Tag Archives: PJ Harvey

Best of 2011 and early 2012

March 27, 2012Music'60s concerts, '60s rock, alternative, Americana, Anais Mitchell, Anna Calvi, Aruba Red, blog, blues-rock, Booker T. Jones, British Rock, Buddy Miller, country, country rock, country-folk, Dr. John, Dusty Springfield, Emmylou Harris, Esperanza Spalding, folk, Garbage, Gillian Welch, Greg Allman, Imelda May, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Jackie Deshannon, jazz, Jimi Hendrix, Kala Farnham, Laura Marling, Lindsay Buckingham, Lucinda Williams, Mark Lanegan, Music, Nick Lowe, PJ Harvey, rock, Rocket Juice & The Moon, Ry Cooder, Sharon Van Etten, Shelby Lynne, soul, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Beach Boys, The Black Keys, The Blues Project, The Civil Wars, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Yardbirds, Tom Waits, Top albums, Urge OverkillPaul Rosano

Finally a list of favorite albums from 2011. I’ve included the best albums of early 2012 as well. Here are the top albums from 2011:

1. El Camino, The Black Keys: No they haven’t lost their way. No, this isn’t a step back or a step to the side. This is infectious, rocking and raw, though not as raw as their early releases, tuneful and driving. They keep moving forward.

2. The Harrow & The Harvest, Gillian Welch and Let England Shake, P.J. Harvey: It’s a tie. Second choices each. Can’t separate them. Welch and her partner David Rowlings have produced an extraordinary duet album underpinned with roots guitar and banjo and enchanting vocals. The songs are spare country-folk pieces beautifully executed. As for Harvey, I’ve already mentioned this one in an early 2011 best-of list. It continues to grow on me if that’s possible. Highly thoughtful, enveloping musical statement featuring Harvey’s and her friends’ expert muscianship and musicality. There, I’ve used a form of music three times in that sentence.

4. I’m With You, The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Talk about an overlooked album. Oh, I’m sure it sold well. The only problem with this album is that it had to follow Stadium Arcadium, which was a career effort in creativity and popularity. Still, it’s more of the Peppers and the Peppers are quite something.

5. Hard Bargain, Emmylou Harris: This was my top choice for the early list. It’s dropped a few places, not because it isn’t worthy, because the later releases were just that good.

6. Tedeschi Trucks Band, Revelator: Another early choice that stood up. Blues, soul, R&B mix with Tedeschi’s heartfelt, soulful vocals on top and Trucks’ dynamic, penetrating slide running through it all. Continue reading Best of 2011 and early 2012 →

Best of 2011 so far

August 16, 2011Music'60s rock, alternative, Bill Frisell, blues, Buddy Miller, classic rock, country, country rock, Derek Trucks, Emmylou Harris, Greg Leisz, Imelda May, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Jack White, Jackie Deshannon, Lucinda Williams, Marc Ribot, PJ Harvey, pop, pop-rock, Spotify, Susan Tedeschi, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Majestic Silver Strings, The Raveonettes, The Strokes, Urge Overkill, Wanda JacksonPaul Rosano

Best 10, plus one, I’ve heard this year:

1. Hard Bargain, Emmylou Harris: A longtime fan, I was still stunned by the beauty and poignancy of this record. Dark but not despairing lyrics that hold a wealth of experience and ring Emmylou Harris Hard Bargain true. Spare instrumentation expertly chosen, and a clear, full production by Jay Joyce. Harris, whose voice — gorgeous and penetrating — is one of the best in not only country but contemporary music today, has consistently released quality albums, but this is the best of recent vintage.

2. Revelator, Tedeschi Trucks Band: A delectable brew of blues, R&B and southern soul. Tedeschi’s voice is suited well for the material and Trucks is stellar on his signature slide or single string guitar playing. Augmented by a fine horn section, the material, from slow burners to infectious grooves, brings out the best in the musicians with opener Come See About Me, Until You Remember and Learn How To Love standouts from a quality set.

3. Buddy Miller’s The Majestic Silver Strings: Miller leads a dream guitar band of Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz with guest singers, including Ann McCrary, Patty Griffin, Lee Ann Womack, Emmylou Harris and Shawn Colvin through a roots-style outing with western, country, jazz and rock overtones. The playing is a joyful listen, as expected, on material in part from Lefty Frizzell, Libby Cotton, Tex Owens and traditional pieces.

