Sound Obsession

Another tough year year done and gone.  At least we had some good albums to get us through.  These are my top ten favorite albums of 2021, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . . Blackberry Smoke:   You Hear Georgia     (3 Legged - 5/28/21) Atlanta country-rockers Blackberry Smoke returned in 2021 with their seventh studio album and a few guests in tow - underground country legend Jamey Johnson and Allman Brothers Band guitarist/vocalist Warren Haynes.  A backyard barbecue and roadtrip classic in the making, You Hear Georgia was a constant for me this summer.   Vincent Neil Emerson:   Vincent Neil Emerson     (La Honda - 6/25/21) Following an excellent debut in 2019, East Texas native Vincent Neil Emerson leveled up this year.  Produced by Rodney Crowell, Emerson’s eponymously titled sophomore outing headed in a more introspective direction, covering the artist’s personal struggle with depression, hi...

These are my runners up and honorable mention albums of 2021, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . . Charley Crockett:  10 for Slim - Charley Crockett Sings James Hand     (Son of Davy - 2/26/21)   Charley Crockett:   Music City USA     (Son of Davy - 9/17/21)   Jesse Daniel:   Beyond These Walls     (Die True - 7/30/21)   Cody Jinks:   Mercy     (Late August - 11/12/21)   Quicksand:   Distant Populations     (Quicksand - 8/13/21)     The Steel Woods:   All of Your Stones     (Woods Music - 5/14/21)   Turnstile:   Glow On     (Roadrunner - 8/27/21)   Joshua Ray Walker:   See You Next Time     (State Fair - 10/8/21)   Wolf Alice:   Blue Weekend   (RCA - 6/4/21)   Yola:   Stand For Myself     (Easy Eye Sound - 7/30/21)

Usually this time of year I've got a couple dozen albums on heavy rotation.  So far in 2021, barely half that.  Despite a relatively slow first half of the year, with release dates and tour schedules only just now ramping back up after fifteen months of virtual lockdown, there are certainly a handful of bright spots on the album front. These are my favorites so far, with a few sure to make my end-of-year favorites list.   Enjoy. . . . - Will G  Bicep:   Isles   (Ninja Tune - 1/22/21) Blackberry Smoke:   You Hear Georgia   (3 Legged - 5/2/21) The Black Keys:   Delta Kream   (Nonesuch - 5/14/21) CLEOPATRICK:   BUMMER   (Nowhere Special - 6/4/21) Charley Crockett:   10 for Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand   (Son of Davy - 2/26/21) Michigan Rattlers:   That Kind of Life   (Massasauga - 5/19/21) Royal Blo...

Part 3 of my "100 Favorite Albums of the 1990s" list covers my freshman year of high school and the summer that followed.  This was a major transition period for me musically.  Fall of '93 was peak grunge before a steep drop-off the following year. I'd owned a cheap electric guitar for a while by then (a metallic blue Yamaha Pacifica with a black pick guard and Floyd Rose tremolo), but played it poorly.  The full extent of my prowess on the axe was banging out some Nirvana riffs and stumbling my way through the intro to Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze."  Truthfully, by early '94 I was losing interest in rock music and the dreary elitism it seemed to demand, not to mention the skill and patience it took to learn how to play the guitar.   Kurt Cobain's suicide and the inevitable disbanding of Nirvana in the spring of '94 felt like the end of an era.  The rise of Beck and the Beastie Boys shortly thereafter felt like the start of another.  A summer ...

Part 2 of my "100 Favorite Albums of the 1990s" list covers a period of time when I was finishing up middle school and about to head into high school.   Despite having very limited knowledge or context for anything at the time, I was internalizing all the corporate-curated alternative rock "authenticity" propaganda of the era and, without much sense of irony, had become somewhat of a purist.   For the most part, only bands with at least one clearly defined guitarist, bassist, drummer, and vocalist would do.  Extra points for lyrics conveying some sense of tortured realism.  Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers were my favorites.  Doc Martens, Chuck Taylors, flannels, and band t-shirts from Sam Goody were my uniform.  I'd also picked up my first Discman (a Sony D-111) for my birthday in '92, so now I was mobile.  Music as identity - that is, "you are what you listen to" - now seemed like a very big deal.   - Will G The Black Crowes:   The Souther...