Employee Top 10's for 2016
CORBY
1. Oranssi Pazuzu -"VARAHTELIJA"(20 Buck Spin)
2. Pentagram Home Video -"WHO'S OUT THERE" (Death Waltz)
3. Contact -"ZERO MOMENT" (Temporary Residence)
4. Driftmachine -"COLLIDING CONTOURS" (Umor Rex)
5. Circle -"PHARAOH OVERLORD" (Ektro/Full Contact)
6. Pharaoh Overlord -"CIRCLE" (Ektro/Full Contact)
7. Bensiini -"R" (Ektro/Full Contact)
8. Zun -"BURIAL SUNRISE" (Small Stone)
9. Necro Deathmort -"CAPSULE" (Rocket Recordings)
10. Soundtrack -"STRANGER THINGS V1 & V2" (Lakeshore Records)
LIBBY
Bon Iver - 22, A Million
Alex Cameron - Jumping the Shark
Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial
Lucy Dacus - No Burden
DIIV - Is the Is Are
IAN SWEET - Shapeshifter
Japanese Breakfast - Psychopomp
Kal Marks - Life Is Alright, Everybody Dies
LVL UP - Return to Love
Mal Devisa - Kiid
Mitski - Puberty 2
Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
Mothers - When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired
Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits
Angel Olsen - My Woman
Parquet Courts - Human Performance
Porches - Pool
Sad13 - Slugger
Sheer Mag - III
Whitney - Light Upon the Lake
LINDSEY
1. Pj Harvey: The Hope Six Demolition Project
2. Nicolas Jaar: Sirens
3. Solange: A Seat at the Table
4. Kevin Morby: Singing Saw
5. Cate Le Bon: Crab Day
6. Jenny Hval: Blood Bitch
7. Quilt: Plaza
8. Underworld: barbara barbara, we face a shining future
9. Silver Apples: Clinging to a Dream
10. Thee Oh Sees: A Weird Exits
11. Badbadnotgood: IV
12. Steve Gunn: Eyes on the Lines
13. The Avalanches: Wildflower
14. A Tribe Called Quest: We Got it From Here... Thank You For Your Service
Best of RIP 2016:
1. David Bowie: Blackstar
2. Leonard Cohen: You Want It Darker
Best New Local Albums:
1. The Well: Pagan Science
2. Tele Novella: House of Souls
3. A Giant Dog: Pile
Best of Reissues
1. Suicide S/T
2. Angelo Badalamenti: Twin Peaks OST
3. Phillip Glass: The Complete Sony Recordings
4. Rachel's: Systems/Layers
5. Bruce Haak: The Electric Lucifer
6. The Chills: Kaleidoscope World
7. The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World
8. Vivien Goldman: Resolutionary
KESEY
1. Blind Owl Wilson-S/T, Mississippi Records
2. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam - I Had A Dream
3. Girl Band- Holding Hands With Jamie
4. Suicide- Dream Baby Dream 7" (RSD 2016)
5. Aldo Ciccolini Erik Satie Gymnopedies (RSD 2016)
EDMUND
Kevin Morby – Singing Saw
Survive – RR7349
Preoccupations – Preoccupations
Mantar – Ode To The Flame
John Carpenter – Lost Themes II
Angelo Badalamenti – Twin Peaks
VA – Can’t You Hear Me? 70's African Nuggets & Garage Rock from Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Angel Olson – My Woman
Jared Leibowich – Welcome Late Bloomers
A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here
Monster Squad OST – Bruce Broughton
Money Chicha - Echo En Mexico
Shockwaves
ROOFS
PAUL V
A Tribe Called Quest
Angel Olsen
Cactus Blossoms
Solange
Goggs
James Arthur’s Manhunt
Kevin Morby
Parquet Courts
Tele Novella
Thee Oh Sees
PATRICK
Jared Leibowich- Welcome Late Bloomers
Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes - S/T
Adam Torres - Pearls to Swine
