TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2013 (GUARANTEED VAMPIRE WEEKEND-FREE!)

Yes, it's been a really long time since I've been here, updating No Expiration. I'm going to try to return more often in 2014.  You can read a lot of my stuff here at Radio.com, the site I work for (along with a number of websites for CBS owned classic rock, classic hits and Jack stations, along with Chicago's WXRT).

I'm planning on sharing my take on upcoming music events including the GRAMMYs and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as links to some of my interviews, videos and features.  But for now, I'm  returning with my take on the best albums of the year. 

Regarding the headline, I don't really have anything against Vampire Weekend, I am not that familiar with their music (although the few times I've heard their music, it hasn't really kept my attention). I think that they are a "zeitgeist" band - a band who, through a confluence of fans, critical acclaim and an intangible "x factor," are a band who everyone who works in music is expected to pay attention to, and expected to like. That's fine. I definitely like some artists who fall into that category. 

Anyway, I've been having a hard time coming up with an actual order for my favorite albums of the year. In recent years, I've had a handful of albums that rose to the top. In 2007, it was Ben Harper, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Mavis Staples and Robert Plant/Alison Krauss. In 2008, the Foxboro Hot Tubs. In 2009, Bob Dylan, the Cocktail Slippers, Rancid and Levon Helm. 2010, it was the Drive-By Truckers and Mavis Staples. 2011: Social Distortion and Foo Fighters. And last year, Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball. 

This year, I have a number of albums that I've enjoyed, but no clear favorites. But I'll try to put them in some sort of order here. So, let's start already!

1. Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite - Get Up! Two generations of blues artists come together. The easiest thing in the world would have been to make this a covers album. Instead, Ben (and the guys from his current band) wrote a bunch of songs that should be blues standards in the years to come. I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing them when their album came out, and that was a huge thrill. Shortly after that, I saw them playing a show at Irving Plaza (way too small of a venue for them) and it was mind-blowingly great. Check out my review, with my wife's amazing photos, here. Anyway, I'm curious to see what Ben does next: I'd love to see him reunite with his old band, the Innocent Criminals, in 2014.

2. Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks This was one that I thought was really overlooked by music critics. But I realize that a white, angry guy forever connected to the '90s who looks like he could totally kick your ass isn't who critics get behind these days.  But whatever. This album was really innovative. Of course, Trent has to compete with his past, which definitely looms large. Pretty Hate Machine, Broken and The Downward Spiral were all game changers. I don't know that he has another earth shaking record in him like that again. And he isn't that guy anymore: he's married, he has kids, has greyhounds. And yet, I think he's still haunted by every artist who ever disappointed him: he doesn't want to get soft, get boring or sell out. And he doesn't. Not only was this a great album, but he supported it with a great tour: first he did the festival circuit (they pretty much blew everyone away, including Mrs. Carter, at Made In America) and then revamped the band, put together a new stage show and raised the game once again on his headlining tour. Check out my review of that, and (again) my wife's amazing photos, here. I should also mention that his album with How To Destroy Angels was great, and their concerts were amazing too. I can't wait to see what Trent does next.

3. Kanye West - Yeezus Ok, I'm with the critics on this one. And yes, I know he's a douche. I've already written about my first (and only) encounter with him, you can read about it here. Do I buy into any of his hype? No. The Wall Street Journal wrote a scathing retort to his complaints that the fashion world is preventing him from entering their world. I wouldn't look to him as a fashion icon anyway. But what he is great at is making records. Of course, sometimes he needs some help and that was the case here: Rick Rubin exec-produced this album, and I'm sure that was a big factor. But Kanye knows a great track when he produces it, and he knows who to collaborate with (he worked with Daft Punk on "Black Skinhead," a highlight of the album). And he's still a compelling MC. I even like "Bound 2" but let's not talk about the video.

4. Mavis Staples - One True Vine Mavis's second collaboration in a row with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. I don't like this one as much as their last record, You Are Not Alone, but this is still pretty great. Once again, Tweedy wrote the best song on the album. Last time, it was the title track, this time it's "Every Step." As great as the songs that Tweedy writes for Wilco are, I think he saves his best songs for Mavis. Another highlight is the cover of Funkadelic's "Can You Get To That." Mavis is the rare artist who improves with age. I went to see her in concert at New York's City Winery, and it was one of the best shows I saw all year. It made you feel good to be alive.  Thank you Mavis.

5. Queens Of The Stone Age - Like Clockwork On one hand, I really like Josh Homme and all of his projects. On the other, I don't always go completely gaga for them as some others do. I really liked the Queens circa Songs For The Deaf, when they had three vocalists: Josh, bassist Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan. I thought that they sounded too "samey" once it was just Josh. And then I saw them at the Made In America festival. I thought they were great, and that the new songs were amazing, so I checked out the album, and really loved it. "I Sat By The Ocean" is one of my favorites. Josh got bonus points for calling Jay Z out after playing Made In America. I like some of Jay's stuff, but everyone else falls all over themselves trying to be his pal. Josh comes from a different era and a different school.

6. Arctic Monkeys - AM I really thought all the critics would go crazy over this album. They've been hyping the Arctic Monkeys forever. In my mind, they're one of the few bands that the media go crazy over who actually deserve the hype.  I loved their debut album, 2006's Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, and everything since. But I think this might be their best album. It combines their tight songwriting, which has always been a hallmark of the group, but also adds a lot of the "weirdness" that Josh Homme brought to the group when he produced their 2009 album Humbug. Josh actually sings backing vocals on a couple of songs here, giving him presence on two of my top ten albums of the year. Way to go, Josh!

7. Elvis Costello and the Roots - Wise Up Ghost More proof that both Elvis and the Roots can tackle any kind of music. A lot of this album reminds me of the Specials.  Sometimes these kinds of combinations can come off a bit contrived, but you know that with this one, it was all about mutual admiration and respect. I would love to see them tour together: imagine what Elvis songs they would revisit if they had time to rework some of his classics.  (In my world, Black Thought would be part of the tour and they'd do a bunch of Roots classics as well, Elvis could play along on guitar). Anyway, I'd file this with Elvis's great collab with Allen Toussaint, and the Roots' album with John Legend.

