Some Awe's Best of 2016 - Preliminaries

Another musical year rolls around and along, this one notable, sadly, for the significant loss of so many stars.

As ever, this is my preliminary list. I will whittle it down to a top twenty at the turn of the year. I say to myself it will be a top ten, but I never cull that successfully.

Looking at last year's Preliminaries list I told myself I would edit far more this time around. I couldn't. I am not saying I know each one of these albums well, but I have listened and liked them all. It seems a ridiculously long list, but in reality it is a snippet of the music released in a year. It is what it is, and genuinely so.

* - indicates I have reviewed on this site: copy/paste or type in band and album in Search window

Aaron Neville – Apache

Agnes Obel - Citizen of Glass

Allison Crowe - Heirs + Grievances  *

Baaba Maal - The Traveller

Beth Hart - Fire On The Floor

Beyoncé - Lemonade

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings - Kings and Kings  *

Blues Pills - Lady in Gold  *

Bonnie Raitt - Dig in Deep  *

Branford Marsalis Quartet - Upward Spiral  *

Cass McCombs – Mangy Love

Case-Lang-Veirs - Case-Lang-Veirs

Cee Cee James - Stripped Down & Surrendered  *

Chatham County Line – Autumn
Christina Pluhar - Pluhar-Orfeo Chaman
Christine and The Queens - Chaleur Humaine

Daniel Lanois - Goodbye To Language

David Bowie - Blackstar  *

David Crosby – Lighthouse  *
Devon Allman - Ride Or Die

Dhafer Youssef - Diwan of Beauty and Odd

Dodgy - What Are We Fighting For

Don Williams - One Good Well

Dori Freeman - Dori Freeman  *

Drive-By Truckers - American Band

Dwight Yoakam - Swimmin Pools Movie Stars  *

Eric Clapton - I Still Do

Eric Lindell - Matters of the Heart

Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution  *

Father John Misty - Real Love Baby

Foghat - Under the Influence  *

Frankie Miller - Frankie Miller's Double Take  *

Gregory Porter - Take Me to the Alley  *

Gerry Beckley – Carousel

GONG - Rejoice! I'm Dead!  *

Graham Nash - This Path Tonight

Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

James Holden, Camilo Tirado, Luke Abbott - Outdoor Museum of Fractals 555Hz  *

Jane Siberry - Angels Bend Closer

Jimmy Stewart - Poor Rambler  *

Joan As Police Woman - Let It Be You

Joanne Shaw Taylor – Wild

Joe Bonamassa - Blues Of Desperation  *

John Prine - For Better, Or Worse

Judy Collins & Ari Hest - Silver Skies Blue  *
Jukka Perko Avara - Invisible Man

Kandace Springs - Soul Eyes  *

Laura Mvula – The Dreaming Room

Kurt Elling - The Beautiful Day Kurt Elling Sings Christmas  *

Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker

Le Wolves - Le Wolves  *

Lex Grey And The Urban Pioneers - Heal My Soul  *

Lubomyr Melnyk – Illirion  *

Lucia Cadotsch - Speak Low  *

Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real - Something Real

Marillion - F E A R [Fuck Everyone and Run]

Mary Chapin Carpenter - The Things That We Are Made Of

Metallica - Hardwired To Self-Destruct  *

Motorhead - Clean Your Clock

Mountain Dust - Nine Years  *

Mudcrutch - Mudcrutch 2

Neil Young – Peace Trail  *

Neil Young & Promise of the Real - Earth

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

Nils Petter Molvaer – Buoyancy

Norah Jones - Day Breaks

Paolo Fresu & Omar Sosa – Eros  *

Paul Simon – Stranger To Stranger  *

Peter Frampton - Acoustic Classics  *

Purson – Desire’s Magic Theatre  *

Rachael Yamagata - Tightrope Walker  *

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Rebecca Ferguson – Superwoman  *
Richmond Fontaine - You Can't Go Back If There's Nothing To Go Back To *

Rich Robinson – Paper

Rival Sons - Hollow Bones

Robin Trower - Where You Are Going To  *

Róisín Murphy - Take Her Up to Monto

Rossington - Take It On Faith  *

Ryley Walker - Golden Sings That Have Been Sung  * 

Sam Carter - How the City Sings  *

Santana - Santana IV

Scott Matthews - Home Part 2

Seth Lakeman - Ballads Of The Broken Few  *

Shawn Colvin & Steve Earle - Colvin & Earle

Shawn James - On the Shoulders of Giants

Steeleye Span - Dodgy Bastards  *

Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth

Teddy Thompson And Kelly Jones - Little Windows  *

The Answer – Solas  *

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel

The Jayhawks - Paging Mr. Proust

The Olympians - The Olympians  *
The Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome

The Temperance Movement - White Bear  *

Tony Joe White - Rain Crow
Transmigrant - The Philomath  *

Trembling Bells - Wide Majestic Aire

Ty Curtis - Blame Me  *

Van Der Graaf Generator - Do Not Disturb

Van Morrison - Keep Me Singing

Vince Gill - Down To My Last Bad Habit  *

Wolf People - Ruins