I’m not gonna act like 2021 was the greatest year ever. But I’d be lying if I said we didn’t get any good music this year. Honestly, it felt hard to keep up at certain times, with so many artists finally getting out their lockdown masterpieces that could have been overshadowed by Dylan or McCartney last year.
The year was full of comebacks, farewells, and not to mention The Legendary No Nukes Concert from Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band finally dropping (which I’ll get out of the way now). Here are my twelve favorite albums of 2021 in chronological order, and why. Happy new year, my friends. Be well, be safe, and keep on rockin’.
I very well could have waited until May for my favorite alternative rock band to release its long-awaited Van Weezer album—originally intended as a tribute to the hair metal vibes of the 1980s. But instead, I’ll take on Weezer’s unexpected, orchestral-based masterpiece that dropped almost from out of nowhere, nine days after Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Rivers Cuomo was talking about making OK Human a few years back, and had apparently recorded it before Van Weezer finally surfaced this spring. This one feels very Pet Sounds-inspired, in the sense that the boys stepped away from their alternative rock-based formula, and toyed around with analog equipment all throughout. Perhaps the piano-and-orchestra blend on “Here Comes The Rain” was just what the fans needed. On the other hand, the upbeat tempo and instrumentation on “Screens” sounds just like they’re saying “hey, we’re still the same Weezer you remember,” even though they’re really not.
After a pretty horrifying month (looking at you, Capitol rioters), Rivers Cuomo and friends actually provided fans with a soothing half-hour of peace. Imagine.
February: Willie Nelson – That’s Life
Frank Sinatra with a country taste? Forget it.
Relax. Like on 2018’s My Way, the country legend did not pull a Dylan, and Nelsonify his favorite Sinatra songs. His voice remains unmistakably distinctive, but like on your typical Sinatra work, there’s an orchestra—or a grand piano, backing him up on every tune. “You Make Me Feel So Young” was an appropriate pick for this point in Willie’s life. The guy’s 88 years old, and is still touring! I also really loved that he brought Diana Krall onboard to duet with him on “I Won’t Dance,” and that he finally recorded a version of “Luck Be A Lady.”
It’s been a minute since ol’ Willie has put out any brand new material, having mainly relied on covers in the last few years. But when you’re Willie Nelson, you don’t have to explain why or what you’re doing Frank Sinatra covers for—whether you’re stoned or sober.
I think my dad recommended this one to me. It had occurred to me earlier in the year that my taste in music wasn’t super diverse. Other than Ray Charles and Lizzo, my knowledge and love of black musicians was embarrassingly slim, and I wanted that to change.
After loving the shit out of Pixar’s Soul—where Batiste composed the jazz pieces, I bought the vinyl copy of WE ARE at Barnes & Noble before even listening to it. And what doesn’t this album have? For one thing, the personnel was insane. You’ve got Robert Randolph playing the pedal steel during “Cry,” soon-to-be Stones drummer Steve Jordan on a few tracks, and a spoken word segment from the legend herself, Mavis mothafuckin’ Staples. Undoubtedly, you can’t forget just how musically gifted Stephen Colbert’s musical director is. Mixing in jazz, hip-hop, and modern day pop instrumentation? To “tell the truth,” (sorry) I can only think of one other recording artist today who is capable of doing that, and nobody being shocked. I’ll give you a hint: She did a record with Tony Bennett this year.
Whatever Grammys this album wins in 2022 will be well-deserved.
April: Liquid Tension Experiment – Liquid Tension Experiment 3
I didn’t listen to this one until the summer, right after interviewing the band—and King Crimson’s bassist, Tony Levin. We talked a little bit about it in the 25ish minutes we were on the phone together, and instrumental metal and progressive rock done by him and three of the guys from Dream Theater sounded like a fascinating mix.
