Best Music of 2015 (Update)

I’ve updated my Best Music of 2015 lists to include where the songs and albums wound up in the WXPN, WTMD, and mvyradio countdowns.

Not as much overlap with the crowd this year, especially on the albums. (However, I predict that “Uptown Funk” will win the Grammy for Record of the Year.)

UPDATE: A friend of mine (thanks Linda!) called my attention to Public Radio's #1 Songs Of 2015. Honestly, most of them I’m not familiar with. I was glad (and somewhat surprised) to see that “Lean On” made the list. There were also some good songs I heard on WXPN and WTMD, notably “Satisfy Me” (Anderson East), “24 Frames” (Jason Isbell), and “Getting Ready To Get Down” (Josh Ritter).

Shuffle #78 (January 1, 2016)

Shuffle #78 (January 1, 2016)

 

What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye

Personal Jesus – Depeche Mode

Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ – Michael Jackson

Cooksferry Queen – Richard Thompson

There Goes My Baby – The Drifters

You’ll Never Get To Heaven – Dionne Warwick

Stuck With You – Huey Lewis & The News

Fresh Air – Quicksilver Messenger Service

Let Her Dance – The Bobby Fuller Four

LP #1 Daryl Hall & John Oates – Abandoned Luncheonette (1973)

There have been quite a few performers with long and successful careers who nevertheless never topped their debut albums – Marshall Crenshaw, Graham Parker, John Prine, and Sade come to mind. Hall & Oates, however, hit a home run with their second LP rather than their first. (Whole Oates, their debut, has a clever name and includes the brilliant “Fall In Philadelphia” but is otherwise pretty unremarkable.) Every song except for the final track is a pop classic, the production by the legendary Arif Mardin is impeccable, and the album cover is wonderful. I like a lot of their later stuff, but this is by far their best. (And you can still find the CD in some store bargain bins or at Amazon for $5.00!)

 

Favorite tracks:

She’s Gone

Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)

Had I Known You Better Then

When The Morning Comes

I’m Just A Kid (Don’t Make Me Feel Like A Man)

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Rams Head On Stage, 12/27/2015

Table 102, Row A, Seats 2 & 4

 

Rams Head has a row of 4-person tables right in front of the stage and perpendicular to it. Table 102 is dead center; we had the rear two seats, which was still as close as I’ve ever gotten to the stage at a show by a well-known performer.

 

Started by promising not to do any Christmas songs, but did begin with a great tune by the underrated 60s-70s soul singer William Bell, “Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday”

 

Personal favorites – best version of “Walk Away Renee” I’ve ever heard, plus a remarkable cover version of Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers To Cross” by keyboardist Jeff Kazee

 

Usual crowd-pleasers such as “Love On The Wrong Side Of Town”, “Broke Down Piece Of Man”, “Talk To Me”, and “This Time It’s For Real”. Also did some tunes from his new Soultime album – I particularly liked the disco-flavored (!) “Looking For A Good Time”.

 

Led up to “The Fever” with a nice sing-along on “Up On The Roof” (preceded by a few bars of “I Feel The Earth Move”), then concluded the main set by turning “I Don’t Want To Go Home” into a hilarious tale of an ill-fated trip to Vegas. Second encore (after over two hours of music) was “Without Love”, during which they put the main mic stand up on our table for an interlude by the three horn players and Southside’s final vocals. Amazing show!

 

Setlist