Hello all. Hope you’re coping with the rather frantic run-up to the holiday season. You’re probably seen plenty of best-albums-of-the-year lists in the past couple of weeks, but will you indulge me again this December? It’s been a good year for new albums and – as always – an even better year for reissues and archival recordings. I’ll try to get the duco01 20 Favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings of 2023 list out in the next 10 days or so, but for the moment, let’s focus on the new records.
Looking at the chart, it’s populated with the usual genres that I have a weakness for. You know the ones I’m referring to: ambient, chamber jazz, world music, solo acoustic guitar and other types of roots/folky stuff, with the odd classical recording thrown in for good measure. There are some recent releases that would definitely have been in the chart, but the CDs that I’ve ordered seem to be stuck in the pre-Christmas postal rush. And so sadly I can’t include the new albums by Peter Gabriel, James Elkington, Bruce Brubaker or Claire M. Singer in my list.
In my sixty-second year, my enthusiasm for music is undimmed, unsated. The hunt for new music – or old music I haven’t heard before – still consumes me. Even if you think that most of this list sounds like it’s not your thing, I hope you find an unfamiliar album or two here that you enjoy investigating. As ever, the chart is presented in reverse order, to ramp up excitement to fever pitch as we count down. We start with the first ten albums: numbers 50 to 41, and then, a bit later, numbers 40 to 31. Here are the runners and riders…
Bubbling under: Faten Kanaan – Afterpoem; Numün – Book of Beyond; Tyshawn Sorey – Continuing; Edsel Axle – Variable Happiness; Rhoda Dakar – Version Girl; Andy Shauf – Norm
50. Julian Lage – The Layers
This record is a nice, more acoustic, sister-album to last year’s “View with a Room”. Watch out for more Lage, much higher up the chart!
49. Hanakiv – Goodbyes
One of Gondwana Records’ new artists – a young ambient pianist from Estonia. A decent debut.
https://hanakiv.bandcamp.com/album/goodbyes
48. Kali Malone – Does Spring Hide its Joy
Three hours of pipe organ drones from the US composer who was based in Stockholm for a few years. Good to work to.
https://kalimalone.bandcamp.com/album/does-spring-hide-its-joy
47. Alasdair Roberts – Grief in the Kitchen and Mirth in the Hall
You know what you’re getting here: raw lowland Scots ballads carried by Roberts’ keening, reedy voice.
https://alasdairroberts.bandcamp.com/album/grief-in-the-kitchen-and-mirth-in-the-hall
46. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra – Veljo Tormis: Reminiscentiae
ECM Records continues its admirable commitment to Estonian choral music.
45. Vox Clamantis – Music by Henrik Ødegaard
Three years ago, the Vox Clamantis ensemble actually made No.1 in my chart, with their incredible recordings of Cyrillus Creek material. This year’s effort is pleasant enough, but not in the same league.
44. Bill Laurance & Michael League – Where You Wish You Were
Laurance on piano and League on guitars and basses. An enjoyable duo outing on ACT.
43. John Holloway Ensemble – Henry Purcell: Fantazias
The English violinist John Holloway has been making fine recordings for the ECM New Series for decades. If you already know his H.I.F. Biber sonata recordings, you’ll want to hear this Purcell material as well.
42. Gianluigi Trovesi – Stravaganze Consonanti
The veteran Italian saxophonist and a large ensemble play a well-chosen selection of renaissance and baroque material
41. Hania Rani – On Giacometti
Rani’s 2019 debut “Esja” will always be my favourite of hers, I think. But this is a perfectly acceptable effort by the Polish ambient composer/pianist.
https://haniarani.bandcamp.com/album/on-giacometti
I actually have 2 of those – Hanakiv and Hania Rani. So I’m feeling ahead of the game here.
For a hot second (while “throwing a goat’s eye” at your list) I thought you had Ms Kylie Minogue at your 48 spot…! A gasp escaped me, until I looked closer and felt safe again.
Phew!
Kylie on the Duke’s End of the Year List???
I can’t get that out of my head,@Locust!
The day that the lovely Ms Minogue makes it on to the Duke’s list, I will go skinny dipping at Slussen in December!
