Best of 2009 So Far ...

There is no better way to return and get things kicked up again than with a best of list. But a little healthy debate never hurt anything. I actually have fun doing it but the truth is rankings can change with moods or the weather. Plus the music industry is so prolific these days with all of the new media it is difficult to choose. So I just assembled the necessary tools and started ranking. In case you are wondering the essential tool needed for such an endeavor as this are, Shiner Bock Beer, Blanton's Bourbon, a dartboard, little pieces of paper in a hat, Corn Nuts, and a Moon Pie for energy. The results of this combination are below for you to read and then tell me what the hell I missed:

1) Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses - Roadhouse Sun
2) Buddy & Julie Miller - Written in Chalk
3) M. Ward - Hold Time
4) Wilco - The Album
5) Roman Candle - Oh Tall Tree in the Ear
6) Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies
7) Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane and Sugarcane
8) Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles - The Stars are Out
9) Charlie Robison - Beautiful Day
10) The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
11) Slaid Cleaves - Everything You Love Will be Taken Away
12) Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
13) Deer Tick - Born on Flag Day
14) Scot Miller & the Commonwealth - For Cryin' Out Loud
15) Hill Country Review - Self Titled
16) Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
17) Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band - Outer South
18) Donna Ulisse - Walk this Mountain Down
19) Gina Villalobos - Days on Their Side
20) The Gourds - Haymaker!
21) Derek Trucks - Already Free
22) The Flatlanders - Hills and Valleys
23) Dallas Wayne - I'll Take the Fifth
24) Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Self Titled
25) Son Volt - American Central Dust
26) Chuck Mead - Journeyman's Wager
27) Todd Snider - Excitement Plan
28) Red Stick Ramblers - My Suitcase is Always Packed
29) Sarah Jarosz - Song Up in Her Head
30) Old Californio - Westering Again
31) Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
32) Sara Watkins - Self Titled
33) Pter Holsapple and Chris Stamey - Here and Now
34) Kendal Carson - Alright Dynamite
35) Cracker - Sunshine in the Land of Milk and Honey
36) Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Ready for the Flood
37) Sam Roberts - Love at the End of the World
38) The Greencards - Fascination
39) U2 - No Line on the Horizon
40) Dierks Bentley - Feel that Fire
41) Wayne Hancock - Viper of Melody
42) Otis Gibbs - Grandpa Walked a Picket Line
43) Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Gru Grux King
44) Fiction Family - Self Titled
45) The Damnwells - One Last Century
46) Romi Mayes - Achin' in Yer Bones
47) Webb Wilder - More Like Me
48) Michelle Malone - Debris
49) Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels
50) Patteron Hood - Mudering Oscar

Dan Israel - Turning

A late release in 2007 that I almost overlooked is Dan Israel's Turning. Israel has been around a while from the Midwest to Austin and back again. He has opened for acts as diverse as Morissey, Spoon and Peter Himmelman. He has won songwriter awards in both Austin and Minneapolis, including Minnesota songwriter of the year in 2006. He has done albums solo and with his backing band The Cultivators. This album is a combination of friends and members of The Cultivators. The friends who join him are a who's who of the Midwest Music scene. Marc Perlman (The Jayhawks), Dave Boquist (Son Volt), John Munson (Semisonic) and Jesse Green (Foo Fighters and Wilco) just to name a few.

All of these different contributors come together under the singular vision of Israel to make a cohesive album. If you like roots rock there is something for you here. The first three songs on the album prove this. The album opens with "Triangle," which showcases Israel's singer-songwriter side. This leads into the lose rocking and rootsy "Counting on You." The next song "Hurt and Love" is an Americana song with a gentle banjo and fiddle inter-play the creates a musical metaphor to the tug of war in relationships that the song addresses. The album's highlight is the power pop anthem "News to Me." Also, the slide guitar work on "Song for Africa" makes that song stand out. In all honesty there is no weak link on this album. It is strong from start to finish.

Check out his MySpace page

This review also appears on Twangville