The Best Albums of 2025

This is the latest I have ever shared my Top 10 albums. It took longer than I thought to sort through the options, and I’ve been working to avoid – as much as possible – later edits as I rethink my choices as I get to know these records from 2025 better (and discover new ones I missed earlier.

I found 113 albums I enjoyed enough to buy (or put on my purchase list) and I considered every one of them while making this list. 2025 was a good year for music, just like every other year. It is OK to take those old records off the shelf, but finding new ones is also worth your time.

As I’ve done previously, I’ve included a link to albums I previously reviewed that you can read more about it. I’ve also provided a youtube link to a song of note for each record in the Top 10.

10 The Doohickeys – All Hat, No Cattle

-          Yes, these old school throwback country songs can get a bit kitschy, but this record is fun without ever sacrificing clever. Music is supposed to be fun, right?  Here’s “This Town Sucks”

9 Nite – Cult of the Serpent Sun

-          Nite was one of my happier discoveries of 2025, with their old school metal vibe and creepy cultist vibe – these guys get better on every record. Here’s “Crow (Fear the Night)

8 CMAT – Euro-Country

-          In 2022, CMAT first landed on A Creative Maelstrom’s Top 10 list with an honourable mention, but in 2025 she takes the next step. Think Chappel Roan, with a bit more country and you’ll have an idea. Clever and vulnerable with lots to say, here’s an example with “Take a Sexy Picture of Me”

7 Tyler Childers – Snipe Hunter

-          Every Tyler Childers album is different, as he routinely pushes the boundaries of the country genre. “Snipe Hunter” has a very traditional sound, with some sneaky and thoughtful songs nestled like Easter eggs amidst the plain brown packaging. Here’s Oneida

6 Panopticon – Laurentian Blue

-          Long-time Panopticon fans who have grown used to the band’s clever blending of bluegrass and black metal might feel left behind by this record, that doubles down on the bluegrass and leaves behind the double bass drumming and growling. Don’t be fooled, though, as this record has metal sensibility at its heart, and is as moody and black as anything they’ve done to date. My favourite is “An Argument With God” but I’m going to go with the also awesome (and more accessible) “Ever North” in a shameless attempt to get your attention

5 Craig Finn – Always Been

-          I’m a sucker for the hardscrabble stories that Craig Finn spins (he also made the Top 10 in 2022). This year we have a thoughtful collection of songs that once again peer deep and uncompromisingly into the human heart. Here’s The Man I’ve Always Been

4 Geese – Getting Killed

-          Along with CMAT, Geese is a band that this year will get more notice than for their previous releases. While I first encountered Geese through their 2021 album, “Projector” “Getting Killed” takes them to a whole other level. While not my usual scene, it is so innovative and amazing that it can’t be ignored Here’s Au Pays du Cocaine

3 Kora Feder – Some Kind of Truth

-          From my review: Kora Feder is a singer-songwriter with a young heart and an old soul. Listening to her records is like receiving a confessional from a close friend or curling up on the couch with a book of poetry for an afternoon of feeling the feels. Here’s the sad and thoughtful In a Young Person’s Body

2 Julien Baker and TORRES – Send a Prayer My Way

-          When I reviewed this last July I boldly claimed it would be making the Top 10, and here it is. I’ve always been a TORREs fan, and what she does in collaboration with Julien Baker is simply sublime – the whole better than the sum of the already amazing parts. Here’s Bottom of the Bottle

1 Ken Pomeroy – Cruel Joke

-          Ken Pomeroy straddles the line between folk and country, which is the perfect vehicle to deliver songs that are intensely personal, and grounded in natural space and place that puts substance and gravitas to her self-exploration. Like all great works of art, “Cruel Joke” taps into something that makes the personal into the universal. Here’s a live version of Coyote to show that all Pomeroy needs is her voice and a guitar to summon greatness

Honourable Mention – all great, but fell short because I could only pick a top 10. Here are 5 more in no particular order in the event you aren’t sated by the official winners:

• Annahstasia – Tether; Cory Hansen – I Love People; Wet Leg – moisturizer; Lommi – 667788; Master Spy – Maze Runner

And for those new to the Top Ten Experience, click on the year below to get the full from that year (I’ve proved #1 as a teaser):

Best of 2024 (#1 was Amyl and the Sniffers)

Best of 2023 (#1 was Boy Golden)

Best of 2022 (#1 was Grace Cummings)

Best of 2021 (#1 was Lucy Dacus)

Best of 2020 (#1 was Katie Pruitt)

CD Odyssey Disc 1890: Dr. Hook

I hunted this next album out of the bargain bin of my local record store. One advantage of collecting music on what many consider to be an outdated format (CD) is that people are always shedding their old stuff.

Disc 1890 is… Sharing the Night Together and Other Favorites

Artist: Dr. Hook

Year of Release: 1989 but featuring songs from 1975 to 1979

What’s up with the Cover? A picture of the band, who either just moved into a recently renovated apartment, or are at a photography studio.

Either way, these guys do not look like they are about to share the night together, although some look like they didn’t go to bed.

How I Came To Know It: I grew up with a lot of these songs, and noting exactly zero crossovers with a different compilation already in my collection, decided it was worth the small investment.

How It Stacks Up: This is a compilation album, and so doesn’t stack up.

Ratings: Greatest Hits records don’t get rated, so if you want to know what I think about this one, you’ll have to read the article.

