Best Music You Bought This Year

[Mr. Heartbreak]

As usual, I didn't buy anywhere near the 10 new 2009 releases I would need to participate in one of those threads. But I bought a TON of stuff this year from all sorts of other eras, including some great box sets. Here be the cream of the crop.

 

1) Miles Davis - The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions

Cover the kiddies' eyes, because I have to say upfront, this set is a total mindfuck. I loved the original Jack Johnson disc, and decided to splurge when the price on the box came down. The many takes of Willie Nelson and Go Ahead John get a little tedious after a while, but that's why God invented the >> key. It's Miles at his electric best, with great work from John McLaughlin and Herbie Hancock in particular. Essential.

 

2) The Complete Adventures of the Style Council

Another essential box set, but for entirely different aesthetic reasons. Not all of Paul Weller's 80s pop phase worked, but the stuff that did is fantastic.

 

3) Zappa/Mothers - Mofo Project/Object

I know it's hard to believe I waited 2 years to buy this, but I already had Freak Out! Still, it's nice to hear well-remastered classics like these, and the second disc is a revelation, especially with the Trouble Every Day basic track which has FZ's original extended guitar workout. Kickass, as Cartman would say.

 

4) Grateful Dead: Beyond Description (1973-1989)

The second half of the Dead's original albums may not be quite as stellar as the first half, but the bonus tracks in this box set more than make up for it.

 

5) Miles Davis - Just Squeeze Me

All the early classic Miles in a no frills 10-disc set for the whopping price of 15 bucks. 'Nuff said.

 

6) Miles Davis w/John Coltrane

Wow, I really did fill out my Miles collection this year! A rare, out of print disc, well worth every penny. I love this Amazon reviewer's comment: "It's virtually all I've played in my car for the past 18 months, last week prompting a little voice to squeak from the back seat, Daddy, don't you like any other music?"

 

7) Talking Heads - Remain In Light (remaster)

People can bitch all they want about the format, but this is some great shit, and it's worth it for the bonus tracks alone.

 

8) Gong - Flying Teapot (Radio Gnome Invisible)

I heard of these guys years ago, but just got into them this year. Kind of a cross between King Crimson and Frank Zappa, but French. Well, not really, but seriously cool and a lot of fun.

 

9) Brian Eno - Another Green World

I never owned this on CD before, and the remaster sounds excellent. An essential pick for Eno heads, and worthwhile for anyone else interested in good music.

 

10) Hazy Malaze/Blackout Love

Neal Casal's rockin' side project has some great moments on it, and it's different enough from his earlier solo stuff that it feels like it rounds out my already considerable Casal collection. Great stuff.

 

11) Lee Morgan - Expoobident

I picked up a good number of Lee Morgan's Blue Note catalog this year, and this was one of the best. If you already have Search for the New Land, this is a pretty good place to go next.

[Nobody Girl]

The best non-new CD I bought this year:

 

[PopTodd]

Jim Ford - Point Of No Return

The German label that is releasing all these Jim Ford comps is a godsend. This is an artist that needs to be discovered by more people -- LOTS more people! For fans of Nick Lowe, Dan Penn, Harry Nilsson, and The Band.

 

Harry Nilsson - Harry/Nilsson Sings Newman

I have become obsessed with all things Nilsson and this did not disappoint.

 

Camper Van Beethoven - Telephone Free Landslide Victory

Coming back to an all-time favorite. It holds up every bit as good as I hoped it would. Maybe better.

 

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (remaster)

If I have to say anything about this...

 

Wings - Band on the Run (25th anniv. ed.)

A Classic.

 

Webb Brothers - Maroon

Simply one of the top 10 albums of the '00s. Sweeping and majestic, cinematic nonromantic heartbreak.

 

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Another modern beaut.

 

Magnolia Electric Co. - Magnolia Electric Co.

See: Bon Iver.

 

Los Lobos - La Pistola y El Corazón

Another old favorite that I repurchased. If you're scared off by the thought of Mexican fold music, dont be. This is an incredibly accessible record and a whole lot of fun.

 

The Wonder Stuff - Never Loved Elvis

Front-to-back pop genius. I have been singing "Size Of a Cow" at least once a day, every day since buying this.

 

Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance

I don't know how to describe this. For fans of: Wire, Velvet Underground.

 

Cate Le Bon - Me O My

Like a druggy Latetia Sadier, or more-modern Nico.

 

Johnny Cash - At San Quentin

Classic.

 

Urge Overkill - Saturation

Too often they get a bad rap. But this is a great record.

