The Five Best Albums of 2006

2006 has come and gone. There were highs (Mavericks making it to the NBA finals, the movies Borat and Tallageda Nights, the Michael Richards Incident), lows (Red Sox missing the playoffs, Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, and the Time magazine people of the year bullshit (to be discussed later)) One thing that always happens, music albums are released. Most of the are not good enough to waste my finger movements on. A select few, however, have earned a place both in my heart and in my CD player. These following five albums (in no particular order) represent to me the highlight of the musical year 2006. If you disagree, the solution is simple: realize that you are wrong, buy the albums, listen to them and try the best you can to be as awesome as me.

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere This is one of the most unique albums I have ever heard in my life. I have listened to it probably a hundred times (no exaggeration, I have literally burned over five copies of it since September 23rd, when i saw them live), and I still find that it defies any specific genre. The album has hip hop ('Crazy'), rock ('Gone Daddy Gone'), blues ('The Boogie Monster') and dancehall ('Storm Coming'). Despite this variety, the album is actually quite cohesive. The album has a fell of slight mental illness, with various mental insecurities present in almost every song. This album also clocks in at just over 35 minutes. While this may seem a bit lame, it has two distinct advantages. One: The songs don't get old. Some of the sings are barely two minutes, one of my favorites 'Feng Shui' is 1:47. This album follows the old show business rule of 'always leave them wanting more'. Secondly: In these days of burned CD's this album can be burned on one 80 minute CDR with another equally long album. This includes most albums that came out in the sixties and early seventies, because of the time restrictions of vinyl. I have combined it with both Paul Simon's 1973 classic There Goes Rhymin' Simon" as well as the psychedelic classic, Odyssey and Oracle by The Zombies.

The name Gnarls Barkley is the second best band name of all time (the first being Disco Tex and the Sex-o-lettes). It is a collaboration between Cee-lo and Danger Mouse, but I don't hold that against them. I don't know too much about Goodie Mob, but one of the worst musical crimes ever was perpetrated by Danger Mouse. The mix of Jay-Z's the Black Album and the Beatles the White album is horrible. First of all, If you wanted to stick with the pattern, he should have mixed the Beatles the white album with Metallica's black album, since both albums are actually self titled. That combination would have been better than the complete and utter shitting on the Beatles that comprises the grey album. A positive note on Danger Mouse, he did produce the Gorillaz album Demon Days.

Back to the album, it is a challenge throughout to keep your foot from tapping, thats how good the beats are. If you want to get into the numbers, there are 13 songs, only two of which i skip on a semi-regular basis ('Gone Daddy Gone' and 'The Boogie Monster') and astonishing 85% efficiency rate for a debut album. In conclusion, I bring you back to the beginning of this section where I said that this album defies genre classification. When this happens, one must create a new genre. This album is the first ever progressive soul album. I am hereby copyrighting that genre name, and with the legions of Gnarls Barkley ripoff bands that are sure to come with this albums success, I hope to receive royalties from the music reviewer community.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium

Before I get into this stellar album, let me get one thing out of the way. This album is NOT on this list because I am a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers fan and felt obliged to put it on. The Red Hot Chili Peppers do not crack my top 20 bands of all time. I liked Californication, and a few select Chili Peppers songs. That being said, this album does crack my top 30 or so of all time. This album is flat out amazing. One of the things that always bugged me about the Chili Peppers was Anthony Kiedis using the exact same dactylic hexameter for his raps. Not so on this album.

This album could be a Red Hot Chili Peppers greatest hits, except all of the songs are new. Slow, melodic songs such as 'Otherside' and 'Californication' (some of my favorites) are perfected with 'Snow (Hey Oh)' and 'We Believe'. 'Snow' is my pick for the best song on the album, and probably the song of the year. The guitar riff is one of my favorites. It manages to be catchy, upbeat, yet slightly wistful at the same time. It is one of those songs that sucks you in from the first note. With such a rhythmic riff, it would be easy for drummer Chad Smith to throw in one of his trademark funk grooves, but instead he keeps it simple which makes the impact of the song all the more tangible.

