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Ok, I’m going to get this out of my system now (slightly updated), as it will bother me for the next few weeks otherwise. If I come across anything that I miss – it will be added later. Please note that this is purely a personal list, not critically informed, that ignores the mass market and the esoteric and will appeal to nobody except myself. A couple of points – there is no specific jazz section, as I haven’t gotten around to listening to a lot of new jazz this year because of the sheer volume of great reissues (next year I plan to really explore the London Jazz Scene).  It was a mediocre year, at best, but for some stellar recordings by legacy artists (Springsteen, Nick Cave, Jeff Lynne, David Crosby, Tool), the re-emergence of Irish punk (Fontaines DC and the Murder Capital), great art-rock-folk (Weyes Blood, Angel Olson, Richard Dawson) and a true retromania masterpiece of soul-funk by Michael Kiwanuka.

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2019

The following are the albums that I listened to the most this year, so, I suppose were my favorite records:

Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell
Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising
David Crosby, Becca Stevens, Michelle Willis, Michael League – Here If You Listen
Jesca Hoop – Stonechild

These are records that are really excellent and, within their genre are strongly recommended:

Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka
Fontaines DC – Dogrel
Angel Olson – All Mirrors
Richard Dawson – 2020
Leonard Cohen – Thanks for the Dance
Sturgill Simpson – Sound & Fury
Foals – Everything not Saved will be Lost – Part 1
Tool – Inoculum
The Murder Capital – When I Have Fears
Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow
Iron and Wine & Calexico – Years to Burn
Joe Lovano, Marilyn Crispell, Carmen Castaldi – Trio Tapestry
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
Bruce Springsteen – Western Stars
Pernice Brothers – Spread the Feeling
New Pornographers – In the Morse Code of Brake Lights
Steve Mason – About the Light
The National – I am easy to find
The Comet is Coming – Trust is the Lifeforce of The Deep Mystery
SEED Ensemble – Driftglass
Black Midi – Schlagenheim
Elbow – Giants of All Sizes
Jenny Lewis – On the Line

Best New Jazz Album:

Branford Marsalis Quartet ‎– The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul

Note the absence of hip-hop (I will post my feelings about 40 years of hip hop soon), smooth R & B and pop music in general. I don’t have any problem with overproduced, production factory pop – but it is really singles rather than album music.

These are records that, although few will end up on critics end of year lists, I really enjoyed:

The Black Keys –Let’s Rock
The Waterboys – Where the Action Is
Charles LLoyd & Lucinda Williams – Vanished Gardens
The Raconteurs – Help Us StrangerJenny Lewis – On the Line
Biffy Clyro – Balance Not Symmetry
These New Puritans – Inside the Rose
Cass McCombs – Tip of the Sphere
Weezer – Black and Teal Albums
These New Puritans – Inside The Rose
The Felice Brothers – Undress
Cass McCombs – Tip Of The Sphere
Deerhunter – Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?
Joe Jackson – Fool
Jeff Lynne’s ELO* – From Out Of Nowhere

RE-ISSUES OF THE YEAR

Blue Note Tone Poet Series – basically 33rpm Music Matters product released by EMI
Blue Note 80 vinyl series
Muse – Origin Of Muse
John Lee Hooker – The Country Blues Of John Lee Hooker
Bob Dylan Featuring Johnny Cash – Travelin’ Thru: The Bootleg Series Vol. 15 1967–1969
Bill Evans Trio – Portrait In Jazz (mobile fidelity ultradisc 1 step – simply the best vinyl reissues ever)
The Beates – Abbey Road – The CD+BluRay box set is wonderful – don’t bother with the LP – you probably already have a good enough version of it
Elvis – International Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada August 26, 1969 – Expanded vinyl version of one of the great concert albums ever – Viva Las Vegas
Gene Clark – No Other (Super deluxe box set)– amazing record, beautifully packaged: box set of the year
Tim Buckley – The Complete Album Collection – all of the Buckley studio albums in a tidy box for a reasonable price.
The Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet ‎– The Complete Lansdowne Recordings 1965 – 1969 (Jazzman) – exquisite recordings, beautifully reproduced and available as single albums
Traffic – The Studio Albums 1967-1974 Gorgeous vinyl box set with terrific sound
Doves – Lost Souls Available on vinyl for first time in 2 decades
John Coltrane – Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings – Although digitally sourced this is a wonderful looking and sounding package
Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen Acoustic – My favorite Record Store Day 2019 product
Duke Pearson – I Don’t Care Who Knows It – The first, and so far only, release from Wallinblink
Stan Getz, Bill Evans – Stan Getz & Bill Evans – “lost” recording, apparently! Worth a listen. Not much to choose between CD and LP.
Stan Getz Quartet ‎– Getz At The Gate (Live At The Village Gate, Nov. 26, 1961)
Ocean Colour Scene – Moseley Shoals – A much maligned group – one of the best albums of the 1990s finally reissued on double LP
Spoon – Everything Hits At Once (The Best Of Spoon)– my greatest hits album of the year
John Coltrane ‎– Blue World – is this a new album or re-issue of odd and sods recordings – who knows. Any new Coltrane product is worth listening to.
The Art Emsemble of Chicago and Associated Emsembles – Box Set fro ECM. One word – wow – I figure I will have listened to it all by the end of 2021.

~ by Pat Neligan on November 14, 2019.

Posted in Albums of the Year, Uncategorized
Tags: Favorite Albums 2019