Top 10 Albums of 2010

2010 has come and gone, and I got to hear a healthy amount of quality music. The bottom half of this year's top 10 list was pretty hard to sort out, as there were more worthy candidates than available spots. I can't promise that I wouldn't change the list if I wrote it up again tomorrow. Anyway, Happy New Year, and let's hope for more good stuff in 2011.

10. Red Priest, Johann, I'm Only Dancing: I learned much less about the music of J. S. Bach in the music courses I took in high school and college than I did from listening to this CD.

9. Vilma Timonen Quartet, Forward: And they do move forward, thanks to more vocals.

8. Simon Fagan, Outside Looking In: This one gets bonus points for overall consistency.

7. Vampire Weekend, Contra: Another band gets better the second time around.

6. Amadou & Mariam, Welcome to Mali: It's the kind of album that will annoy a purist. But purists tend to miss out on a lot of good music.

5. The National, High Violet: The last two songs, "England" and "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks," really pushed this album up the list.

4. Ozomatli, Fire Away: Some people will complain that they've gotten more commercial, but they've also gotten more musical and still have the same energy.

3. Richard Thompson, Dream Attic: From the 60s to the 10s. That makes six decades during which he's made essential music.

2. Johnny Clegg, Human: Like Richard Thompson, he's aged well, and deserves a much bigger following.

1. Jesca Hoop, Hunting My Dress: Definitely the most original recording I've heard in a while, and she backs up her originality with some quality songwriting.

Amadou & Mariam, Welcome to Mali (Nonesuch, 2009)

Malian husband-and-wife duo Amadou & Mariam have built up a healthy international following over the past few years, due to a combination of groove-oriented African rock and Amadou Bagayoko's strong guitar playing. On their latest CD Welcome to Mali, they work with a variety of producers to obtain a more eclectic sound, but the end result is at least as strong as its predecessors.

Ironically, the album's one misstep comes at the very beginning. The problem is not that "Sabali" is a weak track, it's just that it's by far the most mellow song on the album, and the sedate vocals over a synth track provided by Blur's Damion Albarn fail to set the tone for what follows. However, by the third track "Magossa," the party is in full swing. The disc moves from reggae to funk to frenzied rock, all with Amadou & Mariam's distinctively African touch. Highlights include "Je Te Kiffe," "Masiteladi," the title song, and the closing song "Sekebe."

Welcome to Mali is more overtly commercial than most African releases, and I suppose that might disappoint some African music purists. On its own terms, though, the album is a fun, infectiously energetic collection of songs. And who am I to complain about somebody embracing rock and roll?

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

"Masiteladi"

Amadou & Mariam -- Dimanche Á Bamako (Nonesuch, 2004) and Je Pense Á Toi (Universal Music, 2005)

Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia met as students at the Mali Institute for the Young and Blind. Not only did they fall in love and get married -- against the wishes of their parents, who didn't think two blind people marrying was such a good idea -- but they forged a successful musical partnership that carried them from Mali throughout Western Africa and up into France, which they have used as a springboard to healthy CD sales in Europe. Now Amadou and Mariam have set their sights on the American world music market with the release of Dimanche Á Bamako, a collection of new songs, and Je Pense Á Toi, a compilation of the best songs off their three previous French-produced CD's.

Both discs combine lively West African musical traditions with rock influences. Amadou and Mariam take turns singing, while Amadou also plays an excellent lead guitar. Not surprisingly, given that it pulls songs from three albums, Je Pense Á Toi is the more consistently strong of the two. Dimanche Á Bamako also suffers a bit from producer Manu Chao inserting himself too much into the proceedings, instead of just letting Amadou and Mariam do their thing. Still, the song "Coulibaly" is great, groove-oriented African rock, and Dimanche Á Bamako boasts a couple of other worthy tracks as well. These two discs will appeal to anybody interested in African music or good guitar music in general.

Overall grades:
Dimanche Á Bamako B
Je Pense Á Toi A-