A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Dec. 28, 2012
Here’s the music released in 2012 that I enjoyed the most.
1)
Meat and Bone by
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. A
reunion album that actually works. The first studio album for Spencer’s
unholy trio — which introduced a new generation of punk and alt-rock
kids to real live razor-fightin’ Mississippi blues — is a true dandy, stuffed full of the maniacal, irreverent, rompin’-stompin’
sounds that shook the free world back in the ’90s. All the old
ear-damaging intensity is still there. The Blues Explosion returns loud
and trashy and sounding like they’re having a lot more fun than a bunch
of middle-aged guys are supposed to be having.
2)
Grifter’s Hymnal by
Ray Wylie Hubbard. This album of folksy, blues-soaked redneck rock ‘n’ roll breaks little new musical ground, yet it’s refreshing. With his Okie
drawl, Hubbard has a way of sounding wise even when he’s cracking wise.
He seems highly spiritual even when he’s singing about shady nightclub
characters and strippers. He sings proudly of being an upright, sober
family man, yet he offers sharp insight into the carnal side of life.
Hubbard is one of the very few musicians of his generation who has
actually gotten better with age.
3)
Locked Down by
Dr. John. Hands down, the best record Mac Rebennack
has made in decades.This music recalls his early work, but it has a
sharp contemporary edge — for which we can thank producer Dan Auerbach, frontman of The Black Keys. It captured the thick, atmospheric, heady hoodoo Night Tripper excursions of his early albums —
Remedies, Babylon, The Sun, Moon & Herbs, and especially his classic
Gris-Gris. But refreshingly it doesn’t sound like a paint-by-number re-creation of the old sound.
4)
Drop Dead by
Figures of Light. This is blasting, primitive, raw two-or-three-chord rock ‘n’ roll. Some call it “proto-punk, ” but I think it might even be more proto than that. This band, originally based in New York, rose to obscurity
in the early ’70s, broke up and revived itself a couple of years ago
after Norton Records stumbled upon one of The Figures’ rare early
singles. Singer Wheeler Winston Dixon and guitarist Michael Downey are aided by The A-Bones’ rhythm section (drummer Miriam Linna and Marcus “The Carcass” Natale on bass). And this time out, Mick Collins (of The Gories and The Dirtbombs) plays guitar and produced the album.
5)
Slaughterhouse by
Ty Segall Band. This is one of three (!) albums the prolific Californian released this year
— the others being the recently released
Twins, (listed under his own name as opposed to the “Ty Segall Band”) and
Hair, credited to Segall and White Fence (who is actually just one guy, Timothy Presley). I like
Slaughterhouse best because it’s the noisiest and the most relentlessly rocked out
,
though there’s enough melody to keep it interesting. It’s a wild and
thrilling show from the first cut, “Death,” which begins with blasts of
crazy feedback before launching into a demonic joyride with guitar and
bass riffs that suggest The Stooges’ “TV Eye.” Segall and band do a crunching cover of Bo Diddley’s “Diddey Wah Diddey” and “The Bag I’m In” performed by The Fabs and dozens of other obscure garage bands, but written by Fred Neil, more famous for “Everybody’s Talking at Me.”
6)
A Mighty Lonesome Man by
James Hand. Let’s get right to the point: This was the best basic old-fashioned, honest-to-God heartache and honky-tonk country music of the year. Maybe in the last several years.
The themes and situations Hand sings about and the simple music with which he conveys them are not groundbreaking or innovative. They are just honest songs that prove that old-school country can still sound fresh and that mighty lonesome men can still make mighty powerful music.
7)
Old Times There by
South Memphis String Band. The
central theme of this album is race. Within the context of the music of
old time string bands and jug bands of the 1920s and 30s, this
integrated band -- which includes Contemporary blues growler Alvin Youngblood Hart, Jimbo Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers, etc.), Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi All Stars) plus new member bassist Justin Showah -- confronts the race issue head on, with songs new and
old. Some have archaic, and, frankly, racist lyrics that are
bound to shock the squeamish and politically-correct.
The String Band not only recreates a particular sound
from a particular time, but forces a listener to confront what was going
on in the world that gave birth to that music.
8)
A Killer’s Dream by
Rachel Brooke Despite
her innocent-sounding voice and her pretty melodies, Brooke’s lyrics
reveal a dark, spooky side and are full of stories of all the things
that make American folk music the deep, mysterious force it is.
And for
this album, she’s got a band, a Florida group called Viva Le Vox. They give her sound heft, and Brooke gets the opportunity to rock and even strut.
9)
Americana by
Neil Young & Crazy Horse. This
is bound to be my most controversial choice. Lots of people, including
many Young fans, just couldn’t get into the selection of dusty old folk
tunes like “Oh Susanah,” “Tom Dula” (better known as “Tom Dooley”), and
“Gallows Pole” (no kids, Led Zeppelin didn’t write this song) — plus,
for some reason, “God Save the Queen” (not the Sex Pistols song) and the
doo-wop classic “Get a Job.”
But I love seeing these old songs being given new life
. I'm especially impressed at how Young delved into the hoary apocalyptic origins of "She'll Be Comin'
Round the Mountain," which started out as an African-American spiritual
about the end of the world called "When the Chariot Comes." (Young
calls it "Jesus' Chariot.") And this album contains the best version of
"Darling Clementine" since Huckleberry Hound's.
10)
Glow in the Dark by
LoveStruck. This is a basic guitar/bass/drums trio seeped in garage punk with recessive rockabilly DNA led by Danish-born Anne Mette
Rasmussen. The album is full of rocked-out, hooky tough-chick tunes,
but the best is the title song. a slow, sleazy minor-key tune that might
best be described as “garage noir.”
Honorable Mention
*
Mr. Trouble by
Stan Ridgway
*
Unsound by
Mission of Burma
*
Thankful n Thoughtful by
Bettye LaVette
* Tempest by
Bob Dylan
* Falling Off the Face of the Earth by
The Electric Mess
*
Between the Ditches by
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
*
Que Wow by
Joe King Carrasco
*
Leaving Eden by
The Carolina Chocolate Drops
*
No Regrets by
Johnny Dowd
* I Bet on Sky by
Dinsosaur Jr.
Below is my Spotify playlist featuring songs from the above albums that were available on Spotify. (16 out of 20 ain't bad!)
