Best of 2004

Oh, man, this has been a busy year for buying. Since I finally bought a DVD player this year (I’m no early adopter), some must appear in the list. I know I’ll omit some worthy recordings. Hell, I can’t even remember what all I bought this year.

The Champion:
Daniel Barenboim’s Schumann symphony cycle

Honorable Mention:
Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s Mozart Requiem (perhaps too early to tell)

Clemens Krauss’ 1953 Ring cycle

Karl Bohm’s 1973 Orange production of Tristan und Isolde (DVD)

Andre Davis 1996 production of Lulu (DVD)

Giulini’s Rigoletto

Riccardo Muti’s 2001 La Scala productions of Falstaff and Otello (DVD)

Andsnes and Tetzlaff doing Bartok’s Violin Sonatas

Abbado’s Falstaff

MTT’s Mahler 6

Pierre Boulez’s 1970 Parsifal

Kent Nagano’s recording of Schoenberg’s Die Jakobsleiter

Gardiner’s recording of Haydn’s six late masses

Nelson Freire’s Carnaval

Schnabel and Piatigorsky playing LvB’s Second Cello Sonata (on Naxos)

"The universe is change, life is opinion." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

quote:

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Originally posted by Nick Lees:
Fred Simon – Remember The River._ Well, Fred said it was going to be different to “Dreamhouse” and it was…and it wasn’t. The sound is different because of the instrumentation but the strength of tune and overall feel is just as good. Particularly love the clarinet and oboe parts - very Finzi.

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Thanks, Nick. I'm really glad you're enjoying it. Like I said, it's the same, only different.

Interesting comment about Finzi ... I only know one work of his, which I love: the Eclogue for Piano and Strings. It's always reminded me of some of Keith Jarrett's writing for piano and strings. In any case, I take it as a high compliment. Thanks.

quote:

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Originally posted by Nick Lees:
Purbayan Chatterjee & Kala Ramnath – Samwad._ I’ve wittered on about this one several times this year, but it really is pretty special. Again, I’d urge any jam-band aficionados with any feel for Indian music to give this a try – the patterns these musicians make as they weave their way around each other is a wonder. Probably my favourite album this year.

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I'll have to check that one out, Nick.

And if you like that one, I have another to recommend in return: Raga Rasa: That Which Colors the Mind by Kartik Seshadri and Bikram Ghosh. You just might have two favorite albums this year.

Here are some of my faves from 2004

Tord Gustavsen Trio - The Ground (ECM) - follow up to the Changing Places CD - more beautiful, high quality and accessible piano jazz trio. Released only in Oz at the moment (available from www.birdland.com.au) with worldwide release in early 05.

Enrico Rava - Easy Living (ECM) - beautiful trumpet from Italy's finest.

Tomasz Stanko Quartet - Suspended Night (ECM) - more great trumptet, this time from Poland - excellent quartet leading the way in the jazz world.

Jacob Young - Evening Falls (ECM) - Pat Metheny meets Tomasz Stanko for excellent debut on ECM.

Jan Garbarek - In Praise of Dreams (ECM) - more nordic landscapes from Jan, this time brought up to date with some interesting beats - excellent.

Gurdjieff/Tsabropoulos - Chants, Hymns and Dances (ECM New series) - a new ECM classic, wonderful cello and piano, totally atmospheric and currently a big classical hit in the USA.


Alice Coltrane - Translinear Light (Impulse) - flavours of John Coltrane, world and jazz, challenging but very listenable - an interesting CD.


Ulf Wakenius - Forever You (Stunt) - first class guitar quartet - quality with a great melody - standards and orginals - makes the Naim sound fantastic. A great late night listen.

Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love (Universal) - eight years since her first CD, this is an instant vocal classic - a cut above all the other jazz vocal releases (except my next choice). Beautiful music for a sunny day - again makes the Naim sing.

Patricia Barber - A Fortnight in France (Blue Note) - live CD of very interesting jazz vocal - atmospheric, great sound - again highly recommended.

Dave Douglas - Stange Liberation (Bluebird) - another first rate release from Douglas on trumpet with Uri Caine and Chris Potter - I saw this live at the Village Vanguard in New York and was well impressed - Douglas releases challenging, leading edge jazz for the 21st century.

Boz Scaggs - Greatest Hits Live (Graycat) - classic hits performed live and sounding as good if not better than the originals - beautifully recorded.

Crosby Nash - Crosby Nash (Sanctuary) - again another CD that sounds fantastic on the Naim - harmonies are stunning, tuneful - maybe the album is a little long over 2 discs - nevertheless this is a little gem and a return to form.