4. Mayhem, Imelda May: May’s follow-up to the big success of debut Love Tattoo sees her stretching out from her rock-a-billy base to show jazz and R&B leanings. Don’t worry there’s plenty of ’50s and early ’60s rocking material on hand. She’s been attracting a lot of attention for her collaborations with Jeff Beck in the past two years, but her own steamy, proficient delivery shines here.

5. Let England Shake, PJ Harvey: With each new album it seems Harvey perfects her playing on an instrument or learns a new one and for this one it’s autoharp, last seen with the Lovin’ Spoonful in the late 1960s. Much has been made of the lyrics on this record being more outwardly directed and socially conscious rather than a reflection or Harvey’s inner self. That’s true, but it’s Harvey’s wonderful vocals, melodies, instrumentation, arrangements and production that make this another compelling addition to her strong catalogue.

Continue reading Best of 2011 so far →

White’s Weather experiment

September 4, 2009MusicAlison Mosshart, alternative rock, blog, blues-rock, Concrete Blonde, Dean Fertita, hard rock, Horehound, Jack Lawrence, Jack White, Johnette Napolitano, Led Zeppelin, Music, PJ Harvey, Queens Of The Stone Age, rock, The Dead Weather, The Kills, The Raconteurs, The White Stripes, Third Man StudioPaul Rosano

Jack White’s latest group The Dead Weather reaches highs that equal the best of two of his other projects, The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. Still, despite excellent musicianship, effective vocals and intriguing lyrics, the group falls a little short overall of sustaining those highs throughout its debut, Horehound, particularly in comparison with The Raconteurs’ two records.

horehound-album An interesting hard-edged, lyrically dark album, Horehound combines elements of Zeppelin-inspired hard rock with modern takes on alternative and blues themes. The group is at its best when Alison Mosshart, of The Kills, takes lead vocal duties as she does on nine of the 11 tracks.

Her voice is perfectly suited for the band’s style, sometimes evoking a female Robert Plant at others sounding reminiscent of Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano or for moments even a trace of P.J. Harvey. Comparisons aside, she retains a singular quality that only reminds one of those artists. Her performance here shows her off as one of modern rock’s best singers and front-women.

Things work best on the first two tracks, 60 Feet Tall and Hang You From The Heavens, both written by Mosshart and guitarist Dean Fertita of Queens Of The Stone Age. For this assemblage White plays drums on all but one track and The Raconteurs Jack Lawrence joins in on bass. Continue reading White’s Weather experiment →

A Woman a man again

April 10, 2009Music'90s rock, A woman a man walked by, alternative rock, Americana, Dance Hall At Louse Point, English traditional, John Parish, PJ Harvey, punkPaul Rosano

PJ Harvey has often said she never wants to repeat herself. As her catalogue bears out, she always changes direction for each new project. Although it’s inevitable that an artist will in some ways repeat herself, she does an admirable job of sticking to her goal.

pj-a-woman For instance, her most accessible album, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (2000), which although sounded in some ways commercial for Harvey was really anything but when compared to Top 40 fare, was followed by a return to rawness and simplicity in Uh Huh Her (2004), reminiscent of some of her earliest work. Next came White Chalk (2007), completely piano-based, a first for her.

Of course the common vein running through these, as with all her work, is the distinctive, accomplished voice, pure at times or rough-edged and manipulated through electronics at others, a compelling sense of melody that is rooted in her knowledge and appreciation for the roots of modern day rock and the thought-provoking vivid imagery of her lyrics that are never conventional.

A Woman A Man Walked By is Harvey’s second collaboration with John Parish, the first Dance Hall At Louse Point from 1996. They have worked together for a long time, since Harvey’s early days with Automatic Dlamini when she played saxophone for that band and on her solo work, particularly To Bring You My Love (1995), during which Parish played in her touring band. For both of their albums, Parish writes and plays the music and Harvey writes the words. Although I’ve often wondered how much input she must have with melody. I would think some at least. Continue reading A Woman a man again →

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Tag Archives: PJ Harvey

Best of 2011 and early 2012

Best of 2011 so far

White’s Weather experiment

A Woman a man again

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