8. Black Sabbath - 13 Like everyone else, I approached this with managed expectations. I mean, could they still make a classic? Well, time will tell, but this album seriously kicked ass. And, OK, it doesn't  quite live up to the first six Sabbath albums, but it's at least as good as Never Say Die! and is better than Technical Ecstasy.  I obviously have a lot of feelings about the band: as I tell everyone I've ever met, I wrote the liner notes to the Black Box, and a while back was interviewed by A&E for a Sabbath doc. I was not disappointed by this album (other than the fact that they couldn't get it together with Bill Ward to have a full reunion; that said, Brad Wilk did a great job on the album, and Tommy Clufetos was great live). A lot of credit is due to producer Rick Rubin (him again!) but also to Ozzy, Tony and Geezer for bringing their A+ game. Especially Tony, who was going through chemo at the time.

9. Walking Papers - Walking Papers A new band featuring Duff McKagan on Guns N Roses and Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees and Mad Season. It sounds like nothing Duff has done, it's really more like Barrett's bands. In fact, singer Jeff Angell sounds a bit like Mark Lanegan. It's definitely a hard rock album, but more of a dusty Tom Waits type blues vibe (not a Clapton blues vibe). I was fortunate enough to interview Duff and Jeff for a Radio.com New Music To Know (read it here) and they were super cool. But what really turned me on to them was seeing them live on the second stage at the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival (see my review and my wife's photos here). They were really great, and I bought their album right there, and then reached out to get an interview. This isn't a "side project," it's a great band, please be clear. I hope they tour in 2014, I want to see them again!

10. Valerie June - Pushin' Against A Stone I also interviewed her for Radio.com's New Music To Know (read it here). I heard about her because some of the songs were produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys (one of my favorite producers) and I think I'd read about her somewhere. I checked out her album and was blown away.  It would be great if she was a "zeitgeist" artist, but she's not going out of her way to enter the conversation for anything other than her amazing singing voice and her great songs. I think music lovers will be following her career for years to come.



So, there you have it. But ten isn't enough, here's a few other albums that I feel I have to add:

• Daft Punk Random Access Memories It has my favorite song of the year (yes, "Get Lucky") and it sees them turning their backs on the EDM scene they may or may not have created, eschewing samples and using all live musicians, including Nile Rodgers. 
• M.I.A. Matangi It has another of my favorite songs of the year ("Bring The Noize"). She's one of the most interesting artists today, consistently. 
• Alice In Chains The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here In which they prove that the "new" lineup, with singer/guitarist William DuVall is for real. One of the most underrated albums of the year. 
• Haim Days Are Gone Yeah, I'm with the critics on this one, too. I don't know how it's "indie" though, it sounds like '80s era Fleetwood Mac and Genesis, and I mean that as a compliment. Especially relative to what most indie rock sounds like these days. I saw them at Made In America and they were incredible. 
• Aaron Neville My True Story In which he revisits his doo-wop past, on a stripped down record produced by Don Was and Keith Richards. 
• Holly Williams The Highway The granddaughter of Hank, her artistry stands on its own. She's great. "Drinkin'" is devastating. 
• Lindi Ortega Tin Star I discovered her opening for Social Distortion, she was great. I wish the press would pay attention to her, she surely deserves it. Another artist who I covered for Radio.com's New Music To Know. A super cool chick as well. 
• Jason Isbell Southeastern The former Drive-By Trucker (who wrote my favorite DBT song, "Never Gonna Change") announced this album by saying it was the best thing he's ever done. Well, it is pretty freaking great. Check it out. 
• Lone Bellow Lone Bellow A great new band, when they sing together it's magic. Do yourself a favor and check them out. 
• Kacey Musgraves Same Trailer Different Park  Another time the critics are right. Her debut is excellent, she will get my vote for Best New Artist at the GRAMMYs. 
• Hanni El-Khatib Head In The Dirt Another Dan Auerbach production, it's great garage rock from L.A. 
• Sara Bareilles The Blessed Unrest I'm sorry to say that I only listened to this after it got a GRAMMY nomination, and well deserved. I interviewed a lot of music writers about her, all of whom were surprised, because she's not part of the zeitgeist, or the conversation. Which is all hte more reason to check this album out. 

Well, that's pretty much it. Bring it, 2014!

PARTIAL REVIEW OF BEN HARPER AT TERMINAL 5: AWESOME

First off: the reason why this is a partial review, and the reason why I barely posted anything in September, is because I was on the "disabled list." I'm out of the hospital, feeling better, but don't have the energy for a full show in a general admission venue. But I figured seeing some of the show was better than none.

Of course, that turned out to be true. Ben Harper, back with Relentless7, was rocking tonight. Ben and the 7 are better than ever.  The last time I saw them, it still felt like a new project.  Now, with two albums and a lot of touring behind them, they're a really tight unit.

They opened with "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" which was excellent, and then kicked into "Glory and Consequence" which went into a cover of Pearl Jam's "Jeremy." Much of the show (at least the part that I saw) was material from Ben's albums with The Innocent Criminals, which is a change from the last tour, where he played mostly new material, and only played a few older songs. But R7 did great takes on the older stuff like "Faded" and "Diamonds On The Inside."  But their own material was great too - "Don't Give Up On Me Now" and "Rock and Roll Is Free" from his excellent new album Give Til It's Gone, and "Number With No Name" from White Lies For Dark Times are even better live than on the record.  I left the show during a long version of "Lay There And Hate Me."  Apparently, after that, Charlie Sexton sat in with the band for a few songs, but if anyone was at the show and wants to tell me what I missed, please hit me in the comments section.  I wish I could have stayed for the whole thing.

