My top 50 favorite albums of the year.

1. Gentleman Caller -Until We Are Missing
2. Persephone's Bees -Notes from the Underworld
3. Gnarls Barkley -St. Elsewhere
4. Shack -The Corner of Miles & Gil
5. Camera Obscura -Let's Get Out of This Country
6. Margot & the Nuclear So & So's -The Dust of Retreat
7. Long Blondes -Someone to Drive You Home
8. Bert Jansch -The Black Swan
9. Bob Dylan -Modern Times
10. Tunng -This Is Tunng: Mother's Daughter and Other Songs
11. Madeleine Peyroux -Half the Perfect World
12. John Legend -Once Again
13. Irene -Apple Bay
14. Camille -Live au Trianon
15. Hazey Janes -Hotel Radio
16. Linda Ronstadt & Ann Savoy -Adieu False Heart
17. Nightmares on Wax -In a Space Outta Sound
18. Demolition Doll Rods -There Is a Difference
19. Bat For Lashes -Fur & Gold
20. Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band -Second Attention
21. Sam Lowry -Songs of My Enemy
22. Lily Allen -Alright Still
23. Murder by Death -In Bocca al Lupo
24. Mink Jaguar -Mink Jaguar
25. Neil Young -Living With War
26. Solomon Burke -Nashville
27. Benga -Newstep
28. Orson -Bright Idea
29. The Storys -The Storys
30. The Sails -The Sails
31. Popium -The Miniature Mile
32. The Black Keys -Chulahoma
33. The Kooks -Inside In Inside Out
34. Bruce Springsteen -We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
35. Hold Steady -Boys and Girls in America
36. Prototypes -Prototypes
37. Joan As Police Woman -Real Life
38. The Black Keys Magic Potion
39. Oh No! Oh My! -Oh No! Oh My!
40. Antena -Toujours du Soleil
41. Winter Flowers Winter Flowers
42. Old Crow Medicine Show -Big Iron World
43. The Lolas -Dr. Apache
44. Nathan Fake -Drowning in a Sea of Love
45. Toumani Diabate Symmetric Orchestra -Boulevard de l'Independance
46. Kaiser George & the Hi-Risers -Transatlantic Dynamite
47. Midlake -The Trials of Van Occupanther
48. Candi Staton -His Hands
49. Belle & Sebastian The Life Pusuit
50. Le Volume Courbe -I Killed My Best Friend


And, my top 15 surf instrumental albums of the year. I put the Surf Coasters at 15 only because I'm harsher on live instrumental albums. Cruel me.

1. Dr. Surf -Who Is Dr.Surf?
2. The Astroglides -Selling Out with...
3. Razorblades -The Dark Side of the Beach
4. Long Boards -Big Surf
5. Tube Stone -Aligretosurfati
6. Phantom Frank -Phantom Frank
7. Reverb Syndicate -Operation: Jet Set
8. The Nebulas -The Nebulas
9. Surf Dogs -String Bikini
10. Dom Mariani & The Majestic Kelp -Music To Chase Cars By
11. The Pyronauts -Surf And Destroy
12. The Mel-Tones -Surf! Spy! Space!
13. The Special Agents -Bulletproof Beat
14. Ghastly Ones -Target: Draculon
15. Live -Surf Coasters

quote:

Originally posted by keylimetrev:

quote:

Has anybody else here heard the Eric Bachmann album, To the Races? I just listened to it again today, and realized how freaking incredible it is. It's jumped to my top 5. Ericg, you said you were a Crooked Fingers fan. Have you heard this one? I don't think it's been on anybody's list so far.

I've listened to it a good amount. It's a good album, but never hit me the way some of the crooked fingers albums (or archers of loaf for that matter) do. Have you tried Barton Carroll's album Love and War? He plays in Crooked Fingers a lot, and his album is very much in the same style.

