Cry as they might, the major label chicken little’s, over spilt milk and falling skies, the fact remains that 2006 was a great year for music. Pretty much no matter what sort of tunes you enjoy listening to – punk, metal, roots rock, prog – there was something, somewhere for you to wrap your ears around. And if you’re one of those luddites that eschews not only digital tunes but anything released after, say, 1985 or so, 2006 also saw a wealth of ultra-groovy reissue titles to tickle your inner-ear. So, without further adieu, here are one critic’s choices for the best music to grace your indie store’s shelves over the past twelve months (in alphabetical order).
Cheap Trick – Rockford
Who says that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Cheap
Trick’s first studio album since 2003’s lackluster, Steve Albini-produced Special
One is the band’s best effort in a quarter-century. Chock-full of
Beatlesque melodies, tuff riffs and fine guitar work, the Tricksters rock like
young pups in love for the first time.
The dB’s – Like This (reissue)
The great lost
cult band of the ‘80s (and there were a
lot of them to choose from), the dB’s suffered not only from obscurity, but
also from the bad business practices of their label. The result is that Like
This, a great album by any standards, was lost in time until its 2006
reissue. The missing link between ‘60s pop and garage rock (think Big Star) and
the nu-pop explosion of the ‘90s (think Jellyfish or the Posies), the dB’s are
deserving of a critical and commercial rediscovery.
Dragonforce – Inhuman Rampage
UK
power metal’s young turks expand upon their sound to include *gasp* progressive
tendencies, and set the metal press (i.e. Brave
Words, Bloody Knuckles) aquiver. For good reasons, too – Inhuman
Rampage showcases the impressive maturity of a recognizably talented
band. Guitarists Sam Totman and Herman Li shred, mangle and soar on the frets
with the fervor of Yngwie and the power of Iron Maiden, resulting in a metal
fan’s dream come true. Expect to hear much more from Dragonforce.
Bob Dylan – Modern Times
The old master cranks up the gramophone and delivers a folk
blues masterpiece for, well, modern times. Dylan’s already imperfect voice has
aged ungracefully, to the point where it is often no more than a passionate
grunt croaking out apocalyptic lyrics – and it never suited his work better. Dylan’s
late-career revival is no fluke, just the sound of one of rock’s greatest
artists refusing to go gently into that good night….
David Gilmour – On An Island
The man behind Pink Floyd’s signature sound steps out with
his first solo effort in 22 years and delivers a textured sonic masterpiece.
Recorded on Gilmour’s houseboat, the musical soundtrack ebbs and flows fluidly
like the tides while Gilmour’s gentle vocals are complimented by guest shots
from the likes of Graham Nash and David Cosby, supported by musicians like
Richard Wright, Jools Holland, Robert Wyatt and Phil Manzanera. With carefully
crafted songs, lovely melodies and smart lyrics (Gilmour assisted by wife Polly
Samson), On An Island is another fine
example of age, experience and talent trumping youthful enthusiasm.
Joe Grushecky – A Good Life
The Iron City’s favorite son
continues to crank out albums like clockwork, each one better than the last. An
enormously talented songwriter, Grushecky conveys the frustration, confusion,
compromise and possibilities of the working class better than all but a handful
of rockers. Ostensibly Grushecky’s second solo album of the decade, the studio
band for A Good Life includes old hands Bill Toms and Art Nardini, as
well as son Johnny Grushecky and yeah, Joe’s buddy Bruce (Springsteen) stops by
for a couple of songs. This is Grushecky’s show, though, his poetic lyrics
matched with a fierce rock & roll soundtrack that is strong as a fist and
as gentle as a kiss. Grushecky continues to prove over and over again that he
is one of rock’s unheralded geniuses.
Joan Jett – Bad Reputation (reissue)
Yeah, Jett’s I Love Rock & Roll was also
reissued in ’06, but this is the one that started it all and wrote the
blueprint for the rest of Jett’s musical career. Rock & roll doesn’t get
any more carefree and honest than this, tunes like “Do You Wanna Touch Me,”
“You Don’t Own Me” and the title cut breaking our young hearts when they were
first released. Twenty-six years later, Joan still looks great in leather.
Will Kimbrough – Americanitis
An in-demand studio and touring musician, Nashville’s Will Kimbrough is also a skilled
songwriter and performer in his own right. Americanitis, Kimbrough’s third solo
effort, is his most personal album yet, a lyrical response to the social and
political aftermath of 9-11 and the Iraq War. Kimbrough’s politically-charged
lyrics are delivered with intelligence and humility and an infectious musical
mix of Beatlesque pop, roots rock and country twang. With this album Kimbrough
pulls off a true tightwire act: balancing social commentary with romantic
observations and making both equally entertaining.
