TREME Soundtrack Listed as #1 on Best Album Releases of 2010 - Soul-Patrol.net

I really do hate making lists. Which means that something is going to get left off, and no doubt I have left something out? The other thing about making lists is that they are "vertical" in nature as opposed to being "horizontal." This means that by definition a list will only tell you "half of the story." To get the entire story, you must also do the horizontal piece, by connecting the dots together. And of course that is what we do during the course of the year in all of the music/concert reviews that we do on the www.soul-patrol.com website and in all of the hand selected playlists onwww.radioio.com.

And for Black music, an entity that seems so intent on destroying itself, knowing the entire story is absolutely critical. And telling that entire story is something that I feel quite strongly about. Fortunately I am in a position to do so, simply because I get to actually hear everything from the mainstream crap to the under the radar gems that the mainstream media is trying to keep hidden from us.

One trend that I will make note of is the continued expansion of the Classic Soul style. In fact it has expanded so much during 2010 that I have added a new category called "Slow Jams." These are brand new songs that sound exactly like those "blue light in the basement / belt bustin / grinders" of the 1970's, created in 2010 and not by old artists for old people, but instead by artists some of whom are under the age of 30, creating brand new "classic soul music" for audiences under the age of 30 all around the world. You see "Classic Soul" is not a chronological time period, it is a musical style and that style is making a serious comeback! Other trends aren't so positive.

For example, Jazz seems to be badly in need of a musical transfusion, it's in danger of becoming totally irrrelevant. Neo Soul seems trapped permenantly in a state of mediocrity. Rap & Blues should be thriving in a world where the headlines each day are crying out for hardcore protest music, both seem woefully out of step with the concerns of everyday people. And of course Funk just keeps rolling on.

At any rate I have compiled a list of what I think are the very best ALBUMS (listed in rank order) and SONGS (listed in alphabetical order/Black music style) released in 2011.

I fully realize that we are in a recession, and I know that you have to make every single music dollar that you spend count, therefore I won't be recommending any B.S. music to you on these lists. If you are thinking about buying any of these, rest assured that you can buy them "sight unheard", they are ALL wicked, jazzy, funky, soulful, rockin joints that it is my extreme pleasure to turn you on to. Just "google" the artists, or go to iTunes/Amazon to pick up on some of this great music.

Thanks in advance for your consideration...

Bob Davis - Soul-Patrol.com/RadioIO.com
798 Woodlane Rd
Suite 10264
Mount Holly, NJ 08060
earthjuice@prodigy.net

2010 BEST NEW ALBUM RELEASES:
(Classic Soul, Jazz, Southern Soul & Blues, Funk, Neo Soul, Rap & Rock n' Roll)


The TREME soundtrack, from the HBO TV show of the same name is near & dear to me and it designation as number one should come as no surprise. I never watched the TV show simply because it was written by our longtime friend David Mills (the undercover black man,) who passed away shortly before the first broadcast, and I thought it would be too painful for me to watch. This outstanding album includes every single Black music style from Rap to Funk to Dixieland to Blues to Gospel and more is quite literally a Rosetta Stone" of Black music. It's quite fitting that it should be number one, it serves as a fitting musical legacy for David Mills . A close second is the politically incorrectly named; Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - Tell 'Em What Your Name Is, from an artist that most of you have never heard of, but sounds like a combination of James Brown/Ike Turner. Jacques Schwarz-Bart - "Rise Above" (feat Stephanie McKay), another artist that you have likely never heard of sounds like a combination of John Coltrane/Minnie Riperton. Teeny Tucker - "Keep The Blues Alive" sounds like a combination of Bessie Smith/Big Mama Thornton/Aretha Franklin. Jaye Q - "From My Soul" is ont just one, but really two innovative albums, with one sounding like Prince and the other sounding like Herbie Hancock. And of course even knee-gro radio stations know that Calvin Richardson is probably his generations version of Sam Cooke. I'm not going to go thru them all, however if you can afford to by just 5 albums this year, you can't go wrong by selecting 5 from this list.

BEST ALBUM RELEASES OF 2010

1. TREME Soundtrack
2. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - Tell 'Em What Your Name Is
3. Jacques Schwarz-Bart - "Rise Above" (feat Stephanie McKay)
4. Jimi Hendrix - West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology (4 CD/ 1 DVD Collectors Box)"
5. Stanley Clarke Band - Stanley Clarke Band
6. SonnyBoy - "The BarFly Theory"
7. Teeny Tucker - "Keep The Blues Alive"
8. Jaye Q - "From My Soul"
9. Calvin Richardson - America's Most Wanted
10. Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement
11. Macy Gray - "The Sellout"
12. SocialLybrium - For You + For Us + For All
13. Pat Cooney - Cougar
14. George Duke - Déjà vu
15. Esperanza Spalding - Chamber Music Society
16. Maty Soul - The Price of Consciousness
17. Mighty Sam McClain - Betcha Didn't Know
18. Grover Washington Jr - Grover Live
19. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - I Learned the Hard Way
20. SounDoctrine - Inspire
21. Latimore - All About The Rhythm and the Blues
22. Will Downing - Lust, Love & Lies
23. Lee - Naked
24. Teena Marie - Congo Square (honorable mention)

