Top40: The Best of 2009

Top40-Charts presents the 40 best albums of 2009

31. Crazy Love - Michael Buble
Michael Buble's smooth Sinatra-style singing has taken him to worldwide success! The old-time saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" may apply to traditional pop crooner Michael Buble. Indeed, Michael Buble's albums have remained conservative, maintaining the sanctity of classic standards and pop songs. 2009's follow-up 2007's extremely successful Call Me Irresponsible does maintain a sense of classicism that has come to define Buble, but there are some risks taken this go around. Sure, he doesn't ruin or over interpret the classics, but as far as arrangements, orchestrations, and vocal nuances, Buble keeps the classics 'fresh' while also keeping them 'classic.' The album is perfect, it is consistent and bodes well to keep Buble's career afloat.
Opening with "Cry Me A River", instantly, one hears that Buble wishes to exploit a slightly more adventurous side without 'rocking the boat' too much. The orchestrations here are different but brilliant and add just the right amount of change without ruining the sanctity of the classic standard. Buble, as always sounds top-rate as a vocalist.
Perhaps most unique is "Haven't Met You Yet", which most likely will received mixed reactions from Buble fans. We think it is a departure for Buble and lays well, though it doesn't necessarily trump Buble's beautiful interpretations of standards and classic pop songs! "All I Do Is Dream of You" continues to differentiate from previous Buble album. It does so convincingly, given a soulful-sound that hearkens the 1950s.
"Hold On" proves to be a clear valedictory performance on Crazy Love, finding Buble at his most sensitive and best. The acoustic guitar here at the forefront gives this track more a modern pop tinge as opposed to hearkening back to classic pop. The strings are beautiful orchestrated here. "At This Moment" finds Michael Buble among the bluesiest I've ever heard. Produced by the phenomenal pop producer David Foster, it is a showstopping performance by all means.
The album closes strongly with "Stardust" and "Whatever It Takes (feat.Ron Sexsmith)". Neither tracks captivate the way that "Cry Me A River", "Georgia" or some of the 'best of the best do', but both are solid and above par.
If you really want Michael singing the standards with the big orchestra this album might not be to your taste. But for those who appreciate the true talent Michael Buble has it will be lots of fun to go on this new venture with him. Michael is just a great performer. He handles the standards and newer music with ease. Puts his own spin on them but doesn't ruin them for those that stand by the originals. Easy listening, brightens up the day, you want to sing along.
'Crazy Love' is another great album with a mix of standards and new material from Michael Buble. If you're too young to appreciate the arrangements and orchestration, give this album to your parents. They'll love it!

32. Stop & Listen - Bethany Dillon
Bethany Dillon's Sparrow Records debut stood out, because at only 14, she was a serious writer and artist creating her own material mature beyond her years, with an authenticity of expression and an ability to own the emotion in her music. Similar to Amy Grant and Rebecca St. James, Bethany has grown up as an accomplished artist in music. Bethany is now 21 and married to Shane Barnard of the group Shane & Shane. "Stop & Listen" is her newest studio album.
Bethany Dillon has built quite the resume over the last several years taking fans with her on the journey and gaining new fans every step of the way, but all along delivering songs that not only encourage and inspire, but deal with real spiritual truths in her life and the listeners'. Bethany Dillon has always remained core to writing songs with lyrical and spiritual depth that incorporate catchy hooks radio airwaves and car stereos love.
Bethany's ability to put the words of the bible to song is truly a gift and the melodies and messages of "Stop & Listen" are all catchy and convicting. My favorites are "Get Up And Walk", "Everyone To Know", "Stop & Listen", "Reach Out" and "Deliver Me". If you like piano-based music like Ginny Owens, Meredith Andrews and Nichole Nordeman, then you must check out Bethany Dillon.
Bethany's highly anticipated new studio album Stop & Listen delivers what fans know and love about Bethany while also taking her craft to a new level both lyrically and sonically. Stop & Listen is sure to be one of 2009's best.

33. Hazards Of Love - Decemberists
The Decemberists' The Hazards Of Love, is the follow-up to the group's 2006 breakthrough, The Crane Wife, which NPR listeners voted their favorite album of the year. With their fifth full-length album, the Portland-based quintet of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen solidifies its standing as one of the most innovative creative forces in music today.
In an age when singles rule and the death of the album has been pronounced by many, The Decemberists have fashioned an anomaly: a record that demands to be listened to from start to finish and reveals more with each subsequent play. The 17-song suite, recorded with the band's longtime producer, Tucker Martine, is rooted in ancient language and imagery, yet entirely modern and accessible.
The album began when Meloy - long fascinated by the British folk revival of the 1960s - found a copy of revered vocalist Anne Briggs's 1966 EP, titled The Hazards of Love. Since there was actually no song with the album's title, he set out to write one. Soon he was immersed in something much larger than just a new composition.
The Hazards Of Love tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake, who recounts with spine-tingling ease how he came "to be living so easy and free." Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden deliver the lead vocals for the female characters, while My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Robyn Hitchcock and the Spinanes' Rebecca Gates appear in supporting roles. The range of sounds reflects the characters' arcs, from the accordion's singsong lilt in "Isn't it a Lovely Night?" to the heavy metal thunder of "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing."

34. Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future - Bird And The Bee
Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future is definitely new sonic terrain for the Los Angeles-based duo, The Bird & The Bee. Every bit as beguiling as their debut, the album retains its predecessor's lithe melodies and Brazilian influences, but takes its stylish, '60s pop deeper into the psychedelic period of the Tropicalia era.
Our favorite track of this album is "Meteor." Listening to the opening verse, we were confident this track was going to be the low point of the album. Then, suddenly, the chorus kicks in and all the pieces of the song unexpectedly fit together in a very lush, creamy sort of way. We can't think of any other way to describe it. "What's in the Middle" is another great tune with a very interesting melody, "Love Letter to Japan" is a small tribute to bubblegum J-Pop (and a fun video if you get the chance to see it), and "You're a Cad" has a theatrical flair to it replete with major and minor chords that seem to do-si-do around each other. The other tunes on this album are deserving of similar praise! (By the way, it is true that 2 songs on this album have previously been released).
It's easy to get tired of songs on mainstream radio that sound pretty, but end up being the same old thing and are forgettable after a month or two (and aim to please 98% of radio listeners). Groups like The Bird and the Bee, The Ditty Bops, The Divine Comedy, and Air, are the ones I cherish because they offer something different. Most importantly, their melodies are hummable long after you've hit stop on your CD/MP3 player!

35. Fearless Platinum Edition - Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is an American country music singer/songwriter who acheived platinum-selling success while she was still only 17. Her debut album Taylor Swift (2006) has generated three Top 10 singles. By 2007 she was the youngest person to win the Nashville Songwriters Association's Songwriter of the Year Award.
After the success of Fearless, Taylor Swift and her label decided to re-release it. With some re-releases, you get shoddy remixes or re-toolings of the big hits, perhaps an acoustic version or two and a live track. Not so with the platinum edition. This is more of an extended version of the original album than the simple run-of-the-mill repackaged original version. The platinum edition has five entirely new tracks, plus a piano/acoustic version of the original release's "Forever and Always".
What makes the new tracks and re-release worth purchasing is that you're definitely getting an improved and superior version of 'Fearless'; the new tracks are mixed in with the originals and you can't really tell that they were produced any differently than the original tracks. They are of the same quality and caliber, enhancing the experience of listening to Taylor Swift. They aren't much different from the originals; these new songs are mostly about young love, ambivalence, optimism (even in the face of heartache or tarnished relationships).
This isn't the typical 'country' music many are familiar with. Taylor Swift, having written most of the songs herself, brings a lot of her personal experiences and reflections into the music and the songs feel more authentic. While she's in the genre of country there's also a heavy presence of pop running throughout the tracks.
In the end, if you haven't purchased 'Fearless' yet, this is the edition to get. Even so, the new tracks and the DVD with the music videos together account for a mini EP and is worth purchasing.
Listen to These: "Come In With the Rain", "Forever and Always" (Piano Version), "You're Not Sorry"

36. Bernstein, L.: Mass - Marin Alsop
10/10 - Artistic Quality & Sound Quality: Leonard Bernstein's own version bettered? Yes, indeed! This is, handily, the best sung, best played, most intelligently interpreted recording of Mass currently available. Of course, Bernstein's rendition always will have sterling qualities, including some wonderful solo singers with really characterful 'pop' and Broadway voices, but for its sheer musical integrity combined with the advantage of the composer's final revisions to the score, this version is unbeatable. Jubilant Sykes, as the Celebrant, easily outclasses Alan Titus' very fine premiere recording of the role. His voice has more edge; he's more at ease with the various pop idioms; he sounds radiant at the work's opening and grows increasingly desperate as it proceeds. This only serves to make his climactic breakdown tragically believable.
The various street singers are, one and all, terrific. 'God Said' becomes the work's comic climax, which is as it should be. 'I believe in God', 'Confession', 'World Without End', and 'Thank You' are both idiomatic and beautifully sung. The children's choir sounds luminous in the Sanctus, while the adult chorus, from Morgan State University, sings with gusto as well as immaculate diction, with every word clearly comprehensible. Marin Alsop knits the whole ensemble together with infallible insight and verve. Her tempos, a bit different from Bernstein's, quicker here ('God Said'), a touch slower there (the wild dance in the Offertory), are no less right.
Listening again to Mass, we found myself growing more and more squeamish. This mishmash of religious kitsch and Broadway has lowered my estimation of Bernstein more than any other single thing in his career. It's all fabulously recorded with a glittering impact that never turns unduly aggressive. The multi-textural layering in the climactic Dona Nobis Pacem comes across as both musically and physically overwhelming. Mass has its detractors, but when performed with this kind of conviction the piece can be inexpressibly moving. Alsop never has made a finer recording - it's both a tribute to her mentor Leonard Bernstein, as well as to her exceptional talent as an exponent of his music.