I know most of the songs on “Sharing the Night Together” due to being strapped into the back seat of my mom’s early sixties pale blue Rambler as a kid. The car and the hit-making prowess of Dr. Hook had a similar run for me through the early and mid-seventies, before both faded into obscurity. The car, after it broke down and we couldn’t afford to fix it, and Dr. Hook for what I assume are similar reasons.

This particular compilation is a collection of later songs and comes after Dr. Hook dropped the “and the Medicine Show” part of their title. Both albums feature songs about sex, drugs and rock and roll, but this later compilation has less of the middle topic, making dropping the ‘medicine show’ understandable.

Whatever the topic, Dr. Hook is well-named, as these songs are soft rock gold, and there is no going gold in the world of soft rock without a hook. These tunes have the inoffensive easy flow of radio-friendly music, with only a safe hint of danger. Are they talking about sex and drugs…on the radio?!? Why yes, they are, but they’re doing it softly, so your parents won’t mind (also they’re the ones tuning it in on the drive to the grocery store).

Let’s start with the sex, which is referenced plenty on this record. The opening track is “Sexy Eyes” which is about meeting a woman at the local disco/dance hall/honky tonk with a certain look in her eyes crossing the room toward our narrator. Based on the groove of the song, I’d suggest disco is the most likely scenario. The song has a mid-tempo funky guitar and the high prancing of an organ filling in for a jazz flute that would have felt equally at home.

The song is built for dancing at all three speeds: 1. A thin bit of air between partners, with plenty of tease in the hips 2. Hands on hips or shoulders, replete with sway and meaningful glances, and 3. Legal in public because your pants are still on. Pick your contact level based on whatever is mutually agreed.

The mid-to-late seventies was the era of free love and fun times, minus the idealism of the sixties, and Dr. Hook has all of the outcomes covered. Maybe that dance number from “Sexy Eyes” turns into the playful “Sharing the Night Together,” with an invite home, complete with sexy whispers and promises of “we could bring in the morning, girl/if you want to go that far”.

Or maybe it turns sour, as on “When You’re In Love With a Beautiful Woman” which sees the world through the sad, jealous eyes of some mistrusting joker with low self-esteem, worried that ‘his’ girl’s previously sexy eyes have become prone to wandering. Counterpoint: maybe she’s just tired of dating a guy who is always asking what she’s looking at or who was just on the phone.

And it is here where the record has a bit of an “ick” factor (or “of its time” if you are feeling charitable), because for all the sexual liberation inherent in a Dr. Hook song, there are moments where these tunes show their age. Worst of all is “If Not You” where our singer, opens with:

“Who's gonna water my plants?
Who's gonna patch my pants?
And who's gonna give me
The chance to feel brand new?”

Um…yuck.

OK, on to the drugs and partying, and the album has a couple of fine entries in Dr. Hook’s previous party songs (think “Cover of the Rolling Stone”, “Freaking at the Freaker’s Ball”). On this compilation we have “The Millionaire” a song about a guy without a lot going for him other than the inheritance of a rich uncle, and my personal favourite, “I Got Stoned and I Missed It” - the original version of Afro-Man’s “Because I Got High” only funnier with a better hook.

Before I exit, I should note that Dr. Hook is not all sex and novelty songs, and there are genuine moments of emotional resonance. The best is “A Couple More Years”. This heartfelt tune is cowritten by lead singer Dennis Locorriere and long-time Dr. Hook contributor/writer Shel Silverstein.

This song is a world-weary expression of sadness, experience and comfort, all balled together. I first discussed this song back at Disc 1653 when I reviewed a cover of it on Waylon Jennings’ album, “Are You Ready for the Country”. It isn’t often you can out-vocal ole Waylon, but but there is something about the high quaver in Locorriere’s voice that takes this song to the next level.

This record is a good way to explore a little of the latter half of Dr. Hook’s heyday. You’ll find a little groove, a little sway, a few solid pop hooks and generally (but not always) inoffensive rock and roll.

Best tracks: Sexy Eyes, A Couple More Years, When You’re In Love With a Beautiful Woman, The Millionaire, I Got Stoned and I Missed It

CD Odyssey Disc 1865: Richard Wagner

This next artist held some reprehensible views. Fortunately he’s been dead for over 125 years, and I bought this album second hand, so I can enjoy his music (mostly) guilt free.

Disc 1865 is…The Best of Wagner

Artist: Richard Wagner

Year of Release: 1993-1997, but featuring music from 1840 - 1874

What’s up with the Cover? In the upper right we also have a caricature drawing of Wagner which makes him far more whimsical than his real-life photos suggest (where he looks more like the curmudgeon I imagine he was).

We are also presented an aerial photo of Neuschwanstein Castle, in Bavaria. A magical place that is now a tourist destination that charges 21 euros to wander about. I would happily pay to wander about there, as it looks quite magical.

Odd fact about Neuschwanstein, if you are a senior, a student or handicapped they give you a discount of…wait for it…one euro. I imagine this leads to interesting moments of outrage from visitors, as patient castle staff explain that that is the full amount of the discount, and you’re welcome.

How I Came To Know It: Everyone has heard of Wagner, and I’ve always loved “Flight of the Valkyries”. His catalogue is immense (and long) and I decided to dip my toe in instead of buying the entire Ring cycle on CD. Because while it sounds great, it’s also a serious time commitment.

Besides, I got a great deal. One Canadian dollar at a local thrift store! Close in value to the massive windfall a college student could realize on a visit to Neuschwanstein Castle.

How It Stacks Up: This is the only Wagner currently in my collection AND it’s a compilation, so it is not stackable on two accounts.

