mcnally
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response 5 of 5:
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Jan 6 05:33 UTC 2002 |
I realize Ken started another item and went to the trouble of linking
it to Agora, but I'm going to post my year-end list here on the theory
that (a) tpryan's "year end lists" item came first, and (b) if people
in agora really cared what music I liked in 2001 they'd be reading the
music conference at the very least and more likely asking me directly.
Anyway, a short list of notable musical pleasures in 2001, most of which
are albums that were recorded well before last year and are only new to me.
Favorite Album:
Emmylou Harris, "Wrecking Ball"
Last year about this time, if I had been writing to sum up my
listening in the year 2000, the dominant musical theme for that
year would probably have been dub. The new theme for 2001,
female country vocalists, could hardly have been much different
if difference had been my goal. In some years it's not too easy
to pinpoint the moment when my interests tipped from one musical
style to another but this year it's pretty easy -- it was the moment
I first listened to Emmylou Harris' wonderful 1995 album "Wrecking Ball."
I'd always enjoyed Emmylou's voice since I first heard her earliest
recordings singing on Gram Parsons's "Grievous Angel". I'd not
felt a need to track down her solo recordings, however, and hadn't
been exposed to them much until I took a flyer on this album based
on the rave reviews and strong word of mouth it generated at the time
of its release.
Consisting largely of covers of first-class work by other songwriters,
"Wrecking Ball" deftly balances Emmylou's masterful song interpretations
with the modern influences of Daniel Lanois's production work and
surprisingly affecting and appropriate drumming work by U2 drummer
Larry Mullen, Jr. All three deserve credit for the result -- a fresh-
sounding album whose tracks will age well. Highlights of the album
(for me, at least) include the opening track, a haunting Lanois-written
number titled "Where Will I Be?", the followup track, a regret-drenched
performance of Steve Earle's "Goodbye", and, from the middle of the album,
the best-ever performance of Bob Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand."
Favorite Album Actually Released in 2001:
Gillian Welch, "Time: the Revelator"
Spurred by my discovery of "Wrecking Ball" and Emmylou Harris' music,
I was motivated to check out a number of related and/or vaguely similar
artists who'd long been on my list of records to get around to "someday."
I wound up with a number of worthwhile discoveries which were probably
old news to many of the rest of you -- Lucinda Williams' recent albums,
to name one example.
However, my first experience with Gillian Welch's work, her second
album "Hell Among the Yearlings", left me feeling underwhelmed.
I brought the album home from the library and returned it two weeks
later feeling uninclined to try again with another. Which is why it
is my good fortune that "Time: the Revelator" was playing in the CD
player of my friend David's car the night we drove up into the mountains
to see the Leonid meteor shower, since I took an instant liking to much
of it.
I still feel "Time: the Revelator" is a somewhat flawed album, marred
by several tracks which would probably have been better omitted
or at least re-ordered, and damaged by the jarring inclusion of a
single live performance (complete with crowd applause and completely
different sound) in the middle of the album, but whatever the
problems with the rest of the album, the entire effort is redeemed by
the final track: the cryptic, rambling, dreamy, fifteen-minute epic
"I Dream a Highway" Other standouts are the dirge-like title-track,
a joyful traditional- sounding romp called "Red Dirt Halo", and
the beautiful and pensive but truncated-sounding "April the 14th,
Part One"
Favorite Album By a Band I'd Nearly Given Up On:
the Mekons, "Journey to the End of Night"
It always seems unfortunate when you discover a band at the height of
their powers and they never again release an album as good. Perhaps
it was my misfortune to discover the Mekons soon after they'd released
their wonderful 1991 album "Curse of the Mekons", which was itself the
follow-up to 1989's "Rock 'n' Roll" Mekons fans may disagree about
which of the two was better but few will dispute that one or the other
was their best work. 1993's "I <heart symbol> Mekons" was also decent,
but between "I <heart> Mekons" and 2000's "Journey to the End of Night"
they released four more albums, none of which lived up to expectations.
Meanwhile the members were all involved in side projects which were
ALL releasing material better than what was being released under the
Mekons name at the time. All of that explains why I had very nearly
written the Mekons off for good before giving them one last chance this
past year.
I'm glad I did. "Journey to the End of Night" isn't going to displace
"Rock 'n' Roll" or "Curse of the Mekons" on any fan's list, but it's a
solid enjoyable album with several standout tracks. The band returns
to exploiting its strengths -- solidly crafted songs performed using
traditionalist instrumentation, gorgeous vocal performances from Sally
Timms, and judicious seasoning with a sense of enjoyment and humor.
The Mekons long ago gave up on any ambitions they had for fame and
fortune and the decision shows in their music, which is clearly made
for the band members' own pleasure first and foremost.
Anyway, KRJ's probably the only other Mekons fan here, but I recommend
this album to him if he hasn't already got it.
Favorite Album as an Album:
the Kinks, "The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society"
Concept albums don't seem to be very common any more, for which I
suppose we should all be thankful. With few exceptions, most bands
(and most concepts) can't sustain an entire album's worth of material
tied to one unifying theme. "The Kinks are the Village Green
Preservation Society" is one of those exceptions, however.
A charming, nostalgia-filled paeon to a golden-era of pastoral and
village life and to bygone traditions, "Village Green Preservation
Society" has been a source of comfort to me this year, when the novelty
of my eighteen-month old move from Michigan to the west coast has worn
thin and the ache of distance from home and family occasionally lead
to homesickness.
No matter where I lived, however, it would be hard to resist the
charming sentimentality of this album. Clever lyrics and catchy
melodies grace most of the tracks and the preservationist sentiment
seems surprisingly ahead of its time for an album recorded in the
1960s. So set the Wayback switch on your hi-fi to "British Invasion"
and sing along with the Kinks as they reject modern life in favor of
a golden era that probably never was, but which sounds pretty darn good.
"We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity.
God save little shops, china cups, and virginity.
We are the Skyscraper Condemnation Affiliate.
God save Tudor houses, antique tables, and billiards."
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