OTBKB Music: Best of 2009, Part 2

The first part of my top ten album list for 2009 was published on Monday and is available here.  Now for the second half, still in alphabetical order:

Li'l Mo and the Monicats - On the Moon:  After a few years away from the music biz, Li'l Mo returns with a collection that runs from country to blues to rockabilly to 60s pop.  Most of the songs are originals but a cover of the Bill Hailey song Rocking Chair on the Moon gives the album its title.  Standouts include I Really Love (To Really Love You) and The Boy Who Loved the Blues.

James Maddock - Sunrise on Avenue C:  James stock in trade is the mid-tempo rocker, and he sings with an engaging gravelly voice with a rasp someplace between Steve Forbert and Rod Stewart.  James has been able to round up an all star band for this release, including Leslie Mendelson on piano.  Sunrise show off James' strength as a songwriter, including his ablity to mix humor into his songs without any of them becoming novelty numbers.  Highlights include the anthemic When the Sun's Out and Straight Lines, as well as Chance, Stars Align, Sunrise on Avenue C and Dumbed Down.

Leslie Mendelson - Swan Feathers: Adult pop, mostly piano based.  Leslie's lyrics are literate and as many people have noted, playfully sexy.  A couple of the songs on this album have been rearranged from the way Leslie had been doing them live to provide the opportunity for Leslie to step out from behind the piano and onto center stage, including the first single, Hit the Spot.

Or, The Whale - Or, The Whale:  This seven-piece band based in San Francisco takes their name from the subtitle of Moby Dick.  Their sound is alt country, rock and folk with great harmonies (from four vocalists, two male and two female) and their high energy live shows are something that you must see.  This album, the band's second, expands their sound a bit with some hints of The Grateful Dead and even a nod toward Fairport Convention.  Highlights include Datura, Never Coming Out and Shasta.

Amy Speace - The Killer in Me: This is a reflective album as the songs in this collection were written during the break up of Amy's marriage.  Instead of the mostly country sounds of her last collection, Songs for Bright Street, this material lends itself to a folk rock treatment for the most part.  And although Amy ruefully decides that "the only thing I've learned is I haven't learned a thing" she does kicks up her heels during a very spirited Would I Lie.

 --Eliot Wagner