Ratings: Compilations don’t get rated. I will go on about it for a bit, though, if you decide to keep reading.

While I’m not going to get into it, for a guy who so clearly loved fantasy and adventure, a lot of crazy stuff actually happened to Wagner through his life - some of it well-deserved. Fortunately for the world, Wagner seems to have channeled that drama into swelling and enchanting compositions that transport us to a place of breathtaking adventure and excitement.

If you are looking for in-depth explorations of Wagner’s compositional style, or how his concept of Gesamtkunstwerk influences these selections, you should be looking elsewhere. My classical music knowledge is woefully low. I only know that Gesamtkunstwerk is a word because I lifted it from Wikipedia.

Instead of letting my own considerable ignorance get me down, I like to fall into classical music with the same blissful abandon I approach modern popular music and see where it takes me.

In the case of Wagner, I felt like I was listening to something Very Important all the time. These snippets of larger works are impressive in their ability to lift you up and soar your spirits with knights, ghost ships and Valkyries.

Sometimes there is bombast from the opening notes, as is the case with “Die Walkure (“The Valkyrie”) and the famous “Ride of the Valkyries”. This tune is movie magic excitement from a time before modern motion picture action films existed (If they had existed, Wagner would have definitely been scoring them).

“Ride of the Valkyries” is pure adrenaline from the opening notes. If I was ever to be lifted from a field of the slain by a host of flying warrior woman (yes please!) this is definitely the song I want playing while it is happening. Given this is unlikely to happen (the occasions I find myself on a field of the slain is mercifully rare), listening to “Ride of the Valkyries” is the next best thing. And when it’s over, and I’m parched from all that top-tier air conducting I can go grab a glass of water rather than being, you know, dead.

Yes, I digress, but I found it very hard to listen to Wagner and not engage in a little digressing. Dude is fanciful.

Another favourite on this compilation is the overture to “Der Fliegende Hollander (the Flying Dutchman)” a story of love, ghost ships and a bit of Satan. I’ve never seen (or heard) the full opera, but if there is anything near the adventurous spirit present in the overture, count me in.

Even when Wagner is not getting all boisterous and heroic, he brings inspiration. The section lifted from “Tristan and Isolde” (“Liebestod”) is the height of romance. I loved the tragic romance of this story since I first read it in Mallory’s Morte D’Artur and Wagner captures all the right feels in his interpretation.

There were a couple of times I got fidgety – most of the prelude to “Lohengrin” is just ambient mood music, reminding me of the third song you hear at the end of a movie with super long credits. However, even here Wagner throws in some fanciful swells about two thirds of the way through that will leave you certain your heart will burst out of your chest before it settles back down again and fades out.

Wagner is one hell of a composer. Shame about his rotten opinions (that he shared all the time) but the music – great stuff, and even better knowing he didn’t get a single cent of the dollar that I paid for it.

Best tracks: They are all pretty great, but I’ll go with “Tristan und Isolde – Liebestod”, the overture to the Flying Dutchman, and Ride of the Valkyries for reasons noted above.

CD Odyssey Disc 1842: 38 Special

It’s another beautiful summer day and I’m looking forward to a brief foray downtown for brunch in the city I love. Before that, let’s dig into the latest album I’ve randomly rolled for review.

Disc 1842 is…Icon

Artist: .38 Special

Year of Release: 2011 but featuring music from 1980 - 1989

What’s up with the Cover? One of several iterations of the .38 Special logo.

The obvious choice for the band’s logo would be, you know, the gun. Your band is literally named after a gun, boys.

Instead we have the result of the Ferrari horse-rampant logo deciding to forgo grace and style and just give ‘er! Add wings! Add, like fire, man!

For all this mockery would I wear a t-shirt with this logo on it? Reader, I would. I like to give ‘er as much as the next guy.

How I Came To Know It: .38 Special was a hit machine back in the eighties, so I knew them well from school dances, radio play, and parties. However, they weren’t on my radar until earlier this year my friend Chris busted out one of their studio albums and played a couple of tracks. At which point I said, ‘oh yeah – these guys!’. Later that week I bought this compilation.

How It Stacks Up: This is a compilation and can’t stack up.

Ratings: Compilations don’t get rated but I promise to still share my feelings about the songs below, for those of you who don’t just come here to read my snarky comments about the cover (I know you are out there…).

Despite my joy at rediscovering the delightful (if lukewarm) joy of stadium rockers .38 Special, I did not let the flush of the encounter make me lose my head. I stayed calm and clinical, and surveying the bursting shelves of CDs in the living room, dining room and down the hall, I asked myself “do I need eight .38 Special albums?” I did not.

That said, if you think .38 Special is a one hit wonder, think again. They only had two #1s, but they are in the double digits with top ten radio hits, most of which are on this record.

The allure of .38 Special is their accessibility. Not something music snobs like me want to admit while we’re stuffily telling you about how much we enjoyed the latest Nite record, but the truth must out. .38 Special is nice and easy. Good old dependable rock, as complicated as Bart Simpson playing rock/paper/scissors, delivered with the same unsinkable optimism.

.38 Special is a lot more successful at their use of rock than Bart. The formula is simple. These boys write killer hooks. When you hear a .38 Special song you usually know what it is within the first few notes, and you are already anticipating the chance to sing along as they hold on loosely, get caught up in you, or get you back where you belong.

While some bands would drag out that moment or throw in a clever B section to offset the hook, no such nasty trickery shall come from .38 Special. They’re going to get you to that chorus just as quickly as you are hoping. No teasing, just pleasing!