Pete Murray - Feeler (Columbia) - a huge hit in Australia - virtually unknown elsewhere - this is just a great Rock/Pop guitar vocal album - popular with all ages - I love playing it in the car whilst driving to the beach on a sunny day - perfect.

Air - Talkie Walkie (Virgin) - high quality electronic, pop, vocals from the French Duo

Cheers
Adrian

[This message was edited by Expat in Oz on Sun 19 December 2004 at 9:33.]

[This message was edited by Expat in Oz on Sun 19 December 2004 at 9:47.]

quote:

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Originally posted by Nick Lees:
OK, for those who are (or who might be) interested here's more on that Chatterjee & Ramnath album.

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Thanks for the enjoyable samples, Nick.

And having heard them, now even more so I think you need to check out Raga Rasa. It's markedly different than any Hindustani (Northern India, as opposed to Carnatic, from the South).

While the traditional elements are there --sitar, tamboura drone, tabla, long developement toward a virtuosic climax, etc.-- the improvisation is more melodic and tuneful, less "note-y." Seshadri has a darker, fatter tone on the sitar, less buzzy high-end plink, and at times has an almost bluesy sensibility.

For Indian classical music aficionados this album is essential.

Well, I don't know that they qualify as "best", but this is what I have listened to most (disclaimer-didn't check copyrights, so these were bought in 2004, possibly released shortly before then):

Mindy Smith "One Moment More" -excellent songs, wonderful voice, look forward to her sophomore release expanding a bit on what is here.

Ray Lamontagne "Trouble" - the nicest gift I received all year, very early in his musical development (started in the past 4 years or so), this disc hasn't left the player for long.

Bill Deasy "Good Day, No Rain" - these songs could easily stand-up to the quiet acoustic treatment, but are given the full "arena rock" treatment here. Makes me dance around the room playing air-guitar (not a pretty sight). Bill also released an excellent dvd this year.


Laura Veirs "Carbon Glacier" - 21st century folk music. Hauntingly beautiful and brilliantly realized.

and several live commercial recordings:

Dave Matthews Band "The Gorge" - great band, wonderful live sound. Could listen to this rhythm duo (Carter Beauford-drums;Stefan Lessard-bass) all day long.

Pearl Jam "Benaroya Hall" - have never liked PJ as much as I do on this mostly acoustic 2-cd set.

John Mayer "Any Given Thursday" - often derided as a sugary throw-away artist, I have found myself admiring him more and more on repeat listenings. Some truely excellent guitar playing by JM here, "Covered In Rain" alone is worth the price of admission.

and...

Our local newspaper has an excellent music reviewer named Marty Hughley, who coincidentally released his 2004 top ten today (will be exploring some of these soon, as he has led me to much great music in the past):

1. Peter Himmelman "Unstoppable Forces"
2. Ellis Hooks "Uncomplicated"
3. Medeski, Martin & Wood "End Of The World Party"
4. Todd Rundgren "Liars"
5. Toots and the Maytals "True Love"
6. U2 "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"
7. Laura Veirs "Carbon Glacier"
8. Susan Werner "Can't Be New"
9. Tom Waits "Real Gone"
10. Brian Wilson "Smile"

Good listenin' and happy holidays to all

Jeff A

Two of the best indian classical recordings in my selection you may already have, if not I'd add to the list.

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma : Sampradaya (on RealWorld) and Call of The Valley (on World Circuit).


Bruce

I haven't bought many records this year, money beeing tight, but even it's been a bit disappointing for me. The new Blue Nile is soulless AOR hi-fi dem pap, SMiLE just doesn't feel right (great concert, dodgy record).

For me the record of the year – and I'm surprised nobody's mentioned it yet – has to be Aha Shake Heartbreak by the mighty Kings Of Leon. Rock and roll!!!

Morrissey's newie is a welcome return to form, the Streets was great and the Albert Ayler box set is a hoot (if in smallish doses). Razorlight and Snow Patrol were OK.

One of my most-played records this year is an LP of Uzbek classical music I bought in the old USSR back in 1987. It had been laying in the outer reaches of my collection, folornly unplayed, for 17 years! I found it earlier this year and it really is extraordinary!

Kevin

P

My top records of 2004 complete with meaningless muso cliche summaries:

1. The Arcade Fire -- "Funeral"

Fab slice of 80s tinged theatrical, sing-along ("It's wonderrrrFULLLLuLLuLLL", etc) indie-pop.

2. Devendra Banhart -- "Rejoicing in the Hands"

The best of the so-called freak folk albums and a minor classic. Banharrt's other album, the Joanna Newsome album (what is teh differnce between the sprout and the bean?) and Iron & Wine's "Our Endless Numbered Days" are also worthy of mention.