As much as I'd love to see Ben back with The Innocent Criminals, I've got to say that he and R7 have turned into a really great band.  I hope Ben works with both bands in the future (and of course I'd love to see him do more with his other group, Fistful Of Mercy).

I'd love to have been able to have gotten better pictures from the show, but my requests to the publicist for a photo pass went unanswered- even though I paid for tickets, and it would have cost nothing.  But you can see the fine work of No Expiration's official photographer (aka my wife): check out her photos from recent concert by  Tom Morello, Steve Earle and The Drive-By Truckers.

THE GREATEST ALBUMS OF NO EXPIRATION'S LIFETIME

This is my 2,000th post! It feels like a big deal to me.  I've really enjoyed doing this blog, reading your comments (both here and on the No Expiration Facebook page) and occasionally meeting people who read the blog in person.  Thanks for your support, I'm going to continue doing No Expiration, and maybe add a video element to it at some point. I am in my early 40s, and love music as much as I ever did.

It was difficult to decide what to write about for my 2000th post.  I decided to do a list of the best albums that have come out since I launched this blog in the fall of 2007.  Some of my friends have a laugh over the fact that so many of the artists I listen to are "old" (which is silly and ageist), but in fact there are some newer artists, some who are celebrated by the hipster elite.  In fact, one of these albums topped the Village Voice "Pazz & Jop" album list!

1. The Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do was my favorite album of 2010, and also my favorite album of the past few years.  The DBTs is a band I was hardly aware of until a few years ago.  It was basically listening to SiriusXM's Outlaw Country that turned me on to them, and for that, I'm grateful. Once I started hearing a couple of songs, I started buying albums, and then attending concerts.  I'm in: I'm a fan for life. The Big To-Do is one of their best albums.  If my peers ask me about "new" bands to get into, I'll mention the Truckers.  They're not new, but they're new to a lot of people.

2. Bob Dylan - Together Through Life was my favorite album of 2009. It's amazing to me that Dylan still is adding to his unbelievable body of work. He was 68 (I think) when this came out.  How many 68 year olds are still putting out classic LPs? Well, I guess you can't compare anyone to Dylan anyway. The songs on this album were incredible - instead of writing them all on his own (as he usually does), he collaborated with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.  But the secret sauce here is in the musicians he assembled for this record: Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Los Lobos multi-instrumentalist David Hildago.

3. Bruce Springsteen - Magic He's as relevant as he ever was, and he drove that point home with this album. By this point, he'd driven away lots of his politically conservative fans, and goes hard at the bu$h administration.  And he did it with some of his best songs ever.  I love "Long Walk Home." The line "The flag flying over the courthouse, certain things are set in stone: who we are, what we'll do and what we won't."  The song has one of Clarence Clemons' last great sax performances.  Actually, the live version is even better than the one on Magic, it has great vocal performances by Steve Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren. On the same album is "Girls In The Summer Clothes" which is pretty self-explanatory. This was around the time that lots of younger acts, from Arcade Fire to Gaslight Anthem, were citing Bruce as a major audience.  For a long time you didn't have young artists referencing Bruce that much, around Magic that started to change.

4. Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals - Lifeline My favorite album of 2007.  It was an album that they recorded in Paris over a (I think) two week period while touring for 2006's Both Sides Of The Gun, but it it totally a different album. The Innocent Criminals were really gelling as a band at this point... so it's weird that this is the last that we've heard of them (Ben has recorded either with Relentless7 or Fistful Of Mercy since then). I really hope we hear more from Ben and The Innocent Criminals in the future (I love R7 and Fistful though).  The album has a laid back but really soulful sound.  It's one of my favorites by Ben (who is one of my favorite artists ever).

5. Cocktail Slippers - Saint Valentine's Day Massacre There are two bands that I won't shut up about when people ask me about good relatively recent bands: The Drive-By Truckers and The Cocktail Slippers. Saint Valentine's Day Massacre is just a classic rock record, it actually blows my mind that more people haven't heard of them.  Little Steven, who produced the album, said it is one of the best albums he has ever worked on.  Think about that for a second.  By the way, I agree with him.  This album would be considered a classic and they would be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame if this came out in the '60s, '70s or '80s.

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED: NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE DVD

This was released a few weeks ago, without too much hype, but you need to know about it: A Musicares Tribute To Neil Young.

Shot January 29, 2010 at the NARAS 2010 Musicares Person Of The Year event, the show featured some pretty incredible artists paying tribute to Neil.  Some of the highlights included Norah Jones' "Tell Me Why," Ben Harper's "Ohio," Wilco's "Broken Arrow," James Taylor's "Heart Of Gold" (I think he actually sang backing vocals on the original version) and John Mellencamp's "Down By The River." Also a sort of supergroup: Elton John, Leon Russell, Sheryl Crow and Neko Case doing "Helpless." I think it was the first time Elton and Leon performed together.

Also on the bill: John Fogerty, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Dave Matthews, Dierks Bentley, Booker T. Jones, Josh Groban (!), Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Crosby Stills & Nash. I think The Red Hot Chili Peppers performed for the first time with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer ("A Man Needs A Maid") but it's not on the DVD.   Neil was there also, he just sort of gave a thank you speech (if you've seen his speeches at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, you know what his speeches are like), he didn't perform at all.

The event, and the DVD, raises money for NARAS' MusiCares, which "offers a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need," including "financial medical and personal emergencies." Learn more about MusiCares here.  

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: BEN HARPER, RAPHAEL SAADIQ, ROME, BOOKER T, BLIND BOYS

Longtime readers of No Expiration know that on Wednesday mornings at 9 am ET, I go on SiriusXM OutQ's Morning Jolt with Larry Flick to talk about music. Sometimes I have a theme: tomorrow the theme is cool new music.  I know, that's a bit vague.

