On The Right Side of 2021

     Though it was certainly a lot better than 2020, I don't think 2021 is going to down in the global history books as a great year.   But, as always, there was a lot of great music.  I'd especially recommend all of the following artists' 2021 releases: Strand of Oaks' In Heaven, Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird's These 13, David Sanford's A Prayer for Lester Bowie, First Aid Kit's Live Tribute to Leonard Cohen, Rodrigo Amarante's Drama, A Sweet Relief Tribute to Joey Spampinato, Lord Huron's Long Lost, Charley Crockett's: 10 for Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand, and Sons of Kemet's Black to the Future

      As usual, I've only included artists who weren't on the two previous years compilations with the exception of Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten.  (They sound so good together and the song just really captured 2021 for me, so there you go.) I've also re-upped all my previous "best of" yearly compilations (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).

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Disc 1

She Walks in Beauty (with Warren Ellis):  Marianne Faithfull

Could It Be:  Dominique Fils-Aimé

Candles in the Sun:  Miguel

MURDA:  BLK ODYSSY

Mellow Peaches:  The Black Keys

Heartbeat Of America:  Billy Strings

I'm Still Here:  Travis Linville

Blue Mesas:  Leon Bridges

If You Have Ghosts:  Chelsea Wolfe

I Will Be Your Shield:  Billy Bragg

Here's The Thing:  Courtney Barnett

Stones of Silence:  Bobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth

Dizzy Atmosphere:  David Sanford Big Band

Galacticana:  Strand of Oaks

The Starchaser:  Menahan Street Band

3:00 AM:    HAIM

Just Because You Can:  Speed the Plough

Red Velvet Rope:  Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird

 

Disc 2

 

Who by Fire / As the Mist Leaves No Scar:  First Aid Kit

Blue Raspberry:  Tobacco City

The Globe:  Son Volt

That I Get Back Home:  Deer Tick

Hot & Heavy:  Lucy Dacus

Marathon of Anger:  Parquet Courts

Cosmosis [feat. Ben Okri & Skepta]:  Tony Allen

Movement 5:  Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, & The London Symphony Orchestra

Caroline:  Arlo Parks

Tanto:  Rodrigo Amarante

The World Is A Ghetto:  Los Lobos

Love Me Like You Used To:  Lord Huron

Mighty Lonesome Man:  Charley Crockett

Makin Memories:  Melissa Carper

Relative Fiction:  Julien Baker

Call Me A Fool:  Valerie June (w/Carla Thomas)

Put On A Smile:  Silk Sonic

But Beautiful:  Mandy Barnett

 

Disc 3

 

Drinking in America:  Chris Eckman

I’m Waiting For The Man:  Matt Berninger

Screaming:  Jake Bugg

Chismiten:  Mdou Moctar

Pick Up Your Burning Cross:     Sons Of Kemet [feat. Moor Mother & Angel Bat Dawid]

The Same Tree:  CTMF

Fox On The Run:  Daniel Donato

Long Time Gone:  The Flatlanders

Pretty Good:  Nathaniel Rateliff

Rare to Wake:  Shannon Lay

Phase One Million:  Vanishing Twin

Point and Kill:  Little Simz feat. Obongjayar

Give Me Fifteen:  Aimee Mann

Virginia Beach:  Hamilton Leithauser & Kevin Morby

One of These Things First:  Susanna Hoffs

Little Green Apples:  Real Estate

I Never Could Get Enough:  My Morning Jacket

Like I Used To:  Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen

On the Right Side of Christmas 2021

As usual, I'm struggling to think of anything

meaningful to say about Christmas (or

Christmas music). Though, also as usual, I'm always a little surprised by how many artists have put out some sort of holiday themed songs - I had no idea that Nina Simone recorded Children Go Where I Send Thee until a couple of months ago.  It also seems that a lot fewer folks have a dismissive attitude towards Christmas music.  Or maybe I just talk to even fewer people than I used to about their musical tastes. :) I've also re-upped all the previous Christmas compilations.   

