LEVON HELM 1940 - 2012

I was really sad to hear of the passing of Levon Helm today.  Longtime readers of No Expiration know I'm a huge fan, and not just because of what he did as a member of The Band.

Yes, The Band was one of the best groups of the late '60s and early '70s, and they were partially responsible for getting psychedelia under control.  Clapton has famously said that when he saw them, he wanted to leave Cream: his next project, Blind Faith, was a lot more Band-like than the sprawling, "far out" Cream had been. The Grateful Dead did a down-homey pair of song oriented albums (without long jams) after hearing The Band. George Harrison was influenced by them, and so was Steve Winwood.  When you watch The Last Waltz, the guest list tells the story: you've got Muddy Waters, Neil Diamond, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, Emmylou Harris, Clapton, The Staple Singers, Dr. John and their old boss Bob Dylan. That's a wide range to cover, but everything they played, they played with authority. Levon was one of three singers (along with bassist Rick Danko and pianist Richard Manuel), and he sounded great on his own, or singing with his bandmates. He was unflashy, but really funky, drummer. He also played mandolin.

The reason why I'm such a big fan isn't (just) what he did with The Band. I thought the two LPs that he recorded in the '00s - 2007's Dirt Farmer and 2009's Electric Dirt - were incredible.  And a friend of mine took me to see Helm and his band at The Beacon Theater a few years ago:  I was truly, truly, blown away.  Lots of artists in their 50s and 60s just coast on their past glories. The only artist I could compare Levon to is The Allman Brothers Band. To me, they sound like they are playing old music, but they don't sound like old men. When I hear them play, the music is alive, living and breathing, as vital as anything else you would hear today.  I named Levon one of No Expiration's Best Artists of The '00s, and Electric Dirt was one of my favorite LPs of 2009.

I'm so glad I got to see Levon perform with his band, and I'm sorry I never made it up to Woodstock to see a Midnight Ramble.  But the vitality of the music he played in his final decade is so inspiring to me. It changes the perception of getting old. He made amazing music, and played incredible shows, while pushing 70.   Forget about music for a second: it actually changes the way I see the big seven-oh (and I'm decades away from it).

But of course, you can't forget the music.  If you're finding my post and wondering what to check out, I'd start with The Band's debut, 1968's Music From Big Pink, and the second one, 1969's The Band. Then check out his last two studio albums.  For live albums, go with The Band's The Last Waltz, and his own Ramble At The Ryman. You'll be glad you did.

Mr. Helm, thank you for the music. Keep keepin' the beat. You're bound for glory, sir.

TIE FOR #11 - "THE LOST NOTEBOOKS OF HANK WILLIAMS"

I usually don't include compilation albums on my year-end best-ofs, but I'll make an exception for The Lost Notebooks Of Hank Williams. The album started out as a Bob Dylan project: he was given some "lost" notebooks with lyrics that Hank Williams never put to music.  Bob ended up doing one song, "The Love That Faded," which is excellent.

So, it went from being a Bob album to a tribute of sorts... with a number of big name artists creating new songs out of Williams lyrics.  The lineup features Alan Jackson, Norah Jones, Jack White, Lucinda Williams, Vince Gill with Rodney Crowell, Patty Loveless, Levon Helm, Holly Williams (with her father, Hank Williams Jr. on backing vocals), Jakob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and Merle Haggard.

I imagine that these days, people are more likely to download individual tracks rather than buy compilations.  In this case, it's worth it to pick up the whole thing.  First of all, the entire album is great.  Rock fans may not be hip to, say, Alan Jackson, but his song "You've Been Lonesome Too" is excellent. On the flipside, mainstream country fans may not be too interested in (Nashville resident) Jack White.  But his song "You Know That I Know" is also amazing. Hank's granddaughter Holly has a great voice... and hearing Hank Jr.'s backing vocals almost made me forget about his insane comments on Fox News about The President.

Besides all of that, the CD includes extensive liner notes about Hank, and gives the history of the notebooks that provided the source material for the record.

Hank Williams is surely one of the greatest songwriters of all time, in any genre. This album gives us some of his lost lyrics, which is a gift.  And if the inclusion of any of these artists turns their fanbases on to Hank's music, that's an even greater one.  So big props to producer Mary Martin: I'm sure this was a really long project, but I'm glad it's out.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: CLASSIC ROCK: OZZY, IGGY, NEIL, PAUL, LEVON

I don't know if your average classic rock programmer would consider all of these artists "classic rock," but it's my blog, and they are all classic rock to me!  I'm going to be talking about some great releases this week on SiriusXM OutQ's The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick.

