‘Rebel’ Rod’s Revelations, Reviews, and Recreation – Top 10 list & honorable mentions for 2010

By ‘Rebel’ Rod Ames

These best of lists absolutely drive me up the wall. I think it through, I go over the list, I sit on it for several days, thinking about it some more, then I finally submit the final product. Finally! Then I remember someone that should have been at the very least, mentioned.

Year after year there is an enormous amount of fantastic music. The ones that eventually make it to my list are the cream of the crop, in my opinion. Some will certainly disagree, and that is great. I disagree with many of the lists I see, but one thing is for sure, they almost always provoke me into thought, and most of the time I learn something.

Without further ado, here is my list for 2010 –

1. Jimmie Vaughan – Jimmie Vaughan Plays Blues, Ballads, & Favorites
2. Nick Curran & the Lowlifes – Reform School Girls
3. Drive By Truckers – The Big To Do
4. John Mellencamp – No Better Than This
5. Black Keys – Brothers
6. Raul Malo – Sinners & Saints
7. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Genuine Negro Jig
8. Hacienda – Big Red & Barbacoa
9. Great American Taxi – Reckless Habits
10. Blue Giant – Blue Giant

Honorable mentions-

Shooter Jennings & Hierophant – Black Ribbons – The only reason I don’t have this on the top 10 is because I can’t play it on my radio show and do it justice. You can’t just play one tune off of it. You have to play the record in its entirety or it doesn’t work as well. It’s sort of ironic since the record is presented as a “last” radio show in the free world.

Steve Miller Band – Bingo – A very good blues record. Glad to have Mr. Miller back.

Bobby Bare, Jr. – A Storm, A Tree, My Mother’s Head – Eerily good.

Tom Jones – Praise & Blame – This is a surprisingly good record (to me anyway). The song selection is extremely courageous, coming from a pop icon the caliber of Mr. Jones. This is the first record I have ever purchased by Mr. Jones, and if he keeps recording albums like this one, it will not be my last.

Everyone of these records are an absolute pleasure to listen too, and will most likely wind up in the same place as they did when I listened to them, deep down in your soul. Meaning they are all recordings that really mean something and are very important to me, the listener.

As I said, I probably missed a lot of great music. I have about sixty or so that I still have not listened too. Do the math, there will undoubtedly be another “Top 10” in there somewhere as well. Maybe I’ll write a “Top 10-Part II” at a later date.

Keep Listening to the music.