Bon Iver - 22, A Million
Dennis Callaci "A Bed of Light"
Honey & Salt - Seams of Value
The Well - Pagan Science
Joe Henry & Billy Bragg - Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad
Terry Allen re-issues Juarez & Lubbock (On Everything)
CHIP
imarhan - imarhan
m. craft - blood moon
john carpenter - lost themes 2
radiohead - moon shaped pool
sei a - space in your mind
adult karate - LXII
factory floor - 25 25
david bowie - blackstar
jack white - acoustic recordings
king creosote - astronaut meet appleman
machinedrum - human energy
the well - pagan science
Trentemøller - fixion
zombie zombie - slow futur
minor victories – minor victories
young magic - still life
audion - alpha
kuedo - slow knife
mr oizo - all wet
haelos - full circle
BEST REISSUES for 2016
adam ant - kings of the wild frontier - deluxe
chapterhouse - whirlpool - expanded
grace jones - warm leatherette - deluxe
go go's - beauty and the beat - deluxe
manic street preachers - everything must go - deluxe
oasis reissues (all of them - duh)
bluetones - expecting to fly - deluxe
verve - a northern soul - deluxe
verve - storm in heaven - deluxe
david bowie - who can i be now boxset
death in vegas - dead elvis - deluxe
marion - world and body - deluxe
simple minds - new gold dream - deluxe
my morning jacket - it still moves - deluxe
devo - ez listening music
BEST COMPILATIONS for 2016
Betty Davis - Columbia Years
Air - Twentyears
va - bbc radiophonic workshop 21
c87
sharon signs to cherry red
close to the noise floor
Still in a dream - the story of shoegaze
BEST VINYL SOUNDTRACKS for 2016
Stranger Things - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (LAKESHORE)
The Fountain - Clint Mansell Performed By Kronos Quartet & Mogwai (MONDO)
Daredevil - Season One - John Paesano (MONDO
Prometheus - Marc Streitenfeld (MONDO)
Planet Of The Apes - Jerry Goldsmith (MONDO)
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan - James Horner (MONDO)
Fight Club - The Dust Brothers (MONDO)
Mad Monster Party - Maury Laws / Jules Bass (WAXWORK)
Salem's Lot - Harry Sukman (WAXWORK)
Altered States - John Corigliano (WAXWORK)
The Warriors - VA (WAXWORK)
TOP BLU RAY RELEASES for 2016
Hammer horror Collection
Salem's lot
Return of the living dead (SHOUT FACTORY)
Crimes of passion (ARROW)
Enemy mine (UMBRELLA)
Village of the damned (1995) (SHOUT FACTORY)
Deadpool
Sole Survivor (MEDIUMRARE)
Alien Nation (UMBRELLA)
Bride of Re-Animator (ARROW)
Spectre 007
Time After Time (WARNER ARCHIVE)
Star Wars The Force Awakens
The Thing (SHOUT FACTORY)
The In-laws (CRITERION)
Complete Lady Snowblood (CRITERION)
Captain America : Civil War
Star Trek Beyond
Lone Wolf and Cub (CRITERION)
Cat People (CRITERION)
PABLO
Xylouris White "Black Peak"
Wolves in the Throne Room "Diadem of 12 Stars" Reissue
Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions "Until the Hunter"
Oranssi Pazuzu "Värähtelij"
Loscil "Monument Builders"
Manuel Göttsching "E2-E4"
Day Wave "Headcase/Hard To Read"
DIIV "Is The Is Are"
Leonard Cohen "You Want It Darker"
Cepheide "Respire"
Oren Ambarchi "Hubris"
ALICIA
The Felice Brothers - Life in the Dark
Angel Olsen - My Woman
Parquet Courts - Human Performance
Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
Big Thief - Masterpiece
Cate Le Bon - Crab Day
The Felice Brothers @ Sidewinder
Guided By Voices @ Mohawk
Sheer Mag @ Barracuda
LCD Soundsystem @ ACL
Big Huge @ Hotel Vegas
CHAD
1. David Bowie - Blackstar
2. Willie Nelson - Tribute to Ray Price
3. Oscar - Cut and Paste
4. Lush - Out of Control
5. The Jazz Butcher - Last of the Gentlemen Adventurers
6. The Well - Pagan Science
7. Cheap Trick - Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello
8. The Monkees - Good Times
9. Scott Walker - Soundtrack to Childhood of a Leader
10. Brain Tentacles - S/T
11. Imperial State Electric - All Through the Night
12. Public Access T.V. - Never Enough
13. Toy - Clear Shot
14. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
15. Suede - Night Thoughts
16. Exploded View - Exploded View
17. Jenny Hval - Blood Bitch
18. Tele Novella - House of Souls
19. Lady Gaga - Joanne
20. Tucker A&M Perry Foundation - EP
21. This Cold Night - Enigmatic Individual
JOHN T KUNZ
2016 Faves
(In No Particular Order)
A Dozen From Around the Corner, and A Dozen From Around the World
Alejandro Escovedo - Burn Something Beautiful
Norah Jones - Day Breaks
Hayes Carll - Lovers and Leavers
Bonnie Bishop - Ain't Who I Was
Carrie Rodriguez - Lola
Jeff Plankenhorn - Soul Slide
Jack Ingram - Midnight Motel
Eric Johnson - EJ
Nina Diaz - The Beat Is Dead
Amanda Shires - My Piece of Land
Johnny Nicholas - Fresh Air
Soundtrack - Stranger Things V1
Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker
Corinne Bailey Ray - The Heart Speaks in Whispers
Sturgill Simpson - A Sailors Guide to Earth
Jack DeJohnette/Ravi Coltrane/Matthew Garrison - In Movement
David Bowie - Blackstar
Bombino - Azel
Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter
Ben Harper - Call It What It Is
Allen Toussaint - American Tunes
Angel Olson - My Woman
Jack White - Jack White Acoustic
JONATHAN HORNE
10 Favorite Records of 2016 (All Made By People I Love and Admire)
Nels Cline-Lovers
Chris Cohen-As If Apart
Dietrich & Barnes-The Coral Casino
Dikeman/Parker/Drake-Live At La Resistenza
Health and Beauty-No Scare
Joe McPhee-(Zurich 1979)
Jeff Parker-The New Breed
The Thing-Shake
Thor and Friends
Tucker A&M Perry Foundation
KANA
Best album (chronologically by release date)
Eliot Sumner - Information (Island Records)
Eleanor Friedburger - New View (French Kiss)
Savages - Adore Life (Matador)
Spray Paint - Feel the Clamps (Goner)
Male Gaze - King Leer (Castle Face Records)
Mitski - Puberty 2 (Dead Oceans)
Nice As Fuck - Nice as Fuck (Love's Way)
Solange - A Seat At The Table
Tyvek - Origin of What (In The Red)
Body/Head - No Waves (Matador)
Best Austin band releases:
Carl Sagan's Skate Shoes - Carl Sagan's Skate Shoes (Super Secret Records)
Borzoi - Borzoi (self-released)
Super Thief - Dump Sink EP (self-released)
V/A - Dillo Milk #2 Compilation (Dillo Milk Records)
BILL
David Bowie Blackstar
Emmit Rhodes Rainbow Ends
Monkees Good Times
Nick Cave Skeleton Tree
Neil Young Earth
Doug Tuttle It Calls On Me
Leonard Cohen You Want It Darker
Stranger Things soundtrack
Gardenella self titled (cassette only release)
best show: Desert Trip!
KEN
Albums
Africans With Mainframes - K.M.T.
