Continuing my look at 2004, first by counting down my own top ten albums of that year.
#7 – Elvis Costello – The Delivery Man
Like Ron Sexsmith, Elvis Costello is an artist who has put out so many albums it’s hard to keep up. He has released 13 albums in this century alone, none of which I’d number among his very best.
But that run of albums does include some solid work, including the country rock song cycle The Delivery Man.
Continuing my look at 2004, first by counting down my own top ten albums of that year.
#8 – Ron Sexsmith – Retriever
I’ve given Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith a bit of a hard time over his consistency and productivity.
He’s been putting out a solid album every year or two for 30 years, an enviable track record for any artist. But there’s a sameness to his style that makes all of those albums run together after awhile.
Continuing my look at 2004, first by counting down my own top ten albums of that year.
#9 – Keane – Hopes and Fears
The best debut albums are cooked up over time, assembling the best material from a young band’s formative years into a definitive opening statement.
Such was the case with Keane’s Hopes and Fears. The English alt-rock band formed in 1997 and played live shows in London for years, growing in popularity and eventually benefitting from a bidding war among major labels eager to sign them. They joined Island Records in 2003 and began working on this record, with many of its best tracks already in hand.
It’s time for another installment of the Decades series, wherein I write about the albums released in a given year across multiple decades. I’ve been on the 4s, having covered 1974, 1984 and 1994 so far. Which brings us to 2004.
I find I’m usually disappointed once I get to the first decade of the new millennium. My personal taste starts to veer away from the critical consensus. And indeed, almost none of the albums I picked as my ten favorite from this year showed up on lists of critic’s darlings.
Meet Me In Montauk 