Ayear in popular and classical music never fades without giving listeners much to mull over. 2007 was no exception of course and below you will find lists and observations on the past 12 months by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette music writers. A conventional, perfectly respectable top 10 1. Rilo Kiley, Under the Blacklight, Warner Bros. 2. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Sony 3. Kings of Leon, Because of the Times, RCA 4. PJ Harvey, White Chalk, Island 5. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible, Merge 6. Brad Paisley, 5 th Gear, Arista 7. The Shins, Wincing the Night Away, Sub Pop 8. Against Me !, New Wave, Sire / London / Rhino 9. Fountains of Wayne, Traffic and Weather, Virgin 10. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Merge — Werner Trieschmann The term “bling” is no longer cool. Neither is “word,” “ shizzle, ” “dope” or “fresh.” And while we’re on the subject please stop doing the Cabbage Patch. I know it’s a lot of you guys’ go-to move but that in itself should tell you something.
— Shon McPeace Assuming it is true, it is kind of touching that Gov. Mike Beebe doesn’t know who Natalie Maines is. — Werner Trieschmann Paul Potts was a cell-phone salesman with a passion for opera when he stepped on the stage at TV’s Britain’s Got Talent. His rendition of the aria “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot brought down the house, brought one judge to tears and got a rave from American Idol’s tart-tongued Simon Cowell. Check it out on YouTube. com. If you just type in “Nessun Dorma,” you can see and hear it by a bunch of folks, including the late Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Aretha Franklin. — Ellis Widner Top 5. 5 Arkansas albums: 1. Benjamin Del Shreve, Brilliant & Charming, selfreleased 2. Bear Colony, We Came Here to Die, Esperanzo Plantation 3. Mar, The Sound, Ring Road Records 4. Christopher Denny, Age Old Hunger, 00: 02: 59 Records 5. Sarah Hughes, No Seat Belt, self-released 5. 5 The Eoff Brothers Band, Side By Side, self-released
— Kody Ford The music trend of the year ? Easy. Crazy beards. The dudes in Band of Horses have beards that are swallowing their necks. The guy who is Iron and Wine, you can barely see his eyes. And Devendra Banhart, the freak folk guy, has a handlebar mustache that can lift two teapots and write a Web log at the same time. — Werner Trieschmann Fave country albums 1. Emmylou Harris, Songbird, Rhino 2. Mary Gauthier, Between Daylight and Dark, Lost Highway 3. Various artists, Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash, Dualtone 4. Diana Jones, My Remembrance of You, Newsong 5. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Sony 6. Amy LaVere, Anchors and Anvils, Archer 7. Raul Malo, After Hours, New Door 8. David Ball, Heartaches by the Number, Shanachie 9. Dale Watson, From the Cradle to the Grave, Hyena 10. Tammy Cochran, Where I Am, Shanachie — Ellis Widner Recently a friend e-mailed me to tell me that one of the critics at Paste magazine put Release it to the Sky (Fat Possum ), an album by Conway insurance adjuster Jim Mize, in his top 10. Mize’s CD is a shining example of how even terrific music on a respectable label can evaporate upon hitting the overstuffed marketplace. Release it to the Sky is a glorious CD, a rock / blues amalgam that never stops scaling musical peaks. It deserves better — critically and commercially — than it has gotten. — Werner Trieschmann Phillip Schroeder, associate professor of music theory and composition at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, doesn’t just teach music — he writes and records it. His most recent CD, Move in the Changing Light (Innova ) is melodic, contemporary music that would be enjoyed by fans of Philip Glass and the new music spotlighted by the ECM label and Kronos Quartet. We’d also recommend his meditative Music for Piano (Capstone ).
