Black Merda - Force of Nature

Black Merda (pronounced Black Murder) got their start in the 1960's as the Soul Agents backing Edwin Starr, the Isleys, the Chi Lites and briefly the Temptations. In the early 1970's, they changed their name to Black Merda and released two cult classic, Hendrix style black rock albums on the Chess Label and backed Fugi on his black rock classic "Mama, Don't Take Me on No Bad Trip". Like most of their fans of today, I discovered them through the song, "Cynthy Ruth," which was one of the better songs included in the 2002 bootleg Black Rock comp, "Chains and Black Exhaust." Apparently they had reformed sometime around 2006 and released one album that I never noticed but I was shocked and excited to see they were still around and had an album coming out in 2009. It was probably completely unreasonable of me to expect nearly 40 years later for them to record anything new with the power of their early 1970's but that was what I was hoping for. This album though is a run of the mill soul/funk album and its hard to believe its even the same band that recorded Cynthy Ruth. There's some nice guitar work but overall its pretty meh. I'm surprised there was no discussion of this on obner as I know others (Chase, Fu) are fans. Maybe, they were just smarter than me to realize that there was no way this album could be very good.

Ojos De Brujo - Aocana

Ojos De Brujo are one of Spain's greatest artists of "new flamenco," music rooted in flamenco guitar fused with elements of rock, hip hop, reggae, rhumba, and other genres. Aocana is their 4th studio album. Their music contains scratching, a cuban trumpet player, a lot of handclaps, and Marina Abad's singing and rapping all layered on top of some great flamenco guitar work. Its very catchy stuff. Aocana is not their best or most consistent album but its a great summer listen and was good enough to make the bottom half of my top ten.

The Deadstring Brothers - Sao Paulo

The Deadstring Brothers' first two albums were great slices of soulful alt country in the tradition of Exile era Stones and the Band. Their last album, "Silver Mountain," was a big disappointment however. The band imo messed too much with the formula by expanding the role of Masha Marjieh from harmony vocals which she does well to more lead vocals. Sao Paulo corrects this fatal flaw but varies the formula with more slower numbers which sometimes work with nice pedal steel and accordion and sometimes miss. It's not as good as their first two albums but its far more enjoyable than the last. And the song "Houston" is right up there with anything they've done. I had it at the lower end of my top 20 which still seems about right although I expect to have more legs than some that I ranked above it.



Marshall Crenshaw - Jaggedland

Marshall Crenshaw's early 80's albums are pop/powerpop classics, and most of his albums through the early 90's were very solid offerings. 1991's "Life Too Short" was a really good album even if marred by terrible production. For some unknown reason, I stopped paying attention to him after "Life's Too Short." Last year, he released his first album in 6 years and toured in support. I bought tickets to his show and downloaded Jaggedland in advance. It's the least interesting album of his that I've heard but not without its merits. I doubt I'll ever play this much in the future but "Right On Time" and "Passing Through" are pretty good songs and there really aren't any songs that I dislike.



Joan as Policewoman - Cover

I've never understood why Joan Wasser (aka Joan as Policewoman) doesn't get more love on obner. I'd say it was the dumb moniker but that doesn't keep Cat Power from finding ob love. I don't mean to suggest that Joan quite reaches the heights of Cat Power -- she doesn't although she comes far closer than popular songstresses like Feist and she may be more consistent than Cat Power. She pulls a card from Chan's deck with this album of interesting cover choices. Here's the track listing:

"Fire" (Jimi Hendrix)
"Overprotected" (Britney Spears)
"Ringleader Man" (T-Pain)
"Baby" (Iggy Pop)
"Whatever You Like" (T.I.)
"Lady" (Adam Ant)
"She Watch Channel Zero" (Public Enemy)
"Sacred Trickster" (Sonic Youth)
"Sweet Thing" (David Bowie)
"Keeper of the Flame" (Nina Simone)

I greatly prefer her other albums to this one. She doesn't always succeed here (Fire is especially weak) and it feels much more like a collection of songs than an album, but its mostly an interesting listen even if its one I don't expect to often return to. "She Watches Channel Zero" and "Keeper of the Flame" are highlights.

