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12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/10Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014Who needs the Grammys when you've got me? Ignore that popularity contest and check out some of myfavorite albums of 2014.Perhaps every list of the best albums of the year should be labeled "The Best Albums of the Year...That I'veListened To." This year, I've listened to more albums in a long time, thanks to extra driving on the highway, myfavorite way to hear new music. And still I've got a list as long as my arm of albums to check out, not to mentionalbums I'd like to hear several more times and really live with before making a judgement. So this is a snapshotof how I feel about this batch of music right now. We can argue till the cows come home about what should be#1 and why I'm missing artist So-And-So and how could I include that piece of junk? It's fun!Here's why I make my list every year: hopefully you'll check it out, see some music in a genre you love and giveit a listen, find out an artist you already like released a new CD you didn't know about and maybe just maybetake a flier on someone you've never heard of making music in a style you rarely listen. You can literally go toYouTube, type in the name of any of these artists and start listening to their music right away before plunkingdown money for an album. So you've got no excuses; at least check a few songs out and see what you hear.Maybe it'll be what I hear: some great music.If you're interested, here is my Master List of the Best Albums Of All Time. I list a favorite for every year and thenmy best-of list from the early 1920s to the present. Believe me, it changes all the time! Below is the list you canscan quickly followed by a brief chat about each artist and why I love them, as well as a video of one of theirsongs if you're inclined to check it out. Enjoy! And let me know, what's your favorite album of 2014?THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR -- 2014KAISER CHIEFS -- Education, Education, Education and War STURGILL SIMPSON -- Metamodern Sounds In Country Music SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS -- Give The People What They Want BONES -- Skinny and Rotten and Seabed et al BECK -- Morning Phase THE FEELING -- Boy Cried Wolf AMY LAVERE -- Runaway's Diary BETTY BUCKLEY -- Ghostlight BRIAN ENO AND KARL HYDE -- Someday World BETA RADIO -- Colony Of Bees BEN L'ONCLE SOUL -- A Coup de RevesJIMMER PODRASKY -- The Would-Be Plans CHUCK PROPHET -- Night Surfer ARIANA GRANDE -- My Everything TINARIWEN -- Emmar THE VINES -- Wicked Nature BENJAMIN BOOKER -- Benjamin Booker DAMON ALBARN -- Everyday Robots 12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/10MARY J BLIGE -- The London Sessions J COLE -- 2014 Forest Hills Drive HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF -- Small Town Heroes ROSANNE CASH -- The River And The Thread HAMILTON LEITHAUSER -- Black HoursDYLAN GARDNER -- Adventures In Real Time (tie) and PETE MOLINARI -- Theosophy '14 (tie) COMMON -- Nobody's Smiling KELLY WILLIS AND BRUCE ROBISON -- Our Year LEONARD COHEN -- Popular Problems GREG ASHLEY -- Another Generation of Slaves STANTON MOORE -- Conversations THE GHOST OF A SABER TOOTH TIGER -- Midnight Sun SKATERS -- Manhattan TOM PETTY -- Hypnotic Eye BEN HOWARD -- I Forget Where We WereRUMER -- Into Colour ROBBIE WILLIAMS -- Under The Radar, Vol. 1 JOHN HIATT -- Terms Of My Surrender THE VERONICAS -- The Veronicas OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW -- RemedytUnE yArDs -- Nikki Nack TIM MCGRAW -- Sundown Heaven Town NEIL DIAMOND -- Melody Road (tie) BARRY MANILOW -- Night Songs (tie) THE LIVING SISTERS -- Harmony Is Real: Songs For A Happy HolidayTHE BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR IN DEPTH -- 20141-10Kaiser Chiefs/Education, Education, Education...War (rousing rock) -- When it comes down to it, picking thebest album of the year is pretty easy. Which one do I keep returning to again and again? Which gives me themost pleasure, the biggest jolt of excitement when I put it on? That would be this barn burner from the KaiserChiefs. They debuted the same year as another UK band Arctic Monkeys and those two groups are foreverlinked in my mind. One turns out a great album and the other one responds with one still better. It's a friendlycreative rivalry and all in my head so don't think Oasis versus Blur. Last year Arctic Monkeys wowed everyonewith AM. Now Kaiser Chiefs have this. I think it's even better though most haven't paid it the attention itdeserves. Education, Education, Education...War has the righteous political fire of The Clash and ten committed,rousing numbers just perfect for this post-economic meltdown, New Normal malaise we live in. Great stuff.Sturgill Simpson/Metamodern Sounds In Country Music (post-modern retro-country) -- It's been a less thanstellar year for mainstream country music, with even old reliable Brad Paisley turning in