Best Of 2020
(strictly for fun and heated argument)
By Peter Jesperson
The first two albums in this year’s list are in a category all by themselves. And what a wonderful bit of unplanned synchronicity it is that in 2020 we’d be treated to new full-lengths by lifelong musical partners (and lifelong favorites/heroes of mine), Curt Almsted aka Curtiss A and Bob ‘Slim’ Dunlap. Both were crucial to the development of the Minneapolis-St. Paul music scene from the middle 70s onwards. Jerks of Fate is Curt’s first official release in 32 years. Live At The Turf Club is Slim-Bob’s first official release in 24 years. And part of the strength of both is the exceptionally empathetic bands behind the formidable frontmen.
Curtiss A – Jerks Of Fate
Curt’s album captures his essence better than any recording he’s made in his 50 + year career. All of his influences are audible here – the melodic and joyful rock n’ roll of The Beatles and The Rasberries, the soulful grit of Wilson Pickett and Mitch Ryder, and the timelessness of Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed and NRBQ. The writing is top shelf across the board, all by Curt with the exception of the rockin’ opener, “Lonely Cult Of Myself,” penned by Gini Dodds, fellow musician and Curt’s longtime significant other. Other standouts include “No Ambition,” “Cotton Mouth,” and the album’s highpoint for me – “You’re Gonna Die Someday,” a glorious, catchy number in the vein of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. I must also mention “Your Arrival,” a tale of alien visitation with hints of an old fave of mine - the Status Quo’s “Pictures Of Matchstick Men.” The real star of this show though is his Master’s Voice, one of the finest instruments to ever spring from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Credit for the ‘capturing’ goes to studio wiz, John Fields (The Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Soul Asylum), who produced the album at the legendary Creation Studios in Minneapolis, where seminal 60s records like “Surfin’ Bird by The Trashmen and “Liar, Liar” by The Castaways were done; and where, in the 1980s, Husker Du’s Warehouse: Songs And Stories and The Replacements’ Tim were recorded.
(https://curtissa.bandcamp.com/album/jerks-of-fate)
The Slim Dunlap Band – Live At The Turf Club
In some ways, Slim’s essence is felt more too, on his Live At The Turf Club. His eclectic repertoire of songs (speaking of NRBQ) and signature warm/funny between-song banter make for an entertaining listening experience, as only Slim can do it. His graceful command of the band is a thing of pure beauty. The song selection is outstanding, a mix of songs from his two solo albums, three unreleased originals including audience faves “Big Star Big” and “Breeder’s Cannonball” - and a handful of covers by the likes of Hank Williams, Carl Perkins and Steve Earle. Slim’s inability to perform since 2012 due to a stroke is sad beyond words but this rock n’ roll keepsake is something I treasure and will continue to do so for a long time to come.
(https://slimdunlapband.bandcamp.com)
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1. Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways
I guess it’s no surprise that Bob Dylan puts out a new album and it’s my favorite thing of the year, but Rough and Rowdy Ways has some extra weight to it which I think makes it especially good, his best since 2001’s “Love and Theft”. The dramatic roll-out added to the feeling of it being a real event. With zero advance word, “Murder Most Foul,” a nearly seventeen minute long digital only single, was released on March 27th. It’s a sprawling, mournful hymn of reflection centered around the November 1963 assassination of JFK, with numerous, fragmentary references to other primarily musical cultural touchstones. Bob throws almost too wide a net lyrically, but this approach works because of the unquestionable sincerity in his eloquent vocal delivery. Musically “MMF” has a tentative feeling that works in a counter-intuitive way. Knowing Dylan’s methods in the studio, we can assume he didn’t exactly ‘teach’ the band the song before the RECORD button was pushed and as a result we can hear the musicians slowly finding their way, ultimately landing on a perfect groove. Two more songs – “I Contain Multitudes” and “False Prophet” – were released digitally ahead of the full-length. The former echoes “MMF” in its arrangement and mood, while the latter is a bluesy stomp that would’ve fit nicely on any other Dylan records from the last 20 years. The album brought more jewels, from the achingly tender vocal on “I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You” to the spooky monster movie metaphor, “My Own Version Of You”, where Bob gets to put his Vincent Price impersonation to good use. The two songs I return to the most are “Goodbye Jimmy Reed,” a slow blues-rocker that coulda been on Blonde On Blonde and “Key West (Philosopher Poet)” which frequently brings me to tears, and I’m not even sure just what he’s talking about.
2. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
She did it some more. She made a 2nd album every bit as daring, unique, surprising, and exceptional as her 1st. I could gush about it for days but I’ll do my best to maintain a modicum dignity. I feel like Phoebe’s first album, Stranger In The Alps, was a more standard collection of songs, while structurally Punisher takes a lot of wild turns. I don’t know that I expected anything in particular from her second album but it very much caught me off-guard. I’m blown away that, rather than attempting to cement the enviable trajectory her career had taken, she and her band of merry men and women (Marshall Vore, Jenny Lee Lindberg, Tony Berg, Ethan Gruska, et al) seemed to disregard it, put their heads down, and made art. High art. I’m not saying they blew ‘Stranger’ out of the water by any means. In fact, in some ways, I might like the first album better. But that’s only splitting the proverbial hairs as both are brilliant. One especially striking element of Punisher is just how damn musical it is. Berg and company’s production spotlights that and makes it audible (experienced best in headphones, and I don’t mean earbuds). And a big shout out must also go to Rob Moose for the stunning string arrangements. But all that aside, what really gets me is the voice. I think that’s where she stands out. These days, I don’t try or claim to listen to a comprehensive portion of what’s released yearly in popular music, but I do hear plenty, and right now there’s no other “new” artist making music that captivates me like Phoebe Bridgers’ does.
(https://phoebefuckingbridgers.com)
3. Taylor Swift – folklore
Taylor Swift – evermore
This is a funny one for Jennifer and I because we had very specifically wished for an album like these from Taylor Swift. We both drank the Taylor Kool Aid in 2014, when we first heard the album 1989. We’d had a healthy respect for Taylor all along, from hearing songs on the radio, seeing her perform at awards ceremonies, or just reading about how she handled the business side of things. Even if we initially thought her music wasn’t “for us”, she always seemed cool (apart from the celebrity feuds, which seemed unnecessary and unbecoming). But 1989 turned all that around. We fell hard, bought all the other albums and found we liked them all, to varying degrees. Following 1989, we disagreed slightly on the next two. I liked Reputation better than Jennifer did. And Jennifer liked Lover better than I did. But that just caused healthy debate and conversation and, at some point, one of us said, “Wouldn’t it be great if Taylor Swift just set aside the glossy production, chart concerns, release strategies, and global tour plans and just made a fucking great album full of her fucking great songs that showed all the naysayers how genuinely talented she was? And that is exactly what she did. Taylor has always collaborated, whether it be in the early days with producer Nathan Chapman and songwriter, Liz Rose, or later, with superstar producer/writers like Max Martin and Jack Antonoff. But this time around she had a different set of collaborators – highly respected indie rockers, Aaron Dessner (from The National) and Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver), plus one uninvited ‘collaborator’ – the COVID-19 pandemic. Those three things came together to create something unexpected, and it is all the more impressive for it.
4. Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death
I loved these guys on first listen to their 2019 debut, Dogrel. I knew it was their first album but the band sounded so fully-formed that it intrigued me in a way I didn’t expect, which made me listen harder, and more often. I gleefully watched the reviews pour in, drenched with acclaim. As sure as I was they’d deliver another great album, the strength of A Hero’s Death still caught me by surprise. It completely bowled me over. And in a year where we needed it, the optimism expressed in many of the lyrics is a welcome salve for our wounded selves. Two albums of this sort of epic quality is evidence enough for me, I’m totally won over.
