Back In The Game 2013!

As Soundgarden recently sang, I have "Been Away Too Long", partly due to server troubles, mixed with trying a different blog-site (fail) and general business on my part. Well, it's time to fix that. Let's start by counting down the best of last year's releases. Ready?...Okay!

TOP TEN OF 2012

1. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN-WRECKING BALL

This one came out early in the year and is still in rotation. Nobody else said what needed to be said this year with the thoughtfulness and class that Bruce did. A portrait of our times with rock, gospel and Celtic flourishes that makes this a winner all round.

2. FOXY SHAZAM-WELCOME TO THE CHURCH OF ROCK AND ROLL

Big, ridiculously catchy rock and roll that can't help but get stuck in your head. Recalls Queen, Slade, and about a billion other bands all while being over the top crazy. Rocking one minute, anthems the next and a hint of soul thrown in too. Lyrically silly, musically huge. Every home should have a copy and every song should be a hit. Awesome.

3. SOUL ASYLUM-DELAYED REACTION

A nice return for Dave Pirner and co. Quality songs all the way through, be it the introspective stuff or the rockers. It's not quite as angry or depressed as the old stuff but it is one of the more varied albums of the band's career and a great listen time and time again. Even when Dave flips out and thinks he's Frank Sinatra.

4. GRACE POTTER AND THE NOCTURNALS-THE LION THE BEAST THE BEAT

Such a good record. Mostly known for a big rock sound with a groove, Potter and her group have given us a much more varied disc and it delivers. Ranging from funky, sweaty rock and roll to big bombastic ballads and some funky 80s throwbacks, there's a lot to love. From the first listen it feels new, yet familiar and only gets better. Ms. Potter's rough and tumble voice is strong, timid and sexy all at once and mixed in with ace material and production like this makes for a record I'll be listening to for a long time to come.

5. ZZ TOP-LA FUTURA

Finally!!! The ZZ top record that all long time fans have been waiting for finally is here. Up to date production meets nasty, funky guitars and a hell of a groove and the standard naughty good time attitude one would expect from a classic ZZ Top record. And that's what this is: a classic, pre Mtv ZZ Top record. Taste, tone and tenacity drips off this thing like Barbecue sauce. And a good time shall be had by all.

6. PATTERSON HOOD- HEAT LIGHTNING RUMBLES IN THE DISTANCE

Every time I listen to this I think  "Wow, I forgot how good this is". Which says a lot about how it sneaks up on you. Mr. Hood is known as the leader of Southern rock.alt country band Drive-By Truckers. That band is loud and brash, but here he is much more reserved. It is a treat to hear Patterson tell these stories while backed up by acoustic instruments and hear how that affects his vocal choices. Perhaps not a perfect record but a confessional one and a disc that requires the listener to engage and actually listen, a quality all too rare these days.

7. OFF!-OFF!

You didn't think I'd finish this list without a punk record, did you? Off is a bit of a punk rock supergroup, if such a thing can exist, with members of  The Circle Jerks, Redd Cross, Rocket From The Crypt and Burning Brides. It sounds exactly like it's supposed to, the SST records sound of a band playing inside a cardboard box. Sixteen songs in seventeen minutes, all of them pissed off, some of them even mildly catchy and others with a tad bit of an off kilter structure that hints at some interesting experimentation. Pretty much a perfect old school American punk record made for the punks of today. Loved it.

8. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY-CORROSION OF CONFORMITY

You didn't think I'd finish this list without a metal record, did you? C.O.C. was a hardcore band many moons ago but have travelled a path that has seen everything from redneck rock to thrash metal and anything in between. Currently they are focused on a kind of gloomy sludge with thrash breaks that makes the songs twist and turn to surprise and delight the discerning listener. Also it's heavy and it rocks like Sabbath with a deep groove. Very metal.

9. THE CULT-WEAPON OF CHOICE

No other record has grown on me more this year. at first I thought it was an average at best Cult record but now I believe it may be one of their best. Billy Duffy is as great a guitarist as he ever was, and seems more focused on melody and atmosphere this time out, while Ian Astbury's voice has all the goth/shaman/metal dude qualities we've come to expect without suffering a bit over the years. This is a more mature Cult than we've seen before, one that rocks just as hard but embraces its early goth self as well and fuses the two together with a big broad brush that paints the way to an interesting future. Sometimes it's nice to be wrong.

10. JAY GONZALES-MESS OF HAPPINESS

Another solo venture by a Drive-By Truckers member, this one sounding nothing at all like DBT. This is pure pop rock perfection. Beatles (okay, Paul McCartney) meets Todd Rundgren meets AM Gold. Reminds me of being a little kid in the seventies, before Disco ruined them. An unexpected joy of a disc for me and a great way to top off this year's list.

Here's some other stuff:

ALMOST MADE THE LIST:

Soundgarden-King Animal (surprisingly good from a band I only kind of like)
Tenacious D-Rize Of The Fenix (not quite as good as the first but I did enjoy it)
Waylon Jennings-Goin' Down Rockin' (posthumous record that is truly a Waylon record, defiantly so)
Shooter Jennings-Family Man ( a welcome return to country, though a flawed one. Still really good)

LIKED IT, DIDN'T LOVE IT:
The Gaslight Anthem-Handwritten
Bob Mould-The Silver Age
Lucero-Women And Work

GUILTY PLEASURE OF THE YEAR:
Jack Blades-Rock 'N Roll Life (very guilty..but the guy can write a chorus. What can I say the '80s die hard)

WANTED TO LIKE IT BUT JUST DIDN'T:
Alabama Shakes-Boys And Girls (lots of promise, great sound and vocals but left me flat)
Best Coast-The Only Place (meh)

RIP OFF OF THE YEAR:
Joey Ramone...Ya Know? (some good riffs and some decent songs but it sounds like a total cash grab by Joey's estate. Lots of people contributed to finishing this material but it doesn't work, and some of it is really bad. joey deserved, no, deserves better)

DISSAPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR:

Rush-Clockwork Angels
I know, everyone raves about it and it's borderline sacrilege for a Rush fan to pan a Rush album but I really dislike this record. Where to start on this hot mess of a disc? How about the concept? For a concept album this one is as thin as Alex's hair. It is a stretched out retelling of 2112 and a feeble one at that. Both pretentious and boring. It's not that I disagree with the central themes and ideas (I do in part) but that the execution of these ideas is so poor. And the songs are weak as well. Musically , yes, the band is playing better than ever but then the lyrics come in and it all goes to pot. The barely there concept makes some songs almost nonsensical outside of the piece, and the number of songs that are enjoyable on their own are few and not quite worthy of inclusion with the classics. I still love Rush and will welcome future releases with open arms but this record makes me mad that the first full concept record by the band is so inept and useless.

LIVE RECORD OF THE YEAR:

Led Zeppelin-Celebration Day
So much better than it has any right to be. I didn't want to like it as much as I did but this was a concert that actually lived up to its hype. Okay, so Robert Plant's voice isn't what it once was and Jason Bonham plays with a little bit more of a modern rock flair than his father (but is technically better), and the bass is a little low in the mix. But these issues are minor as it's just nice to hear these songs come back to life on the concert stage once again. And what's more, the guys sound great-like a living, breathing, on fire rock and roll band who have been playing together nightly, not one who hasn't seen the light of day for over 20 years. A welcome surprise and a worthy addition for the Zeppelin fan.

Awright, that's it, and that's enough! Back soon.