an album that wasmerely good instead of very good or great. Too many acts seemed too interchangeable and radio-ready fromJason Aldean on down. Not Sturgill Simpson, the latest new act to seem revolutionary by heading back to theroots. Of course anyone with an opening track called "Turtles All The Way Down" is clearly ready to throw a fewcurveballs. But this is the real deal and all we need to see is if Simpson has the songwriting chops to go thedistance and deliver more songs like these.12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&3/10Sharon Jones/Give The People What They Want (classic soul) -- She's got the backstory of the year, with thisnew album delayed after Jones was diagnosed with cancer. She fought off that beast and is now stronger thanever. Happily, it this good news is paired with an album as good as she's ever done. A sensational live act,Jones also has the excellent Dap Kings delivering in the studio. Always of the moment but classic in sensibility,here Jones has married some uptown sophistication via strings and the such with her usual juke joint heart.Stellar. It would be brilliant if Jones won for Best R&B album and there's actually a good chance she might.Fingers crossed. (The fact that she's not even one of the performers when Jones would WIPE THE STAGE witheveryone else in that auditorium is the real shame however.)Bones/Skinny and Seabed et al (free rap for everyone!) -- Who is this guy? I felt like Butch and Sundance thisyear: every time I turned around, some rapper named Bones had delivered yet another album or EP or singleand then another album and then ANOTHER single. Music was pouring out of this guy and I'd never heard ofhim and couldn't buy his music on Amazon or iTunes if I wanted to. Huh? Turns out he's a heartland rapper nowmoved to LA who is putting out his music for free and spurning all record label offers (for the moment). Hisvideos have garnered a following on YouTube for their creepy VHS aesthetic. But I started with the music. Thealbum Skinny has proven the most enduring for me; anyone who can rap and include a sample from the so-bad-it's-good Kevin Kline movie Life As A House is alright by me. I'm completely over braggadocio in rap and hip-hop. You can document a hard life but if you are boasting about what a hard-ass MF you are, I'm getting verybored very quickly. (Common documents; Drake is now boasting.) I really like Bones and his sensibility but whatI'm nuts about is his producers dubbed TeamSesh. Like Beck's Mellow Gold done by the Dust Brothers, thesoundscape is so inventive and cool I'm sure they could make even me sound like an interesting rapper. Pairthem with someone of genuine talent like Bones and the result is hypnotic.Beck/Morning Phase (mellow magic) -- speaking of Beck, this follow-up in sensibility to Sea Change is also hisbest album since Sea Change and the two of them mark a mellow peak in this artist's career. (A career I neverwould have predicted to have legs based on what I assumed was the one-hit wonder "Loser." I was wrong!) It'slovely, haunting and gently optimistic all wrapped up in one. It probably won't happen but I'd love Beck to get acareer award of sorts by winning Album Of The Year for this. (Sea Changes wasn't even nominated for the topprize in 2003, the year Norah Jones swept everything in sight.)The Feeling/Boy Cried Wolf (anthemic pop-rock) -- I was excited by this UK band's debut, which came out in theUS in 2007. It had a 70s rock vibe, the handsome lead singer defined his sexuality by saying he didn't want tobe put in a box, the hooks were plentiful -- what's not to like? 12 Stops And Home was a terrific opening shot.And then, as sometimes happens with British acts that never make much of an impression on the US market, Ilost track of them. Two albums and a greatest hits set later, they're back with Boy Cried Wolf, which is just asmelodic and a joy to listen to as their debut. Are the other two albums I missed just as good? I haven't thefoggiest until I track them down. But anyone with a fondness for rock solid songwriting and pop hooks and therock radio pleasure they got from the Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack should check this out pronto.Amy LaVere/Runaway's Diary (singer-songwriter heaven) /Betty Buckley/Ghostlight(producer-singer heaven) -- I lost track of The Feeling but I missed out on Amy LaVere entirely. This singer-songwriter in the folk-rock veingrabbed my attention from the first note of this vivid album. It was so mature, so fully formed I immediatelywondered how long she'd been around. Apparently, I'm three albums and an EP late to the party. And not amoment too soon. For fans of, oh, Lucinda Williams or Teddy Thompson, perhaps? Terrific songwriting, greatvocals. Can't wait to see her live which I suspect will make me a fan for life.Betty Buckley of course is a theatrical legend and a savvy interpreter of other people's songs. With T BoneBurnett as producer creating a smoky, late-night Texan ambiance, Buckley