Ike Reilly. And was lost on me. Outside of a couple of singles, I just. didn't. get. it. And it was frustrating because all the elements are there, like sticking the bun, burger, cheese and bacon and having it not taste right. IT MADE NO SENSE. Obviously the problem has been fixed, because this is my go to 3rd album of the night when I've got people over. Sometime I'm going to have to write about the art of the album order.

12. Steve Earle Washington Street Serenade - I got scared when I first heard the beats because I didn't know what to make of it. The first time I heard this, my dad, the missus and myself were on the road to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. We were listening to Steve's show on Sirius, and well, "Satellite Radio" came on. It insinuated myself in the brain, but frankly not in a good way. It seemed a little hokey and would clearly be horribly dated in a manner of years. I mean, when I think classic, I don't think of tunes about CB Radio. But fortunately for us, the rest of the album isn't hokey and it has an awesome version of the theme to 'The Wire'.

13. Neil Young Chrome Dreams II - A new Neil Young cd, with (relatively) new material should by all accounts rank higher on my year end list. Alas. I like the album a lot, but it's flawed. When the first song is an outtake from 'Old Ways', well you know you're not going to be in for some 'On the Beach' level songs. I'd say it would be closeminded to go in with a bad attitude, that an outtake from one of his weakest albums opens Chrome Dreams II, an album that has little resemblence in tone to the unreleased album it is supposed to be a sequel to. Well, 'Beautiful Bluebird' is sickly sweet. You know when you take a swig of Coke, it's refreshing and sweet, right? After, for me anyway, it doesn't sit as well. It's just too sweet and full of empty calories. Also it leaves a grit on my teeth that I don't care for. The first song is like that. The second track 'Boxcar' isn't much better, frankly. But then, the album picks up steam and redeems itself with one of his greatest unreleased songs, that while lyrically dated, is pretty fucking great. Whenever I hear it it echoes in my head the rest of the day, and fortunately, the rest of the album does likewise. Although I still have to deal with what seems to be a choir leftover from 'Living with War', but the song is better than the choired songs found on there.

14. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings 100 Days and 100 Nights - I like this album a lot. It's obviously music that doesn't really get played much anymore. Truly classic music from a by-gone era. The Dap-Kings get in the groove here and don't pull out for 30 min. Sharon sounds fantastic too. It makes me wonder why I don't play some old girl group stuff more often. Probably because I'm a lazy jagoff.

15. Bettye Lavette The Scene of the Crime - Bettye is new to me. When I first heard this I didn't even know about the Drive By Trucker's association. It just sounded like something I hadn't known I was even missing in my listening. Like when I first discovered that I like bbq ribs, but slightly less messy and delicious.

16. Chuck Prophet Soap & Water - This is a cool album. It makes me feel good. Actually this album is the auditory equivalent of a Jack and coke with a Marlboro light. It's a 2 drink buzz.

17. Arcade Fire Neon Bible - Enough hyperbolic nonsense has been written about the Arcade Fire to make me not want to like them. But then I listen to the actual music and I end up liking it anyway. I'm noticing that few blogs and music sites have ranked this very highly. Frankly I'm not sure why. I think it's just as strong as Funeral, but a tad less melodramatic. I even like the closer 'My Body is A Cage' and 'Keep the Car Running' is one of my favourite songs of the year.


18. Black Francis Bluefinger - I'm not certain of what this album was supposed to be being that it's released by "Black Francis" and not "Frank Black". Are we supposed to view this as a more valid Pixie-like release? I don't really care actually, because the voice is still the same and the music is still great. In short, it's a Frank Black solo album. I feel the same way about this as I feel about Neil Young when he flips his bands around so the sound and ultimately, attitude, flips as well. There's certainly more energy here than on his last two albums, although FastMan/Raiderman still gets more play.

19. Sister Vanilla Little Pop Rock - This record was the slowest one to work its way in. Featuring the Jesus and Mary Chain's Reid brothers and their sister, who was apparently labelled Sister Vanilla by the brothers. This is one of my favourite pop records of the year. It really reminds me of an album that would have been released in the late 90s for some reason. I'm thinking 1997, but that'snot to say there are hallmarks of late 90s production or style (no trip hop for the sake of) but for some reason this feels like a record I heard 10 years ago, pulled out after a long absence and am feeling wonderfully nostalgic for some late evening.