First off is the new Ben Harper album, Give 'Till It's Gone. I wrote about that the other day: I like it a lot, and I prefer it to his last album with Relentless7 (R7 is the backing band on this one, and they are credited with co-writing songs, but for some reason the album is being referred to as a "solo album").  Ringo Starr and Jackson Browne both guest on the album... Ben is slowly entering the classic rock echelon of artists, and rightfully so.

I am digging Raphael Saadiq's new album, Stone Rollin'.  He is such a talented musician, and I give him a lot of credit for doing an album like this.  There's almost no imaginable context where this could be a hit in 2011.  Shame on us: it deserves to be a hit. He kind of splits the difference between classic Motown and classic Chess here, with maybe a bit of Stax thrown in. He plays most of the instruments, and there are very few guest stars on the album, and I have a feeling that this is going to be a hard one to sell.  So do your part as a music fan and go BUY it.

Rome is a very cool project that I just wrote about: it features producer Danger Mouse and Italian film composer Danielle Luppi paying tribute to spaghetti western scores. Jack White (him again, uh oh) and Norah Jones are the featured singers on the album. It's a score to a film that hasn't been made yet.

Booker T Jones just released his second solo album in a row (I guess he doesn't want to make records with The MG's again?). On his last album, Potato Hole, he used The Drive-By Truckers plus Neil Young as his backing band, and the album was all instrumental (which is fitting, because his Hammond organ playing is so lyrical). This time, on The Road To Memphis, he uses The Roots and Questlove co-produces.  There are a couple of cool guest singers, including Sharon Jones, Jim James of My Morning Jacket and even Booker T himself.

Finally, Take The High Road, the new album by The Blind Boys Of Alabama. It has a bunch of country collaborations on it (including one with Willie Nelson) and the album was produced by Jamey Johnson. It's a good album!

Hey, if you're a reader and haven't gotten to hear me on the radio (and if you want to), why not get a free online subscription trial, at www.siriusxm.com/freetrial .

BEN HARPER - GIVE TILL IT'S GONE

It's no secret to No Expiration readers that I'm a huge Ben Harper fan.   I've been looking forward to this album for a while - it was originally supposed to come out in the fall, but I guess it got pushed back because of Ben's Fistful Of Mercy project with Dhani Harrison and Joseph Arthur. 

The new album, Give Till It's Gone, is billed as a "solo" album - I'm not sure why, since Relentless7 (his backing band on 2009's White Lies For Dark Times) is on the album. But whatever, it's a great album, and I think it is an improvement on White Lies (which was one of my favorite albums of that year). 

The album will probably be seen as "the divorce album," due to recent events in Ben's life.  I'll leave that alone, I don't need to know what every song was actually based on, and I respect the man's privacy.  

My favorite moments on the album are actually pretty positive. The first single, "Rock and Roll Is Free" being one of them. I would think that by now, all rock and roll songs that are about rock and roll are kind of cliche - it seems like Lenny Kravitz territory (with all due respect). I've read interviews where Ben said that he was inspired to write the song after seeing Neil Young perform "Rockin' In The Free World." He wanted to write a song with the words "rock" and "free." It's not his most profound moment, but it's a lot of fun, and it makes me feel energized.  It reminds me of a Matthew Sweet song (he's another artist that I dig). 

The other moment I can't get enough of is "Spilling Faith" which goes right into the instrumental jam "Get There From Here." Both songs were co-written with Ringo Starr, who plays drums on them. It's a bit psychedelic and Beatles-esque. (Ben and R7 were Ringo's backing band on his promo tour last year - I wish he'd use them on a full tour instead of another All-Starr Band). Apparently, Ringo asked Ben to do a positive song (we know Ringo loves to say "peace and love!").  I'd love to hear King's X cover this one, the song made me think of them for some reason. 

There are much darker moments, on the album, like "Don't Give Up On Me Now," "I Will Not Be Broken" and "Pray That Our Love Sees The Dawn" (featuring Jackson Browne on backing vocals, the album was recorded at his studio). 

The album actually has a lot of range, and it makes me wonder how Ben decides what songs go where (is a song a Relentless7 song, or a Fistful of Mercy song or something he'll hold for The Innocent Criminals?).  "Waiting On A Sign," for instance, would sound great done by The Innocent Criminals. 

Well, Ben Harper is at the peak of his powers, and it feels like he's been there for damn, over a decade, and he's gonna be staying there for the foreseeable future. I am looking forward to seeing this tour (he's playing Terminal 5 in NY in the fall, yes I have my tickets) and what he'll do next. 

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: A TRIBUTE TO POLY STYRENE, TV ON THE RADIO AND MORE

Longtime No Expiration readers know that every Wednesday morning, I am a guest contributor to OutQ's Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SiriusXM. Last week I got bumped for some women from a TV show called "Mob Wives," but better to be bumped than bumped off!  Tomorrow morning I am being moved, from my usual 9-ish time to 8-ish. I think songwriter/music exec/artist Kara DioGuardi is in the 9 am slot, I'm ok with that!

But seriously, tomorrow we're paying tribute to some artists who are no longer with us.  I got the idea for this after TV On The Radio bassist Gerard Smith passed away last week. And then today, punk rock icon Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex died.

Poly Styrene was kind an iconoclast, standing firmly against the typical sex symbol type chick. She wore braces, was of mixed nationality (British, Scottish, Irish, Somali) and grew up around hippies. She started out as a reggae artist, but when she saw The Sex Pistols, like so many others, she became a punk rocker, and one of the first female punks at that. You should check her out, the classic album is Germ Free Adolescents, and the biggest song is "Oh Bondage Up Yours!"

It is so strange that TV On The Radio released their new album, Nine Types Of Light, and less than two weeks later, Gerard Smith succumbed to lung cancer. But what better tribute to the guy than his last album with his band? Well, it's a funky album, and as bass player, he had a lot to do with that. TV On The Radio is a band I've always respected, but I never really got into. I liked them in theory, but not too many of their songs stuck with me. This album has some songs that I really dig, especially the opener, "Second Song," which reminds me of mid-90s U2. I've read that some people feel that this album is too accessible, but that's probably why I like it. Still, I think I'll check out some of their older material now.

