Other Notable CDs From 2006

Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint: The River In Reverse - One of many cds this year had that New Orleans and Katrina as its theme. Not that all the songs are about the tragedy, but there is the sense of the city flowing through all this music. Which with New Orlean's native Allen Toussaint it would be hard not to.

Neil Young: Living With War - Showing why he does things his own way. Neil is still a hippy at heart and it shows.

Dirty Dozen Brass Band: What's Going On - Another cd about Katrina and New Orleans. Which is kind of strange since the cd is a re working of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, which was written way before Katrina. But the music fits the subject very well.

Alexa Ray Joel: Sketches - the daughter of Billy Joel and Christy Brinkley, I want to hate her just on principle, what a gene pool. But this cd is actually very good. Of course it owes a lot to her Father, very piano driven, but the songs are good and she has a good voice. This is only a 6 song ep, I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with a full cd worth of material.

Bob Dylan: Modern Times - Another great cd. Not the masterpiece that most critics claim it is. Of the three that everyone is saying forms his triology I think Time Out Of Mind is the one that lay claim to the title of masterpiece. The last two are good, but I wouldn't call them great. This has some good stuff on it and it's always good to hear new Dylan, but for me this was far from one of his best works.

Solomon Burke: Nashville - Put soul legend with country genius Buddy Miller and this is what you get. Very good and came close to being one of the 13 best of the year.

Alejandro Esovedo: The Boxing Mirror - It's been a long time since he recorded anything. He almost did in the past few years. Hopefully he is better now and back to making music. This is a good cd, it gets better with repeated listening.

R.E.M.: The Best of the IRS Years - classic R.E.M. before they became the superstars of today, back when they were critical darlings. Some of their best work.

Son Volt: Okemah and the Melody of Riot - It's good to see Son Volt back. While Jay Farrar doesn't get the same recognition his old Uncle Tupelo mate Jeff Tweedy does, when he is at the top of his game he is as good or better. After the group first broke up I thought Son Volt's debut was much better than Wilco's, but I will admit that Wilco changed my mind fast over that.

Rosanne Cash: Black Cadillac - One of her best cds. Music about loss and love, about the death of her Mom, her father and her step mom, all within a realitvely short span of time of each other.

Shannon McNally & Charlie Sexton: Southside Sessions - A second Shannon McNally cd in one year. It doesn't get much better than this. A great cd, even if it is only 6 songs.

Kellie Pickler: Small Town Girl - The best of the recent Idol cds. Not a great cd, but not terrible, and shows promise.

Grace Potter: Nothing But The Water - A singer I've never heard of but decided to pick up for some reason. Pretty good, and at the end of the cd it gets amazing, very good.

Lennon: Damaged Goods - Not John or anyone related to him. This Lennon is a first name, a young girl that sings hard/metal rock. I enjoyed it.

Julie Roberts: Men & Mascara - Not as good as her first cd, but I think that was a great cd. Still not bad for a sophmore effort. Unfortunately I feel like she's getting ignored by most people.

Scott Miller: Citation - Another fine effort by Miller. Maybe not his strongest to date, his first cd is still probably my favorite, but still better than a lot of other stuff out there.

Allison Moorer: Getting Somewhere - She continues to grow as an artist. I liked last year's The Duel a little better, but this is a good cd. I think she is still working towards making a great cd and she will get there.

Incubus: Light Gernades - Not as good as some of their past work. It's ok.

Faith Hill: Fireflies - Despite having three songs on it by one of my favorite singer/songwriters Lori McKenna this was not one of my favorite Faith Hill cds. It was ok, but it had no real stand outs for me like some of her previous cds.

Jon Dee Graham: Full - Another great cd by someone know one of ever heard of.

Out of the Ashes: Jessi Colter - Years since her last cd, this one was a welcome comeback.