Top 5 - Jon Steltenpohl
1) Ani DiFranco, Living in Clip (Righteous Babe). Living in Clip proves a truth that the music industry has forgotten: If you make excellent music, you'll sell records. Ani DiFranco has sold over 750,000 copies of her supercharged albums with limited air play and without a major label. Living in Clip is a fan's delight containing 2 CD's chock full of intense live tracks and a full color tour book. On the stage is where DiFranco shines, and Living in Clip never fails to deliver.
2) Frank Sinatra with the Red Norvo Quintet, Live in Australia, 1959 (Blue Note/Capitol). Your impression of Frank Sinatra might be of an aging crooner with ties to the mob, but this album unearths a younger, hipper Sinatra. (Norvo introduces him as their new "boy vocalist".) This is a jazzy, carefree Sinatra who makes funny quips and plays to the audience any chance he can get. A phenomenal recording.
3) The Devlins, Waiting (Radiouniverse). No sophomore slump here. Waiting is one of those moody, moving albums that manages to skirt the fine line between pop and alternative with ease. Touring with Sarah McLachlan got them producer Pierre Marchand and his friend Tom Lord-Alge. The end result is mesmerizing.
4) Madeleine Peyroux, Dreamland (Atlantic). Harry Connick Jr. proved that classic music never goes out of style, and Peyroux captures the same nostalgia. Dreamland is a brilliant collection of covers and originals in the style of Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith. Each song is a little gem.
5) "The Artist" (Prince), Emancipation (NPG Records/EMI-Capitol). Out of 3 bulging CD's, there's at least a CD and a half of incredible material on Emancipation. Prince, despite his indulgences (mainly love songs to Mayte), proves himself to still be one of the world's best producers and performers. A little judicious editing would have put a 2 CD Emancipation on the same level as Purple Rain or Sign o' the Times.
