BEST CDs 2014 (Americana)
Expertise Provided By: “PopMatters”
(1) OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW
“Remedy”
Nashville band “delivered an album embracing all kinds of human experiences,” featuring songs ranging from the Appalachian stomp of “8 Dogs 8 Banjos” to “Sweet Amarillo,” a country shuffle co-written with Bob Dylan. Grammy nominated as Best Folk Album.
(2) PARKER MILSAP
“Parker Milsap”
20-year-old Oklahoma phenom does the Americana musical heritage proud with his debut, “an intoxicating mix of country, folk, blues, honky-tonk, and Western swing.”
(3) JOHN FULLBRIGHT
“Songs”
Largely acoustic second album from another Oklahoma phenom that establishes [Fullbright] as a “sly composer of greasy folk-blues and lifting piano ballads…”
(4) LUCINDA WILLIAMS
“Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone”
The iconoclastic Williams self-produced this double disc album, creating “the grittiest and most heartfelt album in years…”
(5) SHOVELS AND ROPE
“Swimmin’ Time”
Husband and wife duo, Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent harmonize magnificently on songs that range from blues-rock to do wop.
(6) HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF
“Small Town Heroes”
Populist troubadour Alynda Lee Seganna and her New Orleans based and influenced band gives voice “to those unable to speak for themselves” on this charged collection of songs.
(7) RODNEY CROWELL
“Tarpaper Sky”
Most recently known for his collaborations with Emmylou Harris and others, old-pro Crowell returns with a fine album of original songs.
(8) ROSEANNE CASH
“The River and the Thread”
Nominated for three Grammy awards, Cash’s beautiful and meditative album about the South and her Southern heritage have drawn comparisons to William Faulkner’s writing about the region.
(9) BRUCE ROBISON AND KELLY WILLIS
“Our Year”
Husband and wife duo, who dazzled in 2013 with their first collaboration, “Cheater’s Game,” returns with covers and originals “demonstrating a timeless quality of traditional country music with easy and grace.”
(10) HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER
“Southern Grammar”
California singer-songwriter M.C. Taylor, now transplanted to North Carolina, and his ensemble performs country, rock, soul, blues and gospel featuring “smart, groove-infused songwriting and crackling arrangements…”