This is where
I share my list of the top CDs of 2014.
But let’s get
one thing straight, right from the start: I’m not a critic, I’m a music fan. I
know what I like. I also like to think that sometimes I can tell good music
from the other kind. And I buy and listen to a lot of CDs every year. More than
my wife would prefer, perhaps. But it’s still just a small fraction of the
music that is issued. And I buy music based on what I know about an artist or
what I learn from trusted sources. I don’t buy everything that I expect to be
“important.”
So this is my
list of 2014 albums that I liked best. That usually means that I want to hear
them again and again.
“Bad Self Portraits,” Lake Street Dive: I’ve liked this four-piece, uncategorizable
Boston band since I first heard them on Prairie Home Companion a few years ago.
They blend jazz, pop, R&B, an a couple other genres on original songs and
well-picked covers. Check them out on YouTube, especially their street-corner cover
of the Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back.” On this, their second full-length, the focus
is on original songs, Rachael Price’s amazing voice, a bracing sense of fun,
and an amazingly wide range of supporting vocals, instrumental arrangements,
and stylistic influences. They’re just fun to listen to. And they’re even
better live in person, as I discovered when I saw them in Boulder last spring.
“The River and the Thread,” Rosanne
Cash: Since her
father’s death in 2003, Johnny’s daughter has spent several albums making eloquent
and deeply felt music that articulates the emotional and musical legacy she
inherited (and sometimes struggles with). This collection draws inspiration
from a trip back to the South to restore her father’s boyhood home. Like most
of Rosanne’s 11 other albums, it is tasteful, literate, heartfelt and
well-crafted, and tends to gain depth and resonance with repeated listening.
“High Hopes,” Bruce Springsteen: Since “The Rising” in 2002,
Springsteen has been on a creative comeback, with a handful of albums that were
both relevant and a compelling listen, if not exactly classic Boss. “High
Hopes,” made with guitarist Tom Morello, consists of outtakes and covers (sometime
Bruce covers his own song catalog). There’s no grand theme, but it somehow
holds together, and is the best-sounding and most listenable Springsteen album
since “The Rising.”
“Lazaretto,” Jack White: The former White Stripes’ guitarist
and singer’s new album works better than 2012’s “Blunderbuss,” in my opinion.
White’s voice and electric blues riffs remind me of Led Zeppelin everythime I
put this disc on, and that’s a good thing. But at the same time, it manages to
sound completely up to date.
The Haden Triplets: These sisters, whose tight harmonies
could only be created by siblings, are daughters of Charlie Haden, a true giant
among jazz bass players who died in 2014. There’s no jazz here, though. Petra, Rachel
and Tanya sing traditional country, gospel and folk. The choice of songs and
vocal arrangements are impeccable, but what sets this album apart for me is the
presence of Ry Cooder, who produced it and leads the band, including his son
Joachim on drums.
“Common Ground: Dave and Phil Alvin
Play and Sing the songs of Big Bill Broonzy:” Dave and Phil Alvin were the guitarist and singer,
respectively, for the Blasters, who came out of the 1980s Los Angeles punk rock
scene playing high-energy original music influenced by pre-Beatles rock ‘n’
roll, blues, rockabilly, and R&B. The Blasters broke up by the mid-80s, but
Dave Alvin has had a sterling solo career writing, recording and playing roots
music. The Blasters reunited in 2002-03 for several shows and a pair of live
albums, and now the Alvin brothers got back together to pay tribute to Big Bill
Broonzy (1893-1958), who in the course of a 30-year career progressed from acoustic
Delta blues to uptown jump blues. Broonzy was a supremely talented singer and
guitarist who played a wide variety of styles and settings. The Alvin brothers capture some of the variety of Broonzy’s music
and have made a highly listenable and fun album in the process.
Other albums I really liked:
- “Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone,” Lucinda Williams
- “Reasonable Amount of Trouble,” Jesse Winchester
- “Standing in the Breach,” Jackson Browne
- “Carter Girl,” Carlene Carter
- “Terms of My Surrender,” John Hiatt
- “Live,” Gary Clark Jr.
- “American Middle Class,” Angaleena Presley
- “Songs,” John Fullbright
- “Somewhere Else,” Lydia Loveless
Other lists:
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