BEST OF 2012 - #2 - JACK WHITE "BLUNDERBUSS"

It is probably no surprise that Jack White's debut solo album, Blunderbuss, placed so high on my Best of 2012 list.

Why did he finally do a solo record?  I think that this is his "divorce" album. I don't generally look too deeply into lives of artists, but this one was hard to miss:  Jack and Karen Elson sent out invitations to their 6 anniversary/divorce party.  So while it seems amicable, I'd imagine that every divorce has it's pain and that pain comes out in this album (which Elson provides backing vocals on, by the way).

Although he's the spotlight of every project he works on, I think he sees his bandmates as peers and friends.  I think that this time around, he'd rather just hire musicians, and not explain the songs.

Jack White being Jack White, his story is that he'd set up a session at Third Man Studios with The RZA; RZA didn't show up, and Jack started bashing out songs with the musicians that he hired.  But these songs don't sound like they were just cranked out on the spot.

The tour was really interesting:  he had an all-male band, and an all-female band, and each morning he'd announce who would get to play.  It's amazing that he still can manage to have some weird mystique to what he's doing, all these years after he started.  And that he'd go to such far lengths to bother to do so.  It was fun to hear him play White Stripes songs again (although a full band didn't seem to make up for Meg White missing), and cool to hear different takes on his Raconteurs and Dead Weather songs.

Anyway, the album is a classic: pretty much every song works.  A lot of them sound like they could maybe fit into his other bands.  "Hypocritical Kiss" and "Sixteen Saltines" remind me of The White Stripes for sure. I would love to hear Alison Mosshart singing "Freedom At 21."   "Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy" reminds me of The Raconteurs.  But they still have a fresh, different sound.  In the 2010's, I don't know any other artists who are this consistent, and this interesting.

BEST OF 2012 - #3 - MARK LANEGAN BAND "BLUES FUNERAL"

In March, I predicted that the Mark Lanegan Band's Blues Funeral would be one of my top 10 albums of 2012.  I was right.

It's interesting that Chris Cornell tried to combine his sound with electronic music by working with Timbaland on his Scream album, and it didn't really work.  But Lanegan worked with Alain Johannes on this album, and made a hybrid of Lanegan's dusty blues and electronic music that works really well.

Johannes (a former member of Eleven) has worked with Cornell before, it's too bad that they didn't go in this direction.

Lanegan isn't thought of as a "blues" artist per se, and he doesn't roll in Clapton circles.  But when I hear him sing, it just brings to mind scenes of dusty, lonely, scary places.  I hear the blues in his voice.  And this album makes the blues sound fresh, current and even futuristic.  I don't know many other records you could say that about.  If I were a film director (or musical director of a film), I'd be mining this album big time, and asking Lanegan and Johannes for more.

It's interesting that Lanegan chose to call this a "Mark Lanegan Band" album.  The "Band" is completed by drummer Jack Irons. A newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (as a member of The Red Hot Chili Peppers) and a newly minted member of The Wallflowers, he didn't really get to promote the album with Lanegan.  But hopefully this particular group of musicians will work together again.

BEST OF 2012 - #4 - BOB DYLAN "TEMPEST"

One of the first big releases of 2012 was a 4 CD Bob Dylan tribute Chimes Of Freedom put out by Amnesty International.  It had legends (Elvis Costello, Joe Perry and Pete Townshend) younger acts (Band Of Skulls, Gaslight Anthem) and pop stars (Ke$ha, Miley Cyrus).  It was a great tribute and showed the man's far reaching influence.

But as if to remind us of his continued relevance and greatness, a few months later Bob released his latest album, Tempest. It's not a huge departure from what he's done lately:  he takes a lot of influence from pre-rock and roll Americana (a lot of the music that he used to play on his satellite radio show Theme Time Radio Hour), adding his distinct lyrical touch.

I don't love Tempest as much as his last album -- Together Through Life was my favorite album of 2009. Still, its another incredible addition to his untouchable cannon of songs.

I love the first single "Duquesne Whistle" (which, like all of Together Through Life, featured lyrics co-written with The Grateful Dead's lyricist Robert Hunter). The video kind of set the scene for the album, which turns out to be kind of violent.

