Albums of the Year 2007?
Thought I'd get in early and post my favourite albums of 2007 and see what others have been listening to over the past 12 months. In no paricular order, my favourites have been
Bettye LaVette - Scene of the Crime - great singing, Drive By Truckers in support, soul and R&B; in the 21st century!
Mavis Staples - We'll Never Turn Back - produced by Ry Cooder, gospel fire, voice in good(ish) nick, unjustly overlooked
Various Artists - Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration - best reissue bar one (see below). The cream of Stax, 50 tracks of pure delight and a great way to replace that worn out vinyl
Robb Johnson - All The Way For This - not a blues or R&B; album but a "roots" recording in the finest sense and in that way perhaps truer to the blues tradition than you might first imagine. First class songwriting from start to finish. There are other blues and soul albums it's been my pleasure to hear (and buy) this year, but I couldn't leave this one out
Best Reissue....
Aretha Franklin - Rare and Unreleased Recordings - Loads of great stuff over 2CDs, much of it on a par with the actual releases of the time. The demos are a bit weak but still show how quickly Aretha developed after her shift from Columbia to Atlantic
What about yours?
Mine are all Blues or blues related - so here goes...
Honourable mention to the Holmes Brothers State Of Grace, which is a better album than, say, Kenny Wayne Shepherd - the latter stays in because of the DVD's virtues
Top five for me are
Beverley Knight - Music City Soul
Classic soul sound for today's "market" (sorry, hate that term!). A couple of songs border on pastiche, but overall a real treat
Gabrielle - Always
If you enjoy soul, but with influences from other genres, this album could be for you.
James Hunter - People Gonna Talk
Gill said it for me - he really has an exceptional voice and he's a fine guitarist as well
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black: Deluxe Edition
Well, she's got her troubles and sad to think this may be her defining moment. But some record for 20 years and never produce something as good as this!
Sharon Jones - 100 Days 100 Nights
As no-one else heard this? - it's absolutely top notch. Authentic soul but for only 34 minutes, which is a tad naughty as it's a full price CD
My favourite album of 2007 is
Joe Lois Walker - In The Morning - just the usual high standard from one of the best modern bluesmen around - stellar stuff.
Others from 2007 that I enjoyed....
Ry Cooder - My Name Is Buddy. Everyone has said it but it's true, a return to the style of the albums he put together at the start of his solo career and all the better for it
Tinsley Ellis - Moment of Truth - Blues rock it may be, but very good blues rock indeed
Ian Siegal - Swagger - this man should be huge. This is his best yet, and I don't suppose it'll break him through any more than previous efforts
James Hunter - People Gonna Talk. Like everyone else, thoroughly enjoyed this and good to see it get such a push. "Believe What I Say" may still be the better album though.
I don't have a top 5 but here are my two favourite blues albums of the year
Rory Block - The Lady and Mr. Johnson - fantastic acoustic blues from a long time favourite. And I'm not even a massive fan of Robert Johnson. These are great interpretations and she is an exceptionally fine slide player. Worth a go if you like your blues stripped down and acoustic
Guitar Shorty - We The People - many have dismissed this as to all intents and purpose a rock album. Others have criticised it for lacking any subtlety whatsoever. There is some truth to both arguments. Still love it, despite that (maybe because of it)