[lamradio]

This was a great year for music for me. I bought a lot of good stuff, but these are my favorites.

 

This year I became a BIG fan of Dr. Dog. They're my favorite band now.. Besides the wilco's of course, but I haven't listened to them very much this year. Mostly due to a mediocre WTA, but I've just been listening to a lot of other great stuff.

Dr. Dog - Easy Beat

My favorite Dr. Dog album. Some aren't too keen on the not so great recording quality, but to me it makes the album.. It's raw, has that "in the basement" sound and to me it's their greatest record.

 

Dr. Dog - We All Belong

Not as good as the first, but still an excellent record. The song "Girl" pretty much changed my life.

 

Flaming Lips - Embryonic

This was also the year I re-discovered the Lips. I have always been a casual fan, but Embroyonic really hooked me. This album is just so unique, like nothing I've ever heard.. For example, there's a part in "The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine" where you can hear that strange buzzing sound that comes through your speakers when your cell phone is about to ring or receive a text. The first time I heard it, I checked my phone and soon realized that it's on the record.. Only the Lips would do something so awesome.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

 

Webb Brothers - Maroon

Simply one of the top 10 albums of the '00s. Sweeping and majestic, cinematic nonromantic heartbreak.

 

Thanks for turning me on to that, BTW. I picked it up from Amazon for a penny, per your suggestion. (It's still available for a penny, too!)

[LouieB]

Thanks for turning me on to that, BTW. I picked it up from Amazon for a penny, per your suggestion. (It's still available for a penny, too!)

Don't you just love Amazon?? The crash of the music business has been a benefit to those of us who buy music if not those who produce it. Heck for a penny I'll buy it sight unseen.

 

For all of 49 cents you can get one like new. I bought one just to see how it sounds. There were several dealers with it for a cent. Weird

 

LouieB

[Analogman]

I don't know about best, but I think this is all of the cds I bought this year.

 

The Black Crowes - Before The Frost/Until The Freeze

U2 - The Unforgettable Fire (re-master)

U2 - No Line On The Horizon

Pearl Jam - Backspacer

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

Wilco - (The Album)

Fleetwood Mac - Shrine '69

Fleetwood Mac - Showbiz Blues 1968-1970

Fleetwood Mac - The Vaudeville Years 1968-1970

Fleetwood Mac - Jumping at Shadows: The Blues Years

The Youngbloods - Get Together:The Essential Youngbloods

Moby Grape - The Place and the Time

Love - First Album

Bob Dylan - Together Through Life

Son Volt - American Central Dust

The Jayhawks - Music from the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology

The Buckinghams - Kind of a Drag

The Buckinghams - Time and Changes/Portraits

The Buckinghams - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: A Collection

Ten Years After - A Space In Time

James Gang - Live In Concert

Blue Mountain - Omnibus

Blue Mountain - Midnight in Mississippi

Blue Mountain - Dog Days (re-issue)

The Guess Who - American Woman (re-master)

 

I was able to walk into an actual record store and buy all of The Boxtops cds at the same time - which is something I don't get to experience anymore:

The Boxtops - The Letter/Neon Rainbow

The Boxtops - Cry Like a Baby

The Boxtops - Non-Stop

The Boxtops - Dimensions

 

The Lynyrd Skynyrd re-masters I did not have:

Second Helping

Nuthin' Fancy

Gimme Back My Bullets

Street Survivors

 

The Grand Funk Railroad re-masters I did not have:

On Time

Grand Funk

Closer to Home

Live Album

Survival

 

The Kinks re-masters I did not have:

Kinks

Kinda Kinks

The Kink Kontroversy

Face to Face

Something Else by The Kinks

The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Pretty nice list, A-man. You showed more restraint than I did this year!

 

A few more:

 

12) Frank Zappa - Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar

This has some smokin' solos on it. I actually like a lot of FZ's guitar work on other releases better than anything on here, but it's still pretty outrageous. Definitely something no self-respecting Zappahead should live without.

 

13) Velvet Underground & Nico (remaster)

I already had the original release, so it took me a while to get around to buying this (and reselling my old single disc). The mono mix is the real reason to get it. It's a revelation, much like (I guess) what I've heard lately about the Beatles mono remasters.

 

14) Jefferson Airplane - Thirty Seconds Over Winterland

Had this on record for years, and finally decided to spring for the Japanese import version of this CD when the price came down. Although I love a lot of their early work, this is overall my favorite Airplane disc. It just flows from beginning to end. Much better versions of these songs here than the original studio versions.