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Silent Night	Sharon Van Etten
Blood Oranges In The Snow	Over the Rhine
Jingle Bells	Chet Atkins
Christmas Train	Sofia Talvik
Santa's Midnight Run	The Untamed Youth
X'mas Time (It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It)	Dogmatics
Party for Santa Claus	Lord Nelson
Merry Christmas	Cameos
Be-Bop Santa Claus	Babs Gonzales
How I Hate to See Christmas Come Around	Jimmy Witherspoon
Christmas For Cowboys	Samantha Crain
Thank God It's Christmas	Ella Vos
It's Christmas Time	Yo La Tengo
Ding Dong Dandy Christmas	The Three Suns
Children Go Where I Send You	Nina Simone
Holiday Pickin	The Nashville Bluegrass Band
Love the Holidays	Old 97's
Rock 'n' Roll Santa	Little Joey Farr
Plump Righteous	The King Khan & BBQ Show
Christmas Joy	Don Cornel & The Eternals
(Dance To A New Kind Of) Christmas	Big Society
One Christmas for Your Thoughts	Durutti Column
Merry Christmas from Mars	Michael Hall
Auld Lang Syne	The Hotel Cafe Medley

Out of This World: A Freakwater Compilation

As I get older (and older), I've become increasingly impressed by artists that manage to put out albums that rival, or even surpass, their earlier work.  In the case of Freakwater, I still give a slight edge to

Feels  Like the Third Time over their 2016 release Scheherazade, but man, the latter, is a really good album and probably a more consistent effort.   And I'm still kicking myself for not going to see them on their tour for the album (I think I had a fairly legitimate reason, but still....)  Anyway, hope folks enjoy this compilation.

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Jesus Year

Annabelle Lee

No Phone In Heaven

Walkin' Cane

Come All Ye Rolling Minstrels

The Asp and the Albatross

Family Tradition

Broken Hearted Lover

Lover's Return

Mockingbird

Little Red Riding Hood

Lonesome Sound

Right Brothers

Queen Bee

Sway

Sleeping On Hold

When I Stop Dreaming

Out of this World

Just an Itching in My Heart: Selections from the Holland-Dozier-Holland Songbook

   I can't remember what exactly prompted me to make a tribute to Holland-Dozier-Holland.  It may have been the hagiographic, but still compelling recent Motown documentary, but I think it was a song or even an article.  In the process of putting it together, I also discovered that they wrote a lot of  late 60's and early 70's hits under the pseudonym Edythe Wayne - because of a contract dispute with Motown, they were unable to use their own names for several years after leaving the label.  Anyway, hope folks enjoy the compilation - there aren't that many unconventional covers or obscurities, but hopefully, it still serves as a fitting tribute to a legendary trio.

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Volume One
You Keep Me Hangin' On	Aretha Franklin
Crumbs Off The Table	The Glass House
Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)	The Isley Brothers
You Brought the Joy	Freda Payne
Free Your Mind	The Politicians
Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart	The Supremes
I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying	Smokey Robinson
Where Did Our Love Go	Donnie Elbert
A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)	Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Mind, Body, and Soul	Flaming Ember
Remove This Doubt	Elvis Costello
Little Girl Blue (Single Version)	The Marvelettes
The Day I Found Myself	Honey Cone
Band of Gold	Marcia Griffiths
You're Gonna Need Me	Dionne Warwick
Volume Two
My World Is Empty Without You	Lee Fields & The Expressions
Whisper You Love Me Boy	Chris Clark
Can't Satisfy	Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
Give Me Just A Little More Time	Chairmen of the Board
Heatwave	Lulu
Don't Leave Me Starving For Your Love	Laura Lee
Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup)	Aged in Soul
Can I Get A Witness	Marvin Gaye
Baby, Don't You Do It	The Poets
(I'm A) Road Runner	Jr. Walker And The All Stars
Come See About Me	Nella Dodds
When The Lovelight Starts Shining Thru His Eyes	Dusty Springfield
Helpless	Kim Weston
There's a Ghost in My House	The Fall
Reach Out I'll Be There	Four Tops