There's a sort of weird INXS tribute album out now called Original Sin. It features the members of the band backing different singers re-doing their songs. I bought it because it has Ben Harper's "Never Tear Us Apart," which is a perfect song for him. I like his version, I don't love it. The best thing on the album, I think, is Nikka Costa's "Kick," which she really "makes her own." Tricky does a kind of predictable "Mediate," and Rob Thomas and Pat Monahan of Train are on it as well. I think INXS is totally underrated, and I don't necessarily think this tribute does them justice, but I guess it isn't hurting anyone.

I was shocked to find out that The Cars are reuniting. Ric Ocasek seemed dead set against it for years, and then when two of the guys reformed as The New Cars with Todd Rundgren singing, I figured that sealed it, Ric O wouldn't go anywhere near them. Their new album, Move Like This comes out next month, and I have a new song called "Sad Song" that I'll bring tomorrow. I guess the album is, in a way, a tribute to bassist/singer Ben Orr, who is no longer with us.  It's too bad that they didn't do this while he was still alive.  I read that keyboardist Greg Hawkes plays some of the bass on the album on a bass that Orr owned. I'm going to see The Cars at Roseland next month, I'll definitely write about them a bit more in the next few weeks.

Finally, tomorrow I'll discuss Solomon Burke's final album, recorded with Dutch band De Dijk, Hold On Tight, and also Ben Waters' tribute to founding Rolling Stones piano player Ian Stewart, Boogie 4 Stu.

VIDEO: FISTFUL OF MERCY "THINGS GO 'ROUND"

Yesterday was Record Store Day, and hopefully some of you went to record stores, and bought some cool exclusive Record Store Day stuff, as well as some albums that you've been wanting to get for a while.

Fistful Of Mercy put out a 7" single with their cover of The Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes." The B-side was "Things Go 'Round," recorded live at the SiriusXM studios.  I actually was one of the camera people on that shoot, so I thought I'd share the video.  It was a huge thrill to be in the studio for this. Ya'll know what a huge Ben Harper fan I am: this was the first time I ever saw him play bass.

I'd love to see the band release some of their other covers: when I saw them at the Apollo Theater, they also did Bob Dylan's "Buckets of Rain" and, in one of the highlights of the night, PJ Harvey's "To Bring You My Love." Ben has a new album coming out next month, but I look forward to seeing him with Dhani Harrison, Joseph Arthur and Jessy Greene (she should be a full-fledged member! - I think she will, once again, tour with the Foo Fighters when they hit the road) in the future.

FISTFUL OF MERCY - AS I CALL YOU DOWN - TIE FOR #11

Another of my favorite albums of 2010 that barely missed my top 10 is Fistful Of Mercy's debut As I Call You Down. Fistful Or Mercy is a new band that includes Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison.

No Expiration readers know that I'm a huge fan of Ben's, I'm less familiar with Arthur and Harrison (who leads a band called thenewno2).

I liked the album as soon as I heard it. But seeing them perform live made me appreciate them more. I had the good fortune to film them in the SiriusXM studios (see the video here), and a few weeks later, I saw them perform at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. That was when I realized that this is a great band, and not just a side project.  The songs that I initially favored from the album, "Father's Son," "Fistful Of Mercy," "Restore Me" and "Things Go 'Round" were even better.  But the album's closer, which closed the show as well, "With Whom You Belong." The song alone could keep these guys together.  It's hard to imagine any of these guys playing the song on their own, and it's hard to imagine that they wouldn't want to play it again.  It was that good live.  They actually unplugged their guitars, and played the song from the front of the stage - in other words, that song was performed without any amplification. It was really powerful and it was in that moment that I knew that these guys will definitely play together again in the future (that said, I'm looking forward to Ben's new album with Relentless7 which comes out this year, and I really look forward to him getting back together with The Innocent Criminals at some point in the future).

FISTFUL OF MERCY AT THE APOLLO - AMAZING!

Last night I went to the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem to see Fistful Of Mercy. I've written about them before: they are a supergroup that features Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison. They also feature violinist Jessy Greene. Longtime No Expiration readers know that I'm a huge fan of Ben's, but it was interesting to see him in this different context: he wasn't the bandleader, he was one of three singer/songwriters. Actually, this was my second time seeing them: I had filmed an in-studio performance with them at my day job a few weeks ago (see below).

Radio performances are cool.  But there's nothing that compares with a group playing in front of an audience, and add the mojo of the Apollo to the mix, and you have everything you need for a great show. Fistful definitely delivered on that! They played mostly songs from their recently released debut album, As I Call You Down, including my two favorite songs "Things Go 'Round" and "Father's Son." The highlight of the show, for me, may have been their cover of PJ Harvey's "To Bring You My Love." That was a trip for me, since (a) it is the title track of one of my favorite albums, and (b), I saw Ben and The Innocent Criminals open for PJ at the Beacon Theater when she was touring for the album of the same name. Fistful's cover really knocked me out.  I also loved their cover of Bob Dylan's "Buckets Of Rain" (from Blood On The Tracks).  I don't want to write much about Dhani's resemblence to his dad, but watching him sing a song by his dad's good friend and bandmate gave me chills.  I also loved their cover of The Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes," maybe Lou Reed's finest moment. They did one of Ben's songs, "Please Me Like You Want To" and also the one Joseph Arthur song that I really know, "In The Sun."

