Shelter From The Storm

Similar notes as with my list of 10 Favorite New Albums of 2008:

1. These are my “favorite” reissues from the past year. I’m sure there are some I missed, but these are the ones I spent the most time listening to and was most thankful to see released, for one reason or another.

2. It’s interesting to note that of the thirteen albums listed here, four consist of completely new “previously unreleased” material (Hank Williams, Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Simon & Garfunkel). The other nine consist of “new” versions of rather well known albums that have been easily available on CD for many years. There are still tons of albums that have never been reissued on CD. There are just as many that were available on CD for a short time or in some foreign country, but are impossible to find. We seem to be seeing less and less reissues of those types of albums. I think the major labels have basically decided that everything worth releasing has been released. There are still a few labels, such as Collector’s Choice, Wounded Bird, American Beat and Raven, who are actively releasing albums that have never been on CD before, but they seem to be getting fewer and fewer.

3. They are pretty much in order.

4. I couldn’t keep it to ten.

1. Jesus Of Cool by Nick Lowe
Simply superb. Yep Roc did absolutely everything right. Beautiful packaging, bonus tracks galore, etc., etc. The blueprint for how to put together a great reissue. Not to mention the classic music contained therein. It doesn’t get any better than this for those of us who love a good reissue.

2. Warren Zevon by Warren Zevon
His first, and best, album. It sounds terrific and the extra disc of outtakes, alternate takes and live performances, while not revelatory, is a welcome addition to the catalog.

3. The Unreleased Recordings by Hank Williams
A very flawed release. Still, you can’t deny the importance, power and just plain magic of this music. 54 new live performances from Hank Williams, never before officially released. Wonderful stuff. Williams recorded this material for a radio program that ran for 15 minutes on weekday mornings. He performs some of his best known compositions, along with lots of covers and traditional gospel songs. However, it’s almost unforgivable the way the songs have been edited from the complete performances. I have a fifteen disc bootleg set of the entire surviving radio shows and the between song conversations, jingles, intro and outros add so much to these performances. I realize Time Life was trying to make this material as accessible as possible to the general public, but really, it’s the true fans who are going to buy something like this and they would have been so much better served by the complete performances.

4 & 5. Tumbleweed Connection & Elton John by Elton John
Tumbleweed Connection is my favorite Elton John album. Just wonderful from beginning to end. Very different in many ways from everything he did before and after. The music sounds better than ever and a bonus disc includes a ton of rare and unreleased demos, outtakes, etc. I bought this album on 8-track, I bought it on vinyl, I  bought it on CD, I bought the “remastered” CD and now I’ve bought this. I don’t know what else they can come up with, but chances are I’d probably buy another version if they put one out. His self-titled “faux” debut is a true classic and the beginning of an amazing run through the seventies. My first exposure to Elton John, when I was 15 years old. Like Tumbleweed Connection the bonus disc is full of great unreleased material.

6 & 7. Tea For The Tillerman & Teaser And The Firecat by Cat Stevens
It’s hard to overstate how important these albums were at the time of their release. Finally given the “Deluxe Edition” treatment with a bonus track full of unreleased material on each. One of the first concerts I ever saw was Stevens at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. I never got over it. This period was a high water mark that he never equalled again. 

8. Just Roll Tape by Stephen Stills
Just Stephen alone with his guitar in the studio in early 1968 putting down songs, one after another. This was truly a time when Stills could seeming do no wrong. Even the throwaway songs are great. This is the kind of stuff that no one ever thought would see the light of day, least of all Stills as he was recording it. A fan’s dream come true.

9. Songs For Beginners by Graham Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash, as a group, as various duos and as solo artists, released an amazing amount of great material during their peak run from 1969 to 1977. Each made a simply stunning debut solo album, but this one is my favorite. I listened to it non-stop when it was released. Nash went back and remixed the entire thing and it sounds fantastic. The only disappointment is the lack of any unreleased bonus material. No outtakes, no unreleased songs, nothing. Instead, we get an extra disc with DVD audio, an interview with Nash, a photo gallery and lyrics.

10. Sugar Mountain – Live At Canterbury House 1968 by Neil Young
The third release in the “Neil Young Archives Performance Series,” this is a great show from November 1968, the earliest solo live material we’ve seen officially released to date. It’s just Neil and his guitar playing Buffalo Springfield songs and others that would appear on his first solo album. He sounds oh so young and innocent. It’s great stuff and I hope he continues to release more of this type of material. His Archives, Vol. 1 box set that he’s teasing us with for almost 20 years (!)  has been delayed once again. It’s supposed to be released on February 24th right now, but that has changed so often no one really believes it. With a $431.99 list price (I kid you not) it’s hard to say how many people will actually buy it, even when it’s on sale at Amazon for $323.99.

11. Tapestry by Carole King
Another “Legacy” edition. Another classic. The album that launched the singer-songwriter craze of the early seventies. Another album I’ve bought over and over again. The bonus disc includes solo live performances of all but one track from the album, all recorded in 1973 and 1976. 

