Best Albums of '07, Yo.

Well, I'd like to think I'm frugal. Except when it comes to gear and CDs. I figure it's all professional development, right? I am a firm believer that to make good music you have to listen to it. Songwriting, for most, does not occur in a vacuum. Hence...I buy music. Here's what I discovered this year that I like a lot. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through (Buy it) I started off the year with a Patty show at Gruene Hall, where she debuted a lot of these tunes. It was freezing inside Gruene Hall; we all wore winter jackets and hats and gloves. The place was packed. The music was awesome. Then, in March Josh and I saw Patty play at Waterloo Records and I got to meet her. I think I said something lame, but it was PATTY. This album is just as amazing as all of her others...none of them are alike, so you can't even pick a favorite. That's what great about Ms. Griffin. Also, this video captures what this whole "thing" of music and writing and performing is about, I think. Adrienne Young - Room to Grow (Buy It) I still don't know a whole lot about Adrienne, I just know that I have 3 of her albums and they are all sublime. Slightly traditional, but still current and relevant. So relevant, in fact, that partial proceeds from this CD will go to a seed fund to "which will provide non-genetically modified seeds and support for urban and community gardens throughout the United States and Canada." Heck yeah. Josh and I aim to do the same when we are a full-fledged record label...give a bunch of it back. Cheers to Adrienne because that's a cool way to do it. Terri Hendrix - The Spiritual Kind (Buy It) ARE WE SURPRISED? No. But this album has seriously been spinning on the 'pod since June, and it's not old yet. It's nice to see Terri on other people's "best of" lists, too. It's like rooting for the hometown team, here around Austin. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (Buy It) I was suspicious. Random collaborations like this can either rock or fail miserably. This one rocks. Both of them have very haunting voices in different ways, and you can tell both artists are stepping outside the box for this record. That makes them the best kind of artist, I think...do what they do well and then switch it up...and STILL do it well. Mary Chapin Carpenter - The Calling (Buy It) Not Surprised No. 2. What can I say? It's Chapin. She's smart. She's poetic. She is one of America's best working songwriters. I'll stand up to that statement in a Nerf ball war any day. "On With the Song," written for the Dixie Chicks, is awesome. No one else uses "jingoistic" and "camel jockey" in a song and gets away with it. The title track, "The Calling," rings especially true at this point in my life, too. Score. The Weepies - Say I Am You (Buy It) Dan introduced me to these two and this record is a class act all the way through. It's sweet but not sappy, bold but not offensive, and they recorded it all themselves in a house in California. Home grown records, kids. Buy them. Tori Amos - American Doll Posse (Buy It) I was late to jump on the Tori bandwagon because she gets stereotyped and stuck in a box a lot, which is ironic because her music is anything but boxed. This album has the interesting twist of being sung from the perspective of different women/characters...of course all of them are ultimately Tori embodying these different personalities. That must have been a cool way to write. I listened to "Bouncing Off Clouds" 45 times straight through when I first got this record, I think. John Jennings - More Noise From Nowhere (Buy It) JJ is pretty much my guitar guru and he writes great songs, too. When he's not touring with Mary Chapin, he finds time to produce a lot as well and write and record his own albums. He plays just about every instrument on them, too. A definite inspiration and guide for what we are going to do with EP No. 1 this year. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (Buy It) Dan and I saw Josh play in November, and the show was transcendent. Few people put as much joy into their live performance that Josh does. And this record is chock full of lines that make me wish I had written them. Plus I'm a history nerd, so it's even better. Looking forward to in '08: Susan Gibson...is putting out a new one! Hurrah! This calls for a Red Bull. Shedaisy...is about due, too. I have a love for intelligently crafted country-pop. And there's not a lot of country-pop that can call itself intelligent these days. I have said it before and I will say it again; Kristyn Osborn is one of Nashville's best writers. Kathleen Edwards - this one is supposed to be coming fairly soon. Kathleen's first two records made my "Perfect Albums" list...I'm sure No. 3 will be just as good. EP No. 1 - Oh yeah, that thing I'm working on. :) ProTools is ready to go and I am recording quick demos to give us something to listen to and work on. We have more songs than we need...which is a RELIEF and a good position to be in for this type of thing. But I'll keep on writing because I'll keep on listening. What were YOUR top albums of 2007?

