Sean's Top 10 Albums of 2006

Coming up with a top 10 list is a difficult task every year, and each time I find myself having to make agonizing decisions at the end. Choosing No. 1 isn't usually that hard; a top pick tends to emerge sometime during the year and dares subsequent releases to knock it off its perch. The agony comes at the end, where there always seems to be a short list of fine albums that have to be cut, even though each of them could have replaced my eventual No. 10. This year was no different, except it seemed like the number of excellent albums was greater than usual, and there were about 10 albums left off that deserved to make the cut. But, to bastardize a line from "Highlander," there can be only 10.

10. "Workbench Songs," Guy Clark – Hell, I'd be tempted to give Guy Clark a spot on this list because I'm in awe of his songwriting. I could even be swayed into giving him a spot on this list because he beat cancer this year. Instead, he made it for the best reason of all: "Workbench Songs" is one of his finest albums. From the powerful "Walking Man" to the more humorous "Tornado Time in Texas" and "Cinco de Mayo in Memphis" or even the traditional "Diamond Joe," this is one fine collection. May he stay cancer-free and live to bless us with many more.
9. "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions," Bruce Springsteen – It might have been cool if The Boss had chosen at least one song that Pete Seeger had written for this collection. It would have been cooler still if he had refrained from releasing the six-month-anniversary "American Land Edition" of this disc. But, hey, he's Springsteen, and even when he's being slightly dicky I can't stay mad at him for long. This disc shines a light on, and gives a modern context to, songs that deserve to remain relevant in our culture. Plus, the large, ramshackle Seeger Sessions band just makes this a heck of a lot of fun to listen to. I might even break down and buy a copy of "American Land."
8. "Bronx in Blue," Dion – First, a disclaimer: This album was released in 2005. But it was released on Dec. 27, 2005, at which time I was already agonizing over the final cuts for that year's list. This one was brought to my attention by my parents, who told me about it and then bought me a copy when I didn't act quickly enough to get my own. Their instincts were correct; I enjoyed it immediately. If you think Dion is a dinosaur from the doo-wop days, this disc should have you rethinking that stance inside of five minutes. He sings the blues with feeling, and accompanies himself respectably on acoustic guitar. At its best, "Bronx in Blue" makes you feel like he's sitting in your living room, playing the blues for you. It hasn't even begun to get old for me, and I've played it a lot.
7. "Dog Days," BR549 – Forget about labels; BR549 are making some of the best country music coming out of Nashville or anywhere else. Fat chance that you'll hear it on the radio, but you can pick up this disc and program the soundtrack of your own life. If Don Herron ever gets free from his commitment as a member of Bob Dylan's touring band, BR549 might well be barnstorming through a town near you. This disc is as much fun as folks have come to expect from this band, and like Clark's it ranks among their best work. It should be noted here that former BR549 singer/guitarist Gary Bennett also released an excellent country album, "Human Condition," in 2006.
6. "Ammunition," Tim Easton – Anybody who has been reading HickoryWind for the past year and a half probably already knows that I'm a huge Tim Easton fan. He turned in another fine effort in 2006, and I feel it's my duty to spread the word. He's keeping the troubadour spirit alive, and he's earnestly trying to make a difference in the world. You don't have to be a genius to figure out that the "Black Dog" that Easton is singing about is the U.S. government. What's really admirable about the song is the line that goes "I want to see your face when they put black dog in place / You say it can't be done, but tomorrow won't be long." Easton still believes. Can you say the same?
5. "People Gonna Talk," James Hunter – Probably the most pleasant surprise of the year. I first picked this disc up because Van Morrison endorsed it in an advertising blurb. Van, once again, you are the man. Hunter made an old-school R&B album, and not what the kids are calling R&B these days. "People Gonna Talk" is a little James Brown, a little Sam Cooke and a whole lot of ass-shaking fun. The red-hot "Talkin' Bout My Love" makes me sad that I can't dance.
4. "A Blessing and a Curse," Drive-By Truckers – By letting a few more of their influences – such as the Rolling Stones and The Replacements – shine through, Drive-By Truckers took a step toward making people drop the "southern" tag. They'll always be sons (and a daughter) of the south, but world domination seems like a logical next step. This is the fourth scarily good album in a row from this group, and they just keep getting better. "Aftermath USA" sounds like a great early '70s Stones outtake.
3. "Lost John Dean," Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch & Fats Kaplin – The second effort from these three is solid from top to bottom. The material is gripping, and the arrangements are tight. Like the Dion disc, "Lost John Dean" gives me the feeling that I'm in the room, being treated to one sweet house concert. "Satan's Paradise" is a gem, and the wordplay of "Postcard From Mexico" provides a lot of fun while telling a story. My favorite cut, though, has been "I Can't Wait." A hopeful ode to tolerance and understanding, I plan on putting this one on a lot of mixes. Few lines in the past year have made me stop and think like "We will find a way to / An understanding of all views / And no prayer shall be refused / I can't wait."
2. "Unsung," Slaid Cleaves – Slaid Cleaves has done a lot of good work, but this time out he chose to share the spotlight with songwriters he admired by covering their songs. He has exquisite taste, and chose material that suited his smooth tenor. It's uniformly excellent. It's also pretty typical of the type of album I choose for the top 10 these days – a disc that I figure I'll still be listening to semi-regularly five years from now. One of the real highlights for me was Karen Poston's "Flowered Dresses." In it is a line that breaks my heart every time, sung from the perspective of a child as their father leaves home: "And I was sitting in the hallway on the night he left / Huggin' me knees, holding my breath / I never knew why but he was damn sure gone / Thought it maybe was my fault."
1. "Modern Times," Bob Dylan – A thoroughly engaging album, and Dylan's first No. 1 disc in 30 years. I knew it would be a winner when my wife, who dislikes Dylan's voice, admitted to at least somewhat liking it. More than ever before, Dylan's voice and material are in synch. He grew up to be that old blues singer he always wanted to be. "Modern Times" is like an ultra-cool found-art project – a Chuck Berry riff here, a little Muddy Waters there; throw in an Irish parlor ballad and some snatches of old folk tunes, and fold them into tales that only Dylan can tell. The opener, "Thunder on the Mountain," tears out of the gate on Berry's back, and it's a great ride all the way to the end. It's foolhardy to rank Dylan's new releases among the rest of the canon too quickly, but I'm confident that history will be kind to "Modern Times."

