Lyndon Bolton’s Best of 2018 in Americana Music
Best of’s can raise as many hackles as they do curiosity or even interest. But if by any chance someone asked me to name my top ten for this year I’d reply with these (in no particular order).
1. Trampled By Turtles - Life Is Good On The Open Road
This blend of full throttle and reflection shows TBT are completely recharged after a four year hiatus.
2. Steep Canyon Rangers - Out in the Open
Individual bluegrass virtuosity and cohesion from far more than Steve Matin’s backing band.
3. Ry Cooder - The Prodigal Son
The long awaited return of the slide master whose playing and social commentary are as sharp as ever.
4. Donna The Buffalo - Dance in the Street
Their mix of country, folk rock, bluegrass, Cajun and zydeco retains all its potency that paints a vivid picture of today’s Americana.
5. Rod Picott - Out Past The Wires
An artist for our times Picott paints an often bleak but always vivid, picture of heartbreak, hardship and small victories as lived by so many people.
6. Dean Owens - Southern Wind
‘Celtic Spirit, country soul’ from a Scottish singer-songwriter who keeps the good company of Messrs. Hubbard and Kimbrough.
7. Ben Glover - Shorebound
More collaboration, this time between Ireland and Nashville but provenance takes second place to the sense of belonging evoked by these songs.
8. James Scott Bullard - Full Tilt Boogie
The title says it all. This is a blend of country, blues, rock or rolled into one; the real deal of rocking Americana.
Preview Full Tilt Boogie by James Scott Bullard
9. Johnny Cash - Forever Words
John Carter Cash has matched 16 poems and songs left by his father, some never before published or performed, with 16 artists for their interpretation. Each is a heartfelt tribute to the Man in Black.
10. I’m With Her - See You Around
Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan, all established artists in their own right, harmonise their individual talents into a unique rootsy fusion of bluegrass, folk and country.
About Lyndon Bolton: Lyndon Bolton is a reviewer for the Americana Music Show. You can read his other reviews on No Depression at http://nodepression.com/users/lyndon-bolton.