 

15) Eberhard Weber - Yellow Fields

I actually picked up this one along with Silent Feet and Following Morning. I like them all, but Yellow Fields is my all time favorite ECM release. I also got Terje Rypdal's Chaser, which would be a close second to Yellow Fields.

[LouieB]

 

 

14) Jefferson Airplane - Thirty Seconds Over Winterland

Had this on record for years, and finally decided to spring for the Japanese import version of this CD when the price came down. Although I love a lot of their early work, this is overall my favorite Airplane disc. It just flows from beginning to end. Much better versions of these songs here than the original studio versions.

 

15) Eberhard Weber - Yellow Fields

I actually picked up this one along with Silent Feet and Following Morning. I like them all, but Yellow Fields is my all time favorite ECM release. I also got Terje Rypdal's Chaser, which would be a close second to Yellow Fields.

I am usually in complete agreement with Mr. Heartbreak on things, but Thirty Seconds is inferior to the far better Bless His Little Pointed Head, which is also live. If you have not checked that out, do so.

 

Whatever happened to Weber. I used to see him occasionally play is groovy stand up electric bass back in the 70s and early 80s.

 

LouieB

[Analogman]

All of those JA cds have been remastered with bonus tracks. Bless Its Pointed Little Head was the last one I bought.

 

Thirty Seconds Over Winterland (July 21, 2009)

[Analogman]

Pretty nice list, A-man. You showed more restraint than I did this year!

 

That is probably the most cds I have bought in a long time. I would like to have the new Beatles cds, and The Rolling Stones re-masters, but I have not grabbed them yet.

[mountain bed]

That is a nice list, Aman. I've been meaning to pick up some Buckinghams for quite some time now. I had the 45s as a kid, and the tune "Foriegn Policy" is one of the great psych tracks imo.

 

I'll throw in another vote for Bless Its Pointy Little Head as well - that is the Airplane at the peak of their powers.

[Analogman]

They were a Chicago band. LouieB probably knows about them. I just love the way that dude sings, and they have a nice studio sound.

 

The one album I don't have is - In One Ear And Gone Tomorrow.

[mountain bed]

Yep. I think JW Guerico (who produced the CTA album) had a hand in some of their records.

 

I saw them over in Muncie a few years ago - I think the bass player was the only remaining member, but I did get to talk to him after the show, and have my copy of "Susan" signed.

[Analogman]

That is right.

 

One of my favorites: Don't You Care.

[WaronWar]

Once again did not buy as much as I wanted this year:

 

but one thing I was happy about was getting Paul Bley's "The Turning Point" on CD for about $15, which wasn't bad since it's out of print. It has Bley, Paul Motian, Gary Peacock, and John Gilmore. They play mostly Carla Bley's tunes.

[brianjeremy]

Red House Painters - I, II, Songs for a Blue Guitar, and Retrospective

 

I've been a fan of Mark Kozelek for a while but have just started to get into the Red House Painters. I've found two albums in the used bins and two have been purchased with an i-tunes gift card.

 

The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

 

This album probably gets played the most around the house lately. I have never owned any of their albums before this one but my wife and I like it a whole lot.

 

Wilco - A.M. and Summerteeth (vinyl)

It's just nice to finally have these on vinyl.

[jff]

 

 

 

 

3) Zappa/Mothers - Mofo Project/Object

I know it's hard to believe I waited 2 years to buy this, but I already had Freak Out! Still, it's nice to hear well-remastered classics like these, and the second disc is a revelation, especially with the Trouble Every Day basic track which has FZ's original extended guitar workout. Kickass, as Cartman would say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've seen this one a bunch of times and always passed on it because I assumed it was a release by the Zappa tribute band Project-Object. If I knew what it REALLY was I would have bought it right away.

[Sparky speaks]

Downloaded some individual songs from iTunes and amazon as well as buying a few CDs. They were the best at the time as far as I was concerned or I wouldn't have purchased them.

 

Steve Earle w/ Del McCoury Band CD

Jonathan Edwards

Todd Snider

New Riders of the Purple Sage

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Old Crow Medicine Show

Old and In the Way

Drive-By Truckers

Alice Cooper

Cat Stevens

Hendrix

Beatles remastered CDs

Neil Young Archives vol. 1 Blu Ray discs

Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown

Jayhawks anthology CD

Monsters of Folk CD

Connor Oberst CD

Donovan

Joe Walsh

Cheap Trick/Sgt. Pepper CD

Jerry Jeff Walker

Flying Burrito Brothers

Mountain

Taj Mahal

Wilco CD

Jay Bennett

Son Volt CD

Commander Cody

David Bromberg