My favorite song on the album is "Pay In Blood" ("... but not my own!").   There are other songs haunted by death.  The title track is about the Titanic, and even references James Cameron's famous movie.  And "Roll On John" is about John Lennon.  In the very Chess bluesy "Early Roman Kings" he says "I ain't afraid to make love to a bitch or a hag."

It's kind of shocking that this guy who is seventy-something, doing his thirty-something-est album, still has so much edginess to him.  But as he says in the aforementioned song, "I ain't dead yet/My bell still rings/I keep my fingers crossed/like the early Roman kings."  No doubt!

Other than the above video and one very contentious Rolling Stone cover story, he didn't promote the album too much, which is too bad.  On the other hand, it's fine and very Bob.  I guess the deal is, if you're a fan you have it already, and if you're not, it's probably not a good starting place for you.  But there's not a clunker here, the album is great from start to finish.

One other thing I have to mention: David Hildago of Los Lobos, who played on Together Through Life and Christmas In The Heart, joins Dylan again on this album.  He definitely adds a vibe to the album, and I hope Bob uses him again in the future.

BEST OF 2012 - #5 - DR. JOHN - "LOCKED DOWN"

Dr. John's Locked Down is one of the few albums that I got around to writing about this year. That's because I was so excited about it, and I still am.  It's a great album.

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys (a favorite of mine:  their album El Camino was my #4 album of 2011 even though it came out at the very end of the year, and Brothers was my #7 album of 2010) did a great job producing. I don't think this was a case of a hot artist just slapping his name on an album by a vet.  I feel like he had a vision for this album, and I would bet he was happy with the results.

The choice to keep Dr. John on electric keyboards (he doesn't play any grand piano) was an inspired one, it sort of prevented the album from being a waltz through traditional New Orleans roots.  It doesn't sound like a clapton-esque blues tribute at a fancy museum.  More like you turned around a corner you never turned down before, and ended up in a bar you never knew existed, but may have heard of.  It gave it the creepy vibe of the Doctor's early albums, where he created a very cool mix (or "gumbo") of New Orleans music with rock and roll.

On the other hand, the album ends with two really tender songs. "My Children, My Angels" is a song Dr. John wrote at Auerbach's insistence.  As the title insinuates, it's about his kids. And then "God's Sure Good."  I think that without those songs, the album could have been too much of a throwback of Dr. John trying to be his old "Night Tripper" character.  Too many songs like the last two would have made the album too grandfather-y.  So, putting the two sides together balanced each other out.

I'm not a huge Dr. John expert, but I think this is one of the best albums he's made.  Certainly the best from the past few decades.  He obviously brought his A-game to the collaboration, and here's hoping they work together again.

BEST OF 2012 - #6 - GARY CLARK JR. "BLAK AND BLU"

Only one artist made my best of lists in 2011 and 2012 and that's Gary Clark Jr., one of the most exciting new artists in music today.  Last year his Bright Lights EP was my #5 album of of the year, and this year Blak And Blu is my #6.

Yeah, Gary Clark Jr. is a great blues guitarist, and there are other great blues guitarists out there. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Bonamassa, Jonny Lang.  But I think Gary will have a lot of appeal outside of blues circles, and outside of guitar player circles.  This year I saw him at Metallica's Orion Festival (Kirk Hammett introduced him from the stage) and at Jay-Z's Made In America Festival (Jay-Z and Beyonce watched him from the side of the stage).

So clearly, the man goes beyond the blues scene.  That's clear in the song "The Life" which could be a current R&B hit. "Ain't Messin' 'Round" could have been a hit in the '80s (it seems like an odd choice to lead off his major label full length debut) and then there's stuff that guitar fans can really sink their teeth into: full band versions of "Things Are Changin'" and "When My Train Pulls In" (acoustic versions were on The Bright Lights EP) and great songs like "Numb" (my favorite) and "Travis County."

People compare him to Hendrix (and he does in fact throw in a bit of "Third Stone From The Sun" on the album, but the way he reminds me of Hendrix isn't simply that he's a great guitar player that mixes blues with something psychedelic, it's the fact that he can go from genre to genre.  If Jimi started out today, I think he'd still be a killer guitar player, but he'd want to be able to do contemporary R&B; he'd want to be able to work in all different styles.  I think that that's what we're going to see from Gary Clark Jr. in the years to come, and that's why he's exciting.  And he'll always be rooted in the blues.