What I got was an exhilarating, nearly-two hour long ride through the instrumental, inner-workings of the minds of the guys from Dream Theater. “Chris & Kevin’s Amazing Odyssey,” which has a brief bongo section, guitar effects that sound like car engines, and a pretty basic tempo, is a follow-up to 1998’s “Chris & Kevin’s Excellent Adventure.” Going into the bonus disc, “A Night At The Improv,” I really enjoyed John Petrucci’s melancholic-sounding work on “Solid Resolution Theory,” as well as on the closer, “Ya Mon.” This was the band’s first studio album since 1999, so hopefully between now and when (if) volume 4 comes out, there won’t be a 20-year gap.
Oh, and the progressive metal version of “Rhapsody In Blue” was pretty sick, too.
May: Alfie Templeman – Forever Isn’t Long Enough
This British kid is somebody I was only turned onto a year or two ago, when my friend Jebb collaborated with him. Forever Isn’t Long Enough talks about how Alfie is entering adulthood, experiencing heartbreak, and on the title track, suffering from paranoia and low self-esteem—the latter of which is something I have long struggled with. Much of it is synth-based, so while guitar work is limited, the songs are catchy, and I feel that they would be well-received if played on the radio.
What I love about Alfie is that generally, he writes his own material on his own. While he did have a little bit of help on this one, the songwriting credits didn’t take up an entire page—unlike on many mainstream pop albums today. I’d really like to catch this guy live at some point.
June didn’t exactly start on a great note. My grandmother passed away on May 26, and her funeral on May 30 fucked me up pretty badly. But something that took my mind off of it for awhile was the fact that one of my favorite film composers had finally returned to rock music after a few decades away from it.
Danny Elfman—who has composed the soundtrack to at least one movie you’ve at bare minimum heard of, established what feels like a career retrospective on Big Mess. Disc 1 is more progressive sounding, and is more dedicated to his soundtracks, with its orchestral instrumentation, and Nightmare Before Christmas-style backing vocals. Disc 2 takes on something a bit heavier than Oingo Boingo, and sounds very similar to alternative rock of today. That’s what enthralls me about Elfman—even as he approaches his 70s, he keeps up with the times in a fashion that is in no way, shape, or form pathetic.
It sucks that it took a global pandemic for him to release new material, but man, does it feel good to have new Danny Elfman music.
July: The Wallflowers – Exit Wounds
For my 20th birthday, Jakob Dylan gave me—and the world, the first Wallflowers album since 2012. Like much of the band’s work before it, Exit Wounds gives off Americana vibes, and includes a few tracks worth of help from Shelby Lynne. While her gospel-esque backing vocals on “Move The River” were definitely necessary, “Who’s That Man Walking ‘Round My Garden” is the one that stands out to me the most. It starts off sounding like it’ll be an alternative rock-turned Byrds song. Instead, it tells the story of a guy who works his ass off, and yet, there’s something suspicious lingering in his mind—or, his garden. Jakob said to see it however you want, but to know that the garden is figurative. Is it mental health issues? A woman (or man)? Gee, I wonder where Jakob learned the ability to intersperse figures of speech as such into his music.
I think of Jakob as a very similar figure to Arlo Guthrie. The elephant in the room is that he’s the son of an American songwriting treasure—both of ‘em are. But, like their fathers before them, both of the guys’ lyrics and individual musicianship is just as acclaimed without mentioning their relationships to Woody and Bob.
August: Meet Me @ The Altar – Model Citizen EP
Okay, not quite an album—and another work I listened to a little bit later, but I couldn’t write this list out without mentioning Meet Me @ The Altar. I caught these guys at 97x NBT in December, opening for Glass Animals and Twenty One Pilots, and I just loved everything about them. The stage presence, the music, and not to mention the fact that they’re currently Florida-based.
“Feel A Thing” opened the EP with the sounds of various ‘80s arcade sounds, which guitars would go onto imitate perfectly. “Now Or Never” is about having a hard time leaving the past behind—in this case, romantically. That’s another thing that should be addressed more in music: How hard it is to move forward sometimes. I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s next for this all-female band—which met through YouTube videos a few years ago. They’ve got a spring gig in Tampa coming up, and I’m hoping to do a profile of sorts on them. Guess we’ll see where we are, come March.
