:: anne in the attic ::

Create Your Own Countdown

:: Sunday, December 24, 2006 ::

:: TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2006, according to “anne in the attic” ::

Let me just preface this by saying that I think it has been a phenomenal year for music, and limiting my choices to ten was as difficult as it gets. Close cutoffs include widely known bands like The Raconteurs and virtual unknowns like Aidan Hawken, Eric Lichter and William Fitzsimmons (all worth a listen or ten), but this is, after all, a top TEN list. So, without further adieu, here they are in kinda-sorta relative order, with apologies if your sensibilities don’t quite match mine. The song links are via a Hype Machine search, which will allow readers both to listen to tracks and to track them down to their mp3 download sources.


1. Ray LaMontagne :: Till The Sun Turns Black
[Track 3: "Barfly"]
Ray LaMontagne is magic. He lures, he paints, and once he draws you in with his intimate vocals and tasty mellow guitar licks and classic-rock-with-a-touch-of-gospel feel, you get the sense that this old-schooler really does care and nothing goes down easier than that. He’s new to me, and hands down the richest musical discovery for me this year. It was really hard to choose only one track to list above, because it’s truly amazing all the way through. This is one of those albums that I believe will be on everybody’s all-time lists some day, and deserves the title of album of the year, in my book.

2. Joshua Radin :: We Were Here
[Track 2: "Star Mile"]
Having already gotten a little air time via Zach Braff’s “Scrubs” television show and a film or two, Joshua Radin turns out a clever and beautiful debut album here. Lots of textures—acoustic bass, cello and some light harmonies by Shuyler Fisk—create a delicate and complex pop album with a real acoustic feel. Also check out “Winter.”

3. Old Crow Medicine Show :: Big Iron World
[Track 5: "James River Blues"]
The second album by OCMS (and a more developed & mature one at that) is a great deal of fun. Self categorized as “bluegrass” and “folk,” extremely vast descriptors, they have a more modern feel to them, from their lyrics and references to their youthful tone. Their skills, however, are as old as the hills and are deeply rooted in the Americana style. Other great tracks include “Down Home Girl” & “Don’t Ride That Horse.”

4. Magnus Tingsek :: World Of Its Own
[Track 4: "I Love You (Part 1)"]
I confess that, until about two weeks ago, I didn’t even know this guy existed. I stumbled across this album, his second, through another musician. Magnus Tingsek hails from Sweden, but you can’t tell from his contemporary style. This album kind of feels like Chicago-circa-1974 meets Ben Harper, sort of (apologies for referencing another artist in this review, but it’s true). From the percussion organ to the horns, here’s another album with a lot of layers, but the most captivating element right off the bat is Tingsek’s soulful, often counter-rhythmic vocals. Very tasty, indeed.

5. Ben Harper :: Both Sides of the Gun
[Disc 2, Track 1: "Better Way"]
This 2-CD album has a mellower disc and a more upbeat disc, and they’re both vintage Ben Harper. When he gets mellow, he evokes that feeling of summer in California like nobody else. He is sweetness and love poured over a classic tube amp cranked up to 11. He’s rock with a solidly pop element that doesn’t overly diffuse the no-nonsense classic electric style of singer and guitar. He’s one of those musicians who keeps the real rock fire burning.

6. Sufjan Stevens :: Avalanche
[Track 5: "Chicago (acoustic version)"]
Even though this album is comprised of outtakes, etc. from the “Illinoise” album, it feels like something completely other—in fact, it IS another whole album. Sufjan Stevens is such an incredible lyricist that to have two different incarnations of “Chicago,” in addition to the version on “Illinoise” just doesn’t seem to matter. That a song can be recorded any number of different ways is something every musician knows, and that the decision to choose can be very difficult is presented to us here with transparency that allows us in to his process. Sufjan Stevens doesn’t hide that; rather he offers it without fig leaf, the intimate questions and musings of our lives, naked and gorgeous as they are.

7. Indigo Girls :: Despite Our Differences
[Track 3: "I Believe in Love"]
Any band that’s been around for twenty years and can still pull out an album with this quality deserves recognition. These women are so consistently excellent that their best albums are already unequivocal classics, and their worst are still heads above everyone else. This album is right in the middle for them, but not without newness and growth, something they seem to transpire on every album they make. Emily’s turn to the keyboard and Amy’s love of the electric make this album less homogenous, more varied, in addition to the usual style for which we continue to seek them out.

8. Beck :: The Information
[Track 4: "Strange Apparition"]
This is a great album, with Beck doing what he does best—experimenting with different rhythms, sounds and styles. Sometimes that works out better for him, and this is one of those albums. It moves, it grooves, and it shows off Beck’s incredible skills as an all-around musician willing to take risks. That makes him more of an artsy (can I say that without mocking cliché?) musician, and a pioneer, if you will. His rhythmic ability, especially in the intuitive sense of the conversational-slash-communication, gives him a cutting-edge connection to his listeners on a par with the social and political commentators of our time.

9. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club :: Howl
[Track 6: "Fault Line"]
If people are tired of the reference to Peter Hayes being an ex-Brian Jonestown Massacre member, then let me just say this: I mention it for comparison’s sake. He has come into his own here. The post-psychedelic era ushered in by the BJM now gives way to a more alt-country (I think of Wilco) performance, all blues-ed up and recovering from a whiskey hangover, but also with some residual sixties-analog-production touches like a Jefferson Airplane-era reverb here, the twang and bend of a guitar string there, a lament or an observation dropped in at will. Everything fits, and it feels good, even when it feels bad.

10. Cat Power :: The Greatest
[Track 1: "The Greatest"]
It’s about time for a female balladeer with the close-up-and-personal feel of Cat Power. Most of the album is stark and beautiful, Charlyn "Chan" Marshall’s throaty alto vocals over a piano or a guitar, with some drums and bass at times. Though she’s not new to the scene, “The Greatest” is her strongest album to date, and the title track is rife with ethereal textures (violins akin to a lick in “Moon River”?) and back-up harmonies. The album is mesmerizing, kind of like (and please excuse the reference) a female Damien Rice, soothing but with a Southern rock flavor, complete with lightly rolling snare. It’s one of those albums that leaves you with its slow melodies haunting your head and is hard to follow with anything else.

Happy Christmas Eve, everybody.
Anne

:: Anne 3:00 PM [smartass remarks] ::
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