|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 16, 2021 10:52:59 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1991.
5. Stevie Ray Vaughan - The Sky is Crying
Just as a little background, when my middle son was a baby one of the ways to get him to stop fussing was to play Stevie Ray's music.
This album is far better than it has any business being. A posthumous album of outtakes from various recording sessions has no business being this damn good. But this is really one of Stevie Ray's most consistent and deep albums. It also adds a little bit of poignancy that we get a fabulous version of The Sky is Crying and the lovely Life By the Drop, which was written by Doyle Bramhall about his friendship with Stevie Ray. And, of course, Stevie's version of Little Wing.
So thank you to my friend Dan who introduced me to Stevie Ray. And thank you to Stevie Ray for helping calm a fussy baby. And thanks to Jimmie Vaughan for sifting through the outtakes and putting together a beautiful tribute to his brother.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 17, 2021 10:07:09 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1991.
4. Jimmie Dale Gilmore - After Awhile
Gilmore was pretty clearly the face of The Flatlanders (with all due love and respect to Joe Ely and Butch Hancock) but he dropped out of music for a while after the band failed. After Ely recorded a few of Gilmore's songs on his albums, Gilmore came back to music and started releasing albums.
This was, for me, his breakthrough solo album. Not that his first two albums were bad...they were both quite enjoyable. But it was on this album that Gilmore settled in to his singer-songwriter rhythm that would be the basis for his solo career. Not that it's not still tinged with his country roots. There's no way you can take the country out of Jimmie Dale Gilmore. But like a number of the albums we've already seen in 1991 this one is really setting out what Americana music is about...the fusion of country, blues, roots rock, jazz and swing in unequal but important parts.
This is mostly pure Gilmore, with him writing or co-writing all but one track, and that one coming from ex-Flatlander Butch Hancock. And that's all to the good. Is this Gilmore's best album? Maybe. If it's not it's probably close to being so. It certainly seems to be his most personal album. And it's damn good.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 18, 2021 13:27:30 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1991.
3. Tom Russell - Hurricane Season
I really love Tom Russell. And this is a very nice Tom Russell album. It really covers the gamut of Russell's songs, quick tempo, slow stories, Southwest sound with accordion, probably the only thing conspicuously missing is a cowboy song. If there's any knock on this one it's probably that it doesn't have any of Russell's truly great songs. But, like all his albums, there's a ton of great stuff here. And, as usual, Tom doesn't talk down to his audience. You're going to learn something from Russell, whether you want to or not. Let's face it, there aren't that many albums that are going to have songs about both Jack Johnson and Edith Piaf on them.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 21, 2021 11:23:55 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1991.
2. Buddy Guy - Damn Right, I've Got the Blues
This one may stand out because it was Buddy returning after almost a decade of silence. And what little he did during the 80s was pretty dire. This is vintage Buddy Guy with the hard-driving guitar and vocals. Ultimately it's a very good album by a legend of the blues.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Jun 21, 2021 13:04:03 GMT -5
I can't say I am an expert on old blues legends, but the two I've seen live (Buddy Guy and B.B. King) were just absolute top-notch performers. Beyond just playing, they put on a hell of a show.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 22, 2021 9:32:55 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1991.
1. Tom Russell - Cowboy Real
There was a time when it wasn't unusual for country performers to put out two albums a year. That was back in the days when they actually made money from sales of physical media. That was not the case in 1991 and Tom Russell was never really a country performer. So for Russell to put out two excellent albums in 1991 is an anomaly that I can't quite explain.
Another oddity is that this album is long out of print (though a fair bit of it can be found on the 1997 release "Song of the West: The Cowboy Collection"). That's incredibly unfortunate as this album has what are probably Russell's two biggest songs, "Gallo del Cielo," unquestionably the greatest song about cock-fighting ever, and "Navajo Rug," which Russell did with friend and mentor Ian Tyson and was covered by Jerry Jeff Walker.
This is Russell at his best and at his most western. Just a great album from one of my favorite singer/songwriters.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 23, 2021 11:38:33 GMT -5
Because nobody demanded it...we are moving on to favorite albums of 2001. But instead of a top ten there will be a top 15. Because 2001 was a pretty darn good year for albums.
And there is one that will be conspicuously absent from the list. And I feel like it needs some explanation. So...
Number X: The Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera.