— Ellis Widner Best albums of the year 1. Ingrid Michaelson, Girls and Boys, Ingrid Michaelson 2. Feist, The Reminder, Polydor 3. Colbie Caillat, Coco, Universal Republic Records 4. Vanessa Carlton, Heroes & Thieves, Universal Records 5. Sara Bareilles, Little Voice, Sony BMG Entertainment 6. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black, Universal Island Records Ltd. 7. Tegan and Sara, The Con, Sire Records 8. Iron & Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog, Sub Pop Records 9. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand, Rounder Records 10. Lily Allen, Alright, Still, EMI Records — Laura Stevens Top 10 classical music events: Feb. 20: The 5 Browns, five sibling pianists from Utah, brought five Steinway pianos to the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Center at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway for a concert not quite five times the fun as a solo piano recital, but close. Highlights included arrangements and transcriptions of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and particularly eight minutes from Stravinsky’s The Firebird with all five pounding the keyboards at once. Feb. 23: Soprano Heidi Grant Murphy, with husband Kevin Murphy at the keyboard, took the Reynolds Performance Hall at UCA by storm with a charming collection of German and French and art songs, a smattering of show tunes and a spiritual encore. March 16: After promising that their show would be “better than NCAA basketball” (the Hogs were playing USC that night ), Broadway actresses / singers / dancers Debbie Gravitte, Jan Horvath and Christiane Noll — also known as the “Three Broadway Divas” — delivered a continual stream of Broadway musical slam dunks and three-pointers in a pops concert with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Meanwhile, the Hogs lost by 17. April 14: The Arkansas Symphony, 300 choral singers, two soloists and conductor David Itkin combined for a stunning performance of Brahms’ German Requiem at Robinson and a compelling and heart-rending reading of the Symphony No. 7 by Jean Sibelius. June 11: A more enjoyable Mikado never did in the Spa City exist until the Hot Springs Music Festival’s first venture into the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, a quality concert performance of the operetta featuring a top-notch collection of singer-actors, a fine chorus and a serviceable young orchestra. Sept. 15: Pianist Misha Dichter joined the Arkansas Symphony and conductor David Itkin for a Masterworks concert at Robinson for a prime performance of Leonard Bernstein’s rarely performed Symphony No. 2, “Age of Anxiety.” Oct. 20 and 23: Violinist Giora Schmidt took a fine double dip with the Arkansas Symphony, soloing in two gypsy-themed showpieces, Ravel’s Tzigane and Sarasate’s Fantasy on Bizet’s Carmen, with the orchestra in a pair of weekend Masterworks concerts, and on the following Tuesday, in a lovely performance of all four of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concertos with the orchestra’s Quapaw Quartet. Nov. 13: Violinist Jessica Lee, performing with pianist Leva Jokubaviciute under the auspices of the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, demonstrated that there’s a magic in a live performance that you just can’t capture in a recording in a fiery performance of sonatas by Beethoven and Faure and, with mute on bridge, the hauntingly beautiful Beau Soir by Debussy. Nov. 25: Performances by the nine-man vocal group Cantus overshadowed the orchestra, but the first Arkansas appearance by the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in the Pops’ 125-year history nonetheless made history at the Fort Smith Convention Center. Nov. 29, Dec. 2, 8 and 9: Hallelujah ! This was the season of the Three Messiahs, with performances of portions of Handel’s oratorio by the Arkansas Choral Society (which has been doing this annually since 1930 ), the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Community Chorus and the Arkansas Chamber Singers teaming with the UCA Concert Choir.
— Eric E. Harrison Now that just ain’t right. During Cam’rons’ stomachchurning appearance on 60 Minutes, the Harlem MC said that if he knew a serial killer lived next door to him he would not inform the police because he’s not a “snitch.” Forget the misguided “Stop Snitching” movement. How about a new movement called “Stop Making a Complete Fool of Yourself on National Television.” Might be hard fitting it on a T-shirt and it’s not very catchy but hopefully it catches on. — Shon McPeace An unconventional top 8 1. Latture, Latture, self-released A Little Rock band that channels Queen (!) and Ben Folds (!)? Absolutely. 2. Little Big Town, A Place to Land, Equity 3. Carrie Underwood, Carnival Ride, Arista Nashville How can Ms. American Idol be an unconventional choice ? Because most critics are ignoring or giving so-so reviews to a truly expert country / pop CD. 4. Jim Mize, Release It to the Sky, Fat Possum 5. Lori McKenna, Unglamorous, Warner Bros. 6. Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, Like, Love, Lust and the Open Halls of the Soul, Barsuk 7. Moistworks, www. moist works. com They call it an MP 3 boom box, but this Web log is an absorbing mix of high-wire writing and dazzling MP 3 s. 8. Soundtrack for Spring Awakening, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, Universal Music Classics Group A Broadway musical with songs that are dark and compelling. — Werner Trieschmann Led Zeppelin reunites !!! — For anyone who ever doubted God’s existence, you’ve been proved wrong. The only thing better could be a world tour.
