My Ten Favorite Albums of 2020
Well…December 2020 is here. You know the tonic for surviving until 2021? I’m not just talking cheap whiskey and hazy IPAs. I’m talking year-end lists! I know that’s what everyone wants. Complaints about the indundation of lists in December seem to grow every year, but, hey, what else do we have to write about at the moment?
Truthfully, I don’t have much to say about the year in country music. I wrote a little less than I usually do, but the pieces I did publish were some of my favorite and longest yet, particularly my history of alternative country from 2000–2013. I would love to get more eyes on that piece. I’m proud of it, of course; more importantly, however, I believe it is an era of country music that gets overlooked far too often.
As far as the actual music? Eh. Blame it on the pandemic. Blame it on streaming. It was a subpar year, and I’m not in the mood for excuses, especially when many of these albums were ready to go before the world shut down.
There were, nonetheless, several albums that smacked me in the face in the best way possible, including my number one choice that I firmly believe will be in the running for best album of the decade when we look back in 2029. Read on to find out.
10.) Live From The Palomino- Midland
I’ll never forget the first time I saw Midland play live. It was the Fourth of July 2017, and “Drinkin’ Problem” was the band’s only single. They opened for the excellent (and underrated) Drake White, but played the show as if they were opening for the Rolling Stones. That hard-working attitude and blue-collar approach is evident on this live album recorded at the iconic Palomino in Los Angeles.
Midland have been criticized for a load of things. But being good at their craft? That’s something no critic can credibly argue against.
9.) Country Fuzz- The Cadillac Three
Look, I’ve been criticized of being too much of a traditionalist in the past. But there’s a time and a place for all kinds of country music…you just won’t find too many unbridled “fun” albums on my best-of lists. With Country Fuzz, The Cadillac Three manage to merge their face-melting live show and insanely fun jams with songwriting that shows a little more depth. By depth, I don’t mean Guy Clark or Townes van Zandt. But there’s some substance. “Long After Last Call” is a sweet love song done a little edgier than down-the-middle country music, and “Whiskey and Smoke” is a redneck take of Sublime. The song that really stands out, however, is “Back Home.” The band takes what begins as a classic small town anthem into a rebuke of the over-development of Nashville. Not all growth is positive.
8.) Wild World- Kip Moore
To sum, I’ll use what I wrote on Twitter after the album’s release: “Wild World is definitely Kip’s quietest record yet. Timely in a good way, even if I find myself wanting some more of his louder moments. But overall it’s another excellent addition to his discography. More reflective than his previous records, which is clearly intended…it won’t go down as an essential listen for casual listeners of Kip. There’s no mainstream play here…But for the fans, it’s got a ton of buried treasure…He makes music for the fans. And we repay that loyalty.”
7.) Medium Rarities- The Wild Feathers
I’d argue there is no more underrated band than The Wild Feathers in music at the moment and, indeed, no band that flies more consistently under the radar. Filled with covers (The Jayhawks’ “Blue” and CSNY’s “Almost Cut My Hair), b-sides (“After the Bottle’s Gone” and “Heartbreak”), and new material (“Fire” and the standout “My Truth”), Medium Rarities is an excellent effort to hold fans over until a proper album can be recorded for which the band can tour behind; it does need to be said that these guys give the audience one of the best shows in all of music.
6.) Neon Cross- Jaime Wyatt
The first thought I had when listening to Jaime Wyatt’s Neon Cross was the immediate parallels I could draw to a Tanya Tucker record from the mid 1970s or a Loretta Lynn record from the late 60s. But in a way that was clearly modern and fresh. A lot of that is thanks to Shooter Jennings’ production; his pedigree, ear for sound, and proven success in the country music world result in records that are so easy on the ear. Shooter knows his country music history, and he knows that when working with a voice as beautiful and timeless as Jaime Wyatt’s, the voice can carry the whole album. Wyatt’s vocals are out front, and the honky-tonk sound plays along like a friendly reminder of country days gone by.
The title track is a stand-out, but I do need to specifically mention “Mercy.” The steel guitar that opens the song is so inviting, and when the chorus hits, an instant hit of the 2020s has already been born.
