Sound Obsession

These are my runners up and honorable mention albums of 2022, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . . Arctic Monkeys:   The Car   (Domino - 10/21/22)       Ellis Bullard:   Piss-Hot Freightlinin' Country Music     (Mostly Sober - 4/29/22)   Charley Crockett:   Lil' G.L. Presents Jukebox Charley     (Son of Davy - 4/22/22)   Charley Crockett:   The Man From Waco     (Son of Davy - 9/9/22)   Matt Daniel:   All I'll Ever Need     (KWS - 2/11/22)     Fracture & Sam Binga:   Omura     (Astrophonica - 4/22/22) Ghost:   Impera     (Loma Vista - 3/11/22) Harmony:   Resurgence Episode II     (Deep Jungle - 2/2/22) Aaron McDonn...

"Everything except country.” That was my unhesitant reply for many years when asked "what kind of music do you like?" Reinforced by the mental image of Garth Brooks flying over a stadium audience on a wire-rig in the early 90’s, the genre was incomprehensible to me, if not reprehensible. It just wasn’t my thing, and never would be. Lately, however, I'm never quite sure what genres and artists will inspire me year to year - only that I’ve tried to keep an open mind and am prone to odd musical obsessions. This year, it finally turned out to be country music. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Chris Stapleton's soulful companion albums From A Room Vol. 1  and From A Room Vol.2  topped my favorites list last year and Sturgill Simpson's experimental A Sailor's Guide To Earth  made that list the year before. Maybe nostalgic childhood memories of Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Waylon Jennings softened me up. More recently, perhaps it was blu...

I've said it before and I'll say it again - 2013 was an epic year in music and the finest in recent memory.  Those who know me best won't be surprised by my top pick, but the rest of my list might be unexpected.  In 2013, after years of bashful flirtation, I dove headlong into "metal" without pause or irony.  There was an abundance of excellent metal albums this year - many recorded and produced by an always rock-solid Kurt Ballou (of hardcore punk heroes Converge, and proprietor of GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts).  Otherwise, 2013 continued a trend of "retro" with contemporary artists continuing to referencing the sounds of the 70's, 80's and 90's - even some former heroes from those decades made solid comebacks.  These are my favorite albums of the year.*  Enjoy. . . .                1.  Queens of the Stone Age: ...Like Clockwork (9/10) "Risk nothing, get nothing" claimed   Queens of t...