To be fair, Kylie’s latest is very good.
It’s OK, but almost all of the lyrics are about sex, which got a bit tedious IMO and made her seem a bit desperate!
You are the editor of The Quietus and I claim my 5 pounds, converted into Aussie dollars please.
Well … normally, I recognise quite a few of the albums that make the Quietus Top 100. But not this year. In fact, for 2023, there are only three records that feature in both my Favourite 50 and the Quietus’s chart.
“Three hours of pipe organ drones”! Magnificently esoteric!
Glad to see my favourite Caledonian gloomster, Alasdair Roberts, on your list.
Excellent guitar and that wonderfully distinctive voice.
I’m waiting patiently for him to do a Xmas album.
Yoiks! Only one post from duco01’s list – and I already have something to follow up…
You thought the Rhoda Dakar worth a bubble under? Must admit I thought it broadly disappointing, both in choices and delivery. When it good it’s great, but, jeez, when it’s not……
Yeah, well …. Ms Dakar was effectively no. 55 in my Top Fifty, so that’s hardly a lofty position. You’re right. The album’s a bit iffy. I actually think that the best vocal performance on the album is of a song that I don’t care for at all – “What a Wonderful World”.
OK – well, I think we’re ready for the next batch of ten now:
40. Sissoko/Segal/Parisien/Peirani – Les Égarés
A French/Malian supergroup in a chilled jazz/world music style. Kora and soprano sax taking turns to shine. Les Égarés means ”Those who stray”.
https://sissokosegalparisienpeirani.bandcamp.com/album/les-gar-s-3
39. Eleven Magpies – Two For Joy
Eleven Magpies are a band who evolved out of the Bristol chamber folk scene. If you like Three Cane Whale, this will definitely be for you.
https://elevenmagpies.bandcamp.com/album/two-for-joy
38. Mammal Hands – Gift from the Trees
This is the fifth Gondwana album in nine years from the Norwich jazz trio. They’ve maintained a high standard; I’d really like to see them live.
https://mammalhands.bandcamp.com/album/gift-from-the-trees
37. Paul Simon – Seven Psalms
I’m a big Paul Simon fan, and when I first heard this album, I assumed that it would grow and grow on me until I loved it. And somehow … it never did.
36. Unthank: Smith – Nowhere and Everywhere
One Tynesider and one Teessider. Two voices that sound great together. A nice mix of traditional folk material and new songs. And the wonderful cover painting by Edward Wadsworth. I wish I’d bought the vinyl so that I could have a bigger version of it!
35. John Southworth – When You’re This, This in Love
The Canadian singer-songwriter John Southworth is a guy whose music I always enjoy. He should be much better known than he is.
https://johnsouthworth.bandcamp.com/album/when-youre-this-this-in-love-2
34. Natalie Merchant – Keep Your Courage
I’ve loved Ms Merchant’s voice since I first saw 10,000 Maniacs doing “My Mother the War” on The Tube in 1985. It’s great to hear her still turning out high-quality material 38 years later.
https://nataliemerchant.bandcamp.com/album/keep-your-courage
33. Roger Eno – The Skies, they Shift Like Chords
Who’s your favourite Eno? For decades, mine was Brian. But I must say that in the past few years, I’ve enjoyed his brother’s new large ensemble ambient records more.
https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/the-skies-they-shift-like-chords-roger-eno-13112
32. Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily – Love in Exile
A very classy world music/jazz trio led by the astonishing voice of Arooj Aftab.
31. Steve Gunn & David Moore – Let the Moon Be a Planet
Steve Gunn & David Moore. Gunn & Moore … wait a minute – isn’t there a cricket bat manufacturer called Gunn & Moore? Sorry … got distracted, there. The US guitarist Steve Gunn is such a versatile player. This album finds him in untypically ambient territory.
https://stevegunn.bandcamp.com/album/reflections-vol-1-let-the-moon-be-a-planet
Tomorrow we move into the Top 30…..
Wow! It must be a stonking top thirty if Love In Exile is only number 32.
Agreed. One of the best of the year for me. The Paul Simon and Natalie Merchant not so much – I know some others here loved them, but I was disappointed in both. Merchant has a voice to die for but I just thought the material wasnt strong enough. I thought exactly the same of the EBTG record.
