David Kidney's Music Picks

The Best of 2007? How do I know...I can only judge what I've heard. And then, how do you assess "the best" from all that stuff? So, I went back over my reviews of the past year and jotted down all the CDs that I was still listening to. That must be the measure of "the best" don't you think. If, after a year (or at least a few months) you're still listening to something, after another pile of new material has come across the desk...it MUST be good, better, best!

I still can't get enough of Bill Kirchen's twangin' guitar on Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods, it swings, it cooks, it rocks...and Bill shows up as Nick Lowe's guitarist on Nick's new one (At My Age) showing off his country side! ÊFor blues...it has to be homeboy Steve Strongman's Honey which has been in my car for months. I've also seen Steve twice in concert, and the guy is extraordinary. Honey is loud, stinging, and sweet...just like those bees in my backyard!

There were some amazing re-issues this year, the (almost) complete oeuvre of the Rascals, Stax 50th Anniversary Collection, the Definitive Vee-Jay Collection, and the Pentangle box set...to mention a few. Which one stayed on my playlist the longest? Gotta be Stax! Otis, Booker T, the Staple Singers, amazing!

The best album of the year? Well, as the publisher of The Rylander I pretty much have to pick Ry Cooder's My Name is Buddy which saw Cooder revisit all the music he ever played in a beautiful package, with drawings (by Vincent Valdez,) and a story by Ry himself. Old time leftist politics, folk, blues, conjunto, and even some of that old weird stuff for a dandy hour...well spent. But, I have to add, that the new Steve Earle, washington square serenade has captured my interest to a remarkable degree, and has rarely left my CD player. I haven't reviewed it, but with plenty of Texas-guitar playing over hip-hop beats, and lyrical themes reflecting Earle's move from Nashville to New York, and his love for that "redhead by [his] side" Allison Moorer, it'sÊ(along with all I've mentioned)Êthe Best of 2007. No question.