Best Thing I've Heard All Year (2010 Version)

So, I'm back in the blog business. Not really, but trying. And it turns out, I had a few on the draft pile. Is this cheating? Anyway, set the wayback machine to 2010!

No doubt you were just going crazy wondering if and when I would publish my thoughts as to the best music released this year. Who am I to put you through such turmoil? The wait is over.

This year has been, for me, the year of the reissue. Without a doubt, the music that I've listened to the most this year has been music from my past. While that may sound somewhat sad, it couldn't be further from the truth.

Things kicked off with "The Promise" box from Bruce Springsteen. Built around his "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" release, this sprawling box included a remastered version of the original LP, a couple of DVDs that featured a documentary on the making of the reissue and a complete concert from 1979, a live performance of the LP from 2009 and more. The packaging is pretty nice, especially the reproduction of one of his notebooks filled with song lyrics, set notes and scribbles. But the real gift in this box is the two CD collection of un-issued tracks recorded during the original sessions. Bruce and the band went and touched up some of the tracks, some more than others, some not at all. The result is a great lost album - 21 tracks work together as a whole and that stand up to almost anything that he has done before or since.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkness_on_the_Edge_of_Town#The_Promise:_The_Darkness_on_the_Edge_of_Town_Story

The deluxe re-issue of Eric Clapton's first solo album was actually reissued in 2006, but I gave it a listen - via MOG - just a few months ago. It contains a version of the LP produced by Delaney Bramlett, which I assume was passed over by Eric and/or the label for the version produced by Tom Dowd that was originally released. I really like this version. There is something more "organic" to the production that fits the songs quite well. I'm pretty sure that most of the vocals and solos are the same on both, but I could be wrong. It was a nice surprise as I had no idea this alternate version existed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Clapton_(album)

"Some Girls" may be my favorite Rolling Stones album, so I was interested to hear the remaster as I always felt that album was badly produced. I thought they did an excellent job on "Exile" so I was kind of let down to hear that the remaster retained all the things I didn't like about the original. However the 12 bonus tracks save the day. In fact, similar to the Springsteen set, you can consider this another lost album from 1978. I think that Don Was was brought in to oversee the sessions and that Keith and Mick did some over dubs to finish up some of the tracks. Killer stuff, especially the country tunes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Girls

Homeward Bound

All in all, I guess I’m one of the lucky ones - or as lucky as one can be who’s living in the current epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m not feeling sick, nor is my wife and son. As of this writing, I’m still employed and working. My friends and family are also doing well, though I do have friends and family who are dealing with serious issues unrelated to the virus and it only makes their situation worse and my heart aches for them. With all of the projections, realistic or not, I’ve become to realize that this is a day-to-day event. Every day we watch the news, listen the numbers, cross our fingers and say silent prayers. Every day we wait to hear news of a breakthrough. Every day we attempt to keep our spirits up, our lives intact. And every night we lay our heads on our pillows in the hope that tomorrow will break the cycle.

Working for home for me is practically no different than working at the office. I sit in front a computer for most of my day, breaking for meetings that, for the most part, could have been handled in an email or even a text. I’m in the midst of a large project, re-platforming a website and it’s challenging and creative work. As nice as it is to work from home - having a window to look out of, better coffee and yes, more comfortable clothes - I miss the break in the day that the workday brought. I miss the drive back and forth to the office. I even miss the meetings, as it was all part of a social environment that just stopped.

And speaking of social environments, I am so missing my friends. I’m blessed to have so many good friends and we tend to do things in groups. We never need much of an excuse to band together for a night out and now that’s been sidelined. Dates that were on the calendar, tickets for shows, dinners planned have all been put on hold. We’ve had a few virtual hang outs and they did wonders for our soul. We laughed and enjoyed each others company, giving us a much needed lift. We did the same with the family on my side and that was very special as it was not only great to see everyone at once, but gave me a much needed reminder that I need to bring more of that back into our lives once this has all moved behind us.

Then there’s the music.

If you’re reading this, then you know how much music means to me. I had just started a new commitment to go out and see more of my friends perform locally, along with all of the usual concerts I attend. It’s been great seeing how so many talented friends and favorite performers have utilized the various virtual spaces to keep the music going. I watched Kevin Gordon work out the kinks during his first livestream from his home in Nashville. I’ve enjoyed performances by my friends Pete Mancini and Christine Sweeney, along with video performances by Emily Duff, Allen Santoriello and Jon Geffner. This morning I watched the sweetest performance of  Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” by my Bluebeats mate, Alison Tramontana and her lovely family. All of these performance's have been very special and, in fact, if you're looking for silver linings, perhaps the embracing of this method of performing and sharing music, will continue to grow, spreading the joy of music even further when the good times return.

Tomorrow will be another day. I will wake up, shower and get myself ready for work. I will do what I do and eventually clock out and move on to family time. We'll have dinner, maybe play a game or watch a movie. We will sit outside and feel the sun on our faces and enjoy the spring flowers. We'll call our friends and family, and check in on those with special needs. We'll listen to the news, and we'll hope and pray that maybe today is the day when it begins to change for the better.