Audiophile Audition's Five Star review: "Whether it’s art imitating life, or life imitating art, Treme - Music From The HBO Original Series Season 1 is simply unforgettable"

Jazz CD Reviews

Treme – Music From The HBO Original Series, Season 1 – Geffen Records

The HBO series on post-Katrina New Orleans releases a stunning collection of regional music.

Treme – Music From The HBO Original Series, Season 1 – Geffen Records B0014910-02, 61:52 *****:

(Fearturing the music of John Boutte; Trombone Shorty; Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint; Steve Earle; Rebirth Brass Band; Soul Rebels Blues Band & John Mooney; The New Orleans Jazz Vipers; Treme Brass Band; Donald Harrison; Kermit Ruffins And The Barbecue Swingers; Mardi Gras Indians; Louis Prima; Tom McDermott & LuciaMicarelli; Michiel Huisman; Lil Queenie & The Percolators; Free Agents Brass Band; Dr. John; Paul Sanchez Glen David Andrews; Steve Zahn and Friends, and many others.)

The music of New Orleans is permanently connected to its unfair collective history. Over seventy years ago, a charismatic tragic political figure, Huey Long actually wrote his own campaign song, “Every Man a King”. No matter the severity of political shenanigans or the literal insanity of flood waters destroying the land, events were popularized in song (Randy Newman’s Louisiana 1927), and popular media (Spike Lee’s monumental documentary, When The Levees Break). It appears that the tradition of arts and especially music has a healing quality, articulated in anger and frustration. The resiliency of the Crescent City is a force unto itself.

Treme (the name of the oldest African-American neighborhood in New Orleans) is fiction drawn from the truth of Katrina. The mélange of story lines are sketched in nineteen songs on the first season’s musical soundtrack. Each song is as diverse as the culture it is trying to capture. As expected, the songs speak for themselves. The opening title song starts with a marching drum beat, walking bass and barrelhouse piano as John Boutte offers a swinging vocal with a capella backup that sets the uplifting tone of the album. Next is a live spirited rendition of “Feel Like Funkin’ It Up” by Rebirth Jazz Band. The album manages to mix established New Orleans acts with newer edgier bands. Stalwarts, Trombone Shorty and James Andrews break out the Dixieland horn arrangements on “Ooh Poo Pah Doo”. The song crackles with vigorous shout and response. Dr. John offers one of the sacred Indian songs, but with true Louisiana strut on “My Indian Red”. Another veteran New Orleans musician, Tom McDermott plays a nimble boogie woogie on the Jelly Roll Morton opus, New Orleans Blues”. The tune is explored in duet with the striking lyrical violin of Lucia Micarelli. Irma Thomas, “Soul Queen Of New Orleans” reprises her 1964 hit “Time Is On My Side” with legendary pianist Allen Toussaint. This soulful version, with doo wop chorus and muted trumpet, is quintessential.

The harsh realities of Katrina receive ample treatment in several songs. “Drink A Little Poison (4 U Die)", calls out the government in its “liar, liar” chant, surrounded by a looser funk structure. A modern sensibility pervades “We Made It Through The Water” (Free Agents Brass Band). Enveloped in a horn and vocal chorus of Wade In The Water, Lil’ Snoop recounts the harrowing narrative of hurricane survival with hip hop rhythm. Even cast members unleash a diatribe on President Bush (“Shame Shame Shame”). The moist poignant moment is delivered by Steve Earl on his original composition, “This City”. His refrain of “this city won’t wash away, this city will never drown” brings heartbreaking pathos to the narrative.The production of the soundtrack is brilliant. The jagged roughness of live jams and precise studio engineering submerges the listener into the complex world of modern day Louisiana. Whether it’s art imitating life, or life imitating art, Treme - Music From The HBO Original Series Season 1 is simply unforgettable.

TrackList: Treme Song; Feel Like Funkin’ It Up; I Hope You’re Comin’ Back To Orleans; Skokiaan; Ooh Poo Pah Doo; Drinka Little Poison (4 U Die); We Made It Through That Water; Shame Shame Shame; My Indian Red; At The Foot Of Canal Street; Buona Sera; New Orleans Blues; I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You; Indian Red (Wild Man Memorial); Indian Red; Time Is On My Side; This City; Just A Closer Walk with Thee; My Darlin’ New Orleans -- Robbie Gerson