Top Ten Albums of 2010 - #05
David Ford's Let The Hard Times Roll
Editor's Note: This is the 6th in a weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2010. New reviews go up every weekend through the end of the year.
Ah, the top five. That secretive brotherhood of albums that shares "inherent awesomeness" as a tag if nothing else. Now it starts getting difficult to pick the albums apart; not impossible - there are no ties, and my decisions haven't changed since I first wrote out the list in October.
So, why LTHTR? On his third full length effort, Ford struck a perfect balance between the gritty lyrics of his debut album with the instrumental prowess that marked his second. There's a track for every emotion here, yet they all still manage to swim together in the same school. "Surfin' Guantanamo Bay" is as righteously indignant as "State of the Union," but a listener would have a hard time guessing that both songs were written by the same man without hearing the vocals. "Missouri" is the greatest four-line, 1:30 song I've heard since...well, I guess it's the greatest ever. "Call To Arms" goes out with his typical flourish.
So, why #05? "Panic." The loud, resounding bells on "Panic" just don't work for me, otherwise the song could be the best on there (it's certainly got a sweet bass line to anchor it).
Amazon is not your friend when it comes to finding this album. $32? No thank you. It can be found for cheap on eBay, but why not support the man himself?
Album highlight: The warm tone of the organ in "Missouri" is pr' sweet.
Editor's Note: This is the 6th in a weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2010. New reviews go up every weekend through the end of the year.Ah, the top five. That secretive brotherhood of albums that shares "inherent awesomeness" as a tag if nothing else. Now it starts getting difficult to pick the albums apart; not impossible - there are no ties, and my decisions haven't changed since I first wrote out the list in October.
So, why LTHTR? On his third full length effort, Ford struck a perfect balance between the gritty lyrics of his debut album with the instrumental prowess that marked his second. There's a track for every emotion here, yet they all still manage to swim together in the same school. "Surfin' Guantanamo Bay" is as righteously indignant as "State of the Union," but a listener would have a hard time guessing that both songs were written by the same man without hearing the vocals. "Missouri" is the greatest four-line, 1:30 song I've heard since...well, I guess it's the greatest ever. "Call To Arms" goes out with his typical flourish.
So, why #05? "Panic." The loud, resounding bells on "Panic" just don't work for me, otherwise the song could be the best on there (it's certainly got a sweet bass line to anchor it).
Amazon is not your friend when it comes to finding this album. $32? No thank you. It can be found for cheap on eBay, but why not support the man himself?
Album highlight: The warm tone of the organ in "Missouri" is pr' sweet.
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