Saturday 29 December 2012

Some Awe's Top Twenty Albums - 2012




Most of the albums in my top twenty, but not all, have been reviewed in this blog. If you place the cursor over each title, it will be clear if there is a link as it will be highlighted. If so, click on this and you will be redirected to the review:
 This will be a clear choice for many - because it’s the Boss - and because it is a great album. I think it is an important album for 2012, reflecting as it does on the global economy and, naturally, on the impact in America. Ry Cooder, and others, made politically-charged musical commentaries on the financial and political culprits, but Springsteen always has the instinct for conceptualising such realities as human stories, and traditionally blue-collar, everyman narratives. Memorable anthems.
 Some choices, like this one, are to do with affinity for a particular artist, and this album reflects the brilliance of Smither’s songwriting and guitar playing which I have enjoyed so much for some time, though arriving relatively late to his music [and I have reviewed his earliest work on this blog which has become a genuine all-time favourite]. I also had the great pleasure of seeing Chris this year and playing some of the tracks from this album.
 I know some of the tracks on this album are re-workings of older songs, and that there has been a judicious use of autotuning on the vocals. I don’t care. This is a sublime collection in the way it so brilliantly represents the classic Beach Boys sound. Also, the final three tracks form the most powerful melancholic, and musically gorgeous lament for growing old. The lyrics present an honest truth wonderfully at odds with the ludicrous deceit of earlier songs’ old-men claims for youthful preoccupations: a lyrical awkwardness akin to the worst dad-dancing. Fun and reflection.
 Retro rock fully occupying the moment. An album of some complexity that can also simply ram it home.
 Another excellent album from one of the finest guitarists and songwriters out there.
 A brilliant selection of great artists showcasing the even greater brilliance of Clark’s songwriting.
 Perhaps the finest, consistent and prolific gifted guitarist today. Maturing vocal and superb songwriting.  
 Like Smither, Miller will always be a favourite. This partnership with Lauderdale is infectious traditional country, with two classic plaintive harmony tracks as well.
 A reminder of greatness.
 A beautiful album in its own right, with one outstanding Dylan cover. This is special also because it has introduced me to an artist whose work is genuinely excellent and distinctive, and has been for the many years I have been shamefully ignorant of its existence.
 Reminds us that sweet soul lives on, and can be developed.
 Nothing complex here. Down and dirty and delightful.
 Making jazz vocal as cool as it always has been [and I could just as easily have put Kurt Elling’s latest here...].

Iris DeMent - Sing the Delta
 Such poignant and honest storytelling inside simple but beautiful melodies.
 A cheat, but the two albums are so much the mirror of each other, and that in itself the perfect reflection of a 60s/70s sound.

Father John Misty – Fear Fun
 Fleet Foxes drummer demonstrating where the gorgeous melodies continue.
 Ambitious guitar-driven rock to challenge the past.
 Mad guitar rock. Far out.
 Great songwriter, and here devoting sustained skill to its singular theme.
 For its freshness, the raw power of performance, and its suggestion of such strength to follow. My ‘surprise’ find of the year, though I am clearly not alone. And my review of their album was appreciated and that gives me great pleasure too. 

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