3. Les Savy Fav -- "Inches"

70 mins of rip-snorting, tune packed art/pop/punk goodness.

4. Earlimart -- "Treble & Termble"

They had a good album last year that was a bit up and down and was quite easy to dismiss as a bit too obviously in debt to Grandaddy. This year's effort is massively improved though and a real understated grower that, if not up to early Gradndaddy standards, is comfortbaly better than the likes "The Software Slump". Getting lots of end of year play in my house,

5. Franz Ferdinand -- "Franz Ferdinand"

Yes it's terribly derivative, yes it's been absurdly over-hyped by the music press, yada yada yada. They do have the best tunes though even if it's a play it to death for a Summer and then forget it album it's still very good.

6. Madvillain -- "Madvillainy"

Hip-hop album of the year.

7. Max Richter -- "The Blue Notebooks"

Minimalist contempoary classical albums of the year (a genre I know even less about than Hip Hop).

8. Fennesz -- "Venice"

Laptoppy Electronica album of the year (Are you sensing a theme here?)

9. The Fiery Furnaces -- "Blueberry Boat"

I ended up liking it despite it's utter ridiculousness and a sneaking suspicion that it might all be some terrible mistake.

10. AC Newman -- "The Slow Wonder"

Pop album of the year.

Honourable mentions: The Foreign Exchange "Connected" (Dutch Hip-Hop!); Interpol "Antics"; Dungen "Ta Det Lungt" and a few others that have probably slipped my mind.

Matthew

As always, so many great recommendations (and warnings) in here. I loved SMiLE, but can't help feeling it's been over-praised. I also loved the Blue Nile newie - at first. I've since gone right off it, mainly because of Paul B's endless yay-yay-yays. I can't believe I'm being less than fawning about one of my favourite bands, but there it is.

I enjoyed, among others, Elvis Costello, Caetano Veloso, The Finn Brothers, Modest Mouse, Trashcan Sinatras and Green Day. But the top two for me were:

American Music Club - Love Songs For Patriots: Eitzel's anguished howl; the band's off-kilter brilliance. Wonderful gloomy stuff.

Magnetic Field - i: Discussed at length elsewhere. Stephen Merritt at his literate, witty and up-himself best.

Well, I spent most of the year in back catalogue and re-issues but none of those are allowed in the door for this one. Of the little I did connect with and purchase on the 2004 front I would say the following head the pack:

Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter Oh, My Girl Low key and ultimately very effecting given sufficient listening time. The whole band is adding something to the soundscape which merits picking out each and everyone of them. I play this repeatedly and find it has another little secret to reveal each time.

Iron & Wine Our Endless Numbered Days What applies for the Jesse Sykes album applies here. This is very understated and just gets to you more and more. Can just keep on listening to it...

Jolie Holland Escondida Ms Holland moves on from her first very good and very intimate and "lo-fi" effort to step out a little bit more. Would not have a clue how to categorise the music herein as to my ears there are bits of blues, blue grass, country, folk, etc. Once again it just grows on you more and more. Rainy afternoon and late night music par excellence.

Wilco A Ghost Is Born With thee exception of the 15 minute irritation track "less than you think" this album has splendidly structured songs that contain great melodies, wonderful soulful moments, lyrics full of engaging imagery, and good old rockin' moments to boot. Alright by me.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus This album(s) just has to be sung along with even if you can't sing. Some of the lyrics are horrendously OTT and fit like a glove in amongst their musical partners. As usual expect to have Mr Cave and buddies place you in a lovely sentimental place only to have you dropped into dark forbidden zones in the blink of an eye.

Worthy of note ....

Castanets Cathedral Stark and often brooding atmospheres created on this one. Steps outside of the usual song structures to go where they choose and when they choose. I like it anyway.

Devandra Banheart Rejoicing In The Hands People tell me this is folk music. Songs that, once again, grow on you. And if ever I thought Marc Bolin had been reincarnated then this is that time (despite the fact Devandra was probably born before Mr Bolin passed away).

There ya go ......

Norman,

Lots of my favourites here too so it appears our tastes overlap. Any more information on Jesse Sykes? Not one I'd heard of. Any comparisons with other artists I might know? I've an Amazon token or two burning the way through my pocket!