First off is Roadkill Rising, a 4 CD box set of Iggy Pop bootlegs, which includes his entire solo career, as well as The Stooges' reunion shows.  The sound is a bit muddy in places (it is all bootlegs, although supposedly Iggy helped to choose what songs were used), but it is really cool.  The earliest performances on the box feature his great '70s band that included David Bowie on keyboards and backing vocals, Tony Sales on bass and Hunt Sales on drums.  Bowie and the Sales brothers went on to form Tin Machine many years later.  Anyway, each disc covers a different decade, I like the '70s and the '00s stuff the best.

Then, there are the reissues of the first two Ozzy Osbourne solo albums, 1980's Blizzard Of Ozz and 1981's Diary of a Madman. Both albums featured what was probably his best post-Sabbath band: the late Randy Rhoads on guitar, bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake. There's an interesting story behind these reissues which you can read a bit about here. Diary comes with a bonus live disc - that band featured Ozzy, Randy, Rudy Sarzo on bass and Tommy Aldridge on drums and is pretty rocking.

Paul McCartney continues the reissuing of his catalog with 1970's McCartney and 1980's McCartney II. McCartney was his first release after the breakup of The Beatles (and in fact was released shortly before Let It Be) and definitely comes off like a reaction to it.  It doesn't have an epic sense of self-importance, it's just Paul enjoying himself in the studio. He plays all of the instruments - it's a true "solo" album - and the songs are simple, but lovely.  "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Every Night" are on that album.  I don't like McCartney II: it was supposed to be a short break from Wings, but Wings never ended up getting back together.  I love "Coming Up," but I don't like the rest of the album.

I just wrote about Neil Young's A Treasure. It's a great document of his foray into hardcore country music from the '80s.  This isn't Eagles-like, soft-rocky country-rock, but actual country music. It's also a great tribute to Neil's longtime musical partner, steel guitarist Ben Keith, who passed away a few months ago. I really dig this album, and this side of Neil.

Finally, Levon Helm's new album, Ramble At The Ryman, where he takes his traveling version of his "Midnight Ramble" shows to Nashville's legendary venue.  As is often the case with his Rambles, he was joined by a few great artists: Sheryl Crow, John Hiatt and Buddy Miller. I think the album is a lot of fun, and reminds me that I have to go see Levon when he plays Central Park Summerstage later this summer. But I really want to go up to one of his Rambles at his place in Woodstock.

I hope you guys enjoy some of these.  By the way, if you aren't a SiriusXM subscriber, go here for a free online trial subscription.

40 REASONS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT MUSIC

So, as promised, I'm posting my "40 Reasons To Get Exicted About Music," in response to Rolling Stone magazine's recent cover story. It turns out that I agree with half of theirs.  Here, then, are twenty of my reasons to be excited.

Bob Dylan. Not including his recent Christmas album, he has released four classic albums in a row: 1997's Time Out Of Mind, 2001's "Love & Theft," 2006's Modern Times and last year's Together Through Life, which was my favorite album of 2009. Plus, his concerts are getting good again. It's just inspiring how great he is, as he approaches the big seven-oh. Plus, he's been allowing Sony Legacy to put out great releases from his vault.

Speaking of approaching the big seven-oh, there's also the legend, Solomon Burke.Two weeks ago, I talked about Solomon's latest album, Nothing's Impossible, on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SIRIUS XM OutQ, and people loved it. The man still makes incredible albums, and has been doing so since his 2002 record, Don't Give Up On Me.

The Underground Garage. Anyone who reads No Expiration, anyone who listens to me on OutQ, or anyone who talks to me about music ever, knows my love for the Underground Garage, which I write about often. As someone who has not been interested in music radio for decades, the Underground Garage got me back into it. You can hear new and old music, famous bands, obscure bands, brand new bands that haven't gotten to the pop culture radar yet, well know songs, rare tracks, and it doesn't discriminate by race or sex. In fact, I don't think you'll hear more female fronted bands, or all girl groups, anywhere else. The Underground Garage, in fact, introduced me to one of my favorite bands, The Cocktail Slippers. Other bands it turned me on to: The Boss Martians, The Hawaii Mud Bombers, The Jessica Fletchers, The Woggles, The Chesterfield Kings, The Charms, The Contrast, The Grip Weeds, and more. These are some of the best bands you haven't heard of. I hear tons of great new music on this channel all the time.

I need to mention The Cocktail Slippers again. Their last album, Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was one of my favorite albums of last year. I can't wait to hear what they will do next.

