I always look forward to his year-end list, and haven't seen one, or him for that matter.

He's around, but resolute in his mandate to never listen to anything new ever again.

i'm wondering if the Lee Fields & The Expressions album is on his list. i've just discovered it, and loving it.

i think he lambasted lee fields when i started a thread on him last year.

I wasn't joking. BG's got an '09 list just like Sarah Palin has a world view.

So you're saying he's not enthusiastic about music?

Well played, sir.

I didn't bother this year. Was busy around the holidays and start of the year and I wasn't sure that many would be all that interested in it anyway as my taste has diverged greatly from the average ob in recent years and I didn't spend as much time with New releases last year.

For whatever its worth though, here are the albums that I did like in rough order:

1. Build An Ark - Love, Part I
2. Caetano Veloso - Zii & Zee
3. Loudon Wainwright III - High, Wide & Handsome
4. Joe Bataan - King of Latin Soul
5. Son Volt - American Central Dust
6. Jesse Winchester - Love Filling Station
7. Marcio Local - Marcio Local Says Don Day Don Dree Don Don -- Adventures In Samba Soul
8. Ojos De Brujo - Aocana
9. Rancid - Let the Dominoes Fall
10. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
11. Macaco - Puerto Presente
12. Otto - Certa Manha Acordei De Sonhos Intranquilos
13. Luke Haines - 21st Century Man
14. Levon Helm - Electric Dirt
15. Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies
16. Guy Clark - Somedays The Songs Write You
17. Randy Weeks - Going My Way
18. Joe Henry - Blood From Stars
19. Deadstring Brothers - Sao Paulo
20. Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane, & Sugarcane

21. Trash Can Sinatras - In the Music
22. Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women - S/T
23. Prefab Sprout - Let's Change the World with Music
24. Willie Nile - House of A Thousand Guitars
25. Os Mutantes - Haih Ou Amortecedor
26. Lucas Santtana - Sem Nostalgia
27. John Doe & the Sadies - Country Club
28. Richard Shindell - Not Far Now
29. Joe Pernice - It Feels So Good When I Stop
30. Richard Hawley - True Love's Gutter
31. Tim Easton - Porcupine

I think all of the top 20 stand a decent chance at having legs into future years. I'm still not sure if the Weight was '09 or '08. I'm assuming it was '08 or it would probably be in the #5 spot just ahead of Son Volt. Guy Clark might be higher after I spend more time with it. The Jesse Winchester and Randy Weeks stand out as being the most Tentozian of the ones you might not have heard.

I doubt I lambasted him. The one Lee Fields album I have is decent for what it is. If he were playing in LA i might go see him. I never feel inclined to listen to him over classic 60's and 70's soul though and I'd imagine most obners would be better off buying one of the classics that they don't have rather than seeking out newer releases by him, Sharon Jones or any of the other current soul acts that get love around here. I probably said something to that effect. I recognize though that I'm pretty anal about how I choose to build my collection and if others like it there's nothing wrong with that.

Haven't heard the new lee fields and probably won't though for that reason. I'm much less interested in soul than I used to be anyway.

Thanks, billy g, I was looking at that Randy Weeks- not familiar at all.