5. The Unthanks - Diversions Vol.5 Live And Unaccompanied - Special Film Edition
One of my favorite ever vocal groups, The Unthanks have never put out an a cappella album before. Culled from a series of thirty one live shows in the UK and Ireland in April / May 2019. To hear the three principle voices – Rachel Unthank, Becky Unthank and Niopha Keegan - unaccompanied is almost indescribably beautiful. It’s magical to me, what they do. Comes with a wonderful DVD of selected performances, a tour diary of sorts.
6. Daniel Romano
(*w/his band The Outfit)
Could it be a World Record??!! In 2020, Canadian mastermind Daniel Romano released seven albums, one EP, one single, and a collaboration under the name Alias Ensemble. I can practically hear you thinking, “That’s an accomplishment but they can’t all be great though, can they?” Well, I’m here to tell you, they are! All were digital-only except Okay Wow, which was a live album issued on vinyl in a limited edition of 1,500. Five of the releases were done with his stellar band, The Outfit. On four of them, Dan played most instruments and sang all vocals. “Forever Love’s Fool,” was a 22:36 prog-rock-ish single featured Danny Carey from Tool. Okay Wow hit me especially hard because I saw essentially the same show here in LA in late 2019 and it was explosive – 55 minutes from start to finish with barely a breath between the songs. I kid you not - it was like Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue meets The Who. Speaking of Dylan, Dan & band had the novel idea to reimagine the entire Infidels album as if it had been recorded with the LA punk band, The Plugz (who backed Bob in support of that album on the Letterman show in 1984). Dan hasn’t made a straight country album for a while now and Content To Point The Way proves he hasn’t lost his touch in that genre. And can there have been a better album title in 2020 than How Ill Thy World Is Ordered? So, take your pick, the consistent quality of all of these 2020 releases insures satisfaction.
(full length albums unless otherwise noted)
- Visions Of The Higher Dream 3-14
– Okay Wow (Live) 3-27 *
- Super Pollen (EP) 4-24
- Content To Point The Way 4-29 *
- “Forever Love’s Fool” Feat. Danny Carey (single) 5-6 *
- Infidels 5-13 *
- Dandelion 5-27
- How Ill Thy World Is Ordered 9-18 *
- White Flag 11-6
- plus A Splendour Of Heart, under the group moniker, Alias Ensemble (a trio feat. Kelly Sloan on lead vocals, Outfit guitarist Dave Nardi, and Dan) 7-15
(https://danielromano.bandcamp.com/music)
6 a. Wire – Mind Hive
One after another, this band keeps making records that deserve to sit alongside any they’ve done in the past. “It’s the strange, appealing sound of a band doggedly following their own path, eyes fixed forward”, so says Alexis Petridis in The Guardian. There is no other band from the 70s punk/new wave movement that has made contemporary recordings that have the quality and weight that the last six Wire albums do.
6 b. Wire - 10:20
A collection of first-rate songs from various periods, some going back as far as the late 80s. It’s a mix of tracks that just didn’t fit on an album at the time, others that have never been properly recorded and finished before, and some are updated recordings to capture a new arrangement that’s been fine-tuned live. Intended for the cancelled spring Record Store Day, the band decided to officially release it in June. Two new Wire albums in a single year – now that’s cause for celebration!
7. The Parson Red Heads – Lifetime Of Comedy
Speaking of incredible vocal groups, The Parson Red Heads are among the finest I’ve ever heard, in the studio and onstage. This may be their best album.
