Scott Homewoods Top 10 Releases Of 2011

Tom Waits – Bad Love

Forty years into his incredible career and Waits still astounds me with every release. I first encountered Waits’ music during his first incarnation in the ’70’s as a psuedo beat poet/lounge pianist and quickly became enamored of his lyrical originality and skill at combining beat lyrics with Tin Pan Alley-style songwriting. As his music started to become simultaneously more guitar oriented and sonically skronkier in the ’80’s and ’90’s, so did I! His highly idiosyncratic style, especially since the late ’90’s and beyond, has evolved with every release as Waits has a style totally his own. Sure, he has developed his “characters” so to speak including whichever one he decides to portray himself to the point you kind of know how his albums are going to sound. But he has perfected his craft so totally and commits so completely, you can’t help but be awed just the same. This is yet another in his long line of awe-inspiring records. Waits fans should get this immediately and for non-Waits noobs, this is as good a place to start as any.

Charles Bradley – No time For Dreaming

I have always loved soul music and it’s great that most of this year’s great soul releases were not reissues of items found in some moldy vault but were made by contemprorary artists, each with interesting stories to tell. Bradley’s story is by far the most interesting of the bunch. Bradley is a former James Brown impersonator and worker of menial jobs who was discovered by the Daptone label crew (home to Sharon Jones and Budos Band) and given a chance to follow his life’s passion. And this at the tender age of 63. This is not manufactured soul by some pretty boy with autotune drenched over the whole thing. This could be the second coming of Otis Redding and very well the type of album  Redding may have been doing had he reached the autumn of his years. Bradley is the real deal folks. Authentic southern soul performed by one of the last of his generation and a singular talent to boot.

Wilco – The Whole Love

Wilco has been a polarizing band ever since the much-written about release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot back in the early 2000’s and the resulting endless discussion whether the album was their best work or an attempt at a musical experiment which somehow went awry. Not only did the kerfuffle make Wilco a top tier band but it also has thrown everything Tweedy and Co. do under the microscope where every albnum they release is either their best ever or a steaming pile with little middle ground found. For this record, a comparison to the much-loved (in comparison) Summerteeth is in order as it is mostly a return to a poppier, more condensed sort of song for Wilco. Still, the album has a couple monsters bookending the thing in songs Art of Almost (the opener) and One Sunday Morning (closer) which clock in at over seven minutes and twelve minutes respectively. In between though, are the real gems – concise pop songs which never go past five minutes and contain quite a bit of melodic hookiness. The band only goes as far back as Summerteeth though – the country rock which heralded their debut never makes an appearance. Still, the band delivers their best album since the late ’90’s with this effort and it should allow fans who abandoned the band during their skronkier last few albums to reconnect with the band.

Nick Lowe – The Old Magic

Whenever I get a whiff that Nick Lowe’s recording and a new record might soon be released, my heart starts pumping. Yes, I am a Nick Lowe fanboy. One of the first two records I purchased as a wee lad was Lowe’s Labour of Lust due to falling hopelessly in love with his only hit Cruel to Be Kind. Ever since, I have eagerly followed his career’s ups and downs and eagerly awaited whatever album was next to be released. Thankfully, I can’t remember ever being disappointed. As his career has morphed from that of a pop-star wannabe to a careful crafter of cunning Southern-style soul music the one constant has been his excellent songwriting. Sure, there have been throwaway songs here and there, but his last five or six albums are full of winners signifying his mastery of his chosen craft. What’s more, his reinvention from a callous pop cad into an earnest soul balladeer has been a wondrous change that has nonetheless sent many an old fan reeling. Sure, he has abandoned rock but in doing so has extended his career by great lengths and has become more noteworthy and beloved over the past fifteen years than even he himself could have imagined. It’s as if the whole world has gone Nick Lowe crazy! And with good sense, as this album ranks with his best of the past decade and a half. Yes, Viriginia, the rock moves are gone, replaced with heartfelt emotion and lyrics that cut like razorblades. Once again Lowe tops himself.

Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’

The former member of Tony Toni Tone and Lucy Pearl acquits himself very well on his current solo album where he combines a vintage R&B feel with a modern sensibility to create one of the grooviest albums of the year and possibly since his last one, 2008’s The Way I See It. Ever since the days of Tony Toni Tone Saadiq (whose last name was Wiggins then) has championed the music of classic R&B with the band’s sound different from anything else on the charts at the time they were making hits. After the band dissolved and Saadiq dovetailed into Lucy Pearl, his sound was modernized a bit but thankfully it was for just one album as the group soon imploded, launched Saadiq on the retro R&B trail he follows to this day. Those who loved Tony Toni Tone will love this and those who just love the soul sounds of the ’60’s and ’70’s will also adore this disc. Pick it up and get yo groove on babies!

David Mead – Dudes

With this album, Mead has once again managed to outdo himself and prove he is an artist to be reckoned with.  Mead’s string of fine albums dates back to his association with RCA Records in the late ’90’s and Mead consistently has shown himself to be one of the most talented songwriters and vocalists of his generation. With Dudes, he finally rockets to the head of the line. Crafting the songs on the album from the perspective of men (as the title alludes), Mead has created somewhat of a concept album but one with a concept which really doesn’t get in the way of the songs. What Mead gives his fans is another batch of great songs with Ray Davies-like lyrical work with great pop melodies and hooks galore. The interesting thing is Mead makes it seem easy, with one gorgeous song rolling into the next so seamlessly it seems as if the flood of earcandy will never subside. That mainstream radio does not embrace his work is a crime as more people should be hearing these songs.

