BEST ALBUMS (CDs) OF 2003
By Jim Mello
It’s the time of the year when best of lists are appearing in all manner of
publications, in and out of cyberspace. And Wolf Moon Press Journal
will be no exception. Here’s my best of CD list that reflects no noticeable
public trends but only the CD’s most appreciated by me this past year. I
know, a couple of these weren’t released this calendar year, but it was
during this past year that I had the opportunity to get acquainted with
them. Hope they stimulate some thinking and listening. Bon appétit!
1. STATE OF GRACE by Pierce Pettis
Pettis, a lesser known neo-folk/acoustic artist, has produced a CD that all
lovers of NPR’s World Café and NPR’s In Tune by Ten should
acquaint themselves with. All the tracks are solid, with lyrical gems, that
stick to your ears’ ribs long after the listening is over.
2. THE HOUSE CARPENTER’S DAUGHTER by Natalie Merchant
The former lead singer for 10,000 Maniacs digs directly into the folk roots
that fueled that band with a strong compilation of traditional and
contemporary folk songs that make aging boomers dream of Washington Square
in its heyday. Her reading of “Which Side Are You On,” the old worker’s
union anthem, will bristle any leftist hairs you have left standing on the
back of your neck.
3. BRAINWASHED by George Harrison
Part sympathy vote, mostly worthy of the best of list, George Harrison’s
last studio CD, recorded as he prepared to leave this world for the next, is
a fine swan song with trademark humor, spiritual insight, and some social
critique. Brainwashed stands as a fine alternative to the daily
washing of our brains we get just plowing through this contemporary,
material world.
4. JERUSALEM by Steve Earle
Yang, to Bruce Springsteen’s post-9/11 yin, The Rising. Earle rasps
his way through the darker side of the “Amerika” that helped produce the
worldwide terrorist environment we are learning to negotiate. You won’t hear
these songs on whatever represents Top 40 radio these days.
5. LOVE AND THEFT by Bob Dylan
Critically acclaimed, Zimmy’s latest studio CD (not counting the soundtrack
to Masked and Anonymous), Love and Theft grows on me with each
new listen. This CD is a culmination of the latest chapter of this
generation’s major voice and brings together strands from his whole career,
propelled by a close association with his current touring band.
6. RUNNING HORSE by Poco
A personal favorite, Poco is the country rock band that grew from the ashes
of the exploding seminal 1960s band, Buffalo Springfield. They are
resurrected here with a strong set of songs that could once and for all
help listeners hear that on their best days they were comparable to the
Eagles, minus the anomie.
7. BEAT AVENUE by Eric Andersen
Andersen, a Greenwich Village contemporary of Dylan et al., comes out of the
blue with a twenty-six-minute title cut that epitomizes what the Beat poets
of the 1960s were aiming at, a fusion of lyric and music that approximates
stream-of-consciousness thinking. The subject matter is the day Kennedy died
(Andersen was scheduled to perform this song (piece) on Nov. 22 in Boston),
and by the time the tour de
force is over, the listener has been transported across the last four
decades, left with the realization that not much about the way things are
has really changed. A frightening thought.
8. ON AND ON by Jack Johnson
A nod to the new songwriters here. If you haven’t heard Jack Johnson’s laid-back minimalist tunes, you owe it to yourself to seek him out. He’s sharp
with words and observations on life in these times, often slipping in a
profound thought about the way the universe runs, amid a catchy little ditty
that first appears to be the foam on the waves this ex-surfer used to ride.
9. WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE by Van Morrison
Acknowledged curmudgeon Morrison lays down some bluesy, jazzy tunes about
“keepin’ on,” distancing himself from the rock and roll subculture that ever
threatens to misrepresent him. Even if Van were singing names from the phone
book, with the grooves here it would be compelling listening.
10. DARK CHORDS ON A BIG GUITAR by Joan Baez
A sympathy vote here. Joan grabs on to some songs by contemporary
songwriters such as Greg Brown and Steve Earle, and dips them in the spirit
of the folk movement that she became an icon of, resulting in a mellowed out
version of protest songs. She has an ear for a good lyric, and, ironically,
the weakest track is the cover of the Natalie Merchant’s
“Motherland,” which must be heard in its original version.
11. TRAVELOGUE by Joni Mitchell
Not for everyone. This is the culmination of Joni’s embracing string-laden
orchestrated arrangements c. the 1940s standards and is a document that
places songs that represent her travels in these musical settings. Whatever
you may think of the arrangements, an important packaging of one of the
1960s premier artist’s oeuvre. Rumor has it these may be her last
recordings.
12. GREENDALE by Neil Young
Ol’ Neil just keeps on trucking and has released yet another controversial
disc, this time the soundtrack to a “novel” that he ended up staging. The
meandering tunes, with accompaniment by his personal warhorse, “Crazy
Horse,” touch upon all the encroachments to our collective “family values,”
including the ravaging of the environment.
13. SONGS FOR SURVIVORS by Graham Nash
Graham Nash, 1/3 of Crosby, Stills, and Nash and 1/4 of C,S,N and Y, has
produced a surprisingly solid set of songs that stand as a signal to us
that the voice of harmony and 1960s idealism is indeed alive and well, and
worth paying attention to.
