Belle and Sebastian Black Sessions Cat Stevens Remember the Ultimate Collection Album Art

Hither's the thing about lists – whether it'due south bucket lists, shopping lists, or AUK best of 21st century album lists, something's e'er going to get left off, and there's always a nagging dubiety that it will be the most important matter. So, while I finally fabricated the agonising choice not to include whatever Civil Wars, Mary Chapin Carpenter, John Moreland, Steve Earle, Fleet Foxes, Gaslight Anthem, Bon Iver, Sam Bakery, Gregory Alan Isakov, 'O Blood brother Where Art Though' soundtrack – I also can't assistance feeling there all the same may be someone else out there I've forgotten. Oh yeah, the utterly delightful hidden gem that is Ireland'southward Noelle McDonnell and his 'Beyond Hard Places'…oh, well.

Modest wonder that the advice from the AUK elders was "don't torture yourself too much"! So after what I would consider an entirely acceptable amount of self torture…

Number ten: Patti Scialfa '23rd Street Lullaby' (2004)
We all know it's an unjust globe sometimes, and so it will likely exist Patty Scialfa'due south fate to go downwards in history as being Mrs Bruce Springsteen, rather than as an extremely fine artist in her ain right. Releasing three albums to engagement, the 2d of these, '23rd Street Lullaby', is possibly the moment when the songwriting, performance and production aligned perfectly. What resulted was a gloriously shiny piece of americana soft rock, full of harmonies, jangly guitars, throbbing bass, big drums and huge choruses. This is music for a Saturday night on the motorway, only with some unexpectedly erudite and touching lyrics thrown in.

Number nine: Sharon Shannon & Friends 'The Diamond Mountain Sessions' (2000)
Sharon Shannon, a virtuoso button accordionist, came upwards through the Irish session tradition, touched the commercial side of music through her association with the Waterboys, and in 2000 made this record, connecting Irish folk with American land and the globe across. A beautifully realised mix of instrumentals and songs, the musicianship is unsurprisingly fabulous, superlative performances past all concerned, while the 'friends' included Jackson Browne, John Prine and Steve Earle. What was surprising, was that this tape moved well beyond the normal folk circles. Two songs especially broke out to mainstream radio, firstly Earle's rambunctious 'Galway Girl', and and then creating perhaps the most unlikely pop star of all time in the quavering tones of traditional singer Dessie O'Halloran, with the undeniably catchy ear worm of 'Say You Love Me'.

Number 8: Sam Outlaw 'Tenderheart' (2017)
There are very few words to express what a pleasure this tape is. The starting time thing, unusual these days, this is proper state music, admitting rootsier than the glossy Nashville sound – in that location are steel guitars a-enough; there is storytelling, often set in modest boondocks bars; in that location is Outlaw's own tenor voice, which in information technology'south lightness never distracts from the song being sung; and heck, he even wears a cowboy hat on the comprehend. This is a tape that bucks the modern trend of the inward-looking author diving deep into their own psyche; refreshingly, Outlaw's own identity seems to disappear, leaving the songs to speak entirely for themselves, with the freedom even for sweetness (the pan-generational friendship in 'Bourgainvillea I Recollect', the paean to laundry that is 'Dry on the Line'), while 'Trouble' may be the catchiest country tune in years. The title rails, meanwhile, is a fantastic vocal that keeps getting amend with each mind. There are some seriously practiced songs on this lovely and understated record. Sometimes it'south squeamish to listen to music that doesn't constantly up the drama to demand your attending, but instead sounds like it only wants to be your friend. Mr Outlaw, you're e'er welcome in our house!

Number 7: Jason Isbell 'Southeastern' (2013)
Isbell had cut his teeth as the third songwriter with americana behemoth Bulldoze-By Truckers, earlier striking out on his ain. This was his fourth solo tape, but maybe the showtime one he'd recorded sober, after a period in rehab to claiming his well-documented alcohol issues. Isbell and producer Dave Cobb eschewed his back upward ring the 400 Unit for this stark record (though some songs were broadened out with additional musicians, from that ring and elsewhere). All the same, it should be said, this record is deep, and it is non a place for the faint hearted. It is also boggling. For a similar experience, it is perhaps only Springsteen's 'Nebraska' or the most intense work of Townes Van Zandt that compare. It is not so much the subject area matter that Isbell dives into, though this does include sexual abuse, cancer, alcoholism, and death. Rather, information technology is the depth of the songwriting, the extreme item that Isbell is able to call on, in the very few words a vocal allows you lot. Of a sudden, he was at the very top of the songwriting tree, and he has non come downward since.

Number 6: Madison Violet 'No Fool For Trying' 2009
After several records under the abbreviated moniker Mad Violet, lengthening their proper noun was a precursor to Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac making some sort of quantum in the music world. It must accept been with mixed emotions for them that they did, as personal tragedy underpins this record. There is a depth to these songs that is undeniable, a keening melancholy that lingers long later the record has finished. Yet, in no way is this a heavy tape musically, the lightest of instrumental touches is employed throughout, a folky, bluegrassy concoction which allows the closeness of the vocal harmonies to come through. Cute to listen to, pitiful to contemplate, this is a record that is both brief and lasting.