The good news is that when this hook is awesome, this creates a great re-listenability that is critical for any radio hit. The ‘best tracks’ list at the end of the review provide a good overview of what to explore for maximum joy. “Hold on Loosely” and “Caught Up In You” are the two best, and even after hundreds of listens these are always welcome crowd pleasers when they come on. Wisely, “Icon” puts them as the initial 1-2 punch on the record.

When the hook is of inferior quality, then the straight-no chaser approach to songwriting can have the opposite effect. “Like No Other Night” and “Rockin’ Into the Night” give us hooks that are boring after a few listens and become insufferable over time (the line between a memorable hook and a boring one is thin, but unforgiving).

Also, when the hook is amazing you forgive the often very obvious lyrics. Stuff like “fill your days and your nights/No need to ever ask me twice” (from “Caught Up In You”) are painful, but the song is just so good for you to mind.

Sometimes, though, the lyrics are so bad that no hook is sufficiently catchy to recover you. Consider this atrocity from “Back to Paradise”:

“Grab your coat honey, grab your hat
This train is leavin' an it ain't comin' back
Don't need a ticket can't you understand
You're on your way to the promised land”

At least we now know where AI-generated songs get their shitty inspiration from.

Back in the day .38 Special was one of those bands that everyone was “OK” with, and even today I bet they could still fill a room with some leathery-skinned fifty-somethings pumping their fists in the air. Maybe even some Generation Zs who are there for the irony.

But say what you will, these guys played tight, sang well, and wrote songs that endure across generations, and that’s not easy. So give them their due, raise a beer - not a fancy one: Budweiser will do just fine - and offer a toast to good old dependable rock. Nothing beats it!

Best tracks: Hold On Loosely, Caught Up In You, Back Where You Belong, Teacher Teacher

CD Odyssey Disc 1831: Tom Jones

As I pulled into my parking spot tonight my neighbour said with surprise and delight, “is that Tom Jones you’re playing?” Why, yes it certainly is – the skyscraper that is my musical tastes has many floors, and if you pick the right one you’ll find Mr. Jones waiting to escort you to the lounge for drinks, crooning, and whatever comes after.

Disc 1831 is…The Golden Hits

Artist: Tom Jones

Year of Release: 1986, but featuring music from 1965 - 1969

What’s up with the Cover? Feast your eyes, ladies, for it is Tom Jones, decked out in fancy blazer and ruffle-cuffed shirt, Behold the Welsh sex god, here to croon his way into your hearts, driving you to such distraction you may return home from his concert in a commando state of mind.

How I Came To Know It: My mom has been downsizing of late and recently passed along her CD collection. Some of those CDs belonged to my dearly departed stepfather, and Tom Jones is one of those (Mom’s more of a Johnny Cash kind of gal).

How It Stacks Up: This is a greatest hits record, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: Usually there is no rating for compilations, but this one is half songs from other records, and half singles? What to do? Stay strong, L – no rating!

Back in 1986 CDs were new to the market most who bought them were audiophiles willing to invest in new equipment – often middle-aged folks. With limited selection available, what to market to this demographic? How about some hits from yesteryear, showcasing the versatility of the new system: play whatever you want! No searching! No complicated needle drops! If the music is familiar, well, sometimes better the devil you know…

Tom Jones is definitely the devil you know. His manly crooning showed that you could be a little rough around the edges and still romance the hell out of that microphone. That deep and profound baritone vocal, reverberating through your bones, makes everything more important. And when Jones wants to climb up into a high head voice he does it with the sure-footedness of a man ascending a polished marble staircase in Cuban heels; dangerously, recklessly, and absolutely certain he will not slip or stumble once.

The songs on this compilation are all early Tom, from his first few records and singles in the mid to late sixties. There’s an undercurrent of that sixties British folk revival in the production and delivery, but Tom transcends that and makes things more grandiose and theatrical, like a collection of James Bond theme songs (n.b. Tom did to the Bond movie song for 1966’s “Thunderball” which is regrettably not on this record).

There’s little not to like in this collection of Golden Hits, as even the schlocky stuff like “Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings” and “Without Love” transcend their own silliness, apparently through little more than Jones’ will to overcome. He’s one of the only artists I know that can both embrace schlock and then subsume it into genuine art. It’s a dangerous line to walk, but once again, there’s no slipping.

Jones is no songwriter but with his voice he doesn’t have to be. Can you imagine anyone else sing the jaunty “Not Responsible”? the tragic hyperbole of “Delilah”? Reader, you cannot. And while Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard both do strong versions of “Green Green Grass of Home” I gotta give the edge to Tom again.

Things aren’t perfect, however, even on a collection of Golden Hits. I know that “What’s New Pussycat” was a big hit for Tom, but this song was silly when it came out and it has aged poorly. Worst of all they refrain line of “you and your pussycat…nose” (later eyes, then lips) ends with a flat and discordant note that I can’t forgive. As the repeat listens I came to dread its arrival at Track 6.

Fortunately, the rest of the record was a lot of good, semi-clean fun. A love letter passed down many decades later to my stepfather, to my mother, and now to me.

Best tracks: Green Green Grass of Home, Not Responsible, It’s Not Unusual, Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings, Detroit City, Without Love, Delilah

CD Odyssey Disc 1826: Al Stewart

A long-time and loyal reader recently asked me to consider not reviewing compilations, and sticking to studio and live records exclusively. I get it. I am enraged every time I see compilation albums on “greatest records of all time” lists (I’d be looking at you, Rolling Stone – except that I don’t look at you anymore). I avoid that crime by not assigning ratings or rankings to them.

