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dxboon
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Some of my personal favorites

"( )" by Sigur Rós -- IMO an experimental modern-rock masterpiece.  In my experience, people either love this album or hate it with a passion.  I've never met anyone who listened to it all the way through and came out the other side just thinking it was "okay."  Eight fairly lengthy songs (between 6-13 minutes each), all untitled, separated into two sections of four songs each by a weird 30 second pause (Which caused me to freak out the first time I listened to the album, because I thought something was wrong with my stereo.), and sung in a completely made-up language called "Vonlenska."  I know, it sounds crazy.  Musically, you'll find gentle keyboards accompanied by orchestral and electronic elements, bowed-guitars and falsetto voices, all elegantly arranged.  Track 4 is my favorite.  It's an achingly beautiful and uplifting song.

"Sea Change" by Beck -- This album had a lot of my friends, who are massive Beck fans, scratching their heads when it came out.  Beck does an album of nothing but sad, modern-folk?  What?!  My former boss who loved Beck's previous albums used to tell me to turn off this "sad bastard" music when I would listen to it in my office.  I personally am not surprised at all that Beck released an album of modern-folk.  It's clear that he is an eclectic artist influenced by everything from Brazilian jazz to hip-hop, and yes, folk music.  IMO there's not a bad song on this album.  It's one of the best break-up albums of all time...plaintive, full of longing, emotionally bare, lushly arranged but lyrically intimate.  Tracks 1, 3, and 5 are standouts.

"Live At The Avalon Ballroom 1969" by Gram Parsons with The Flying Burrito Brothers -- The story of this release is pretty interesting, and can be read in depth in the CD liner notes, but essentially there had been rumors for years that Bear Stanley, the Grateful Dead's sound engineer, had captured extraordinary Gram Parsons recordings that had never been released.  This is heady information for any die-hard fan of Parsons' "cosmic American music" (as he called it) since his career was so short-lived (dead at 26).  This CD is the result of successfully accessing those recordings.  IMO, and many others, Parsons was one of the progenitors of 60s country-rock, a sound lots of folks largely associate with groups like The Byrds (Parsons was briefly a pseudo-member) and later The Eagles.  This 2-disc set showcases live versions of Parsons' genre-blending music; part country, part honky-tonk, part rock...all genuine.  My favorite songs are "Hot Burrito #1" and "Close Up The Honky Tonks."

"Asking For Flowers" by Kathleen Edwards -- The AAA and NPR radio crowd is probably familiar with Canadian singer-songwriter, Kathleen Edwards.  I fell in love with her voice and alt-country songs on her first effort, "Failer," but this latest album may very well be the gem in her discography thus far.  Edwards has a gorgeous, expressive voice, and delivers her songs with an immediacy and intimacy that is rare in today's world of over-produced teen sensations.  She's no wilting adult-contemporary flower though.  Her songs run the gamut of subjects from politics to hockey (she is Canadian, after all) as metaphors for matters of the heart.  This is an album for all the lyric junkies out there, as Edwards is one of the best female contemporary singer-songwriters in the English-speaking world.  Best tracks are 1, 2, 3, 5 and 11.

"Car Wheels On A Gravel Road" by Lucinda Williams -- I stated above that Kathleen Edwards was one of the best female contemporary singer-songwriters in the English-speaking world.  Well, Lucinda Williams IS the best female contemporary singer-songwriter in the English-speaking world (IMO, of course.).  Other artists have been mining and recording her back catalog for years, and her lyrical prowess has evoked comparisons to Bob Dylan.  Williams' husky, whisky-honey voice has its limitations, but it's perfect for her songs...songs of uncompromising love, heartbreak, failure, lost causes and redemption.  It's hard to choose favorite songs from this album, her best IMO, because it's all good, but if forced to pick favorites I'd say highlights would be tracks 1, 4, 7, and 9.

Happy listening,

Daos