Everyone knows that Little Steven Van Zandt runs The Underground Garage, but he is also the force behind Outlaw Country, a truly awesome channel, that combines every generation of country music, with a sort of rock and roll spirit. It seems pretty crazy that there aren't radio stations that play Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams in high rotation. Luckily, Outlaw Country does. They've also introduced me to some great artists, including Reckless Kelly, (DJ) Elizabeth Cook and one of my favorite bands, The Drive-By Truckers.

The Drive-By Truckers deserve their own entry! Their new album, The Big To-Do, is my favorite album of 2010 so far. They've been doing their thing for over a decade now, and I'm glad that people are starting to notice.

Speaking of the Truckers, they played on Bettye Lavette's last album, The Scene Of The Crime. What an inspiring story this lady has. She's been working for decades, almost having breaks a few times over the years, and finally in the mid-00's, Anti- Records (owned by Epitaph, they have also put out records by Tom Waits, Solomon Burke and Joe Henry) gave her a deal, and now the world is starting to get to know her. Better late than never: what a voice. She is a great song interpreter.

Another great singer/song interpreter with an inspiring story is Miss Sharon Jones. She started getting her first break in her 50s! Her new album I Learned The Hard Way is really great. She loves old-school sounds so much, it's like the last few decades haven't happened, but her songs are great, so it's cool (the same could be said of Jack White).

And yet another great singer/interpreter with a great story is former Band drummer/singer/mandolin player Levon Helm. A couple of years ago, Levon was on the brink of bankruptcy, foreclosure and was staring down cancer. Today, he is healthy, does really popular concerts at his home (which wasn't foreclosed), tours, and has made two great albums.

The Stooges. One of the best bands of all time. They are finally getting the credit they deserve. And they are touring. They will destroy bands one third of their age.

Robert Plant. For years, his ambition seems to outreach what he was capable of as a solo artist. Then he let go of a bit of control, worked with Alison Krauss (and, it must be said, producer T-Bone Burnett)and put out a true classic with Raising Sand. Now he's working on a solo album (he doesn't rule out another album with Alison though) but he's sticking in the Americana vein: he's got Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin in his touring band, and Buddy is producing his next album.

Bruce Springsteen. Although I didn't love his latest album, Working On A Dream, I thought that Magic was a classic. I think Bruce still has classics in him. His latest tour was maybe his best yet. The E Street Band is one of the best combos in the world. And Bruce can still turn around and so something great with his other group, The (Seeger) Sessions Band or as a solo acoustic artist.

Talib Kweli. I think he is one of the best MCs around, I like his solo music, I like what he does with Hi-Tek in Reflection Eternal, and I hope that he and Mos Def do another Black Star album that lives up to the first one. Honestly, I don't care if Jay-Z retires, I hope Kweli makes music for a long time.

Two more reasons together: Aimee Mann and Ben Harper. Two of the best songwwriters in the world. They are always honest, make no concessions to anyone, and keep putting out great albums. Actually, I'll add Steve Earle to that.

Jack White: I write about him often, and it is a running joke on Larry Flick's show that I keep coming up with ways to play his music on the show (Larry isn't a Jack White fan). For all three of his bands, and for his great label, Third Man Records. Jack was my "Artist of the '00s."

Kanye West: he is a commerical hip-hop artist whose music I sometimes like and he keeps things interesting!

Roger Waters taking The Wall on tour. I wasn't old enough to go to concerts when Pink Floyd toured for The Wall!

Green Day: because they can rock Broadway, do a guitar hero game, tour stadiums and still do club shows as Foxboro Hot Tubs.

Those are my reasons: here are the Rolling Stone reasons that I was down with: U2's tour, LCD Soundsystem, concerts sound better than ever today, Them Crooked Vultures, Chuck Berry still performing, concert tickets are sometimes under $50 (I have to look for more sales like that!), T.I. is out of jail, M.I.A., "cloud based music," Tom Morello still fights the power, great tribute bands (I'm kind of iffy on this, I don't really see too many tribute bands, although I kind of want to check out The Fab Faux), Keith Richards is writing an autobiography, Mike Campbell rocks out on the new Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album, The Gaslight Anthem (cool young punk rock band), The Roots, country newcomer Jamey Johnson, vinyl sales tripled since 2006, R-Bone Burnett's productions and artist vaults with lots of great stuff in them (Dylan, Springsteen, Young).

LEVON HELM DOC: "AIN'T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH"

It is no secret that I am a big Levon Helm fan. He was one of my favorite artists of the '00s, and his last album, Electric Dirt, was one of my favorite albums of 2009. I think his story is super inspiring, and I'm glad to see him get some much-deserved acclaim lately, including his first two Grammy awards.

