OffBeat

What Katrina?

It’s not that Louisiana musicians have forgotten about Hurricane Katrina—certainly not Dr. John, for instance—but looking at OffBeat’s selections for the top CDs of 2008, it’s notable how Katrina and Rita have become part of our world. They still influence a lot of the art made in the state and the music recorded here, and their influences are felt directly or indirectly on Dr. Michael White’s Blue Crescent, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III, and the Iguanas’ If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times, just to name a few. But they’re not the influence anymore; the hurricanes have become part of our experience, shaping our lives and art in the same way that love, work, money and the lack of those things do. As such, this year’s top albums all speak to life in Louisiana not from the perspective of survivors, but as people living their lives in a place that happenes to have been devastated.

A few quick thoughts about this year’s list. We decided this year that if we genuinely believed some discs were stronger, more complete statements then others, we should take that to its logical conclusion and for the first time rank our top choices. On the surface, it might seem odd not to have Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III leading the list, but there are plenty of other lists he can top, and our time following the artists ahead of him helped us appreciate what remarkable accomplishments the albums were. Theresa Andersson found her own voice when she literally went it alone on Hummingbird, Go!, and Irma Thomas’ Simply Grand presents her and a guest pianist in a host of musical contexts, many of which were areas she had little experience with. Her forays into jazz with Ellis Marsalis and musical melodrama of Burt Bacharach were revelations, and she has found herself as one of the important blues voices of our time.

We omitted Lucinda Williams’ Little Honey and Andre Williams and the New Orleans Hellhounds’ Can You Deal with It? We liked both quite a lot, and even though Lucinda hasn’t lived here for decades, we’ve grandfathered her in before. But we weren’t so blown away that we were ready to bump Louisiana artists that are here and working today to make room for her (again, she’ll get some attention elsewhere), and though the album rocks and the band includes members of the Morning 40 Federation, Clint Maedgen and Quintron, Andre Williams isn’t from here, and we have to draw the line somewhere.

Besides, it was a good year for us musically. We looked at the list for quite a while, particularly CDs below the cut off point that we have a lot of affection for as well. I’ve always thought that the mark of a good story is how many good quotes can’t find their way into the story, and the mark of a good year is how many good CDs ended up on the outside looking in. We had a surplus of good music to listen to this year, and not a victim in the bunch.

The Top Twenty:

1. Theresa Andersson: Hummingbird, Go! (Basin Street) “Every song on Hummingbird, Go! has interesting textures and shapes, but instead of sounding artificial, the overall effect is that Andersson has found her own musical voice.”—reviewed September 2008 by Alex Rawls

2. Irma Thomas: Simply Grand (Rounder) “Time has made her voice more textured, her years on the stage have made her a remarkably resourceful singer, and the life she has lived has made her a more nuanced interpreter of songs.”—reviewed August 2008 by Alex Rawls

3. Michael Doucet: From Now On (Smithsonian Folkways) “Doucet has done many intriguing projects, but this has to be one of his hippest yet.”—reviewed June 2008 by Dan Willging

4. Dr. Michael White: Blue Crescent (Basin Street) “Blue Crescent is a major American work of art for the new millennium.”—reviewed July 2008 by John Swenson

5. Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III (Cash Money) “It is above today’s average rap album… and provides Lil Wayne’s best single ever.”—reviewed September 2008 by Benny Powell

6. The Iguanas: If You Should Ever Fall on Hard Times (Yep Roc) “The Iguanas play with some of the more conventional New Orleans sounds—swinging jazz horn arrangements, greasy funk, Latin shuffles.”—reviewed October 2008 by David Lee Simmons

7. Tom McDermott and Connie Jones: Creole Nocturne (Arbors) “This is an outstanding example of idea and execution working hand-in-hand, and a real treasure map revealing some of the destinations to which traditional New Orleans jazz can still journey.”—reviewed May 2008 by John Swenson

8. Dr. John: City That Care Forgot (429/Savoy) “Few people have done a better job of codifying the spirit of New Orleans over the years… On City That Care Forgot, he may have fashioned its most elegant obituary.”—reviewed June 2008 by John Swenson

9. David Egan: You Don’t Know Your Mind (Out of the Past/Rhonda Sue) “His blues don’t seem generic, and even when you know they’re simply songs he wrote, they register because Egan and his art are three dimensional.”—reviewed December 2008 by Alex Rawls

