The Best of 2004

Like most years, 2004 saw a lot of bad and good music. Here are my favorite picks for this year classified into categories a bit more creative than the typical genre sections.

Albums your parents probably dug

Aerosmith, 'Honkin' on Bobo'

The band that first got together in the late 1960s released an album this year containing explosive covers like Bo Diddley's "Road Runner" and the Dixon's "I'm Ready" that serves as a tribute of sorts to the passion of the blues and thrill of 1960s British rock.

Anita Baker, 'My Everything'

Baker's work after a 10-year hiatus.

Tony Bennett, 'Cloud 7'

Jimmy Buffet, 'License to Chill'

Ray Charles, 'Genius Loves Company'

The world mourned his death this year at the age of 73 and just prior to it, Charles requested the presence of some of his closest musical friends for the recording of his last work. Charles sings duets with the likes of Elton John, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Van Morrison and Willie Nelson.

Eric Clapton, 'Me and Mr. Johnson'

Clapton's tribute to blues legend Robert Johnson.
Robert Downey Jr., 'The Futurist'

Elton John, 'Peachtree Road'

The first time John produces his own work. He teams up with his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin.

Norah Jones, 'Feels like Home'

Jones showed more of her country influences this time around and even sings a duet with country icon Dolly Parton, along with drummer Levon Helm and organist Garth Hudson.

Diana Krall, 'The Girl in the Other Room'

Lyle Lovett, 'My Baby Don't Tolerate'

Loretta Lynn, 'Van Lear Rose'

Tift Merritt, 'Tambourine'

Joni Mitchell, 'Dreamland'

A collection of Mitchell's most beloved songs all on one album.

Willie Nelson, 'It Will Always Be'

Rod Stewart, 'Stardust: The Great American Songbook Vol. 3'

Cassandra Wilson, 'Glamoured'

When it comes to singing a classic James Taylor, Joni Mitchell or Muddy Waters tune within the jazz idiom, no one does it quite like the sultry and passionate Wilson. The musical compositions slip into the mind like a delightful dream like the sultry version of Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" and the breathtakingly sensitive "Fragile" written by Sting.

Brian Wilson, 'Smile'

For the songwriter

in us all





Paul Brill, 'Pagan Love Song'

This time around, Brill mixes the world of electronica created from a solo experiment of sorts with his always-intriguing band to create a very calm and practically indistinguishable atmosphere between sound machines and live instrumentation. As always, his lyrics are ones you think about hours after you've listened to the album just like his last work "Sisters.'

Elvis Costello and the Imposters, 'The Delivery Man'

The Cure, 'The Cure'

Ani DeFranco, 'Educated Guess'

Steve Earle, 'The Revolution Starts Now'

Finn Brothers, 'Everyone is Here'

Griffin House, 'Lost And Found'

Mason Jennings, 'Use Your Voice'

The singer/songwriter's work is what one might consider a throwback to a simpler time when musicians used to record albums in a matter of days or weeks without the use of computers or overdubs. The 28-year-old wanted to record a raw and intimate experience for the listener. The work was partially inspired from his love for Morrison and Dylan, along with another favorite by famed jazz singer Nina Simone recorded in 1969 called "Nina Simone and Piano!"

Tom McRae, 'Just Like Blood'

This latest work is even darker and more romantic than its predecessor, and serves as a musical testament to his exploration into a more expansive sound and style. He explores his affinity for themes stemming from displacement and unhappiness based on the yearning of escape.

David Mead, 'Indiana'

One of my favorites of this year.

Phish, 'Undermind'

REM, 'Around the Sun'

The title track is inspired by Galileo and Copernicus, and comes with the enticing ballad "Leaving New York," the silvery "Boy in the Well" and the musical response to the war in Iraq called "Final Straw." What more could a left-wing liberal want?

Ron Sexsmith, 'Retriever'

His best work to date that was recorded in London during a heat wave in which much of Ed Harcourt's excellent piano playing was recorded while in his underwear. Sexsmith's lyrical content ranges from his admission of sympathetic tendencies for someone who is usually to blame in a situation (I feel for the driver/In the aftermath/Of a child who chased a ball/Across his path) on "For the Driver" to his musical journal of sorts about finding love again in songs like "Happiness" and "Tomorrow in her Eyes."

Elliott Smith, 'From a Basement on the Hill'

Assembled after the 34-year-old's death, the album features 15 new songs.

Patti Smith, 'Trampin'

Sonic Youth, 'Sonic Nurse'

Steel Pulse, 'African Holocaust'

Toots & The Maytals, 'True Love'

Tom Waits, 'Real Gone'

Wilco, 'A Ghost Is Born'

Keller Williams, 'Home'

After listening to this, Williams' life can best be described as simple, genuine and humorous with songs inspired by his love handles, his two dogs and the good old saying, "You are what you eat." The guitar playing ain't bad either.

Albums probably owned by the avid KCRW listener

Air, 'Walkie Talkie'

Aside from Radiohead, the best band at this summer's Coachella Festival.

Bjork, 'Medulla'

The Blue Nile, 'High'

The band's first album in eight years and only fourth in 21 years.

Kasey Chambers, 'Wayward Angel'

Cake, 'Pressure Chief'

Derek Trucks Band, 'Live at Georgia Theater'

DJ Shadow, 'In Tune and On Time'

Drive By Truckers, 'The Dirty South'

Fatboy Slim, 'Palookaville'

Franz Ferdinand, 'Franz Ferdinand'

Interpol, 'Antics'

Iron and Wine, 'Our Endless Numbered Days'

Jem, 'Finally Woken'

Junkie XL, 'Radio JXL'

Ang/lique Kidjo, 'Oyaya!'