How did I think Channel Zero was a song by Follow For Now? Were there two, or did they cover it too?

Never heard of Follow For Now but a quick froogle tells me that they covered the Public Enemy song.



Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus Three - Goodnight Oslo

I'd been a huge fan of Robyn Hitchcock in the 80's but stopped listening in the early to mid 90's when he slowed things down and in my opinion got a little boring. Backed by the Venus Three including Peter Buck on Guitar, I thought Ole Taruntula was a nice a return to form -- lots of hooks, some faster paced rockers, a hint of light psychedelica even, and the typical Hitchcock whimsy. As a result, I approached Goodnight Oslo with renewed high expectations and was extremely disappointed. Its not boring like a lot of his 90's work. The problem is the opposite, its far too cheery. The liner notes say he's back by the venus three here, but it sounds like he's backed by an E6 band. It's light pop with far too many harmonies, handclaps and short horn bursts with almost all elements of darkness removed. Robyn Hitchcock may have decided an entire album of Ted, Woody and Junior was a good idea but I disagree.



Jesse Winchester - Love Filling Station

If it weren't for his inability to tour the US in the early 70's at the height of the singer songwriter movement, Jesse Winchester would be much better known today. His self titled debut album would probably make my top 30 if I were to re-do listmania today. It's amazing to think that "Brand New Tennessee Waltz" was the first song he ever wrote. Love Filling Station, his first album in about ten years, isn't on the level of his earlier work but that's no real knock. His voice is much softer, even frail at times but he can still write great songs about small town life and loves and there's some fine picking on here. I probably listened to this as much as any other album from 2009 and still really enjoy it. Highlights include "Bless Your Foolish Heart," "It's a Shame About Him," "Lonely For Awhile" and "Sham-A-Ling-Ding-Dong."




I probably wouldn't have bothered at all with this one if I wasn't seeing them live but I figured they'd play the material at the show and I might as well at least here it first. I expected it to be pretty awful. I mean what are the chances that the Dolls would release a decent album 30 years later with a former metal guitarist taking over for Johnny Thunders. It sounds like a recipe for disaster. I don't know that I ever need to hear this again but its far better than it has any right to be and most of the songs stood up fine in the context of their live show. That said, their first two albums will probably get all my future dolls spins.




Terry Callier - Hidden Conversations

As much as I like Terry Callier -- and he's absolutely one of my favorite artists -- I find Massive Attack and Trip Hop in general to be on the coma inducing level of boring. I felt obligated to give this some listens but I just don't like Massive Attack. With ten other TC albums to choose from, I can't ever picture myself listening to this again. I'm surprised that folks like estone and Dalen who don't share my dislike of trip hop aren't bigger fans of this though.

They were covering Public Enemy. Hell, even their name, Follow For Now was taken from the PE song "Bring Tha Noise". Safe to say they were big fans.

DBT's - The Fine Print

Self-editing is not one of the DBT's greatest strengths and their studio albums already have a bit of an odds and sodds feel to them. I was a little concerned before my first listen that this could have a truckload of meh on it. I was pleasantly surprised though that this stands up to most of their albums and even exceeds some (the new one for example). The covers are pretty great too. Rebel is easily the best cover I've heard on record all year (and no I'm not forgetting JTE's Mats cover).

Shows what I know about public enemy, I guess.

Lucas Santtana - Sem Nostalgia

Lucas Santtana is a very interesting guy. He got his start as a flautist playing with Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and others in the 90's. He dropped the flute and released his first solo album in 2000, "Electro Ben Dodo," which was a multi-cultural fusion of traditional brazilian styles, rock, electronica, and soul -- almost a Brazilian answer to Manu Chao. He even covered James Brown's "Doin' It To Death." His follow up, 2006's "Parada de Lucas," was similar in style with a little punk and ska mixed in. He slowed things down for his third album, "Three Sessions in a Greenhouse," which was a heavy dub, loungey affair. With his latest album, "Sem Nostalgia," he keeps some of the dubby, loungey feel but incorporates more acoustic guitar and vocals (half of which are in english). It's pretty catchey at times, but is better for background listening than anything else.




Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies

I initially was really disappointed in this relative to the first album but I've really come around on it to the point that this and the Jesse Winchester were my two most played albums of the year. As I look back, I think two things were at work in my underrating it: (1) the opener and title track is much more straightforward singer/songwriter fare than anything on his first album and maybe didn't set the mood I wanted and (2) the other song which initially grabs you most is a cover which while well-done and interesting is still just a cover. Don't get me wrong I like "Can't Hardly Wait" but its still not as good as the Mats and I'd have been fine with it being left off and relegated to live shows. The more I listened, the more other songs really grew on me. I'm a big fan of "What I Mean to You," "Mama's Eyes," "Halfway to Jackson," "Someday I'll Be Forgiven For This" and "Walk Out." JTE has become one of my favorite current artists and I greatly prefer his albums to the recent ones by his dad. One thing that really stands out to me is how much attention he seems to pay to sequencing. I love the flow of his albums and as much as putting "Midnight at the Movies" first might have contributed to my initial disappointment, its grown on me and that's exactly where it belongs.




Lemonheads - Varshons

Evan Dando makes some interesting and varied cover choices here including songs by Gram Parsons, GG Allen, Wire, Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, and July among others. I'm not sure I was really expecting much especially since I knew going in that he let Kate Moss and Liv Tyler sing on it. Maybe I'd let them sing on my album too if I thought they might sleep with me but that doesn't help me as a listener. Still its potential to either be interesting or a complete trainwreck demanded a listen. I can't over emphasize just how awful it was. This isn't just a case of covers that don't measure up. I would have hated this if I'd never heard the songs before. Easily the worst thing I heard all year.

The only song I really don't dig on that JTE is "Mama's Eyes"...I dunno, something about it just seems too obvious or cliched.

I can see that. I didn't want to like it at first but I still do. There's something about the 3am, presumably drunken reflection that appeals to me.

man, i haven't had a strong opinion about evan dando since 18 ought dickity, but a reaction that bad has me curious.

i've never understood taking the time out to review something you hate. you could be spending that time finding something you love.

I didn't spend much time with anything i hated. The point of this thread is to post brief comments on every album I heard from 2009 - the ones I liked and didn't. You've spent far more time sharing your opinion on the DBTs than I have posting about anything I didn't like here.

Edit: if your comments were directed at Jewels than I agree he shouldn't be curious and should focus on things he might like.

Their cover of "Play It All Night Long" was one the best things I heard all year. I know it might be blasphemy but I think it's better than the original.

Something about their take makes it more of a redneck anthem.

Man, I feel totally the opposite about their cover of "Play It All Night Long"...it doesn't work for me on a lot of levels (first of all, learn the fucking words). Stinkbomb.

"Mama Baked A Pie" on the other hand, is just flat out amazing (as is "Rebels")

I love Play It All Night Long as a concert cover, but every time he says "Berkelosis" on the record it puts my teeth on edge. And, they ending coda is terrible.

That aside, it rocks.

I don't dislike the Play It All Night Long cover but I like Rebels and Mama Bake a Pie much more




Guy Clark - Somedays The Songs Write You

I need to spend more time with this one but my I don't think that I like it as much as most of his other albums. It's a good album and his cover of TVZ's "If I Needed You" is better than any of Steve Earle's covers on his "Townes" album but I haven't really found those one or two songs on here that really blow me away like I have on other Guy Clark Albums. Still, I like enough that it feel somewhere in the lower half of my top 20 last year.

