It's time for The Zen Arcade's Best of 2009! For the next four days I'll be listing my favorite releases from the past year. Check back to see it all!
Today I have the Top 5 "Not Exactly New" Albums of 2009. This is the category for my favorite releases that weren't new studio recordings--live discs, reissues, compilations, etc. This was a surprisingly crowded field this year, with lots of seemingly essential releases edged out.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Live Anthology
The first CD I ever owned was Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever, and I'm not sure I've bought a better one since. Petty's great skill is in making it look easy; his songs might have three chords and twelve words, but just try to put three chords and twelve words together like he does. Similarly, it's hard to put your finger on what makes their live show so essential, but this dirt cheap 4-CD set is hard to argue against. All the classics are here, along with great covers like the Dead's "Friend of the Devil" and Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well".
Blur, Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur
Since I was busy with the whole med school and residency thing from 1998 through 2005, there are a lot of great bands that I more or less missed during that time. Blur, for instance: I knew their singles like "She's So High" and "Song 2", but I never got deeper than that. They must have known I was out here, because they put out this concise 2-CD set just for people like me, covering the hits and the worthy deep cuts to bring us into the fold.
REM, Live at the Olympia
It seems insulting to REM to refer to their comeback, since they never actually went away. (They just should have.) But from everything I've read and from listening to 2008's fantastic Accelerate (and seeing a truly spectacular hometown show from that tour), I think they'd be the first to admit it. Live at the Olympia is like a document of their return from the wilderness, featuring early versions of tracks from Accelerate and obscure tracks reaching back to every stage of their career. It's pure fanservice, but it's also one of our generation's great bands reaching back to rediscover what made them great.
Drive-By Truckers, The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities
The Truckers have become one of my favorite bands over the last few years, but it hasn't really been on the strength of their recent studio output. Lots of good songs on those albums, but on the whole they've seemed bloated. So it's surprising to me that a whole album of trimmings from those same years could be so great. Highlights include a cover of Tom Petty's "Rebels" that sounds like it was written for Patterson Hood's voice, and Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell's perfectly opposite takes on the Tennessee Valley Authority ("Uncle Frank" and "Thank God for the TVA").
Tom Waits, Glitter and Doom Live
I didn't get to see this tour (I saw the one before it), but whenever Tom Waits takes his clank-and-growl show on the road it's a big deal. It's nice to have an official document from this brilliant phase of his career. Highlights: "Fannin Street", "Dirt in the Ground", "Trampled Rose", and the included bonus CD of the crazy shaggy dog stories Tom tells from the stage.
Today I have the Top 5 "Not Exactly New" Albums of 2009. This is the category for my favorite releases that weren't new studio recordings--live discs, reissues, compilations, etc. This was a surprisingly crowded field this year, with lots of seemingly essential releases edged out.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Live Anthology
The first CD I ever owned was Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever, and I'm not sure I've bought a better one since. Petty's great skill is in making it look easy; his songs might have three chords and twelve words, but just try to put three chords and twelve words together like he does. Similarly, it's hard to put your finger on what makes their live show so essential, but this dirt cheap 4-CD set is hard to argue against. All the classics are here, along with great covers like the Dead's "Friend of the Devil" and Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well".
Blur, Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur
Since I was busy with the whole med school and residency thing from 1998 through 2005, there are a lot of great bands that I more or less missed during that time. Blur, for instance: I knew their singles like "She's So High" and "Song 2", but I never got deeper than that. They must have known I was out here, because they put out this concise 2-CD set just for people like me, covering the hits and the worthy deep cuts to bring us into the fold.
REM, Live at the Olympia
It seems insulting to REM to refer to their comeback, since they never actually went away. (They just should have.) But from everything I've read and from listening to 2008's fantastic Accelerate (and seeing a truly spectacular hometown show from that tour), I think they'd be the first to admit it. Live at the Olympia is like a document of their return from the wilderness, featuring early versions of tracks from Accelerate and obscure tracks reaching back to every stage of their career. It's pure fanservice, but it's also one of our generation's great bands reaching back to rediscover what made them great.
Drive-By Truckers, The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities
The Truckers have become one of my favorite bands over the last few years, but it hasn't really been on the strength of their recent studio output. Lots of good songs on those albums, but on the whole they've seemed bloated. So it's surprising to me that a whole album of trimmings from those same years could be so great. Highlights include a cover of Tom Petty's "Rebels" that sounds like it was written for Patterson Hood's voice, and Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell's perfectly opposite takes on the Tennessee Valley Authority ("Uncle Frank" and "Thank God for the TVA").
Tom Waits, Glitter and Doom Live
I didn't get to see this tour (I saw the one before it), but whenever Tom Waits takes his clank-and-growl show on the road it's a big deal. It's nice to have an official document from this brilliant phase of his career. Highlights: "Fannin Street", "Dirt in the Ground", "Trampled Rose", and the included bonus CD of the crazy shaggy dog stories Tom tells from the stage.
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