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| From | Jonathan Rundman <rundman@msn.com> |
| Subject | Top 12 of 2004 |
| Date | Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:00:50 -0600 |
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Hmmm...looks like my list has skewed pop and rock, and even mainstream pop
and rock this year, with barely any twangy, country, indie, or folky stuff
to be found. I haven¹t had a list like this for a while...
Favorite albums:
1. The Cardigans Long Gone Before Daylight
This Swedish band also provided me the greatest live show I saw all year.
Very moody, but with lovely melodies, inspired guitar playing, and
all-around great instrumental performances. Rootsy, acoustic-based Euro-pop
with Nina Persson¹s soaring vocals and interesting, melancholy lyrics.
2. The Silos When The Telephone Rings
Uplifting, life-affirming rock and roll from my favorite band. Walter turns
in the poppiest Silos album ever, but injects some profoundly rocking
guitars and drums underneath it all (thanks to Drew and Konrad, Amy Allison,
Mary Lee Kortes, Richard Lloyd and other cool guests). ³The Only Love² is
the best single of year, with maybe Walter¹s finest lyrics. And the title
track will continue to resonate for years to come. Honorable mention to the
domestic-rock classic ³Whistled a slow waltz² featuring Walter¹s repetitive
line ³money don¹t mean nothing at all...²
3. Eric Ambel Knucklehead
This is bar-band brilliance. Ambel is Steve Earle¹s lead guitarist for good
reason, and shows his own considerable strengths on this collection of home
demos, studio out-takes, and general weirdness. This record will make you
drive 120 mph on the freeway. Rock your brains out on highlights like ³Hole
in my Head² and ³Union Square² and listen for guest appearances by The
Bottlerockets, the Backsliders, Dan Baird, the Yayhoos, and Mr. Earle
himself.
4. Sam Phillips A Boot and a Shoe
Mood, attitude, and breathtaking lyrics, vocals, and melodies from this
always-great singer/songwriter. T-Bone Burnett provides his usual production
perfection...most notably from the use of two drummers playing on the same
song and panned in the left and right speakers. Very very interesting and
cool. Takes a few spins to get Sam¹s music into the brain, but once it¹s
there, it¹s there forever. I miss Sam¹s rock & roll side a bit, but she does
the torch-song thing so well, I¹ll let her off the hook.
5. Duran Duran Astronaut
The most underrated band of the 80s reunites with all the original members
and turns in a fantastic album. It¹s dancy, rocking, funky, mellow, and new
wavey and it¹s tied all together with Simon LeBon¹s weird lyrics and sneaky
melodies. Their tune ³Reach Up for the Sunrise² is one of the best singles
of the year.
6. The Donnas Gold Medal
This album is just plain old fun, and a huge step forward from
borderline-novelty act to legit hard rock quartet. These guitar riffs are
better than any other band¹s out there right now, the harmony vocals are
killer, and the lyrics are girl-power perfection. To restate, this album is
the result of a band having FUN, and isn¹t that what playing music should be
about?
7. U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Like the Donnas, this is also the sound of a drummer, bassist, guitarist,
and vocalist playing for the ultimate joy of life and music....simple,
live-sounding, tight tight tight, and fun. I love that Bono sings lyrics
that are so earnest and heartfelt, and he does so without any irony. And if
their attitude isn¹t inspiring enough, these guitar hooks and vocal melodies
rank up there with their best stuff.
8. Butch Walker Letters
Again, fun seems to be the theme of the music I liked in 2004. Walker is a
studio genius (he produced the previously mentioned Donnas album) who
gleefully expresses his roots in 80s hard rock and new wave in his own
hyper-pop compositions. There¹s a lot of The Cars and Cheap Trick in this
music, with subtle traces of ELO, Styx, and ³Pyromania²-era Def Leppard too.
I¹ve really appreciated bands who don¹t care at all to be ironic or
cool....this is just plain excitement and creative purging from a music fan
AND a musician. This is recommended for fans of Fountains of Wayne and the
Ben Folds ³Rockin¹ The Suburbs² album.
9. Matthew Sweet - Kimi Ga Suki
Sweet wrote and recorded this album in his home in a just a couple weeks,
using the same band who played on his classic ³Girlfriend² album. This album
is heavy and crunchy and noisy, but the melodies sneak up on you and infect
your brain.
10. Steve Earle The Revolution Starts Now
Aside from some goofy experiments and some real clunkers, this album, when
good, is very good. One of Steve¹s finest songs ³Home to Houston² is
here...a perfect hard-country-rock specimen. The political content is
clumsier than his previous (and better) album ³Jerusalem² but there are
still some poignant lyrical moments.
11. Butterfly Boucher Flutterby
Again, a self-produced power pop album by a composing/instrumental genius
(just like Matthew Sweet and Butch Walker). Although this time it¹s courtesy
of a young Australian female who is writing and playing all the parts.
Featuring another contender for single of the year ³Another White Dash² this
album is loaded with very original arrangements and fantastic melodies.
12. David Mead Indiana
Here¹s a simple, quiet, and gorgeous album by one of the greatest tenors in
the business. A perfect CD for late night driving, loaded with geography
references and beauty of all kinds. Plus the greatest cover version of any
Michael Jackson song I¹ve ever heard....check out Mead¹s interpretation of
³Human Nature.²
Growing on me:
Paul Westerberg Folker
I really want to like this more, but it¹s just not as good as his earlier
solo albums. I think he needs to hire a producer and drummer once again.
Glen Burtnik Welcome to Hollywood
Initially I thought this sucked, but now I¹m starting to like it a little
bit. But the lyrics are so bitter about the music business, it annoys me.
Glen just came off the road as bass player for Styx and he is resurrecting
his 80s-era solo career.
Buddy Miller Universal United House of Prayer
He¹s trying hard here to make all sorts of important points regarding the
state of the world, but I think he did so more effectively when he addressed
these topics in subtler ways. And the songs just aren¹t as great as his
previous records. Still, there are some nice country and gospel moments
here.
Jack Blades Jack Blades
I dug back through of 70s and 80s hard rock this year (Kansas, Streets,
Honeymoon Suite) so I was excited to see that the frontman of Damn Yankees
and Night Ranger was releasing his first solo album. I wasn¹t into it at
first, but now the tunes are sounding pretty good to me (despite some
confusing and/or insipid lyrics).
Disappointments:
Chuck Prophet Age of Miracles
Old 97s Drag it Up
Fantastic 2003 albums I discovered in 2004:
Jet Get Born
Mood Elevator Married Alive
Puffy Amiyumi Nice
No Doubt The Singles
Farewell 2004!
Jonathan Rundman
http://www.jonathanrundman.com
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