Number 5: Ron Sexsmith 'Asphalt Highway' (2002)
Almost from the start, Ron Sexsmith seemed fated to be a 'songwriters' songwriter'.  Despite the vocal support of A-listers such every bit Elvis Costello, Elton John and Chris Martin, destiny decided that fame and coin would non follow him (mayhap inevitably, given his lack of film star looks or alpha personality). However, for those of us fortunate enough to find him, he has given the globe lyrics of the deepest empathy, beauty and poignancy, wrapped in exquisite Beatles-esque melodies, and he seems to depict from a well that never runs dry. I picked this album because it has the perfection that is 'Gold In Them Hills' on it, just really, pretty much every album is a friction match for the last, and if Ron worms his style into your heart (and he actually should), a whole treasure trove of music is waiting for yous.

Number 4: Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women 'Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women' (2009)
Dave Alvin is likely to be well known to many AUK readers, and he has rightfully had a retrospective dedicated to him on these hallowed pages. Although perhaps less celebrated than some, this remains my favourite of all his albums; for alongside the expected quality of the songwriting, the elevation musicianship and his rich baritone phonation, it contains the 1 ingredient missing from near of his oeuvre…fun! Surrounding himself with a band comprising of women (and as an aside, isn't it interesting how irresolute the backing band proper name from 'The Guilty Men' to 'The Guilty Women' carries such a different connotation?), he kicks off the shindig with a boot Cajun-style version of one of his greatest classics, 'Marie Marie'. The new songs, meanwhile, maintain the standard we would expect from Alvin, with some career highlights such as the driving 'California'south Called-for', the proficient time nostalgia of 'Boss of the Dejection', the audio-visual intensity of 'These Times We're Living In', and closing information technology out, the treat we never knew we wanted, a rocking version of 'Que Sera, Sera'!

Number 3: Charlie Dore 'Sleep All Solar day (and other stories)' (2004)
Probably best known for 'Pilot of the Airwaves', and so as a jobbing songwriter with a mitt in several big hits, Charlie Dore decided somewhere in the early 2000's that information technology was time to really put her muse to piece of work. This extraordinary record was the result, a precipitous eyed, wry, incisive album, that was unremittingly honest in its delineation of the characters within. All this coupled with incredibly detailed yet playful music, and a wonderful vox, too, at times soaring, at times whispering secrets and truths. Oh, and too, this is an unusually funny tape, sometimes in that world-weary, upturned eyes way, sometimes in express joy out loud slapstick. Really, it seemed like no one was doing what Dore was doing. Did information technology brand her a star? Of course not. She'southward carried on making records of similar quality ever since, but this remains a high water marker.

Number ii: John Prine 'The Tree of Forgiveness' (2018)
Oh, how John Prine is missed! At that place's something about his art that kind of creeps upward on you unawares. His unassuming vocalisation. His extremely limited guitar skills. He didn't have a broad melodic pallet, his songs are unlikely to make you lot punch the air or dance effectually the room with uncontrolled carelessness. And yet, and yet…now the adding up fourth dimension has come, and we only have his piece of work to reflect on, suddenly it seems clear he was one of the very best. Dylan, Hank, Joni, Cohen, Young, Springsteen, Kristofferson, and yes, Prine. His words somehow capture beauty and magic in normality, pigment our faults, foibles and imperfections in perfectly nuanced character studies, and every bit Iris Bewilder notes, "sing them back to us…ennobling u.s.a.". This tape arrived unexpectedly, and fifty-fifty more than unexpectedly, was but an utter joy from start to end, classic Prine so some, using his (sometimes) goofy, aw shucks persona to provide insights of immeasurable depth, while at the same time giving usa a little inward, knowing smile, at ourselves, and the rest of the crazy, mixed upwards human race effectually us.

Number 1: Patty Griffin '1000 Kisses' (2002)
An absolute masterclass of songwriting. Perhaps no more we'd expect from Griffin, who is one of the nearly lauded of all electric current songwriters by her peers. What sets this apart from her other records is the cute production, a stripped back acoustic record that wraps yous in a richly detailed warmth. Oh, and the songs, e'er the songs. Zip misfires hither, there are no misfits. Every word nuanced, each song perfectly placed – don't engage the shuffle on this ane, it's a proper record, meant to be listened to in order. Every song a stand up out – the gossamer 'Be Careful', the storytelling tapestry of 'Chief', the emotionally charged 'Long Ride Home', the killer retro classicism of the final two tracks 'Tomorrow Dark' and 'Mil Besos'. Oh, and a cover of one of Springsteen's finest, near haunted songs in 'Stolen Car', which sits easily among everything around it, not overshadowing, merely complimenting. Griffin has made many cracking records, but in its economy of style, this may exist her crowning accomplishment.

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Source: https://americana-uk.com/auks-top-10-americana-albums-of-the-21st-century-jonathan-smith

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