20. Nicole Atkins Neptune City - This is not normally my music. It's got a bit of Tin Pan Alley pop, with some soulful singing by Nicole. Her voice has been described as Stevie Nicks-ish, but with a much, much, much better range. The first time I heard this I was reminded of Rufus Wainwright actually. That might sound like a horrible recommend but I like Rufus. Probably not the best parting comment to be making but it's my list. Anyway, great album. The first time I played Neptune City I ended up hitting the repeat button 3x.

Show a Little Faith, There's Magic in the Night...

There's not much one one can say about Born to Run that hasn't already been said a million times before. This is Born With Nothin' In Hands - Remastered Born To Run Outtakes. The first track is a spare 'Thunder Road' reminiscent of the live version that opens Live at the Hammersmith. I really like hearing these slightly altered versions of songs you've heard a million times before. Even 'Born to Run' with it's female chorus soars like the original. And its kind odd to hear him sing about Chrissie rather than Mary in the second version of 'Thunder Road'. According to recent information, 'Walking In The Street' was only played and recorded the one time, and the master tape could not be found for the release of Tracks, it may be lost. I'm gonna let the speakers bleed this album all day long.

01 Thunder Road
02 Night
03 Born To Run
04 A Love So Fine
05 Backstreets
06 Walking In The Street
07 Lonely Night In The Park
08 Jungleland
09 Linda Let Me Be The One
10 Thunder Road
11 She's The One
12 Backstreets
13 The Heist
14 Thunder Road

Badlands, You Got to Live it Everyday...

Continuing what is becoming a Springsteen outtake series, is American Madness: The Remastered Darkness on the Edge of Town Outtakes. I don't know why, but I probably listen to the original album the least from Bruce's 70s/80s classic albums. It's not that I consider it weak in any which way. I was just thinking that when I feel like hearing him it's not the one I typically grab. And then when I play it, I wonder why the fuck I don't listen to it more often. This set is fairly extensive over four discs. A lot of these songs weren't available until the Tracks box set was released a few years ago. Sound quality again is pretty great, considering the source. The only downside of listening to these songs is the intense desire to hit the road for a long, long ride.

Disc 1:
01 Don't Look Back
02 Prove It All Night
03 Candy's Room
04 The Promised Land - w/o guitar solo
05 Badlands
06 Something In The Night
07 Factory
08 Racing In The Street
09 Prove It All Night #2
10 Darkness On The Edge Of Town
11 Spanish Eyes
12 Sherry Darling
13 Streets Of Fire
14 Candy's Room #2
15 Prove It All Night*

Disc 2:
01 The Promise
02 Badlands
03 Adam Raised A Cain
04 Something In The Night
05 Prove It All Night
06 Down By The River (Say Sons)
07 Taxi Cab (Taxi Driver, City At Night)
08 Factory
09 Streets Of Fire #1
10 Because the Night #1
11 The Iceman
12 Preacher's Daughter
13 Crazy Rocker
14 Drive All Night #1
15 The Way #2
16 The Fast Song (instrumental)
17 Someday, Tonight (instrumental)
18 Racing In The Street

Disc 3:
01 The Promise
02 Hearts Of Stone
03 One Way Street
04 Candy's Boy #1
05 Endless Night (English Sons)
06 Spanish Eyes
07 Streets Of Fire #2
08 Factory
09 Loose Ends
10 Independence Day
11 Drive All Night #2
12 The Way #1
13 Racing In The Street
14 Don't Look Back (instrumental)
15 Badlands (instrumental)
16 Castaway (The Ballad)

Disc 4:
01 What's The Matter Little Darling
02 Get That Feeling #2
03 Get that Feeling #1
04 Candy's Boy #2
05 Rendezvous
06 I Wanna Be With You
07 Don't Look Back
08 Ramrod
09 Frankie
10 Because The Night #2
11 Sherry Darling
12 Outside Lookin' In
13 I'm Goin' Back
14 Fire
15 The Fast Song
16 Break Out
17 Talk To Me (instrumental)
18 Racing In The Street