Perfect Albums :: Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself

I think I have mentioned Imogen on my blog before, but I am now getting around to letting you in on a little non-secret: Imogen Heap is flippin' fantastic. I was first introduced through the song "Let Go" by her duo Frou Frou, which was featured on one of those ABCBSMSNBC network shows I never watched in college, but my roommate had the song and I liked it. I think that's how that went down. Anyway, her voice grabbed me; I happened upon Speak For Yourself and bought it and was floored. So I read some more about Miss Heap, expecting my elevated opinions to be dashed when I found out she was a product of 8 producers, 35 co-writers, and was discovered on British Idol or something (did I mention she's British? That makes her even cooler). But NO! Imogen WRITES her own music, PLAYS her own music, and PRODUCES her own music. Be still my do-it-yourself heart. She probably grows her own coffee beans and roasts them to perfection, too. (That's just me speculating, though). Here's Imogen on Letterman performing "Goodnight and Go" with her "band": I'll admit...I'm not really sure what type of genre you'd put Imogen in...maybe a electronica-singer-songwriter-pop-rock one. Close enough. She uses the power of various instruments and gadgets like Macs and looping stations and synthesizers and keyboards...and creates orchestras on stage. I saw her live last year here in Austin, and it was pretty impressive. She's got a grand piano fitted with a keyboard that has each key wired to a particular light in the piano body (did I mention this thing is made of clear plexi-glass?) so the whole piano lights up accordingly when she plays. Dang. I'm just happy when a string doesn't break. Anyway, this is all superflous to the album itself. Speak for Yourself holds its own. Tracks like "Headlock" and "The Walk" start off all mellow-like and lull you until she smacks you with some synth-y beat that somehow matches your pulse and enhances it. Imogen's music has the good quality of ingraining itself and impacting you on a purely rhythmic basis. Her lyrics are dang cool...but it took me a long time to even pay attention to them because I was so distracted by the sonic landscapes she creates. What this woman does with a keyboard and her voice is amazing. Check the video for Headlock: Excellent example of the smackdown on the chorus, just when you thought you had the vibe of the song figured out. Good writing lessons, all. Roight. So now I'm going to 'ave a cuppa tea and recommend that you take a gander at Imogen's vLog...yes, a video blog...about building her studio for her new album. It's up at ImogenHeap.co.uk. Fun times, perfect record.

Perfect Albums No. 4: Stones in the Road (and Happy Independence)

Warning: much spew-y admiration and lyric-quoting to follow, but deal with it. I do it because I love you all. Perfect Album No. 4 is Stones in the Road by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Oh it's about time, you say. I'm kind of a big Chapin fan. I have been since I was twelve. I remember the day it happened clearly, too. I was riding around the neighborhood on my bike, listening to the local country station on one of those hip headphone-radio-things (why I never got hit by a car because I couldn't hear traffic, I'll never know). "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" came on the radio, and I don't know if you can skid to a halt on a pink Murray bike, but I probably did. The voice, the words, the jangly guitars and absence of...yes, the almost ANTI-twang. I said, "Whoa." Not long after that mom and dad bought me my first guitar, and I started lessons. The first song ever charted out for me was "He Thinks He'll Keep Her." That was in 1994, the year that Stones in the Road came out. MCC was riding the waves of Grammy awards and CMA awards and anything else they could throw at her, and here comes this decidedly non-country-dare-we-say-FOLKISH album. It changed my life. I devoured every song and every lead part I could figure out on that CD, and I do believe it has played a huge role into how I look at songwriting to this day. "Why Walk When You Can Fly?" - an anthem. A means and a mantra to live by. Why take when you could be giving? Why watch as the world goes by? It's a hard enough life to be living... Why walk when you can fly? Hm. Reminds me of a quote from President Kennedy: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." Except with music, haha. "Stones in the Road" (the song itself) -- probably would be classified as top o' the list for Perfect Song as well. It was the first song I ever played at a guitar recital. I played and sang (gasp!) with accompaniment from my guitar teacher. I thought I was one bad-arse 7th grader. It gave me the bug which enables me to be writing this blog post today from Austin. Wow. Anyway, "Stones in the Road" is what is so great about Mary Chapin. It's melodic and gorgeous for one, but it addresses things our society needs to be aware of...and does it with a historical perspective. Check out a verse about the assassination of Robert Kennedy: When I was ten my father held me on his shoulders above the crowd To see a train draped in mourning pass slowly through our town His widow kneeled with all their children at the sacred burial ground And the TV glowed that long hot summer with all the cities burning down And the stones in the road, flew out beneath our bicycle tires Worlds removed from all those fires as we raced each other home FYI: it is flippin' HARD to write something about a turning point in national history like that, and to pull it off with grace. Sakes alive. Oh there are groovin' tunes on here, too. "Shutup and Kiss Me" was kind of a Number One on the charts. "Tender When I Want to Be" makes me want to dance (which if you know me, is kind of a miracle). "The Last Word" is a bitter diatribe against someone on the wrong end of a failing relationship, and the genius here is that the title of the song...is never said in the song itself. You can have it I don't want it And when you've got it I'll be gone. Mmmhmm. Don't tick a songwriter off. Actually, go out of your way to tick a songwriter off...maybe you'll spur a Grammy. So after this whole roller-coaster of a mantra-igniting, history lesson-giving, foot-tapping, bitterness-brewing, grace-giving record is over, you're left with "This Is Love." If you ever think of me let it be around twilight When the world has settled down and the last round of sunlight Is waning in the sky, as you sit and watch the night descending A car will pass out front with lovers at the wheel A dog will bark out back and children's voices peal Over and under the air, you've been there lost in the remembering And if you ever wish for things that are only in the past Just remember that the wrong things aren't supposed to last Babe it's over and done and the rest is gonna come when you let it And this is love. Thanks, MCC, for lighting that spark of independence in a kid with a pink bike. Happy July 4th from Austin. Here's He Thinks He'll Keep Her from...probably about the time I discovered the song. Nice.