David Bowie - Blackstar
Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
Ital Tek - Hollowed
Nicolas Jaar - Sirens
KAYTRANADA - 99.9%
Roly Porter - Third Law
The Radio Dept. - Running out of Love
Shura - Nothing's Real
A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service
Underworld - Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future
Adrian Younge - The Electronique Void
Reissues/Compilations
Various Artists - Afterschool Special: The 123s of Kid Soul
Various Artists - Boombox 1 - Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro & Disco Rap 1979-82
Various Artists - Cosmic Machine - The Sequel
Various Artists - DJ Format's Psych Out
Various Artists - DJ Kicks - Dâm-Funk
Various Artists - Eccentric Soul: Sitting in the Park
Various Artists - Genius of Time: Larry Levan
Various Artists - Senegal 70
Various Artists - Still in a Dream: A Story of Shoegaze 1988-1995
Neil Young - Time Fades Away
DC’s Delights 2016
Death Grips "Bottomless Pit"
M.I.A. "Aim"
Yoni & Geti (Yoni Wolf with Serengeti) "Testarossa"
Sleigh Bells "Jessica Rabbit"
Tycho "Awake Remixes"
Antwon "Double Ecstasy"
Dosh & Ghostband "Def Kith II: The Price is Ill"
Russian Circles "Guidance"
A Tribe Called Quest "We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service"
Tachyon Ghetto Blaster "Heaven On Earth"
Andy The Doorbum & Justin Aswell "Intent"
Factor Chandelier "Factoria"
Onry Ozzborn "Duo Cd"
Bluebird "Lauderdale"
NICO
Frightnrs - "Nothing more to Say"
Maku Soundsystem - "Mezcla"
Money Chicha - "Echo en Mexico"
Systema Solar - "Systema Solar
Grimy Styles - "Disteria"
Charles Bradley - "Changes"
Bareto - "Impredecible"
A Tribe Called Quest - "We got it from here..."
Hardproof - "Public Hi-Fi Sessions #3
Various Artists - "Palenque Records Afro Colombian Remix
JAY
Justice - Woman
Crown Court - Capital Offence
De La Soul - ... And The Anonymous Nobody
Lee Fields & the Expressions - Special Night
Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered.
The Avalanches - Wildflower
Ocote Soul Sounds - Coconut Rock
A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here...
Charles Bradley - Changes
Money Chicha - Echo En Mexico
PAUL B
Blood Orange - Freetown Sound
Moderat - III
La Sera - Music for Listening to Music to
Solange - A Seat at the Table
Witch - Movin' On
Survive - RR7349
Pet Shop Boys - Super
Tele Novella - House of Souls
Dawn Richard (DAWN) - Redemption
Chance the Rapper - Coloring BooK
De La Soul - & The Anonymous Nobody
PAUL M
1. Gate “Saturday Night Fever” LP
2. Cate Le Bon “Crab Day” LP/CD
3. Various/Library of Sound Grooves “Erotic Variations and Bossa Moods” LP
4. VA-Dust to Digital “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten” LP
5. VA-Sublime Frequencies “Cambodian Cassette Archive” LP
6. Meridian Bros “Advenimiento” LP
7. Tim Presley “The Wink” LP/CD
8. Ennio Morricone “Vergogna Schifisi” LP
9. Ennio Morricone “Le Due Stagioni” LP
10. Manuel Gottsching “E2-E4” LP/CD
COREY
1. Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow
2. Alcest - Kodama
3. Devin Townsend - Transcendence
4. Ringo Deathstarr- Pure Mood
5. White Lies - Friends
6. School of Seven Bells- SVIIB
7.Pity Sex- White Hot Moon
8. Jesu/Sun Kil Moon- S/T
9. Lush - Blind Spot
10. True Widow- Avvolgere
CYNTHIA
A Giant Dog Pile
All Them Witches Lightning At The Door
Beyonce Lemonade
Bombino Azel
Bon Iver 22 A Million
Car Seat Headrest Teens of Denial
Leonard Cohen You Want It Darker
Cross Record Wabi-Sabi
Mitski Puberty 2
Margo Price Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
The Well Pagaen Science
Best Soundtracks
Stranger Things
Westworld
ANGEL
1. Apache- Alcatraz
2. Slick! S/T
3.David Bowie- Blackstar
4. A Tribe Called Quest- We got it from Here...Thank you for your service
5. The Well- Pagan Science
6.Part Time-Return to Cherry
7.Nalgadas- Quiubo
8.Iggy Pop-Post Pop Depression
JESSIE
Steve Gunn - Eyes on the Lines
The Well - Pagan Science
Angel Olson - My Woman
Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
Robert Ellis - Robert Ellis
Anderson. Paak - Malibu
John K. Samson - Winter Wheat
Roofs - Oh, Look At Us Go
Tribe Called Quest - We Got it From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service
Hell or High Water Soundtrack - Nick Cave Warren Ellis
And things from 2015 that I only just now discovered Boogarins - Manual - Cannot get enough of these guys. Great album. Also, Mad Max Fury Road.
