#GreatAlbums2000s - #Gurrumul (2008). The late Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was an inordinately gifted Australian singer-songwriter of Yolgnu Aboriginal descent. Blind since birth, the multi-instrumentalist created stark and startling narrative songs about his personal struggles and the plight of Indigenous peoples. Sung partly in Yolgnu, partly in English, Gurrumul's haunting tenor and harmonized vocals were unparalleled in modern folk music.
#GreatAlbums2000s - #DevendraBanhart – Cripple Crow (2005). Inspired by 1960s oddballs like Donovan and the Incredible String Band, Texas-born Devendra Banhart made music that whispered and tumbled far outside the loudness-obsessed bluster of the early 2000s. More melodic and exotic than its predecessor, Rejoicing in the Hands – drawing more upon on the singer’s Venezuelan heritage – Cripple Crow made Banhart a rare folk artist able to woo the mainstream.
#GreatAlbums1980s - #TracyChapman – Tracy Chapman (1988). No one in '88 expected an LP of introspective folk to shift 20 million copies. "Fast Car" had no chorus or obvious hook, while “Talking ‘bout a Revolution” was a vamp on repeated chords and lyrics. But Chapman's voice connected with listeners hungry for simplicity and sincerity. “For My Lover” and “For You,” explored sacrifice and pain as further evidence nothing is as simple as it sounds in Chapman’s lyrical world.
#GreatAlbums1980s - #BruceSpringsteen – Nebraska (1982). After The River poised him for superstardom, Jersey's bluejeaned bard surprised everyone with this stark and haunting set of ballads recorded on a consumer-grade 4-track. "Nebraska" retold the story of spree killer Charlie Starkweather, followed by tales of hopeless gamblers, lovelorn losers, and morally conflicted lawmen. Like Guthrie or the early Dylan, Springsteen turned a dark mirror on the American dream.
#GreatAlbums1980s - #NicJones – Penguin Eggs (1980). UK folksinger Nic Jones mined the Roud folk index for his fifth and final studio LP. A fine guitarist for whom open tunings expanded the harmonic range, Jones backs his resonant voice on pieces like "Canadee-I-O" and "Courting is a Pleasure." But the centerpiece of the set is Jones's reading of Harry Robertson's "The Humpback Whale," a stark ballad of Melvillian force. A tragic accident ended Jones's recording career in 1982.
#GreatAlbums1980s - #DickGaughan – Handful of Earth (1981). The folksinger/ activist from Leith, Scotland worked with the Boys of the Lough and Five Hand Reel around a series of traditional folk solo sets beginning in 1970. Handful of Earth sharpens Gaughan's anti-conservative stance in the age of Thatcher with songs of both political urgency and lyrical beauty. "Erin-Go-Bragh," "Now Westlin Winds," and the gorgeous "The Snows They Melt the Soonest" are among many highlights.
#23From2023 - #Lankum – False Lankum (Rough Trade, 2023).
Lankum is an Irish folk group interpreting traditional songs through a dark postmodern lens. Not for the faint of heart, this relentlessly bleak album rarely lets in the light. If a doom metal band suddenly began interpreting Steeleye Span on a steady diet of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, it might come out sounding like Lankum’s foreboding, cinematic take on traditional folk. Find it on Bandcamp.
#23From2023 - #SufjanStevens – Javelin. Stevens returns to singer-songwriter mode on a set of ballads exploring life lessons and resilience in the face of tragedy. “Everything That Rises” turns a Flannery O’Connor trope into a haunting spiritual quest. “Javelin” is a wry meditation on chance and circumstance. The interpolation of “There’s a World” revises one of Neil Young’s lesser-known tunes. Stevens works mostly alone with guest turns from his folk and indie compatriots.
Great_Albums