Musing

Top Ten Albums of 2009 - #6 Jet's Shaka Rock Shine On , it ain't. This is the simple but powerful three chord rock that made Get Born a few years ago, with less introspection and more face-punching. If I could shout-sing, "She's a Genius" would be known by everyone on my block.

Top Ten Albums of 2009 - #7 Dave Matthews Band's Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King To put it kindly, DMB's last outing was a disaster. That raw energy that brings people to their concerts year after year had been completely washed out by a slick setup and digital effects. Enter Big Whiskey. Some of that slickness is still there (and despite my fetish for large string sections, they're overused here), but in the absence of a sorely missed LeRoi Moore, the band invited several of their touring members/collaborators to chime in. With that, the live sound of the tour was reborn. This is a solid effort and it's the first in this list with fewer than 4 disappointing tracks.

Top Ten Albums of 2009 - #8 Sister Hazel's Release SH threw me for a loop here. If I didn't know the order in which their albums had been released, I would have put this down as their third: It rolls with their earlier, more acoustic tunes as often as it goes electric. After their last album, I definitely agreed with them when they decided that they needed to record something a little different this time. But somehow, rather than sounding different and fresh, a number of these tracks come across as simply washed out as the cover art. I can only name half of the tracks on the whole album - that should say something, even after repeated listens. Still, "Vacation Rain" and "Take a Bow" are extremely catchy, and drivers on the toll road may occasionally catch me playing air guitar to "Ghost In The Crowd."* ALWAYS a good live show; I'd love to catch them touring this album. * - File this under "Bad Driving Advice."

Top Ten Albums of 2009 - #9 Rob Thomas's Cradlesong Rob writes a mean pop tune. And normally, I'm all about filling every possible minute of a disc. Then why does this album just seem so long? First, "Gasoline" is a mistake in every way - take it off and the album automatically jumps at least one place higher. Unfortunately, this second solo effort doesn't have much in the way of variety. ...Something To Be had diverse influences that kept the listener's attention in the way that this outing can't quite manage. Don't get me wrong - there are some fantastic pop gems on this album. The more-of-the-same tracks that sandwich these gems are too thick for this listener and put this album at #9 for the year.

Top Ten Albums of 2009 - #10 Better Than Ezra's Paper Empire Better Than Ezra have seen better days. Nearly 15 years since they were last a staple on the radio, the boys sort of wander on this, their sixth studio album. The front third plays like Closer Pt. 2 . The back third goes similarly, but the middle finds them expanding their horizons in ways that don't suit Kevin's voice particularly well. Props for experimenting, but maybe they ought to keep those tracks for b-sides next time.