1994.1

Teenager of the Year - Frank Black

The first two Frank Black solo albums - this is the second - are right up there with the best of the Pixies for me, without sounding like nothing more than a continuation of what had gone before. I think his later ones are good too, if less consistent, but those first two are really special. I loved his odd, unexpected melodies and lyrics: after listening to this cd a few days ago I found several of the songs replaying repeatedly in my head and the other day while waiting for the train for work, I suddenly realised I had been singing/humming some parts out loud and had to surruptiously look around to make sure no one had noticed me inexplicably mumbling "The vanishing spies, just something I read, a couple of eyes ... right out of the head", etc, in my tuneless voice.

Any one of the top 3 or 4 on my list could have been number 1 but I think this one, the Proclaimers, and the Cranberries probably had the biggest emotional impact around 1994 and listening to them again now that still seems to hold. I'm not sure why exactly I put this one at number 1, but as I try to choose which tracks to post, I notice that I'm having a hard time choosing, there are so many I'd like to share. On the other hand, there are 22 tracks, so the proportions probably work out the same. Regardless, here are the three I've gone with:

Favorite albums of 2004

#8 – Raul Malo – Nashville Acoustic Sessions

This acoustic set by Mavericks front-man Raul Malo is definitely twangier than anything we had gotten from The Mavericks or from Malo solo in a long time. Considering the musicians he had with him, guitarist/mandolinist Pat Flynn, dobro wizard Rob Ickes, and Dave Pomeroy (one of the top session bassists in Nashville) that's not surprising. This is a set of an eclectic group of covers from multiple eras and genres. The stand-outs, for me, are Roy Orbison's "Blue Bayou" and Van Morrison's "Bright Side of the Road." The album doesn't really break any new ground, but it's a nice showcase for Malo's vocals with great backing musicians.

I vaguely know them from their radio hits, mostly because my wife liked them.  Not my cuppa.  

I'll always like that they gave me a chance to parody "Linger" as "did you have to pull my finger."  

I literally had never heard of The Pixies until maybe ten years ago.  They were just not a thing in my world.  And I couldn't have named a single member of the group if I had a gun to my head.  Now I could.  At least until I forget.  

Catching up with some posts and comments that I've missed...




I love the Proclaimers. Over here in the UK they are all too often reduced to a sort of "novelty party band" because of their song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", which is one of those brilliant pop songs that has unfortunately been co-opted by the ignorant, lager-swilling, football crowd, as an anthem to bellow out at pub closing time. A hateful fate for such a great song.

I was lucky enough to see these guys early on in a small venue in my hometown in about 1986, prior to the release of their debut album This Is the Story. I've always loved them, but kind of only know that first album and the excellent follow-up, Sunshine on Leith. They were always somewhat akin to the Housemartins in my mind, because both bands came to prominence at the same time, both mixed left-wing politics with Christianity in their songs, and both had a vaguely indie-folk style (though the Housemartins were a bit rockier).

I've never heard this particular album, but I know the single "Let's Get Married".





The Cranberries were big over here in Britian, but I wouldn't say they were huge.

I know the singles from this album, of course, like "Zombie", "Ode to My Family", and "I Can't Be with You", but I always found them a bit "Marmite". Dolores O'Riordan obviously had a lovely Celtic-style voice, but for me it always sounded rather one-dimensional and was afflicted by that annoying vocal tic (I believe it's called keening) where she quickly goes up at the end of a line (you know, like that "eh-oh, eh-oh, eh-oh" thing). That gets right on my t*ts after a while. I realise I'm in a minority there though.

My 13-year-old niece has recently gotten massively into the Cranberries, so I've been listening to this album and its predecessor more lately than I would otherwise have done. I don't dislike the band at all, but yeah...I could not listen to a whole album of O'Riordan's voice.




I'm not much of a fan of the Pixies really. I mean, I quite like "Monkey Gone to Heaven", but only in an off-hand sort of way. As a result, I've never listened to any of Frank Black's solo stuff.

Never heard of Slaid Cleaves. These two tracks are pleasant enough though. This sounds folkier than a lot of the music you pick in these yearly reviews. Nice fiddle on "Quick as Dreams" too.





Again, I can't say I've ever heard of Junior Brown. I kinda wanted to like this -- it sounds like good ol' country and rock 'n' roll bar music -- but there is so much lapsteel/guitar wankery in that first track "Hill Country Hot Rod Man", that it totally turned me off of what is otherwise a pretty solid track. "Little Rivi-Airhead" is better, but in all honesty it didn't do much for me.





Ah, OK...so this guy is from the Mavericks? Yeah, I can kind of hear that. I really like the laid-back, peaceful vibe of "Blue Bayou" -- I don't know the original, but you can absolutely hear that this is a Roy Orbison song. It's a nice track...love the dobro on it. "Bright Side of the Road" is a fairly nice and straight ahead cover too. I might have to listen to more of this album.

OK, a little late to the party, but here are my Top 10 albums of 2004 then. This was definitely a much less strong year for albums than 1994 was, as far as the music I liked is concerned anyway.



#10 - Aha Shake Heartbreak by Kings of Leon




The Kings of Leon's second album is a notable comedown from the instantly likeable Lynyrd Skynyrd-meets-the Ramones spirit of their debut. Sonically, it very much treads the same ground as its predecessor, but it lacks the great selection of songs that made their debut such an enjoyable listen. Aha Shake Heartbreak is not a bad album at all, it's just that it kinda feels like we've heard this sort of thing from the band before, but done better.

Still, "Slow Night, So Long", "Velvet Snow", and "Soft" are all pleasingly energetic songs and are among the best tracks on the album. Really though, it's the lead single from the album, "The Bucket", which is by far and away the best track on the album and that's the one I've chosen to highlight in this post…

I don't hate Kings of Leon.  I won't go out of my way to listen to them...but I don't hate them.  So that's good. 


This, on the other hand...that's like nails on a chalkboard.