I appreciate the suggestion (and the loyal readership) but I can’t very well change the system 1,800+ records in. Once a reviewer starts making exceptions people start disobeying the rules and then it’s nothing but work work work….

So with apologies to those who feel likewise, herewith is a “best of” review. I’ll keep it entertaining by seeding it with Princess Bride references. Hint: they’ve already started…

Disc 1826 is…The Very Best of Al Stewart

Artist: Al Stewart

Year of Release: 1988, but featuring music from 1973 - 1981

What’s up with the Cover? If it was just the inset photo, this would qualify as a Giant Head Cover (much beloved for many years here on the Odyssey) but it being inset it only manages to land a designation of 'Medium Head'.

Upon that Medium Head Al Stewart has a luxurious mop of hair, so bushy, big and absent of any modern hair care products that it extends past the frame in a way that would make a passport photographer grimace.

I once had a head of hair even more resplendent than this (I have a driver’s license photo where it extends not past one side of the frame, but three sides!). As with Mr. Stewart, time has been unkind to this head of hair and now only photos remain.

But I digress…

How I Came To Know It: Sheila (who grew up listening to Al Steward on the radio) grabbed this one at a thrift store. I did not know anything about Al Stewart, but our thrift store CD rules dictate that anything brought home gets a chance, no matter how weird.

How It Stacks Up: No stacking compilations

Ratings: Compilations aren’t rated. If you want to know more about how I feel about Al Stewart you’re gonna have to read to the end.

By 1988 a lot more people had CD players, and they were hungrily looking for content. Unlike me in 1988, most of those people were well off and older, so you can find a fair bit of compilation albums from artists in the seventies that appealed to folks of a certain vintage.

Enter Mr. Al Stewart, and his smooth and silky sounds of British folk revivalism. British folk revivalism in the seventies wasn’t about obscure reels from the highlands or keening murder ballads, it was about bringing the sensibility of folk (telling a story) to the masses. The result packed a lot of schmaltz.

Stewart’s vocals are made for such a movement, with a pure and light tone as soothing and inoffensive of a gentle summer breeze. Even when Stewart is singing about harsh topics, you can’t help but feel relaxed. Nazis on the hill you say? Be there right after I finish this glass of sangria…

“Wait a minute”, you exclaim, “This album has Nazis! I was told Al Stewart was a chill laid back pop/folk singer!”

He is, gentle reader, but in the same way some stories have Cliffs of Insanity and shrieking eels, other tales have Nazis - bad guys help drive a plot. The only difference is Nazis are real. In fact, the song featuring Nazis – “Roads to Moscow” is one of the album’s better tracks. It is an eight-minute opus telling the story of Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 all the way through to their eventual defeat four years later. If my 10 Sabaton albums didn’t already tip you off, I’m a sucker for a history nerd song, and “Roads to Moscow” pushed all the right buttons. it is a fine example of a “never get involved in a land war in Asia” song (for the best ever please listen to Mark Knopfler’s “Bonaparte”).

As for production and arrangement decisions, this record is not afraid to try things. We’ve got flamenco (“On the Border”), samba (“the Running Man”) and even a little Ziggy Stardust rip-offery (“Lord Grenville”), all of it wrapped up in a sweet AM radio pop friendly coating to help it go down easier. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Despite harsh topics like Russian winter war, Al Stewart isn’t here to make you feel bad. The worst moments in his breakup song “Delia’s Gone” feature rain at the beach and some disconcerting “dream figures with moons for eyes” (?). Compare that to Johnny Cash’s “Delia” where our title character gets shot. Dead.

I didn't grow up listening to the radio much and the station in my hometown wasn’t Al Stewart friendly anyway so the only song I knew on this record going in was “Time Passages”. It’s a masterclass in writing a pop melody. I fell smitten from the first bar and despite two unconscionably bad saxophone solos (yes, two – in the same song) I still couldn’t help but love this enduring standard of AM radio gold.

Another feature of the CD is it can hold a lot more music, so artists weren’t stuck with the radio edits of their hits (although in the case of “Time Passages” that would have been welcome). You can throw on some epics like “Roads to Moscow” and the even more bloated “Nostradamus Part One, the World Goes to Riyadh, Nostradamus Part Two (live)”. Yes, that’s the title of the second song where, over a 13 minute span, Stewart sets large swaths of Nostradamus predictions to music. I admit I liked this more than is seemly (see: history nerd comments above).

Only about a third of thrift store albums survive into the collection, so you won’t read about all of ‘em. This Al Stewart stuff turned out to be a hidden gem, however, and any fun I have poked above was of the gentle variety.

Best tracks: Time Passages, Delia’s Gone, Road to Moscow, Merlin’s Times

CD Odyssey Disc 1823: Various Artists do Doo Wop

It’s been a lovely weekend full of musical encounters, planned and unplanned. Yesterday, I had an impromptu conversation about Austrian band Son of the Velvet Rat in the post office lineup, and later that evening spent time with friends sharing music.

Along the way I ran a few chores, and had the happy soundtrack of Doo Wop tunes to keep me company in the car. Here’s more about that.

Disc 1823 is…Doo Wop Vocal Group Greats

Artist: Various Artists

Year of Release: 2005 but featuring music from 1951 to 1963

What’s up with the Cover? It’s Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers dressed up and ready to doo wop you in your earholes. Don’t worry – it feels good.