Maybe even better than those songs was the album's closer, which ended the show, "With Whom You Belong."  It was a super powerful moment, they unplugged their instruments and went to the edge of the stage, and played them unamplified. The song isn't a hit, but the words are easy enough to remember, and everyone in the audience sang along.  It was really powerful and also really fun. I think this is what they will close their shows with in twenty years.  They seemed to enjoy performing together, I bet they'll be doing Fistful off and on for a long time.  Here's hoping they do.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ:GREAT TEAM-UPs

For those who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am-ish, I go on SIRIUS XM OutQ's The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick (co-hosted by Keith Price) to talk about music. Sometimes I have a theme, and tomorrow I'm going to be talking about recently released "team-up" albums. (We may also talk about the late, great Solomon Burke as well).

First off is the album by John Legend & The Roots, Wake Up. It's an album of covers of socially conscious R&B and soul covers from the '60s and '70s (as well as one new song written for the documentary Waiting For Superman). Yes, the album was inspired by Barack Obama's election, and was originally supposed to be an EP, but ended up becomming a full length album. Some people think that John Legend is too polite and that he lacks grit. ?uestlove who co-produced the album helped to change that. And as smooth as John is, he is very socially conscious, and you can definitely hear grit and fury in the cover of Bill Withers' "I Can't Write Left Handed." Lots of the songs are pretty obscure, I'd chalk that up to ?uestlove, who probably chose the songs. My one criticism: why have guest MCs, even such great ones as Common and C.L. Smooth when Black Thought is in the group (he's only on two songs). Anyway, I really dig this album.

Fistful Of Mercy is a new group that features one of my favorite artists, Ben Harper. The band also features Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison. They just released their debut album, As I Call You Down. It isn't my favorite thing Ben has done, but it has some really great songs. I recently filmed a performance by the group, I'll be posting a song soon.

Finally, the new duo album by Elton John and Leon Russell, The Union (produced by - of course! - T-Bone Burnett!). Leon was a huge influence on Elton, and Elton reached out to him a while back. Discovering that Leon wasn't in a great place, and bummed that he seemed to be forgotten, Elton invited him to do an album together. It shows what a giving and generous guy Elton is, despite the whole "tantrums and tiaras" thing. So that makes me want to like it. I think it is his best album since 2001's Songs From The West Coast (one of my favorite Elton albums), but not quite as good as that one. Still, there are some great songs, including the first single "If It Wasn't For Bad" (written by Leon) and "Hey Ahab" (written by Elton and Bernie Taupin).

THIS WEEK ON OUTQ: FISTFUL OF MERCY, RAY LAMONTAGNE, ISOBEL & MARK AND MORE

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET (-ish), I discuss music on The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick on SIRIUS XM's OutQ channel. I should also mention Larry's co-host, comedian Keith Price. Going on the show is always a fun time.  This week I have some great new music to talk about - there isn't a theme as such, but all of these records show a certain restraint and subtlety.

First off is Fistful of Mercy, a new "supergroup" featuring Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison (son of The Quiet Beatle). I wrote about them last week - I hadn't heard of them at all (and I'm usually up on Ben Harper's doings) and then all of the sudden a video arrived in my email box! Well, you know that I'm a huge Ben Harper fan. I don't know much about Joseph Arthur, but I love his song "In The Sun" (which Michael Stipe covered a few years ago). I haven't heard Dhani's music with his band thenewno2, but I will check it out. Anyway, I have the band's title track to play.

I'm getting really into Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs' God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise, which I wrote about last night. I have all of Ray's prior albums, and generally I like a couple of songs from each, but not the whole album. This one, I love the whole thing. It's really quiet (opener "Repo Man" is uncharacteristically funky) but I really dig it. It is actually inspiring me to go back and listen to his other albums and see if they've grown on me. He has lots of songs that I love: "Trouble," "Shelter," "Hold You In My Arms," "You Are The Best Thing," "Meg White" (yes he wrote a song about Meg White!) and "Three More Days." But I'm going back and revisiting his entire albums.

I've been a fan of John Mellencamp pretty much as long as I've been a fan of rock and roll. And as No Expiration readers know, I'm loyal to artists who have been around for a long time. I'll admit it, I haven't liked many of John's albums over the past decade or so (with the exception of 2003's Trouble No More, and I think his song 2004 song "Walk Tall" is maybe his finest moment). His new album, No Better Than This, like his last one (2008's Life, Death, Love and Freedom) was produced by T-Bone Burnett. They recorded it with a ribbon mic onto a reel-to-reel recorder at Sun Studios, a baptist church in Savannah, Georgia, and in the hotel room where Robert Johnson recorded some of his sides. You would figure that those places are a bit haunted, and so is this album (as Burnett points out in the liner notes). There aren't any arena anthems here, so it's too bad that he probably won't be able to play too many of these songs in concert: it's a really good album. I'm still getting used to it, but I like it a lot.

There are high expectations for Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses' Junky Star. With two albums behind him, Ryan seemed to come out of nowhere to win an Oscar for his song "The Hurting Kind" from last year's film Crazy Heart. Like that song (and like Mellencamp's new album), Junky Star was produced by T-Bone Burnett (him again!). He seems to not be taking advantage of his higher profile - he's just doin' what he does. Which I guess is the smartest response to his situation. It's hard to imagine how this album will get too popular, but he doesn't seem to be too worried about it. He sounds a bit like a (less political) Steve Earle - the people who are going to like him are going to like him, but he isn't trying to sell himself to people who aren't interested. The Oscar makes it a bit easier to find the people who are going to like him though.

Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell released their third album, Hawk. They are as good of a team as Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and they've actually been compared to Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra, which is probably a better comparassion (rougher, countrier guy and poppier gal). Lanegan got his start as the singer of Screaming Trees, was briefly in Queens Of The Stone Age, collaborated with Greg Dulli in The Gutter Twins, collaborated with a dance music group called Soulsavers and has done a bunch of great solo albums as well. Campbell is formerly of a indie-pop group (often described as "twee") called Belle & Sebastian. So, it is sort of an unlikely combo, but it really works (much like Plant/Krauss). They sing well together - you get the impression that they are listening to each other. On this album, Campbell seems to be the boss: she's the producer and she wrote almost all of the songs herself (Lanegan didn't write any). But it's not about who wrote what or who produced, the final results are really great. Like with the LaMontange album, this is making me want to revisit their past collaborations. And also Mark's past solo stuff (and maybe even look into Isobel's solo stuff, I know I don't like B&S too much).