KEVIN
Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered
Roofs - Oh Look at us Go
Preoccupations - S/T
Charles Bradley - Changes
Treehouse - Centre of Their World
Lee Fields - Special Night
The Well - Pagan Science
Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits
Parquet Courts - Human Performance
IAN
David Bowie "Black Star"
Dennis Callaci "A Bed of Light"
Bibio "A Mineral Love"
Radiohead "A Moon Shaped Pool"
The Avalanches "Wildflower"
Czarface "A Fistful of Peril"
Solange "A Seat at the Table"
El Guincho "Hiperasia"
J.G. Thirwell "The Music of The Venture Bros. vol. II"
Scott Walker "The Childhood of a Leader"
Kerrier District "1 & 2" (reissue)
"Boombox: Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro & Disco Rap 1979-82" (compilation)
RUSSELL'S FAVORITE 2016 RECORDINGS OF FOREGROUND MUSIC
BACH: French Suites (complete). Murray Perahia, piano. Deutsche Grammophon 02894796565 (2 CDs).
Every time I fear that Murray Perahia may have disappeared for good, he releases a new recording of Bach. But after roughly four decades with Columbia/Sony, Perahia is now partnered with DG, and I hope his next Bach recording will be The Well-Tempered Clavier in its entirety.
MACMILLAN: Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 4. Vadim Repin, violin; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Donald Runnicles, conductor. Onyx 4157 (88004041572).
It is my hope that James MacMillan (born 1959) will capture the attention of more U.S. orchestras because of this recording; the Violin Concerto deserves immediate championship, and the Symphony No. 4 is a major statement, for which the bigger market orchestras would likely find receptive audiences.
NORGARD: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 6. Oslo Philharmonic; John Stogards, conductor. Dacapo 6220645 (74731316456);
NORGARD: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5. Same performers as above. Dacapo 6220646 (74731316466).
Dacapo completes their recorded cycle of the eight symphonies of Per Norgard with these two releases, and are to be commended for having recorded dozens of Norgard's 400-plus works.
SCHNITTKE: Penitential Psalms; Three Sacred Hymns. RIAS Kammerchor; Hans-Christoph Rademann, conductor. Harmonia mundi 902225 (314902022252).
This latest recording of Schnittke's Penitential Psalms was based predominantly on the original manuscript instead of the published edition containing changes made to the score by composer Viktor Suslin; in any edition, it is an overwhelming experience.
SCHUBERT/SIBELIUS: String Quartet No. 14, "Death and the Maiden"; String Quartet, "Voces Intimae". Ehnes Quartet. Onyx 4163 (88004041632).
An inspired pairing of two indispensable string quartets--why the Sibelius is not performed and recorded far more often is a mystery to me.
TIPPETT: String Quartets Nos. 1-5. Heath Quartet. Wigmore Hall Live 0080/2 (506500092481) (2 CDs).
What I just wrote about Sibelius' "Voces Intimae" quartet also applies to the quartets of Michael Tippett, and while the long out-of-print recordings of these works by the Lindsay Quartet remain the benchmark the Heath Quartet bring revelations of their own.
BEST OF 2016 MATERIAL THAT FELL THROUGH THE CRACKS
WOLF: "Kennst du das Land?" (Lieder). Sophie Karthauser, soprano; Eugene Asti, piano. Harmonia mundi 902245 (314902022452).
Because this recording's scheduled release last April coincided with Harmonia mundi's change in distribution, it never saw the light of day in the U.S., which is more than frustrating because Wolf is wonderful, Sophie Karthauser is wonderful, and the CD has received stellar reviews. If Karthauser comes even close to challenging or matching Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in this repertoire, this will be a mandatory purchase.
REISSUE OF THE YEAR
Sviatoslav Richter: The Complete Album Collection: Live and Studio Recordings for RCA and Columbia. Sony 88843014702 (18 CDs).
This set includes (at last!) the CD debut of Richter's Carnegie Hall recitals from 1960 in improved sound, the original short-lived two-LP sets of which used to command up to $200 apiece from reasonable used record dealers roughly 25 years ago, and the accounts I have read from those who were in attendance spoke of the experience in life-changing terms.