BEST OF 2012 - #7 - NORAH JONES "LITTLE BROKEN HEARTS"

I think that Norah Jones' Little Broken Hearts is one of the most "slept-on" albums of 2012.

I loved her collaborations with Danger Mouse on the Rome project last year, and I thought it was cool that they decided to do a full Norah album together.

It's an interesting choice for her; when she started out, she was kind of the torch-bearer for more traditional music when she debuted with Come Away With Me in 2002, covering standards and Hank Williams and Bob Dylan. Of course there was her Grammy winning collaboration with Ray Charles on his final album, and she's worked with Willie Nelson a number of times.

On the other hand, she's collaborated with younger artists including Ryan Adams, Q-Tip, the Foo Fighters and Talib Kweli.

Anyway, you look at the album cover and you realize that this isn't really the same Norah.  Image-wise,  musically and lyrically, its an evolution.  To me, the standout track on the album is "Miriam." It's a deceptively gentle sounding song in which Norah sings to a woman who had a fling with her man. Check out the video.

Even if they play Norah's early songs in Pottery Barn... don't mess with her!

The first single, "Happy Pills," is funkier than most of what she'd done in the past.  When I listen to this album, it sounds like (a) someone who has been hurt and is writing about the sad and painful experience and (b) someone who has gotten a bit tired of her image, and maybe the way she is perceived.  I give Norah a lot of credit for this album, but more importantly, I think it's a really good album.

It's worth mentioning that she also did a great roots music album this year with The Little Willies, a band she is a member of. For The Good Times is great also, but Little Broken Hearts is what caught my attention this year.

BEST OF 2012 - #8 - BONNIE RAITT "SLIPSTREAM"

In her cover of Gerry Rafferty's "Right Down The Line" (one of the highlights of Slipstream), Bonnie Raitt sings "You've been as constant as the northern star," which could actually describe her work.  She's never let us down.

In the late '80s when she experienced her very incredible "comeback" starting with Nick Of Time, she actually got more popular than she ever had been before. I think she was great in the '70s, but with Nick Of Time, she really found her voice: she's a great blues interpreter, but she's not a blues pioneer.  What she is a pioneer in, is singing about what middle-age is like.  In many ways, that's a lot harder, so few people have been able to do it.

She doesn't always write her songs, but Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro and Glenn Close don't always write their lines either: they just make you believe them.  That's what Bonnie does so well.  Also, she can smoke nearly anyone on guitar. I remember watching a Rolling Stones DVD where Bonnie joined them on stage for "Shine A Light," but she was only singing, not playing guitar.  I thought that might have been because Keith and Ron didn't want to get blown off of their own stage.  I mean, can you imagine them having Clapton come on stage to sing a song but not play guitar?

Anyway, on Slipstream, Bonnie uses the more stripped down sound she's used since her Don Was trilogy of albums (all of which had a bit more of the "adult contemporary" sound of the late '80s/early '90s). And she picks some great songs.  "Right Down The Line" is amazing.  A '70s soft-rock classic, when you listen to Bonnie singing it, it gets heavier.  The video actually adds to it.  It shows couples that seem to have been together for a long time - and without making a big deal of it, some of those couples are same sex.  It's one of the lovliest videos you'll see.  Check it out:

But Bonnie's record isn't just about one song.  I also love the fact that she covered not one, but two songs from one of my favorite Dylan albums, 1997's Time Out Of Mind.  She does haunting versions of   "Million Miles" and "Standing In The Doorway."  There's also a song written by Loundon Wainwright (father of Rufus) called "You Can't Fail Me Now."  I never heard his version, but I can't believe it would cut like hers.

One of Bonnie's songwriting contributions to the album is "Down To You," which is pretty rocking and has a cool swagger to it.  And I guess that's how life is: there's heartbreak, but there's also long relationships that last (i.e. "Right Down The Line"). There's aging and there's sadness and there's still swagger. Bonnie seems to always be able to capture all of that.  Not in a rock-star mythologizing way -- or even a blue singer mythologizing way -- but in a way that real people actually experience.  That's why I think she resonates so much.  And of course, because of her gorgeous voice, her badass guitar playing and her impeccable song selection.  All of that is present on Slipstream.  This isn't a record that got too much attention in the mainstream, and that's a shame.  If I had my way, this would have been nominated for a ton of Grammys, not just the Americana one.