The talents of all four members are in full swing on this album as well. John Frusciante has always been a great guitarist, but after Californication and By the Way, I thought that his fast fretboard runs were over due to his former heroin addiction. I was of the school that Frusciante's best years were behind him, and he was reduced to playing simple, if not effective riffs while Flea actually played a sort of 'lead bass'. This album, and then seeing them live has changed that. His solos on this album are the epitome of good taste, rarely overstaying their welcome, since most of them are not longer than four measures. His solos are ripping (especially on 'Turn it Again' and 'Wet Sand', and more importantly, they always leave me wanting more. It is a good strategy to take, so when the next solo comes, you always bob your head a little bit harder. Chad Smith pulls out all of his impressive chops, from a pseudo-jazz beat in 'We Believe', to the straight rock and roll flavored with ghost notes of 'Dani California'. Flea as always is breathtaking, locking in with the drums when necessary, taking the lead in an instrumental break in other spots.

Whether or not you are a Chili Peppers fan, I would highly recommend this album to anyone who likes a groove. There are enough different styles for everyone. In addition to the aforementioned titles, there is also the early Pink Floyd-tinged 'If', the balls-out rock of 'Readymade', to the anthemic 'Wet Sand' (the clavicle part (played by the late great Billy Preston, of The Beatles Let it Be fame) is absolute perfection, and I don't think the same would be even remotely the same without it) all paint a very complete picture.

Bob Dylan - Modern Times

Modern Times is the third installment of what I like to call Bob Dylan's 'Broken-voice' trilogy. The first two, Time out of Mind and "Love and Theft" were critically acclaimed as Bob Dylan's return to the top of his form. I have two problems with that. First of all, that would imply that Dylan was, at some point, off of his prime. Jut because you don't hear much about Knocked Out Loaded and Under the Red Sky doesn't mean they weren't any good. Not many people have heard of Infidels, and I think its one of his best, and one of the best albums of the 80's. Secondly, I wasn't much a fan of Time out of Mind, and while "Love and Theft" had some good songs, most notably 'Mississippi' and "High Water (For Charley Patton)', it wasn't as consistent as Dylan's other work.

On to Modern Times. The title itself is a masterpiece, both simple and complex. On the surface, it seems to be what it seems, a man's commentary on our age. This would be sufficient, because whatever Bob Dylan has to say about any era, I'd be inclined to listen.

On this album, Dylan's voice is the same husky, broken rasp that it was on his previous two albums. But he has discovered a better way to use it than just ramblings over a simple blues beat. His voice hits new notes, more tender notes, and it gives this album a deeper feel than anything since Infidels. "Spirit on the Water" evokes a sense of a lave that has departed, but the memory hasn't. His voice goes perfectly with the lyrics, yet there a is an odd finality to the end of his verses in this song, which suggests that maybe this love is gone for a reason, and the singer is not entirely despondent over it. 'Workingman's Blues #2' evokes a similar jaded wistfulness, this one not having to do with love, but with the oppressing drudgery of working one's life away. Finally, my personal favorite on the album, the concluding 'Ain't Talkin'' is a fitting finale for this album. The chorus, "Ain't talkin', just walkin', through this weary world of woe" perfectly sums up Dylan's attitude towards our modern times, and at times, my own views as well. Those three lines are among the best he has ever written. Simple, catchy, great alliteration, yet they speak volumes of the human experience an the effects that a life full of difficulties can do to it.

Speaking of lyrics, Bob Dylan has always been a virtuoso in this sense. He has the uncanny ability to portray the plight of men and women in all walks of life, in a very poetic and complex way. Find examples of lyrics.