offers up what might be the bestalbum of her career. It's as if Emmylou Harris decided to do a standards album, though of course Buckley isalways her own woman and -- like Linda Ronstadt -- her tastes range wide. With Buckley, you reference a12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&4/10spectrum of singers, not just the obvious cabaret and theater touchstones most Tony winners would genuflectto. Her subtly astringent vocals pierce right to the heart of these songs, which are impeccably arranged.Whether it's "Lazy Sunday" from the musical The Golden Apple or Jefferson Airplane's "Comin' Back To Me" orthe Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan gem "Take It With Me When I Go," Buckley's interpretations are marvelous,the setting refined and the CD wears its eclecticism easily. This is an "album" in the classic sense of the wordand one to be savored.Brian Eno and Karl Hyde/Someday World (a singular duo) -- Brian Eno looms over popular music like fewtalents. He's a founding member of Roxy Music, a key producer behind the best work of bands like TalkingHeads, David Bowie and U2 (to name just a few) and a solo artist responsible for literally creating entire genresof music! His DNA is everywhere. This new album with Karl Hyde of Underworld is one of his best vocal albums(Eno often delivers soundscapes a la ambient and New Age, two genres that can claim him as their patriarch).Like so much of Eno's work, it is surprisingly accessible even though his reputation and envelope-pushingnature might suggest otherwise. Mournful, melodic (that's a strange compliment to have to pay an album but somuch of popular music ISN'T melodic), strange and captivating on some molecular level you can't quite pindown.Beta Radio/Colony Of Bees (shimmering Americana) -- Yep, more music in the Mumford/Lumineers vein. Orheck, if you don't want to be churlish, more music in the Laurel Canyon vein or more music in the country-ishrock vibe or more music made on the front porch the way so much great music springs forth in America.Apparently, Beta Radio have come to modest attention in two typically modern ways. First, their handmadealbum Seven Sisters got play on Pandora and Spotify via those acts named above. People listening to achannel a la Mumford heard this, listened to more and then more and decided they liked it. Then Beta Radio hadtwo songs placed on the CW drama Hart Of Dixie (which is filmed in their hometown of Wilmington, NorthCarolina). Don't laugh -- getting played on a TV show is the equivalent of having your video selected by MTVback in the day or by an actual honest to goodness influential deejay even more back in the day. Now comestheir second full album. Colony Of Bees is sonically lovely, with the choral vocals that seem to define the wholeFleet Foxes world for me alterna acts live in these days. The lyrics are continually catching you up short withtheir simple elegance. It's by no means a concept album or song cycle but play it and when it's over, you'll feellike you've been somewhere emotionally. And you have.Ben L'Oncle Soul/A Coup De Reves (French Soul? Why not?) -- It's a little head-spinning. A French guysinging new songs in the classic Stax/Otis Redding mold? You bet. He used to be called Uncle Ben but foundout that had different connotations in the US so now it's French for Ben The Soul Uncle or however you translateit. Never mind. The music is universal and very, very good. Like Sharon Jones, this is not some retro imitation ofa sound from long ago. it's new music delivered in a classic style. Dive in!11-20Jimmer Podrasky/The Would-Be Plans (Americana emeritus) Chuck Prophet/ Night Surfer (durable veteran) -- Podrasky has the comeback album of the year. JimmerPodrasky of The Rave-Ups -- a key early proponent of Americana -- returns after an eventful life and a longhiatus with a tuneful terrific album fans and newcomers alike should embrace. Read more here. Prophet neverwent anywhere. He's one of those dependable artists smart people become fanatic about. John Prine, JesseWinchester, Chuck Prophet -- certain artists turn out one solid album after another but somehow they're alwayspreaching to the faithful and even the occasional spate of media attention (never that great) doesn't changethings. Fans buttonhole friends and shake their heads, "You've got pretty good taste. Why the hell aren't youlistening to Artist A/B/C and so on." Well, you don't know really and sometimes you listen to them and you get itand other times you listen to someone's "cult" favorite and it doesn't quite click. After being slapped aroundabout Prophet for quite a while, it finally clicked for me here. Now the door has opened and I can go back and12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&5/10discover 2012's Temple Beautiful and about a half dozen other terrific albums. This one is wry and funny andcatchy and rocks out. "Wish me luck/ Even if you don't mean it!" Lou Reed worthy. Probably only his fans willlisten but