Thanks for the heads-up regarding Eleven Magpies! I’ve just ordered that one via Bandcamp.
We saw Three Cane Whale a while back and fell for them big-time. This lot are in the same space, and sound fantastic!
Well, I know exactly what you are referring to by the Bristol chamber folk scene; yes folks, it really is a thing. I got the chance to see Eleven Magpies last month. I think they were just a touch raw for venturing out live yet, but the advantage of studio time certainly pays off with Two for Joy.
So you don’t like 7 Psalms at #37 @duco1, that doesn’t say much for those below it!
Yeah … that’s a fair point; in retrospect, I should’ve bumped Paul Simon down 10 places!
I dont like 7 Psalms much either yet Paul Simon is perhaps my favourite artist (tying with Costello).
I think it is impenetrable and without any tunes – something I wouldn’t normally associate with Simon. I really hope he has another album in him.
Three so far that could* feature in my contribution to the 2023 Top 20 thread (when I finally make my mind up).
Julian Lage “The Layers”
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily “Love in Exile”
Hanakiv “Goodbyes”.
Lots of interesting stuff I’ve not heard yet ⇑up there⇑ too. Keep ’em coming!
*Almost done whittling my list down. Shuffling into order will be next.
By the way: why didn’t I know that Andy Shauf had a new album out? Duly ordered (and while ordering I had a quick look through new and upcoming releases and saw that my favourite Anders F Rönnblom has a new album on its way – hooray! Also ordered. Another observation while online music shopping: The amount of metal that gets released every month is mind boggling…and all of the bands have very similar and very silly names…)
I’m making a playlist of your thread, DuCool, and I’m very pleased to report that Eleven Magpies and (bubbling under) Tyshawn Sorey are the only artists whose albums are not on Spotify.
So, the big question is: are the Spotty Ones broadening out to increase a greater variety of niche artists? Or have you sold your soul to Old Nick and started to post mainstream teeny pop?
This year there does seem to be a whole bunch of very listenable artists!
Yes, indeed. When I look back to my annual charts of, say, 15 years ago, I must say that there was some pretty obscure and … challenging stuff in them.
But in recent years, as you say, I’ve edged furtively into the mainstream. Maybe it’s due to my impending retirement (mentioned on another thread) which is now only 9 days away. In my new, cosy, hangin’-round-the-house-in-my-slippers world, there might not be so much room for 30-minute slabs of atonal honking and skronking….
Isn’t it just a case that virtually every artist, no matter how obscure and no doubt because I need revenue, any revenue, now says “Streaming, bring it on!”
Wow, if this is what you call mainstream… I’m speechless! Kudos to your eclecticism!
Hello again, everyone. Thank you for your comments yesterday. It’s now time to proceed with the eagerly awaited next ten on the chart, numbers 30 to 21…
30. Chris Abrahams, Oren Ambarchi & Robbie Avenaim – Placelessness
Chris Abrahams is the pianist out of the Necks. And sure enough, this record sounds a bit like the Necks, except that Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck have just popped out to get some lunch or something. Abrahams’s probing, enquiring piano lines take centre stage.
https://orenambarchi.bandcamp.com/album/placelessness
29. Phi-Psonics – Octava
The Los Angeles quartet Phi-Psonics fit in just fine at Manchester’s Gondwana Records. Piano, double-bass, drums and various woodwind instruments. A relaxed, moreish sound.
https://phi-psonics.bandcamp.com/album/octava
28. Gogo Penguin – Everything is Going to be OK
After spells at Gondwana and the prestigious Blue Note, Manchester’s Gogo Penguin are now with California’s XXIM Records, but thankfully their music hasn’t changed a great deal. I’m still with ‘em.
