My top 10 albums of 2007
December 31st, 2007
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10WilcoSky Blue Sky
Wilco has always been a mixed bag for me - when trying to get into Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, I loved “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” but couldn’t stand other tracks like “War on War.” Well, peace has been declared, because Sky Blue Sky is an excellent, low key, gorgeously simple and melodic album.
Best tracks: “Either Way”, “On and On and On”
9Of MontrealHissing Fauna, You Are the Destroyer
It was the year of truly getting into the Elephant 6 Collective for me - Of Montreal, The Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel. The amount of range displayed on Hissing Fauna is impressive, even though I didn’t necessarily catch onto concept album angle of it.
Best tracks: “A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger”, “The Past is a Grotesque Animal”
8The White StripesIcky Thump
Another solid effort from the Stripes, another album on this list showing a ton of range. “You Don’t Know What Love Is” is a classic country song, “Icky Thump” is a screeching Jack White howl, and “Conquest”… well, I don’t know what “Conquest” is exactly, but it’s damn good. Still waiting for the killer video off this album, though…
Best tracks:“A Martyr for my Love for You”, “I’m Slowly Turning Into You”
7The Apples in StereoNew Magnetic Wonder
As lead singer Robert Schneider asks in the opening track, “Can You Feel It?” Slickly produced (there are reportedly hundreds of tracks going at once in ProTools), the Apples are at their best, alternating between some of the happiest rock you’ve heard in a while and some pretty far out psychedelic vibes. It’s disappointing that Hilarie Sidney split with the band afterwards, because her vocals add the same sort of texture that the New Pornographers benefit so much from, and the Sidney-led “Sunndal Song” might be my favorite track. No worries, however, because if their live show is anything to go by, the all male Apples still manage to be pretty good.
Best tracks: “Skyway”, “Sunndal Song”, “Open Eyes”, “Beautiful Machine Pts 3-4″
6Kanye WestGraduation
Nobody in the game has better samples than Kanye West. Period. Though this album is slightly deficient lyrically from past efforts, the production and great sample choice makes up for it.
Best tracks: “The Glory”, “Stronger”
5The New PornographersChallengers
As far as I’m concerned, The New Pornographers’ previous three albums might as well be a triple album. Sure, the sound is a bit more refined by Twin Cinema, but where’s the variation? Answer: inside Challengers. The band ditches some of the manic, occasionally strained energy that characterizes their previous work in favor of more relaxed, stripped down melodies.
Best tracks: “Go Places”, “All the Old Showstoppers”
4The Arcade FireNeon Bible
An optimist would say that this album is “thematically focused”, a pessimist would say it’s “repetitive”. I fall somewhere in the middle, while thoroughly enjoying the entire ride. Neon Bible is angsty yet determined, carefully and lovingly orchestrated, and a definite evolution for the band.
Best tracks: “Intervention”, “My Body is a Cage”
3Daft PunkAlive 2007
Generally speaking, I wouldn’t include a live album on a list like this, but Alive 2007 is a crowning achievement for a big year for Daft Punk. The French duo spends almost 90 minutes mixing and remixing their three albums together, and in doing so take not only the iconic tracks to a new level, but even make sense out of Human After All. It’s like hearing these songs for the first time again, and has only gotten better for me on every listen.
Best tracks:“Television Rules the Nation” / “Crescendolls”, “Around the World / Harder Better Faster Stronger”, “One More Time / Aerodynamic”
2Jay-ZAmerican Gangster
The opening lines of “Ignorant Shit” really gets down to the point, with Jay talking directly to the critics of last year’s mediocre Kingdom Come: “Y’all hail me as the greatest writer of the 21st Century / I make some thought-provoking shit / Y’all question whether he falling off”. Well, your boy is back: American Gangster is part concept album, part rediscovering his Brooklyn roots, all set against a collection of great 70’s samples. “No Hook” is raw, “Ignorant Shit” is timely and hard hitting, “Roc Boys” and “Success” are upbeat celebrations of wealth and excess, and “Fallin” deals with the inevitable decline. Great guest spots as well - Nas steals the show on “Success”, and Lil’ Wayne lays down the foundation for “Hello Brooklyn 2.0″. And much like with The Black Album, let the remixing begin - American Zeppelin is almost as much fun as The Grey Album.
Best tracks: “Ignorant Shit”, “Success”, “Fallin”
1RadioheadIn Rainbows
It’s the album I’ve been waiting for for years, and it’s just that good. Musically, take Kid A, sprinkle with a little of Thom Yorke’s solo album, and fix it all up with super tight performances and production. The patient care that went into this is entirely evident. When an album’s disc of B-sides could probably make the year’s top ten, you know there’s something good going on. No matter what you paid, you underpaid.
Best tracks: “Bodysnatchers”, “Nude”, “Reckoner”, “Jigsaw Falling Into Place”, “Videotape”, “Down is the New Up”, “Last Flowers”, “4 Minute Warning”
Honorary Mentions
The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army, Interpol - Our Love to Admire, Wu Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams, Saul Williams - The Rise and Inevitable Decline of Niggy Tardust
