NCPR staff picks their favorite music in 2014
Photo: Dain Sandoval, Creative Commons, some rights reserved
Got some favorite albums from 2014? That’s the question we’ve been asking each other here at NCPR. And what interesting and eclectic tastes we have–jazz, rock, blues, more. Here’s a sampling, not necessarily all new in 2014, just music we’ve been listening to and loving this year.
Ellen Rocco, station manager and host of The Blue Note
- Delbert McClinton and Glen Clark: Blind, Crippled and Crazy
- Keb’ Mo’: Bluesamericana
- Elvin Bishop: Can’t Even Do Wrong Right
Joel Hurd, production manager and host of The Bridge
- Dara Tucker: The Sun Season
- Andy Waddell: Alive
- Melissa Stylianou: No Regrets
- Eric Harland: Vipassana
- Alicia Olatuja: Timeless
Jackie Sauter, program director and host of Music for a Monday
- The Mavericks, Live in Austin. I LOVE these guys, always have, and am glad to see they’re moving up in the music world. They have a new album due out in 2015 and will be touring the world. You can’t go wrong with any of their releases, but this one from a few years back really captures their live energy.
Also, here they are in April at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw7RUQFVWWI
- Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour. Beautiful blue eyed soul. Gorgeous voice and he does all the overdubbing to create a rich harmonic vibe. No wonder he’s nominated for all those Grammys !
- Jazzanova, Blue Note Trip. Groovy German producer collective meets the entire Blue Note jazz catalog and comes up with a double CD of music mix perfection. Great for a drive, for a party, when you’re working in the kitchen, whenever.
- Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden: Last Dance. Two masters (piano and double bass) together playing jazz standards like no one else. Haden’s final recording. Every time I play a track on my show someone calls to ask about it. Really special.
- Smokey and Friends. Pretty irresistible classics featuring the great Smokey Robinson with CeeLo Green, John Legend, Ledisi, Jessie J, Mary J. Blige, Elton John and more. Great singing and great songs.
- Looking Into You: A Tribute to Jackson Brown, a double album of great songs with great covers by Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, Eliza Gilkyson and many more including this winner. Everywhere I Go, from Bonnie Raitt and David Lindley.
Bill Haenel, NCPR new media developer
- Camper Van Beethoven: El Camino Real. We CVB fans waited a really, really long time for this. When I say “this” I mean their pair of 2013-2014 albums. They were sort of released as a mini-series, I guess, with the first in August 2013 and second released in March 2014. The two albums, La Costa Perdida and El Camino Real, are meant to represent Northern California and Southern California, respectively. They each do a great job of their intended task, and they take me there whenever I listen (which has been often). Favorite track (from the 2014 album, El Camino Real): Grasshopper. Favorite track (from the 2013 album, La Costa Perdida)
(live recording)
(from WFUV)
- Gary Clark Jr.: Gary Clark Jr. Live. Just when you though I wasn’t paying attention to anything released this year… Granted, it’s a live album of songs that weren’t released in 2014, but you know what I mean. Best blues album I’ve purchased in a long time. It’s just good, solid, real-life blues. Gary’s a smokin’ guitarist, and has that knack for making blues sound like he’s doing something with it that hasn’t been done before (even though that can’t possibly be true). Favorite track: I really haven’t decided yet, but maybe “Don’t Owe You A Thang”.
(official video)
(live, and being blues, much better – but honestly, the album version is the great one)
- Queens of the Stone Age: Songs for The Deaf. I saw these guys in Rochester at the very cool Main Street Armory in July after waiting for a long time to do so. They were of course promoting their 2013 album, “…Like Clockwork”, which is also a favorite. They played a lot of older stuff as well. This album goes back to 2002, but for me it’s the favorite. I’ve put a ton of ear-hours in on this album since the show. Favorite track: “A Song for the Dead”. Sounds great in my helmet.
(this video was recorded at the Rochester performance I attended)
(this one was apparently recorded by BBC, so it doesn’t suck)
- Herbie Hancock: Man-Child. I’d heard a track or two from this album before but hadn’t really done the whole-album experience until I added it to my collection a couple of months ago. Always loved Herbie in all of his various forms, but this is his funkiest of his funky if you ask me. Favorite track: “The Trailor”. It just grooves and jams, like, forever.
(album version)
- Talking Heads: More Songs About Buildings and Food. This 1978 album might be solely responsible for getting me through my freshman year in college in 1989. No kidding. The last copy I had was on cassette. 25 years later for me and 36 for them, I remembered it and snagged it while I was buying their 1980 album, “Remain in Light”. So happy to dig into it again after so long. Favorite track: “Found a Job”. Love the way the rhythm seems to know exactly what the cynical lyrics are talking about, right from its first beat.
http://youtu.be/lHc7eYucCKY
(a pretty cool live/studio version)
David Sommerstein, assistant news director and host of The Beat Authority
Connie Meng, NCPR theater critic and announcer
- Henry Mancini: Music for Peter Gunn – Harmonie Ensemble/New York conducted by Steve Richman. The conductor met Mancini’s widow and was given access to the original orchestrations for the TV show. I still have the original LP and had forgotten what an interesting jazz score it is.
- Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek – Duets & solos – Who knew Lady Gaga was such a good jazz singer? She does a great job on “Lush Life.”
- Cleo Laine & Johnny Dankworth : Shakespeare and All That Jazz. The album came out in the early 60s and I listened to it again before I donated it to the station and Joel. Dankworth (sax & composer) set a number of Shakespeare sonnets and speeches to music for his then unknown wife, Cleo Laine. There’s also an original – “Dunsinane Blues” – very funny – about Macbeth.
Jonathan Sklaroff, NCPR development assistant
- Dessa: Parts of Speech. Although the album came out middle of last year, I really got into it this year and she released a remix album this year that I have yet to hear. She has been featured on the NPR Tiny Desk series and is one of the best new(er) artists I have heard in a long time. I may have a slight bias because she is a product of Minneapolis, but I think she is so incredibly talented and amazing. Not the most known title on the album, but probably my favorite, “Call of your Ghost”
“Warsaw,” probably the biggest hit off the album is pretty fantastic, too
Sandy Demarest, NCPR development director
I’m With the Band by Little Big Town is my fave for the year. Great harmony and it represents a peek into a life style I would have loved to have been part of in my youth — if only I had any musical talent whatsoever. Living the dream vicariously! 🙂
How about you? What music have YOU loved this past year?
