Top 10 CD's of 2008

Another year has come and gone, so once again it's time to go over my favorite CD's of the past year.

10. Danelia Cotton, Rare Child: A little funk, a little rock, and a powerful voice make for a winning formula.







9. Mudcrutch: Tom Petty breaks a bit from his usual formula, and the result is one of his strongest albums in quite some time.







8. La Rocca, OK Okay: These three Irishmen and one Englishman are superior pop craftsman that I expect to be hearing a lot from in the future.






7. Dion, Heroes: Legends of Early Guitar Rock: This is an absolute delight for people with even a moderate interest in 50's music.






6. Fleet Foxes: This highly touted debut justifies the hype.









5. Týr, Ragnarok: By combining heavy metal with folk music and a great concept, Týr have put the Faroe Islands on the musical map.






4. Anna Ternheim: Yes, the EP was better than the full-length album that followed. Ternheim just released an album of all-new material in Sweden in November, so look for it to reach these shores soon.




3. The Ditty Bops, Summer Rains: It may not be the list-topper that Moon Over the Freeway was two years ago, but it's still another solid effort from the charmingly subversive duo.





2. Sam Phillips, Don't Do Anything: Phillips has always been at her best when she's been at her most cathartic, and there's plenty of catharsis to go around on this record.





1. The Born Again Floozies, Street Music: Stubborn defiance meets great songwriting. Fly your freak flag high!







reviewed by Scott

Danielia Cotton, Rare Child (Adrenaline Records, 2008)

Hopewell, New Jersey native Danielia Cotton was something of a rare child even when growing up. For whatever reason, black girls listening to bands like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC just aren't all that common. Cotton was also raised on the jazz and gospel that her mother sang, so when she started singing herself, mixing styles came naturally. Eventually she started singing professionally, and Rare Child is her second album.

Rare Child combines R&B and soul with muscular hard rock. Cotton channels Mavis Staples and Janis Joplin with equal enthusiasm, and while she plays primarily acoustic guitar herself, the rests of her band plugs in and cranks it up. The album has two real standout tracks. The first is the single "Bang My Drum," an anthemic rocker about being independent and true to yourself. The other is the title track. Like "Bang My Drum," "Rare Child" is a celebration of free spirits, although musically it is much more aggressive. The crunchy guitar on that song makes for some of the best pure rock I've heard in a while.

While those two songs dominate the record, the rest of Rare Child is at least decent. I'm a bit worried, though, that Danielia Cotton will suffer a similar fate that the stylistically similar Roachford has faced for the past twenty years, in that she doesn't fit comfortably enough into any specific radio format and as a result won't get airplay. This would be a shame, as Cotton is a solid rocker with a great voice, and she appears to have much to offer.

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

"Bang My Drum"