September: Lindsey Buckingham – Lindsey Buckingham
The former Fleetwood Mac guitarist has had my stomach in a hell of a knot in recent years. He had heart surgery in 2019, which temporarily took his singing voice away. I began to think that he’d never tour again, there was no chance of reconciliation with Stevie Nicks (well…anyway), and that he would retire shortly.
Luckily, I was very wrong. His self-titled album—his first since 2011’s Seeds We Sow, apparently started out as a series of voice memos on his phone, and he went from there. Lindsey clearly has so many riffs left in him, whether it’s a frenetic solo on an electric, during “On The Wrong Side,” or just all-around excellent shredding on “Blue Light.” And for an album composed and performed all by himself, there really isn’t a dull moment on it. Not to mention his gorgeous cover of “Time” by the Pozo-Seco Singers making it on there. I initially thought that it was a Lindsey original, and was pretty bummed when I found out that it wasn’t.
I’m so lucky to have finally caught him live on the tour promoting this album. His voice felt a little bit strained, but it was undoubtedly still the same Lindsey we’ve known and loved for the last nearly 50 years.
October: Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga – Love For Sale
This was easily the most strenuous month of the year for me. I spent an entire week and a half covering for my boss at work, while also having to cover five different shows for the paper that week alone. But this album came out at the beginning of the month, and it quickly became my gay-guy-Friday-night-drive soundtrack.
They’re saying that Love For Sale—entirely comprised of Cole Porter tunes, is gonna be Tony Bennett’s last album, now that the world knows that he’s been living with Alzheimer’s for the last five or so years. Him and Gaga have been good friends for a few years now, and even with Tony’s memory problems, it shows. Opening track “It’s De-Lovely” really lets Gaga show off the Vaudeville side of her already acrobatic vocal cords, and Bennett’s entrance into that song just melted my heart, especially knowing that this was the beginning of the end for him. Tony’s vocals on the heartbreaking title track were pretty solid, as well—and it actually made the song a tad less devastating.
Honestly, my only regret in life is not going to see Tony live when I had many, MANY chances to do so. But it’s good to know at the very least that his voice—and stage presence, remained strong until his final shows at Radio City Music Hall earlier this year, celebrating his 95th. A film crew actually filmed parts of the shows for a CBS special, and I can’t recommend it enough.
This November, we were met with a barrage of new music from highly-anticipated artists. I mean, on Nov. 19 alone, Adele, Brian Wilson, and Sting all dropped new material. But for this list, I felt obligated to select ABBA’s first new release in 40 years, knowing that there are people who have died that never got to see a brand-new album from them unfold.
Voyage is very slow and delicate, yet more musically diverse and complex than ABBA’s previous, more disco-oriented work. Opening track “I Still Have Faith In You” is the epitome of what most of the album sounds like—a bit slower, emotional, and orchestral. There are some faster-paced, upbeat tunes on the ten-track masterpiece, though. “When You Danced With Me” is, melodically speaking, a Scottish-sounding piece, and “No Doubt About It” sounds the most like something Bjorn and Benny would have composed back in the band’s heyday.
Let this sink in: You are alive, and ABBA is making new music. Even if it’s not all disco-based, THEY’RE BACK!
December: Green Day – BBC Sessions (Live)
I finally saw the Hella Mega Tour with Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer at the end of July, and though I liked Green Day beforehand, the show really turned me onto just how brilliant they really are. Billie Joe Armstrong controlled the crowd as if he were Freddie Mercury, and it was honestly easy to forget that each member of the core trio will be celebrating their respective 50th birthdays next year.
BBC Sessions (Live) is a healthy mix of everything between Dookie and Warning, and it feels like an evolutionary project that shows how far Green Day has come—in terms of performing (Dookie is one of the greatest albums of the 1990s, and I’ll fight you on that). I mean, you go from the guys playing “Basket Case” exactly the way it was recorded in 1993, to “Minority” having a trumpet solo midway through. These days, both songs include “hey-oh’s” and much more yelling, but it still goes to show that by the time Green Day does take its final bow, the band will go down as hands-down one of the greatest live bands to have ever walked the earth.
By the way, hats off to them for including “Walking Contradiction” in this collection, which has only been played live a handful of times.
Josh Bradley Live 