Friday, December 22, 2006
Wayne's Top Ten CDs of 2006
A few weeks ago, my colleagues at
Billboard began accumulating our ten best lists. They are now posted on the Web site: Just click on the highlight on the homepage. Maybe over this holiday weekend I'll elaborate, or mention some near-misses for the top ten.
WAYNE ROBINS
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Stadium Arcadium" (Warner Bros.). Broad, deep and often thrilling.
2. Arctic Monkeys, "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (Domino). Snapshots of urban post-adolescent Brit youth culture, delivered in a fresh, street-wise, club-smart vernacular.
3. Bruce Springsteen, "We Shall Overcome -- The Seeger Sessions" (Columbia). A celebration of American roots music, emphasizing the spirit of resistance and renewal.
4. Bob Dylan, "Modern Times" (Columbia). His funniest album since half of "Bringing It All Back Home."
5. Johnny Dowd, "Cruel Words" (Bongo Beat). Deep-fried fatalism and progressive Pentecostalism from the backwoods.
6. Gnarls Barkley, "St. Elsewhere" (Downtown/Atlantic). Exultant singing, fungible sounds; how can shallow be so deep?
7. Thea Gilmore, "Harpo's Ghost" (Sanctuary). A stealth release? No, it's just Sanctuary hiding the best under-30 singer/songwriter of Britain and the world.
8. New York Dolls, "One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This" (Roadrunner). Proving rock'n'roll never forgets.
9. Exene Cervenka and the Original Sinners, "Sev7en" (Nitro). At 50, still raising fine-tuned punkabilly heck.
10. Brazil, "The Philosophy of Velocity" (Immortal). Smart prog for a new century.
Comments welcome.
Billboard began accumulating our ten best lists. They are now posted on the Web site: Just click on the highlight on the homepage. Maybe over this holiday weekend I'll elaborate, or mention some near-misses for the top ten.
WAYNE ROBINS
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Stadium Arcadium" (Warner Bros.). Broad, deep and often thrilling.
2. Arctic Monkeys, "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (Domino). Snapshots of urban post-adolescent Brit youth culture, delivered in a fresh, street-wise, club-smart vernacular.
3. Bruce Springsteen, "We Shall Overcome -- The Seeger Sessions" (Columbia). A celebration of American roots music, emphasizing the spirit of resistance and renewal.
4. Bob Dylan, "Modern Times" (Columbia). His funniest album since half of "Bringing It All Back Home."
5. Johnny Dowd, "Cruel Words" (Bongo Beat). Deep-fried fatalism and progressive Pentecostalism from the backwoods.
6. Gnarls Barkley, "St. Elsewhere" (Downtown/Atlantic). Exultant singing, fungible sounds; how can shallow be so deep?
7. Thea Gilmore, "Harpo's Ghost" (Sanctuary). A stealth release? No, it's just Sanctuary hiding the best under-30 singer/songwriter of Britain and the world.
8. New York Dolls, "One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This" (Roadrunner). Proving rock'n'roll never forgets.
9. Exene Cervenka and the Original Sinners, "Sev7en" (Nitro). At 50, still raising fine-tuned punkabilly heck.
10. Brazil, "The Philosophy of Velocity" (Immortal). Smart prog for a new century.
Comments welcome.
