2020 started for Doc and the Mrs. as a nifty year for live music. In March we took a fun music-themed trip from Miami to Labadee called the ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise. To read about our Cheap Trick, Randy Bachman, Don Felder, etc. shows please click on the link to the March 2020 blog post when you finish reading this one. Of course after we got back to Colorado, the whole world went crazy with everything shutting down due to a wide-spreading virus. That was it for live music in 2020 and for the longest time it appeared there would be slim-pickings to fill out this annual ‘best-of’ list as artists tended not to release new music. Thankfully things picked up dramatically in the fall making this a pretty decent year for music to make up for some bleak times (virus, rioting, fires, political b.s.). Interestingly many artists took the occasion of sitting at home to create some fun music or career commentary – people like Billie Joe Armstrong, John Fogerty, Raul Malo and Steve Hackett. If you haven’t checked those out, you should – indeed Armstrong put out an album’s worth of surprising covers (who knew he liked “Kids In America” and “I Think We’re Alone Now”?). Some folks have asked how your Dentist finds some of these oddities. Friday has become the industry new-release day so every TGIF your Dentist will look online for new goodies and listen to clips or full songs if they sound up to snuff. Another fun thing I have done for decades now is exchange tapes with my drummer pal DC on which we do commentary and play musical clips for each other. It has been fun to include Mr. D’s son Brett in these on-going exchanges over the last decade or so. There is too much good music and often things get overlooked and indeed one of Dan’s recent tapes lead me to purchase a CD by Rick Wakeman I otherwise would have skipped.
Yearly disclaimer: As a white male heading towards 70 I tend to like ’60s type pop/rock music, ’70s progressive and conventional guitar blues or rock which isn’t what is currently the vogue so won’t be found on the charts (sorry, but I’ll never get hiphop). As a pop fan, I fear I would rather listen to Abba than The Clash so this list doesn’t pretend to be the best albums of the year, but rather what I like to listen to. An awful lot of this is conventional old white-guy music, but there are some surprises I hope since I tend to dig deep. Talking to a friend today, he indicated he doesn’t want to hear a rehash of old music that was done better back then. Makes sense, but your Dentist still likes to hear bands trying to sound like the old days. Most of these records & songs can be found on youtube if you want to sample more of the following.
Doc Krieger’s Top 20 Albums 2020
1.David Minasian – The Sound Of Dreams
Your Dentist has a soft spot for classic ’70s style progressive rock with mellotron and screaming lyrical lead guitar lines and this album fits that bill. Even better is it appears that the On The Blue Cruise we went on in 2019 might have helped gestate this as Minasian (who is a filmmaker) was there filming Justin Hayward. On that cruise were Steve Hackett, Julie Ragins and PJ Olsson who also appear with Hayward as guests on this new CD. Even more interesting to this Colorado resident is that Olsson constructed the album at his Eagle Wind Studios in Winter Park, Colorado which I had never heard of. Olsson is a singer with Alan Parsons’ band who really lit up the On The Blue Cruise (literally with lasers). Minasian plays keyboards and sings a few of the tracks. Smartly he leaves the bulk of the singing to Hayward (“The Wind Of Heaven”), Annie Haslam (“The Sound Of Dreams-First Movement”), etc. as his voice while pleasant isn’t up to their level. You should also check out the reissue of his excellent last CD Random Acts Of Beauty. While his son Justin plays fine guitar leads (“Faith, Hope, Love”), on “The Sound Of Dreams-Third Movement” Hackett shows him how it is done by a master. Do check out his website for a wonderful music video filmed in our Colorado mountains with Mr. Olsson -http://www.davidminasian.com/. Classic cover art too.
2.Creeper – Sex, Death & The Infinite Void
Had this been released 40 or 50 years ago, it would have been lauded as an important album. As it is, it is a U.K. import that sounds nothing like modern music and likely very few in the U.S. have ever heard it. That is truly a pity as this, their 2nd album, is a huge leap forward sounding sort of like the musical progression from David Bowie to Suede to this record. The concept is about a fallen angel. The great thing about this is that each track sounds distinct and not boringly the same beginning to end – one of the gripes I have with most current music (dull sameness). Short bits of narrative come between songs like “Cyanide”, “Paradise” and “Poisoned Heart” with a spoken coda at the end of “All My Friends”.
