Top Ten Albums of 2012: 10 through 6

Four veteran performers and a new band from Dundee, Scotland.

10. Bill Fay – Life is People – Yes, I know it's overtly Jesus music, but it is also really good music. There is something in there that pulls you in and makes you listen.

 

9. The View – Cheeky For a Reason – Their first album, last year's Bread and Circuses, was a wide ranging walk through their influences from The Libertines to OMD. On this album, they develop their own sound. It's British pop and it should be available here sometime next year.

  

8. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Americana – When I was given this album, I heard it was classic American folk songs but done with the Crazy Horse electric stomp. I then ignored it for four months. Oops. Somehow, they take these songs we all know and make them fresh and new. Plus, it sounds like Neil Young & Crazy Horse when they do it. 

 

7. Joe Jackson – The Duke – This is a hard album to categorize. It's an album of Duke Ellington jazz standards but they are done with a pop/rock feel. And, it's not a jazz /rock fusion album. It is a fun and interesting take on songs you know well. It's good to have Joe Jackson around again.

6. Bobby Womack – The Bravest Man in the Universe – A great soul singer at the end of his career looking back. It's heartfelt and honest soul music made modern by Damon Albarn's production.