Just Take Those Old Records Off The Shelf....My Top Five Albums Of 2014

     As a disclaimer at the beginning of this post, I am not certain that any or all of these albums actually came out in 2014, but I do know that I was exposed to them for the first time in 2014, so that counts, right?

     Here are my top five albums of 2014, in no particular order.

     Southeastern by Jason Isbell - Just right now I can't remember the who, where and why of my introduction to this album. Jason is from Green Hill, Alabama (about 40 miles from where I grew up) and he was one of the chief songwriters and guitarists for the Drive By Truckers for many years. In fact, he's responsible for my favorite DBT song "Outfit." Somehow or another I came across this and it was like finding a unicorn. I can count on one hand the number of times I have sat down and listened to an album straight through the first time and loved every single song, and this was one of those times. Although it's really impossible for me to truly pick favorites off this album, I have to say "Cover Me Up" and "Traveling Alone" are the two that get played the most often. When you play this record you will be impressed with two things: 1) he almost certainly lived every line of these songs personally and 2) he doesn't so much right songs, but poetry set to music. Sometimes his choice of words is profound and causes you to lose the song as you ponder that richness of that one word.

From The Hills Below The City by Houndmouth - One day I was bored and I was bored with music. Everything I had listened to recently was either lame or my first thought was "This sounds like...." So I googled "bands you haven't heard of yet" and up popped an article referencing Houndmouth. I quickly searched them on YouTube and the first video to pop up was "Casino (Bad Things)." Instantly hooked. It didn't sound like anything I'd heard before. I clicked on their next video, which was actually just them rehearsing and playing around with some folk songs. Without wasting another second I downloaded their album and, voila, another one of the five times in my life I've listened to an album straight through and loved every single song. Houndmouth is based out of Louisville and they've only been a band for a few years, but they caught lightning in a bottle with their four part harmonies and stripped down instrumentation. All four members can and do sing lead vocals on the album and there isn't a drop off no matter who takes the mic. (I've seen them live and they actually can swap out instruments with one another too and still blow you away). Their songwriting is very unusual in that they seem to be written as perspective songs from the viewpoint of outlaws and fringe society in the dustbowl era, yet amazingly they speak to a contemporary audience. I don't mind telling you this is my new favorite band and the vinyl that gets played the most often on my record player. There's not a bad song on the record but "On The Road", "Casino (Bad Things)", "Long As You're At Home" and "'Comin Round Again" are the ones I find myself singing in the shower.

Hard Working Americans by Hard Working Americans - HWA is basically a supergroup, made up of the King of East Nashville and his Court (Todd Snider, Dave Schools of Widespread Panic, Neil Casil of The Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Duane Trucks, as in Derek Trucks little brother and Chad Staehly of Great American Taxi). By the way, if you are wondering what is "East Nashville", it's the opposite of the pop country music machine side of Nashville that has devoured Music Row. East Nashville is where the real Music City begins. I've been a big fan of Todd Snyder for years and when I learned he was forming this group with all of these great musicians I signed on without hearing the first note, and I was not disappointed. The bottom line is this album is comprised of a number of covers of songs about life, struggle, heartache, loss and disappointment. It is a humble album about humble, hard working people who are just trying to get by and make a living from day to day. The album opens with "Blackland Farmer", originally recorded by Frankie Miller in 1959! The song "Stomp and Holler" was the first single from the record and it set the tone of righteous indignation and a downright temper tantrum. My personal favorite though is "Run A Mile." Whether you are driving, cutting grass, washing dishes or laying on the couch, when this song comes on you've got to move. The guys in this band are serious musicians and this album will have you dancing and protesting all at the same time. It is an amazing collection of music, blending old songs with contemporary issues and doing it all in the voice of the common man.