now I'm one of them too.Ariana Grande/My Everything (state of the art pop-soul) -- Unlike so much r&b pop songs, this doesn't feel likea robotic collection of singles, but an album by a living, breathing artist. And it's catchy as hell.Tinariwen/Emmar (desert blues) -- There's nothing wrong with a little musical tourism. Sometimes acts orsounds from another part of the world catch your ear for an album or a moment in time. Then you move on. Thefact that you didn't dive into that music, become immersed in it and an expert on the various artists who performit doesn't mean keeping your ears open to new sounds is somehow just trendy. Heck, a lot of pop music istrendy, whether from Georgia (Atlanta) or Georgia (in Russia -- actually, is there any good music fromGeorgia?). Anyway, when Tinariwen popped up, I admitted to loving their music but wasn't sure if I'd keepreturning to it or want to hear new stuff from them. But this electric blues desert band from the Saharan Desertregion of northern Mali (hey, they're nomads, after all) has proven themselves not a flavor of the month but aworld class act. Their pulsing electric guitar sound was vivid and exciting and indeed for album after album theywere undeniable. Now they've placed the emphasis on acoustic music of sorts, recording the album in the wideopen spaces that formed their world. Bizarrely, this is also the album where they collaborate with people fromTV On the Radio, Neils Cline from Wilco and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The result is electric, even if it isacoustic. I now fantasize about actually heading to the desert and hearing them perform under a starry sky. Hey,a fellow can dream, can't he?The Vines/Wicked Nature (ferociously tuneful) -- Ah drugs. You are the bane of rock stars' existence. Themarvelous band The Vines popped up with a Beatles-esque (I use the term sparingly), crazily infectious debut.Massive UK attention followed along with a lesser second album and the various addictive afflictions of celebrity.They've pulled themselves together and come roaring back with this marvelous effort that reclaims their talent,their belief in themselves and my belief in them. Like Supergrass, they seem capable of tackling any genre andmaking it their own. More!Benjamin Booker/Benjamin Booker (stinging blues guitar) -- So many blues guitarists come struttin' along,claiming they're the next Robert Cray or the next Stevie Ray Vaughan or loudly insisting they shouldn't becompared to them because this guy is so damn original. And I rarely care. Too often, these young guns soundlike show-offs, diving into extended solos before I even know the song or heard more than a boast or two abouthow the ladies love 'em. It's the electric blues version of those tiresome rappers claiming to be "hard." Thensomeone like Benjamin Booker comes in and just starts playing and the songs are so good and the solos soconcise and fun that you think, this is the real deal. And he doesn't have to do a thing except keep playing. Hisguitar speaks for itself.Damon Albarn/Everyday Robots (alternative rock, finally) -- Few artists have proven as peripatetic as DamonAlbarn. Even fewer have been successful every step of the way. Blur, Gorillaz, The Good The Bad & The Queen-- all hugely successful bands. Two operas, world music, film scores and now the nuttiest twist of his career: asolo album. Of course, it's not that conventional. And there's Brian Eno putting in a guest appearance (see hisalbum in the Top 10). Like most everything Albarn has done, this is literate, quirky, sneakily emotional and quitegood.Mary J Blige/The London Sessions (Soul with an accent) -- Dusty went to Memphis. Mary goes to...London?Well, this is a stupid idea. Mary J. Blige has been in a bit of a rut and of course soul music has been fertileground for artists in the UK, especially recently from Amy Winehouse to Adele on down. But still, send Blige toLondon to collaborate with some of the top acts/writers/producers around? Isn't that like asking Hunter Hayes todeliver up the goods for Elvis? What Blige really needs is some miserable events in her personal life so she candrawn on that pain and.... Well, what do I know because this turns out to be one of the best albums of her12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&6/10career. It's also one of the most vibrantly positive, without being tiresome. All the UK artists are on their toeshere and they've clearly crafted music written expressly to shine a light on where Blige is at today. She wasn't inthe rut that Tina Turner faced before Private Dancer, but this does have the valedictory ring of that album. As abonus, Blige is on her best behavior. She's got very good songs so she doesn't feel the need to over-sing them.Dusty would be proud.J. Cole/2014 Forest Hills Drive (rap without the bluster) -- Don't twist my words. When I say I'm tired of dullboasts from rappers about how hard they are, that doesn't mean I insist on "humble" or "modest" rappers. Drakehas