E-mail me at Michael@MichaelPatrickHarrington.com if you have any suggestions or comments.

Dateline: 03-01-05

1. Words & Music by John Mellencamp (2004)
   Why (in three sentences or less): A double collection of old (Johnny Cougar) and new (John Mellencamp). The man has more good songs than you remember. Earnest to a fault, every track is redeemed by a sing-a-long hook sung by a hundred voices.



2. The Delivery Man by Elvis Costello & the Imposters (2004)
   Released last year, I'm just getting into this swampy, Southern concoction. Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris stop by, and Elvis tells them, "Man has little choice when he wants everything." Makes his most recent efforts seem pedantic.



3. Southern Rock Opera by Drive-By Truckers (2002)
   A double rock opera about Lynyrd Skynyrd and their decimating 1977 plane crash. The Truckers' triple guitar attack and concise songwriting elevate the project into the personal. "And I'm scared shitless of what's coming next/scared shitless/these angels I see in the trees are waiting for me/waiting for me."



4. I'm Wide Awake, it's Morning by Bright Eyes (2005)
   First things first: Conor Oberst is not the new Dylan, or the new Beck, or the new Bruce. One of two albums he released this year, country curtains decorate a series of songs venerating the little things. Pay attention, Toby Keith: best song about the Iraq War: "Landlocked Blues": "We made love on the loving room floor with the noise in the background of a televised war/and in the deafening pleasure I thought I heard someone say: if we walk away, they'll walk away."



5. Before the Poison by Marianne Faithful (2005)
   The Voice Drugs Destroyed comes back with a solid collection written by Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, and Jon Brion. Her voice could peel bark from a tree, and in the best songs here, Marianne finds their still-beating hearts and holds them aloft.



6. Hallowed Ground by Violent Femmes (1984)
   Alt-country before there was such a term (although you can bet Johnny, Waylon, Townes, and Willie knew early on of what we speak), the Femmes' second record is a scary, Gospel-tinged hootenanny. The first track is "Country Death Song." Enough said.



7. Blue by Joni Mitchell (1971)
   Blow the dust off this album and revel in the way Joni embodies a carefree time coming to an end. Blue is the color of loss, and Joni knows every shade. (The black lab Raven, who lives with me, loves Joni and recommends playing this record whenever your best friend leaves the house.)



8. Folkways: a Vision Shared by various artists (1988)
   Incredible collection of Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly covers performed by Bruce Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, Little Richard (shredding Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line"), and others, proving that the vernacular is truly the universal. The fact that Woody's "This Land is Your Land' is not our national anthem will never cease to amaze me. There is no better song about America.



9. Gold & Platinum by Lynyrd Skynyrd (1979)
   After delving into the Drive-By Truckers' Skynyrd rock opera, I turned to the source material. Honky-tonk, swamp country, and rock'n'roll all meet in the workingman's Southern band. More socially conscious than you remember, this compilation includes "That Smell," one of the scariest songs about death ever.



10. The Philly Sound: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, & the Story of Brotherly Love (1966-1976) by various artists (1997)
    The Intruders, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O'Jays, even Dusty Springfield and Wilson Pickett: they're all here in a three disc box set documenting producers Gamble & Huff's amazing run of Philly soul smashes. Balancing string-laden arrangements and gritty street fare, the first two discs have nary a false note (not so the third which devolves into rote disco maneuvers). Billy Paul's "Me & Mrs. Jones": one of the best cheating songs ever?