Bruce

Hello Bruce,

difficult to make a perfect match for Jesse Sykes but I would say she comes close to Lucinda Williams when Lucinda takes on her more bluesy and laid back mode (e.g. the essence album by Lucinda Williams). However, Jesse is a little more sparse sounding but that belies that a lot is going on instrumentally below the surface. Throw in the occasional stark and withering lead guitar lines and away you go. You should take a look at the reviews on her website I have attached the link:

http://www.jessesykes.com/reviews.html

There is another earlier album entitled Reckless Burningwhich I have on good authority is every bit as good, if not better, than Oh, My Girl. There are options to listen to samples on her website.

But in truth I do not think you would be disappointed with Oh, My Girl. There are also two releases that I did not mention in this topic as it did want to keep to 2004 releases but this year I was introduced to Bonnie 'Prince' Billy(otherwise known as Will Oldham. Both the albums I See A Darkness and Master And Everyone that I now have are utterly mesmerising and haunting. I am told it is folk music but whatever it is it has an understated beauty that tends to hover in the arena of transfixing melancholy. I think they are marvellous songs throughout. Took me a few listens to really get the hang of it but I am a little slow on the uptake.

Anyway happy purchasing Bruce.

Norman

Brilliant stuff, thanks Norman. I also own the Bonnie Prince Billy pair, and enjoy both. By way of return I'll suggest some for your collection, Richmond Fontaine:Post To Wire (bit Wilco, Richard White etc). Just in case you've not bought it before, Nick Cave: The Boatmans Call is a big fave at home just now too.

Bruce

Besides some of the stndards mentioned by others here are some outstanding under the radar releases.

Explosions in the sky - the earth is a cold dead place. think Mogwai fear satan from Mogwai's young team, arc up the intensity and play it for a full album.

Surfjan Stevens - Seven Swans. A spirtual album with grit. Similar to but quieter than last years Greetings from Michigan.

Brian Jonestown Massacre - and this is our music...Perfect psychedalia released three decades too late. Great Cameo by Ed Harcourt in Here it Comes.

The Real Tuesday Weld - I, Lucifer. Hard to decribe, but possibly the closest thing to an English Stephen Merritt, both lyrically and musically.

But Album of the year (and EP of the year) goes to....

Los Lobos - The Ride. Easily their best album since Kiko in 92. Along with some original numbers, they had the brilliant idea of redoing some of their older numbers with guests. The Bobby Womack Wicked Rain/Across 110th St, Richard Thompson Wreck of the Carlos Rey, Elvis Costello Matter of Time and Mavis Staples Someday are truly phenomenal, reinventing each song and adding another layer to already outstanding work. Funky, soulful, folky, masterpiece.

If this wasn't enough than later in the year they released an EP of covers of their guests tunes. the EP Ride This does to these songs what Costello et al had done for them - twist and change for the better - the highlights of the 7 songs are Costello's uncomplicated and Thompson's shoot out the lights, which is scarier than the original! Brilliant.

Addendum
Two label comps worth chasing up are the Matador at Fifteen which really just covers the last five years, damn good inie-rock though (the rarietie CD is worth it for Pretty Girls make graves version of C30, C60, C90 Go!.
The Saddle Creek 50 is also worth chasing up, this is the label of Bright Eyes and Son, Ambulance and is good overview of this always interesting label.

And finally...
The Faces - five guys walk into a bar. A magnificent box set of one of the most criminally underrated bands.Worth it just for the plethora of BBC live stuff, which is even rockier/raunchier than the album stuff. Every home should have one.

Overall a pretty good year.

Giles

Brian Wilson - Smile (inevitably)
K T Tunstall - Eye to the Telescope
Todd Rundgren - Liars
Leonard Cohen - Dear Heather
Martin Carthy - Waiting for Angels
Crosby/Nash
High - The Blue Nile
Around the Sun - REM (really good actually!)
All Years Leaving - The Stands
Brazil live - YoYo Ma

"Los Lobos - The Ride. Easily their best album since Kiko in 92. " I didn't buy cos it had very poor reviews....

Hi Chris,
The reviews must have been poor in the UK (undoubtedly didn't fit in NME's great band of the month which we'll slag in 12 months time slot). If you check Metacritic, a site which compiles reviews from all over the place, they giove it 81/100 based on 9 reviews. Mojo, All Music Guide and Q all rated it highly. My guess is if critics listen to it through a technics mini system, it just doesn't sound as good as an all compressed, play it at 11, band like the Killers!

Have a listen and I'm sure you'll agree that it's one out of the box!

Giles

Jesse Sykes and Laura Veirs.....How nice to see these two local Seattle artists are popular in England. I've seen Jesse Sykes many times and her two CDs do a good job of portraying her live performances. Every once in a while you kind of want her to up the tempo a bit, but she is the master of the slow burn. If you recognize the guitar work, her beau is the ex-Whiskeytown guitarist, and he adds a lot of atmosphere.