Honorable mentions
These aren't in any particular order, but the first five were the last to be cut from my list of top 10 contenders.
"Other People's Lives," Ray Davies – A welcome return for Davies the social critic. It pained me to leave this one off my list.
"American V: A Hundred Highways," Johnny Cash – An impressive final statement from an iconic artist.
"Nashville," Solomon Burke – An Americana event from the King of Rock & Soul.
"I'm a Mountain," Sarah Harmer – A truly beautiful disc, and one that might still be in heavy rotation five years from now when other top-10 selections are gathering dust.
"All the Roadrunning," Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris – Kudos to Knopfler for recognizing how well his voice and Harris' sounded together and making a whole album out of what could have been a guest appearance on another disc.
"9th Ward Pickin' Parlor," Shawn Mullins – An impressive effort from an artist that I tended to dismiss in the past.
"Big Iron World," Old Crow Medicine Show – This disc didn't grab me the way "O.C.M.S." did, but it's growing on me.
"The Animal Years," Josh Ritter – The future looks bright for this singer-songwriter.
"American Myth," Jackie Greene – Greene drew a lot of Dylan comparisons with his early material, but his own style is starting to emerge.
"Leave the Light On," Chris Smither – Smither's "Origin of Species" takes a humorous look at intelligent design. He also does terrific versions of Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" (as a waltz) and Lightnin' Hopkins' "Blues in the Bottle."
"West of the West," Dave Alvin – An album of covers, but damn if Alvin doesn't sound great singing them.
"The Town and the City," Los Lobos – Given that this disc is steeped in the immigration issue, it's probably going to become a more highly regarded work over time.
"Rabbit Fur Coat," Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins – A sweet slice of country soul from the Rilo Kiley singer.
"Till the Sun Turns Black," Ray Lamontagne – Not as immediately accessible as I found "Trouble" to be, but I'm starting to appreciate the nuances of this follow-up.
"Ghost Repeater," Jeffrey Foucault – I first became aware of Foucault this year after checking him out on a Borders listening station. I'll buy his next disc without hearing a note.
"Black Cadillac," Rosanne Cash – If you had asked me four months ago, I would have sworn I'd list this among my 10 favorites. A fine effort nonetheless.
"The River in Reverse," Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint – One of the finest of Costello's many, many collaborations.
"Face the Promise," Bob Seger – A fine comeback. I could have done without the Kid Rock duet, but since Kid Rock was one of the few people out there singing the praises of Bob Seger while the rest of the world probably thought he was dead, I can't fault Seger for throwing the Kid a bone.

Swinging singles
I didn't compile a list of my top 10 or 20 or whatever songs. These are the tracks that I've been playing over and over (and over) again:
"Ghost Repeater," Jeffrey Foucault – The imagery in this song is vivid, and I find it makes me nostalgic for an America that might never have existed.
"Fireflies," Rhett Miller & Rachel Yamagata – I was a little disappointed with Miller's most recent solo disc, "The Believer," but I think that's only because his previous effort, "The Instigator," was so good. This duet is a keeper, though.
"Dear Old Song and Dance," Tim Easton – Don't be fooled by the laundry list of intoxicants. This is an anti-drug song, and a damn fine one at that.
"Like the 309," Johnny Cash – Staring death in the face, Cash is able to still pull out a bit of gallows humor.
"All the Roadrunning," Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris – The title track is as good a place to start as any.
"Rock Pile" and "Speed of the Whippoorwill," Chatham County Line – One up-tempo number and one slow, sweet one from another really fine CCL disc.
"Next Door Neighbour," Ray Davies – Davies knows people, and he still knows how to write about them skillfully.
"My Good Gal" and "James River Blues," Old Crow Medicine Show – These guys know how to tear it up, especially live, but I've been enjoying two of the more melancholy ones off their latest disc.
"Thunder on the Mountain," Bob Dylan – Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan ... two great tastes that taste great together.
"One More Day," The Wood Brothers – A great track from one of the most optimistic discs I heard all year.
"Supply and Demand," Amos Lee – He didn't really take a step forward on his second disc, but I'm pretty confident that we'll be hearing a lot more from this soulful singer-songwriter.
"Girl in the War," Josh Ritter – On paper, an argument between Saints Peter and Paul seems to be an interesting premise for a song. In practice, it is.
"I Am Aglow," Sarah Harmer – A sweet one that is made sweeter by the touch of mountain music.
"Down South," Tom Petty – Petty's "Highway Companion" was a good release in a year of extremely good releases. Lyrically, Petty made me smile with "Create myself down south / Impress all the women / Pretend I'm Samuel Clemens / Wear seersucker and white linens."
"Beautiful Wreck," Shawn Mullins – I don't know what people even hear on the radio anymore, but this song deserved to be a hit.
"Three More Days," Ray Lamontagne – Lamontagne can do the melancholy singer-songwriter thing. This track suggests that he might have a soul album somewhere inside him. Somebody get him in touch with Dan Penn, pronto.