27. Espen Eriksen Trio & Andy Sheppard – As Good As it Gets
On their sixth studio outing, Norway’s leading chamber jazz trio again team up with their old chum, the British/Portuguese saxophonist Andy Sheppard. What a fruitful pairing it is.
https://espeneriksentrio.bandcamp.com/album/as-good-as-it-gets
26. Robert Forster – The Candle and the Flame
At the age of 66, Forster has delivered the most personal lyrics of his career, writing tenderly of his upbringing in Queensland with his parents and brothers, and also of his wife Karin Bäumler, whose cancer diagnosis was made public just before the album came out. I hope she’s doing well.
https://robertforster.bandcamp.com/album/the-candle-and-the-flame
25. Rose City Band – Garden Party
If it’s Ripley Johnson and yer granny on bongos, it’s the Rose City Band! Johnson sounds a bit like a young Jerry Garcia in folky mode. Very fine. Listen to the track “Mariposa”.
https://rosecityband.bandcamp.com/album/garden-party
24. Greg Foat & Gigi Masin – Dolphin
There was a time when I attempted to buy every album that Greg Foat put out, but I’m afraid I’ve had to give up. He’s so prolific, I just can’t keep up. On this occasion, the Isle of Wight’s top jazz pianist teams up with the Italian ambient composer Gigi Masin. It’s smooth. Very smooth.
https://gregfoat.bandcamp.com/album/dolphin
23. Miaux/Lieven Martens – Katharina AW: The Pels Organ and Hemony Carillon of Hoogstraten
”Miaux” (a pseudonym for Mia Prce) and Lieven Martens are two Belgian composers who were engaged to provide music for an art exhibition at a church in Hoogstraten. Disc 1 here is Miaux’s, showcasing new pieces played on the pipe organ. I like it a lot. Disc 2 is basically Lieven Martens ringing the church bells for 32 minutes. It’s top campanology, of course, but … it’s not exactly essential.
https://edicoescn.bandcamp.com/album/the-pels-organ-and-hemony-carillon-of-st-catherine-s-church-in-hoogstraten-recording-of-the-unveiling-of-an-artwork-by-joris-martens
22. Okonski – Magnolia
This was a new name to me. Chicago pianist Steve Okonski leads the piano trio named after him. Piano, bass and drums: the classic line-up of jazz trios everywhere. A lovely, relaxing Sunday afternoon record.
https://okonski.bandcamp.com/album/magnolia
21. Toumani Diabaté & Kayhan Kalhor – The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere
This is what happened when the Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor got together with the world’s most famous kora player, Toumani Diabaté. In theory, there are nine tracks, but in fact the whole thing segués together into one long, free-flowing, meditative piece.
https://realworldrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-sky-is-the-same-colour-everywhere
Stay tuned for numbers 20-11 a bit later on today!
As Good As It Gets is joyful
Okay … moving right along, then. I reckon it’s time to unveil the 10 records that are nestling between positions 20 and 11 in the chart …
20. Art Themen & Greg Foat – Off-Piste
He’s popped up again, the Incredible Mister Foat. This time he’s got together with 84-year-old tenor saxman and former orthopaedic surgeon Art Themen for six very mellow instrumentals. Nice.
https://gregfoat.bandcamp.com/album/off-piste
19. Hayden Pedigo – The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored
Every couple of years, the Texan guitarist Hayden Pedigo releases a vinyl LP with a rather creepy, garish cover, and then disappears again. The music therein is consistently fine, though.
https://haydenpedigo.bandcamp.com/album/the-happiest-times-i-ever-ignored-2
18. Danny Paul Grody – Arc of Day
Fingerpickin’ guitarist from the Bay Area. His first full-length LP release for 10 years. It was worth the wait.
https://threelobed.bandcamp.com/album/arc-of-day
17. Shirley Collins – Archangel Hill
The phrase ‘national treasure’ gets bandied about a fair bit, but if Shirley Collins, the pride of Sussex, isn’t a national treasure, who on earth is? This is the third of her comeback albums, recorded at the age of 87. Incredible. Her best work since “No Roses” back in 1971!
https://shirleycollins.bandcamp.com/album/archangel-hill
16. Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
Hang on a minute: an album that is popular with the young people of the TikTok generation has somehow found its way into my chart. We can’t have this. I shall have to launch an inquiry. Whatever next!
https://mitski.bandcamp.com/album/the-land-is-inhospitable-and-so-are-we
15. Blue Lake – Sun Arcs
“Blue Lake” is the pseudonym of the US multi-instrumentalist Jason Dungan, who lives in Copenhagen. Dungan weaves magic on his unfeasibly large, self-built zither.
