The Best of 2004

Compiling a best of list for 2004 is actually a fairly tricky endeavor. In rock, several reliably good bands put out new releases this year; though most of them were solid, few of them were really exciting. The latest efforts from Drive-By Truckers, the Magnetic Fields and Beastie Boys were all worthwhile, but none of them matched the best of their previous work. One exception to this was The Fall, who put out a fine, fine album in The Real New Fall L.P. (formerly 'County on the Click), the long-winded title alluding to the fact that the original version of the disc had been bootlegged online. Calexico released a great E.P. of mostly covers--their versions of the minutemen's "Corona" and Love's "Alone Again Or" with a full mariachi band are the very definition of inspired--and Stereolab released a very likable 3 song CD single, but do such short efforts count?

There were clearer-cut decisions in jazz. Modern Jazz Quartet bassist Percy Heath released his first solo album A Love Song at the tender age of 80, and a fine record it is. Fusion guitar pioneer Larry Coryell released a very nice, fairly straight-ahead date in Tricycles. Saxophonist Ned Otter released Powder Keg, a very nice hard bop session recorded a few years back with pianist Harold Mabern and the late, great Billy Higgins on drums. Younger artists like the Blueprint Project and Mimi Fox put out noteworthy releases as well.

So, without further ado, a combined jazz & rock top ten, in no particular order:

1.)The Fall, The Real New Fall L.P. (formerly 'County on the Click'). I have no idea how many albums The Fall have put out at this point; if you count the live stuff, E.P.s and compilations, I imagine it's well over a hundred. This one compares favorably with most of 'em. Mark E. Smith is as caustic as ever and in good songwriting form with "Contraflow" and "Mountain Energei."

2.)Calexico, Convict Pool. OK, it's an E.P. And it's mostly covers. I like it, alright?

3.)Percy Heath, A Love Song. His seven decade career in jazz has seen him play behind just about everybody of note: Miles, Monk, Ornette...you know, it'd be easier to list the guys he hasn't played with. Here he finally makes a record for himself, and it's pretty good too.

4.)Mimi Fox, She's the Woman. The title is a pun on one of the songs she plays, the Beatles' "She's A Woman." What it isn't is an idle boast. This woman can really play the guitar.

5.)Larry Coryell, Tricycles. Larry Coryell does some very nice things here, leading a trio through a set of originals and a couple Monk covers. He tries his hand with the Beatles, too, playing a nice acoustic version of "She's Leaving Home."

6.)Fantomas, Delirium Cordia. I'm not a big fan of Mike Patton. His work has always been clever, dating back to his days with Faith No More, but maybe too clever and not always exactly mature. This noisy experiment is the best thing I've ever heard from him, an extended "Revolution #9" for the Ritalin set.

7.)Ned Otter, Powder Keg. It's always a treat to hear a previously unreleased session featuring my main man Billy Higgins. Ned Otter, who studied saxophone with the under-appreciated great George Coleman, plays with power and lyricism on a date of mostly bop and ballads.

8.)Natsuki Tamura, Ko Ko Ko Ke. A really unusual effort from the Japanese trumpeter, combining stark solo playing with his own vocals. His singing is in no known language, yet it is oddly beautiful.

9.)The Blueprint Project with Cecil McBee, The Blueprint Project. One of several things I've heard over the last couple years by artists under thirty that gives me hope for the future of jazz. Veteran bassist Cecil McBee gives the young guys a good anchor.

10.)Sky Saxon & the Seeds, Red Planet. This is a surprisingly good record from the drug-damaged sixties' veteran Sky Saxon and a new group of Seeds populated by ringers culled from L.A. retro-garage bands like the Bomboras and Ghastly Ones. Sure, a lot of the songs sound like "Pushin' Too Hard," but that's always been the Sky Saxon way. Besides, if you are going to copy one song over and over, "Pushin' Too Hard" isn't a bad choice. Also, if we call Sky on this one, then don't we have to do the same for the Stones and "Satisfaction?" Saxon's "100 Colorized Bottles" is up there with the best of his earlier work. Plus, he's a really sweet guy; I met him at a festival in Vegas and liked him a lot.