Rolling Stone

Billboard Magazine

Yes, this is one of those annoying lists you make when you get to the end of a particular period of time. Even though my brother insists it's a year too soon for this type of thing. Anyway, a little about my criteria before I get started. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Fugees, Prodigy, Beck....they were all influential artists, to be sure. Some of whom I enjoy, and several of which helped make the world safe for guitars again (when they weren't smashing them), for which I'm grateful. But none of these folks made my list. My choices generally have a few things in common. To be one of my favorite albums, the artist usually needs to be saying something that makes me think "Hey, I've felt that way. I know where they're coming from." (Or words to that effect.) And then musically, I'm a stickler for melody, which is where grunge and I didn't get along so well, and some nice harmony helps the cause as well. I tend to like people who write their own songs, so that rules out a lot of very commercial sounding pop. (Someone who knows me pretty well once joked that I don't like anything that doesn't sound a little like the Byrds.) OK, enough disclaimers, here's my list:

1. Mary Chapin Carpenter 2. John Hiatt 3. Dan Fogelberg 4. Steve Forbert 5. Jackson Browne 6. Nanci Griffith 7. Bruce Springsteen 8. Kim Richey 9. Blue Rodeo Honorable Mentions Top

1 Mary Chapin Carpenter Stones In The Road 1994 This was my favoorite album of the 90's for a couple of reasons. For one thing, there weren't many albums during the decade which held my interest from start to finish. This one did. 13 tracks with nary an ounce of filler. More than that, though, the songs on this album spoke to me in very personal ways, starting with the opening track "Why Walk When You Can Fly?" (an anthem to living in the moment) and ending with the magnificent statement of friendship called "This Is Love." In between, MCC touched on themes of insecurity ("House of Cards"), the struggle to juxtapose making a living and maintaining a sense of values ("Stones In The Road"), and the desire for passion and whimsy in our lives ("Shut Up and Kiss Me"). She found romance possible while still maintaining a sense of self ("Tender When I Want To Be"), struggled with losing that romance ("The Last Word"), and commented on the tendency of some in our society to devalue the lives of the seemingly less fortunate ("John Doe No. 24"). "Jubliee" is yet another eloquent statement of friendship. The musical styles explored on the album ranged from rock and jazz to country, bluegrass, folk, and celtic. There's even a saloon song called "Where Time Stands Still" that you can imagine Sinatra taking a stab at in his younger days. Released in 1994, I played it to death for a few years, and to this day I've never tired of listening to it. In fact, Ms. Carpenter's musical ouput during the 90's established her as my secomd favorite artist of all time. Strong statement. Click on cover art for additional information, song samples and on-line shopping! 2 John Hiatt > Stolen Moments 1990 The first great album I came across in the 90's was this effort by John Hiatt called Stolen Moments released in 1990. I had begun to like Hiatt a great deal upon exposure to his previous album, Slow Turning. I was fortunate enough to have a promotional cassette of Stolen Moments fall into my hands a couple of weeks prior to its release. The first song on the second side of the tape grabbed me the first time I heard it. It's called "The Rest of the Dream" and is about having a child with a woman you love very much. My daughter was five years old at the time, and the song hit me right where I stood. Especially the line "Your mama's arms gonna keep you warm like no other arms can do." I just couldn't wait to play that song for my wife. After repeated listens, I began to realize that the whole album was a songwriting masterpiece, and that this was the best Hiatt album I had heard to date. I still feel that way. The title track "Stolen Moments" is another of those songs that celebrates the simple pleasures of the here and now. "Through Your Hands" is a folky sounding song expounding the virtues of patience and faith that was covered by the likes of Joan Baez, Don Henley, and David Crosby by the time the decade had ended. There was even some radio-friendly pop on this album ("Bring Back Your Lovin' To Me") that I was sure would make Hiatt a household name. That never did happen, though. Click on cover art for additional information, song samples and on-line shopping! 3 Dan Fogelberg River of Souls 1993 I bought this album on its first day of release, as was my custom with anything that Dan would put out. (Wasn't hard, I was managing a CD store at the time!) I hadn't been thrilled about this album's predecessor, The Wild Places, and I really wasn't expecting much. So much so that when, prior to the release of the album, tickets for a Fogelberg show at nearby Westbury Music Fair had gone on sale, I had ignored the radio ads thinking I'd seen Dan enough for one lifetime. I listened to the CD once from start to finish and thought it was the worst piece of drivel I'd ever heard. I filed it alphabetically with the rest of my Fogelberg collection and let it collect dust for a week or so. I finally went back to it to give it another chance, only because DF had been my favorite recording artist for about 20 years at that point. This time, I began to appreciate the opening track "Magic Every Moment" a little more. I decided to push the repeat button and listen to that track four or five times in succession. It began to wash over me like a mantra, and all of a sudden I had a new favorite song. I played it for anyone who would listen, tortured my staff at the store with it over and over, and barraged my local radio station with requests for it because I knew it would be a smash if only it got some airplay. Of course it never did. However, I did succeed in getting my 8 year old daughter AND several of her friends to think it was wonderful.....we got some very strange looks in the car that year for dancing at traffic lights. So never judge anything on one listen, ever again, OK? Click on cover art for additional information, song samples and on-line shopping! 4 Steve Forbert Rocking Horse Head 1996 I can hear some of you saying, "Gee, is he still around?"