Best Releases of 2007
By Bliss 01/10/2008
The music industry remains plunged in a state of turmoil, which ultimately should yield new business paradigms and is already creating new opportunities for indie artists. But Darwin’s wisdom still prevails: only the toughest stand tall for long. How ironic, then, that as the album format itself faces possible extinction, we’ve seen a steady inflow of solid, even memorable releases whose relevance and cultural import is informed not just by industry events but by turmoil across the nation and world at large.
1. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand: A beautiful masterwork of musical alchemy that speaks to the transcendent power of melody and groove — and the possibilities that can be achieved by reaching across barriers, be they constructed by age, culture, genre or geography.
2. Joe Henry, Civilians: Poetry and politics twine at the core of this intelligent, elegantly restrained contemplation of life, liberty and mortality in the trenches of emotional and geographic wars. South Pasadena songwriter/producer Henry trumped himself yet again.
3. Tinariwen, Aman Iman: Water is Life: Some of the most viscerally exciting music to emerge all year. The primal force of this Malian collective’s desert blues — equally influenced by African trance and American rock ‘n’ roll — gives credence to their camel-riding, Kalashnikov-slinging legend.
4. Radiohead, In Rainbows: Rarely has despair sounded so lovely or compellingly melodic. The British rockers shook things up by initially inviting fans to pay whatever they wanted to download Rainbows — the repercussions of which are still playing out.
5. Bruce Springsteen, Magic: At first listen, the Boss’ newest studio outing with the E Street Band sounds like a rollicking good-but-not-serious return to “Dancing in the Dark” form … until the lyrical twists of “Radio Nowhere,” “Your Own Worst Enemy” and “Devil’s Arcade” sink in. There’s choice meat on those song bones.
6. Mavis Staples, We’ll Never Turn Back: That the spiritual and civil rights anthems Mavis Staples sang in the 1960s are still relevant is a national disgrace. That Staples herself remains a gutsy, magnificent national treasure is a vibrant blessing for music lovers.
7. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Lambert’s been mainstream country’s lone spark of edge and danger, and her insistence on rocking to her own inspiring beat recalls original outlaw Waylon Jennings. “Famous in a Small Town” was one of 2007’s strongest, most believable songs in any genre.
8. Bettye LaVette, The Scene of the Crime: Pairing the powerhouse soul/R&B survivor with Southern rockers Drive-By Truckers was divine inspiration; together they delivered a rocket-fueled kiss-off to anyone fool enough to cross LaVette.
9. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black: It’s been impossible to escape Winehouse’s eyeliner-smeared, beehive-sporting image — or the impact of her music. “Rehab” stands as one of 2007’s catchiest singles, and Winehouse’s throaty voice and candid songwriting are as unpredictable as they are promising.
10. Jimmy LaFave, Cimarron Manifesto: A rocking, rootsy statement on the joys and uneasy fears of life in the heartland, with soulful nods to the gravelly-voiced LaFave’s longtime heroes Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan.
11. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible: Echoes of Bowie and Springsteen notwithstanding, Neon Bible made this Montreal band even more relatable than
2004’s Funeral.
12. Feist, The Reminder: The Canadian singer-songwriter set a bar of excellence for peers with her smart, heartfelt and consistently tuneful pop songcraft.
13. Lucinda Williams, West: Producer Hal Willner’s atmospheric settings guided the crea-tively restless Williams into more rocking territory, and proved a resonant complement to emo-tional songs addressing love lost, her mother’s death and relocation.
14. Patty Griffin, Children Running Through: Griffin’s songwriting craft continues to expand and stun, as does the slow-burn intensity of her expressive voice. Drawing on R&B, soul and gospel for inspiration, Children is her most potent release yet.
15. Ozomatli, Don’t Mess With the Dragon: The Eastside collective continues to be a politically conscious voice of LA — and an irresistible partytime instigator.
16. Sones de México Ensemble Chicago, Esta Tierra es Tuya (This Land is Your Land): The Chicago-based ensemble renders Mexican son flawlessly while giving original twists to Guthrie, Led Zeppelin and Bach — all while addressing immigration as a personal rather than political issue.
17. Levon Helm, Dirt Farmer: The venerable Band drummer battled back from chemo with — miraculously — the urgent vigor of his instantly recognizable voice almost completely intact, electrifying his readings of bedrock Americana.
18. Mike Farris, Salvation in Lights: The former Screaming Cheetah Wheelies frontman delivered a gloriously rocking gospel collection that sounds like Saturday night on Bourbon Street — and is also a frontrunner for most sadly overlooked album of the year.
19. Ryan Shaw, This is Ryan Shaw: Notable primarily for introducing Shaw as an exhilarating new voice of soul; the album itself, while respectable, doesn’t capture the combustible heat of Shaw’s live performances. But what a voice!
20. The Shins, Wincing the Night Away: The dreamy layers and intriguing arrangements of the Seattle indie-rockers’ third full-length were sturdy enough to withstand scrutiny — no small feat, considering how wildly overhyped this was at the beginning of the year.
21. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, 100 Days, 100 Nights
22. John Doe, A Year in the Wilderness
23. Peter Case, Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John
24. Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective, Wátina
25. Various Artists, Song of America
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