5.) Starting Over- Chris Stapleton
Starting Over is the follow-up Traveller truly deserved. Sure, From A Room volumes one and two are above-average albums with some true moments of greatness sprinkled across both, but Stapleton owed not only the fans but himself with a full-length effort that expanded on Traveller. Starting Over, even with more quiet moments than I’d like to sit through on an album of this length, manages to draw more from the outlaw country, Hank Williams Jr.-sound than Stapleton has before. The blues influence is still there, albeit through his vocals and not necessary the sounds and themes.
I’ll also give Dave Cobb credit where it’s due. I’ve been hard on him and what I see as his bland East Nashville sound, but he succeeded here in allowing Stapleton to breathe and the guitars to crunch.
4.) Letter to You- Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
Springsteen is included on what I consider the Holy Trinity of songwriters- Springsteen, Kristofferson, and Townes van Zandt. I could write a 50 page essay on Bruce Springsteen, how I came to love and adore his music, and what he means to my life, but for now, we’ll leave it to proclaiming the excellence of Letter to You, Springsteen’s first album with The E Street Band since 2014. Three of the songs, including the obviously Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.-era “Janey Needs a Shooter,” were written in the early 1970s. The blend of old material with new songs centered around morality and old bandmates lends a solemn yet hopeful attitude toward the record. “Ghosts” and “Last Man Standing” are particular highlights, with “Ghosts” harkening back to Springsteen’s The River.
3.) A Young Man’s Country- Daniel Donato
Is Daniel Donato really the best kept secret in Nashville when he’s got a podcast with guests including John Osborne of Brothers Osborne and E Street Band bassist Garry W. Tallent, played the Ryman, and stepped foot in countless honky tonks along the way? Somehow he is.
A Young Man’s Country is just a damn cool record full of swagger and well-earned attitude. Donato defines his guitar talent but also shows some great potential with his writing. Think of Waylon meets the Allman Brothers. The twang is turned up to ten in a way I didn’t expect, giving an outlaw edge to the breezy, light California country rock elements.
2.) That’s How Rumors Get Started- Margo Price
The talking point in the run-up to the release of Margo Price’s That’s How Rumors Get Started was the idea she was essentially taking a small break from country music and finding more influence from Stevie Nicks and the soft, lush California sound. And sure, this isn’t a hard-core country record as we’ve come to expect from Margo. There’s no “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)” or “A Little Pain.” The obvious factor, however, is Margo’s vocal. She’s country. No matter what kind of sound we may hear on a record, it’ll always maintain some sort of connection to country music.
“Twinkle, Twinkle” is a little grunge, and “Prisoner of the Highway” is the most obvious outlaw country contribution to Margo’s discography while the two standout tracks in my eyes are “Stone Me” and “Letting Me Down.” “Stone Me” is a straight-forward, scathing look at both fame and a tenuous romantic relationship. “Letting Me Down,” on the other hand, is the track most directly influenced by vintage Fleetwood Mac. It’s also her best vocal on the album.
1.) Ghosts of West Virginia- Steve Earle
I wrote extensively about Ghosts of West Virginia when it was first released in May. Needless to say, it hit me immediately. Though I was born and raised in the outskirts of Pittsburgh to college-educated parents, I’ve got coal and steel miner blood in my genes. From the first couple lines of the haunting “Heaven Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” I knew I was in for a spiritual ride that would smack me in the face emotionally. I wasn’t wrong.
Steve Earle is an inherently compassionate artist, thanks in large part to his own story and personal history. He has his views and opinions. Strong opinions, I might add. And yet, he never comes across as preachy or judgy. He wants to change a listener’s mind through poetry, not coercion. Earle indeed hits the mark with Ghosts of West Virginia.
Twenty-nine coal miners lost their lives in the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster in April 2010 thanks to the blatant disregard for human life exhibited by executives led by Don Blankenship. Ghosts of West Virginia is at once both a brutal rebuke of “the company” and a sympathetic look at those who work in darkness all day long to keep the lights on. And the angry Steve Earle is still around, as evidenced by the brilliant and hard-driving “It’s About Blood.”
Steve Earle wanted to show compassion to the people of Applachia and create a dialogue. He succeeded in a phenomenal fashion, and this is an album that is required listening for everyone from country music fans to politicians to those who look down on those carrying the country on their backs.
Here’s to the last month of 2020! And maybe the release of Eric Church’s long-awaited double album? Check these albums out. They’ve all got something to say in a year in which words are hard to find.
