It's Only Rock-n-Roll

THE A's HAVE IT! Here it is, my first annual best of list. Every one of these collections of ditties gets at least an A-, and, naturally of course, every one should be considered essential for your CD collection. As befits a critic, though, I reserve the right to change my mind and add or delete to said list as I wish. For now, we'll leave it at this. HAPPY NEW YEAR! 1. Gogol Bordello: Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike (Side One Dummy). 2. The Rough Guide to the Sahara (World Music Network). 3. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty). 4. The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema (Matador). 5. The Go-Betweens: Oceans Apart (Yep Roc). 6. M.I.A.: Arular (Interscope). 7. Kanye West: Late Registration (Roc-A-Fella). 8. Ani DiFranco: Knuckle Down (Righteous Babe). 9. The Hold Steady: Separation Sunday (Frenchkiss) 10. The White Stripes: Get Behind Me, Satan (V2) 11. Amadou & Miriam: Dimanche a Bamako (Nonesuch). 12. Sleater-Kinney: Th...

It's The End of The World As We Know It, and I Feel Fine! Four entries: one from a born again Christian, one from a Jew for Jesus, a third from a gangsta who's probably going to meet the big guy in the sky any day now, and the last from a group ready to "push the button." And surprise, all four will make 2005's list for best albums of the year. Saints Preserve Us! The Hold Steady: Separation Sunday (Frenchkiss, 2005). Speaking strictly as an ex-Catholic, Craig Finn is a born again after my own heart. He knows the depths of sin better than any Sunday school teacher, and he knows more about compassion and mercy than all the TV evangelists put together. Far from being holier than thou, Finn’s characters – the self-mutilators, abused lovers, and deluded youth - are just like you and me; they’ve been through the mud enough times to know it ain’t easy in this world. Temptation tugs on us all, and falling is as easy as getting out of bed in the morning. But re...

R.I.P.: I recently saw the Johnny Cash movie Walk The Line and started thinking not only about Cash, but Ray Charles and Warren Zevon. The parallels between the three are quite striking. All three had serious dependence issues with at least one drug; all three damn near killed themselves as a result before they finally sobered up; and all three came up with career defining albums just before they died. They are reviewed here in order of when they were released only, but really all three are quite indespensable. Johnny Cash: American IV: The Man Comes Around (American, 2002). If ever there was a major artist so poorly served by his record company - and who equally served it poorly back - it was Cash. Only The Sun Years on Rhino and the Folsom Prison/San Quentin live albums do him proper justice. Call this redemption, if you will. The man knows his time his short and credit Rick Rubin for realizing what he had to work with and making the most of it. And while the title track sums up, ...

2005 albums, continued The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema (Matador, 2005). Here’s where all the supergroup comparisons come home to roost. Like Led Zeppelin before them they lay claim to their rightful place as the preeminent rock band of this century. But where the former used blues as their main drive engine, A.C. Newman and company rely on ‘60s power pop formula. Call them the Shins, but with extra octane, the album is relentless in its energy from start to finish. And everyone gets to play this time, which is nice. Neko Case is joined by newcomer Nora O’Connor on vocals. Even Newman’s niece gets to play the keybs. Staying power will be their biggest test; after all we all know what happened to Zeppelin after IV, and this is their third album. A Ani DiFranco: Knuckle Down (Righteous Babe, 2005). Maturity has not dulled her gifting. With 15 years and 17 albums behind her, the not pretty enough little girl who lashed out brilliantly at the world for all her troubles has ...