3.The Midnight Callers – Red Letter Glow
Hard on the heels of their work on the nice tribute CD Jem Records Celebrates John Lennon (“Jealous Guy”), comes their debut release. The genesis of the band’s name is a song on the first Badfinger album which shows uncommon taste. This is ’70s style power pop that doesn’t break any new ground, but sounds great if you love groups like Cheap Trick and Paul Collins’ Beat. Highlights are “Down On Luck”, “41 Miles To Roscoe” and “I Need You” sounding like The Knack.
4.The Hanging Stars – A New Kind Of Sky
This is the 3rd record from the U.K. Americana band The Hanging Stars and really ups their game mixing Pink Floyd psych (“I Woke Up In July”) with The Byrds (“[I’ve Seen] The Summer In Her Eyes”). Some tracks could be The Burrito Brothers (“Heavy Blue”) while “Three Rolling Hills” would easily have fit on an Arthur Lee/Love ’60s album.
5.Pendragon – Love Over Fear
Everything about this screams classic prog-rock – the nice cover, the sorta Genesis style vocals, the lyrical lead guitar, tempo changes on lengthy songs and the keyboard textures. Right out of the gate, the song “Everything” is an exceptional track that mixes hammond organ with mellotron. Pendragon formed in 1978 and 2 of the current members are originals – Nick Barrett vocals/guitar and Peter Gee bass (keys-man Clive Nolan has been on board for 34 years). Another fave track is “360 Degrees” that starts with strummed mandolin then moves in to a jaunty tune with fiddle-work. The album seems to be about nature and the sea.
6.Bruce Springsteen – Letter To You
71 year old Bruce Springsteen has released this wonderful album about aging and facing the loss of friends as his 20th studio record. Your Dentist has always preferred his full E Street Band LPs and this for me is much better than his last more country one (Western Stars) likely because I am aging along with him. It is testament to the rapport these guys have that they could record these tracks in only 4 days live in studio. A track like “Ghosts” really misses Clarence Clemons on screaming sax yet that is one of this record’s themes – loss. Other standouts are “Burnin’ Train” and the title track. He also dusted off some old tracks like “Janey Needs A Shooter” and “If I Was A Priest”.
7.Green Day – Father Of All…
This is one of the most garage-rock influenced Green Day albums which is a good thing. What we have here is the fun version of the band which didn’t sit well with several critics – tough toenails, you M..Fers (okay – that word is what they censored in the title of the album on the cover if you didn’t know)! “Oh Yeah!” is glitter rock drawing from Joan Jett’s cover of “Do You Wanna Touch Me” while “Graffitia” is sorta glam meets The Bobby Fuller Four. “Stab You In The Heart” flat out rocks.
8.Ayreon – Transitus (deluxe photobook version)
Arjen Lucassen has moved away from the sci-fi themes on his other Ayreon albums and constructed a gothic-horror story that while good is not up to their other 9 studio records. It becomes more of a play than a satisfying album though it is still fine music. “Inferno” and the long “Fatum Horrificum” suite are examples of what works well in spite of the theatricality. The 5 disc deluxe version comes with a CD of guide vocals that strips out the story elements and has Arjen singing all the male parts which is frankly a better album than the regular 2 CD set. “Two Worlds Now One” feels like Pink Floyd guitar merged with Jethro Tull flute and Trans-Siberian Orchestra staging.
9.The Explorers Club – The Explorers Club/Sing & Be Born Again
Okay, don’t scream too loudly but this is actually 2 albums. They were released at the same time and easily could have fit on 1 CD (or been a 2 disc set at least rather than force you to buy both separately). The self-titled album is all originals and has some fine songs on it like “Ruby” and “Love So Fine”. The sound is sorta later ’60s Beach Boys or sunshine-pop (“Dawn”). The 2nd disc is surprisingly faithful covers of ’60s pop like Boyce & Hart’s “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight” and Danny Hutton’s “Roses & Rainbows”. Jason Brewer is the guiding force of the band. Download them both or mix and match to make the perfect pop disc.
