“In the End”

While it’s been a great year for vinyl releases, it has been a rough year for the national social fabric. In recognition of the Orwellian existence the nation finds itself in, this year’s list attempts to correct history as needed. And for those who have not read George Orwell’s “1984,” please do so or that fabric is only going to unravel more and more!

10. Brittany Howard: “Jaime”

Brittany Howard, a Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist for Alabama Shakes, decided that she had a lot of “things” she had to deal with. She told her fellow Shakes that they were going to sit this one out. The album is dedicated and named for her sister, who died from retinoblastoma as a teen. From the opening track, “History Repeats,” things get personal. Nothing quite prepares the listener for the first time through “Goat Head,” a song about the horrors of blatant racism toward a family with a black father and white mother from the perspective of their young daughter. This is the album to play when you want to “feel” something.

9. Samantha Fish: “Kill or Be Kind”

Samantha Fish has been showcasing her blues-infused guitar-slinger skills for a decade-plus, first with the Girls With Guitars tours and then with the Samantha Fish Band. On her sixth album, “Kill or Be Kind,” she proves her songwriting prowess is in full effect as well. The title track opens with “Back before I was a home wrecker, I was a goodie, good, good girl … make up your mind, I can kill or be kind” — making clear she’s tired of being messed with. The rest of the album is 10 more of a similar vein. None disappoint. A great party record.

8. Meat Puppets: “Dusty Notes”

Arizona’s Meat Puppets have finally crafted the album they have been threatening since the early 1980s. “Dusty Notes” finds their unique blend of psychedelic, sun-baked country/pop at its twisted best. The album would be equally at home on country, pop, or classic rock radio. Original members brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood, and drummer Derrick Bostrom, are all back and sound energized. The Puppets get extra credit for always releasing high-quality, creatively colored vinyl.

7. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: “Ghosteen”

Who would have thought back in 1980 the singer for The Birthday Party would have a massively prolific recording and touring career for the next 40 years? Not only did he accomplish just that, along the way he became the patron saint of darkly elegant rock ‘n’ roll. On “Ghosteen,” the first album written entirely since the death of his teenage son, Arthur, he deals with death, grief and despair in a unique way. The album is split in two. The first LP is eight shorter songs Nick refers to as “the children” and LP 2 is two very long songs with a spoken word piece in the middle referred to as “the parents.” When heard it all makes perfect sense. Here is the “real” St. Nick!

6. Creedence Clearwater Revival: “Live at Woodstock”

People often forget that CCR were among the headliners of the famous festival that celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. The powers that be finally relented and allowed the entire set released. As the first track, “Born on the Bayou,” begins, the sound is awful; sounding like a poor quality bootleg. John Fogerty noticeably yells at the sound technician. The second track, “Green River,” sounds much, much better. And the sound keeps getting better throughout. The separation of the four band members is particularly sharp. Never before has Tom Forgerty’s rhythm playing been given such focus. It’s blatantly obvious in the silence between songs that the relationship between the four had begun to fray. But when they played it was magic. The two final tracks, “Keep On Chooglin” and “Suzie Q,” each clocking in at 10 minutes-plus, remind why chooglin was important in the first place.

5. Mavis Staples: “We Get By”

Mavis Staples decided to celebrate her 80th birthday in 2019 by going on tour in Europe. She had such a good time and the band was so hot that she immediately got them all in the studio, and gave each co-producer credit on the entire album. Ben Harper wrote all of the songs and produces, but other than one duet with Mavis, he stays out of their way. Smart move on his part because they ended up with what rivals any of her solo releases as her best yet. The album cover, a Gordon Parks photo from 1956, entitled “Outside Looking In,” is a social commentary all its own.

4. Marvin Gaye: “You’re the Man”

Ever wonder how Marvin Gaye got from 1971’s social and environmental masterpiece “What’s Going On” to the smooth crooning of 1973’s “Let’s Get It On” in just two years? “You’re The Man” is the album that was meant to be the follow-up to “What’s Going On.” The title track was released in 1972 and, not pleased with initial results, Gaye pulled the project, never to touch it again. Marvin was not known for making good decisions and that was one. The estate has remastered the original tapes and added a few nuggets. The songs from the original sessions have that same supple groove that “What’s Going On” had throughout. There are two versions of the title track, one released as a single and an alternate version that suggests that Marvin thought the best man to be U.S. president is a woman. A few odds and ends were tacked on to make a more complete package, but it’s the core songs that make up that long lost album which make this such a significant release.

3. Mercury Rev: “The Delta Sweete Revisted”

Out of nowhere in 1967 Bobbie Gentry released “Ode to Billie Joe” as her very first album. The title track was a huge hit. In 1968, she released her second album, “The Delta Sweete,” which was avant-country for the time and sounded nothing like her “hit.” The album was a commercial failure, her career never saw the heights gained from that first album, and by 1981 she had retired from music completely. The music buying public doesn’t always see greatness the first time exposed to it. Alternative rock band Mercury Rev recruited a number of female vocalists to revisit that album, including Norah Jones, Hope Sandoval, Rachel Goswell, Margo Price and Beth Orton, to set the record straight. Every single vocalist nailed their performance. The incomparable Lucinda Williams closes the album with a weathered cover of “Ode to Billie Joe” as an homage to what Ms. Gentry might sound like today if things had gone differently way back when.

2. The Cranberries: “In the End”

The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan had a singular voice. Her vocals made the band’s songs instantly recognizable. At the time of her death in 2018 she had recorded an album’s worth of songs in vocal demo form. The remaining Cranberries knew how excited Dolores had been about the new music that they felt they owed it to her to complete the songs for official release and ultimately put a formal end to the band. They must have loved her greatly, based on the magical farewell they have created. So sad that they’ll never be able to share these songs with their fans live. “Wake Me When It’s Over” will be especially bittersweet for hardcore fans — they’ll want to sing along until they realize Dolores will never wake again. If you’ve never really gotten into the Cranberries before, this is actually a good place to start. If you’re already a fan, you have to hear this record.

1. Black Mountain: “Destroyer”

The sound of freedom and the open road. The sound of classic Mopar-powered muscle thundering down the highway. It’s also the sound and energy that pervades Vancouver, B.C.’s Black Mountain’s 2019 fifth album, “Destroyer.” The album’s title and theme circles around the fact that Black Mountain’s Stephen McBean, for whatever reason, didn’t feel the need to obtain a driver’s license until his mid-40s. A driver’s license equates independence for most. “Destroyer” is named after an ‘80s single-run Dodge muscle car, and the sound contained therein gives off the same sense of freedom as one feels the first time they legally rip down the road. The music on “Destroyer” gives off that same self-powered energy. It might be easier to clarify what they don’t sound like rather than attempt to classify. What they accomplish in the format of a traditional band, by recognizing all of their influences openly, is to create music that is more futuristic-sounding than any progressive or post-rock artist today. Jeremy Schmidt deserves merit for use of the vocoder and making it actually sound musical. If Yoko Ono were to describe their sound she would simply call it “Yes.” Like all great “albums,” it can be enjoyed in any situation; but it’s great for rockin’ down the highway.