2007 Top Ten Dis-Go-Round
Let’s be as honest as churchmice here, shall we? Taking the entirety of everything into account, from Britney’s public meltdown and the mainstream embrace of dubious “indie rock” bands to the dwindling fortunes of hip-hop and the reduction of guitar-rock to the likes of Nickelback, 2007 was really a terrible year for rock music. The Reverend has been covering this beat for three-anna-half-decades now and lemme tell ya, I don’t remember a year when the percentage of shit-to-shinola has been tilted so far out of our favor…. As the major labels (and many so-called indie imprints) kept circling the drain like a turd that just refuses to go down the pipes, the industry hedged its bets by playing as safe as possible with its money, releasing only the most whitebread, guaranteed-not-to-offend music possible in order to try and salvage a few CD sales from the subwits that still venture into the dwindling number of music retailers with cash in hand rather than cruising the *rar blogs and Torrent sites online for their tunes. So while the mind-numb masses sucked up horrible pap like Amy Winehouse, Kanye West and 50 Cent’s latest snoozefests, uber-hip young tastemakers declared equally-morose baboon-scat like Spoon, the National and Modest Mouse to be the monkey’s nuts.
Now, I don’t know about my fellow cretins and seat-sniffers, but back in the Reverend’s day, we would have shown this kind of musical somnambulism the door and told ‘em not to let the knob hit their ass on the way out! Is this what we’ve become people, where Amy “I’m an O.D. away from immortality” Winehouse is the standard by which we judge music, where Kanye-vs-50 Cent is actually considered relevant, and where you can’t turn on the radio without suppressing your gag reflex?! While Doug Morris was trying to figure out how to get Congress to levy a tax on iPod pirates so that he can continue to flaunt his extravagant lifestyle, the label’s legal pitbulls rammed full-speed ahead, suing the bejeezus out of ordinary music lovers who have been forced to spend their lunch money on legal fees, hocking Granny’s chromed-and-diamond-encrusted nose-hair trimmers to pay off the extortionists at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Nevertheless, a few good-to-great albums managed to struggle their way out of the cesspool of mass-media oblivion and onto the Reverend’s stereo through the year. Although I can’t remember another year where the pickings were as slim as they proved to be in 2007, I’d be glad to run any of these 10 discs up against any year on record when it comes to power, sound and sheer balls. After all, it’s mighty hard to make music this good when so few are listening (and even fewer care)….
10. Blue Cheer – What Doesn’t Kill You (Rainman Records)
The monsters of the big riff returned with an album that sounds like just about everything that Blue Cheer released during the ‘60s, only louder, meaner and more anarchic…after all, after 40 years in this game, what do Dickie Peterson, ‘Duck’ MacDonald and Paul Whaley have to fear from the biz other than fear itself? [Harp Magazine review]
09.
Heavy metal typically comes in one of two flavors – either dumber than a bag o’ doorknobs, or bloated with self-importance. There are exceptions to every rule, as my Gaffer used to say, and Finnish death metal rumble Mors Principium Est make music that sounds as stoopidly muscle-bound as the dimmest bulbs in the genre, but somehow manages to up the I.Q. factor to an intelligence level unexpected (and unheard of) from any other bunch of clodbusters from the frozen hinterlands. Liberation = Termination sound like glass shards and twisted-metal wreckage, which is a good thing….
08. Alan Morse – Four O’ Clock And Hysteria (Inside Out Music)
Six-string mangler for modern prog-rock giants Spock’s Beard, Morse delivered his first solo disc this year, unleashing his inner improviser and exploring the depths of his considerable talents. Morse merges disparate styles and instrumental genres into one giant mofo six-string workout. With brother Neal at the boards to capture every passing nuance, Morse tosses bits-n-pieces of rock, prog, jazz and blues into the blender, turns the button over to “shred” and hits that sucker with a mallet. [CD review]
07. Porcupine Tree – Fear Of A Blank Planet (Atlantic Records)
One of the most exciting bands exploring the barriers of rock music these days, mad alchemist Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree moved away from the accessibility and, well, mainstream vibe of their previous two albums and towards a brave new world of musical possibilities. If Porcupine Tree represents the new face of progressive rock, then matching Beatlesque melodies and hypnotic soundscapes with manic distorted guitars, madcap keyboard runs, ‘plosive rhythms and blazing, buzzing synths is the sound of that new generation. Hopefully, somewhere, the Mars Volta is sitting up and taking notice….