become boring because all he has left to talk about is his success. That's the classic problem of music starswho hit it big and then find out there's nothing left to write about but the cage they're in and the groupies andhow rich and lonely they are. And heck, you can boast if you do it entertainingly. J Cole does that on this vivid,smart album that is rich in insight and humor gritty real life but low on thug life celebration. But is that really hisold address in Queens? Whoever lives there now is gonna get awfully tired soon of all his fans swinging by for apeek.Hurray For The Riff Riff/Small Town Heroes (folk/country/punk/rock/blues/soul) (tie) Rosanne Cash -- The River and the Thread (Southern heart) (tie)-- Genre classification becomes a little sillywhen an artist like Alynda Lee Segarra aka Hurray For The Riff Raff is at play. It starts out with casual fun in thefolkie, country-rock, let's make some music vibe of "Blue Ridge Mountain." And the scope and ambitionbecomes clearer with every passing track until the haunting, fiddle-drenched closer "Forever Is Just A Day"knocks you out. Once again, I'm late to the party on this one and eager to listen to it more and more. This isinspiring stuff, knocking down walls with glee in every possible way. Just as inspiring is to see a veteran likeCash dig deep and deliver another strong album to add to her impressive catalog. The covers album inspired byher dad has really loosened up her vocals and given Cash a newfound confidence in her singing. Hersongwriting of course was always great.Hamilton Leithauser/Black Hours (ring-a-ding-rock) -- Now that The Walkmen have taken an "extreme hiatus,"lead singer Hamilton Leithauser has indulged his sonic love of baroque pop. It's a cross between Sinatra andearly rock and roll and I just love it. Play it loud cruising down the highway at 1 in the morning and there's nobetter album in the world. Bonus points if your heart was just broken. Can he do it again? I sure hope he'll try.21-30Dylan Gardner/Adventures In Real Time (rising talent #1) (tie) Pete Molinari/Theosophy '14 (rising talent #2) (tie) -- Dylan had me at the first line of the first song: "I'll be Johnand you'll be Yoko." My kind of star-crossed lovers. The fun was just getting started as this rollicking record inthe vein of Ben Kweller proved delightfully consistent. He's just a kid, apparently working through his influences.I'm in. Pete Molinari is a British lad and anyone who's smart enough to record with the Jordanaires (as he did onan earlier recording) is alright in my book. Molinari has beefed up his sound since 2010's more folkie/retro ATrain Bound For Glory. Here he's diving into classic rock of the Sixties or so and at this rate he'll hit the grungesound in six or so years. Both albums boast very strong songwriting and feel like young artists in the earlystages of a strong career. I know I'm not dead because I can still be excited hearing new talent that gets mejazzed up to hear what they're going to do next. I'm betting at least one of these looks like a very smart choicefive or so years from now.Common/Nobody's Smiling (rap valediction) -- Common has been delivering intelligent, concise, pointed,defiant and just plain terrific music for years. His peak was of course Be and now that may be matched byNobody's Smiling, which features a clutch of excellent guest stars all at the service of Common's vision. Henever confuses hard reality with glorified foolishness and he never minces words. The man is strong enough tosay he doesn't know everything as well as apologize for not doing right in the past by those who gave him a legup at the start. The real deal.12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&7/10Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison/Our Year (country couple of the year) -- Those other couples may get all theattention on award shows. But for several years, country's first couple -- to me -- has been the under-appreciated Kelly Willis and her husband Bruce Robison. They started off with a holiday album together andnow two full-on duets albums. First came the excellent Cheater's Game in 2013 and now this worthy follow-up.I'm a little worried that their last three albums have been on three different labels. Can't somebody supportartists like this until they find a wider audience? Willis took a hiatus to raise her kids and family obligations keepthem both near home a lot of the time. But these pointed, sharp albums of adult emotions should widely appealto fans of The Civil Wars or The Swell Season or John Hiatt or John Prine or anyone just pining for the days ofclassic country duos like Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner. Give 'em a spin.Leonard Cohen/Popular Problems (ageless grace) -- This is the way to cap off a legendary career. Become atouring legend and a bigger draw then ever and keep delivering new music that can stand proudly next to yourbest. It will take a long time to sort out what album ranks where in