13 Albums I Hope You Heard in 2013
10 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on 13 Albums I Hope You Heard in 2013
Now that 2013 is officially behind us (Happy New Year everyone!) it’s time to look back at some of the important albums of the year. The people complaining that there isn’t a lot of good music must not have been paying attention. A lot of great records were made last year, and I am sure I’m still leaving out other worthy ones. Feel free to remind me of some of them.
For various reasons, these are all albums I hope you got a chance to hear this past year, presented in no particular order. From the spectacularly perfect production on Matt Nathanson‘s Last of the Great Pretenders, the tour-de-force that is Brad Paisley‘s Wheelhouse, or the painfully honest songwriting on Jason Isbell‘s Southeastern and LeAnn Rimes‘ Spitfire, I feel every record here really contributed something to the story of music.
Last of the Great Pretenders – Matt Nathanson
Superb songwriting drawing on pop, rock, and punk influences that examines the various states of relationships. Funny, melancholy, hopeful, and desperate all at once. One of the best produced albums I have ever heard, listen for the production value alone!
Wheelhouse – Brad Paisley
Wow. What an impressive piece of work. Challenging himself to build an album from the ground up by himself (which included first building a studio), Paisley self-produced a hyper-creative suite of songs that didn’t seem to have got the recognition I think it deserves. “This album is not for everyone,” he honestly states in the CD booklet, and it’s true, but it is so worth spending time getting to know.
12 Stories – Brandy Clark
One of Nashville’s treasures, songwriter Brandy Clark finally got a chance to step into the spotlight herself, and did so with one of the best albums of the year. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you think. Excellent.
Spitfire – LeAnn Rimes
Real, honest, unapologetic songwriting combined with an effective production and some stellar vocal performances. If you want country music to be about real-life stories from real people, you need to hear this album.
Rubberband – Charlie Worsham
Super talent Charlie Worsham‘s debut album shows what patience about artist development can do. Not rushed, but allowed to make the album he wanted to make, it’s a strong start to what I hope will be a long career.
Old Yellow Moon – Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell
Americana extraordinaire! This is a beautiful record from two icons of American music. In a minimalist setting, this is all about lyrics and voices.
Tin Star – Lindi Ortega
People claiming Nashville doesn’t produce real records anymore need to be introduced to Lindi Ortega. She is such a confident songwriter, doesn’t have one unnecessary word in her lyric, and oh wow, that voice! These songs’ natural habitat is the stage so add Lindi to your concert list in 2014.
I Am Jaida Dreyer – Jaida Dreyer
Songwriter Jaida Dreyer‘s debut album on Streamsound brims with confidence, independence, and resilience. Her honest writing was captured by producer Byron Gallimore in a way that is as unique as her voice.
Set You Free – Gary Allan
Peppering his Nashville country with California rock, Gary Allan delivered his most diverse album yet. It has his signature heartbreak and introspection, but also bonafide feel-good songs and it even has jazz! Showing that working with multiple producers doesn’t have to end in a mess, the perfect song order lets the record tell an entire story.
Same Trailer Different Park – Kacey Musgraves
A novel set to music. The song order on this album is such that it interweaves the story of a relationship with the honest vignettes of real life, on which Kacey Musgraves has built her reputation as a songwriter.
Headlights, Taillights, and Radio – Tracy Lawrence
A perfect lesson in how an established artist can keep growing creatively and embrace modern elements, while remaining tethered to his traditional sound that made his career. What a wonderful album! It may be my favorite Tracy Lawrence album and that’s saying a lot given the strength of his discography.
Southeastern – Jason Isbell
A true “therapy record” that has a newly-sober Isbell dig deep to examine life post-bottle. An album like this isn’t just great music, it’s important for what it says, and how it can change a life.
New – Paul McCartney
Having not always been a fan of Paul McCartney‘s solo albums, this one surprised me for all the right reasons. It’s fresh, modern, and strong without abandoning his old-school ways, showing that aging rockers do not have to become their own tribute act.
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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