06. Monster Magnet – 4-Way Diablo (SPV Records
This slab o’ molten riffs and trippy rhythms is the culmination of almost two decades of concrete-weary roadwork, blown amps and chemical excess. Monster Magnet’s inspired mix of garage, hard rock, psychedelia and mindwarp metal reaches a fever-pitch with 4-Way Diablo, the best work of MM frontman Dave Wyndorf’s lengthy career and a musical accomplishment that will blister the plaster right off yer slimy, pin-up encrusted dorm walls.
05. Clutch – From
Clutch’s 10th studio album, From Beale Street To Oblivion, has more in common with ‘60s-vintage, psychedelic-fueled, blooze-obsessed knuckle-busters like Sir Lord Baltimore, Leafhound, May Blitz…even Black Sabbath…than it does with a bunch a New-Wave-O-British-Wankery washouts or nu-metal pretenders. Sounding nothing so much as something lurking in a dark alley off of Beale Street long after the daytime touristas have fled for safer environs in Tunica, these songs leap out of the shadows to strangle your ears with an assault of guttural vocals, larger-than-life riff-mongering and rhythms so loudly funky that they’ll have yer eardrums crying “uncle” in no time. [CD review]
04. Pete Berwick – Ain’t No Train Outta Nashville (Shotgun Records)
My old pal Pete released his long-shelved Ain’t No Train Outta Nashville during 2007, the album’s basic tracks recorded 15 years ago in some
03. Dave Cousins – The Boy In The Sailor Suit (Witchwood Records)
It’s been 35 years since Dave Cousins, singer and primary songwriter for British folk-rock legends the Strawbs, recorded a solo album. It’s not that he lacked anything to say – his band has released a dozen albums during that time. No, The Boy In The Sailor Suit is the father Cousins never knew, smiling down at him from a photograph, the album itself a reflection on the past and the fleeting nature of relationships. Cousins’ intricate wordplay is on display throughout, the album offering a balance of acoustic folk and electric rock, an appropriate soundtrack for this lyrical celebration of life and love. [Harp Magazine review]
02. Ian Hunter – Shrunken Heads (Yep Roc Records)
Former Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter has scored a few touchdowns during his forty-years-plus in rock & roll, but he’s also fumbled the ball more than once. This disc, though, is the rock music equivalent of a Devin Hester punt return, Hunter and crew hitting their stride early, going the distance and hitting the end zone with energy to spare. A superb collection that features Hunter’s typical fusion of witty, whip-smart lyrics and guitar-driven hard rock, Shrunken Heads is the sporadic scribe’s best solo work, like, ever, proof that rock & roll knows no age limits. [CD review]
01. Bruce Springsteen – Magic (
‘Tis a damn shame that the Boss released his finest collection of barn burners in close to two decades this past year, and corporate radio exiled blistering E Street stomp-n-smash rave-ups like “Radio Nowhere” from timid playlists. In spite of, or maybe because of modern rock radio’s ignorance in shutting out the old folks from the airwaves, Springsteen and his band of merry E Street thugs have been selling-out venues across the globe.
Ten More Worth Hearing (including reissues):
11. Tommy Womack – There, I Said It
(Cedar Creek Music) [CD review]
12. The Floating Men – Pleasurado! (Shade Music)
13. Nils Lofgren – Wonderland
(American Beat Records) [CD review]
14. Electric Wizard – Witchcult Today
(Candlelight Records) [CD review]
15. Mountain – Masters of War
(Big Rack Records) [CD review]
16. The Smithereens – Green Thoughts
(American Beat Records) [CD review]
17. The White Stripes – Icky Thump (Warner Bros)
18. Graham Parker – Don’t Tell
19. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – Living With The Living (Touch & Go)
20. Traveling Wilburys – Traveling Wilburys Collection (Warner Bros) [CD review]
OK, since a bunch of you requested it, and since Chuck Eddy decided to choose 150 albums for his "best of 2007" list, here are ten more faves from the Reverend:
21. Will Kimbrough - Will Kimbrough [EP]
22. Stace England & the Salt Kings - Salt Sex Slaves
23. Pat Bacon's Rebellion - Let's Live Forever [CD review]
24. Deadstring Brothers - Silver Mountain [CD review]
25. Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times
26. Gary U.S. Bonds - Dedication & On The Line [CD review]
27. Band Of Horses - Cease To Begin [CD review]
28. Various Artists - Goodbye Nashville Hello Camden Town [CD review]
29. Black Angel - O' California
30. Black Angel - O' Santa Barbara
Labels: best of, rock music
posted by Rev. Keith A. Gordon at
6:50 PM
1 Comments:
Thanks Rev!
-JH
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