The musical accompaniment on this album is also the best Dylan has had in years. Dylan's trademark has always been exploiting unique sounds out of his studio bands. An example of this: During recording of "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" (what is 12 times 35 anyways? Go ahead, pull up the windows calculator, I'll wait.) Dylan forced his studio musicians to smoke pot with him, even though most of them were straitlaced studio types. After that, he switched them on instruments and recorded the sing in one take. It seems that these shenanigans have left Dylan as he grows older, though if anyone knows different, please let me know. Instead, he has the same band he has been touring with since at least when I saw him in high school (that would be May of 2001). Five years of playing a hundred shows a year with one band creates a chemistry that is the result of constant playing. This band seems comfortable with Dylan, and he is comfortable with them. The band realizes that Dylan is why people bought the album (or came to see the show) and they act in a very complimentary role. The drummer is able to add soft touches to the more delicate songs like "Spirit on the Water" and "Nettie Moore", while also providing a stomping beat in "Thunder on the Mountain" and "Reelin' and Rockin'" The first time I heard this album, it seemed very comfortable to me. Like it was an album I had listened to many times before, it contains no surprises. The songs lead you down the path you expect, but that is not a bad thing. Instead, it creates a very intimate album, much more so than any Dylan album since Blood on the Tracks. To be perfectly honest, if this album stunk, I probably would have put in on this list anyways, because its Bob fucking Dylan, and putting Gnarls Barkley on a list and not Bob Dylan is almost sacreligious. The fact that this album is one of Dylan's top ten (from a man with almost fifty albums, that is saying something.

The Killers - Sam's Town

The Killers debut album Hot Fuss is about a strong as a debut album as one can make. While this sounds all well and good for a band, the next step os a challenging one. Do they try and repeat the same formula that made their first album great (like Linkin Park), or do they steer their musical ship into unknown waters, possibly alienating their newly won fans (like the Strokes)? Two years later, The Killers have made their choice. They gambled and won, unlike the Strokes. An just to make one thing clear, Linkin Park sucks, their first album did, their second album did, their 'remix' album did, and any other album they make will suck. I just used them as a recent example of the lameness of repeating yourselves.

Sam's Town strikes a perfect balance between the 80's dance rock of Hot Fuss with a new depth to those superficial songs. Not that I'm knocking Hot Fuss. Personally, I think its one of the best albums of the decade, but we'll discuss that in January of 2010. Plus, this album has a concpet. I am currently working on a article about how the concept album is the greatest thing ever, and this album will feature prominently. Probably with the exact same paragraphs that follow. So think of this a a preview.

Brandon Flowers' keyboarding acts as a lead to Dave Keuning's (who looks more like Robert Plant in his heydey than Robert Plant in his heydey did) rhythm guitar. Ronnie Vanucci Jr (who also has the greatest mustache this side of the civil war) lays down a great beat, keeping his cymbals moving, which adds another electronic-like vibe to what would traditionally be straight up sad rock of the Cure variety. The drums and keyboard combine to add a quasi-lame 80's sounds to the song, but the kind of 80's lame that is good. The intro to 'Bones' is absolutely priceless, and would have made the song a runaway hit in 1985.

Vocally, Brandon Flowers has evolved as a singer. Instead of the Strokes-y, slightly electronically altered growl of Hot Fuss, he hits high notes that Julian Casablancas (the Strokes singer) hears in his wet dreams. Songs such as 'Why Do I Keep Counting' and especially 'For Reasons Unknown' are a great example of this. Speaking of Brandon Flowers, he was dead on when he ripped The Bravery for capitalizing on the success of the Killers. Have you ever heard the Bravery? They sound like they raided the unused tracks for Hot Fuss and some studio executive recorded them in two weeks in order to ride the Killers' coattails? The only thing that is disappointing about this subplot is that Flowers was forced to recant his statement. I bet that still tastes bitter.