Randy Weeks - Going My Way

Randy Weeks has been making some pretty fine alt-country music with pop sensibility for the past 20 years in virtually anonomity in the 90's as co-founder of the Lonesome Strangers and in the 00's as a solo artist until recently in Los Angeles. The Lonesome Strangers toured with Dwight Youkam and Dave Alvin but as far as I know never really found much success. Lucinda Williams is a long time fan (even going so far to once call him "America's best songwriter") and covered his song, "Can't Let Go" on her album, "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road." His music is laid back alt-country/roots rock/country rock with a strong melody and pop sensibility with the help of some very talented musicians (Tony Gilkyson plays lead guitar on all of his albums). "Going My Way" isn't his best album, it may even be his worst since going solo. That isn't a big criticism though given the overall quality of his work. There are some fine songs on here including "Fine Way To Treat Me," "That's What I'd Do," "Black Coffee and Lifesavers" and "The One Who Wore My Ring." I assume no one else here has any of his albums. I'd imagine there's many here who would like him including FT, all of the GARs, rogneeb, kingfish, and tentoze. He moved to Austin from LA last year so POD, Fu and Chadwick should look out for his local gigs. I'd recommend his other albums over this one as a starting point (especially Madeleine) but this is still a worthwhile album and might be the easiest one to find.

Seems like Weeks has been on the outskirts of my radar for several years, and just never got to him. Maybe now is the time.

Luke Haines - 21st Century Man/Auchtung Mutha

Luke Haines writes in the album notes that he originally conceived the album as a sprawling monster in the tradition of vinyl behemoths before reconfiguring it as a 2 disc set with the first disc as a "lean, off the bone boner" and the bonus disc -- Auchtung Mutha -- as its negative image. Perhaps its this reconfiguration with all of Haines' most artier inclinations being relegated to the bonus disc which makes "21st Century Man" such a great listen. Auchtung Mutha is sometimes interesting but will never be a regular or comfortable listen. "21st Century Man" however is fairly easily Haines' best work since "After Murder Park" Musically, its a return to the crunchy guitars and orchestral strings which made so the Auteurs so great. Lyrically, Haines is also in prime form with his typical cynical, misanthropic wit working in references to child abduction, near fatal car crashes, suicide, incest, satanism, terrorism, anti-heros like Klaus Kinski with equal parts self-adulation and self-loathing. The couplet "Life is full of rain, people bore me, don't let the truth get in the way of a good story" is Haines at his best. Who else but Haines would start his album with beautiful orchestral strings paired with the line "It’s the same old story we’ve all heard before, about the Satanists who moved next door, they met their match they didn’t stay for more.” The Auteurs were probably my favorite band from the 90's and I've always been a sucker for Haines paying import prices for all of his solo albums even suspecting that he'd probably never reach the same heights again. This is my reward. I'm not prepared to call it the equal of the first three Auteurs albums. I need to spend a lot more time with it but its close.

Machine FIND THESE NOW!

Richard Shindell - Not Far Now

Richard Shindell's been making contemporary folk (for the lack of a better descriptor) for nearly 20 years. This isn't simply Shindell on an acoustic guitar and singing though. There's violin, percussion, claves, string arrangements and some organ and pedal steel guitar. Nothing on here will blow you away but it's all very nice and well-done. I'm don't think I like this as much as his other albums that I've spent a lot more time with ("Sparrow's Point" and "Vuelta") but I haven't given it enough spins to be sure and may never. This didn't crack my top 20 and I'm not going to oversell it but he's worthy of more attention than he gets on obner and if you are looking for a good acoustic folk album with some depth, you could do far worse than this album.




