So…we all get obsessed with the latest and greatest around here with all the year-end lists and such coming out. But I know I am not at all alone in always discovering gems from the past that I passed by before. Sometimes it is an artist I have loved for a long time but let an album slip through for whatever reason. Sometimes it is something I’ve heard a song off of but never went further, sometimes it is something I’ve simply never heard of. Either way, most years I come across a few things I hadn’t listened to much or at all that I suddenly can’t live without.

I’ve always been a reggae fan, but there are always reissues of barely heard record coming out or records to dig up that I missed, especially early stuff. Heard a few things like that this year that I liked, but the one that stands out to me and that I have played a lot this year and will keep playing is:



Sledgehammer Dub (in the Streets of Jamaica): Niney the Observer

This is one of those tha6t was released only in Jamaica way back when, but a few tracks leaked out and its reputation grew. Sometimes those can be a bit of a letdown, but not this time. Excellent tracks produced by Niney and remixed by King Tubby in the late 70s for sound systems around Kingston. Dubs of Dennis Brown and Heptones tracks among others. Deep, heavy bass sounds on this one. Sledgehammer is right. Yet somehow it manages to keep things light in many places with plenty of catchy melodies skimming along over the thunder. Glad I came across this one.

So…what have you all discovered from the past in 2012?

Back in 2009, I bought and really liked "The Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney." Chris Gaffney was part of the whole LA Roots Rock scene of the 80's, 90's and 00's that included the Blasters, John Doe, Los Lobos and others. He was the sort of artist that other artists loved and respected but never found much success of his own. He was Dave Alvin's best friend and when Gaffney died from Liver Cancer, Alvin recruited artists including Dan Penn, John Doe, Los Lobos, Jim Lauderdale, Freddy Fender, Alexandro Escovedo, Calexico and a host of others to contribute covers to raise money to help relieve Gaffney's family's debts from all his healthcare expenses.

I bought the album not really knowing much about Gaffney other than having heard of him and one of his bands, the Hacienda Brothers. I'd never heard his music though. It was the bands that Alvin lined up that made me by the album. In three years, it never left my rotation and at some point, I started to realize that it was just the performances that I loved but the songs themselves. So earlier this year I went on a buying spree and bought the first two Hacienda Brothers albums (the first which was produced by Dan Penn) and two of Chris Gaffney's solo albums. All of them are really good -- some of the best stuff to come out of the LA roots scene.

I think his 1995 solo album "Loser's Paradise" is probably my favorite of the four though. Other than that, I can't think of too much. Jerry Jeff Walker's self titled album got reissued this year and it's really good. That wasn't too surprising though.

i got turned on to quite a few things in that top albums of various years thread thing we had going for awhile. was that this year? my memory is shit these days.

some things

Dolly Varden
Gene Vincent
Material Issue
Blue Shadows

Apparently they have a new album coming out in 2013. I think it may have already leaked but I haven't looked for it yet.

interesting thanks

Dolly Varden! Nice one.
I was a fan of their pre-DV band (Stump the Host), too. Too bad there isn't really anything out there from those guys. A really great 7" if you can find it, but I think that's about it.

Material Issue *swoon*

Royal Headache Missed this one when it was released last year. Really interesting melding of punk drive, Strokes strum 'n' jangle, and a vocalist that could've been signed to Stax.




Armand Schaubroeck Steals I'd been looking for Armand Schaubroeck albums for a while, but only recently found dls for a few of them in a site's shoutbox. He was a New York record store owner in the late 70s, and took the notion of Lou Reed style nihilism further than Lou himself ever wanted to go. Ratfucker is almost musical - there's a band playing something like rock 'n' roll underneath Armand's monotone cursing - whereas A Lot of People Want to See Armand Schaubroeck Dead (a 3 disc "play" documenting his stay in prison) is only occasionally song-oriented and more often than not entails expletive-filled monologues. Shakin' Shakin' has the reputation of being the most conventional - but even that's a bit misleading with this guy. Anyway, not exactly easy listening, but at the very least always interesting.



The Star Spangles From 2007. Their debut album was pretty awful, so I never bothered to listen to the follow-up. My loss. Turns out these guys got it right the second time around. Not world-changing, but energetic and hook-filled power pop/punk that so many bands attempt but precious few manage to pull off.

Hadn't listened to this before this year



Songwriting is amazing, nice classic sound. Been on the rotation all year

Somehow that's the first time I've seen the album cover to the Royal Headache record.

Damn you, digital records!

i wouldn't say you missed it.

No, I pretty much missed it. That "lo-fi shroud" that annoyed me on first listen gave way to an appreciation of what they're doing.

Good digging though. Hope it was worth it for you.

going way back for these two, discovered them this year

Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails

Really first class jamming and remaking of Bo Diddleys Who do you love. Some original tunes too that are pretty good. An enjoyable listen that ive played quite often this year



Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses

Been exploring his post Thick as a Brick material of late and finding a lot to like. This album and Songs from the Wood have many catchy tunes with his irresistable electric flute and guitar melodies, with the old fantasy like lyrics. Getting Thick as a Brick 2 for christmas, hopefully hes still good of late.

There's a Thick as a Brick 2?

Also, you realize it's a band, not a "he", right?

He's a plow

Yeah, I like that Royal Headache album, and their brethren The Straight Arrows too.

I have an old Star Spangles album burned on a cd. I'll have to see which one it is.

I listened to a lot of golden age 90s hip hop this year...I wouldn't say I discovered it now...it just became more a part of regular rotation

yes i do know its a band, but with Ian Anderson being the primary songwriter and singer and flutist I always seem to give him more weight

there is indeed a recent sequel to Thick as a Brick, and its supposed to be good

Watched that documentary on Creation records which led me to check out The Loft.


Magpie Eyes 1982-1985

Good if you like British guitar pop from the 80s. At times reminds me of Close Lobsters, though they predate them.

Black Tambourine


I think I just read a reference to them on AMG and was interested enough to check them out based on this: "The short-lived Black Tambourine endure among the truly seminal American indie pop bands of the 1980s, creating a dark, feedback-rich sound that predated the shoegazer movement of the decade to follow"

The Frank & Walters/Grand Parade


This was another AMG referenced find, from 1996. Like Black Tambourine, don't know why I'd never heard of these guys. This album can be found for cheap used. Really infectious pop