Perfect Albums No. 3 :: Failer

Kathleen Edwards: Failer No no no. I am not running out of albums already, nor am I stuck in a rut. This woman is just that good. If you will recall, Perfect Album No. 2 was Back to Me also by Kathleen. I am so enamoured with both records that I have to make Failer the next installment. Failer is Kathleen's first. If every artist put out a first album like this...well, I guess I don't know. There would be a lot of legendary first albums. Every song is not just good, it is SOGOOOOD!!! Say that in a gushy kinda way and you'll get where I'm going. We start off with a ditty every folk-rock record should start out with...something about someone ending up dead. "Six O'Clock News" was one Ben and I frequently covered, and it's subtle enough that you really have to pay attention to know it's about a SWAT situation gone wrong. Otherwise it's just catchy. Kathleen Edwards – Six O'Clock News Tracks 5 - 9 are perhaps the most brilliant succession of songs on any album I own. We start off with current favorite 12 Bellevue, with its horn section and crunchy guitar riff. And the guitars even sound like...bells. It's amazing. "I'm not gonna truce...cause in the end either way I still lose. And I'm not gonna wait, I was thinking about drinking my way through the day." Tell us how you really feel, Kathleen. Kathleen Edwards – 12 Bellevue Next up we have sweet, sad "Mercury." The first line is..."Wanna go get high? Mercury's parked outside under the light." But Kathleen does her job as commissioned by Nancy Reagan and points out, "It's like you said...woulda turned up dead in the car." Whoa. Ponder it while you hum. Kathleen Edwards – Mercury My, that's a perky "NO!" Moving right along we have "Westby," a jaunty little ditty that has perhaps the best hook ever. That's right, I'll put it on the line right now. This song contains THE BEST HOOK EVER AND EVER AMEN. What is it? "If you weren't so old I would probably keep you. If you weren't so old I'd tell my friends...but I don't think your wife would like my friends." I can't say anything else, I just can't. Kathleen Edwards – Westby And to round out this song grouping we have "Maria" which...I'm not sure what it's about but it rocks. More genius electric guitar and some killer background vocals. And then Failer takes you out nice and sweetly with a couple of mournful tracks in the form of "National Steel" and "Sweet Little Duck." Then you press "play" again and start all over. The best news?? The absolute BEST? Kathleen's got a blog. Heck yeahs. Props to Canada.

