Hey PooPsters, After streaming northwards of 100 albums this year, here is my tasting menu, boiled down to a fine French reduction sauce. Notable this year is the number of artists, still vital, who have added to the backdrop of my life, some for over 50 years. Baez, McGuinn, and Lil’ Tommy Rush, among them. As I approach 70, that these folks are still around and prolific is life affirming. And to you, my fellow Poopsters, I’m grateful for your lists that invariably turn me on to morsels I missed last year.
Entrees
John Coltrane: In Both Directions
David Byrne: American Utopia
John Prine: The Tree of Forgiveness
Joan Baez: Whistle Down The Wind
Roger McGuinn: Sweet Memories
Ry Cooder: Prodigal Son
Sting and Shaggy: 44/876
Rita Coolidge: Safe In The Arms of Time
Jayhawks: Back Roads and Abandoned Motels
Paul Collins: Out of My Head
Desserts
Tom Rush: Voices
Joan Armatrading: Not Too Far Away
Old Crow Medicine Show: Volunteer
Nathaniel Rateliff: Tearing At The Seams
Alejandro Escovedo: The Crossing
Richard Thompson: 13 Rivers
Paul McCartney: Egypt Station
Fairport Convention: 50-50-50
Steve Forbert: The Magic Tree
The Gibson Brothers: Mockingbird
Richard Lloyd: The Countdown
Donna the Buffalo: Dance In The Street
Malcolm Holcombe: Come Hell Or High Water
Kenny Barron: Concentric Circles
Holy Grail (41 years in limbo)
Gene Clark: Gene Clark Sings For You
Songs
Shallow: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
David Byrne: Everyday Is A Miracle
Jayhawks: Everybody Knows
Joan Armatrading: I Like It When We’re Together
Sting and Shaggy: Just One Lifetime
Phosphorescent: New Birth In New England
The Gibson Brothers: So Much Love In My Baby’s Eyes
Movies:
The Rider
First Reformed
Leave No Trace
Roma
Blackkklansman
The Other Side Of The Wind
Bird Box
A Quiet Place
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Bohemian Rhapsody
A Star Is Born
Bad Day At The El Royale
New TV Series
My Brilliant Friend
Sharp Objects
Murphy Brown
The Kominsky Method
Homecoming
Kidding