How I Came To Know It: There’s a section on my local record store (Ditch Records) where they have a whole pile of box sets from the golden age of the CD, when this was a thing people bought. Even though I’ve been buying CDs faithfully since the late eighties, I never got caught up in the box set hype, preferring to buy studio albums most of the time. Also box sets are awkwardly shaped and hard to file.

However, one day I was in the cramped corner of the store housing the box sets (the tyranny of vinyl requiring the majority of the space these days) when my eyes alighted on this treasure. Doo Wop doesn’t have a bunch of studio records (back in the day pop music was mostly singles) so this was a great way to get a whole bunch of songs from a genre I love but have very little of.

How It Stacks Up: This isn’t an album, it’s a compilation, and so can’t stack up.

Ratings: compilations also don’t get ratings, since they’re not true albums. Rules!

Three discs and 60 tunes is a lot of DooWop, but at no point over the past five days did I ever feel that volume as a burden. If there is a style of music that lifts your spirits more than Doo Wop, I don’t know what it is. This stuff makes you feel good. It is the summer sun and holidays of musical genres.

If you aren’t familiar with Doo Wop it was a style of American music in the fifties and early sixties that featured multi-part harmonies, nonsense words often sung as musical accompaniment in place of instruments, and chord progressions that traipse along in a way that is both predictable and uplifting (lots of triumphant fifths).

This is early pop music at its best, and like a lot of good pop music you can guess what’s going to come next in a tune and then feel delicious joy in being right. On repeat listens, you can sing along and frankly, it is hard not to. When Barry Mann sings “who put the bomp in the bomp, be bomp be bebomp” if you don’t immediate respond with “who put the dip in the dip de dip de dip” then there is something wrong with you.

In this collection we have a wide range of what Doo Wop represents, although don’t expect a wide range of topics. It is mostly romantic warbles about how much you love your gal (or your fella), with a few featuring unrequited love. Even those are pretty gentle stuff. No murder ballads or self-harm here, beyond maybe some impassioned sobbing into one’s pillow.

Some of these songs are deep down in my marrow from early childhood experiences, likely appearing on AM radio in my family car growing up (a sky blue 1961 Rambler). Tunes like Danny & the Juniors’ “At the Hop”, the Platters’ “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”, the Shirelles “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and the Tokens’ “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” were instantly recognizable.

For all that familiarity, it was a joy to discover a host of other songs for the first time. I felt like I was getting a lucky peak into a simpler time – an idealized version of the fifties and sixties. The real version of those decades was a lot more complex, but listening to Doo Wop puts you in a dreamlike alternate universe where all things are rosier. A Pleasantville where the sun always shines, and milk never sours.

And while this music is simple fun, it also has had a lasting impact on music for generations to follow. Many of your favourite heavy bands of the seventies and eighties grew up on Doo Wop, and many bands twenty years later raided these records out of their parents’ or grandparents' record collection. I have a lovely version of Blue Oyster Cult guitarist Buck Dharma covering “Come Softly To Me”. Blind Guardian covers “Barbara Ann” in my last review. Even when bands aren’t always wearing it on their sleeves, you can be sure its working its happy magic under the surface.

Be warned that these songs have a heavy Pollyanna vibe. Doo Wop doesn’t veer into schmaltz so much as it is steeped in it. Art shouldn’t always be this easy and free, but in a complex modern world, it was nice to spend a few days in a stylized time where love is grand, and everyone has a swing in their step, and a song in their heart. Dip da dip da dip, indeed!

Best tracks: Come Back My Love, Out of Sight Out of Mind, Twilight Time, I Met Him on Sunday, Sixty-Minute Man, For Sentimental Reasons, I’m Not a Juvenile Delinquent, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Come Softly To Me, Little Darlin’, Don’t You Just Know It, Little Bitty Pretty One, Once Upon a Time

CD Odyssey Disc 1797: The Rolling Stones

The old question of “Beatles or the Rolling Stones” never held much water for me, and I typically reply with a flippant (but wholly accurate) quip of “Black Sabbath.”

However, it is also true that my love for the Rolling Stones has been a slow but steady burner over the years, and it all started with this little compilation record.

Disc 1797 is…Hot Rocks 1964-1971

Artist: The Rolling Stones

Year of Release: 1971

What’s up with the Cover? Long-time readers of my blog will know of my fascination for the Giant Head Cover, where an artist chooses as their cover…their Giant Head.

Here the Rolling Stones have come up with a clever way to make the album cover not one but five Giant Heads each more Giant than the last.

How I Came To Know It: When I was a teenager there was a thing called Columbia House where you ordered 11 cassette tapes for 11 cents. After that, you had to spend a year picking an album a month off a little folded pamphlet they’d mail you, and if you didn’t pick fast enough, they sent you something random (and subsequently billed you).

For a music-lovin’ kid living 20 miles north of what was already an isolated town with limited record stores, this was a pretty great deal, so I did it for a while. When I ran out of albums I wanted (this happens fairly quickly in the Columbia House experience) I cancelled my subscription.

In any event, “Hot Rocks” was one of my early choices, and my first meaningful exposure to the Rolling Stones outside of the radio. I liked it plenty, but when I converted from tapes to CDs I never replaced this one, instead – armed with increased purchasing power – I collected my favourite studio albums instead. To see what those are, check out my final studio album review, which includes the list.

Eventually, I realized that while that covered the majority of my love for the Rolling Stones, there were a bunch of earlier singles on Hot Rocks that I was missing, some of which weren’t even on a studio album. I succumbed and bought this album, mostly for Disc 1 (Record One for you vinyl types).