Perfect Albums No. 2

Kathleen Edwards: Back to Me Oh those shifty Canadians. They sit up there all Northern-like in their giant country full of maple leaves and snow. Sometimes we State-siders forget that many of the beloved artists we just kind of claim are from across the border. Joni Mitchell. Neil Young. Jim Carrey. Classics, all. Not surprisingly, then...there's an excellent new crop of baby Canucks with songwriting chops and a point to make. It's hard for me to choose between Kathleen's first album, Failer, and this one. My buddy Ben and I discovered her after seeing her play a song on David Letterman back when we were sophomores in college. I lived in a closet then, and we'd huddle in it and watch late night TV. The official dorm term for it was "Apartment B Building N-102," but it was a closet. I digress. We saw Kathleen play a song (I'm not even sure I remember which one) and we got on Amazon.com right then and ordered Failer. It's got many a gem on it...and I appreciated that. We went on with our lives, we worked a Kathleen cover into our live show, life went on. After a while Back to Me was delivered to us via the great the Great White North and I said..."hey." What else can you say? It's gritty, it's sweet, it's not annoying in any way whatsoever. (Sadly, in this day and age, criteria for a good album has to include "Not Annoying.") Kathleen's got a voice that takes a bit to get into...it's rough, it's a tad nasal, and sometimes you wonder what note she was going for. That's the brilliance. You get the impression that recording the CD was a big, inspired jam-fest. Not in that 18-minute-solo-Grateful-Dead sort of way (but hey, don't knock it)...but in that unpolished, earthy sort of way. The album begins with one of my favorite tracks, "In State." It's a prison song. It's probably a metaphor. Even if it's not...prison songs are great. It's raw, it's rocking, it's full of life. It also contains that crunchy and prominent guitar sound that is so desperately needed these days. (See previous Jana Rant for an explanation). Good stuff abounds, one of my favorites being a happy little ditty with the required unhappy-type lyrics..."Summerlong." "There are some things I can hardly say; you got me feeling a brand new way. Please don't let this be summerlong." (Yeah, it's all one word. Ask Webster, I don't know). Kathleen's Talent: I know in my last Perfect Album review I waxed poetic about the glories of a fully themed and executed album. Kathleen has a similar skill, though she manages to nip and tuck it all into ONE SONG. Those Canadians were always good with brevity (Case in point: only TWO colors required for the very recognizable national flag...America needs three. I know). "Copied Keys" is another good one...about how walking into someone's pre-existing life and trying to plug in doesn't...usually...work. Ow. It begins with a nice little acoustic guitar line, and then comes in the slide...a mournful, wailing yet complacent kind of tone. "This is not my town and it will never be. This is our apartment filled with your things. This is your life, I get copied keys." And the drums start rocking and the slide guitar moans and a chorus of "ahs" brings it all home with some sort of desperate crescendo. And then what happens? You guessed it. ANOTHER KICK BUTT GUITAR SOLO. Bring it. She's on her way to being the next folk-rock troubadour, Canadian and otherwise. Pick up Failer and Back to Me before the next one comes out...and then you won't be so playing catch up. I do what I can for you, dear readers.

Jana's Perfect Albums: Songs for a Hurricane

Songs for a Hurricane: Kris Delmhorst In this new and happy age of instant song gratification from iTunes and every other download service around, I sometimes worry that the digital music revolution will leave the art of the full album in the dust. Sure, the mass marketing of radio and commercialization of some of the more "popular" forms of music make it easy to have the radio hit of the summer on your iPod without the fluffy filler of tracks 2-10 filling up your hard drive. However, I am a firm believer that there are many artists out there who put care and attention into crafting not just one or two, but WHOLE albums worth of fabulous songs! It's awesome. There's a trick to theme, to flow, to exposition and resolution. A good album is like a good novel, without all that bothersome reading involved (unless you're a liner note junkie like me).* Hence, dear reader (or readers if this is a good day), I offer you a new series of CDs that I consider to be "Full Listens." Albums that master the point of relevance, theme, and brilliance. The whole shebang, as it were. Songs for a Hurricane -- yes, it was made pre-Katrina, and the point is not the weather. Well, I don't think so, anyway. Even though there are such aptly-named titles as "Waiting Under the Waves", "Weathervane", and amazingly, "Hurricane"...it's more of a giant metaphor that works. Sometimes weather gets a little cliche. I'll admit that I resort to talking about the weather a lot...in my daily life and in my writing. Something so huge and planetary affects our individual lives so much. I suppose we should pay attention, hm? Kris' album takes the form of a storm's path as metaphor for human relationships...the impending malay summed up in the first track with the line, "Waiting under the waves...I am sorry that we're sinking but we're sinking just the same." Well, ouch. "Weathervane" offers some tasty, eerie guitar work along with the personal affirmation of, "No more weathervane...I'm gonna be the wind." Yeah! Who wants to be shoved around all the time? To me, the central song of the album is "Hurricane," maybe a microcosm of the project at large. The song itself seems to track the storm's progress...a good little clip at the beginning, a powerful chorus, a quiet, eye-of-the-storm bridge...and then a guitar solo at the end that could bring down a house. JANA RANT TIME: The guitar solo is becoming a lost art, so when songs like "Hurricane" put it back where it should be, you know I'm going to take notice. Remember Zeppelin? Hendrix? Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues"? The Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy"? (Sorry...I'm just being random). Killer guitar solos, all. Then somewhere in the late-90's, in the effort to cram as many repeated mind-numbing pop choruses into a 3 minute song, the guitar solo went the way of plastic grocery bags in San Francisco. So anyway, any time someone remembers that guitar solos are not just filler, I'm going to point it out. Thank you. Kris' voice is a unique one, and her writing is intelligent but accessible. She's a Massachusetts folkie who spends time on the West Coast, and those bi-coastal writers always seem to have a nice outlook on life. I highly recommend any of her albums, but start with Songs for Hurricane in celebration of the impending rains of spring. "Babe, you always were a hurricane, the way at first you'd rage and then you'd rain. All that calm there in your eyes just felt like a lie...it always changed." * To my English degreed friends, which are many...I am just kidding.