Best of '10 (vol. II)

Another batch of great tunage to commemorate the two thirds mark of the year, pinging and ponging between all the usual points. Lots of entries this time from albums that are insisting to be remembered come the end-of-the-year best-of lists. Plus an unexpected guest appearance from non-other than muffuggin' Toots Hibbert (that's Toots & the Maytals, y'all - I mean "Pressure Drop", "Time Tough", and "Funky Kingston"? That's the godhead raaaght thurr) adding a touch of immortality to the JJ Grey track. Speaking of unannounced guests, Alejandro Escovedo is joined by Chuck Prophet AND his own idol Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople - that's yet more godhead, peeps) for the slow burn of the mix's final track. Come to think of it, there seems to be a faint burn motif running through this whole thing, but it's probably best not to think of such things ('cuz I sho' as shee didn't think about 'em when I was compiling it).

Faves of 2010 (vol. II)

1. Caroline & the Treats Are You Ready?
2. Dan Kelly Hold On, I'm Coming On
3. Robbers On High Street Electric Eye
4. J. Roddy Walston & the Business Don't Break The Needle
5. The Postelles White Night
6. The Biters Beat Me Baby
7. Nobunny Breathe
8. Javi Garcia & Cold Cold Ground Black Tambourine
9. The Love Language Brittany's Back
10. The Silver Seas Candy
11. JJ Grey & Mofro (w/ Toots Hibbert) The Sweetest Thing
12. I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House Hotter Hell
13. The Small Change Nothin' 2 Say
14. The Henry Clay People End of an Empire
15. Hollerado Got To Lose
16. The Vaselines It Wasn't All Duran Duran
17. The Russians Make It Easy
18. Jason Falkner Emotion Machine
19. The Thermals Never Listen to Me
20. Dax Riggs Let Me Be Your Cigarette
21. Sonny & the Sunsets Too Young To Burn
22. Alejandro Escovedo (w/ Ian Hunter) Down In The Bowery

15 songs by Thin Lizzy

Okay, bear with me on this one. In fact, let me explain myself right off the top. I'm not a big Thin Lizzy fan - and I'm sure this mix will annoy the band's most ardent supporters - because a great deal of Lizzy traffics in the sort of riff-based butt rock that I've never appreciated. But - and this is a big but (not unlike your mother's BAM!) - there's another side to this band that largely gets ignored. And that side ties them dramatically to the exact same set of influences of soul/rhythm 'n' blues as the likes of Van Morrison and (early) Bruce Springsteen. In fact, leader Phil Lynott sounds most at ease when he's letting that freaky soul flag fly. This mix concentrates entirely on those moments. This is Thin Lizzy at their most mellow, most melodic, most soulful, and, don't say I didn't warn you, least rawkin'. I've included their admittedly overplayed hit "The Boys Are Back In Town" at the end of this thang, because playing it after the 14 songs that precede it allow that tune to be heard in a new context. Works for me, anyway.

Ode to a Black Man

1. Freedom Song
2. Wild One
3. Fighting My Way Back
4. Silver Dollar
5. For Those Who Love To Live
6. Running Back
7. Fight or Fall
8. Buffalo Gal
9. Chatting Today
10. Here I Go Again
11. She Knows
12. Cowboy Song
13. Southbound
14. Dancing In The Moonlight
15. The Boys Are Back In Town

Tracks 1 - 5 from Fighting (1975)
Tracks 6, 7, 12, 15 from Jailbreak (1976)
Tracks 8, 9 from Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972)
Track 10 b-side of the "The Rocker" single (1973)
Track 11 from Night Life (1974)
Tracks 13, 14 from Bad Reputation (1977)