— Kody Ford Metal didn't die in ’ 07 — it just went back underground. Old-school thrash (Megadeth ), death metal (Immolation ) and stoner rock (High on Fire ) all slugged it out, with no single release dominating. True democracy in action. — Jeremy M. Doherty Lil’ Wayne was one of the artists of the year and didn’t even release a solo album. He returns in 2008 with the highly anticipated The Carter III. — Shon McPeace Jazz took a major leap forward in Arkansas with the release of Common Ground, the fine CD by the Ted Ludwig Trio. Ludwig, a New Orleans native who moved here after Hurricane Katrina, is a supremely gifted guitarist who performs with brilliant bassist Bill Huntington (Ellis Marsalis’ band ) and talented Little Rock drummer Brian Brown. The trio ‘s sets at The Afterthought are amazing. This is an act that deserves a national spotlight. — Ellis Widner 1. High on Fire, Death Is This Communion, Relapse 2. Megadeth, United Abominations, Roadrunner 3. Arch Enemy, Rise of the Tyrant, Century Media 4. Immolation, Shadows in the Light, Century Media 5. Municipal Waste, The Art of Partying, Earache 6. Behemoth, The Apostasy, Century Media 7. Exodus, The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A, Nuclear Blast 8. Machine Head, The Blackening, Roadrunner 9. 3 Inches of Blood, Fire up the Blades, Roadrunner 10. Queens of the Stone Age, Era Vulgaris, Interscope — Jeremy M. Doherty Cool music on YouTube 1. Paul Potts, “Nessun Dorma” 2. Bettye LaVette, “Sleep to Dream / I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got” 3. Wilco, “Sky Blue Sky,” from Later with Jools Holland 4. Korla Pandit, “Miserlou” or anything by the’ 50 s-era turban-wearing organist 5. White Stripes, “Icky Thump,” from Later with Jools Holland (tie ) Justin Timberlake, “What Goes Around,” from Madison Square Garden
— Ellis Widner Fave albums 1. Betty LaVette, Scene of the Crime, Anti-Records 2. Mary Gauthier, Between Daylight and Dark, Lost Highway 3. Aretha Franklin, Rare and Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul, Rhino 4. Erin McKeown, Sing You Sinners, Nettwerk 5. Marcel Khalife, Tagasim, Connecting Cultures 6. Patty Griffin, Children Running Through, ATO 7. Kendra Shank, A Spirit Free: The Abbey Lincoln Songbook, Challenge 8. Trio Medieavel, Folk Songs, ECM 9. Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters, Verve 10. M. I. A., Kala, Interscope
— Ellis Widner Just Like a Tom Thumb’s List Plus One 1. Lala — According to iTunes, it would take me more than two solid months of continuous listening just to plow through everything I’ve archived on my hard drive. If I quit amassing music right now, I probably would have enough music to keep my ears happily occupied for the rest of my life. But junkie’s don’t stop just because to do so would be sensible: I don’t need new tuneage, but I crave it. And I also crave old stuff — what I missed when it was new (the Beau Brummels, Capitol-era Sinatra ) and what I simply miss (insert your favorite ’ 70 s obscurity here ). And these days I often score via an online swap site called lala (www. lala. com ). At any given time there are close to 2 million titles listed on the site, or about twice as many as on Amazon. com. You register on the site and list CDs you’re willing to trade — or your entire collection if you like — as well as creating a “want” list of titles you’d like to acquire. If one of your wants matches someone else’s have, they have the option of shipping you the disc. For every disc you ship, you get to receive one. Lala tracks and manages these accounts, and provides postage paid mailing envelopes. You pay $ 1, plus 75 cents shipping for every disc you receive. And Lala donates 20 percent of all CD trading revenue back to recording artists through a charitable fund called the “Z” Foundation. It’s not as cheap as free file sharing, but it’s completely legal. 2. “Kooks,” David Bowie — It’s only early Bowie — off Hunky Dory (1971 ) — sort of goofing on early Neil Young, but I like it. 3. Christopher Denny, Age Old Hunger, 00: 02: 59 — Local boy makes real good. 4. Unikeeper 0. 5 Disc Wallet— Like I said, I’ve got all these CDs. And I hate the standard jewel case for all the usual reasons. These polypropylene “wallets” from Unikeep (www. unikeep. com ) are the best I’ve found for housing multiple CDs you’d like to store together. 