Another thing that makes me enjoy this album even more, is the live show. Unlike the Strokes (boy, I am really laying into the Strokes in this one aren't I? 5 bucks says less than half of you reading have never even heard of them. Just goes to show you what a shitty second alum will do for your staying power. Boy, I wish I could do footnotes in HTML, these parenthetical comments are getting obnoxious) The Killers rock out live. Brandon Flowers knows how to work a crowd while at the same time augmenting the songs with his gestures. His mustache is awesome too. I heard four or five of the new songs before the album came out, and they came off as good if not better than their studio versions. That's a;ways refreshing. To conclude, the Killers used their second album to expand their musical horizons, and the result is very positive. They use their previous work as a foundation, and then build some really good looking shit on top of it. I am really looking forward to their next album, where hopefully they combine their 80's keyboard rock with some sort of Frank Sinatra-esque crooning (I think Flowers has the range to pull it off). Am I the only one who thinks that that would be the best thing ever?

Edguy - Rocket Ride

For those of you unfortunate enough to not know who Edguy is, pay close attention. Edguy is a Swedish Power Metal band, and the best metal band since Iron Maiden. Singer Tobias Sammet has an amazing range, he is able to sing the gravelly (yet still clear) songs that are more traditional metal, but he can also hit those nasty high notes that good power metal requires. They actually share much in common with Iron Maiden, but they also write incredibly catchy melodies. Listen to Mandrake and Hellfire Club before listening to Rocket Ride to get a good sense of where Edguy is coming from. One of my favorite parts about them is their biting satire on other power metal bands. They understand how inherently ridiculous that lyrics can get, and they exploit this to the fullest. An early song title "Lavatory Love Machine" shows this, an there is no shortage of this on Rocket Ride.

This album is a departure from their previous efforts. They steer a bit away from the traditional power metal, and get both harder and softer throughout Rocket Ride, but they still stay true to the Edguy sound. The opening track 'Sacrifice' provides one of the most intriguing album openers I can recall. It starts with swaying piano, but before this really sinks in, and incredibly terse, fabulously delayed riff comes in, and by the time the drums start in, they're like icing on the cake. The intro is even better than the actual song, which is okay, but is a bit long at a little over eight minutes. The tempo of the album speeds up with the next few tracks, and the hard rock genres grow more expansive.

This album mixes many classic metal song formulas. 'The Asylum' contains all the grandeur of a classic Iron Maiden epic (think 'Hallowed be thy Name') while 'The Matrix' spews the hard rock venom of Cowboys From Hell-era Pantera mixed in with the melodies of Edguy. The absolute gem of this album is the concluding track (unless you have some crazy foreign copy, like the kind SoulSeek seems to have in abundance), entitled 'Fucking with Fire (Hair Force One). The title alone made me skip to it immediately, and I did not regret it. It starts with all the bombast of a Bon Jovi epic, and retains much of this feel throughout. The lyrics are awesome. An example, from the chorus:

I don't want to play no games
cause I'm a naughty bad boy
all around

Fucking with fire
I'm coming to rock
got my rocket on fire
and I do what I want

Fucking with fire
loaded and cocked
you'll never miss until you've begun
with the hair force one*

So awesome. Is combines the hilariously bad wordplay with a violent sexual image, which is exactly what good metal should be about. The song also strays into the Appetite for Destruction Guns N' Roses sound, with a mind bending Slash solo, and that riffing over the 'bell on the ride cymbal' beat. Just an awesome track all around. Is Rocket Ride Edguy's best album? No. Does it still kick the shit out of most of the other garbage released in 2006? Absolutely. The album manages to not be a repeat of Edguy's different albums, with some new styles in there. While some would be incredibly lame performed by a leser band (such as 'Save Me') they still manage to come together quite Nicely. And if you enjoyed this album, I would strongly suggest you buy both Parts of Edguy vocalist Tobias Sammet's heavy metal opera, Avantasia. I was originally going to write those in this spot, but they came out a few years ago. Its a heavy metal opera. That is all you know, and all you ever need to know. Pick it up, stat.

geovisit();*- Lyrics copyright Edguy 2006