Remembering James Hand and Tom T. Hall

     It's been a pretty dismal 18 months now and a lot of music greats have died.  In just the last two weeks, Tom T. Hall, Don Everly, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Charlie Watts have left us.   Another loss that I was not aware of until a couple of months ago was James Hand, the great country singer from Texas who died in June 2020.  I probably would still not have known about this were it not for Charley Crockett releasing an entire album of James Hand covers earlier this year that I highly recommend.  As a further homage to James Hand, I'm posting his out of print debut album, Shadows Where the Magic Was, a true honky-tonk masterpiece from 1997.   He's also one the first Texas Legends compilation (with Don Walser and Justin Trevino)  Since much of Tom T. Hall's output is still available for streaming and/or purchase, I'm posting the out of print 1998 tribute album: Real: A Tom T. Hall project.  As with all tribute albums, there are a few misses, but this one has a really high batting average. 

Shadows Where the Magic Was

Over There That's Frank
Baby Baby Don't Tell Me That
I Heard Mama Callin
Heart Of Mine
I Can't Afford To Go
The Banks Of The Brazos
If You Can't Tell The Difference
Little Bitty Slip
Shadows Where The Magic Was
Lord Above Can You Hear Me
Not Worth The Trouble Anymore
Merry Christmas Darlin'
Everybody Got It But Me
My Hearts' Been Cheatin' On Me

Real: A Tom T. Hall Project

I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew     Johnny Cash

That's How I Got to Memphis                 Kelly Willis

When Love Is Gone                             Richard Buckner

Don't Forget the Coffee, Billy Joe             R.B. Morris

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee                             Freedy Johnston

Old Enough to Want to (Fool Enough to Try)  Jonny Polonsky

Ships Go Out                                             Ron Sexsmith

I Miss a lot of Trains                             Iris Dement

Tulsa Telephone Book                             Calexico

Harper Valley P.T.A.                             Syd Straw & The Skeletons

Spokane Motel Blues                             Joel R.L. Phelps

Homecoming                                             Joe Henry

The Water Lily                               Ralph Stanley featuring Ralph Stanley II

I'm Not Ready Yet                                     The Mary Janes

Candy in the Window                             Mary Cutrufello

I Hope it Rains at my Funeral        Whiskeytown

It Sure Can Get Cold in Des Moines    Mark Olson With Victoria Williams

A Gaggle of Gilberto Gil

     As a kid, I was always impressed by baseball players who were able to play in four different decades - even if only meant playing in the last year of a decade and then, 21 years later, in the first year of a decade.  Now that I'm in my mid-fifties, I'm also impressed by musicians with longevity, especially those with recording careers of seven decades or more.  While Gilberto Gil may not ultimately be able to match Willie Nelson's eight decades (and I can't imagine there are too many others who can match Willie), he's had a really impressive and long career.  He's also one of those artists that I became familiar with after he stopped touring regularly, so I'm disappointed that I'll probably never get to see him live; if his many live albums are any indication, he truly shines (though I'm glad I did get to see Caetano Veloso twice).  Hope everyone enjoys the two volumes and if you want to dig deeper into his music, I'd start with Gilberto Gil (1971), Expresso 2222 from 1972, and, of course a 1987 live album, Em Concerto.

