| ARTIST |
ALBUM NAME |
LABEL |
COMMENTS |
| TOM ADAMS & MICHAEL CLEVELAND |
At The Ragged Edge |
Rounder |
Great concert album of
banjo and fiddle duets with a few vocals. Alison Krauss says this album
“will be considered one of the greatest bluegrass performances of our
time.” |
| BLACK 47 |
New York Town |
Gadfly |
Fascinating, gritty lyrics about life among young 1st and 2nd generation
Irish-New Yorkers in the post-911 world with good rock arrangements and
great dialogue and harmony from Suzzy Roche, Eileen Ivers and others. |
| ELIZA GILKYSON |
Land of Milk and Honey |
Red House |
Gilkyson has long been an interesting and great-voiced
singer-songwriter based in New Mexico. Her usual mix of politics and other
aspects of life is more tilted towards the former on this album which
serves as a great reminder of the climate of 2004 while, I suspect,
continuing to seem timely and compelling into the future. |
| KIERAN KANE & KEVIN WELCH |
You Can't Save Everybody |
Compass |
The songs feel respectful yet creative renditions of
traditional songs but are in fact written by the singers. One of the new
albums to which I've listened most this year. |
| LUCY KAPLANSKY |
The Red Thread |
Red House |
Another good interesting, wonderfully sung album from that
rare but wonderful breed of songwriters who combine other people's fine
songs with their own. This psychologist/singer-songwriter includes one of
the first good post-September 11 songs as well as a beautiful song about
the child she and her husband recently adopted. |
| ALAN LOMAX |
Blues Songbook |
Rounder |
A great collection for blues fans and newcomers. Great
notes that explain how the ear, passion and skill of a white man, Alan
Lomax, saved this music so it would have an audience outside of the finite
time and place in which it was created. |
| JOEL MABUS |
Golden Willow Tree |
Fossil |
This is 21st century folk music at its best. One
thoughtful, musical man with a guitar, a banjo, and some old tunes and
songs, and new welcome words for many of them. |
| OLLABELLE |
Ollabelle |
Columbia |
Mostly old southern folk and gospel songs sung with
wonderful voices, harmony and feeling by this band of six young singers
from New York. |
| THE ROSINATORS |
The Rosinators |
PDC |
A British band with a great folky-blues sound on mostly
well-known folk songs. |
| KATE RUSBY |
Underneath The Stars |
Compass |
Rusby from England has a gorgeous voice and creates a
beautiful album of traditional and traditional-sounding songs. |
| SACRED STEEL GUITAR MASTERS |
Gospel Steel Guitar |
Cracker Barrel |
Some great modern gospel music from bands land by steel
guitar players. Some with words and many not. |
| STONY POINT QUARTET |
Band of Angels |
Cracker Barrel |
Great bluegrass gospel singing. |
| TANGLE EYE |
Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Revisited |
Zoe |
The vocals are directly from old Alan Lomax field
recordings and the instruments are modern players. Together, it sounds
like an album the original singers might have made if they could have
begun to envision the world and the world of music 50 to 70 years after
they had sung. A fascinating and wonderful album. |
| THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE |
The Triplets of Belleville |
Higher Octave |
Composed by Ben Charest, this is the soundtrack to the
best movie of the year. I think it stands by itself but is even more
wonderful to hear once you can picture the scenes that go with the tunes. |