Laura Veirs is totally cool,and hooked up with some very serious Seattle musicians (Bill Frisell, Danny Barnes). I have only seen her once, but she was terrific.

Bruce

Laura Veirs and the Tortured Souls will be playing UK dates in late Feb/early March.

see http://www.lauraveirs.com/laura/shows.html

Jeff A

JediMindTricks - Legacy of blood
Necro - Prefix of death
Korn - Greatest Hits
Damien Rice - 0/B sides
Eminem - Encore

5 is hard when its been such a great year for music

Bruce and Norman
if you like Bonnie Prince Billy, you should get

Palace Music - Viva Last Blues (my favourite Will Oldham LP)
Bonnie Prince Billy - Ease Down the Road (not their best but still great)

My favourite record this year

AC Newman - The Slow Wonder
super catchy indie power pop

Much of what I bought in 2004 was released in earlier years and I am hugely indebted to Nick Lees for continuing to introduce some really special albums that I might otherwise have missed. So, apart from the list below, there are tons of others that simply don't qualify on age terms. Thanks also to Fred Simon, whose recommendations have never failed to be spot-on and to all the other forum members who have posted excellent reviews.

I've probably missed several other really important releases but here goes:

Eliza Gilkyson - "Land of Milk & Honey" - For those who have yet to hear her, she combines elements of Joni Mitchell, Lucinda Williams, Jonatha Brooke and Shawn Colvin in their more reflective, folky moments. This album is about an American woman's view of what is happening in the World and is completely divorced from the yee-hah, red neck nature of so Nashville pap. Not as political as Rickie L J's "Evening of My Best Day", it nevertheless is an album to get you thinking. Vies with You are Quarry for best lyrics of the year.

Brendan Power - "Tradish" - A chance find this one following his appearance on Jules Holland's Later. I was amazed at what could be done with a chromatic harmonica, an acoustic guitar and a bhodran. Astounding musical ability and a truly fresh and creative approach to music - it's like Vicks Sinex for the ears.

Rammstein - "Reise Reise" - Always a favourite band, the new album may be a tad more polished than Mutter or Herzeleid nevertheless few bands can industrially grind as convincingly as Rammstein. It'll satisfy the faithful.

Morrissey - "You Are Quarry" - I can take him or leave him but thought that this album was a tremendous return to form. It just makes me wonder what the hell he's doing living in Los Angeles as it's just somehow wrong.

Faithless - "No Roots" - like other s have said, No Roots has been a slow burner but has remained on or the near the top of the pile since it's release. A big plus is that my youngest daughter loves it, too.

Alison Krauss & Union Station - "Lonely Runs Both Ways" - I had for whatever reason expected a dilution of their earlier style but although this moves a bit away from their bluegrass roots, it nevertheless transcends the mainstream "country" formula and takes rural American music to a new contemporary high. Superb production, wonderful playing and vocal arrangements.

Guitar Shorty - Watch Your Back. You only need to have a look at the album cover to know what this album is going to be like.

A Perfect Circle - "Thirteenth Step" - Technically, this came out at the end of 2003 but I got my copy this year. What can I say? A great album proving that mainstream rock is alive and well and still has vision.

Viktor Krauss - "Far From Enough" - Bass playing brother of Alison, who herself features on several tracks, Viktor specialises in a much more laid back groove. This debut album features the talents of Bill Frissell and Jerry Douglas in a very satisfying collaboration between progressive country and jazz with a little bluegrass on the side. One review described it as a soundtrack without a movie but it's much more than that in the same way that Ry Cooder's soundtracks stood out in their own right. Excellent moody late night listening.

But by some margin, my favourite album has been…

Johnny A. - "Get Inside" - I've harped on about this one since I got it but it really is an utterly fantastic, all instrumental and totally tasteful guitar album. It's difficult to select just one track as the standout however, "Krea Gata", which starts off with such cool groove and goes completely ballistic in the mid-section, is the sort of stuff I buy decent hi-fi for. If anyone knows of anything similar to this that I haven't got, please let me know.


Dave

Jezaranski

Thanks for the Palace and Bonnie Prince Billy recommendations I will be in to my local store for a listen on Saturday. Let you know what I think.

Bruce

I have been told by someone else who consistently steers me in the right direction That Richmond Fontaine: Post To Wire is a real goody. So that goes into the listening list for Saturday as well.

Thanks Folks

Norman

Trygve Seim) - Sangam (ECM)

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

Gåte - Jügri (Norwegian rock combined with tradisional tones)

Nils Petter Molvær - Streamer Great livealbum.