35. Rick Ross - Deeper Than Rap
Rick Ross is a lot like the movie 2012: There is no substance, it's dumb, but boy, is it ever fun.
He still can't rap very well, but comparing his performance from his debut album Port of Miami to Deeper Than Rap? Worlds better. One thing Rick Ross has always done well is he has a tremendous ear for beats. The production on Deeper Than Rap is uniformly spectacular*.
To continue my analogy, 2012 was Roland Emmerich's magnum opus. While it may be too soon to say that for Rick Ross, Deeper Than Rap is definitely his best album to date.
Two Deeper Than Rap facts:
01. In what is probably my favorite line of the year, from "Yacht Club": "Oh lord, i'm a star down in Saint Barths, the fat Tommy Lee I made out with like eight broads". That truly is Magnificent.
02. The fact that he has a song on his album called "Gunplay" that features someone named Gun Play. First off, Gun Play is probably the worst rapper name since ****. Second, how unimaginative is Rick Ross that he titles his song the same name as the name of his featured rapper? Did he come up with this original concept of "Gun Play", and call some engineer from the studio to just rap on it and was just like "eh, let's just name him Gun Play"? Who knows with Ricky Ross.
*A funny thing happened this year involving a beat by the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. They produce a song for Deeper Than Rap, the highlight from the disc, titled "Yacht Club". Later in the year, Ghostface Killah has a song titled "Guest House" featuring Fabulous using the exact same beat. Not in a rapping-over-a-hit-song way, but in creating a wholly new song using the same exact production. Ghostface's song is ultimately the better version (duh), but Rick Ross' album is the one that charted in my Top 40. I don't know how that happened, either.
Best Songs:
01. Yacht Club feat. Magazeen
02. Usual Suspects feat. Nas
03. Magnificent feat. John Legend
34. Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
I'm of a mixed mind for Blueprint 3. As amazing as it was (and still is), I realize that American Gangster was akin to a Sarah Palin speech at the RNC: Throwing red meat to the base when it's all a bunch of show-offy BS that means nothing. Jay-Z isn't in the same mindset he was in when he was making Reasonable Doubt. Blueprint 3 is a more successful version of the themes he was trying to mind in Kingdom Come.It's Jay-Z's first album as pop star, and the first album where his fascination of being the modern day Frank Sinatra comes into fruition.
With all that said, I can't help being disappointed by a lot of it. A lot of it is amazing, but it says something when my favorite song on the album is basically a Young Jeezy featuring Jay-Z song. I think all of the Timbaland produced songs continue into Timbaland's spin towards obscurity, and the Jay/Kanye song is surprisingly lackluster (or maybe it's just because of
this wonderful take on DJ culture by Aziz Ansari)
So, while i'm happy that Jay-Z is finally getting the pop success he has always deserved ("Run This Town" and "Empire State of Mind" are brilliant political moves by music's best politician), I just wish it was for a better overall album.
Best Songs:
01. Real As It Gets feat. Young Jeezy
02. Already Home feat. Kid Cudi
03. A Star Is Born feat. J. Cole
33. Method Man & Redman - Blackout! 2
As i'll get into further on this list, the danger of doing a sequel to a popular album is huge. Especially for an album that's 10 years old. Every year you delay it, the bigger the expectations grow. It gives me great satisfaction to then say that Blackout! 2 is a truly worthy successor to Meth and Red's 1999 classic. They aren't reinventing their sound very much, but that's the point. The point of a sequel is to give more of what was great from the original in a new form. It's feel-good music, and the highlight is the transcendent "City Lights", a song that samples a Pimp C line from the UGK song "One Day", and features Bun B. It feels like UGK is together again, if only for 5 minutes.
This isn't an album to convert non-fans of either Red or Meth. This is an album for the people who have been waiting for these guys to record another album together. A lot of these reunion albums don't end up great, as the artists generally overthink it. Method Man and Redman smartly realized that they just needed to give the type of music that people know and love from them, and people would be happy. Oh, are we ever.
Best Songs:
01. City Lights feat. Bun B
02. Mrs. International feat. Erick Sermon
03. Four Minutes To Lock Down feat. Raekwon and Ghostface Killah
32. Mastodon - Crack The Skye
Mastodon are operating at a higher level than most bands now. Generally, I try to stay away from artists who have fewer than 10 songs and the running time is close to an hour. That generally gives me a sign that there will be unneeded wankery going on. Mastodon, however, keep things exciting, and they are the metal band to beat right now.
Enlisting the great Brendan O'Brien to produce sent some signals that maybe they were going a bit mainstream, but judging from the final product that isn't the case at all. Last time I checked, having 13 minute songs is probably the furthest thing away from mainstream. This album is a worthy successor to Blood Mountain, and continues Mastodon's dominance in the metal genre. Only fools would doubt them after this run of albums.
Best Songs:
01. The Last Baron
02. The Czar
03. Oblivion
31. Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
Together Through Life hasn't gotten the kind of attention I think it deserves. Bob Dylan's run of albums from Time Out Of Mind, "Love and Theft" and then Modern Times was such a spectacular run that not many artists can beat. So, having an album like Together Through Life that is just a few notches below perfect immediately sends people to saying it's Weak Dylan. Nonsense, I say!
This album is much looser than those previous three, and it has a nice grim vibe to the proceedings. Dylan enlisted a terrific group of musicians including Heartbreakers guitar guru Mike Campbell, and David Hidalgo from Los Lobos on accordion. The accordion adds a really different vibe, and makes Together Through Life a worthwhile listen. If you have avoided the record due to not great reviews, then I suggest you check it out for yourself. You may be pleasantly surprised. It's Dylan, for ****s sakes. Every record he makes should be listened to.
Also, since I won't be able to get another chance to talk about it: Bob Dylan's Christmas album, Christmas In The Heart, is a true delight. Holy **** is it wonderful. A lot of people are poo-pooing it because Dylan's warbly/Tom Waitsian style of singing through Christmas standards, but that to me is what makes it special. You haven't lived until you've heard Dylan growl "HARRRRRKKKKKK THE HERALDDDDDD ANGELSSSS SAAA---INGGGGGG". Also, "Must Be Santa" is one of the greatest songs released in 2009. It's ****ing brilliant, and it only gets better with the bridge when he lists presidents for no apparent reason. Christmas In The Heart will remain a Goodman holiday staple til the end of time, and I think you should all check it out. "Dasher, dancer, prancer, vixen, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton".
Best Songs:
01. I Feel A Change Comin' On
02. Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
03. Jolene
Coming up? Dunno! Maybe the top 10 albums for 2010. Or part 3 of the albums list. Place your bets in this thread.
Thanks for all the comments! They are what keeps me going.