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Your top CDs of 2003 The Globe critics have compiled their lists of the year's best music releases. Now here's your chance to share your favorite CDs of 2003 with other Boston.com users. What CDs stood out above the rest this year? Which ones would you recommend and why?
Page 1 I'm not sure I have ten choices, but here's a few of standouts in my collection: Blood Brothers "Burn, Piano Island, Burn" is absolutely furious and brilliant. Steve Malkamus and the Jicks "Pig Lib" expands on the promise of Pavement and takes you on a journey. OutKast "Speakerboxxx/TheLove Below" its funkier than anything you've ever heard. I have more I just can't think of them right now. John, Arlington "Elephant" by the White Stripes is the best CD I've heard in a long time. The merge of rock and roll and blues has never sounded better. Jack White deserves much credit for taking these basic styles and putting them together to sound brand new. "Speakerbox" by Outkast is another outstanding combination of sounds destined to become a benchmark in hip-hop. Full of surprises and succeeding at most everything they attempt.John, Milton I know its not "new" music per se, but the Kill Bill soundtrack has been in steady rotation for the last month. I would urge everyone to check it out. Music-fan, Boston I have to agree with Joan Anderman, the Polyphonic Spree CD has been getting a lot of play here at the Cave. And as good as the CD is, the band is even better live. Catch them if you can. M, Allston aka Rock City angels and ferris wheels by Patrick McAloon. He has the most incredible voice. PatrickMcAloon.com Tina , Brighton, Ma Eight of my picks are mentioned by various folks in the Globe Section -- I'll avoid pontificating on the merits of those: Lucinda Williams -- World w/o TearsFountains of Wayne - Greetings Interstate Managers No Thanks! , Rhino's nearly definitive punk compilation Warren Zevon -- The Wind Joe Strummer -- Streetcore White Stripes -- Elephant Cafe Tacuba -- Cuatro Caminos Outkast -- Speakerboxxx/TLB Two glaring omissions: Steve Earle -- Just an American Boy: Supposedly a "soundtrack" for the film that chronicles one of the more relevant tours of 2003, the CD is actually a live album from one night of the tour. While hardly the definitive word on Earle's tremendous musical range (he's the only performer I know who will cover Doc Watson, Nirvana, Nick Lowe, the Beatles, and the Chambers Brothers in the same set), the two disc set does capture the essence of the tour and highlights one of the country's most under-appreciated musical talents Paul Westerberg's "Come Feel Me Tremble" & Grandpaboy's "Dead Man Shake": Two CD's, released the same day by the same guy (last time around he packaged them together)....on both discs, the brilliance is interspersed with sometimes uneven material, but long-time followers of this flawed genius know that's always been the case, and wouldn't have it any other way.....besides, there are enough gems here to fill at least one solid disc......BTW, this is a fitting companion piece to the first item on my list, Lucinda Williams' World Without Tears...... Andy, Hopkinton MICHAEL BUBLE'------- awesome, only 27 yrs, best voice sounds like sinatra,martin and darren. Judy, Randolph 1. Radiohead, Hail to the Thief A great album with some of the best songs the best band in the world has ever written, but not as consistent as OK Computer. Their Tweeter Center show was unbelievable, one of the best I have ever seen. 2. the Mars Volta, De-Loused in the Comatorium An incredible album that takes a long time to get into and fully digest. But once you take the time to digest this masterpiece it will be well worth it. An unbelievable album that I wish I could write myself someday. 3. the Fire Theft One half of the vastly underappreciated Sunny Day Real Estate, singer Jeremy Enigk doesn't just wear his heart on his sleeve, but pours it out through every syllable of each lyric and every guitar chord in each song. In the song Heaven, Enigk takes a very simple chord progression and turns it into rousing, heartfelt anthem about what lies outside that door for each and every one of us and whether or not it is worth going through that door. Enigk is backed by the very capable rythem section of William Goldsmith (ex-Sunny Day Real Estate) and Nate Mendel (the Foo Fighters). 4. Zwan, Mary Star of the Sea It is a shame that this band broke up and was never given the time to fully develop into a great band. There is so much potential here with these songs it is not even funny, these songs border on the verge of alternative rock greatness. If this band was given time to work together and gell, then the potential of this music would be infinite. Billy Corgan has transformed his songwriting from being minor key stadium rockers to more uplifting (for him anyway) pop masterpieces. The way he layers guitars on this album with the help of David Pajo and Matt Sweeney evokes a modern Brian Wilson with all of the different harmonies that are evident in their playing. If Billy was smart, he would make sure to include uber-drummer Jimmy Chamberlain on his new solo album that he is suppossed to be working on. 5. Thursday, War all the Time The best of the screamo bands by far since Fugazi created the genre. 6. AFI, Sing the Sorrow What is great about this band on this cd is the way that they combine so many different genres of music into one song. AFI weaves punk, metal, techno, and pop into their music creating a very unique sound. 7. A Perfect Circle, 13th Step A Perfect Circle is the best band at setting a dark, disturbing mood since the Cure in their heyday. On this cd, APC creates dark disturbing moods with songs like the Noose and Blue while putting them next to skull crushing metal anthems the Outsider and Pet. 8. Thrice, the Artist in the Ambulance Thrice mines the same vein of screamo as Thursday, but what separates the two bands is the higher level of musicianship in Thrice, most specifically the guitar playing of Teppei Teranishi. Teranishi is a tremendous guitar player who seems to have learned every riff from Zeppelin to Iron Maiden to U2 and weaved them through the intricate progressions of Thrice's music. 9. Primus, Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People The 5 song EP is triumphant return for the band Primus. Primus has always marched to the beat of their own drummer, the always tremendous Tim Alexander, but this time they take their musical mayham a step farther, but not in a bad way. Primus's strength has always been that they just do their own thing and could care less about mainstream acceptance, which in this day and age is a beautiful thing. 10. Rush, Rush in Rio Rush in Rio is a tour de force of the entire Rush catalog. All of the songs that you would expect, Tom Sawyer, Limelight, 2112, Natural Science, are here in all of their progressive rock glory, along with some new fan favorites like Earthshine, One Little Victory, and Driven. Rush has always been known for their musicianship, but as they have gotten older, they have learned to groove. On songs like Earthshine and Driven, Rush lays down a serious groove despite the musical intricies in each song. Rush is an acquired taste, but for those looking to get into their music for the first time, this would definitely be the cd to buy because it spans their entire career.Matthew, Abington
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