I've given Red Devil Dawn a few listens over the last day, and so far it sounds pretty good, though it doesn't impress me nearly as much as To the Races yet. Most of the Crooked Fingers songs I had previously heard were from the self-titled I think. I really like most of the ones I've heard from that one, so that's probably the one I should go after. What do you think of that album, KLT? And how would you rank the rest of Bachmann's material that you've heard? I've never heard anything from Archers of Loaf, though I kinda doubt I'd like it much, as I've heard it's heavier, and I'm genereally less into that kind of stuff.

quote:

I've given Red Devil Dawn a few listens over the last day, and so far it sounds pretty good, though it doesn't impress me nearly as much as To the Races yet. Most of the Crooked Fingers songs I had previously heard were from the self-titled I think. I really like most of the ones I've heard from that one, so that's probably the one I should go after. What do you think of that album, KLT? And how would you rank the rest of Bachmann's material that you've heard? I've never heard anything from Archers of Loaf, though I kinda doubt I'd like it much, as I've heard it's heavier, and I'm genereally less into that kind of stuff.

My favorite Crooked Fingers release was actually his short covers ep resevoir songs. I still listen to that all the time. Next I'd say I like the self-title album, especially because 'new drink for the old drunk' is on that album. Red Devil Dawn is really good as well. I think basically everything he has done has been very consistent and that is probably why as he has released more albums, I've payed less attention to them. He does put on a great live show.

Also, if you like 'To the Races,' I think you would probably like Neil Diamond's album '12 Songs' a lot. Bachman has always sounded a lot like Diamond and the production on the two albums is very similar.

Neil Diamond, huh? I'll probably pass on that one, but I'm currently downloading that Barton Carroll album you recommended. I'll let you know what I think of that one soon.

quote:

Originally posted by keylimetrev:
Also, if you like 'To the Races,' I think you would probably like Neil Diamond's album '12 Songs' a lot. Bachman has always sounded a lot like Diamond and the production on the two albums is very similar.

They do have similar vocal styles, although I suspect a lot of Bachmann's fans wouldn't admit that. I didn't really care for 12 Songs, although I do like a lot of Neil's 60s & early 70s stuff. For sad songs, you can't really beat Neil's original version of "Red Red Wine".

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:
Neil Diamond, huh? I'll probably pass on that one, but I'm currently downloading that Barton Carroll album you recommended. I'll let you know what I think of that one soon.

Neil's 12 Songs was his (excellent) reinvention, with Rick Rubin at the helm a la Johnny Cash's American Recordings. It was also the first time in over 30 years that Neil played guitar on his own recordings. You might like it more than you'd think, RL.

quote:

Originally posted by philosopherEric:
Neil's 12 Songs was his (excellent) reinvention, with Rick Rubin at the helm a la Johnny Cash's American Recordings. It was also the first time in over 30 years that Neil played guitar on his own recordings. You might like it more than you'd think, RL.

I will give it credit as being far better than the schmaltzy crap he was doing in the late 70s & early 80s, like "America", "Heartlight", etc. Still, I don't think it was the album I know Diamond and Rubin are both capable of making.

12 Songs almost certainly could have been better, but I still thought it was really good (I think it was either 20 on my 2005 best-of list or just missed it). Mainly though, I thought that someone who had Bachmann's album as one of their favorites of 2006 would probably enjoy it a lot.

To get this back onto 2006:

Haas anyone heard the Felice Brothers' newest album? I really, really like the four songs they have on their myspace page, but I'm a little worried about purchasing their albums, since you basically just send a check to their house as far as I can tell. The songs are really great, and sound like Basement Tapes era Dylan and the Band.

www.myspace.com/thefelicebrothers

Eric Clapton & JJ Cale - The Road to Escondido
Tom Waits - Orphans
Sigur Rós - Sæglópur (DVD & CD Pack)
Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - All The Roadrunning
David Gilmour - On An Island
Tool - 10,000 Days