10.The Struts – Strange Days
This is a classic loud guitar-driven ’70s sounding rock and roll album. The Struts cover Kiss (from their 1978 Destroyer LP) and end up channeling Slade on the song “Do You Love Me”. “All Dressed Up (With Nowhere To Go)” has a Stonesy sort of riff while the title track sees them duet with Robbie Williams on a more sedate tune. The video is of the anthemic rocker “I Hate How Much I Want You” which teams them with Joe Elliott and Phil Collen of Def Leppard.
11.Billie Joe Armstrong – No Fun Mondays
One of the coolest things to come out of the shut-down due to the virus was Green Day’s leader releasing recordings of an interesting range of cover tunes (and then collecting them on an album). Who knew that Armstrong was a fan of The Bangles (“Manic Monday”), Kim Wilde (“Kids In America”) or Shaun Cassidy (“That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll”). He throws in some arcane covers such as The Equals (“Police On My Back”) and Stiv Bators (“Not That Way Anymore”). The old John Lennon protest song “Gimme Some Truth” is really amped up and makes a surprising punk song. At times this is like the Green Day alter ego band Foxboro Hot Tubs who released the excellent ’60s garage album Stop Drop and Roll!!!.
12.Brother Firetribe – Feel The Burn
What I said in 2017 about their last album Sunbound (#17 on my list that year) was: a Finnish act with a vocalist that sounds like Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) fronting a band that could be Survivor from the 80s. This is their 5th record and features “Rock In The City” and “Arianne”.
13.Massive Wagons – House Of Noise
Your Dentist has always had a thing for stoopid rock and roll with loud guitars and this album fits the bill. An import from the U.K., this hit #8 on their LP charts proving there must still be a few rockers in England. Any group that lists Slade and Status Quo as influences works with me. The title track and “Bangin’ In Your Stereo” are the best tracks here (great videos, guys!).
14.Joey Molland – Be True To Yourself
The last survivor of legendary pop-rock band Badfinger, Molland gets a major boost here from producer Mark Hudson who is a genius at crafting power pop (Ringo, Nilsson, Hanson). Having heard Joey in concert, frankly his voice can be rough yet Hudson does a masterful job of hiding that in layers of sweet vocals from himself, Micky Dolenz (Monkees), Jason Scheff (Chicago) and Julian Lennon. Steve Holley from Wings plays drums. The best tracks still have that Brit-pop sound (“Heaven”, “Rainy Day Man”).
15.Dyble Longdon – Between A Breath & A Breath
Judy Dyble died of lung cancer this summer at age 71. Luckily before that, she recorded this album with David Longdon providing music to her lyrics. This sounds exactly like what it is, a mix of folk from Dyble (who was in Fairport Convention) and Longdon’s current prog band Big Big Train (many of whom appear here). Mellotron, 12 strings, flute and very personal lyrics such as the title track and the spoken “Heartwashing”. “Astrologers” is enchanting as is the wonderful cover art.
16.Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble – The Red Planet
Big thanks to my drummer pal Dan for playing this for me or else it would have been yet another Wakeman album I would have ignored. His last solo album I bought was his 1st – The Six Wives Of Henry VIII from 1973 when he was keys-man in Yes. This harkens back to that LP sound-wise with cathedral organ, synths, madrigal choir and rock band trappings on 10 songs (what with the extra length of a CD). While I don’t think of Mars when listening to these instrumentals, its as good a theme as any for songs like “Ascraeus Mons” and “Arsea Mons” which sort of sounds like Emerson Lake & Palmer. The titles refer to regions of Mars.
17.Pride Of Lions – Lion Heart
Well these guys sure channel the ’80s which makes sense since Jim Peterik of Survivor is the driving force here with Toby Hitchcock. On this their 6th album, they share the vocal work. Highlights are the title track which salutes first responders, “Carry Me Back” and “We Play For Free”. (Lose the purple hair, Jim.)