5. Miles Davis, The Complete On the Corner Sessions, Sony / Legacy — Part of my continuing education. 6. Okkervil River, The Stage Names, Jagjaguwar — Will Sheff is a better songwriter / bandleader than he is a rock critic and that’s not to slag off on his writing. Sounds sort of like The Band would have sounded had they’d all gone to Oberlin and been beat up a lot in high school. 7. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand, Rounder — Best album of its kind of 2007. 8. The National, Boxer, Beggars Banquet — Such an obvious choice that I really don’t have to say anything, right ? 9. M. I. A., Kala, Interscope — Ditto. 10. Kanye West, Graduation, Roca-fella — Groan. I suck. 11. I’m Not There — The best movie ever made about rock ’n’ roll. Not that there’s that much competition. — Philip Martin A year of lively live shows 2007 was a year of memorable live music, perhaps more so than the recorded kind. And nine out of 10 of the memories were favorable. 1. In February, Jesse Winchester’s show in a small hall at the University of Louisiana at Shreveport was a rare chance to see the fabled Winchester. 2. Later in February, the Little Rock Folk Club put on one of its best shows ever, and they’ve had some great ones in nearly two decades. They brought Michelle Shocked to the Unitarian Universalist Church, their latest base. 3. The next day, it was time to hit the road to Melbourne — Arkansas, not Australia — and Ozarka College to see Ollabelle, a group that features Amy Helm, daughter of the legendary Levon Helm. 4. The Who finally came to central Arkansas with an Alltel Arena show in March, and even with only half the original lineup, it was pretty amazing, even for those of us who saw the band in its early days. 5. Another legend, Randy Newman, entered the state for the first time, and put on a great show in the comfortable Eureka Springs City Auditorium in early May. 6. Railroad Earth, an amazingly tight band blending the best of the Grateful Dead and Old in the Way sorts of sounds, played Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack in June. 7. A Merle Haggard show is always a highlight, especially in Robinson Center Music Hall, where he returned in late June, and having Kelly Willis as an opening act was the frosting on the cake. 8. Still another legendary outfit, Wilco, made its first central Arkansas visit with an awesome Robinson Center show in September. Jeff Tweedy took his time coming here, but it was worth the wait. 9. Keith Urban, of whom I knew nothing, put on an amazing show earlier this month at Alltel Arena. You didn’t have to know the songs to know they were delivered well. 10. This brings us to the strangest show of the year: Loretta Lynn at Robinson in late November. Billed as “An Evening With Loretta Lynn,” it was anything but. It was an evening with her, her family and her band, and it must have been what those who go to Branson are treated to.
— Jack W. Hill Top 10 albums of 2007 (some of these albums technically dropped in late 2006, still... ) 1. Kanye West, Graduation, Roca-Fella Kanye goes 3-3 with his most complete work to date. 2. Jay-Z American, Gangster, Roca-Fella The year’s best album arrived in November, and it was worth waiting for. 3. Common, Finding Forever, Universal Common helped ring in what hopefully will be a return to strong lyrical content in hip-hop. 4. Ludacris, Release Therapy, Def Jam Luda continues to display marked growth as an artist. 5. Nas, Hip Hop is Dead, Def Jam Not if you listen to this, Nas’ first release on Def Jam. 6. Pharoahe Monch, Desire, Umvd A wonderful album that deserves more recognition. 7. The Game, Doctor’s Advocate, Geffen No Dr. Dre. No 50 Cent. No problem. 8. UGK, Underground Kings, Jive The seminal group’s first No. 1 album, and sadly, its last. 9. Cassidy, B. A. R. S., RCA After overcoming two lifethreatening situations, Cass refocused and returned with a banger. 10. A 17-way tie (it could happen ) with Little Brother, Xzibit, Redman, Talib Kweli, Public Enemy, Keith Murray, Devin the Dude, Fat Joe, KRS-ONE and Marley Marl, 8 Ball & MJG, Prodigy, Joell Ortiz, Snoop Dogg, Consequence, Chrisette Michelle, Deemi and The Clipse. All really good albums which deserve some shine. — Shon McPeace
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
