Albums
1. Stevie Wonder—Innervisions (John already listed most of my favorites, but I’ll also list the classic “Living for the City“, and “All in Love Is Fair” which some consider a low point!)
2. Genesis—Selling England by the Pound (“Dancing with the Moonlit Knight”)
3. Willie Nelson—Shotgun Willie (How many times am I going to be allowed to post this album in different contexts: “Shotgun Willie”, “A Song For You“?)
4. King Crimson–Larks’ Tongue in Aspic (Just, well: “Part 2”)
5. Wayon Jennings—Honky Tonk Heroes (Good call, John. In addition to John’s selections, please “Ride Me Down Easy”.)
6. ZZ Top—Tres Hombres. (Just edges out “(pronounced ‘lĕh-‘nérd ‘skin-‘nérd)” (“Simple Man”) and the Marshall Tucker Band’s first record (“Can’t You See”) in this year of the birth of southern rock. Give this entire album a try and listen without all the baggage of classic rock radio overplay. This is truly the shit, top to bottom, raw and grooving. Especially these two leadoff songs that were accidentally mixed together: “Waitin for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago” and of course “La Grange“. You know to crank it loud.)
7. Alan Price—O Lucky Man! (Tim mentioned Roy Wood, who I also love, as a guy who no one in America has heard of. Here’s another. Every song is great and the whole album is only 25 minutes long so I encourage listening to the whole thing.)
8. Roxy Music—Stranded (Impossibly tough choice between this and For YourPleasure, but I’ve always been slightly more partial to the highs, and the volume of them, on this one, including several of the most achingly beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. Try “Just Like You”. Reportedly, and funnily, Eno’s favorite Roxy album!)
9. Lou Reed—Berlin (Not for the faint of heart of course. Easy to forget sometimes just what a gorgeous melodicist he was, in evidence on the originals certainly, but also here on Letterman in 2008: “Caroline Says II”.)
10. Sam Rivers—Streams (Surprised I only wound up with one jazz record from this year. Tough cuts include Hancock’s Sextant, Joe Farrell’s Moon Germs, Cecil Taylor’s Indent and Noah Howard’s Patterns. On the latter, Howard is accompanied by several greats from Europe. I can’t get enough electric guitar in my free jazz and Jaap Schoonhoven lends great noise weight to start the proceedings. Then there’s Bennink’s clever and persistent percussion, Mengelberg’s color and Howard’s Ayler-influenced power and vibrato. On Streams, Rivers demonstrates that he is among the top sax improvisers in jazz history. Another example from this year alone is his work on Conference of the Birds, which is sure to make an appearance on someone’s list. Check out Cecil McBee’s minimalist, rock solid, but incredibly expressive bass work here as well.)
Songs
1. Loudon Wainwright III—The Swimming Song
2. The Kinks—Where Are They Now? (I love Preservation Acts 1 and 2 and listen to Act 1, side 1 more than any other Kinks record.)
3. Gladys Knight and the Pips—Midnight Train to Georgia (Almost forgot that this song was released in 1973; thanks for the reminder John. An all-time favorite that just never wears out its welcome.)
4. Man—Never Say Nups to Nepalese (Unavailable online.)
5. Judee Sill–The Donor (Thanks, Mr. Peacock.)
6. Neil Young—Don’t Be Denied (May be my favorite Neil song.)
7. Bruce Cockburn—You Don’t Have to Play the Horses
8. Van Morrison—Snow in San Anselmo. (I’m quite amazed that, in over a year’s time, I’m the only person to ever mention Van on this blog. If I ran this on endless repeat for the rest of my days, I’d be a happier and better man. One of several dozen Van Morrison songs that may apply to.)
9. Soft Machine—The Soft Weed Factor
10. Mary McCaslin—Down the Road (Original not available on youtube, but this lovely live version demonstrates her influence on Joanna Newsom. Check out “Circle of Friends“, or any other song from the original album too. People point, wrongly I think, to Joni as a primary influence. Listen to McCaslin for that, her phrasing, the open tunings and finger picking that almost sound like a harp. This record—Way Out West—was played a lot in the Newsom household, I guarantee.)
Music Corner w/ Archive 