I was very pleased that the first post in this series of my personal top 10 albums for every year of the outgoing decade (depending how you count decades, of course) created such a positive and generous response. Thank you for all the comments; they are always appreciated.
I should point out again that I can include only those albums I actually have and know well. So Gillian Welch’s The Revelator fails to make the cut, though I believe that those of my friends who argue for its brilliance might have a point. Ben Folds ““ Rockin” The SuburbsThe are at least two types of Ben Folds fans: those who don”t think that Folds has ever topped the work he did in union with with Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee as the ironically named Ben Folds Five, and those who prefer his more mature solo output. Put me down as belonging in the latter group. While the very funny title track, the driving Zak And Sara, Annie Waits or Not The Same would fit snugly in the Ben Folds Five canon, Folds” solo debut exhibited a greater empathy for the subjects of his lyrics. On Rockin” The Suburbs (released on September 11), Folds took the baton from BFF songs such as Brick, Don’t Change Your Plans or Best Imitation Of Myself, musically and lyrically.Folds is a wonderful story teller. The story of Fred Jones, the old newspaper man whose retirement is going barely noticed by “all of those bastards” who don’t even remember his first name, is particularly poignant.
Indeed, throughout the album Folds moves the listener: in the father-and-son relationship of Still Fighting It, in the desperation of the guy still trying to get over a girl in Gone (“the chemicals are wearing off”¦”), or in the tenderness of the astonishing love declarations on The Luckiest (one of the greatest love songs ever written; alas Folds has since divorced the song”s addressee). The album is not flawless “” there is a weak trio of successive tracks in the middle) “” but it does suggest that Ben Folds is this generation”s Randy Newman. And that is high praise. Hedwig and the Angry Inch SoundtrackThe first time I saw the Hedwig and the Angry Inch, I was gobsmacked.
The curious storyline, the intense performances, the incongruous humour (black GIs in East Berlin!), the imaginative setpieces, the animation and costumes, and, above all, the fantastic music, written by Stephen Trask and performed mostly by John Cameron Mitchell as the genitally mutilated Hedwig, which ranges from ballads and punk to Ziggy-style glam rock.The highlight of the film is the Wig In A Box setpiece, also the soundtrack”s most appealing track. Since I am urging those who have not seen the film to catch up with it, I”ll restrain myself from describing the scene. I expect that many viewers will want to see it repeatedly.
I”ll limit myself to posting only one song from each album here (apart from the #1 album of the year), but I also might have posted the gorgeous The Origin Of Love, with its Aristophanes-inspired lyrics, or Wicked Little Town, or Midnight Radio, or the explosive Angry Inch”¦. Judith Sephuma ““ A Cry, A Smile, A DanceBefore the Idols franchise spewed forth disposable singers of debatable ability, at least in South Africa, televised talent shows in the country brought several artists of notable aptitude to the public”s attention.
One of these was Judith Sephuma, born in the northern town of Polokwane (then Pietersburg) and a music graduate from the University of Cape Town. Her 2001 debut album is a captivating blend of jazz and Afro-pop which fully met, and even exceeded, the expectations observers had invested in the artist since her performance at the inauguration of President Thabo Mbeki in 1999, a year before she made a huge impression at the misnamed North Sea Jazz Festival in Cape Town (the local equivalent of the Montreaux festival). If the wonderful Randy Crawford had been South African, this is what she might have sounded like.Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions – Bavarian Fruit BreadMuch as I love Sandoval”s group Mazzy Starr, I struggled long and hard to “get” this album.
It”s the sort of ambient set one needs to be in a perfect mood for (perhaps when one is recovering from a bout of inebriation). But when everything is set, it hits home in its quiet way. If Sandoval sounds fragile on Mazzy Starr, here you want to pack her in cotton wool and keep the volume low, just in case she breaks. The result is exponentially mesmerising and ultimately gorgeous.
It”s not the sort of album from which one can pick a representative track (though I”ll try here); it works best as a body of music. If one is in the mood. Richard Hawley ““ Late Night FinalLast month Hawley released a masterpiece, Truelove Gutter. Without wishing to resort to hyperbole, I”ll claim with confidence that it is not only the best album of the year, but one of the best of the decade. Hawley, a former member of Britpop groups Longpigs and Pulp, has produced a series of delightful and always affecting albums that started with his full debut, Late Night Final (it was preceded by a self-titled EP in 2000). The gorgeously melancholy, late night mood of that great triptych of Hawley albums “” Coles Corner, Lady”s Bridge, Truelove Gutter “” is already evident here.