How It Stacks Up: Compilation albums do not get stacked on A Creative Maelstrom, because they are not real records. They are convenient ways to get a bunch of songs if you are too lazy or disinterested in the band’s catalogue. This is an entirely legitimate decision to make, as some bands may only rate a “best of” level in your preference, but that don’t make compilations a proper record, so no stacking!

Ratings: Compilations don’t get rated either. They do get talked about of course – why the hell would you be here, otherwise - and they are part of the CD Odyssey where there is no skipping allowed!

The Stones love their compilation albums. They have almost as many compilation albums (28) as they do studio albums (31), and “Hot Rocks” is arguably the most successful of them all. Whether someone owns 30 albums or 3,000 there is a good chance “Hot Rocks” is going to be on the shelf, nestled somewhere between “Jagged Little Pill” and the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever”.

Despite my earlier rants about compilations, there is no shame in this. This record is chock full of awesome. My CD copy is DSD remastered and while I’m not a super informed tech wizard when it comes to audiophilia, I think it sounds pretty nifty.

Because Disc Two is mostly loaded with songs I’ve commented on previously, I’m going to stick with Disc One. I listed to both, in keeping with Rule #3 (aka “A Full Listen, Monkey!) so my honour is nevertheless preserved.

Disc One is the earlier side of the Rolling Stones. I find the Stones’ penchant for blues covers competent but uninteresting for the most part, but fortunately the anthologists responsible for “Hot Rocks” picked what I would call “all the other good stuff”.

The fast-moving rock and roll jangle songs are OK, but I am more often drawn to the quieter tracks, which showcase the brilliance of Jagger and Richards as songwriters. “Play With Fire” and “Ruby Tuesday” come to mind as understated gems that rightfully remain famous decades later.

Some of the songs are “of their time”. Like horror movies, rock and roll is a genre that should lean a little into discomfort if its being done right. “Mother’s Little Helper” digs into the sixties phenomenon of Valium in a cheeky manner that makes you smirk and sing along to the refrain and then feel bad about yourself. Doubling down on this “catchy but not OK” action is “Under My Thumb” which is as controversial and troubling a song now as it ever was. In this case a bro bragging about what appears to be a mix of gaslighting and emotional abuse. But then why do these songs have to have melodies that are so damned catchy?

Hey, that’s between you and your conscience.

If you prefer to not be challenged so much, then just sink into the pure rock and roll of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” which has been one of the all time great driving songs long before Arnold Schwarzenegger has his masterful aristeia in a gravel pit in 1986’s “Raw Deal.” I can confirm it remains great for driving to this day (no gunfight required).

Most of my Rolling Stones love is for the era featuring guitarist Mick Taylor and “Hot Rocks” overlaps about half of that “golden era” of the Stones. However, that’s the half I said earlier I’m not going to focus on today. “Hot Rocks” reminds me that there is plenty of brilliance before Taylor ever came along, and what a unique style of music these guys were pumping out back in the mid to late sixties.

Best tracks: (Disc One only): Play With Fire, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Mother’s Little Helper, Paint It Black, Ruby Tuesday

The Best Albums of 2023

I once again listened to a lot of new releases in 2023 and found 77 of them worth buying. That’s roughly the same as last year (80) but more indicative of my restless desire for new music than any stability or lack thereof in quality records.

Having done this for a few years now, I know that it is inevitable that I’ll later find some record that I regret not including on this list. Despite that eventuality, you could do a lot worse than taking this carefully curated list of gems into your home.

While it would be true to say I love all these records equally in their own way, that’s not how top 10 lists work. I’m looking at you when I write this, Paste Magazine, and I do not like what I see. Take a stand and rank ‘em!

OK, on with the action.

10 Olivia Roderigo – Guts

-          I discovered Olivia Roderigo through a friend’s top 10 list for 2021. He was right – Sour was one of the best records of that year. Her 2023 follow up, Guts is a worthy follow up, capturing the same lush pop production and joyfulness, while exploring the moral complexities of getting a little older. It seems only fitting to include a major hit from an album that is about as commercial as it gets, but so good I can't hold that against it. Here’s Vampire.

9 Be Your Own Pet – Mommy

-          I didn’t know this band existed until 2023. They go all the way back to 2006, but had a long hiatus from 2008 until last year. Based on Mommy I’ll be exploring their back catalogue, because this is some punk rock gold. Here’s Goodtime! a song that seems appropriate for a band deciding to punk it up again after 15 years away.

8 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes

-          After a couple of ‘meh’ albums over the last few years (Reunions, Georgia Blue) Isbell and his Unit return to form with Weathervanes. Truth be told I thought about putting Jeffrey Martin in this slot (see the honourable mention section below) but decided to start the veteran over the rookie. You’ll get your chance, rook! You’ll get your chance, rook! Here’s a sad one, but a good one, Cast Iron Skillet.

6 Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway – City of Gold

-          Last year I shortchanged Molly Tuttle by putting Crooked Tree on my honourable mention list when it should have made the top 10. I won’t make the same mistake with City of Gold. Here’s Alice in the Bluegrass which reimagines the Alice in Wonderland story with…bluegrass!

6 Chappell Roan - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

-        Chappell Roan confidently straddles the line between the slick and glitzy production of Guts and the understated songwriting of Samia’s Honey (again, see honourable mentions below), making her an easy choice for multiple reasons. This album is both heartfelt and funny. Here's Red Wine Supernova, which carries on the vampire theme from the Olivia Rodrigo selection. Sort of.