His story is so compelling: he started out the decade with his band, The Band, pretty much over following the death of bassist/singer Rick Danko. Levon himself was suffering from throat cancer and was told he may never sing again, and he was running out of money. He started doing his "Midnight Rambles" at his farm as a way to help pay the bills.  A few years later, his rambles are super popular concerts, he tours a bit and plays bigger audiences than he has since the original lineup of The Band toured, and his amazing voice is back.  I imagine all of this will be covered in the upcoming documentary, Ain't In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm. I know there's a website, but it doesn't seem to be up yet. There is, however, an official Facebook group.  Join it here.

TOMORROW MORNING ON OUTQ: GRAMMY WRAP-UP

Last year, I went on OutQ Monday morning after the Grammys and was ready to defend the fact that I voted for Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising Sand five times, over the likes of Leona Lewis and Lil' Wayne. Tomorrow, I'm going on the air, but I don't have anything that I felt that passionate about. Beyonce and Taylor Swift both had big nights, and I don't have huge opinions about them. Some people probably thought that Lady Gaga should have won more awards.

I was happy to see Green Day win Best Rock Album, I was glad to see Judas Priest, Maxwell, Levon Helm and Booker T. Jones get some Grammy love. I guess that's what we'll be talking about tomorrow! On Wednesday, I'll be back, talking about film music: the Oscar nominations come out Tuesday.

CONGRATULATIONS LEVON HELM

No secret that I'm a huge fan of Levon Helm, and I'm glad that his Electric Dirt album won the first ever Americana Grammy. Tough category: he was up against two of my other favorite albums of 2009: Bob Dylan's Together Through Life and Willie Nelson and Asleep At The Wheel's Willie and the Wheel. Lucinda Williams and Wilco were also nominated. It's Levon's second Grammy, his first was in 2007 for Dirt Farmer.

MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2009

Yeah, every single magazine, website and blog has already posted their "Best of '09" list already.  I was just waiting for them to get out of the way, so mine doesn't get lost in the flood. I'm not great at this. It takes me a few listens and sometimes a few months to really come to a decision on this kind of thing, but as of now, here are my favorite albums of the year that was. They're not really in order... except for the first three.

Bob Dylan's Together Through Life, and not Christmas In The Heart, is my favorite album of the year. It's like if Bob took a Tex-Mex band to the Chess Records or Sun Records studio in the late '50s. If it was Sun, the air conditioning was broken. If it was Chess, it was in August, and the air conditioning was broken. "Beyond Here Lies Nothing" is one of my favorite Dylan songs (ok, that list is over 100 songs long, but still).

The Cocktail Slippers' Saint Valentine's Day Massacre is the one album you should buy on my recommendation, if there was just one. They should be the biggest thing, and no one knows who they are! I have to thank Little Steven Van Zandt, who signed them to his Wicked Cool label, produced their record, played on it, and plays their records on his Underground Garage channel. They would be great without him, but I have heard of them thanks to him.

I didn't expect to love Rancid's Let The Dominoes Fall as much as I do, I didn't love their last two. But it's just great. I remember a few years ago, VH1 did some documentary on punk rock, and the interviewer asked Lars Fredericksen if punk rock was dead, and he nearly flipped out. He was like, "I live punk rock, punk's not dead!" These guys bleed punk rock, they are the real deal and they are one of my favorite bands.

Speaking of "the real deal," Levon Helm's Electric Dirt is another great album. Whether it's blues, gospel, R&B, rock, country or anything in between, this guys sings (and plays) it with total authority. But it ain't a museum piece: dude rocks the party.

Speaking of rocking the party, check out N.A.S.A.'s The Spirit Of Apollo. It's two DJ/producers: DJ Zegon and Squeak E. Clean (aka Sam Speigel, also known as brother of Where The Wild Things Are director Spike Jonze, which explains the sick guest list). It's like a party on a spaceship that has been boarded by Tom Waits, Method Man, M.I.A. and John Frusciante (to name some of the many contributors to the album).

Also rocking the party, albeit in a more old school way: Willie Nelson and Asleep At The Wheel on their collaboration, Willie and The Wheel. It's party music, but from like 60 or 70 years ago. It always amazes me that Willie Nelson keeps coming up with new things to do, and they work (not always, but when they do work, they work well).

Another great collaboration is the long-standing (and very inspiring) one between married couple Buddy & Julie Miller. I love their Written In Chalk album. It's a real shame that more people don't know who they are. But No Depression did (rightfully) name Buddy their Artist Of The Decade.