(http://www.theparsonredheads.com)
8. Elle Belle – Post Everything
A guitar pick sliding down the strings and a small audio explosion heralds the arrival of the Post Everything system of philosophical thought. Elle Belle is an LA group with a revolving line-up, headed by a gifted and versatile musician originally from New Hampshire, Christopher Pappas. I was first introduced to his music via another band he fronts called The Everyday Visuals, a folk-rock band whose four and five-part harmonies are as close to perfectly executed as I’ve ever heard on record or live. He achieves that level of perfection in his work with Elle Belle, whose music was described by Atwood Magazine as “ranging from synth-driven dance tunes to voracious garage-rock songs and shiny pop anthems.”
(https://ellebellenosignal.bandcamp.com)
9. Minor Premiers – Sheets In The Garden
Luke Peacock – the keyboardist from Brisbane, Australia band Halfway – leads this excellent, melodic, indie rock band.
(https://minorpremiers.bandcamp.com)
10. The Jayhawks - XOXO
Album #11 sees The ‘Hawks being more democratic than ever, with all four members writing and singing. Loaded with great songs and their signature harmonies. Favorites include “Dogtown Days”, “Living In A Bubble” and “Little Victories”, the latter featuring a gorgeous walking bass line and stabbing guitar solo. They wear democracy well.
(https://www.jayhawksofficial.com)
11. Katie Pruitt – Expectations
A new singer from Georgia, now based in Nashville, with a voice that stopped me in my tracks. Two songs in particular – “My Mind’s A Ship (That’s Going Down)” and “Grace Has a Gun” – were songs I had on repeat all year long.
12. Steve Tagliere – outsider (digital only album)
A homemade album by a musician I’ve followed for many years. As the credits read, it’s an album “recorded at home, mostly in the middle of the night while the house was quiet and the family slept.” It’s a beautiful collection of songs full of melody and thoughtful words. Some accompaniment from Steve’s son Sam, wife Melody, and keyboardist Scott Danbom from Centro-matic. There’s a bit of nostalgia involved as the voice takes me back to the mid-90s, my first years living in LA where Jennifer and I used to see Steve’s killer rock band, Gingersol, in now long-gone-but-never-forgotten venues like The Alligator Lounge and Jack’s Sugar Shack.
(https://stevetagliere.bandcamp.com/album/outsider)
Singles, EPs, etc.
Phoebe Bridgers
- Copycat Killer (EP) – brand new versions of four songs from her 2nd album, Punisher, with just voice and strings. Essential reworkings.
- If We Make It Through December (digital only single)
- Iris (Goo Goo Dolls cover) - w/Maggie Rogers (digital only single)
Michael Stipe
– No Time For Love Like Now (digital only single)
– Drive to the Ocean (digital only single)
Broncho – Friends (digital only single)
Taylor Swift – Only The Young (digital only single)
The Rolling Stones – Living In A Ghostown (10” vinyl + digital single)
The Bird and the Bee - Put Up The Lights (digital only album)
Tristen – Just Like Heaven (digital only single)
Departure Lounge – Mercury In Retrograde (digital only single)
Reissues, Box Sets, Compilations, etc,
Frank Zappa – The Hot Rats Sessions – 50th Anniversary 6 CD box set
Words cannot describe how thrilling this box set is. I listened to it endlessly all year long, and will continue to do so for years to come I’m sure. I had a cool revelation while reading the enclosed booklet. Frank & Co. began recording the album at TTG Studios in Hollywood, CA on July 18th, 1969. I had seen Frank perform with his almost incomprehensibly phenomenal group, The Mothers Of Invention, at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis just 5 days before, on July 13th, when they were at what I and many others would consider the peak of his/their career. I was 15 years old and it was a mind-expanding experience. Truly one of the single greatest and most impactful concerts I have ever attended, which makes these recordings all the more important to me.
(https://www.zappa.com/music/hot-ratssessions)
David Bowie – Metrobolist
Metrobolist was the original title of the 3rd David Bowie album, which his label changed at the last minute, allegedly without his consent, to The Man Who Sold The World. For its 50th anniversary, the album title has been reinstated and the recording has been brilliantly revisited by Bowie’s longtime producer and friend, Tony Visconti, who remixed all but one song – “After All” – which he thought was “perfect, as is.”