10. Porter-Batiste-Stoltz: Moodoo (Highsteppin’ Productions) “PBS’ first official live album features Phish member keyboard player Page McConnell… here’s another one that’s worth owning.”—reviewed November 2008 by Brett Milano

11. Henry Butler: PiaNOLA Live (Basin Street) “This is the album that people have been waiting for Butler to make, and the wait has been worth it.”—reviewed April 2008 by Alex Rawls

12. Cedric Watson: Cedric Watson (Valcour) “On this self-titled release, the talent and spirit we’ve call come to expect from this young Creole musician shines through.”—reviewed May 2008 by Christopher Courville

13. Ellis Marsalis Quartet: An Open Letter to Thelonious (ELM) “Very few jazz albums and even fewer Monk tributes climb the heights reached on this gem of a listening experience.”—reviewed May 2008 by John Swenson

14. Paul Sanchez: Exit to Mystery Street (Independent) “Sanchez has made the record of his life here, an album that shows off his writing skills, singing ability and overall musical versatility.”—reviewed May 2008 by John Swenson

15. Quintron and Miss Pussycat: Too Thirsty 4 Love (Goner) “Too Thirsty 4 Love’s mix of over-the-top mayhem and anxiety-riddled rave-ups ooze with just the right amount of pulp and decadence.”—reviewed November 2008 by Aaron LaFont

16. Feufollet: Low Island Hop (Valcour) “Cow Island Hop shows that Feufollet is adept at looking at Cajun’s past and present.”—reviewed May 2008 by David Lee Simmons

17. The Happy Talk Band: THERE there (Independent) “Any album that comes together as more than a set of songs is a beautiful thing.”—reviewed January 2008 by Alex Rawls

18. John Boutte: Good Neighbor (Independent) “Boutte shows how inventive an interpreter he is.”—reviewed May 2008 by John Swenson

19. Marcia Ball: Peace, Love & BBQ (Alligator) “Throughout the record, Ball cooks as if she makes the marinade that is the common spice of Louisiana and South Texas music.”—reviewed May 2008 by David Kunian

20. Jimmy Robinson: Vibrating Strings (Independent) “The album is emotionally charged, but Robinson’s passion and verve allows the heavy subject matter of his music to command the listener’s attention.”—reviewed July 2008 by Jonathan Katz

The Next Thirty (arranged alphabetically)

Astral Project: Blue Streak (Astral Project)
Tab Benoit with Louisiana’s LaRoux: Night Train to Nashville (Telarc)
Big Sam’s Funky Nation: Peace, Love & Understanding (Independent)
Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys: Keep the Tradition Alive! (Maison de Soul)
Bobby Charles: Homemade Songs (Rice ’n’ Gravy)
Chef Menteur: The Answer’s in Forgetting (Backporch Revolution)
Evan Christopher: Delta Bound (Arbors)
Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen: Mo Hippa (FHQ)
Coco Robicheaux: Like I Said, Yeah, U Rite!: The Techneaux Swamp Sessions (Independent)
Little Freddie King: Messin’ Around tha House (Made Wright)
Joe Krown, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Russell Batiste, Jr.: Live at the Maple Leaf (Independent)
Sonny Landreth: From the Reach (Landfall)
Eric Lindell: Low on Cash, Rich in Love (Alligator)
Lost Bayou Ramblers: Vermilionaire (Independent)
The Magnetic Ear: Live at the Saturn Bar (Independent)
Jesse McBride and the Next Generation: Jesse McBride presents the Next Generation (AFO)
Stanton Moore Trio: Emphasis (on the Parenthesis) (Telarc)
Kenny Neal: Let Life Flow (Blind Pig)
The New Orleans Bingo! Show: Volume II: For a Life Ever Bright (Independent)
Nicholas Payton: Mysterious Shorter (Chesky)
The Pine Leaf Boys: Homage au Passé (Lionsgate)
The Radiators: Wild & Free (Radz)
John Rankin: Last in April First in May (Independent)
The Savoy Family Band: Turn Loose But Don’t Let Go (Arhoolie)
Christian Scott: Live at Newport (Concord)
Amanda Shaw: Pretty Runs Out (Rounder)
Frederick “Shep” Sheppard: Tradition: The Habari Gani Sessions (Drumparade)
T-Sale: Une Autre ’Tit Bout (Swallow Records)
The Vettes: T.V. EP (ThroBack)
Walter “Wolfman” Washington: Doin’ the Funky Thing (Zoho Roots)