Music lover on your gift list? Here are 10 choice albums to stuff their stockings
By Black Friday, the record industry usually begins a hibernation that lasts until mid-January. But the snooze is delayed somewhat this year, and our annual gift-gifting guide of newly issued recordings contains some unavoidable omissions.
Next week — Dec. 1 — an unusually hearty run of important album releases will make late entrances in the holiday shopping season. Among them: U2’s “Songs of Experience,” Neil Young’s “The Visitor,” Van Morrison’s “Versatile” and, of special interest to Kentucky consumers, Chris Stapleton’s “From A Room: Volume 2.”
So for our guide, we’re centering on what we’ve heard, with an ear tipped away from the obvious hitmakers (If you or yours want Taylor Swift’s “Reputation,” Sam Smith’s “The Thrill of It All” and Blake Shelton’s “Texoma Shore,” you probably already know) and more toward less obvious works that are strong enough to rock any season.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: “Soul of the Woman”
The last recording by the late soul priestess is a party and a half — a massive blast of brassy, vintage sounding R&B delivered with astonishing joy and intimacy. Jones reportedly cut much of “Soul of a Woman” between cancer treatments and remission. But there is no sign of an ailing spirit here. The record is one massive affirmation.
Mavis Staples: “If All I Was Was Black”
The late-career records by gospel-soul patriarch Mavis Staples have all been extraordinarily vibrant works. None, however, rock with easier authority than this third collaboration with Wilco chieftain Jeff Tweedy, who produced and wrote or co-wrote (with Staples) all of its youthful, serenely cool and topically themed songs.
Kamasi Washington: “Harmony of Difference”
A jazz saxophonist and composer, Washington was an integral contributor to Kendrick Lamar’s album “To Pimp a Butterfly.” But as with his massive triple-disc set “The Epic,” Washington ignites a warm, organic, early ’70s-inspired synergy on this joyous 30-minute EP that will definitely leave you clamoring for more.
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats: “Live at Red Rocks”
As the wait for the full-length follow-up to the 2015 debut album by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats continues to mount, we have this single-disc concert set by the Denver rock-and-soul revivalists recorded at the nearby Red Rocks, with considerable onstage help from New Orleans’ famed Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Margo Price: “All American Made”
Price’s priceless honky-tonk charm intensifies on this anxiously awaited follow-up to “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter.” She still travels the hollers of Loretta Lynn tradition. But there is an immediacy and spirit to her new songs that will have you recalling the cowpunk glee that Maria McKee summoned three decades ago with Lone Justice.
Bob Dylan: “Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol. 13, 1979-1981”
The seemingly bottomless Dylan archives turn to the often-maligned “gospel era,” when the songsmith sang of devotion, damnation and spiritual imbalance. Available in a huge nine CD/DVD set or a concise double CD set, “Trouble No More,” strangely enough, relays some of the most vibrant, cohesive concert performances Dylan ever gave.
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn: “Echo in the Valley”
The husband-and-wife team of Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn keep things simple — in theory, at least — on their second album. What you hear are two banjos with no additions and no guests. The repertoire, though, runs all over the map, from antique-sounding folk reveries highlighting Washburn’s vocals to instrumental runs that let Fleck run wild.
David Bowie: “A New Career in a New Town”
The third in a series of massive Bowie retrospectives is a sprawling package (11 discs on the CD, 13 on the vinyl) that cover all of the famed Berlin-era recordings, his work with Kentucky native Adrian Belew (“Stage” and a completely remixed “Lodger”) and odd obscurities (the long deleted “Bertolt Brecht’s Baal” EP).
The Smiths: “The Queen is Dead”
Few fans of the Smiths’ darkly atmospheric pop will dispute that 1986’s “The Queen is Dead” was their finest work. The record has resurfaced in a variety of new editions, the most recommended being a three-CD/single-DVD set that includes the original album, a disc of demos and B-sides, the “Live in Boston” concert disc and Derek Jarman’s short film.
R.E.M.: “Automatic for the People”
The 25th anniversary of the last indispensable R.E.M. album is celebrated with a new two-disc edition. The original record remains a rich compilation of epic pop, protest and rock ’n’ roll ruminations. But a companion live disc of the only show R.E.M. gave to support the album (complete with Troggs and Stooges covers) makes the reissue a must-have.
This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Music lover on your gift list? Here are 10 choice albums to stuff their stockings."