Iggy Pop - The Bowie Years box set
(https://www.discogs.com/Iggy-Pop-The-Bowie-Years/release/15177778)
The Replacements – Pleased To Meet Me 3 CDs/1 LP box set
Expertly put together by author Bob Mehr and Rhino’s Director of A&R, Jason Jones. The previously unreleased Tommy Stinson tracks from the original album sessions are perhaps the most important part of this set, showing just how strong his own writing had become by this point in the band’s lifetime.
(https://store.rhino.com/pleased-to-meet-me-deluxe-bundle.html)
The Rolling Stones – Goat’s Head Soup
Not to say I didn’t love many of the albums that came after but, for me, this was the last truly great Rolling Stones album. The remastering sounds terrific to me, the outtakes are very strong (even if I can’t really recognize Jimmy Page’s involvement on “Scarlet”) and the Live in Brussels is a spectacular addition.
(https://therollingstonesshop.com/products/goats-head-soup-super-deluxe-3-cd-blu-ray-box-set)
Supergrass - The Strange Ones 1994 – 2008 box set
(https://www.discogs.com/Supergrass-The-Strange-Ones-1994-2008-/release/14711503)
Supergrass – Live On Other Planets 3 CD set
Reunited and recorded live in 2020. Smokin’!
(https://www.discogs.com/Supergrass-Live-On-Other-Planets/master/1848384)
Hot Rats – Turn Ons box set
Supergrass brothers in arms, Gaz Coombes & Danny Goffey formed a cover band, made an album, did some live dates (including a terrific run in the U.S.).
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hotrats)
Fleetwood Mac – Live At The Boston Tea Party 4 LP set
A 2009 release that has previously circulated in various forms. This is a sensational collection of live recordings of the band at their peak.
Tom Petty - Wildflowers & All The Rest 4 CD set
(https://www.discogs.com/Tom-Petty-Wildflowers-All-The-Rest/release/16072521)
The Everly Brothers – Down in the Bottom 3 CD set
This set collects three of the Everly’s late 60s albums, with bonus tracks – The Hit Sound (1966), Sing (1967) and Roots(1968), all recorded in Los Angeles with the legendary Wrecking Crew backing them up. The first two feature covers of the hits of the day, done Everlys-style (which is always a good thing) but the third would certainly be included in a list of the groups very best full-lengths.
(https://www.amazon.com/Down-Bottom-Country-Sessions-1966-1968/dp/B083XWMBJ5)
Live (in LA unless otherwise noted)
January
9- The Ventures – performance + Q&A – Grammy Museum
15 – Criminal Hygiene – The Moroccan
25 – The Beatles Love – by Cirque du Soleil – The Mirage – Las Vegas
February
1 – Pop Show Unplugged – John Burroughs High School Show Choir
26 – Leo Kottke – Largo
29 – Wild Honey Tribute to The Lovin’ Spoonful – The Alex Theater
March
6 – Criminal Hygiene – Goldigger’s
6, 7 & 8 – Pop Show (our son Autry’s last performance of his high school Show Choir experience, and the last live show we saw in 2020)
May
22 – Leslie Stevens live stream
June
12 – Elle Belle – Live Stream
October
9 – streamed Round Table Discussion on The Replacements’ Pleased To Meet Me box set with Trouble Boys author Bob Mehr, Rhino Director of A&R Jason Jones, musician Luther Dickinson and engineer/producer Jim Lancaster
Also on the 9th – The Jayhawks live stream of performance of songs from new album XOXO + encore treats.
November
29 – The Jayhawks live stream, performing Sound Of Lies + encore treats.
Cancelled shows I’m very sorry to have missed:
Supergrass (2 shows), Taylor Swift, Wire, Inara George, Katie Pruitt, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Eddie Holland & Brian Holland.