the Leonard Cohen body of work. Some willsee these merely as standards for others to record. Others will zero in on the lyrics as an extension of hisacclaimed poetry. But never forget that first and foremost this is an album of pop music, intended to be listenedto in one sitting as a unique recorded experience. He's proven remarkably consistent over the decades so it's nosurprise to hear that Popular Problems is a mature, witty work. The opener "Slow" is so fun that at first the restof the album seemed a notch below. But it's a cohesive body of songs and hangs together beautifully. I don't likethe cover art, but then you can't have everything, as Leonard Cohen has been assuring us for a long time now.Greg Ashley/Another Generation Of Slaves (rock-ish Astral Weeks?) -- I have a special category of musiccalled Music Made When No One Was Listening. Whatever the circumstances, it's music you feel like the artistrecorded without any expectation of anyone else in the world hearing it, not really. Either they were so invisibleor their time had passed or what they were doing seemed so off the beaten track that clearly they were makingthe music for the love of it and nothing else. All sorts of albums fit this category if you stretch it, from John Hiatt'sBring The Family to The Blue Nile's Walk Across the Rooftops to Nick Drake's Pink Moon and on and on. SurelyAnother Generation Of Slaves belongs on that list. It's a black, dour, lovely grumpy album recorded by GregAshley, best known for his work with The Mirrors and Gris Gis, but not by me since I'd never heard of them orhim as far as I know. Between band projects, the prolific and apparently miserable Ashley turns out solo work ofall varieties. This one was apparently a lo-fi recording with some jazz musicians and assorted others. "You makeme feel like shit" is one hilariously blunt lyric in an album that has a ramshackle glory I would love to capture intext but can't. It's music playing in the next room of a dive bar where you're low on cash and high on cheapliquor. Or something like that. If you're adventurous and of a cynical nature, this will be your new favorite albumno one else has heard about.Stanton Moore/Conversations -- Did you notice the embarrassing lack of jazz and classical music on this list sofar? I did. Though I listened to a lot of albums, those genres passed me by this year, by and large. It took myfriend Sal to turn me onto the versatile and talented drummer Stanton Moore, a mainstay whenever Sal heads toNew Orleans and is looking to plan his musical evenings. Moore can play every style imaginable but here he'sleading a jazz trio in a bracing set of originals and some choice covers. It swings, his drumming is notablynimble while unquestionably distinctive and fresh and while it feels utterly modern, Conversations is also rightsmack dab in the traditional camp as well. And most of all, just great fun.The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger/Midnight Sun (psychedelic rock, apparently) -- Maybe Sean Lennon hasfound his sweet spot. Or maybe this set with Charlotte Kemp Muhl will fade and he (or they) will tacklesomething else). Whatever the case, the psychedelic rock vibe combined with working as a unit with an inspiringcollaborator has brought out the best in Lennon, who always seemed to be playing at various guises. Here hesounds fully committed and their work is very good. It feels like a proper band, like a proper start, like thebeginning of something.12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&8/10Skaters/Manhattan (rock n roll, remember that?) -- The Strokes are dead, long live the Skaters. They're avigorous New York rock band with their own punkish identity and would surely hate the comparison. They'renothing like The Strokes, really, but they're from New York (right down to the cool intro of a taped voice from thesubway system to songs like "To Be Young In NYC" (I remember that!) and the amusingly titled "I Wanna Dance(But I Don't Know How)". Oh and they're ridiculously catchy numbers and the album flies by, with not a singlesong over 4 minutes and most barely 3 minutes. Compared to The Strokes? Lazy on my part. Deal with it, guys.Tom Petty/Hypnotic Eye (Southern rock, damnit!) -- More of the same and damned proud of it. You play it andthink, that's a very good album. And you play it again, waiting for the overall impact to pale a little on repeatedlistens. But it doesn't. And you play it again and the songs hold up. And you play it again and again and it getsbetter with every listen. Petty has always been a blind spot for me, don't ask me why. To my despair, I've neverseen him in concert. His classic run of albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s barely registered on me. I'vebeen playing catchup ever since and he doesn't have the emotional hold on me that other acts reaching forgreatness during my youth still do. But I admire the hell out of his work and like it whenever I listen to it and thisalbum feels very