12. This Years Model by Elvis Costello
As good as My Aim Is True was, This Years Model was a huge leap forward for Costello. The band was red hot, Nick Lowe’s production was spot on and Costello was at the top of his songwriting skills. This record has so much power, it just snarls from the speakers. Even though this has been rereleased twice already (Ryko and Rhino) this version boasts a near perfect bonus disc, a complete concert from Washington, D.C. in February 1978 (along with ten demos, alternates and outtakes). I saw Costello on this tour in Houston. He came out, tour through 15 or 20 songs non-stop and split, leaving everyone dazed. The proverbial “angry young man” never sounded so good.

OK, a couple of things: 

1. These are my “favorite” new albums released in 2008. I refrain from using the term “best new albums” as that’s too subjective of a term in my opinion. These are simply the records I liked most this year. I’m not saying they’re the best.

2. I’m sure there were other albums released this year that might have made this list but I simply haven’t heard them yet. This is what I’ve heard this year.

3. They are pretty much in order.

1. The Fabled City by Tom Morello The Nightwatchman
Wow. This album just completely knocked me out. I have one CD by Rage Against the Machine (The Battle Of Los Angeles) but I’ve never listened to it. Maybe I should. I bought this album after hearing Morello’s duet with Springsteen on “The Ghost Of Tom Joad” from the online only release Magic Tour Highlights. Great singer-songwriter rock. Passionate. Moving. My favorite album of the year.

2. Volume One by She & Him
A wonderful surprise and a very close runner up for my favorite album of the year. I wrote about this album here. A really, really terrific release with lots of minor pop gems. Let’s hope there really is a Volume Two coming as the name implies.

3. Tell Tale Signs: Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 by Bob Dylan
OK, it’s not “new” material, but it is a new release. Outtakes, alternate takes and live tracks that once again prove Dylan is either: a. the worst judge of his own material when it comes to picking tracks for albums; b. an honery son-of-a-bitch who likes to leave great tracks on the cutting room floor just to piss off his fans; or c. just doesn’t really worry too much about what goes on each album what doesn’t. Either way, this two (three if you’re willing to shell out $100 extra bucks for the deluxe version) disc set is ample evidence that what Dylan doesn’t put on an album completely blows most people’s released material out of the water. I wasn’t a big fan of Modern Times or Love & Trust (sure, I liked them but not the way some folks did). The material on this set which comes from those two albums is, to me, much, much better than what was officially released. 

4. Life Death Love And Freedom by John Mellencamp
The first time I heard this I thought Mellencamp must be terminally ill. Lots of songs about sickness, death, the meaning of life, etc. His best album in 20 years. I wrote about it here. 

5. Detours by Sheryl Crow
A very welcome comeback after Wildflowers. One of Crow’s strongest efforts ever, full of great and memorable songs. I wrote about it here.

6. Coal by Kathy Mattea
A complete surprise to me. I’ve never bought or listened to any Kathy Mattea albums before. She always seemed like just another bland Nashville female singer to me. A friend gave me a copy of this CD and it blew me away. Beautiful acoustic renditions of “coal miner” related songs produced to perfection by Marty Stuart.   

7. Time The Conqueror by Jackson Browne
Certainly not one of his best albums ever (we have to go back to the 70s for those), but a very strong release nonetheless. I haven’t listened to it a whole lot, but each time I do I find something new I like about it.  

8. Fearless by Taylor Swift
Hey, what do you expect from someone who also loves Shania Twain and Eddie Rabbitt. I don’t think the songs are quite as good as those on Swift’s first album and I find the production a little monotonous. Still it’s a superb display of what I’d call country-power pop shot full with teen angst and young girl blues balanced with all the hope, magic and promise that comes with young love. As the title implies Swift brings a sense of empowerment, spunk and toughness to the table that is so often lacking in other young singers. She ain’t nobody’s victim. Break her heart and you’ll probably live to regret it.  

9. Mudcrutch by Mudcrutch
Not really much of a surprise here. I’m a huge Tom Petty fan and this could easily be mistaken for a new Tom Petty album. He wrote the majority of the songs and the sound is very much in the vain of his work with the Heartbreakers. Still, it’s great to see him reaching back into his past to hook up with his old bandmates and there is a freshness here that has been missing from his other recent releases. And the songs are some of the best he’s written in a long time. Some great covers as well.

10. Misfit Scarecrow by Sammy Walker
At first I was disappointed in this release. There was just so much to live up to. Sammy’s two albums from the seventies on Warner Bros. are two of my all time favorite albums ever. It’s been almost fifteen years since his last release (1994’s Old Time Southern Dream). But with repeated listens the songs on this album won me over. The record label really dropped the ball on this one. You still can’t buy it at Amazon.com. It wasn’t available at iTunes for quite some time after it was released. Why bother releasing an album like this if you’re not going to make it easily available to the public? It’s not like there’s a huge Sammy Walker fanbase out there waiting for it.