https://bluelake1.bandcamp.com/album/sun-arcs
14. Jonny Dillon – A New Directive From The Bureau of Compulsory Entertainment
Jonny Dillon is an acoustic guitarist from County Wicklow. This batch of tunes is at least as good as his 2019 debut, “Songs for a One-String Guitar”
https://jonnydillon.bandcamp.com/album/a-new-directive-from-the-bureau-of-compulsory-entertainment
13. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
When I first heard this record, I wasn’t at all sure. But Sufjan’s phenomenal melodies and beguiling voice have won me over again. Sad to hear that he was stricken by Guillain-Barre Syndrome in September; fingers crossed for a full recovery.
https://sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com/album/javelin
12. Penguin Café – Rain Before Seven
I assumed that Arthur Jeffes would struggle to step into the shoes of his father Simon (1949-97), founder of the legendary Penguin Café Orchestra. I could hardly have been more wrong. Under Arthur’s guidance, the new Penguin Café goes from strength to strength.
https://penguincafe.bandcamp.com/album/rain-before-seven
11. Ital Horns – Vol.1 Show Case at Conscious Sounds
Conscious Sounds is a East London reggae collective led by a guy called Dougie Wardrop. On this occasion they work with a horn section and dubmaster Chazbo Chong to fashion a tremendous set with that lovely, analogue retro sound – the sort of sound that Al Redfern gets with his “Breadwinner” recordings.
https://richiesaxitalhorns.bandcamp.com/album/ital-horns-showcase-vol-1
Tune in tomorrow for the astonishing finale, as the Top Ten are revealed…
Two dubs for every song? Ital Horns, you are spoiling us!
Some Horn based dub , now ya talking , well not actually , coz its dub.
liking the sound of Ital Horns. Into my Bandcamp wishlist it goes…
Oh yes – the Ital Horns album is definitely up your street, Mr Dynamite. I seem to recall that you bought the earlier Conscious Sounds album, “Hackney Dub”, didn’t you?
I did indeed, excellent memory work there. It still gets an airing every now and then, good stuff.
As an aside I was on my own at work for a good hour this morning, so I took advantage of the in store sound system to play Alpha and Omega at a very loud volume. Sounded glorious, a perfect, albeit non-traditional start to Xmas Eve!
This is one reason why I look forward to this list: I had not idea there was a new Penguin Cafe record. I really liked the last one about Antartica.
In that case, I’d say you’re bound to like “Rain Before Seven”, Hawky.
Good morning, everyone. It’s time for numbers 10 to 6 in my modest little chart.
A bit later today, we’ll have the thrilling finale!
10. James Yorkston, Nina Persson & the Second Hand Orchestra – The Great White Sea Eagle
James Yorkston always releases his records in the first two weeks of January, so people tend to have forgotten about them when end-of-year lists come around. This time, he and his Swedish band are joined by Nina Persson out of the Cardigans. It’s an inspired move. She fits in perfectly.
https://jamesyorkston.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-white-sea-eagle
9. Matthew Halsall – An Ever Changing View
Matthew Halsall has been an inspiration since launching Gondwana Records in 2008. After his two okay-ish EPs in 2022, he was back to top form this year with this splendid set.
https://matthewhalsall.bandcamp.com/album/an-ever-changing-view
8. Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay – Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay
Here’s your starter for ten. What was my No.1 album of 2021? Have to hurry you … No? Well, I’ll tell you: it was “In the Furrows of Common Place” by South Yorkshire folkie Jim Ghedi. This year, Ghedi’s offering was a purely instrumental guitar duo album with Toby Hay. It’s very enjoyable, but … I dunno … I would’ve liked to have heard him singing as well.
https://www.topicrecords.co.uk/2023/02/jim-ghedi-toby-hay-the-new-album/
7. John Zorn (and the Incerto Quartet) – Full Fathom Five
John Zorn has released at least 400 original albums. You could spend a lifetime collecting and listening to his works, and his alone. I’m familiar with about 25 of them, and this is one of the best. As far as I can see, it has Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” as its theme. The Incerto Quartet includes Brian Marsella on piano and the great Julian Lage on guitar. Zorn is sui generis – an absolute magician.