Hesitation Marks by Nine Inch Nails - I first heard NIN sitting in Brad Jernigan's bedroom with my friends Roc and Brad Liddie. I remember Brad saying, "Check this out" and then he played "Sanctified" and I thought to myself "What in the world is this music?" I had never heard this kind of music before. I came to learn that it was described as Industrial Rock, which made sense since Trent Reznor was using what sounded like a skillsaw running across sheet metal. Twenty plus years later NIN is still making records and I'm still a fan. Trent Reznor, like me, has grown older, married, had children and does a lot less "raging against the machine," but he still has a lot to say. Many NIN fans hated this album, but it is actually one of my favorites. It's not as angry and aggressive as his past works, but it still speak to issues of fear, doubt, baggage, hope, disappointment and anxiety. It speaks from a perspective of one who never thought he'd live to be "middle aged", but now he is and he is wondering, now what? Trent Reznor always seems to be able to make music that sounds like it comes from the future and this is no exception. At times you find yourself imagining that sentient computers made this music instead of a man. "Copy Of A" sets the tone for the record both sonically and lyrically, but "Came Back Hanted" is where it really hits its stride. "Find My Way" is perhaps the most unusual NIN song to date. It is always spoken as if it were a prayer of a desperate man who desperately wants to believe, which is a bit surprising coming from Trent Reznor. The song that caught my attention the quickest was "Everything", mainly because it is such a stripped down, simple, almost punk, song from a typically very layered, complex musician. Lyrically he announced almost triumphantly, "I survived everything, I have tried everything." I'm not going to suggest that this is his best work, but it was one of the best records I heard all year. It shows an artist who is still connected to his roots, but at the same time, not afraid to grow.

Trevor Hall by Trevor Hall - Ok, so this one completely took me by surprise. This is not the kind of music that I listen to. This is the kind of music I make fun of. In fact, I did for quite awhile. My wife and her friend Abby had gotten into this "psuedo-reggae" garbage as I referred to it on one occasion. It's all peace and mother earth and karma and sitars and blaaaaah. Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit on some of that, but honestly, I didn't like it. She listened to it constantly, non-stop, like everyday and I hated it a little more every day. I used to joke about this white kid from North Carolina trying to sing all rasta man, and then something strange happened on the way to the beach. She asked me to take her to Tampa to see him in concert in this tiny little venue and of course I said yes. These are the things loving husbands do, they go hear lame music because their wife wants to. I cannot tell you how much I was dreading this concert. I cannot tell you how much I did not want to be there. I cannot tell you how much I resented having paid for tickets to this joke, and yet that night, surrounded by a few hundred people, and standing only a few feet from the stage, I fell in love with this music. Being able to look him in the eye as he played and sang I realized he was just a man singing about love and hope and faith and unity. And I started thinking to myself, all of those things are pretty important to me too. Trevor Hall music is not by any stretch of the imagination religious music, but watching him perform, it seemed to me almost as if this were a religious rite for him. He actually believed in the things he was singing about and, you know what, I do to. Now that my prejudice and bias was out of the way I was able to listen to the lyrics and found a truly beautiful message that I believe in. This album did not come out in 2014, although he had one which did, and I like it too, just not as much as this one. It's hard to decide on just a few songs to highlight, but you definitely need to check out "31 Flavors", "Where's The Love", "Origami Crane", "The Lime Tree", "Who You Gonna Turn To", "Internal Heights" and my absolute favorite, "Unity." I'll sum up the totality of his music with one line from the song Unity, "Love all, serve all, and create no sorrow."

Honorable Mentions:

     There was so much great music that I was exposed to this year, but I can't list it all, yet there are two others that deserve honorable mentions even though they are only EP's.

     The Real Thing by Tubby Love - Tubby opened for Trevor Hall and I must say I've never seen a performance quite that that in my life. My first thought is this dude is some hippie kid that just walked in out of the jungle and was raised by animals in the rainforest. It was as if Mowgli from the Jungle Book had learned to play guitar. His music is very, er, how do I put this, earthy? But it is genuine. Admittedly I'm not all in like these guys, but I respected the message, the energy and the passion. His two best songs are clearly "Simple City" and "The Real Thing." Check them out.

     Trigger Hippy by Trigger Hippy - This is another EP, by another "super group." The drummer is Steve Gorman of The Black Crowes, session musician Tom Bukovac, vocalist Joan Osborne and man about town singer/songwriter Jackie Greene. The EP is worthy the purchase price just for the song "Heartache On The Line." This is another band made up of serious musicians with real talent and a love for music. You won't be disappointed.
     The holidays are right around the corner. You may be spending time in the car, the airport or with annoying relatives, so go to your favorite steaming music provider and type in some of these artists/songs and let me know what you think.