Critical Mass

Twenty Salon critics pick the year's best albums.

By Salon's music critics

Dec 24, 1998 | Mark Athitakis

Billy Bragg and Wilco, "Mermaid Avenue" (Elektra)
Manu Chao, "Clandestino" (Ark 21)
Vic Chesnutt, "The Salesman and Bernadette" (Capricorn)
Cornelius, "Fantasma" (Matador)
Bill Laswell, "Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974" (Columbia)
Neutral Milk Hotel, "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" (Merge)
Ozomatli, "Ozomatli" (Almo Sounds)
Pine Valley Cosmonauts, "The Pine Valley Cosmonauts Salute the Majesty of Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing: Traditionalist, Avant-Gardist, Pioneer, Magician" (Bloodshot)
Sonic Youth, "A Thousand Leaves" (DGC)
Gillian Welch, "Hell Among the Yearlings" (Almo Sounds)

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Ben Auburn

Seven albums that were most disappointing (but shouldn't have been):

1. Liz Phair, "whitechocolatespaceegg" (Matador)
Sounding mostly like a gussied up version of "Whipsmart," there's nothing exactly wrong with "whitechocolatespaceegg," it just never seems like the rock statement we'd hoped for.

2. Bob Mould, "Last Dog and Pony Show" (Rykodisc)
Ditto.

3. Juliana Hatfield, "Bed" (Zoe)
Better than Phair and Mould, but still lacking ... something.

4. UNKLE, "Psyence Fiction" (Full Frequency Rage)
Which 8-year-old wrote Mike D's rap?

5. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, "Acme" (Matador)
Steadfastly refuses to coalesce, a mish-mash of half-songs waiting for some gumption. 6. Tortoise, "TNT" (Thrill Jockey)
Rock gets so experimental that it becomes ... lite jazz?

7. Medeski, Martin and Wood, "Combustication" (Blue Note)
More "composed" than their last, but somehow in all that careful scrutiny they forgot to look for a groove.

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Dawn Eden

1. Frank Bango, "Fugitive Girls" (Not Lame)
Bango and his lyricist, Richy Vesecky, strive to emulate great Brill Building songwriting teams, but their individual creativity insures that originality reigns. There's a sense of emotional and musical depth here that has not been heard since the days when albums were albums, not just songs thrown together.

2. Dan Kibler, "Capsule" (Big Deal)
Another superb sophomore release from another artist whom many critics and fans unfairly lump into the power pop camp. Sure, he's got catchy hooks up the bum, but his love for roots rock makes his sensibility closer to bolo-tie than skinny-tie.

3. The Zombies, "Odessey and Oracle: 30th Anniversary Edition" (Big Beat/Ace UK)
This definitive reissue of one of the greatest albums of all time, lovingly assembled by fans, for fans, is pure pop of the highest order -- neither disposable nor superficial. Includes both the stereo and mono versions of the album, plus a few worthy unreleased cuts, such as the backing track to the gorgeous "Care of Cell 44."

4. Julian Lennon, "Photograph Smile" (Music From Another Room)
Yup, he's back. Yup, sounds just like his father. Except that, were John Lennon alive today, he'd be making sappy love songs with Yoko, not dense pocket symphonies like the Badfingeresque original "Day After Day." Released in England last June, it is set to finally emerge in the United States in February. Even if you never liked Julian in the first place, give (this) piece a chance.

5. Various Artists, "Nuggets" (Rhino)
Rhino's expansion of Lenny Kaye's historic two-LP compilation of the same name is the first boxed set devoted to '60s American garage rock. One hopes it won't be the last; even with 118 songs, it's far from complete.

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Hans Eisenbeis

Air, "Moon Safari" (Source)
Fatboy Slim, "You've Come a Long Way Baby" (Virgin)
The Grassy Knoll, "III" (Verve)
Medeski, Martin and Wood, "Combustication" (Blue Note)
Monster Magnet "Powertrip" (A&M)
Portishead, "PNYC, Portishead Live" (London)
Elliot Smith, "XO" (Dreamworks)
Soul Coughing, "El Oso" (Warner Bros.)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, "Acme" (Matador)
Spiritualized, "Royal Albert Hall Live" (Arista)

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Ezra Gale

Graham Connah's Sour Note Seven, "Gurney to the Lincoln Center of Your Mind" (Ratascan Records)
San Francisco pianist/composer produces ambitious compositions and the hands-down best album title of the year.

The Grassy Knoll, "III" (Antilles)
Paranoid, futuristic trip-hip-hop-funk-dub sound collages.

Hasidic New Wave, "Psycho-Semitic" (Knitting Factory)
If HNW's second disc is any indication, the new Jews are eclectic, talented, not content to stick with your mom's Klezmer any more, and very, very weird.

Virginia Rodrigues, "Sol Negro" (Hannibal)
Brazil produces yet another stunning talent, this one with an otherworldly voice and enchantingly minimalist production.

Robert Stewart, "The Force" (Qwest/Warner Bros.)
The young tenor saxophonist's second album is a revelation -- it sustains a deep, spiritual mood from start to finish.

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