I really love The Drive-By Truckers. And it's fair to say that this is their magnum opus. The story behind how and why the album was made is incredibly interesting. The fact that an alt-country band was crowd-funding a double album in 2001 is awesome. But the fact of the matter is that if I never heard another Lynyrd Skynyrd song it would be too damn soon and that my interest in Southern Rock is down to perilously close to zero.
So this is an album I delve in to every few years because I feel like I should more than because I actually want to listen. It's an important album. It's an objectively very good album. It's by a band that I really love. But I just can't love it.
Though, to be fair, this song reminds me a lot of high school.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Jun 23, 2021 15:24:04 GMT -5
While I am hugely sick of most classic rock, there are some exceptions. While Jimi Hendrix is often held up as the consummate little "g" rock god, he actually played a lot of non-rock based music. He particularly had heavy rhythm and blues background, and some of his music that came out aside from the main 3 Jim Hendrix Experience albums is just great.
Freedom is a great example of this. The audio on this clip isn't great, and it seems the copyright police is strict on this one, so I can't find a better one, but the groove on this one is incredible.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2021 16:07:26 GMT -5
As a rock guitar player, I've had to play covers of Jimi's material all the time. While I appreciated how groundbreaking he was, I much preferred playing Cream tunes (I thought the songs were better overall). But Band of Gypsys elevated his status with me, his groove was fantastic on that one and spoke to me more as a player. I also think Rory Gallagher gave Jimi a run for his money.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Jun 23, 2021 16:37:53 GMT -5
IIRC, Jimi got started playing in the rhythm section for Lionel Ritchie, so his R&B foundation is not shocking.
|
|
|
Post by tartanphantom on Jun 23, 2021 17:26:12 GMT -5
IIRC, Jimi got started playing in the rhythm section for Lionel Ritchie, so his R&B foundation is not shocking. He actually got his start professionally playing the "chitlin' circuit" in the deep south, fronting his own band and also backing many other artists. He played here in the Nashville area a LOT, as his band was based here after he left the army. Apart from that, his first major gig was as a sideman for the Isley Brothers, and shortly after that, Little Richard.
In fact, he can be seen here (his first television appearance) on a local Nashville show, "Night Train"-- backing up another local act, "Buddy & Stacy". This was broadcast in 1965. Hendrix is on the backline, just to the right of the drummer.
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Jun 23, 2021 21:03:05 GMT -5
I stand corrected. Thank you for the added details.
|
|
|
Post by MDG on Jun 24, 2021 8:19:20 GMT -5
As a rock guitar player, I've had to play covers of Jimi's material all the time. While I appreciated how groundbreaking he was, I much preferred playing Cream tunes (I thought the songs were better overall). But Band of Gypsys elevated his status with me, his groove was fantastic on that one and spoke to me more as a player. I also think Rory Gallagher gave Jimi a run for his money. I'll go on record as saying Rory Gallagher was probably the best blues-rock guitarist ever, and (with Link Wray) my favorite. I don;t think anyone else comes close to his taste (no pun intended) and proficiency in different techniques.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 24, 2021 10:13:40 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 2001.
15. I See Hawks in L.A. - I See Hawks in L.A.
Say what you will about Spotify, Pandora, etc., and their effect on the way music is consumed...and more importantly on how music pays the artists bills, they are capable of exposing a lot of people to music they wouldn't otherwise hear. I'd venture that well over 1/3 of the music I consume I'd never have found without one of those streaming services.
Which leads us to a band like I See Hawks in L.A. This is not a band you are ever going to hear on the radio. I came across them on Pandora at some point and I generally liked the sound. This isn't a great album. But it's a solid debut with a little hint of cosmic cowboy mixed with a little hint of Bakersfield. And ultimately it's great to see a band that is making its music even without a lot of recognition.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 25, 2021 9:54:22 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 2001.
14. Dale Watson - Every Song I Write Is for You
Man I love Dale Watson. He, more than anyone, turned me on to alt-country/Americana when I was burning out on jazz and blues. He hits all the notes of traditional country without ever being derivative. And the dude is super prolific. Maybe a bit too much so.
Watson put this album together when his fiance died in a car crash. So this isn't typical of his work. It doesn't have the usual tonky-tonk grit or bounce that he usually gets out of his backing band, the Lone Stars. And that doesn't make it a great Watson album. But it makes it a nice personal album.
|
|