Scott Alarik's picks
1. Alison Krauss
& Union Station,
“Lonely Runs Both
Ways” (Rounder)
Just another
day at the office
for the best band in bluegrass, and
probably the best ballad ensemble in
the genre’s history. Krauss’s hushed,
exquisitely controlled vocals are revolutionizing
the way bluegrass is sung.
2. Ollabelle “Ollabelle” (Columbia/
DMZ)
This may be looked back on as one
of the most important recordings in
the burgeoning neo-primitive folk
revival. The Manhattan sextet brings
a captivating urban hipness to American
traditional music.
3. Joe Derrane, Seamus Connolly and
John McGann, “The Boston Edge” (Mapleshade)
Classic, four-to-the-floor, oldschool
Irish sessiun music from two
renowned masters, button accordionist
Derrane and fiddler Connolly,
anchored by McGann’s wonderfully
sympathetic guitar. Their unison
playing is searingly close and winking
with wit, their slower pieces nostalgic
and warmly expressive.
4. Vance Gilbert, “Unfamiliar Moon” (Disismye)
The folk-pop songwriter’s most
melodically compelling work; literate,
heartfelt, rippling with shades
of light jazz and dark blues. He is becoming
as fine a musician as he is an
entertainer - and that’s really saying
something.
5. Aoife O’Donovan and Crooked
Still, “Hop High” (Footprint)
Rambunctious and city-smart, yet
brimming with fondness for traditional
music’s wild, idiomatic graces.
6. Eliza Gilkyson, “Land of Milk and
Honey” (Red House)
This New Mexico songwriter is
constantly dubbed “New-Agey,” so
it’s intriguing that her most topical
album is also her best.
7. Heidi Talbot, “Distant Future”
(Compass)
On this solo disc, the honey-husk
voice of Talbot, a member of Cherish
the Ladies, delivers everything from
modern torch songs to ancient ballads,
as if she were whispering just to us.
8. Eddi Reader, “Eddi Reader
Sings the Songs of Robert Burns” (Compass)
The Scottish folk-rocker is not
afraid to have some modern fun with
the old bard, or to sing with wrenching
purity.
9. Rosalie Sorrels and Friends,
‘‘My Last Go Round’’ (Red House)
Recorded at a Cambridge tribute
for the Idaho folk heroine. Sorrels is in
glorious, silken voice, and her banter
is sage, tart, and tender.
10. Robin and Linda Williams,
‘‘Deeper Waters’’ (Red House)
No disc better captures the unbridled
melodic joy, smart country-folk
groove, and lush mountain harmonies
this Virginia couple deliver whenever
they step on a stage.
Scott Alarik is a Globe correspondent
and frequent contributor on folk
music.