The Dead Weather's Horehound... well, I guess it's no secret to No Expiration readers that I'm a huge fan of Jack White's various projects. Part of it is his talent: but a big part is that he is a great collaborator. It works with Brendan Benson in The Raconteurs, and it works with Allison Mosshart (also the singer for The Kills).

Laughin' and Cryin' With The Reverend Horton Heat may not make anyone cry, but it can make you laugh, and at some points, it makes you think (but without realizing it). Check out "Rural Point Of View." Nice reality check for us progressives. Like with Rancid, I didn't love the last few albums by The Rev, but this one knocked me out.

Ben Harper making an album with a new group, Relentless7, and going back to the clubs was a big gamble, right as he was starting to play big venues. But it worked out. It took me a few listens, but I really dig his latest, White Lies For Dark Times. It is his most "rock" album ever, and it's a great one. Well done, Ben.

Muse. The Resistance. Get it. This will be their year. They're huge all over the world, rightfully so, and this should be the album to make it happen here. They opened for U2 in stadiums, and acted like they owned the stage. They definitely kept U2 on their toes.

Four honorable mentions that I feel I have to add: Miranda Lambert 's Revolution, Florence & The Machine's Lungs, Pearl Jam's Backspacer and Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown.

A few more: Rosanne Cash's The List, The Avett Brothers ' I And Love And You, Norah Jones' The Fall, Maxwell's BLACKSummer's Night, Them Crooked Vultures' self-titled debut, Alice In Chains' pretty great comeback Black Gives Way To Blue, and Care Bears On Fire 's debut Get Over It!

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: THE GRAMMY NOMS (or, MAXWELL IS ABOUT TO GET A SALES BUMP!)

I’m going on OutQ again tomorrow on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick to discuss tonight’s Grammy nominations. Last year, I really liked the way the Grammys panned out, with Robert Plant & Alison Krauss winning five for their classic album Raising Sand. I loved that album, and felt it deserved all the recognition it got. It was a victory for art. Sorry Lil Wayne. I don’t feel as enthused this year: Beyonce leads with ten nominations and Taylor Swift has eight. I enjoy songs by both ladies, but I’m not passionate about either. I was, however, glad to see Maxwell with six for his BLACKsummer’snight album. Some people didn’t even know he was back! His album came out in July and debuted at #1, but that doesn’t mean what it used to, and anyway, it didn’t seem to make an impact on the culture at all, and it disappeared pretty quickly. So, I’m glad that this will help him out. The Black Eyed Peas and Kanye West both got six also: I enjoy both artists, but I don’t like either of their new albums. Lady Gaga got five. I don’t object to her, but I’m not passionate about her music either. In fact, I don’t feel very opinionated about any of the “big four” categories. I was hoping that Willie Nelson would get more nods than he did: he got just three. I thought he would do better than that, given that he released two very different and very good albums, Willie & The Wheel and American Classic. My favorite album of the year, Bob Dylan’s Together Through Life, got two nods.

I don’t have huge opinions about the Pop field, and I probably won’t vote in Dance. I usually skip Traditional Pop, but I may vote there this year, since Willie has a nomination there.

Rock has some good stuff: Best Solo Rock performance pits Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Prince and John Fogerty against each other. (I will vote for Dylan). Other rock nods went to Green Day, AC/DC, Alice In Chains, Metallica, Pearl Jam (glad to see “The Fixer” get props), U2 and overrated band of the year Kings Of Leon. The thing is, I have to admit I was ultimately not blown away by Bruce, U2 and Green Day’s albums. They were all solid, but not as good as their prior albums. I will probably skip the alternative field, which features David Byrne & Brian Eno (zzzzz…), Death Cab For Cutie, Depeche Mode, Phoenix (who I can’t stand) and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

R&B will require me to buy a lot of new music, there’s a lot of not-well-known-by-the-mainstream artists in the field, including Melanie Fiona, Lalah Hathaway, Ledisi, Jazmine Sullivan, Anthony Hamilton, Musiq Soulchild, Robert Randolph, as well as Beyonce and Maxwell.

Rap is pretty good this year. It surprises me to hear myself say that, because I’m not a huge fan of contemporary hip-hop. But I really actually like Jay-Z’s songs, “Death of Autotune” and “Run This Town” (with Kanye West and Rihanna). I also really like nominated songs by The Beastie Boys with Nas, Kid Cudi with Kanye and Common, T.I. with Justin Timberlake, and Mos Def. And Lonely Island featuring T-Pain. I was really glad to see Q-Tip’s super-underrated The Renaissance getting a nod as well.