5 Whitehorse – I’m not Crying, You’re Crying

-          Much like Jason Isbell, 2023 saw Whitehorse return to form with one of their best records ever. I’m not Crying, You’re Crying digs heavily into old school country song structures but still sounds fresh and new. Here’s If the Loneliness Don’t Kill Me.

4 Miya Folick – ROACH

-          ROACH is one of those albums where half the songs were released as an EP, with the LP following 6-12 months later. This double-selling annoys me, but I couldn’t stay annoyed at Miya Folick for long. ROACH is just too good a record. If you like your pop music both catchy and thoughtful, then this is for you.  Here’s Bad Thing. 

3 Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental

-          In the same year I gave up on Jess Williamson’s album “Cosmic Wink” she released one of my favourite records. If you are one of those people who claim to not love country music, I would invite you to see if Time Ain’t Accidental can change your mind. Here’s the title track, it even has a bit of weird percussion for you pop-preference types.

2 AJJ – Disposable Everything

-          Another band that has been around for years, that I just discovered through this 2023 release. This record is not exactly uplifting – more the opposite – but it can’t all be roses and light, so if you want to explore a little disintegration, this post-punk gem is for you. Here’s the apocalyptic Death Machine.

1 Boy Golden – For Jimmy

-          If a record has all great songs, no bad ones and inspires you both musically and lyrically then it is a perfect record. For Jimmy is exactly that. Best of the year! Here’s Mountain Road.

Honourable Mention – all great, but fell short because I could only pick a top 10. Some of these had “genre” showdowns against similar records that made the cut, but are just as good on any given day. Here are 5 more in no particular order in the event you aren’t sated by the official winners:

• Jeffrey Martin - Thank God We Left the Garden; Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want to Turn Into You; Bonnie Prince Billy – Keeping Secrets will Destroy You; Samia – Honey; Jeff Rosenstock - HELLMODE

The Best Albums of 2022

I often load my best of albums list into the introduction to a regular review, but I’m going to break with tradition this year and give it an entry all its own. This year will also have the excitement of links to songs so you can have an immediate sampling of just what I’m so damned excited about.

If you like it, please check out the artist’s entire record, and if you like that, please buy it. That’s how artists get paid. Or stream it a whole bunch of times. That also works.

I listened to an untold number of records released in 2022 and found 80 of them worth buying. Of those I have successfully bought 66 (still searching for the rest) and gotten rid of 4 (errors). Still on the hunt for 14 more, some of which made the list regardless.

After considerable soul searching, here is the best of the best. I reserve the right to change my mind as I dig into each of these (and others) deeper, but for now, this is it. For those records I’ve already reviewed, I’ve embedded a link:

10 Ghost – Impera (reviewed at Disc 1592)

• Hard rock/metal from Sweden, Ghost has long enjoyed pretending they really love Satan, but don’t be concerned. It is just pretend.Here’s a track about their favourite subject called “Call Me Little Sunshine”. 

9 Julia Jacklin – Pre Pleasure

• Jacklin just keeps getting better. 2019’s Crushing was good, but I think this is even better. For the sake of balance with the previous record, let’s go with “Lydia Wears a Cross”.  

8 The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field

• More great music from the Beths. Here’s the title track as a sampler: 

7 Danger Mouse and Black Thoughts – Cheat Codes

• I find Danger Mouse hit and miss but combining him with hip hop mastery of Black Thoughts and the many guest stars on this record is inspiring. Here’s one called "Strangers" with some Run the Jewels guest starring.

6 Craig Finn – A Legacy of Rentals

• If you like the band The Hold Steady you’ll already know its lead singer Craig Finn. If you like that, I think you’ll like this just as much. I liked it even more, but you have to be OK with listening to the lyrics, because Finn tells a hell of a story, but you gotta pay attention. Here’s "The Amarillo Kid". 

5 Dropkick Murphys – This Machine Still Kills Fascists

• Woody Guthrie lyrics have been set to music by Wilco and Billy Bragg previously, and the latest collaboration is with the Dropkick Murphys. I think it may be the best yet. Here’s “The Last One”. 

4 Kevin Morby – This is a Photograph

• Just an all-around great record that is half chill, half-anxiety, all awesome. All the tracks are good, but I’m picking this one because I like the tone of the banjo and it features Erin Rae, who I also discovered this year. Her 2022 album is Lighten Up and it is good, even though it didn’t make this list. Here’s “Bittersweet”.

3 Mattiel – Georgia Gothic

• Mattiel’s 2019 album Satis Factory is one of my favourite records of all time. Georgia Gothic is good enough for #3 in 2022. Here’s “On the Run”.

2 Ezra Furman – All of Us Flames

• Brilliant, anthemic, and emotionally overwhelming, Furman is a wave you want to both catch and have crash over you. Here’s “Forever in Sunset".

1 Grace Cummings – Storm Queen (reviewed at Disc 1573)

• Listening to Grace Cummings is like being transfixed by the keening of a ghost as she warbles her fell and beautiful secrets to you from the underworld. Here’s “Up in Flames”:  I also strongly recommend “Heaven” if for no other reason than the arresting quality of Cummings eyes as she stares right at you in the video.

Honourable Mention – all great, but I could only pick 10. Here are 5 more in no particular order in the event you want even more great music to choose from 2022:

• Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway – Crooked Tree; CMAT – If My Wife New I’d Be Dead; Ethel Cain – Preacher’s Daughter; Wet Leg – Self-Titled; Angel Olsen – Big Time