18.The Weeklings – 3
Maybe not the best name for a power pop band that started doing Beatles tributes, but this is their 3rd CD and it delivers goodies like the title track and a cover of “Friday On My Mind” (The Easybeats). The Fabs check in with “Baby You’re A Rich Man” while my fave track is “1,000 Miles Away” which has a drivin’ drumbeat. Bassist Glen Burtnick was in Styx at one time and played with The Orchestra (great ELO band) when we saw them on the On The Blue Cruise in 2019.
19.Professor Tip Top – Tomorrow Is Delayed
PTT is a 4-piece Norwegian band that mixes elements of prog-rock with the psychedelic side of pop. The spaciest track is the instrumental “Objet Petit A”. Their 1st 2 albums featured the male vocalist Svein Magnar Hansen who has been replaced with Sonja Otto, a woman. “In The Mirror” starts with mellotron then ends up sounding a lot like Rosalie Cunningham or her old band Purson. The title track and much of the album sounds like Purson including the catchy menace of “Erebus”.
20.Celtica-Pipes Rock! – Celtic Spirits
Gajus Stappen of Vienna, Austria has assembled a driving metallic Celtic pipe band with tin whistles and electric guitars sitting side by side. Vocals are limited with only ethereal choir on a few songs like “Ferrum Noricum” and “All Clans United”. The concept feels like a Celtic version of Trans-Siberian Orchestra that would work great on stage. The rollicking highland pipe songs “The Rockin’ Irish Deult” and “Jigging On The Rocks” stand out.
Doc Krieger’s Top 20 Orphan Songs 2020 – Downloads, singles, isolated top tracks on LPs that didn’t make the cut for my top albums.
1.Jefferson Starship – It’s About Time
This is a total surprise as when we saw these folk on the 2020 ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise, they seemed a good cover band of the old Airplane/Starship rather than an act doing new music. David Freiberg and Cathy Richardson are good singing the Marty Balin and Grace Slick parts, but on this song the vocals are really energetic and allow Richardson to stamp her sound on the band. Apparently in 2017 she and Slick were watching the Women’s March together and Grace was inspired to write a set of lyrics which became this song (co-written by guitarist Jude Gold and Richardson). This is the lead track from the album Mother Of The Sun which didn’t really move your Dentist other than this track.
2.Hooverphonic – Release Me
The Eurovision Song Contest that has been held since 1956 annually, didn’t happen due to the pandemic. This was to have been the entry from Belgium. In their 25 year history, they have gone through a surprisingly large turnover at lead vocals. The singer on this track was Luka Cruysberghs (their 6th lead vocalist) but she has left the band. This song sounds sorta like a James Bond theme to me.
3.Raul Malo – The Sound Of Silence
Well, this is a first – a song makes this list that at least till now hasn’t been commercially released. During the national lock-down due to the virus, many musicians took the time to create music. Raul Malo (the lead singer of The Mavericks) put out a series of songs he called ‘Quarantunes’ on youtube. Most of the songs were pretty stripped down showcasing his wonderful voice and usually acoustic guitar. #21 was different in that Malo recorded an instrumental version of the first Simon & Garfunkel hit “The Sound Of Silence” with twangy guitar and mellotron strings. Here is one vote for Malo releasing the best of these as an album like Billie Joe Armstrong did.
4.Brendan Benson – Richest Man
Guitar pop from the his 7th solo album Dear Life. 50 year old Benson is a member of The Raconteurs along with Jack White.
5.Cam – The Otherside
Apparently this song was originally recorded with the late Avicii and indeed you can find a several years old youtube video that purports to include that take. This version has more consistent drive but is still faithful to his style. The rest of album is too country for your Dentist.
6.Justin Hayward – My Juliette
Just as the world was slipping in to quarantine, Hayward released 2 new songs with this by far being the best of the 2. It really is sad to realize how great this would have been with full Moody Blues backing – come on Justin, give us one last classic album while most of the members are still alive!