I don’t have a huge opinion on this year’s country artists, but I was glad to see nods go to Miranda Lambert, Jamey Johnson and Patty Griffin (!).

My favorite category overall is Best Americana Album. Three of my favorite albums of the year are nominated: Dylan’s Together Through Life, Willie’s Willie & The Wheel and Levon Helm’s Electric Dirt, along with Wilco’s Wilco (The Album) and Lucinda Williams’ Little Honey. I’ll vote for Dylan.

While I’m not a huge fan of Bruce’s Working On A Dream album, “The Wrestler” was probably my favorite song of last year, and I’m glad it is up for Best Song from a Movie. But that will probably go to A.R. Rahman’s “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire.

I guess there are some things I'll be "rooting" for: Pearl Jam's "The Fixer," Bruce's "The Wrestler," Q-Tip and Willie, but there's no way I'll be as into it as I was last year. I do hope Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye peform "Run This Town." It would be great to see Rihanna have a triumphant return to the Grammys after last year's horrible mess.

BEST OF THE '00S: LEVON HELM

I've already pretty much said what I have to say about the great Levon Helm in my Best of '09: Levon Helm's Electric Dirt post. But to review: at the beginning of the decade, The Band's recent incarntion had split up in the wake of Rick Danko's death. Levon had throat cancer, was told he wouldn't sing again, and was facing foreclosure on his barn in Woodstock. He played some concerts to raise mortgage money called "Midnight Rambles," and raised enough money to fight off foreclosre, but they also attracted enough interest that they became an event that transcended the cause. He defeated his cancer. And put out two incredible albums, 2007's Dirt Farmer and this year's Electric Dirt. Great story, but the wonderful music is what makes him one of my artists of the decade.

More Best Of The '00s: Bob Dylan
Willie Nelson
Aimee Mann
Jeff Tweedy
David Johansen

BEST OF '09: LEVON HELM'S ELECTRIC DIRT

I've written about the new Levon Helm album, Electric Dirt, a bit already, but it is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year. In fact, this album combined with his big comeback album of 2007, Dirt Farmer, should put him up for my Best Of The '00s series. And even if you don't agree with the statement - that he is one of the best artists of the decade - he surely has one of the most compelling stories. At the start of the decade, the reunited version of The Band - featuring Levon, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko - had broken up, following Danko's death in December of 1999. In the late '90s, Levon had been diagnosed with throat cancer, and was told he wouldn't be able to sing anymore. And he was running out of money and risked losing his farm.

Via his "Midnight Rambles" - concerts at his barn - he earned money to pay his medical bills and dodge forclosure. But the shows weren't just financially valuable: they were so hot that Levon went from being a nostalgia-based artist to someone who people would drive far distances to see (his barn is located in Woodstock). These days, his cancer is in remission, his singing is incredibly strong, his Rambles always sell out, he even tours a bit (selling out two nights in a row at NYC's Beacon Theater a few years back) and he has two super-highly acclaimed albums. Of course this story wouldn't matter so much if those albums weren't so great - but they are. Do yourself a favor and check them out!

Other Best of '09 albums: Bob Dylan's Together Through Life , The Cocktail Slippers' Saint Valentine's Day Massacre , Rancid's Let The Dominoes Fall, N.A.S.A.'s Spirit Of Apollo

TOMORROW ON OUTQ I GO OUTLAW

Very often on OutQ, I talk about being a big fan of Little Steven's Underground Garage, and the kind of music that they play on the channel. Tomorrow, I'll be talking about the kind of music they play on Steven's other channel, Outlaw Country. I don't know if I'll get to all of it though, there's lots of great new music to talk about.



First off, new albums from the great Willie Nelson, who, in my mind, is one of the best artists of the '00s. Willie's collaboration with Asleep At The Wheel, Willie And The Wheel, is one of my favorite albums of 2009. It is a fun, rollicking, party album - kind of the way that Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions album is. He also has released American Classic, an album of traditional standards, which is a nice album, but not as good as Willie And The Wheel. I'll be talking about both albums. Willie gets played on Outlaw Country a lot, but of course he has his own channel, Willie's Place. He actually calls in to a live show on the channel every Wednesday.



Willie's longtime buddy Kris Kristofferson has a new album, Closer To The Bone, which is pretty close to the bone, in that it is quite a stripped down album, with very little other than Kris' grizzled voice and guitar. I've only recently gotten into Kris' music, and it's a revelation how great he is.