37. The XX - The XX
2009 debut album from the London-based quartet who combine beautiful, hushed vocal duets and a brilliantly inventive use of samples and low-end frequencies to produce stark, sweet melancholic Pop.
Comprising Jamie Smith, Baria Qureshi, Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft, The xx came to prominence with their gorgeous 'Crystallized' single from earlier in the year. The song was possibly the best dueling boy/girl vocal track since... 'Nothing Better' by The Postal Service? 'No Hope For Us' by Arab Strap? Not like we're keen on hyperbole or anything, but The Big Pink and Micachu and the Shapes have both taken the band on tour with them, so they clearly share our excitement over this lot.
From the opening INTRO through to the closing STARS, every song is a highlight and flows perfectly into the next one. Languid guitars, spare beats and casual, conversational tag team male-female vocals created a dreamlike sound with plenty of space and emotion. I'm cueing it up for another listen. Very highly recommended.

38. Townes - Steve Earle
Steve Earle's recent release of covers of some Townes Van Zandt's most popular songs is an excellent piece of work. We think that Townes would approve. Listening to any of that newer group of Texas outlaws e.g. Steve Earle, Guy Clark, etc., doing any of Townes' "stuff" is almost like hearing a new gem from this dead too young Texas poet.
Most folks are familiar with PANCHO AND LEFTY, but much of Townes' music is less well known and those unfamiliar with said music are missing a gift. Van Zandt's work combines some well crafted poetry with heart touching melodies that are just right for listening to whilst sitting around the fire place with a cuppla' fingers of I.W. Harper and maybe your wife or a group of other good friends.
Steve Earle was a good choice of artist to lend his earthy baritone voice and guitar work to this CD. REAR VIEW MIRROR, our most played Van Zandt offering, is now joined by TOWNES and they shuffle along together rather nicely. Steve got this one just about right. The album is making us happy up here and with winter coming, we are sure that we'll have many a pleasant evening, swapping stories with friends while TOWNES supplies the background music. We highly recommend the album 'TOWNES, without qualification.

39. So Far Gone - Drake
Drake is one of the more talented young rappers to come along and you better believe the hype machine was in full effect. It's not unwarranted though since Drake has the talent and the songs to back up his hype. So Far Gone EP is nothing new however it gives fans a chance to own a real copy (or half copy at least) of one of the best mixtapes released in 2009.
The song that defined the summer appears here and for those not in the loop it's BEST I EVER HAD. SUCCESSFUL is also on here in it's original glory (even though Trey Songz had to jack that for his album).
The hit single Best I Ever Had is just thrilling.
Along with songs such as 'Successful', and 'Uptown' its a must have mix tape. With so much buzz around Drake its hard to not know who he is.
His last mix tape, Room for Improvement was just an introduction to So Far Gone and Drake himself. The other songs are top notch as well which is why the EP has earned 5 stars.

40. Primary Colours - Horrors
It is always the same old story: your band's picture appears on the cover of NME and your fifteen minutes of fame turn into twelve, or less. Was not a surprise the reluctance of critics and audiences in welcoming the b-film inspired aesthetic of The Horrors when they stormed London with their particular names and looks and those infamous short lasting shows; after all they had been hailed as the next big thing even before their record was released and counting only on short gigs and the buzz in town.
The Horrors self-titled debut EP was a guttural collection of garage rock that provided an interesting paving path for what was to come. Songs like Jack the ripper (a Screaming Lord Sutch's cover) and Sheena is a parasite put them on the music map.
For the follow-up they recruited producers Craig Silvey, Geoff Barrow of Portishead and Chris Cunningham. Gone were the outrageous outfits and the attention given to their outer form and in was the effort to giving birth to a signature, more elaborate sound.
With a voice that reminds us sometimes of Ian Curtis and some others of a living zombie (isn't that what he is going for?) singer Faris Badwan manages to plunge confidently through forty-five minutes that beat all skepticism about the band's lasting quality. Primary Colours proves that The Horrors are a band beyond the makeup and the pages of the British pamphlets. A look at the first obvious clues, the new videos and the cover art, should be a hint.
They have achieved a cohesive sound without resorting to filling noise or yells; one can even understand the lyrics and enjoy the music without a flinch for the good reasons. They have admitted to the limitations of the genre they chose as a starting point and risked in turning it around for their benefit. Not to say that they have conquered yet but it is certainly a big step ahead and that is always a good thing.

The best of the best for 2009 without music frontiers:

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