strong indeed. Now who can get me cheap tenth row seats to his next show?Ben Howard/I Forget Where We Were -- You know your nieces and nephews have been raised right when theycan turn you onto an act like Ben Howard and he turns out to be someone substantial and not exactly wildlypopular...you know, cool! Howard is right in the Americana vein of Mumford & Sons (an act they love and willprobably be following most of their lives). He's a little more confessional, a little more singer-songwriter in a waythan those more polished acts. Howard's also convincingly vulnerable and his music is just as durable as hislyrics, growing on me with every listen.31-40Rumer/Into Colour (Seventies pop, on the gentle side) -- Oh, I like this album. I wished I liked it more. Or to beprecise, I wish I liked it more, right away. Rumer's debut was sterling and her covers album follow-up continuedthe vibe of Seventies pop in the Burt Bacharach vein. I don't know how to describe it, but you just know whensomeone is taking on an era or sound versus someone who is steeped in that music and this is just the originalmaterial that comes naturally to them. That's the case with Rumer on her debut. Here is more of the same,which is a good thing. She's not trying to rap, thank goodness, nor is she trying to be something she's not. I amreflexively fearful that by the next album it will be still more of the same, a case of diminishing returns. We're notthere yet. I should add that I saw her in concert and was absolutely convinced she'll be an artist I care about formany years to come. She was terrific and the show improved on that excellent debut in every way. That'salways a good sign. I just haven't had the chance to live with this album yet so I'm wary of giving it too highpraise. God knows the acoustic opener is a stunner. It segues into a classic Seventies vibe of the same tune infull pop glory. But here's hoping Rumer can be true to herself but stretch at the same time, the way thatbeginning with just her and a piano took my breath away. One thing I do love about her is Rumer's positive vibe.She writes about that most daunting of topics: contentment, happiness, fulfilling relationships. It's not allsunshine and rainbows. Her emotions are complex and adult. But celebrating joy is such a rare talent that it's alittle unexpected and kind of daring in this cynical world.Robbie Williams/Under The Radar Vol. 1 (cheeky bastard) -- I'm not just referring to his naked bum, whichWilliams is displaying on the album cover...yet again! What an exhibitionist this former boy band and UKsuperstar has always been and hopefully always will be. He's got an unabashed gift for pure pop and isn't afraidto use it. Unlike George Michael and so many others, Williams hasn't confused growing up with having to createmusic that is "adult" and ungainly in melody and quite frankly boring. He manages to acknowledge he's a lotolder and a (little) wiser so his capering doesn't seem sad. But by and large this is tuneful fun and thank god forthat. Maybe a track or two from greatness but still a winner. PS Robbie Williams has NEVER been under theradar.12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&9/10John Hiatt/Terms Of My Surrender (you old rascal, you) -- Eventually, everyone sings the blues.The Veronicas/The Veronicas -- I don't quite trust The Veronicas. Most every song on this album is catchy ashell. But they're also pretty radically different from one another. Glam pop, rock, soul, folkish...who the hell arethey? Are all these musical genres just disguises? A flimsy affectation that will fall apart come their next album?I really can't tell but moment to moment, this is pretty awesome. Turns out they're an Australian duo with thisbeing their third album (and even a clothing line). After a seven year break fans are saying "welcome back" andI'm saying "hello!"Old Crow Medicine Show/Remedy (Americana stalwarts) -- Anytime I think I'm hip and on top of what's goingon in music, I get blindsided yet again. Old Crow Medicine Show has been around for more than 15 years? Theywere a gateway drug for Mumford & Sons, who say they were listening to this band in high school? They'vealready been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, for Pete's sake? And I've just gotten around to them? Remedyblindsided me with its strength and I almost don't trust myself about it. I need to live with this longer and dive intotheir earlier music before I make any grand pronouncements. It's classic country/folk/Americana of the EmmylouHarris/Mumford variety, with more of a foot in the old world than the new. Don't be surprised to see this creepingup my list in the years to come, while earlier albums like Carry Me Back will surely make the list for years pastassuming they're as good as this. I blame their name, which I think I always subconsciously dismissed as a fauxattempt at authenticity. Now when do they come to town next? And can I sit in on penny whistle?tUnE yArDs/Nikki Nack (Cuisinart pop) -- If