The New York Dolls – One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This
Say what you will, but without the original New York Dolls, there
would be no gutter-rock descendents like Guns ‘N’ Roses, Hanoi Rocks, the
London Quireboys, the Towers Of London, etc, without the Big Apple’s finest.
Thirty-something years after the ill-fated release of their debut album, and
without the talents of Johnny Thunders, Jerry Nolan and Arthur “Killer” Kane,
frontman David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain recruited a new backing
band that includes Sam Yaffa of Hanoi Rocks and Gary Powell of the Libertines,
and ventured back into the studio. The New York Dolls of One Day It Will Please Us To
Remember Even This isn’t that of “Personality Crisis,” but rather a
more mature outfit, saddened by shared grief and steeled by hard-fought
experience. Fear not, however, lest thee think that the new disc tarnishes the
band’s legacy – the band’s mixup of street-smart hard rock, classic R&B and
vintage ‘60s roots roars like a hellbound train. Nuff said….
Willie Nile – Streets Of New York
Underrated, overlooked and criminally without a major label
deal, songwriter Willie Nile crafts songs with a painter’s eye to color and
texture. Few pen story-songs as compelling or intricate as Nile
does, and Streets Of New York showcases some of the artist’s best work
ever. With a folk singer’s lyrical palette and the heart of a rocker, songs
like “Faded Flower Of Broadway” or “The Day I Saw Bo Diddley in Washington Square”
convey wit, humor, empathy and emotion with a passion and imagination that leaves
lesser wordsmiths in awe. Forget about “nu-folk” poseurs like Sam Beam, Connor
Obst or Devendra Banhart – Willie Nile is the real deal, a grizzled veteran
with a lifer’s commitment to truth.
The Pink Spiders – Teenage Graffiti
What the teenage boys don’t know, the little girls
understand. Nashville’s
most notorious rockers are the new face of post-punk power-pop for the MySpace
generation. The band writes great hooks and infuses their material with
infectious melodies, so don’t be playa haters. If fame doesn’t kill them, the
Pink Spiders have the potential to be the first great rock band of the new
millennium.
The Pogues – If I Should Fall From Grace With God (reissue)
Ireland’s
best band EVER – better even than the Undertones, more pure of heart than U2,
the Pogues deserve every ounce of their legacy for this disc alone. Traditional
Celtic sound with a contemporary edge and spit-in-yer-face punk rock attitude
equals timeless music. Remastered reissues of classic Pogues’ discs like Red
Roses For Me and Rum Sodomy And The Lash accompanied
this one, every single one deserving of space on your shelf.
The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
On the surface, the Raconteurs – Jack White, alt-pop poster
boy Brendan Benson and Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence, the rhythm section of
indie-rockers the Greenhornes – sounds like some label’s hip marketing concept.
An alt-rock “supergroup,” if you will. In practice, Broken Boy Soldier proved
to be a venue for White and his friends to create the most enchanting of
throwback rock & roll. Channeling his inner Robert Plant,
vocalist/guitarist White leads the band through an excellent set of songs that
sound like a ‘60s rock mashup, adding a contemporary edge to influences like
Zeppelin, the Yardbirds, the Kinks and the Beatles (at their most psychedelic).
If you haven’t checked this one out, throw away your preconceived notions and
White Stripes biases…this is a hell of a record.
The Sword – Age Of Winters
Call it “retro-metal,” call it “heritage metal,” or call it overtly
derivative if you wish, but the fact remains that the Sword’s debut disc, Age
Of Winters, kicks serious tush. Using Black Sabbath as their touchstone
and heavily influenced by bass-heavy, riff-happy doomsayers like Pentagram and
Saint Vitus, the Sword throw in some thrashy lead work (think Testament) and
HEAVY rhythms (think Killing Joke) to mix up their heady musical brew. Along
with fellow travelers Witchcraft and Wolfmother, and molten adventurers like
Mastodon and Meshuggah, the Sword are making the genre “hip” again, coaxing
closet metalheads out of their darkness.
Voivod – Katorz
The year saw the loss of Voivod’s long-time guitarist, Denis
“Piggy” d’Amour, to cancer, casting a shadow over the band’s enormous legacy.
Before his death, however, Piggy created and recorded dozens of guitar parts
for songs that band had been working on. Some of these recordings are featured
on Katorz,
the first of a handful of planned albums using the late guitarist’s
instrumental contributions. More than a tribute to the influential axeman, Katorz
is Voivod’s strongest collection in almost two decades, surpassing even the
band’s self-titled 2003 album. Short, concise songs combine the best elements
of heavy metal, punk and prog-rock before turning convention on its pointed
little head and blowing out your speakers. Obscure, yes; non-commercial,
certainly; but Katorz will prove to be influential on a generation of future
rockers….
(Click on CD covers to go to Amazon.com, click on the artist's name to go to their website....)