https://boomkat.com/products/full-fathom-five-e130d5d5-8cfb-4397-925f-42985fb91cae
6. The Necks – Travel
After a slight wobble in 2015-2019, when they lost their mojo a little, Australia’s greatest improv trio are back on top form with a three-track album worthy of the Necks name. They remain an incomparable live act, as well.
https://thenecksau.bandcamp.com/album/travel
Okey-dokey. We arrive, at last, at my Top Five albums for this year:
5. Lankum – False Lankum
This album seems to be near the top of a lot of people’s best-of-year lists, and no wonder. One can only admire those big, uncompromising drones, the lyrics of extreme grimness and portent, and the scything timbre of Radie Peat’s voice. This is proper, serious folk music.
https://lankum.bandcamp.com/album/false-lankum
4. Mary Lattimore – Goodbye, Hotel Arkada
Mary Lattimore is a US harpist and keyboardist. Seeing a tumbledown old hotel in Croatia, where the refurbishments had taken away some of the old soul of the place, she was inspired to write a suite of music about it. And what a BANGING set of tunes she came up with. Comfortably the best record of her career. And Lol Tolhurst out of the Cure plays synths on one track. Hurrah!
https://marylattimoreharpist.bandcamp.com/album/goodbye-hotel-arkada
3. Nils Økland & Sigbjørn Apeland – Glimmer
In my view, ECM Records had a disappointing year in 2022, but this year Manfred Eicher and his team have come roaring back with some cracking releases, including this gem. Økland plays Hardanger fiddle, and Apeland plays harmonium. The music is a sublime mixture of traditional tunes from Western Norway and the duo’s own compositions.
2. Lisa O’Neill – All of this is Chance
I first heard Lisa O’Neill singing an old Ivor Cutler song as a guest artist on a James Yorkston album a few years ago, and I thought “What a voice!” It’s stark, original, unorthodox, in the same way as Lal Waterson’s was. On O’Neill’s fifth album, dedicated to her godchildren, it all came together in a suite of songs inspired by the Irish poet and novelist Patrick Kavanagh and the artist Frederic William Burton (particularly his painting “The Meeting on the Turret Stairs”). When Lisa sings “Goodnight World” at the end of the album, it sounds like the most universal of lullabies.
https://lisa-oneill.bandcamp.com/album/all-of-this-is-chance
1. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes
A Jason Isbell album is never perfunctory or half-hearted. He never just dashes off a few songs in a ‘will this do?’ spirit. He means business and he gives it everything. Quite a few songwriters in the Americana genre can write melodies as good as Jason’s, but no one can touch him when it comes to lyrics. These are tales of the lost and downtrodden in the American South, and they avoid cliché at every turn. I once thought that Isbell would never be able to equal his 2013 opus “Southeastern”, which was reissued as a 10th anniversary expanded edition this year. I was wrong. He’s now flying at the same sort of altitude as Steve Earle was during his golden period of 1988-2000. “Weathervanes” sounds like a once-in-a-generation songwriter at the very top of his game, constantly striving to be better. We’re lucky to have him.
https://jasonisbell.bandcamp.com/album/weathervanes
Right – that’s just about it for this year (except for the 20 Favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings of 2023 chart, which I must now knuckle down to). It’s always a pleasure to be on this board, and to exchange views with such a consistently nice bunch of people.
With good wishes,
//duco
Thanks Duco – some great recommendations there including stuff from artists I like but hadn’t realised they had new ones out (Mathew Halsall, Toumani Diabate).
Agree about Lisa O’Neil – it’s a record that both demands and rewards your attention.
You didn’t get round to ØXN yet, then? I consider it the more experimental and darker cousin of Lankum, leaving them as a more MOR version.
No – It was only after the ØXN album made No.1 in your list that I resolved to buy it! I’ve only heard one track from the album so far, and that was the one that Ian A. Anderson played on his Podwireless podcast. I liked that a lot.
Interestingly, neither the ØXN album nor the Lankum made Anderson’s Top 10 albums of the year…
http://www.podwireless.com/
Echoing @Arthur_Cowslip above, I love living in a world where Lankum are MOR.
