Twenty for 2012: 16-20

20. Fiona Apple :: The Idler Wheel ...

It doesn't seem possible that it's been 16 years since Fiona Apple announced her presence to the world via a series of both stunning and controversial videos from her debut album Tidal. If you watched much MTV then and were forward enough to think about those type of things, you could be forgiven for believing Fiona Apple would end up being left to the Buzz Bin of history. She was talented for sure but there was something about a scantily clad Apple in the basement of a 70's tract house basement hosting a parent's party from hell that made it hard to believe she was built to last. Time has proven otherwise. In the decade and a half career that has followed Apple has shown herself to be both a careful and daring artist. Careful in that she takes her time. She is more than willing to sit out the cycles of fame in order to produce daring works of art. Four albums in and nary a bad album. Further she might have gone and written her best. As an album The Idler Wheel fills a hole in a genre that has been lacking for many years: the piano driven album. There are many explanations for its decline: Perhaps it is because touring with a piano in tow is cost prohibitive. Perhaps the instrument has just fallen out of favor. Perhaps it's a combination of reasons. I don't know. It's too bad. The piano is a wonderfully rich instrument capable of carrying so many themes and emotions which Apple does here with verve. She uses it to lay all her neuroses, quirks, and fears in one tight offering. It's visceral, raw, and unnerving. It's also a wholly satisfying, if not cathartic, affair.

19. Rose Thomas :: With Love

Although coincidental, it is fitting that Rosie Thomas follows Fiona Apple on this list. Like Apple, Rosie Thomas is reviving the piano album genre. Like Apple, she's a remarkably honest songwriter. You never have to guess what either of them are feeling at a given moment. They wear their heart on their sleeve for sure. Both are industry veterans who boast a steady (if sometimes slow) output of work. But that's where the similarities end. While Apple is claustrophobic and daunting, Thomas is spacious and free. Where Apple's music can come across as stylistically impenetrable and lyrically jaded, Thomas is sunny and optimistic. Ying and yang if you will. Although this may be counter-intuitive, I find Thomas who is the more daring of the two. I find our time to be one that has rewarded the dark and cynical. There is little risk in venting your anger and frustrations. It might even be expected. What is risky is making an album of irony-free love songs inspired by Bette Midler. Thomas sets herself up to be mocked mercilessly by the cynical taste makers and doesn't seem to care one whit. To me that is risky. And for that reason it might just be the most punk record of the year.

Original Review

18. Sara Watkins :: Sun Midnight Sun

Sara Watkins made a name for herself with the great contemporary bluegrass duo Nickel Creek. Perhaps it was covering Pavement or opening for Wilco but Nickel Creek made it cool to listen to ostensibly traditional bluegrass. Still all things must end as the beand went on indefinite hiatus. While Nickel Creek may have gone on extended elipsis as a group, creative partners Sara Watkins and Chris Thile have been busy. Thile has pursued the slightly more progressive side of the genre with his Punch Brothers project. Watkins, on the other hand, has stretched out her legs and has reclined in the sunnier lands where Graham Parsons lives forever.

Fans of Nickel Creek will be pleased to know Sun Midnight Sun retains some familiar elements. For starters the vocals are the same and once again Watkins showcases her prodigious fiddling skills. There are notable differences though. Here those skills are in service to a much more conventional song structure. If you take away the instrument choices, you are left with songs that are comfortable in any modern genre. (Even if she does stretch it to its breaking point on her blistering take of the Everly Brothers' "You're the One I Love" featuring Fiona Apple on vocals.) Much like Rosie Thomas, Watkins uses her easy going and pleasing voice to guide the listeners through bluegrass romps, country crooning, and campfire sing-alongs. The end product is comforting and rewarding; fitting of Watkins considerable talents as a songwriter and performer.

17. Jon Cleary :: Occapella!

In the words of Jerry Maguire: You had me at Allen Toussaint.

New Orleans blues pianist Jon Cleary is best known for his session work with such heavyweights as Bonnie Raitt, D'Angelo, and Eric Clapton. In between his extensive session work, Cleary has managed to piece together a sizable catalogue under his own name. Although bearing his name, Occapella! is not original material. In his own words Occapella! is Cleary "having fun with the songbook of Allen Toussaint" with "fun" being the operative word. That much is apparent on the funky opener "Let's Get Low Down". Built on Cleary's rollicking piano and steady snare hits, Dr. John and Bonnie Raitt join Cleary for an apotheosis of ace musical veterans at the top of their game and clearly having a good time. The festive and collegiate feeling continues throughout this good times album.

16. The Bad Plus :: Made Possible

It has been said that it is not always clear if The Bad Plus are a piano jazz trio that make rock records or an instrumental rock trio that make jazz albums. (I think it's the former.) In the end it doesn't really matter, especially when they keep making albums this good. Made Possible has also been dubbed their "electronic album" due to the synthesized elements that pepper the work. I think this might be overstating the case as it took me three or four listens to really notice that particular element. The subtlety of that particular sound actually points to the solidity of The Bad Plus's writing. Rather than working with a "I must add something new to shake things up" mentality, they are able to organically weave it into their loose and often skeletal song structures that give a post-punk aesthetic to an ostensibly post-bop genre.

View the Rest of the List: 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1