Top Ten Albums Added To My Collection in 2013

          I added quite a few new albums to my collection this past year, and after being quite disappointed with the top ten list I heard on NPR, I decided to make my own.  However my list will be of my favorite purchases this last year from any time period.  I picked up some really fantastic stuff, so here it is in no particular order.

The Charlatans UK - Simpatico (2006)

         I bought a bunch of discs by The Charlatans UK this last year, and was pretty astounded how they were just really good, one after the next.  But this one really stands out.  I wish I could describe what it is that works so well on this release.  I think it's the hooks.  It's pretty standard Rock-N-Roll, which is kinda rare these days, I guess, but the melodies just curl up into the right positions in your ear.  It's got lots of energy as well.  I catch myself singing and shouting along all the time.

Standouts: Blackened Blue Eyes, For Your Entertainment, Muddy Ground, Road To Paradise, The Architect, Sunset & Vine

Minus The Bear - Menos el Oso (2005)

          It's fair to say that Minus The Bear has been my biggest find of 2013.  And there's a bit of an interesting story to it.  When I'm down at The Depot setting up the place with Jay, we'll send music up to the line-arrays and really rock the house.  We sorta take turns, and a while back I asked Jay to play some favorite he had discovered through our venue, and what he chose to play was some Minus The Bear.  I was intrigued enough to pick up a disc, and then this one, Menos el Olo.  It's hard on the ears at first.  It's plenty loud, and should be listened to loudly.  But this was one of those cases where repeated listening yielded real results.  Once I got more familiar with the fairly complex rhythms and melodies, I realized that this was really, really good stuff!  I find myself wanting to group them with progressives of the classic years like Pink Floyd or Rush.  Maybe even a little Yes.  However, they do have a pretty unique muse, and maybe it's their dedication to it that makes them work so well.  

          Then they came back to The Depot, and I got to see the show from the perspective of the monitor mixer.  (On stage standing a few feet away) and that was something else.

Standouts: The Game Needed Me, Memphis & 53rd, El Torrente, Hooray, The Pig War, This Ain't A Surfin Movie

The 5th Dimension - Greatest Hits On Earth (1972)

          Now, of course, this music is not for just anybody.  It's only a half-step removed from what might be called Elevator Music.  (I guess you have to be of a certain age to even know why that would even be considered an insult.)  I bought this one looking for a particular cut of 'One Less Bell To Answer,' but was astounded to find so many other great songs on this disc.  Most of these tunes had been drifting somewhere just below the lower regions of my subconscious for pretty much all of my life.  So hearing them in the flesh has been a real thrill. And then there's a couple that already seem indispensable, like 'Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes.'  This is mellow music meant to take you 'Up, Up and Away.'

Standouts: (Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All, One Less Bell To Answer, Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In, Save The Country, Love's Lines, Angels and Rhymes, Up, Up and Away

Ivy - In The Clear (2005)

          I've had 'Apartment Life' by Ivy for many years, and have always loved it.  I only got a bunch more from Ivy this past year, and the best of the bunch was 'In The Clear.'  There's some really catchy tunes on this one, and songs like, 'Four In The Morning' and Tell, Don't Tell' have some real power. My favorite on the disc, however, is a pulse quickening toe-tapper called 'Keep Moving.'  I'm not sure why, but the Album Art is perfect for this disc.

Standouts: Keep Moving, Tess, Don't Tell, Four In The Morning, Ocean City Girl

Jon Anderson - Animation (1982)

          I had this on cassette way back when, and have a memory of listening to it in the hills of Hong Kong.  It has been impossibly expensive to get on disc, but I finally did get it as a download on a free trial offer type deal.  I have to say that I was right to remember to get it again after all these years.  There are some real gems on this thing.  In particular is a cut called, 'Surrender' that continues to send rivers of shivers across my skin, and I would be lying if I didn't admit that it has literally brought me to tears during maybe a dozen listenings.  

Standouts: Animation, Surrender, All In A Matter Of Time, Unlearning (The Dividing Line), Much Better Reason

Gretchen Parlato - The Lost And Found (2011)

          Gretchen Parlato has such a nice voice, and she uses it in such a very sensual way. Her music is lilting jazz, and it's easy to get lost in such relaxed piano riffs and lush percussion.  There's one cut I really love called 'Better Than,' that makes me feel as if my heart were about to stop beating.  In songs like 'Winter Wind' and 'How We Love' she takes us with her on such ascending crescendos that we are left limp and spent afterward. Gretchen Parlatos's music is meant for the very best of times.

Standouts: Holding Back The Years, Winter Wind, How We Love, Better Than, All That I Can Say    

Beck - Modern Guilt (2008)

          'Modern Guilt' follow a string of great albums by Beck. It was somewhat of a tossup between this one and 'The Information' as to which Beck album I'd choose from the two I bought this year.  There's so many good cuts on each.  'Modern Guilt' is a little more even I suppose, however there's some real gems on 'The Information,' so it's hard to choose.   

Standouts: Gamma Ray, Chemtrails, Modern Guilt, Youthless, Walls, Replica   

Catchers - Mute (1994)

      I had this disc something like fifteen years ago when it came out, but it was lost or stolen or damaged somewhere along the way, and this year I finally replaced it.  What a great album this is! What is it about those Scottish bands? (I could've included Belle & Sebastian's 'The Life Pursuit' in this list.) Is it the harmonies?  Is it the melodies?  Good lyrics too.

Standouts:  Beauty No. 3, Apathy, Country Freaks, Worm Out, Hallowed, Sleepyhead, La Luna

Rickie Lee Jones - The Evening Of My Best Day (2003)

          Should I be surprised at another fantastic album by Rickie Lee Jones?  Probably not.  This one's a real winner!  From the opening notes of 'Ugly Man' I knew this was going to be another great disc from one of the greatest artist of my lifetime.  Rickie Lee Jones is so good at blending real jazz influences into very accessible morsels that are palatable to anyone, but that are like liquid toffee to those that can hear it. Like me.

Standouts: Ugly Man, Second Chances, Bitchenostophy, It Takes You There,  Mink Coat At The Bus Stop  

Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach - Painted From Memory (1998)

          I can't believe how much I've been enjoying this collaboration between Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. It's a perfect musical marriage. What I sense is that Elvis Costello was able to tap into that golden vein of beautiful and richly sad melodies that is called Burt Bacharach, that to the best of my knowledge hasn't been around in a long time. Would I be inaccurate to say that this represents something of a revival for the old master of mellow.  I certainly can hear him in there, and it seems like an old friendly voice from so long ago.    

Standouts: Toledo,  I Still Have That Other Girl, This House Is Empty Now, Such Unlikely Lovers, The Long Division, God Give Me Strength

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UPDATE:  Alright, I knew this was going to happen.  I've come up with at least two more albums I acquired this last year that simply must be mentioned.

Jefferson Starship - Gold (1979)

and

Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66-'86 - Classics

...and I guess all I have to say about them is that each has several unbelievably great songs on them.

UPDATE:  I know I'm being ridiculous, but I've gotta include another one that I forgot. 

Patricia Barber - Cafe Blue (1994)

This stuff is pure liquid honey!