David Gray has quietly released a new album, Foundling. That's appropriate, because it is a pretty quiet album, even by his standards. I've read interviews with him where he's pretty much say he has no expectation that this album will be a commercial success. I think a smart music supervisor for a TV show can use some of these songs effectively. But Gray is probably right. I have a lot of respect for him, so I'm giving the album a chance, but it hasn't stuck with me. But, like Ray LaMontange, most of his records just have a few songs that I really like (I love "The Other Side," "The One I Love," "The World To Me" and "Draw The Line" to name a couple)... but maybe I need to revisit them also. That's one of the great things about music, it can hit you in different ways at different times.

BEN HARPER + JOSEPH ARTHUR + DHANI HARRISON = FISTFUL OF MERCY

Wow, another new Ben Harper project.  Ben, Joseph Arthur and Dhani Harrison have a band called Fistful Of Mercy.  I hadn't heard anything about this, and all of the sudden, this video pops up in my email box. I know that Ben and his other other band, Relentless7 have a new album, Give 'Til It's Gone, due out this fall. (And I wish Ringo Starr would release a live album from one of the shows he did with Ben and the 7 a few months back!) The song, "Fistful of Mercy," is pretty great. so I'm looking forwad to hearing this.  But I wonder, when will Ben work with The Innocent Criminals again?

Fistful of Mercy from Fistful of Mercy on Vimeo.

THIS WEEK ON OUTQ: FUNK AND SOUL

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET (ish) I am a guest contributor to the SIRIUS XM OutQ channel show The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick.  Every week I discuss music (surprise!) and this week I'll be talking about some new funky and soulful releases.

I have written about Brad before: the band features Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, along with the great singer Shawn Smith. Smith also sings for Satchel (who Stone has produced), and for the electro music project Pigeonhed (the Lo-Fidelity Allstars remix of their song "Battleflag" is probably Smith's biggest "hit"), and has done solo albums too (as well as some other projects). He is one of the best singers you haven't heard. The band's drummer is Regan Hagar (also of Satchel, he used to be in Malfunkshun with the late Andrew Wood, who went on to form Mother Love Bone with Stone). Jeremy Toback used to be the bass player (he's also done some cool solo albums) but now Mike Berg is the bassist (he's also in Satchel). Enough family tree stuff, Brad is a really soulful band. At first they both benefitted and suffered from the Pearl Jam association: they certainly got more press because of Stone, but they sound nothing like Pearl Jam, they have a much more funky and soul music-based sound. Smith is the star of the band. If you can find the first album, 1993's Shame, check it out. But Best Friends?, their forth album which just came out, is very good too, although it did take me a few listens.

Street Sweeper Social Club just put out their second release, The Ghetto Blaster EP. It rocks! It has a bunch of new songs, a remix of "Promenade" from their debut, a new version of Boots Riley's other group, The Coup's "Everythang," and covers of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" and LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out." Plus there's a few new songs. I think Boots is going to do a Coup album next, and I guess Tom Morello will do another Nightwatchman project (and maybe some Rage Against The Machine shows), before the next Street Sweeper full length.

Michael Franti has had such an interesting career. In the late '80s, he was in this angry industrial/hip-hop group The Beatnigs. After that, he had a very Public Enemy influenced hip-hop group called The Disposable Heroes of Hiphopricy (I saw them open for U2 at Shea Stadium, pretty bizarre). In 1994, he started Spearhead, which combined hip-hop with live music, soul, R&B and reggae, and he's been doing it for years without too much commercial success - but the band gets lots of respect in the jam band community. All of the sudden, last year, they had a hit with the very poppy "Say Hey (I Love You)," which is a classic hit single. A wonderful song. Franti's new Spearhead album, The Sound Of Sunshine, comes out September 21, and it sounds like it has a simlilar vibe to "Say Hey."

A couple of other things I'll be bringing: new songs by Cee-Lo Green (his viral hit "F*** You," and another new song "Georgia"), some Robert Randolph & The Family Band (featuring Ben Harper) and a preview of the John Legend/Roots album.

MORE "HELP" FOR ROLLING STONE'S 500 GREATEST

So, once I was done paring down Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs," it was down to 486.  I tried to add 14 more, but I ended up adding almost 100 more songs.  This isn't my definitive list, but it's my job to share important stuff like this with all of you. Ha ha.  In no order at all, here's the rest of the songs on my "remix" which is now at 570 songs and counting.

