Music Blogs

The sixth installment of our top 100 albums of 2007 year end list.

50.  White Chalk by PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey can belt out a vocal without much trouble when she feels the need. But here on White Chalk, she takes on a more delicate air that works to convey despair without ever sounding contrived, or having you wishing for something to happen. To the contrary, I am completely happy and tuned in every time I hear it. An artistic triumph.

49.  The Good, The Bad & The Queen by The Good, The Bad & The Queen 
The Good, The Bad & The Queen is an album by a supergroup consisting of members of Blur, The Clash, The Verve and Fela Kuti, and produced by Danger Mouse. Obviously, with that frame of reference in mind, there was a good deal of hype around this release. But lucky for us, the album lives up to it, and the group sounds as if they've been creating music together for decades.

48. Comicopera by Of Robert Wyatt
At 62, Robert Wyatt has created one of the year's best albums. Comicopera is political and diverse, the music is perfectly structured and never overbearing, but it's Wyatt's voice that really shines and brings the whole thing to a level that most artists can only dream of reaching.

47.  Becoming All Things by Zookeeper
You won't find this on many year-end lists. Zookeeper is still, for the most part, under-the-radar. The newest project of former Mineral and The Gloria Record member Chris Simpson. Becoming All Things is a sweeping, pop-infused epic of an album that was a true surprise. Don't miss it.

46. The Reminder by Feist
Feist found the holy grail of the :15 second spot with the selection of her song "1234" for inclusion in an Apple iPod commercial this year. This super-hooked gem of a track instantly caught the ears of countless millions. But The Reminder is much deeper than "1234", hopefully some of the millions who downloaded the track took some time to listen to the whole album.

45.  Anytown Graffiti by Pela
Pela has working class roots, but this ain't no John Cougar or Bruce Springsteen (although Bruce is sited by the band as an influence). Anytown Graffiti treads on Arcade Fire territory, but without the same degree of pomp, or art-school wussiness. It has more rock at it's core, but is tempered by wonderfully creative hooks and clarity.

44.  Maths + English by Dizzee Rascal
Boy In Da Corner was a classic album that put British hip-hop on the map with it's jerky, accented rhymes. His second record debuted at # 8 on the UK album charts and this, his third, debuted at #7. The album is incredibly fun to listen to, and takes work to absorb the lyric. Dizzee takes many different approaches on Maths + English, but executes them all masterfully.

43. Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird's 2005 album The Mysterious Production Of Eggs gained much admiration with it's quirky pop sound and expert whistling, not to mention having the best album cover of the year. Although the album art on Armchair Apocrypha is notably worse, the music has taken yet another step forward. Mr. Bird has officially earned the title of "heavyweight" with this release.

42.  Forts by The Boggs
The production on Forts is all over the map. Sometimes it sounds like your sitting in a cave with the performance echoing around you like so many bats, other times its airy and dramatic, and still others, it's up front and immediate. Forts has a fragile nature, as if it's being held together by a single taut thread, but the atmospheric guitars and keyboards, tribal rhythms, strings, horns and acoustic guitars help paint the best work of Friedman's career.

41. Boxer by The National
The National's latest record will probably land higher on many critic's end of year lists than it has on mine. But I do agree this is a moody work of art. Boxer finds the band discovering the power of consistency and using it to great effect. I had a hard time placing this one, but #41 is not a bad place to be.

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