Best Albums Of 2023 Alphabetically By Artist Ending January 31st
The Bootleg Series Vol. 17: Fragments – The Time Out Of Mind Sessions (1996-1997) (MP3) – Bob Dylan – Considered to be one of Bob Dylan’s great works but only if your revisionism hasn’t found a minimum of works that aren’t great, in which case it is what we expect if not more, Time Out Of Mind follows two excellent cover albums and is proceeded by Love And Theft (another masterpiece); Dylan wouldn’t fall to earth till 2009. This is a remix of TOM for eleven tracks plus an additional 8 and very good outtakes as well; presumably these are the mixes his producer Daniel Lanois didn’t like. The mp3 is $35 and includes a an album of live versions from 1999 and every song is part of a larger scenario of loss and I’d age
The Bootleg Series Vol. 17: Fragments – The Time Out Of Mind Sessions (1996-1997) (streaming) – Bob Dylan – a remix of the original album and an album of outtakes
Ace (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) – Bob Weir – A Grateful Dead by any other name, this excellent album is given a serious remixing as well as an hour from Weir’s April 22 Radio City concert, it is a good album, a smart remix, a fine live add… Weir was 24 years old when he recorded it
St. Jude (15th Anniversary Edition) – Courteeners – arriving ten years after Brit Pop’s peak in the 1990s, in 2008, but the Manchester band continued the legacy brought down from The Hollies to Stone Roses and beyond as Oasis style hard rockers. I missed the album in 2008 but it is my bad because this is near perfect English rock
One Day – Fucked Up – the return of Toronto’s Fucked Up -a tough to love hard rock mindfucks, with their best work since 2011, written and recorded in 24 hours (thus the name) it is hard headed classic rock
MERCY – John Cale – This is better than you’d expect and you’d expect it to be really good. The former Velvet Underground has averaged an album every three to six years since the mid-70s (more before) and they can be impenetrable and not much fun, but not always: with the addition of young turks Weyes Blood and state of art rock Animal Collective, John is less dystopian and more real life bummer: dip yourself deep in sonic hellaciousness and disquiet
I Have Nothing Against Homosexuality So Long as No Fellow Male Tries to Force Himself On Me, and at This Point, I Don’t Think I’m in Much Danger – John Mendelssohn – Pop music success is 10% genius, 90% blind luck, and the former rock critic hasn’t had much luck but while he might not be a genius strictly speaking he is still one of the most unique singer songwriters in the business. “Nothing Against” is a body blow to Trumpism just in time for The Donald’s third campaign. Consider John a more baroque musically, less understanding politically take on the US (where the California native left for the UK years ago): closing with a country and western ode to the horrors of his life on “My Heart’s An Open Book” after spending ten tracks railing at the GOP and the dimming of the light, he is left with: “The lamb isn’t silent anymore, the chickens have come home to roost, I can’t seem to get up off the floor, my vaccine’s may need a boost” and the rarest thing, an album about being ravished by old age
Strays – Margo Price – the first great album of the year is hard rock meets classic rock meets Americana with an exciting sound that improves with listening. “Radio” is hard to beat and Price and her husband nail down an explosive Americana
Beware of the Monkey – Mike – on his eighth album Mike remains the adult in the rap pack going from underground other to middle class sounds as he plays with form and self awareness in an effort to prove himself our best rapper. Which he isn’t. But he’s not bad
B-Sides, Demos & Rarities – PJ Harvey – the compilation of the outtakes, demos, B-Sides that PJ Harvey has been dropping for a coupla years and spanning her entire career sounds great when altogether. It reminds me why you worship her
Gloria – Sam Smith – five years after his worse album comes Sam Smith’s best album, and not just the world beating “Unholy” but that and the entire album is song after song of Sam studying sex without the moribund bad news of lost love overwhelming them. Easily their best work since if not “Latch” certainly “I’m Not The Only One” , the songs are superb and Sam imprints on them and while I’ll pass on “How To Cry” nearly everything else here is perfect and “UnholY” is other worldly and the Stargates production team from Norway are nothing if not a good add
Dead Meat – The Tubs – nothing personal but was that the best name this fine indie rock band could come up with? Members of Joanna Gruesome and Ex-Void come together for a great set of post-punk, punk, pop, and a huge English vibe
MANSION MUSIK – Trippie Redd – Trippie got fired from opening for Travis Scott on the “ASTROWORLD” tour and it is easy to see why one of the champions of soundcloud rap -that genre that blew up with Juice WRLD and XXXTentacion’s death imploded, wasn’t taken seriously. At places like the basement of Webster Hall, folks like the featured here Ski Mask The Slump King mistook chaos for exuberance. HOWEVER, Redd is excellent on this feature packed to the gills (Future, Kodak Black, the before mentioned Travis… many more) album of rap as pop and a whole lotta chest beating that all adds up to a sensation and a potential smash
