It's Only Rock-n-Roll

As promised the album reviews of 2006, in no particular order. HAPPY NEW YEAR! The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America (Vagrant, 2006). “Stuck Between Stations” has the look and feel of a hit single, and knowing Craig Finn, he could care less. Hits are not what he’s about. Unlike so many other auteurs, whom emote about topics they’ve never even observed, much less experienced, Finn invites us into a world he knows first hand: a world where broken bottles and broken dreams are one in the same. His heroes – the kids, always the kids – struggle, fall and pick themselves up. Like the girl in “You Can Make Him Like You” who dumps her boyfriend when she finally gets tired of his drug use. Strangely depressing and uplifting at the same time, but what else could you expect from someone who stole the title of his album from a Jack Kerouac line? A- The Gothic Archies: The Tragic Treasury: Songs From a Series of Unfortunate Events (Nonesuch, 2006). From the sublime to the ridiculou...

Top Albums of 2006 (1st go around) Like I really need to say this. This list will be updated at some point during the next few weeks, as is my prerogative as a critic. One change in format from last year: the A albums are in bold to separate them from the pack. As was the case last year I will follow with the long, overdue reviews of these albums over the next few weeks. 1. Bob Dylan: Modern Times (Columbia) 2. Ghostface Killah: Fishscale (Def Jam) 3. The Klezmatics: Wonder Wheel (JMG) 4. Tom Waits: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards (Anti) 5. Rosanne Cash: Black Cadillac (Capitol) 6. The Streets: The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living (Vice/Atlantic) 7. Joanna Newsom: Ys (Drag City) 8. Outkast: Idlewild (LeFace) 9. Todd Snider: The Devil You Know (New Door) 10. Maria Muldaur: Heart of Mine:...