Scott’s Best of 2019

By Scott

My year was a little thin, music-wise, so I’m sticking with the top-five albums plus a concert:

Opeth, In Cauda Venenum (2019).

This is Opeth’s fourth album since they discarded the death metal elements in their sound and became a heavy prog band. The previous three albums have great moments and superb playing throughout; I enjoy them all, but they can feel disjointed and a little under cooked. In Cauda Venenum is confident and coherent all the way through, with a momentum that the other albums lack. Plus, it’s great to hear Mikael Akerfeldt singing in Swedish, although there’s also an English-language version for all you cultural imperialists out there. 

Bruce Cockburn, Crowing Ignites (2019). 

There are instrumental songs scattered throughout Bruce Cockburn’s vast discography, and he collected many of them on the 2005 album Speechless. But here is a new album of original instrumentals, all signature Cockburn, capturing many of the tones and moods that he’s expressed in around fifty years of songwriting, although the emphasis is on the somber and occasionally eerie.  

Budgie, Never Turn Your Back on A Friend (1973), In for The Kill (1974), and Bandolier (1975). 

I’ll count all three albums together because I got them as a set. I regret not getting into this band years ago. I knew they were an important influence in the early days of heavy metal (mostly via, I’ll admit, Metallica covering their songs), but that sometimes implies historical interest outweighing the innate appeal of a band—not true, in this case! And, now that I know what a “Budgie” is (which, I didn’t), the following album cover makes a lot more sense. 

Gary Burton and Chick Corea, Crystal Silence (1973). 

This is mood enhancing music for me, just Burton’s vibraphone and Corea’s piano, mostly improvising around themes. You can relax to it or you can pay close attention to the intricate playing; either way, it’s refreshing every time I listen.  

Dr. John, Anutha Zone (1998).

It’s a regrettable fact that, sometimes, when an artist dies, it becomes an occasion to get better acquainted with their music. For me, such was the case with Dr. John, who died this year (see also: Leon Redbone). I spent some time listening to his run of classic albums from the late 1960s and early 1970s. But Anutha Zone, from 1998, I found myself returning to more often—a mostly laid back, occasionally spooky, great-sounding album that finds Dr. John more contemplative than theatrical. 

Favorite concert: 

In 2019, I fulfilled a longtime wish to see Mark Knopfler. I might have preferred a smaller band, a smaller venue, and a different set list—more solo work and less Dire Straits—but hey, I’ll take it. An unforgettable highlight was “Speedway at Nazareth,” a simmering song that Knopfler and his band brought to a full boil.