Larry's Top Albums & Songs of 2008

Top Ten Albums
1. Bright Eyes - Casadaga
2. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests Of
3. Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
4. Eilen Jewell - Letters from Sinners & Strangers
5. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
6. Radiohead - In Rainbows
7. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
8. Peter Rowan & Tony Rice - Quartet
9. The Carolina Chocolate Drops - Dona Got A Ramblin' Mind
10. Lyle Lovett - It's Not Big It's Large

Top Five Songs
1. I Must Belong Somewhere - Bright Eyes
2. To The Dogs or Whoever - Josh Ritter
3. Dusty Boxcar Wall - Eilen Jewell
4. Sad Clown - Joe Purdy
5. Jigsaw Falling Into Place - Radiohead

The only surprises here are maybe that I'm going against the trend of 2005 and 2006 and not putting the Avetts in the top two, but hey, they're still in the top three. Emotionalism is one damn fine album, one of their best, but it had some strong competition.

I can't say enough good things about Eilen Jewell. She's going places. God, "Dusty Boxcar Wall" gives me chills!

The Robert Plant and Alison Krauss album really surprised me. My first listen went pretty flat... it didn't speak to me. But after a few more listens I really loved the low-key subtlety to it... as one of my friends said, "It's a very musical album." He means, cryptically, that there's a lot of intricate production and deep musicianship underneath the deceptively simple exterior. (Also, if I was to have done a "Top 6" songs instead of "Top 5," then Gone Gone Gone would have been number 6, no question.)

Radiohead's new album, In Rainbows was a solid reprise of their last phenomenal album, Hail To The Thief, which was my top pick of 2003. This new one was great, and I listened to it alot, but it was too close to "Thief" to merit a higher rank. Still a great album, though.

Lastly, although I really dug several songs from Joe Purdy's You Can Tell Georgia, the album overall didn't make it into the top ten. "Sad Clown," however, is a damn catchy tune that filled my head for much of 2007. (Despite my hatred of clowns.) "I'm gonna fill this whiskey cup, I'm gonna pick this banjo up, I'm gonna play with the tragedies, sing them good time harmonies... B Wright, don't you let me down, play that one called 'Sad Clown', yeah that one's about me... I've been thinking about leavin' town..."