Arkells – Michigan Left

Rarely does a band just burst out from nowhere and just floor me. Well, fuck me then because this album floored me when I first heard it. These Canadian rockers really know how to make an impression. Sure, they had an album out in Canada entitled Jackson Square way back in 2008, but few knew the band would mature so much between releases. Michigan Left  hits you like a fighter who peppers you with left jabs only to unleash his right “forgotten arm” to knock you silly. The trick is to bob, then weave, duck a little, then race to wherever you obtain your music and pick this up because this band is going to grow into a monster. They’re not there yet, but this album hits on so many cylinders it’s going to be very interesting to watch how they follow it up. Until then, you’ve got this album to tide you over.

Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues

Though many still put the Robin Pecknold and the rest of Fleet Foxes into the same reverb-laden bag as My Morning Jacket, this new album proves Fleet Foxes has an identity all of his own and should be allowed to stand on its’ own merits and not just be written-off as My Morning Jacket II. This band, which is once again bringing the Seattle scene plenty of attention, is one of the best bands to emerge from that area in the past five years. Sure, on their first album they did sound a lot like My Morning Jacket, but pretty much received raves anyway as MMJ decided to release an album sounding little like their own signature sound. Hell, if MMJ doesn’t want to be MMJ any more, why shouldn’t another band step in to fill that void? Seriously, though, Fleet Foxes have gone along way towards carving out their own sound, utilizing their craft to create music which is less upbest and more folky than their past effort.  Remnants do remain of the sound from their first effort, but the music the band creates makes little issues like that moot. Listening to their music evolve will be the real story and, until then, this album of timeless songs will have to suffice. The haters wished they could put out records like this.

Sloan – The Double Cross 

I have been a huge Sloan fan since the band’s third album From One Chord To Another was released in 1995 and have enjoyed the band’s evolution from potential band of the moment to something much much more. The band’s albums have become must-listens for those interested in pop with plenty of power, and this one is no different. Their song Unkind should have easily been a huge hit. Great lyrics, hooks to spare and a fun rock and roll vibe set this song apart from just about anything else on the radio right now. And that’s just one of the great songs on an album chock full of them.

In a world with better radio stations this song would have become number one for weeks on end, unsettling any and all Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Black Eyed Peas (among others) drivel currently clogging up the airwaves and taking up valuable aural real estate from artists who actually deserve to be heard. The album’s title is actually a reference to the twenty year anniversary the band recently celebrated but could also correspond to the shitty way Big Radio has treated them despite writing some of the catchiest, rockingest tunes this side of, well, pick anyone. Not to mention the band is stocked with talent, with each band member contributing songs and lead vocals. Whenever Sloan releases an album it’s almost like four of your favorite bands has released one at the same time! Definitely check this album out if you’re not already a fan.

Joe Henry – Reverie

In 2011 Henry took a break from his busy production schedule to release one his best albums, continuing a streak of interesting, eccentric musical projects which has lasted more than two decades. During Henry’s twenty-five year recording career the only releases which have been similar from one album to the next are the two he recorded with members of the country rockers The Jayhawks back in the early ’90’s, Short Man’s Room and Kindness of The World, which represent Henry trying to adapt his songwriting style to the then-emerging alt.country sound. Since then, Henry’s albums have differed from one to the next, embracing jazz (Scar), electronica (Fuse), and folk (Civilians) and many points in-between while still highlighting Henry’s solid songwriting and production work. While Henry can always be counted on to produce quality work, the storytelling depth of this album has impressed since the first listen and all fans of Henry should seek this out as it just may be his best ever which is saying something.  .

Black Joe Lewis – Scandalous! 

Leader Joe Lewis was a latecomer to the guitar, first learning how to play while passing the time at his job in a pawnshop in Austin, Texas. During slow times Lewis would pull down one of the guitars in the shop and get to picking. Soon, Lewis had his chops up enough to get a band together and start gigging. At first just a trio, the band eventually expanded to accomodate the seven members it includes today. Lewis takes his inspiration from classic R&B and blues, with a special emphasis on the musical lessons taught by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. This is Lewis and the Honeybears’ (his backing band) second album and pretty much establishes them as one of the hottest soul bands around. Forgive me Sharon Jones, but Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears can cut anyone on any given day. And the album is just as hot as their live show, which is saying something. For some of the best soul music going, you GOT to check out Black Joe Lewis.

Scott Homewood is a nationally recognized music journalist (geek) who has had his various scribblings, musings, natterings, and ravings published in many magazines, newspapers, and websites (variously alive and long-dead) for the past twenty years. His musical passions are (in no particular order) power-pop, psyche, alt-country, old school country, jazz, blues, and whatever you call the kind of rock and roll The Rolling Stones and Tom Petty make. He is mostly regarded as a cantankerous bastard who will argue to his last breath and possibly engage in fistfighting about anything musical, and therefore probably should just be left alone, unless of course you are wanting to send him music to review, thereby instantly making you one of his very best friends. Under no conditions should you lend him money.