Top 5 - Dan Aloi
1. Wilco, Summerteeth (Reprise). For all that they are - an American band in their first truly collaborative effort - and all that they are not. As in not afraid to explore new musical territory and challenge their fans' expectations, and not the great white hope of roots-rock/alt-country those fans wanted them to remain. Uncle Tupelo is dead, folks. Get over it. An occasional folk guitar or banjo part aside, Wilco's third album casts them as a pop band -- and one with a psychological dark side. A Beach Boys-inspired layered production and endless-summer vibe permeates the album, but it's only stark sunshine and metalflake paint throwing Jeff Tweedy's decidedly demented lyrics into relief. It's the feel-good bummer album of the year, with songs more than hinting at murder, domestic and substance abuse, and suicide. Keyboard/guitar player Jay Bennett channels the Beatles with backwards tape loops, Elvis Costello in "Pieholden Suite," and, with Tweedy singing "My Darling," a wasted John Lennon at the piano. Overall, Summerteeth is so compelling you'll listen again and again, and not just to spot the musical references.
2. Chris Cacavas & Junkyard Love, Dwarf Star (Innerstate). When he sings a love song to his guitar, he's an angelic sibling to Neil Young. He covers Matthew Sweet ("Someone to Pull the Trigger") and he likes rock'n'roll and Lyle Lovett ("I Like Lyle Lovett"). And his good taste extends to the rest of this sweet-sounding album, no pun intended. A onetime member of California country-rockers Green on Red, after that band folded Cacavas moved to Europe and released records there for some time. Now back in the States with his first domestic solo release in years, and with his sensitivity and devotion to seeking some pure emotional truth with a song, Dwarf Star should raise Cacavas' cult status considerably.
3. Van Morrison, Back on Top (Virgin). Self-important curmudgeon or Celtic saint? Whatever your opinion of Van Morrison, he has never failed to deliver one excellent album after another. Like a handful of other great 20th-century singers -- Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone -- he provides a benchmark of quality others are measured against. The title is an indication -- this is a return to early-'70s form as a set of spiritual and romantic ballads, carried by his soulful voice and inspired by classic gospel and R&B. It comes just in time to reassert his status, after a series of live albums, anthologies covering his work from Them to recent outtakes, and jazz recordings with Georgie Fame. Anyone put off by such subtle perceptions that the man is slipping can feel confident again that they're getting the Van they fell in love with, and in love to.
4. Fountains of Wayne, Utopia Parkway (Atlantic). A concept album -- remember them? -- all about growing up in suburbia, and living for the occasional escape from boredom among the cookie-cutter cul-de-sacs. Full of a '70s AM-radio vibe but firmly set in a never-never-land of the '80s, Utopia Parkway recalls, quite literally, the heady days of piling into a car to hit the mall or go to a Laser Floyd show, and pining away, contemplating doing anything -- even getting a tattoo -- to impress a girl. While the songs come mostly from Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger's experiences of growing up in western Massachusetts and the greater New York/tri-state area, almost anyone can relate. And the album is a hell of a lot more fun than you might remember your own teen-age years being.
5. Grand Drive, Road Music (Loose Recordings U.K.). All the way from England comes this slice of apple-pie Americana. Sweetly melodic and evocative, the songs of brothers Danny and Julian Wilson are unassuming but powerful, mournful but uplifting. Loaded with gospel piano and organ fills, acoustic and electric alt-country guitar parts and soaring harmonies, there are plenty of tasty sonic reference points for fans of The Basement Tapes, or the '90s works of Wilco, Son Volt and The Jayhawks. But rather than being merely derivative, Grand Drive excels with real songcraft, from the opening bars of "Tell It Like It Is" through the rest of Road Music's 11 original songs.
