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Steverino ex machina.

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Location: Charlottetown, PEI, Canada

Sunday, January 28, 2007


Elvis Costello, in 1983, said that "writing about music is like dancing about architecture - it's a really stupid thing to want to do."

So, gather 'round and let me highland fling you a tale of some nice little modern bungalows called "The Year's Best Albums".

I'm having a hard time with this best-of-the-year song and album thing this year. Why couldn't it be cut & dry, like two years ago when Feist put out Let It Die? My problem this year is two-fold. I'm trying to remain objective, but I've known a couple of the artists on my lists for nearly ten years now, and question whether I'm weighing them higher than someone else may. My other problem is that all my choices, especially for album, all deserve to win for different reasons. I've been tempted to just name five top albums, but I'm gonna have to just shit or get off of this musical pot & be done with it. So... let's look at the top five albums to start with, and reason it out, shall we?


I wrote about this one before. Check it out here.


A lot of people crap on MCR, 'cause they think their music and their roots are all trendy emo-rock and all that crap. Well, it may not be totally false, but several of their songs up to this year were quite good. Good enough that when I heard the first single from this album, read the good reviews, and read about its theme, that I had to buy it. It's a concept album of sorts, centred around a character called "the patient". It's all based on death, for the most part. Every song on this album could potentially be a single. There is a diverse array of sounds - from ballad, rock opera (think Queen meets Green Day), hard rock, to something almost Greek or Russian. Nothing strays too far from the core sound of the record for long, though. I don't mean it all sounds the same, I just mean to say it doesn't come off as disjointed from being overly eclectic. Very strong record all the way through.


Neko Case has an unbelievable voice. It's a voice that has a sort of classic country music sound. It doesn't sound dated, though. Perhaps it's because it has so much power, and doesn't lack in the emotion department (or any other for that matter). So, number one, the voice. That can't be overstated. This album has a sound that falls in that modern alternative country vein, but it goes beyond that. Her voice, combined with the lyrical topics and the sound of the songs take this album to a separate level. Some of the songs have an upbeat classic feel to them, but some of the others paint a picture - of a small American country town, maybe just a house in the woods, where the wolves watch from the darkness. You get the sense of secretive people who walk with their faces down and won't talk to strangers. There's a real moody and mysterious feeling beneath much of this album that's very visible, and almost tangible. It's a rootsy album that sounds so unique, so full of character, and really distinguishes itself from anything nearly like it.


This is an album that I'd dreamt of. One of my favourite (probably the favourite) bands for many years now has been Wide Mouth Mason. Shaun Verreault is the band's lyricist, tunesmith, and lead singer / guitarist. Now, being totally objective when I say this, Shaun is one of the most talented guitarists and singers in the world. He really is world class, even if the majority of the world doesn't know it. I, like many a WMM fan, always thought it would be awesome to hear Shaun on an acoustic album of his own. Well, holy crap, a dream came true last year. Shaun made this album, all solo, just sitting on a chair in a modest studio, in front of a couple of mics. Many tunes were done in the first or second take, and written not long before their recording, which helps to keep them lively, inspired, & honest. Half of the tunes are esentially WMM covers. They're not all staight-to-solo renditions, though. Several of the songs are virtually nothing like the WMM versions, with Shaun changing the melodies and throwing in tinges of jazz & blues. He weaves tales of love, lost love, & murder, delivering them in songs that run the gauntlet from heartbroken fragility to shoutin' the blues, to upbeat jazz-funk rock. This album, at least to me, as a long-time WMM fan, is a treasure. Anyone who likes the solo singer-songwriter stuff would be almost as equally blown away, I'm sure. Oh, for the record (heh... record), I have #43 of the intial run of... 200, was it? Thanks to one very special Albertan for that! ;)


I first really heard Ron, and was aware of who he was, during last year's ECMA festivties in Charlottetown last year. You see, it turns out he's the guy responsible for "Sonny's Dream", a staple at any maritime pub / singing event. It's a timeless classic you could think has been around for many decades. At any rate, I heard some of Ron's new tunes on CBC radio, and saw a couple on CBC TV (bless you, CBC). I was knocked out, man. His songs were incredible. Great melodies, fantastic lyrics. I don't know of anyone else who could musically tell a tale better than Hynes. Aside from the songs, there's nothing virtuosic about him. He's a good player, a good singer, and that's it. There aren't any big solos, no intense vocals. This CD comes across as a fantastic collection of musical stories delivered by an honest salt-of-the-earth man, weathered by life, but wiser for it and still doing what he knows how to do best. Some of the songs at the disc's end are live, and a little more intimate, which is nice. Several of the songs here are just awesome (the rest are good) - tunes that are incredible now, and come across as instantly timeless. You know, songs that wrap their sounds around you and feel like an old favourite classic. If you're into great songs with well-written lyrical stories, as delivered by an average man with great musical senses and skills, definitely check this one out.

A definite honourable mention to Emm Gryner's The Summer of High Hopes!

As for the winner... I'll tell you... at least by tomorrow.

1 Comments:

Blogger Chunks said...

Shawn and John are my top picks for albums of the last year. They definitely got spun the most in my house. daggerlip is a dream come true for me, as close to trapping the singing bird in the gilded cage as will ever be, I suppose. And it's signed to Moi, which makes me love it all the more. Okay, daggerlip wins.

But John Mayer has those lips....

I'm pretty sure we are choosing our favorites for different reasons, Steve. Unless you also have a thing for John Mayer's lips? ;)

1:39 am  

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