• A Tribe Called Quest - "Award Tour"
• de la soul - "Ego Trippin' (part 2)"
• Alicia Keys - "No One"
• Fiona Apple - "O' Sailor"
• Ben Harper - "With My Own Two Hands"
• The Wallflowers - "One Headlight" (although the best version of this is the one from the MTV VMA's where they were joined by Bruce Springsteen)
• John Hiatt - "Have A Little Faith In Me"
• Cowboy Junkies - "Miles From Our Home"
• Jamey Johnson - "High Cost Of Living"
• Everclear - "Strawberry"
• Buddy & Julie Miller - "Gasoline & Matches"
• The Replacements - "Bastards Of Young"
• Gaslight Anthem - "The '59 Sound"
• Steve Earle - "The Devil's Right Hand"
• X - "Los Angeles"
• The MC5 - "Kick Out The Jams" (how'd they miss this one?)
• Pearl Jam - "Corduroy"
• Rancid - "East Bay Nights"
• Social Distortion - "I Was Wrong"
• Jane's Addiction - "Mountain Song"
• Nine Inch Nails - "Wish"
• Fugazi - "Repeater"
• Black Flag - "Rise Above"
• Dropkick Murphys - "The State Of Massachusetts"
• Rage Against The Machine - "Sleep Now In The Fire"
• Faith No More - "Midlife Crisis"
• Soundgarden - "Superunknown"
• Primus  -"Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers"
• Iron Maiden - "Iron Maiden"
• Alice In Chains - "Angry Chair"
• KISS - "Deuce (live)"
• The Raconteurs - "Steady As She Goes"
• Matthew Sweet - "Dinosaur Act"
• The Jessica Fletchers - "Summer Holiday & Me"
• Cocktail Slippers - "Sentenced To Love"
• The Drive-By Truckers - "This Fucking Job"
• Loretta Lynn - "Rated 'X'"
• Lucinda Williams - "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road"
• Emmylou Harris - "I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now"
• Patty Griffin - "Mary"
• Sade - "By Your Side"
• John Legend - "Used To Love U"
• EPMD - "Crossover"
• Gang Starr - "You Know My Steez"
• LL Cool J - "Rock The Bells"
• Nas - "Made You Look"
• Peter Tosh - "You Can't Blame The Youth"
• Fishbone - "Ghetto Soundwave"
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Can't Stop"
• The Afghan Whigs - "Going To Town"
• PJ Harvey - "Long Snake Moan"
• Florence + The Machine - "You've Got The Love"
• The Avett Brothers - "I And Love And You"
• Crowded House - "Distant Sun"
• Living Colour - "Bless Those (Little Annie's Prayer)"
• The Yardbirds - "Heart Full Of Soul"
• Van Halen - "Mean Street"
• Muse - "Uprising"
• Peter Gabriel - "Solisbury Hill"
• Wilco- "Jesus Etc."
• Pete Yorn - "Don't Wanna Cry"
• Kathleen Edwards - "In State"
• Norah Jones - "What Am I To You?"
• David Gray - "The One I Love"
• Rilo Kiley - "Silver Lining"
• Ben Folds - "Landed"
• Duffy - "Stepping Stone"
• Adele - "Chasing Pavements"
• James Hunter - "No Smoke Without A Fire"
• Levon Helm - "When I Go Away"
• Ray LaMontagne - "Three More Days"
• The Black Keys - "I Got Mine"
• My Morning Jacket - "I'm Amazed"
• Wyclef Jean featuring Norah Jones - "Any Other Day"
• Raphael Saadiq - "100 Yard Dash"
• Michael Franti & Spearhead - "Say Hey (I Love You)"
• Mark Ronson featuring Daniel Merriweather - "Stop Me"
• KRS-One, Kanye West, Nas and Rakim - "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)" (produced by DJ Premier)
• Common featuring DJ Premier - "The Game"
• N.A.S.A. featuring Kanye West, Santigold and Lykke Li - "Gifted"
• Mary J. Blige - "Be Without You"
• Black Star - "Definition"
• Mos Def featuring Q-Tip and Tash - "Body Rock"
• Talib Kweli - "Going Hard"

TOMORROW ON OUT: FACE-MELTING GUITAR

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ. I am a weekly contributor to The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick. This week, I'll be talking about some of the greatest guitarists of rock and roll, including the man who may just be the best. But their music isn't about guitar wankery, it's about great songs that feature amazing guitar. This isn't music (just) for musos. 

First up is Jimi Hendrix, who I meant to talk about weeks ago, and then I missed a day at work due to snow. I'll be talking about Jimi's catalog, which has recently been relaunched by Sony Legacy, and a new collection that they put out called Valleys Of Neptune. I think lawsuits between opposing forces laying claim to Jimi's legacy have, sadly, lowered his "stock." I'm not talking about his influence, I'm talking about, when a "new" Jimi release comes out, people don't care as much: they have the real albums, and there's been so many crappy other releases. But I've been listening to the new Axis: Bold As Love and it sounds great. As for Valleys Of Neptune, it's cool and the title track is awesome.

Sony Legacy also recently put out a tenth (!) anniversary edition of Santana's Supernatural. People rip on that album, but it brought Carlos back to the limelight, which was a beautiful thing. There was some great collabs - as I've said before, I ain't mad about "Smooth" featuring Rob Thomas - but there were great classic songs that weren't collabs, like "Da Le Yaleo." The bonus disc has a bunch of cool songs, but the original album really holds up in my opinion.

Influenced by Jimi and also the Santana Supernatural approach is Slash's new self-titled album, which I wrote about a while back. Slash with an all-star cast of guests: Iggy, Alice, Lemmy and Ozzy. And Fergie. As these "all-star" type albums usually are, it's a bit uneven. My favorite song features Lemmy: "Doctor Alibi." I also liked "Promise" featuring Chris Cornell, "Gotten" featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5 (for real) and "We're All Gonna Die" (featuring Iggy Pop even though the lyrics aren't great). There's a goofy new version of Guns N Roses' "Paradise City" featuing Fergie and Cypress Hill that kind of made me laugh a bit.

Finally, I'll try to get to the new live Ben Harper & Relentless 7 album, Live From The Montreal International Jazz Festival, which contains a great cover of Jimi's "Red House." Call in and tell us about your favorite guitar heroes!

BEN HARPER AND R7 HAVE A NEW ALBUM!

Well, this is surprising news.  Just as Ben Harper and Relentless 7 have released their great live CD/DVD Live from the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Ben has announced that their next studio album, Give 'Til It's Gone, is coming out in the fall. Their recent "boss," Ringo Starr (they were his backing band on his recent promo tour - I wish he was using them this summer instead of his umpteenth "All-Starr Band") guest on the album, as does Jackson Browne, according to Rolling Stone.

I am kind of surprised: I thought after one album and tour he'd reunite with his long time backing band The Innocent Criminals. But I guess he's really digging R7, and Ben is the type of artist, like Springsteen or "Young Neil," who follows his artistic impulses and right now I guess he's feeling the guitar rock. I'm sure he'll get back with the Criminals at some point.