I meant to talk about Levon Helm on the show a few weeks ago, but it didn't work out. Hopefully we get to it tomorrow, Electric Dirt is one of my favorite albums of the year, and "When I Go Away" may be my favorite song of the year. I think Electric Dirt and his last album, Dirt Farmer, have (maybe) done for him what Raising Sand did for Robert Plant: helped him to finally escape the long shadow of an awesome former band.



Rosanne Cash's new album, The List, is based on a handwritten list that her dad gave her decades ago. It was his 100 "essential" country songs of all time. This album sees her covering some of the songs on that list, some as duets with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright.




Finally, one of my favorite DJs, and the lady who I listen to nearly every morning, Elizabeth Cook. She is the weekday morning DJ on Outlaw Country (the weekend lineup is equally awesome, including Shooter Jennings, Steve Earle, Don Was, Cowboy Jack Clement and even WWF legend Hillbilly Jim who has great taste in music), and a great artist in her own right. I'm going to write more about her in the future, she deserves your attention. I think the OutQ crowd will enjoy her song "Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman."

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: AMERICAN LEGENDS

Tomorrow on OutQ, I'll be talking about new albums from some true American legends.

Smokey Robinson just released Time Flies When You're Having Fun. Smokey may be the greatest songwriter of all time, and has nothing to prove to anyone. And on this album, he doesn't really try. It's laid back, and he's having a good time.

John Fogerty just released The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again. It's all covers, plus a remake of one of his older solo songs, "Change In The Weather." It's fun, but not as classic as his last album, Revival.

My favorite album of the year is Bob Dylan's Together Through Life. I'm a bit nervous about trying to play it, though, as Larry Flick is not a Dylan fan. But "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" is kind of funky, hopefully that will go over OK.

Levon Helm isn't in the same league as Smokey, Dylan and Fogerty as a songwriter - he is more of a singer. Back in the days of The Band, Robbie Robertson wrote all the songs (although Levon contests the songwriting credits). But he is a legend, and he is an incredible singer (and a great drummer too). I love his Electric Dirt album. "When I Go Away" may be my favorite song of the year. I thought it was a cover of an older song: in fact, it was written by his guitarist (and former Dylan guitarist) Larry Campbell.

LEVON HELM RETURNS WITH ELECTRIC DIRT

I was surprised to read that Levon Helm is about to release a new album, Electric Dirt. It comes out June 30, about two years after his last release Dirt Farmer. That album is a classic, you should check it out; like that one, Electric Dirt is produced by Larry Campbell, who used to play in Dylan's band.

Levon's story is so incredible: he was suffering from throat cancer, it didn't look good for him, he was out of money, about to lose his farm, and since he didn't write songs for The Band, he didn't have huge royalty checks coming in. He started hosting "Midnight Rambles," parties at his place to raise money to afford another month's mortgage, and they ended up doing so well, he was able to get out of financial trouble, and he's taken his "Rambles" on the road. And his health has improved. I got to see one of his shows at the Beacon Theater, it was really incredible. You should check him out if he comes to your town, and by all means, check out his Dirt records.

LEVON HELM'S (NOT LAST) WALTZ

It's great to see the late career-acclaim that Levon Helm has been getting in recent years. He'd hit hard times: he was suffering from throat cancer and thought he wouldn't sing again. And he was having financial troubles, and nearly had to literally sell his farm.

Well, he recovered from cancer, and decided to have a blowout party at his barn where he charged admission and played a righteous jam with his friends. Well, that jam turned into an ongoing thing - called "Midnight Rambles" - and ended up raising enough money for him to keep his place. Now his Rambles are big draws, and he even takes his show on the road. I saw a Ramble last year, and was blown away, it was an amazing show. He also put out his first solo album in decades last year - Dirt Farmer - and it was like an instant classic.

Just a few weeks ago, Levon was named Americana Artist of the Year at The Americana Awards in Nashville; the night before, he did a Ramble at the Ryman auditorium, where he was joined by Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Buddy Miller, Steve Earle, Allison Moorer, John Hiatt and Sheryl Crow. It's good to see the man getting his due while he's still here to appreciate it.

LEVON HELM'S MOVING RAMBLE

 I was fortunate enough to catch Levon Helm's recent concert at the Beacon Theater, thanks to a good friend who hooked me up with a ticket. It was a great show, and one that was inspiring in a few ways.  After facing down throat cancer - which threatened not only his life, but also his singing voice  - and bankruptcy, now he's playing great, singing wonderfully and pulling in huge crowds.  He's playing music that matters to him, without any nods to whatever is current or "hip," and he went from a guy who couldn't pull huge crowds to a guy who can sell out two nights at the Beacon, and he did so without the help of the music industry. 

