Post by foveaux on Jan 1, 2020 8:23:04 GMT 12
I'll start: (no particular order. bit of a bias to american artists...hmmm) David Kilgour: Bobbies a Girl  Justin Townes Earle: The Saint of Lost Causes  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Ghosteen  Mandolin Orange: Tides of a Teardrop  Calexico/Iron & Wine: Years To Burn  Giant Sand: Recounting the Ballads of Thin Line Men  Joe Henry: The Gospel According To Water  Wilco: Ode to Joy 
"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]
"Free - I miss that band, but when I look back, we were very young" [Paul Rodgers]
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Jan 1, 2020 12:06:40 GMT 12
Thanks Foveaux, That gives me a few to check out once the bank balance recovers..
Is that Giant Sand a reissue ?
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Post by andrewp on Jan 1, 2020 15:25:01 GMT 12
Crikey...Clearly I need to get out more.. Apart from Nick Cave they were all new to me. Thank goodness for a streamer thing and ROON!!
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Post by Citroen on Jan 1, 2020 16:31:53 GMT 12
The Wilco and Kilgour keep going in and out of my cart.
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Post by Owen Y on Jan 2, 2020 13:12:41 GMT 12
It's hard to argue about Tides of a Teardrop. Mandolin Orange turned into a 'band' with the last album, 'Blindfaller', but they start to sound like pretty good unit on this latest release. Additionally, this highly 'nuanced' recording, with nice acoustic instrumentation, is really helping me re-tune my system a bit currently - the understated (mostly) tempoes & dynamic contrasts, vocal touches, ambience...  (A number of my other 2019 purchases (few) are older releases that happen to be new to me  )
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Post by jon on Jan 2, 2020 14:25:19 GMT 12
Thank you for the Joe Henry. Listening to it now.
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Post by Citroen on Jan 2, 2020 15:24:10 GMT 12
Yeah, that Joe Henry is a great album. My 2019 highlights would have to include Thom Yorke's third solo effort - Anima  Jaimie Branch's Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise (her follow up to, guess what, Fly or Die I).  Leonard Cohen's posthumous Thanks For The Dance  The Art Ensemble of Chicago - We Are On The Edge  Thomas LJ White - Her  Matthew Halsall - Oneness  Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble – Where Future Unfolds. In fact almost anything that the International Anthem label produces! 
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Post by Citroen on Jan 2, 2020 16:23:51 GMT 12
Oh, and a shout out to the excellent Blue Note reissued Tone Poet series.
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Post by cooksferry on Jan 2, 2020 18:55:43 GMT 12
My purchases this year have probably been the fewest in the last 15 years.
Mainly physical digital now, cd/sacd/bluray audio, had enough of overly expensive, poorly manufactured vinyl. Plus I've run out of room.
My best new release of the year is Rosanne Cash, She Remembers Everything, a record I'd rank above the previous The River and The Thread. I did find it a slow burner that took a couple of plays to become addictive. How much do I like this record, well I purchased the cd, then the lp and then went whole hog and got the deluxe box set just for the hell of it.
I don't have much interest in pursuing new music lately, preferring to retreat to the safety of the past.
Best reissue , Gene Clark, No Other . The super deluxe set is a work of love by 4AD, wonderful music beautifully presented. Not cheap but worth every penny for me. The alternative tracks present the original record in a new light and if you don't want to pay out for the big box the much cheaper 2 cd set is certainly worth a punt.
One other reissue worth a mention is the 50th anniversary reissue of the Rolling Stones Let it Bleed. The big box is again expensive and besides the mono mix on sacd there's not anything that's new if you've been picking up Stones reissues like the Mono Boxes or the 2002 sacds. However the physical presentation is nicely done, flat vinyl and well produced book.
For 2020 I'm guessing it'll be even slower but I'm looking forward to finally playing some of the records that haven't had an airing in decades.
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Post by foveaux on Jan 2, 2020 19:38:36 GMT 12
Thanks Foveaux, That gives me a few to check out once the bank balance recovers.. Is that Giant Sand a reissue ? Hi CGoL comment on the Giant Sand/Howe Gelb (my underline): "...he has now turned his hand at re-thinking and re-working some of his initial albums. Last year he started out with his Giant Sand debut, Valley Of Rain, now it is time to re-do his sophomore effort The Ballad Of Thin Line Man (1986), this time going under the title of Recounting The Ballads Of Thin Line Men. With this incarnation of Giant Sand stripped to a trio, Gelb and Tommy Larkins (drums) and Thøger Lund (bass), that is exactly what Gelb goes for - a re-visioned version of mutant Americana that is one of his staples, keeping the rocking, uptempo element to the eleven tracks here. But then the number of tracks is also important to mention, as he drops a couple of tracks from the original version, adds “Reptilian” (the track that opens the album) from the original albums 25th-anniversary re-issue, and then changes the song order all over. What we get in the end is the all-out rocking version of the original that certainly sounds even better live, but then, as always with Gelb, you cannot be certain that will be what you get when you see him on stage next time around." imho, it's a cracker album!
"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]
"Free - I miss that band, but when I look back, we were very young" [Paul Rodgers]
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Jan 3, 2020 8:19:15 GMT 12
Thanks Foveaux,
Wondered why the title seemed familiar but not the cover. That explains it all, now to go back and play the original.
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Post by Citroen on Jan 7, 2020 15:42:32 GMT 12
The Wilco and Kilgour keep going in and out of my cart. Thanks to foveaux  
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Post by foveaux on Jan 7, 2020 21:01:49 GMT 12
The Wilco and Kilgour keep going in and out of my cart. Thanks to foveaux Hello Citroen, all good...gotta keep that cart clear  While I find both these albums are (generally) in a quieter, contemplative style, they get onto my 'best' list, firstly, for their musical integrity. With repeated listening I'm enjoying how the tunes/songs reveal many layers of subtlety and charm. = i.e. both are probable 'classics' ?
"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]
"Free - I miss that band, but when I look back, we were very young" [Paul Rodgers]
848 posts
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Member
Post by mgb on Jan 10, 2020 18:13:36 GMT 12
Richard Hawley
Further
What a great secret Santa pressie
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Post by Owen Y on Jan 14, 2020 10:11:23 GMT 12
Richard Hawley Further What a great secret Santa pressie Hi mgb - nice vocal work & songwriting. Melancholy, evocative, nice. Will look into his catalogue. I like this...
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Post by Citroen on Jan 16, 2020 17:07:47 GMT 12
Michael Kiwanuka I really like his first two albums. This third one is more produced, the sound quality is excellent and its more complex. More mature. But sometimes I just want simpler. Nevertheless, a great album from 2019. 
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Post by Owen Y on Jan 17, 2020 8:17:18 GMT 12
I like his early stripped-down stuff, he has toured here I think & I remember regretting not making an effort to see him. I liked this....
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Pundit
Post by belbo on Jan 17, 2020 21:43:10 GMT 12
The Wilco album is really cool, thanks for sharing! I find less and less notable things to listen to every year (am I getting older?), one of the highlights is definitely the 2 Foals albums: 
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