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Go on then.... Your Favourite albums of 2020.

in Confess your infidelities

I'll start. These are the new albums I have listened to and enjoyed the most this cruel, crazy, beautiful year.

Nathaniel Rateliff – And It’s Still Alright

Deacon Blue – City of Love

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions

Diana Krall – This Dream of You

Ben Harper – Winter is for Lovers

James Grant – Bespoke Songs Volume One

Alan Cameron Trio – Two Nights at Olympia

Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways

Bruce Springsteen – Letter to You

Ray LaMontagne – Monovision

43 comments

43 Comments

Dec 18, 2020

1. Otis Gibbs - Hoosier National 2. John Moreland - LP5 3. Drive-by Truckers - The Unravelling / The New Ok 4. Ray LaMontagne - Monovision 5. Nathaniel Rateliff - And It's Still Alright 6. Frazey Ford - U Kin Be The Sun 7. American Aquarium - Lamentations 8. Run The Jewels - RTJ4 9. Jayhawks - XOXO 10. Bob Dylan - Rough And Rowdy Ways 11. Courtney Marie Andrews - Old Flowers 12. Lilly Hiatt - Walking Proof 13. The Secret Sisters - Saturn Return 14. Sturgill Simpson - Cutting Grass Vol 1 and 2 15. Bruce Springsteen - Letter To You 16. Jason Isbell - Reunions 17. Black Thought - Streams of Thought Vol. 3: Cane & Abel 18. Jerry Joseph - The Beautiful Madness 19. Steep Canyon Ranger - Arm In Arm 20. Pearl Jam - Gigaton 21. Shemekia Copeland - Uncivil War 22. The War & Treaty - Hearts Town 23. Pokey LaFarage - Rock Bottom Rhapsody 24. Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels 25. Pacific Range - High Upon the Mountain Reissues: Tom Petty - Wildflowers box Wilco - Summerteeth box Prince - Sign o' the Times box

Tom Joad

Dec 18, 2020

Replying to

Otis Gibbs' YouTube channel is quite good. The other day he posted a video about his most expensive concert ticket ever. $30 to see Bruce during the GOTJ tour.

Dec 18, 2020

Replying to

@Tom Joad I love his YouTube channel! He has some great stories and a very engaging way of telling them.

whispered secret

Dec 18, 2020

It's interesting that so many of you have picked Rough & Rowdy Ways. it is Mr J's album of the year and I just can't listen to it. This is unusual, we don't always like the same stuff but I can usually tune out. I just can't with this, so it's different rooms or headphones!

Tom Joad

Dec 18, 2020

Replying to

I’m afraid we can’t be friends anymore, Mrs. J!

whispered secret

Dec 18, 2020

Replying to

@Tom Joad Oh dear! I think that is a bit unfair as I have allowed you not to like Letter to You!

Tom Joad

Dec 18, 2020

It’s not an album but Karen O and Willie Nelson’s version of Under Pressure is one of my favourite things this year.

As far as disappointmenta go, I think it was only Bruce, really.

Taylor Swift put out some decent stuff. I think she’s on the receiving end on incredible abuse. But I don’t like her singing. she just can’t get rid of that pop delivery.

Walkerinthesun

Dec 18, 2020

New releases, in some sort of order:

Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels

Bruce Springsteen - Letter To You

Drive By Truckers - The Unraveling

Bob Dylan - Rough And Rowdy Ways

Brian Fallon - Local Honey

Nathaniel Rateliff - And It’s Still Alright

Emily Barker - A Dark Murmuration Of Words

Drive By Truckers - The New OK

Pretenders - Hate For Sale

Neil Young - Homegrown

Dylan still a work in progress, but the more I listen the more I uncover.

Can‘t help thinking JF’s been rummaging thru my record collection though.........

Reissues:

Tom Petty - Wildflowers & All The Rest

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures/Closer

Wildflowers was a record I never paid much time to back in the day, possibly because the Jeff Lynne production on its predecessor turned me off TP‘s later releases. My mistake - love it.

JD original pressings worn out during my angsty early eighties period. Still sound remarkable to these older ears.

Disappointments:

Jason Isbell - Reunions

Courtney Marie Andrews - Old Flowers Dunno what happened with these two, but they still haven’t connected. Forgetting JI’s last live set, I thought Nashville Sound was excellent so had high hopes for this after a long wait. Likewise with CMA’s Kindness record. Perhaps I need to give ‘em another go, persevere?

Need to check out these Taylor Swift records.

