My Top Ten Albums of 2012
I'm still in awe of this album -- the best reunion yet.
Graham Parker & The Rumour:
Three Chords Good
"Old Soul"
So here we come to the tenth day of my Top Ten Albums countdown -- and even though I said it was in no particular order, I saved this one for last because it IS my favorite album of the year.
I'll admit I'm a bit biased when it comes to Graham Parker. Okay, more than a bit. But I have to say, this reunion with his original backing band The Rumour has exceeded all my expectations. Live, they are absolutely smoking, as anybody can attest who's seen them on their current tour. And the thing I really love is that they are not just trotting out the old Squeezing Out Sparks hits -- nearly half their set has been drawn from this brand-new album of Parker-penned winners.
So even if you've missed the tour, you don't have to miss all the fun. If you aren't already on the bandwagon, this album could make a believer of you. These songs are soulful, they're wicked smart, they're funny, they break your heart (but in a good way). They're vintage Graham Parker, in other words.
Here's my original post about my favorite track on the album. Since writing this post, I've been told it's Graham's current favorite song, too. I hope you'll see why.
3 comments:
I want to duly register my surprise and disappointment that This One's For Him didn't make your top 10 list.
That said, "Old Soul" does sound great. I remember not being excited about it when you first posted it and I just listened to it again and realized that the last time I happened to have a different pair of headphones plugged into my computer, and that was why it didn't sound that good.
On second listen it is really sweet.
I knew you were hoping for that one! But I decided to rule out tribute albums along with "best of"s and reissues. Otherwise Joe Jackson's The Duke would also have been in contention. It was hard enough getting this down to just 10 (honorable mentions to appear in next installment!).
I figured that was your reason, and it makes sense. The only counter-argument is that any album of entirely new recordings should count, which would exclude greatest hits collections, many tribute albums, but would allow something like Steve Earle's Townes or To Lefty From Willie (or, for that matter, Gonna Take A Miracle which was a covers album).
But any criteria will be somewhat arbitrary, so whatever works seems reasonable.
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