Here’s the 8 records that I enjoyed the most in 2009
1. Marshall Crenshaw: Jaggedland- Really great to hear Marshall playing with a great band again. Rhythm section of Jim Keltner and Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg really sets Marshall up to shine.
2. Cheap Trick: The Latest- Really shouldn’t humanly be able to rock like this but WTF. There is no music business anymore. Cheap Trick doesn’t need them. They do whatever they want on their own label and I like it.
3 & 4. Bob Dylan: Together Through Life & Christmas in the Heart- On “Together” Bob quotes the blues and gives them full credit. Then he comes out with “Christmas” which I just discovered last week to be a kick and a half. Bob, I’m for ya.
5. Bottle Rockets: Lean Forward- Yeah, I produced it. I was super excited to get to work with the band again and after all the work I appreciate the guys, really enjoy the music and I am thankful for the “Kid Next Door” everywhere.
6. Dave Rawlings Machine: A Friend of a Friend- Color me a fan
7. Jim Duffy: Mood Lit- Look this one up. It’s instrumental piano music with Dennis Diken on drums and it has a sound that hearkens back to when the future was something.
8. Ian Hunter: Man Overboard- Back to the word “enjoy”. This is a truly enjoyable record. I think it is a great summer record. I particularly enjoyed the post rain shower outdoor gig in Battery Park City this summer too.
***** One rant point about a trend I found to be less than engaging this year. A concert is a concert. A recital is a recital. I’m cool with somebody else covering a whole album in sequence at a gig, like for instance the Mike Hunt Band doing “Get Your Ya Ya’s Out” but even if you are great and have made great albums I don’t want to go to a sports arena and here you slog your way through a note for note version of your own album. Yeah, that’s right. I caught you yawning during your own song! 🙂
