Albums of 2006

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 10:37 am

Ok, so not to shortchange the great month of December, but what albums that came out this year have you most appreciated?
My vote goes to Bonnie Prince Billy's 'The Letting Go'

Fieryjack · Post by **Fieryjack** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:10 am

For me, it's hard to beat Muse's Black Holes and Revelations - a true masterpiece of our time.

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:36 am

Mission of Burma: The Obliterati.

LifeGoesOff · Post by **LifeGoesOff** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:42 am

does anyone else feel like 2006 was a pretty weak year for releases? There really hasn't been too many great records in my opinion. But I'm sure there were a few that slipped under my radar, which hopefully this thread will correct me on.

so far, the one I love the most is Joanna Newsom's "Ys"

I think 2007 is going to be pretty stellar for new records just from hearing the new Shins album.

creature.of.habit · Post by **creature.of.habit** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:48 am

LifeGoesOff wrote:so far, the one I love the most is Joanna Newsom's "Ys"

i second that. it's a great album!

i like dylan's release as well...the rockabilly/rock 'n roll thing he's been at for the last 2/3 albums is very refreshing and cool.

i really like "the letting go" as well...i think it's my favourite oldham album...i really like master&everyone too though, most people talk that record down, frankly can't understand why.

jcooke · Post by **jcooke** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:53 am

The Lemonheads- eponymous
Tom Petty - Highway Companion

Two great albums from two great artists. Tom Petty finally came back strong after that terribly mediocre The Last DJ. The Lemonheads album is probably my favorite out of all of their albums. Evan Dando is a master of pop/rock.

jcooke

BandyLou · Post by **BandyLou** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:07 pm

roots & crowns by califone.

baronvon · Post by **baronvon** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:14 pm

I'm with creature...
Bob Dylan - "Modern Times"

Brian Brock · Post by **Brian Brock** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:57 pm

I've been really into

Lisa Germano In the Maybe World (great vocal sound, maybe the most interesting I've ever heard)

Tv On The Radio Return To Cookie Mountain (also great vocals and just generally awesome album)

Tom Ze's latest is terrific. Estudiando o Pagode (also has just incredible sounding vocals)

Jeez I must like vocals or something.

Cat Power's album was pretty good, but didn't take over my mind like Moon Pix.

b

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 1:12 pm

LifeGoesOff wrote:does anyone else feel like 2006 was a pretty weak year for releases?

Not at all. I've bought more new stuff this year than I have in a long time. Here are some of my favorites:

Los Lobos- The Town and The City- Their best in a while. It's interesting listening to the different mixes by different guys. Great tunes. I'm not into the mastering job at all, but it's a great record despite that.

Don Dixon- The Entire Combustable Universe In One Small Room- Maybe I'm biased since I've been privy to most of this material for about three years now, but I think this is by far Dixon's best solo record. Fucking CRAZY good songs. Some of the production is quirky in a typical Dixon sort of way and some of it is a bit of a departure for him. I love it!

Lullaby Baxter- Garden Cities Of To-Morrow- This fine record was introduced to me by a producer I was working with this fall. He told me to buy it and if I didn't like it, he'd buy it back and give it to someone else. I'm glad I did. This record was mixed by our own Mark Alan Miller, who did a bangup job of representing the obvious production nods to late-sixties Beach Boys and Beatles records. The "Hercules" production team did the album and it has a very Jon Brion-esque vibe to it. Lullaby has a fantastic voice, often reminiscent of Sade, but with a more classic pop/rock tone. She also writes astoundingly cool lyrics.

Jerry Lee Lewis- Last Man Standing- The same producer who hipped me to Lullaby Baxter played this for me. Usually those "take an older pop music hero and pair them with other artists for a lame duets record" sort of things don't do anything for me, but this one is something else. It's got great pairings and great tunes. The record doesn't sound particularly great to me, but the awesomeness of the playing and whatnot totally makes up for it.

Nina Nastasia- On Leaving- A long time coming, but worth the wait. This girl just amazes me. This record turns back towards her earlier works like Dogs, but with a little more mysteriousness (is that a word?) in the playing. It's pretty amazing to me that this record has no bass player on it, but it doesn't seem to suffer as a result. A great batch of songs and another terrific-sounding album.

Paul Motian- I Have The Room Above Hers- Another brilliant Manfred Eischer production with the super-human Joe Ferla engineering. Absolutely gorgeous playing by this trio of Motian on drums, Joe Lovano on tenor, and Bill Frisell on guitar. This was a life-changing record for me.

I also have to add a record that won't be out 'til next year, but totally worthy in terms of what it's done to my brain. I just recorded a project for an instrumental band called Go There that's based around the duo of Scott Sawyer on guitar and Kenny Soule (DAG, Nantucket) on drums. The album they recorded last week also featured Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers, Aquarium Rescue Unit) on bass and his older brother Kofi (Derek Trucks Band, Jeff Coffin) on organ and flute. Ron Brendle played upright bass on several songs as well. The sessions were absolutely AMAZING and if I don't fuck it up mixing it, it's gonna be one hell of an album.

Those are my favorites that come to mind right off the bat.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

;ivlunsdystf · Post by **;ivlunsdystf** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:43 pm

Regina Spektor's "Begin to Hope" is the only thing from 2006 that's really captured my sustained interest.

baronvon · Post by **baronvon** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:53 pm

Tatertot wrote:Regina Spektor's "Begin to Hope" is the only thing from 2006 that's really captured my sustained interest.

Not to get off topic... but I really enjoy this album too. However, the first bunch of times I listened to it I was struck at how smashed the vocals are (and pretty much everything else in general). I'm used to the way it sounds now, but there are still moments that make me notice just how hard the compressor seems to be working. I don't know, maybe it was the ME?

electric sound of jim · Post by **electric sound of jim** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:08 pm

"Connectivity!" by Mahogany is a stunning piece of work, produced in part by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins.

A dreampop masterpiece. Totally baffled as to why it isn't getting more atttention.

auralman · Post by **auralman** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:45 pm

Hem: Funnel Cloud

Raconteurs: Broken Boy Soldier

Neil Young: Living With War

craigb156 · Post by **craigb156** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:17 pm

Isobel Campbell/Mark Lanegan:
Ballad of the Broken Seas

Woven Hand:
Mosaic

Nina Nastasia:
On Leaving

I tend to find music late, so I'll have more best of '06 around '09 or so.

Craig

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