His voice has now dropped a register and the arrangements have become more intricate since Late Night Final (on which Hawley”s country influence is still evident), but the basics of the Hawley sound, and the quality, are already there. The stand-out track is Baby, You”re My Light, which I featured on (which also features Ben Folds” The Luckiest). Death Cab For Cutie ““ The Photo AlbumDeath Cab For Cutie is one the most stupid band names in modern music. It evokes the image of shouting and wailing nu-metal emo types, or perhaps a death metal outfit that failed in conjuring a suitably satanic-sounding moniker. Death Cab are nothing of the sort, of course, nor do they deserve to be dismissed for featuring so prominently on the teen drama-soap The O.C. (which was actually quite good for a couple of seasons and featured some excellent music that otherwise would not have received wider exposure). The Photo Album is Death Cab”s transition album, still drawing from the Indie rock of the earlier albums but preparing for the almost symphonic feel of 2003″s Transatlanticism and last year”s Narrow Stairs.
It lacks the diversity of 2005″s Plans, but like Plans and more than Transatlanticism, it does have tracks that stand on their own. This is solidly guitar-driven, ambient Indie rock, but more accomplished (or, purists might say, polished) than the four preceding Death Cab albums.
Rilo Kiley – Take-Offs & LandingsIn 2004, Rilo Kiley released a brilliant album in More Adventurous. The preceding two albums are more patchy.
Take-Offs & Landings borrows its influences widely, blows some alt.country over it, and voila. Sometimes it works, and there is nothing here that is really objectionable, but this is very much the work of a group still finding its way. Likewise, the wonderful Jenny Lewis is still discovering her voice, which here is still banking on its cuteness before it became the sexiest voice since Julie London”s. If all this sounds half-hearted, then that is not quite fair on an enjoyable album. It suffers not on its own merits, but in comparison to what the group and Lewis as a solo artist produced later. Alicia Keys ““ Songs In A MinorAt a time when soul music is dying a gangrened death at the hands of dancing corporate muppets and sexless nasal whiners, we ought to be grateful for the few artists who still refer to the rich heritage of the genre. So I find it difficult to sympathise with those who dismiss the artistry of Alicia Keys.
OK, she”s not quite all that which the hype claims her to be, as a pianist or as a singer. Much of her material is bland. It”s safe to say that she cannot compare with, say, Roberta Flack. Judging only from her appearances at the Grammys (which I still watch for reasons I cannot comprehend; probably only for the In Memoriam section), I find her a bit smug, a bit corporate, a bit too convinced of her own genius.
Richard Hawley Discography Rar Sales
And yet, her albums includes a clutch of tracks which, had they been recorded 35 years earlier, would be noted as fine contributions to the canon of soul music, celebrating the derivations of her material as reflecting an astute choice of influences. Despite all the caveats I have raised, I”m glad that Alicia Keys is around.
The Shins ““ Oh, Inverted WorldPlaying the song New Slang from this album, Natalie Portman”s character in the fine fi.
. Treebound Story.
The Feral Cats.WebsiteRichard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist,. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of band in the 1990s. After that group broke up in 2000, he later joined the band, led by his friend, for a short time. As a solo musician, Hawley has released eight studio albums.
He has been nominated for a twice and once for a. He has collaborated with,. Hage, Erik. Retrieved 26 February 2016. McCall, Chris (1 May 2012). Retrieved 26 February 2016.
Hodgkinson, Will (11 September 2015). Retrieved 26 February 2016. ^ Molloy, Kevin (15 October 2010). Retrieved 22 May 2012. Archived from on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2015. Entry for 'Kindness Ain't Made of Sand' on BMI has his full name listed.
^ Marszalek, Julian (20 October 2014). Retrieved 26 September 2015. ^ Raphael, Amy (14 July 2012). Times Newspapers Ltd. Archived from on 26 September 2015.
Retrieved 26 September 2015. ^ Hawley, Richard (27 October 2014). Archived from on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015. ^ Bean, J. The Guardian.
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Jonze, Tim (12 September 2012). The Guardian. London. Barrett, Christopher (24 December 2012). Performing Rights Society (PRS). Retrieved 26 September 2015.
Gallacher, Alex (9 July 2013). Retrieved 28 September 2015. Rogers, Jude.
The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Cragg, Michael. The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
Kermode, Mark. The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2015. ^. Richard Hawley. Retrieved 11 July 2015. Simpson, Dave (31 May 2019).
The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019. Alex McCann. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
8 October 2003. Archived from on 27 December 2003. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
Retrieved 10 May 2014. Archived from on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
Richard Hawley Discography Rar Software
9 October 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2012. Jamieson, Alastair (15 October 2009). The Daily Telegraph.
Retrieved 22 May 2010. 15 March 2012.
Retrieved 18 March 2012. ^. Retrieved 4 May 2009. ^. Retrieved 13 October 2018.External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to. – official site.
Richard Hawley Songs
discography at. – official message board where Hawley is a regular contributor.