7.AC/DC – Shot In The Dark
40 years down the road since Brian Johnson’s tortured rasp replaced the late Bon Scott, you pretty much know what to expect in a new AC/DC record – that’s good and bad. There are no power ballads, keyboards or manic rockers, just mid-tempo riff-driven rock and roll. Of course it is great to hear them sounding as young as 1980, but the album Power Up has to compete with their history and while it is okay in general, the single is where they excel.
8.The Go-Go’s – Club Zero
Another good thing to happen this year was the Go-Go’s reuniting to release a new song to tie in with the Showtime documentary about their band. The last new music from them was in 2001 so this was a pleasant surprise and hopefully just the first of more new music to come.
9.Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Overseas
Americana which has a Neil Young feel with a great lead guitar line. The LP Reunions is good, but this really stands out due to the powerful guitar work.
10.Dennis DeYoung & Julian Lennon – To The Good Old Days
Seemingly an odd pairing (former Styx vocalist and John’s son), yet it sounds achingly nostalgic and makes you hope Julian puts out some more music. This appears on DeYoung’s CD 26 East: Volume 1.
11.The Airborne Toxic Event – True
While the rest of the music on the CD Hollywood Park didn’t move your Dentist, this echo-laden haunting song sure did. The album ties in to band leader Mikel Jollett’s memoirs with the same title about having been born in a cult then escaping with his family in to poverty.
12.Galahad Electric Company – Through The Looking Glass
The U.K. prog band Galahad has been around for 35 years without impacting my music collection. They recorded this song in 1987 with it only appearing on their collection of odds & ends – Crimes & Misdemeanours. Two members of the band (Stu Nicholson-vocals & Dean Baker-keys) released a new album as Galahad Electric Company – When The Battle Is Over. It was pretty good, but suffers from the use of synth-drums which knocked it off my LP list. They also released an EP that includes this excellent reworking of the earlier song.
13.Soul Asylum – Got It Pretty Good
Dave Pirner is all that is left from the original Soul Asylum. They still play good guitar-based rock and roll, but will always be remembered for the 1993 song “Runaway Train”. The rest of the album Hurry Up & Wait is decent if undistinguished compared to this anthemic rocker.
14.Alanis Morissette – Smiling
Never having been a fan of Canadian singer Morissette, it came as a total shock that her new album Such Pretty Forks In The Road was pretty good. It would have made the LP list if it wasn’t for her weird vocal inflection. The orchestrations and gauzy guitar manage to disguise her odd accent here.
15.The Vapors – Crazy
Hands up if you remember the quirky 1980 pop hit “Turning Japanese”? Well, here’s 2020 and a new album from David Fenton’s band. While it didn’t set the world on fire, the title song (“Together”) and “Crazy” are worth a listen.
16.Cory Marks – Devil’s Grin
Southern style country-rock from a Canadian steeped in Merle Haggard and Ozzy. His bio says he is skilled at ice hockey and is a pilot. This is from his debut Who I Am.
17.Other Lives – Sound Of Violence
The album For Their Love is decent, but this (the lead track) is by far the best song. Its moodiness is enhanced by an apt orchestration. Other Lives is an Oklahoma indie band.
18.Great Peacock – All I Ever Do
Vocally reminiscent of Teddy Thompson – Andrew Nelson, Blount Floyd and Frank Keith IV are the Americana Nashville-based trio Great Peacock. The album Forever Worse Better is not up the quality of this song.
19.Bob Dylan – Goodbye Jimmy Reed
Dylan’s Rough & Rowdy Days CD shows that the 79 year old still has something to say. This track sounds like a musical rewrite of the shuffle blues “Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat” from the 54 year old Blonde On Blonde LP. His raspy voice fits the blues rather well. Lyrically there is a lot more going on that just a straight tribute to the old blues man who died in 1976.
20.The Rehats – On My Mind
The Rehats recall the folk-pop of Mumford & Sons though they hail from Germany. The rest of the May 2020 album Nothing But The Truth is decent, but this track stands out.
Rock 'n' Roll Reviews and Trivia 