I don't trust The Veronicas because they seem to morph musicallyfrom song to song, then I really don't trust tUnE yArDs because they seem to change multiple times withinsongs. It's a mash-up of sounds and styles and turns on a dime and it's undeniably fun though it might just bethe sort of thing that pales in the listening six months from now. But why deny the sugar rush while it'shappening?Tim McGraw/Sundown Heaven Town (country without the cliches) -- For the past year or two, when listening tomale country artists, I have to keep checking the info to see who's singing and the name of the song. So manytunes feel like generic spring break anthems with some yokel accent tossed in for authenticity that it becamealmost silly. Luckily, Sturgill Simpson let his freak flag fly for old school country and Tim McGraw kept it real fornew country with this heartfelt, lyrically specific and engaging new album. There's life in them old boots yet.Neil Diamond/Melody Road (pure pop) (tie) Barry Manilow/Night Songs (pure standards) (tie) -- Two hugely popular acts enjoying some late careersuccess, one by returning to his roots and the other by embracing the road not taken. First is Neil Diamond, whohas resurged creatively to new heights since recording 12 Songs in 2005 with Rick Rubin. Of course, Diamondhas always been hugely popular and delivered one crafty pop song after another. Every few years he'd be re-embraced by fans who actually never let him out of the spotlight very long anyway. It's always been cool to sayHey! Neil Diamond has written some damn good songs! But 12 Songs marked a real maturity. SuddenlyDiamond wasn't just delivering albums with a few great songs -- he was delivering actual great albums, the bestof his long, storied career. Pared down, naked but still hugely infectious, 12 Songs and Home Before Dark willprove enduring highlights. Now Diamond has returned to the more baroque pop production that has been thefoundation of his career. Melody Road is vintage Diamond in sound and new Diamond in lyrical precision. Thetitle track is a great songwriter's tune and song after song is engaging. It's not quite the peak of the last two butit's very, very good indeed. Barry Manilow has always been popular with blue-haired ladies, like some latter dayLiberace. He's comfortable in his un-coolness, which is actually the best sort of cool there is. Manilow has aclutch of extremely memorable pop songs, the sort that lodge in your brain and will not leave. But after themassive success of the 1970s and early 1980s he's never really grown, never really delivered the great album oforiginals he perhaps has in him. (He did tackle a musical and other forms.) Never, that is, except for oneexception: that exception was his 1984 album 2:00 AM, Paradise Cafe. It's a jazz album, or more accurately a12/16/2015Grammy Preview: The Actual Best Albums of 2014 | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=16b21df9-636a-4fa3-8ad7-4d0cd41b53cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&10/10cabaret album. Manilow didn't tackle the standards; he wrote originals that feel like standards. He's joined onduets by Mel Torme and Sarah Vaughan; Shelly Manne and Gerry Mulligan are in the studio and it's damngood, the high point of his career. Now with Night Songs, Manilow finally follows up that album in proper fashion.It's an album of standards and features just Manilow on piano and vocals. His voice isn't as supple as it was 40years ago (whose is?) but his phrasing and restraint are impeccable, showing the wisdom of a singer who'sbeen doing this for a long time. It's a lovely little gift to himself (hey, I can do this!) and an intriguing glimpse ofthe road not taken.The Living Sisters/Harmony Is Real: Songs For A Happy Holiday (holiday heaven) -- I'm nutty about Christmasmusic and own more holiday albums than is rightfully sane. When new albums come out, I listen avidly butyou're lucky to hear one good cover on an album and even luckier if you hear an original holiday song worthkeeping. It's very very rare to hear an entire album that scores but that's exactly what The Living Sisters havedelivered. They've got funny originals spinning off the idea of Christmas in LA, great covers and gorgeousintertwined vocals from Eleni Mandell, Becky Stark, Inara George and Alex Lilly, who all have successful careerson their own when not recording as this side project. Think the Andrews Sisters meets Phil Spector, sort of.Everyday feels like Christmas when you get to hear an album this unexpectedly good.Some early favorites for 2015Steve Earle/Terraplane -- Like I said, eventually, everyone sings the blues Kodaline/Coming Up For Air (swinging for the fences a la Coldplay) The Lone Bellow/Then Came The Morning -- Brooklyn band proves debut no fluke Sleater-Kinney/No Cities To Love -- back, finally.

Music Grammy Preview The Actual Best Albums of 2014

📄 Music Grammy Preview The Actual Best Albums of 2014

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