Review by Douglas Lytle
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Sometimes all one needs is a good melody, and 2007 delivered that in spades.
Few American records this year were uniformly excellent from front to back, so here is one album and a few other standout tracks that remained with me over the course of 12 months.
Missing are worthy efforts from artists such as Tom McRae, the Foo Fighters, Pendulum, Public Enemy, Kings of Leon, Levon Helm, Black Lips, John Fogerty, Marc Cohn and Stars of the Lid.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Dave Brubeck ``Indian Summer'' (Telarc) -- Brubeck's solo piano project is so gorgeous, so full of humanity, so spontaneous and relaxed that it carried me through the late summer and fall without being bested by any other rock or pop artist in the running.
What may sound like sophisticated cocktail jazz piano on first listening is actually 16 heartfelt and melancholy reflections on a life well lived. Brubeck invests all of the songs with the kind of soul that only 86 years of living can bring to chestnuts like ``Georgia on My Mind'' and ``Spring is Here.''
On ``September Song,'' Brubeck opens softly, with variations on a middle C triad. He repeats the combination several times slowly, like a jeweler turning over a rare diamond, perusing it, considering it, before setting it aside.
SINGLE OF THE YEAR: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, ``Please Read the Letter'' -- For a time I thought Plant and Krauss's ``Raising Sand'' (Rounder) collaboration was going to be my choice for record of the year but it fell short by about a song or two. On ``Letter,'' Plant revisits a song from the 1998 Plant-Jimmy Page ``Walking Into Clarksdale'' project to great, majestic effect. Plant and Krauss create a driving tale of desire and regret over a haunting canvas of fiddle, fuzzy guitars and ambient sound cooked up by producer T-Bone Burnett.
Chuck Prophet, ``Freckle Song'' -- Take one infectious groove and slather Prophet's hip, suggestive lyrics over it all and you've have some boogie music worthy of shaking a booty to.
Prophet, long a veteran of independent music and the group Green on Red, moves from style to style on ``Soap and Water'' (Yep Roc), his 10th solo album.
The Shins, ``Phantom Limb'' -- Is this the most successful independent band in the U.S.? Quite possibly, because this Portland, Oregon-based band quietly sold more than 800,000 copies of ``Wincing the Night Away'' (Sub Pop) without ever hitting mainstream radio. Listeners have warmed to a blend of sweet harmonies, oddly timed rhythms and intriguing lyrics.
Wilco, ``Let's Not Get Carried Away'' -- ``Sky Blue Sky'' (Nonesuch), Wilco's sixth studio record, was an unexpectedly warm and harmonious affair reminiscent of Neil Young's ``Harvest.'' The band moved away from the sonic squalls contained on 2002's ``Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'' and 2004's ``A Ghost Is Born.'' ``Let's Not Get Carried Away'' is on the special tour edition of the CD.
Bruce Springsteen, ``You'll Be Comin' Down'' ``Girls in Their Summer Clothes'' -- Springsteen returned with ``Magic'' (Sony), a radio-friendly album of songs about relationships, aging and the Iraq war and its effect on the U.S. ``The Boss'' then embarked on another marathon world tour with the E-Street Band.
Fountains of Wayne, ``Strapped for Cash'' ``New Routine'' -- There are few bands that can equal this group's ability to write smart, catchy pop. ``Traffic & Weather'' (Virgin) didn't make headlines this year the way ``Welcome Interstate Managers'' did in 2003 but it still connected lyrically. Who else could rhyme ``Lichtenstein'' with ``New Routine'' before going on to name check Carl Reiner?
Rufus Wainwright, ``Going to a Town'' -- The year's most overtly political statement gets swaddled in the lushest of pop arrangements. Wainwright sings of his move to Berlin to record his new record ``Release the Stars'' (Geffen): ``You took advantage of a world that loved you well/ I'm going to a town that has already been burned down/ I'm so tired of you America.''
The White Stripes, ``You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do What You're Told)'' -- Apologies to the people on the subway who had to endure me listening to this song from ``Icky Thump'' (Warner Bros/Wea) played at ear-shattering levels. There simply isn't any other level at which this rocking blast of 70's-era music can be enjoyed.
Two soundtracks this year transcended the usual paltry let's- milk-the-film effort. Fans of Bob Dylan should consider the soundtrack to the film ``I'm Not There'' (Sony), featuring Dylan tunes done by the likes of Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Eddie Vedder and Sufjan Stevens. Loudon Wainwright's ``Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up'' (Concord), contains music and songs that were not in the popular romantic comedy.
Download prices vary across services; the CDs are priced from $12.98.
(Douglas Lytle writes for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the reporter on this story: Douglas Lytle in Prague at dlytle@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 28, 2007 04:44 EST