Joe Henry - Blood From Stars

2003's "Tiny Voices" was my introduction to Joe Henry and one of my favorite albums from the 00's. I hadn't found the general vibe of any album to be so refreshing and exciting since I first heard Morphine. I went back and bought up most of his back catalog and found myself a big Joe Henry fan but "Tiny Voices" remained my personal favorite. Each of his subsequent albums -- 2007's "Civilians" and 2009's "Blood From Stars" were difficult for me to get into. I was initially really disappointed with the departure of horns from "Civilians" but after nearly a year of listening the strength of the songs themselves won me over. Now, I'd begrudgingly admit that the more sparse instrumental arrangements were appropriate as the focus of the listener should be on the the lyrics. I have similarly struggled with "Blood From Stars." This time, the album starts incredibly strong with a nice piano prelude followed by "The Man That I Keep Hid" that with horns, piano, and organ harkens back to the sound of "Tiny Voices" that I love so much. "The Man That I Keep Hid" is probably the song of the year. From there, Henry slows things down and bluesier elements which were always there take more centerstage. In my early listens, the pace just got too bogged down in the middle. It's a sprawling album, but there's always something that you can hear in Henry's work though that makes you think that sticking it out will reward your additional efforts. I've recently started to come around alot on this album. I'm still not a fan of the back to back, blues heavy double punch of "Death to the Storm" and "All Blues Hail Mary" but I've come to love or at least really like "Channel," "Bellweather," "Over Her Shoulder," "Suit on A Frame" and "Light No Lamp." There's still a small part that bogs down a bit too much but its much less than it was initially and as sprawling as the album is now when "Light No Lamp" ends I still want more. I expect that this will continue to grow on me. That's just the kind of artist Joe Henry is.



Caetano Veloso - Zii & Zee

Caetano Veloso is one of my favorite artists so it shouldn't be a big surprise that his latest "Zii & Zee" was one of three albums that could have been ranked anywhere in my top 3 for the year (I think I had it at 3). With 2006's "Ce" Caetano turned the production over to his talented son, Moreno Veloso (a fine musician in his own right). Moreno and Pedro Sa put together a small electric band of talented, younger musicians and Caetano recorded an album which had much more of a rock influence in it to go along with pop, samba and funk. He seemed energized by working with his son and the other talented younger artists and Ce was in my opinion his best album since the mid 70's. On "Zii & Zee", Caetano keeps Moreno in the producer chair with a similar band and similar results. In addition to the more energetic sound, its truly remarkable how well Caetano's voice has held up. I'm not sure which is the superior album but both belong in the top 10 of Caetano's impressive and deep catalog.

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm

Derris gave this a pretty enthusiastic thumbs up so I was interested in revisiting it after quickly dismissing it after a few listens last year. I listened again and then re-read his review. I don't really disagree with anything he said but still don't share his enthusiasm. The idea that D. Jr. begins and ends with "You're Living All Over Me" is proposterous. Agreed. D Jr. is a pretty good band and this album sounds like D. Jr. Agreed. Its better than Beyond. I haven't listend to Beyond in a long time but I wasn't a fan of Beyond so I think I agree. Its remarkable and a bit surprising that D. Jr. is the band from the 120 Minutes era that are still kicking it. I suppose that's true. I guess my lack of enthusiasm for this record has as much to do with me as it does the record. I just don't know that I need another D. Jr. record that's greatest attribute is that it sounds like D. Jr. Don't get me wrong, I was a big fan and still appreciate them. It's just that as I've gotten older I've mellowed down and I'm going to grab for D. Jr or harder rock albums a lot less frequently. So the question for me becomes how many albums like this do I really need and is this one of them? I have a lot of respect for Mascis so much so that I'll even give his metal albums a listen but I'm quick to judge and decide that i don't want to spend more time with them if they aren't one of the Mascis albums I'm going to still be reaching for in a few years. I absolutely agree with Derris that too much emphasis is put on "You're Living All Over Me." Its a good album for sure and its critical acclaim is well deserved for how out of left field it sounded in the late 90's and for all the influence it had but unless you get a hell of a lot of enjoyment out of thinking about its role in musical history while you're listening to it, its a bit odd to me how much people seem to prefer it to later D. Jr or even Mascis solo work. I've in fact come around to preferring some of the later albums and Fog albums because I don't think Murph is a very talented drummer and think the later albums with less Murph have a stronger rhythmic foundation. For me the reunion of Mascis with Murph and Barlow made for much better storyline than music. Mascis may be an even more talented drummer than guitarist and I think his drumming is the strength of the "Free So Free" album. I'll be listening to that and "Green Mind" for many years to come but doubt I'll give this one many more spins. If you have room for more Mascis in your life than I do, more power to you. This isn't a bad album by any stretch and I think "See You" is a pretty cool tune.

FWIW, Green Mind is the Dino Jr. record I reach for if I need to scratch that itch 9/10.