Tom Joad

Dec 18, 2020

I am, as I speak, falling in love with Jeffrey Foucault's Deadstock: Uncollected Recordings 2005-2020. It was released today.

Dec 18, 2020

Replying to

Ooooh damn. Must go get that! That guy is one of my favourites!

Jesus Was The Sheriff

Dec 15, 2020

Easy top 3:

folklore - Taylor Swift Letter To You - Bruce Rough & Rowdy Ways - Dylan

Honourable mention to Good News by Megan Thee Stallion, which I think is great fun.

Tom Joad

Dec 12, 2020

Barry Gibb’s upcoming album is also looking promising but is only coming out in January.

SteveInJoburg

Dec 16, 2020

Replying to

@Jerseyfornia Literally finished watching this a short while ago. thoroughly enjoyed it. Like ABBA, I've never owned a Bee Gees album, but I've never heard a Bee Gees song I didn't like.

Jerseyfornia

Dec 16, 2020

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@SteveInJoburg It was so good. I loved the very last line Barry spoke.

"I'd rather have them all back and no hits at all."

SteveInJoburg

Dec 16, 2020

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@Jerseyfornia I can't imagine outliving 3 younger brothers. Unreal and very sad.

Tom Joad

Dec 12, 2020

Ryan Adams’ Wednesdays has made its way to my list.

Tom Joad

Dec 18, 2020

Replying to

@Kay I think it's his best since Easy Tiger. I understand people who stop appreciating an artist's work because of stuff like that. Sometimes it happens to me, sometimes it doesn't. There are no rules, I think. If it affects your enjoyment, it does. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Either way is fine.

In any case, if it turns out that the story about him and the minor is true, I may change my mind. Everything else, I think it's just him being an asshole. But I think we all knew that already.

Dec 18, 2020

Replying to

I find it hard to listen to any of Ryan's music after the NYT article... Everything sounds insincere at best and generally gaslighty AF. I listened to Wednesdays as objectively ad possible and found it rather tedious and half-baked by his standards. Lyrically it's incredibly lazy and often at the level of teenage poetry... Some of the songs sound quite decent-ish though most are a lazy ripoff of earlier better Ryan songs... And his voice sounds shot. Other than that I think it's great. 😁

Dec 18, 2020

Replying to

All these songs were written and recorded before the NYT article.

Kay

Dec 09, 2020

Well don't I need to listen to this new Lucinda Williams, why didn't I know it was in existence? Any more thoughts to include on that one folks?

Walkerinthesun

Dec 09, 2020

Replying to

@Kay If possible get a hold of the 2lp vinyl edition, which has 5 acoustic demos on the 4th side. Several are, IMO, better than the full band versions. Also, the clear vinyl is an excellent pressing, if such things concern you. They do me, but then I’m a bit sad.......

Worth checking Lu‘s webstore too - regularly puts up batches of signed copies at no extra charge.

Tom Joad

Dec 09, 2020

Jason Isbell - Reunions

Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels

Steve Earle - Ghosts of West Virginia

Hayes Carll - Alone Together Sessions

Laura Marling - Song for our Daughter

Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 1

IDLES - Ultra Mono

I’m sure I’m forgetting some...

riverdude4

Dec 09, 2020

I never thought I'd be saying Taylor Swift but Folklore is a masterpiece and it'll sweep the boards at the grammys.

Brown Eyed Boy

Dec 11, 2020

Replying to

@Kay Evermore is great too. Well worth listening to them both right through. I had no idea she was such a great songwriter.

Kay

Dec 11, 2020

Replying to

@Brown Eyed Boy Not to dismiss her outright, though I've never really caught on to her at all, and I'm willing to give her all the kudos in the world if I like both albums, but didn't she have a few collaborators on each album? I do think that takes away slightly from me putting her on the perch.

Jesus Was The Sheriff

Dec 15, 2020

Replying to

evermore feels a tiny bit like 'folklore - the outtakes' but it has it's moments. I absolutely adore folklore tho so being her second best album of this year after folklore is no real criticism. @Kay she co-writes lyrics to some songs, but mostly she writes complete lyrics and a tune herself them works with a producer like Jack Antonoff to flesh out the musical elements. So she might have a song that she's worked out on piano or guitar (and can play a stripped down version of very nicely live I would add) and he'd work it up into a banging pop anthem or a moody orchestral piece or whatever - which is where his writing credit is earnt. The process for folklore & evermore with Dessner might have been different but the albums feel lyrically very much like her so my guess it is was broadly similar. Pretty sure he's confirmed in at least one case he sent her a piece of music and she fitted one of the lyrics she'd written to it, so basically the same process.