Jason Isbell – a truly top notch guy. He may well be my favourite artist of this century. However, Weathervanes is, at best, pleasantly pleasant. IMHO he just trying too hard to be a poet, a spokesman,a troubadour.
Stand aside, sir and let Lana, Olivia and Jessie sing.
The Dylan syndrome. “If anyone else wrote a song like that they’d be called the new Bob Dylan.”
Ever since South Eastern he has put out some pretty good records but it is hard to be re-impressed.
For me at least, songs like “Volunteer”, “Cast Iron Skillet” and “King of Oklahoma” on the new album are the equal of anything on “Southeastern”.
Hmm. There are some good uns but “ at least the equal of anything on South Eastern ? Elephant and Cover Me Up are 2,of the finest songs ever in my book.
You are not wrong sir! I think that while the new album is not as consistently good as Southeastern, the highpoints you mention would match that masterpiece
Hoops, Ducs I revisited weathetvame today. And yes there are some very good songs on it. Better than I remembered. . So why did I move on from it so quickly?
It’s a very hard sounding record. Is that the production that makes it so?
Maybe … maybe … I think someone better versed than me in studio technology would have to answer that one…
Thank you for your list, Duco. Always a pleasure and an education.
Always look forward to this list and equally somewhat overwhelmed by the number of things that I feel I need to investigate.
Apologies if I missed it in the list but expected to see the Rob Luft album ‘Dahab Days’ in there? That and the Matthew Halsall album were my favourite ‘jazz’ based albums this year.
Thanks for the “Dahab Days” recommendation, Feedback. Have just read a piece about the album in the Guardian. It sounds intriguing…
I’ve just realised that Mr Luft is also a member of Enzo Zirilli’s Zirobop, an Italian drummer-led quartet featuring him and another guitarist. Their 2023 album Ten Past Never is rather good. I haven’t heard their previous 2 albums yet. He also has a second album A Time To Remember out this year with Swiss/Albanian ECM singer Elina Duni.
A busy boy, these past few years, what with his 3 solo albums and his 2 duo albums with Saxophonist Dave O’Higgins.
Oh – now I remember who Rob Luft is! He’s that guy playing incredible guitar on the sofa next to Elina Duni on that video posted by Mike_H on the End-of-Year albums thread. Oh yes, that was superb.
I stumbled across the album accidentally – has some similarities to the lighter style of Pat Metheny (which I love).
Poor Nat Birchall. What happened?
Well … that’s a very valid question, Tigger.
I’m normally loth to buy digital albums on Bandcamp, and neither of Nat’s 2023 albums is available on CD.
Normally, I’d prefer to buy the vinyl, but LPs imported to Sweden are so expensive nowadays that I have to ration my purchasing. I considered buying Birchall’s “The Infinite” and/or “Songs of the Ancestors”, but in the end, I preferred to buy other albums. I have, after all, got quite a few Nat Birchall records.
Perhaps I should at least listen to the two albums on Bandcamp and give them consideration…
They are good but too similar to his previous excellent work to dent my top twenty this year. The Storyteller from 2019 is my favourite of his Jazz albums (I listen to his dub work more often) and it’s not on Bandcamp.
The Storyteller? That was Birchall’s tribute album to Yusef Lateef, wasn’t it? Oh yes, tremendous record.
I prefer it to Larissa, his tribute to Trane, and, perhaps, his best known album.
I have a slight problem with Nat Birchall and Matthew Halsall in that, being fairly prolific, each of their albums are starting to sound the same as their other ones. Perhaps that’s just me, of course.
Not just you, Mike…
Re: “each of their albums are starting to sound the same as their other ones”
Yes … yes … I suppose that’s a fair comment in the case of Matthew Halsall – and maybe Mammal Hands and Gogo Penguin as well. I wonder how many identical albums they’ll need to make before I say “enough’s enough” and stop buying them…
I’m pleased to announce that I’ll begin to unveil the hotly anticipated duco01 20 Favourite Reissues and Archival Recordings of 2023 tomorrow morning, Wednesday 27 December.
So, until then – as Bob Weir might say – hang loose.