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Volume 1
Filhos de Ghandi
Procissao
Ensaio Geral
Cada Macaco No Seu Galho (Cho Chuá)
Minha Princesa Cordel
Quatro Pedacinhos
A Paz
Um Dia de Garoa
Eu Vim Da Bahia (Live)
Aquele Abraco
Assim Sim
Chiclete Com Banana

Volume 2
Esotérico (Ao Vivo)
Refazenda
Bat Macumba
Diga a Ela (Versão Editada)
Só Quero Um Xodó
Futurível
O Pato
Iemanja
Preciso Aprender a Só Ser
Abra o Olho (Ao Vivo)
Um Abraço no João
One O'clock Last Morning 20th April 1970

The Texas Legends Series - Volume Five: Guy Clark, Blaze Foley, and Kimmie Rhodes

 It's time for another Texas Legends series compilation, though this one's a bit more downbeat than the other ones (check them out here).  If you're looking to do a deeper dive, I would start with Blaze Foley's Live at the Austin Outhouse, Guy Clark's Dublin Blues, and Kimmie Rhodes' West Texas Heaven.   You can also check out Blaze and Kimmie cuts on my 90's Texas alternative country compilation.  Lastly, I also recommend the Blaze Foley biopic Blaze, which is currently available on Netflix. In addition to Ben Dickey and Alia Shawkat as Blaze and his girlfriend Sybil, I really liked Charlie Sexton's portrayal of Townes Van Zandt.

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Dublin Blues	Guy Clark
Brother Flower	Kimmie Rhodes, Townes Van Zandt
Darlin'	Blaze Foley
I Should Have Been Home	Blaze Foley
Honky Tonk Song	Guy Clark
Just To Be Near You	Kimmie Rhodes
L.A. Freeway	Guy Clark
Let Me Ride in Your Big Cadillac	Blaze Foley
Rhinestone Highway	Kimmie Rhodes and Willie Nelson
Sittin' by the Road	Blaze Foley
Uncertain Texas	Guy Clark
Take Me Down	Kimmie Rhodes
Angels Get The Blues	Kimmie Rhodes
Oval Room	Blaze Foley
The South Coast of Texas	Guy Clark
I Just Drove By	Kimmie Rhodes
Better Days	Guy Clark
If I Could Only Fly	Blaze Foley

It's So Primitive: Jonathan Richman, Ben Vaughn, and Sonny Smith

     It's been a long time since I had a car, but there is a great deal to be said for driving around on languid summer afternoons and evenings listening to "primitive" rock and roll such as Jonathan Richman, Ben Vaughn, and Sonny Smith.  For readers wanting to dig deeper into their catalogs, I'd recommend Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers "The Modern Lovers", "It's Time For", Ben Vaughn's "Mood Swings" (and the out of print "Mono"), and Sonny & the Sunset's, "Hit After Hit".

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Side A

Roadrunner                                                         The Modern Lovers

Jukebox Babe                                                         Ben Vaughn

Chapters                                                                 Sonny & The Sunsets

Death Cream part 2 "Watch Out for the Cream" Sonny & The Sunsets

The Baltimores                                                 Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

Paradise                                                                 Ben Vaughn

Alice Leaves for the Mountains                         Sonny & The Sunsets

The Girl Stands Up To Me Now                         Jonathan Richman

Cashier Girl                                                         Ben Vaughn

Our Favorite Martian                                         Ben Vaughn

Year of the Cock (Jackie Feathers)                     Sonny Smith

Nineteen In Naples                                                 Jonathan Richman

Rhinestone Sunset                                                 Sonny & The Sunsets

Since She Started To Ride                                 Jonathan Richman

Out Of Control                                                 Ben Vaughn

Side B

Primitive                                                                 Sonny & The Sunsets

When Harpo Played His Harp                                Jonathan Richman

I'm Just Beginning To Live                                 Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

7 Days Without Love                                         Ben Vaughn

Drug Lake                                                         Sonny & The Sunsets

Goin' Down That Road                                         Ben Vaughn

Grunion Run                                                         Jonathan Richman

Cathedral in the Desert                                         Sonny Smith

My Mind Ain't Right                                              Ben Vaughn

Beautiful Thing                                                 Ben Vaughn

Teen Age Thugs                                                 Sonny & The Sunsets

(She's Gonna) Respect Me                                 Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers

Rod for Your Love                                                 Sonny Smith

Pipe Bomb                                                         Ben Vaughn

Corner Store                                                         Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers