20 Standout Americana and Roots Albums from 2019, Part 1
Full disclosure: I've never been a fan of the “best albums” format of year end wraps. I've done it in the past when I worked for sites with SEO obsessions, but even staying within the confines of Americana and roots music, there were hundreds of albums released both on labels and independently in 2019 and, having only two ears, there is no way I could listen to them all, much less suss out the “best” of the lot. Instead, I want to focus this year on 20 albums that I felt stood out from the crowded field in some way. The beauty, for my money the sole reason for, year end lists is to point a spotlight on albums you might have missed the first time around.
In order to keep the list manageable, I have excluded box sets, including the excellent Jazz Fest retrospective released earlier this year and live albums, including the recently released live sets from Sugarcane Jane and We Banjo 3. Where there is a review of the album on our site, I have linked to it for a fuller read of anything that catches your fancy. Where not, I have included a Youtube link to a song from the album. Since there are 20, we're splitting it into two lists this year, so here's #20-11. Come back for the Top 10 next week. And be sure to drop a comment on your favorite roots album of the year that my two ears might have missed!
20. Hot Club of Cowtown- Wild Kingdom
There are no surprises with Hot Club of Cowtown. They aren't trying to invent a new mashup genre, they aren't trying to protest anything. Instead, on Wild Kingdom, they stick to what they do really well; delivering bouncy Western swing with heavy doses of instrumental virtuosity. From the breezy “My Candy” to the clever phrasing of “Near Mrs.”, Hot Club of Cowtown delivers. In a world that is increasingly dark and foreboding, there is something to be said for escapism.
19. Todd Snider- Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3
Recorded at the former home of Johnny Cash, the place where Rick Rubin revitalized The Man in Black's career with the American Recordings series, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 (there is no Vols. 1 or 2, because Todd Snider is a weird dude) is a revitalization for Snider too, a return to what Snider does best; topical satire delivered with his trademark goofball sense of humor. The album's best song, “Talking Reality Television Blues”, tracks the march of technology over the decades to its inevitable conclusion, the election of a reality television star as President, while also sneaking in some thoughtful commentary about how our insatiable desire to be entertained has lasting, and sometimes fatal, consequences for the entertainers. Close friends Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires join Snider for several songs.
18. Dori Freeman- Every Single Star
The third collaboration between Dori Freeman and producer Teddy Thompson further refines an already near perfect pairing. Freeman's pure vocals remain as plaintive as ever, but somehow work well with the more positive outlook of Every Single Star. It brings a wonder that almost borders on fearsome awe to an unconditional mother's love on “Like I Do” and makes the song's counterpart, “I'll Be Coming Home”, about the rigors of touring and leaving her child behind even more devastating. There is no better standard bearer for the next generation of the Blue Ridge Mountain sound than Dori Freeman.
17. Charlie Faye and the Fayettes- The Whole Shebang
Charlie Faye and the Fayettes could be one of the best examples of what Americana music is. An unabashed throwback to the close harmony girl-groups of the '60s like The Ronettes and Martha and the Vandellas, Charlie Faye and bandmates Betty Soo and Akina Adderly bring not only a racial diversity not seen in those groups, but also a strong feminist streak that drags tradition into the here and now. While the band might sound like they emerged from Phil Spector's studios, it's unlikely Spector (a musical genius, but a pretty terrible person in his treatment of women) would have any idea what to do with a song like “I Don't Need No Baby.”
16. Keb' Mo'- Oklahoma
Keb' Mo' has never been a standard blues artist and Oklahoma is far from a standard blues album, but keeps enough of the form's tradition to never leave doubt where it belongs. Take the album's first single, “Put a Woman in Charge.” Where most women in blues songs are cheaters, gold diggers, or victims, Keb' Mo', with an assist from Rosanne Cash, posits that much of the mess the world is in now could be fixed by “put the women in charge.” Keb' Mo' also offers a unique take on a topic that has been a frequent subject for discussion, immigration, with “This Is My Home”, a gentle love story, both to America from an immigrant's perspective, but also from a more human perspective, as these two strangers from different cultures embody America's melting pot by falling in love with each other.
15. Tui- Pretty Little Mister
One of the most interesting things about the style of music known as “Old Time” is that the majority of its practitioners are youngsters. Like so many young musicians drawn to the songs of their ancestors, Tui found commonality in the songs of the Depression and the Post-Civil War period and today. But what sets Tui apart, and gets them included in this year's list of standout albums, is the minor changes they make to traditional songs to bring a modern twist. A simple change of “Daisy” to “Davy” in Roy Acuff's “Smoke Behind the Clouds” gives it a refreshing inclusiveness, while featuring the work of Dock Boggs, a white miner who sneaked into black miner camps at night to learn their musical styles, has plenty of relevance today.
14. Eilen Jewell- Gypsy
When you've been dubbed by critics “The Queen of the Minor Key”, there are certain expectations of what to expect from your album. But someone either forgot to tell Eilen Jewell or she didn't care (I'm betting on the latter), and the result is her widest ranging album yet. Opening with the uptempo rocker “Crawl”, Jewell howls “hey daddy, I got those shakedown blues” like a possessed Wanda Jackson. Even more refreshing is Jewell's first foray into protest music, “79 Cents (The Meow Song)”, a commentary on both the wage disparity and also a certain, er, “meow” grabbing Commander in Chief. Jewell delivers scorching satire on both topics using a raucous barroom sing-along style. It's a fun song and one of the best singles of the year.
13. Over the Rhine- Love & Revelation
There are very few absolutes in the world, but one of them is that, if Over the Rhine has put out an album, it's going to land somewhere on my list of standout roots music albums of the year. Celebrating their 30th year as a duo, the husband and wife team of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist made us wait for Love & Revelation, 5 years after 2014's Blood Oranges in the Snow. After all this time, the pair are so in sync they are practically one person, Bergquist the smoky, jazzy, sultry voice and Detweiler the instrumental anchor. With songs about love, faith, and the place where they intersect (or don't, in the case of the album's title track, about people using religion to condone violence and hate), Love & Revelation is Over the Rhine as good as they've ever been.
12. John Paul White- The Hurting Kind
Since The Civil Wars dissolved, John Paul White has intensified his “quiet one” persona from that band, recording and performing to suit his own family schedule and spending more of his time using his record label, Single Lock, to promote great artists like Donnie Fritts and Erin Rae. On his second solo album, The Hurting Kind, White channels some aspects of another “quiet one”, penning the kind of thoughtful lyrics that made George Harrison's post-Beatles career so distinctive. There are also heavy doses of his Muscle Shoals roots, Roy Orbison warble, and classic Nashville songs. Album highlights include “My Dreams Have All Come True” and “This Isn't Going to End Well”, a duet with Lee Ann Womack.
11. Will Kimbrough- I Like It Down Here
Will Kimbrough has been a fixture on Nashville's rock and Americana music scene practically since both were born (certainly Americana, as he and his fellow Nashville rockers paved the road for that genre's rise), but he's never lost his love or connection to South Alabama. When he set out to write a love letter to his home, he realized he couldn't do so without also addressing the region's darker side. The result is the most nuanced album Kimbrough has released since the politically charged Americanitis. I Like It Down Here is full of relatable archetypes, such as the title track's proud “white trash” scrounger and the beach ballad “Salt Water and Sand.” But it's “Alabama (For Michael Donald)” that is the album's real burner. Relating the real-life 1981 murder of Michael Donald by KKK members and its aftermath in first person from the spirit of Donald himself, watching the South's progress, and regression to White Nationalism with a resigned air.
Check back here next week for my Top 10 favorite Americana and Roots albums of 2019