....still others will say "Never heard of him." The good news is he's still a hardworking musician who spends a large amount of time touring. In fact, I got my copy of Jackrabbit Slim autographed at a meet & greet he did to promote this 1996 release that found Steve collaborating with the boys from Wilco, which gave the album a nice alt-country feel. It yielded a bonafide Forbert classic, "My Time Ain't Long," that I suppose would strike a nerve with all of us baby boomers, a purely whimsical pop rocker "Moon Man (I'm Waiting On You)," as catchy as they come, and an ode to perserverance called "Don't Stop," not to be confused with the Clintonized Fleetwood Mac song of the same name (albeit similar in theme). My only disappointment was that Steve didn't get out on the road with a band to support this project.... it's been too long since I've seen him rock the house like he did back in the day. Click on cover art for additional information, song samples and on-line shopping! 5 Jackson Browne I'm Alive 1993 I'm surprised to look back and see that this was released during the early part of the decade. I never came to appreciate it myself until 1998, when listening to it became a very therapeutic kind of exercise for me. Simply put, this album documents the dissolution of a romantic relationship as well as any I've ever heard, ranking right alongside Fogelberg's Exiles in that respect. It's not entirely a downer, though, as side 1 has it's moments of bittersweet triumph (the title track) and even giddy playfulness ("Everywhere I Go"). But there's no question on tracks 5-9 that things have clearly taken a turn for the worse. "Two of Me, Two of You" and "Sky Blue and Black" are two beautifully eloquent statements on the sheer complexity of a relationship that is at times exhilarating and at others devastating. Seems in matters of love, nothing is ever simple, and the songs on this album get to the heart of that better than anything I've heard before or since. Thankfully, the album ends on a hopeful note with "All Good Things," or I might not be here to write this. Click on cover art for additional information, song samples and on-line shopping! 6 Nanci Griffith Other Voices, Other Rooms 1993 Nanci Griffith took the title of this album from a Truman Capote novel. It's the only selection of the nine on my list that's not here because I relate to the lyrics in some deep, meaningful, therapeutic kind of way. In this case, it's more about the sound and the feel. Nanci assembled a stellar cast of supporting performers to record a sampling of great songs all composed by songwriters whom she sites as being her own musical influences. In so doing, she created a wonderful primer to introduce us (or re-introduce us, as the case may be) to the masters of the folk tradition, including but not limited to Woody Guthrie, Kate Wolf, Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Ralph McTell and Tom Paxton. And if you ever need a version of "Turn Around" to play at your daughter's wedding, this is the album to get. Click on cover art for additional information, song samples and on-line shopping! 7 Bruce Springsteen Lucky Town 1992 One of two Springsteen albums (along with Human Touch) released the same day at the end of March, 1992. Both albums were commercial disappointments based on what the Boss's label had come to expect in the wake of Born in the USA. Which didn't surprise me so much. But what has surprised me over the years is how the two albums were written off by Bruce's fans as being beneath his typical artistic standard. To me, both records (yes, there was still a little vinyl around back then), particularly Lucky Town, contained more than enough great guitar driven rock to show up on my list. The themes were a bit different, of course, as Bruce came to grips with such topics as parenthood ("Living Proof") and the trappings of his own celebrity status ("Better Days","Local Hero"), but to me there was no less a sense of urgency in the lyrics. And even though Springsteen took some bad press for having fired the much beloved E Street Band, call me crazy, but I liked the stripped down, bare-bones feel of the tracks on both discs. (Not that I minded that he brought the boys back for the great tour in 1999.) Click on cover art for additional information, song samples and on-line shopping! 8 Kim Richey Bitter Sweet 1997 OK, lest you think I didn't get turned on to anything new in the 90's (perish the thought), I'm including the second release from Kim Richey here at No. 8. Mostly songs of love gained or lost (apparently a favorite theme of mine), this collection, like Kim's debut album, also contains some very heartfelt vocals, lots of jangly guitars, and VERY infectious melodies. I liked this when it came out... I've fallen in love with it even more over time. In fact, I've listened to this album more than any other I can think of since I became a Long Island Rail Road commuter in September, 1998. I just keep going back to it again and again. Click on cover art for additional information, song samples and on-line shopping! 9 Blue Rodeo Five Days In July 1994 And I can't wrap up the list without an entry from what I believe to be the most underrated band of the 90's, Blue Rodeo. Considering the number of acoustically oriented, folk/rock, alternative-country bands who had made it big by decade's end, I'd expect this group would be the hottest thing since flapjacks. Not so. To my utter astonishment. I can't think of another band out there with two more talented songwriters than Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy. They are masters of vocal harmony, accomplished musicians, and every bit as good live as they are on record. This album represented their most consistent effort of the decade, featuring a guest vocal by fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan, although ALL of their albums contain some fine material. Click on cover art for additional information, song samples and on-line shopping! Honorable Mentions Mary Chapin Carpenter, Come On, Come On, 1992 Mary Chapin Carpenter, A Place In The World, 1996 Shawn Colvin, A Few Small Repairs, 1996 Cliff Eberhardt, The Long Road, 1990 (Out of Print) John Fogerty, Blue Moon Swamp, 1997 Gin Blossoms, New Miserable Experience, 1992 Lucy Kaplansky, Ten Year Night, 1999 Carrie Newcomer, My Father's Only Son, 1996 Tom Petty, Wildflowers, 1994 Cheryl Wheeler, Sylvia Hotel, 1999 Various Artists, When October Goes, 1991

This page hosted by Get your own Free Homepage