Rilo Kiley, 'More Adventurous'

The Killers, 'Hot Fuss'

Kings of Convenience, 'Riot on an Empty Street'

The Libertines, 'The Libertines'

Mocean Worker, 'Enter The MoWo!'

Known as Adam Dorn, the DJ's work comprises 12 songs and spans 49 minutes which was partly inspired by single pieces of vinyl that had an "A" and "B" side. It begins with the work's most rowdy grooves up in front ("A" side) and winds down with its calmer pieces placed at the end ("B" side). Among the dozen tracks, Dorn remixes Simone's heart-wrenching version of "Blackbird" with such sophistication and simplicity as only to augment the song's mood, which exhibits his obvious admiration for one of jazz's greatest singers.

Scissor Sisters, 'Scissor Sisters'

Stereolab, 'Margerine Eclipse'

UNKLE, 'Never Never Land'

Paul Van Dyk, 'Reflections'

Van Hunt, 'Van Hunt'

His new self-titled record is an album that critics are categorizing with the likes of the neo-soul crew - Erykah Badu, India Arie, D'Angelo - with influences like Ray Charles, Sly and the Family Stone, Prince, Al Green and Stevie Wonder.

John Vanderslice, 'Cellar Door'

Charles Webster, 'Remixed on the 24th of July'

Zero7, 'When it Falls'

The British duo, Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker, and its freelance group of collaborative singers - including Sia Furler, Sophie Barker and Tina Dico - recently followed up 2001's well-received debut album, "Simple Things," with this sophomore work. It is a bit more on the folk side but still retains the slow- to mid-tempo electronic atmospheric and soulful grooves that have made their songs so popular among mainstream audiences.

A handful of folks known around the world

Ryan Adams, 'Love is Hell'

Green Day, 'American Idiot'

Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama, 'There Will Be Light'

Alicia Keys, 'Diary of Alicia Keys'

Jimmy Eat World, 'Futures'

People tend to define the music of this band as either fervent emo-core punk, a modern indie-rock marvel with the kind of noncommercial underground appeal synonymous with Nirvana, or as a modern pop-rock festival of chord-pumping adrenaline surges. Given such disparate impressions, the question of whether Jimmy Eat World dwells in a hallowed punk-rock heaven or a fickle pop-rock hell is endlessly debatable.

Los Lonely Boys, 'Los Lonely Boys'

Maroon 5, 'Songs About Jane'

John Mayer, 'Heavier Things'

Sarah McLachlan, 'Afterglow'

Prince, 'Musicology'

Gwen Stefani, 'Love, Angel, Music, Baby'

U2, 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'

Usher, 'Confessions'

Velvet Revolver, 'Contraband'

Music you can always dance to

Black Eyed Peas, 'Elephunk'

Cee Lo, 'Cee Lo Green is a Soul Machine'

A former member of the Goodie Mob is at it with this year's work exhibiting his penchant for soul and country roots

De La Soul, 'The Grind Date'

One of this year's best - this trio is so underrated

Eminem, 'Encore'

The legend at it again.

Floetry, 'Floacism Live'

Two gals from England, one of whom flows and the other sings, coming together for a fantastic live show experience.

Jay-Z, 'The Black Album'

Mos Def, 'Sex, Love and Money'

NERD, 'Fly or Die'

The Roots, 'The Tipping Point'

Slum Village, 'Detroit Deli'

Kanye West, 'The College Dropout'

Complicated cats

Chick Corea, 'To The Stars'

Jan Garbarek, 'In Praise of Dreams'

His first new album in six years and features the drumming skills of Manu Katch/ (Peter Gabriel and Sting)

Al Green, 'I Can't Stop'

Charlie Haden, 'The Land Of The Sun'

Roy Hargrove, 'Strength'

Trumpeter Hargrove's album is a homemade patchwork of well-known and emerging artists who sew together their interpretations of soul, blues, rock, gospel, world sounds and freestyle poetry with guests like D'Angelo, rapper Q-Tip flows, Erykah Badu and saxman Karl Denson.

Stefon Harris, 'Evolution'

Harris and his band Blackout - Casey Benjamin on alto saxophone, Marc Cary on keyboards, Darryl Hall on bass and Terreon Gully on drums - transform the face of jazz mostly due in part to the group's wide array of musical influences - Latin, hip-hop, R&B and electronica to name a few - into what they define it as in present day.

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, 'The Out-of-Towners'

Joe Lovano, 'On This Day ...At the Vanguard' and 'I'm All For You'

Lovano is one fine example of a tenor player who has absorbed all of what the jazz of the past has to offer him, all the while remaining focused on honing his own individual style and tone throughout the years.

Charles Lloyd and Billy Higgins, 'Which Way is East'

Wynton Marsalis, 'Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson' and 'The Magic Hour'

Brad Mehldau, 'Live in Tokyo' and 'Anything Goes'

Medeski, Martin and Wood, 'End of the World Party (Just in Case)'

Greg Osby, 'Public'

The work is a recording of the first set of an evening with Osby and a group of like-minded cohorts - among them are trumpeter Nicholas Payton and singer Joan Osborne - at Jazz Standard in New York City. Osby is one who could drive some listeners to the edge of insanity. It's fast, oftentimes chaotic and freely dissonant. However, underneath the technical atmosphere of those wildly flying notes lies something strikingly profound - a rather sensitive man whose musical presence slips past the radar at times and whose emotional range is frequently overwhelming. Osborne sings on the cover "Lover Man" with an intrigue in her voice that maintains a compelling blend of necessity and autonomy. If anything, Osby and company have captured a translation of life onto a recorded live session.

Gonzalo Rubalcaba, 'Paseo'

John Scofield, 'En Route'

Joss Stone, 'Mind, Body and Soul'