Best of 2010 – Dan Montgomery’s Top Ten Albums

STEVE WYNN & THE MIRACLE 3 – NORTHERN AGGRESSION
A stellar return from The Miracle 3 after Wynn’s side trips with The Baseball Project and a solo record recorded in Slovenia. The rockers rock, the psychedelic songs are extra trippy and the mighty Linda Pitmon remains one of today’s great rock drummers!

MIDLAKE – THE COURAGE OF OTHERS
Denton, Texas’ standout band follow up their 2006 dreamy pop masterpiece The Trials of Van Occupanther by remaking themselves as a modern day Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span. Interestingly, the band thought they dropped the ball on this record, but you couldn’t prove that by me. Also from Denton, TX – check out Sarah Jaffe and Isaac Hoskins with the Heelers.

JOHN GRANT – QUEEN OF DENMARK
Midlake got a chance to flex their dreamy pop muscles as the backup band for ex-Czars singer John Grant on this solo record. Beautiful.

ROKY ERICKSON – TRUE LOVE CAST OUT ALL EVIL
Pretty. Weird. At times, pretty weird. Not the “You’re Gonna Miss Me” or “Two Headed Dog” screamfest we were all hoping for, but a fine record for those who loved “Starry Eyes” and “You Don’t Love Me Yet”. With all that he’s been through, just surviving is amazing. Remaining productive is a miracle, for us as well as Roky.

GRINDERMAN – 2
Not quite as audacious as their debut, but it’s still Nick Cave, and a very horny Nick Cave at that!

I SEE HAWKS IN LA – SHOULDA BEEN GOLD
The true Cosmic American Music band of our time, I See Hawks present a “Best Of” for a band without any hits (although God knows they should have been). A fine career retrospective although it does omit my personal favorites “Beautiful Narcotic” and “Slash from Guns & Roses.” Phenomenal live band!

ROLLING STONES – EXILE ON MAIN STREET
The re-mastered CD was a bit too thin sounding and the bonus songs featured a lot of new rerecording to fairly little impact, but the vinyl reissue got it just right. It sounds exactly like the glorious mess that it was in 1972.

THE DREAM SYNDICATE – THE MEDICINE SHOW
Originally dismissed as a “major label sellout” after their debut The Days Of Wine & Roses knocked everybody for a loop back in 1982 when everyone talked about the Velvet Underground, but Steve Wynn & Company were actually channeling them. Personally, Medicine Show was my favorite then and remains so. The songwriting is just killer especially the title track, “Burn” and the epic closer “Merritville.” If you turned your nose up at it in 1984, give it another listen and feel proud to have been wrong.

MAGIC KIDS – MEMPHIS
Yummy Gummy Pop at it’s best! Not what you expect from a record entitled Memphis maybe, but that might be one more thing to love about this album.

THE DIRTY STREETS – PORTRAIT OF A MAN
Another Memphis band that sounds decidedly non-Memphis. Humble Pie? MC5? Grand Funk? Works for me every time I hear them!

Dan Montgomery is an Americana artist based in Memphis, TN. His just released album You’ll Never Be a Bird was voted one of the Top Ten Albums in Memphis’ Commercial Appeal. Look for him on tour all of 2011.