Friday night's show was great. His band includes a number of great musicians, including guitarist Larry Cambpell (who produced Levon's excellent new album Dirt Farmer) - like Levon, a former member of Bob Dylan's band, and guitarist Jimmy Vivino of The Max Weinberg 7. The horn section was great, and more New Orleans-y than Late Night-y. 

They played a bunch of Band songs, but didn't rely on just those songs. They opened with "Ophelia," and also played "Rag Mama Rag," "Chest Fever" and "The Weight," along with a few others. Plus some Dylan covers like "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry" (one of my favorites) and "I Shall Be Released." But over the course of the night, blues, country, folk, R&B were all represented. I was really blown away by the show. I think I've got to get up to Woodstock to catch one of his Midnight Rambles. 

THE SOUL OF THE BAND?

Here's another album I should have mentioned more prominently in my favorite albums of 2007 list. Levon Helm's Dirt Farmer came out toward the end of the year, and I checked it out based on the advice of a friend who has great taste in music.

Levon Helm used to be the leader of The Band in their early days, before songwriting and record making came into the picture, at which point, Robbie Robertson kind of took the reins. Robbie is a great guitarist, a great songwriter, producer and arranger. He had a lot to work with, as the members of the Band were all multi-instrumentalists, and the group featured three singers.

After The Band broke up, Robbie did really well - as the guy with most of the songwriting credits, he gets the most money (by far, something the other members have not been happy about). He's also produced film soundtracks and done a bunch of highly acclaimed solo albums that are way more slick than The Band's albums were. He was taken more seriously than the other guys, who tried to carry on without him. The "reunited" version of The Band featured Helm, Garth Hudson and the late Rick Danko, they toured a bit and did a few albums. They did a great version of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City," but I didn't like too much of thier output other than that.

Levon's suffered through some hard times: he recovered from throat cancer, endured the death of Rick Danko, and also had some money problems. I'm glad to see that things are turning up for him a bit: his "Midnight Ramble" shows at his home in Woodstock have been selling out, apparently, he's performing really well, and his voice has recovered.

Dirt Farmer, his first solo studio album in twenty-something years is great. If Robbie Robertson's solo albums (which I love) represent what The Band may have sounded like if they formed in 1989, I think Dirt Farmer sounds like... what they would sound like today, if they never released records, ignored the outside world, and stayed together all this time. It's a really soulful album. Welcome back, Levon.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Where have I been? I haven't been able to decide exactly what are my favorite songs and albums of the year, and what order they go in. At the end of every year, I put this self-imposed pressure on myself to come up with my list of the best music from said year - mainly just to make a good iTunes mix (or before that, to make a few mix tapes). Now that I have *a blog*, I have a place to share my list.

But I'm still working on it. There are a few last minute entires. I already wrote about Public Enemy's album, but I just checked out new albums by Radiohead, (ex?)indie rockers Rilo Kiley and Levon Helm (the former drummer/singer/mandolin player from The Band).

I didn't download Radiohead's In Rainbows when it was offered on their website for the bargain price of "name your own price." This is kind of lame, but I felt it was too inconvienent to go to a new site, enter my info (I would have paid for it), and plus, I have the rest of their albums on CD, so I wanted this one also. Plus, CDs have better sound than mp3s and Radiohead is the type of band where this is important, plus they always have interesting album art. And I try to go to a store that sells CDs once a week if I can. Easier just to get the CD.


I have to say, putting aside the hype of the release - the fact that they announced that it was coming out ten days before it was released, you could name your own price, there was no record label involved, etc. - it is a really good record. Could many other artists pull off a release like this? Probably, but only pretty big bands. This record was actually worth the hype.
Levon Helm's record is also really good. A friend of mine who has great taste in music said it was his favorite album of the year, so I went to iTunes and "completed" the album (I had already bought a few tracks). It's like a great Band album, and probably better than some of their last ones (and better than both of the ones that they did after the reunited sans-Robbie Robertson and Richard Manuel).


I also completed my Rilo Kiley album at iTunes. I was never super into them, but when I heard "Silver Lining" a few months ago, I was knocked out by what a great pop song it was, and then ditto for "Close Call." I hear that this album has pissed off their indie fans. Whatever: it's probably the best thing they ever did. Don't hate, appreciate.


I've also been rediscovering Norah Jones' latest, Not Too Late, which came out earlier this year. But I think I'm at my cut-off point for listening to 2007 albums. I want to have my list up this week, so be on the lookout!