After a fair amount of revising, I've ranked my 25 favorite songs of 2019:
25. Sweet Sunshine Wine-Pearl Charles
(1975-ish, Fleetwood Mac-style vocal harmonies are always welcome, as far as I'm concerned.)
24. Fantasy-Herb Alpert
(If you're familiar with Alpert's previous work, you'll likely recognize
his signature trumpet sound. The trumpet carries the melody where
vocals were in Earth, Wind & Fire's original version, softening the tune somewhat but
making it no less appealing.)
23. Dreamtime-Abdullah Ibrahim
(An appropriately titled jazz piano melody.)
22. Sorry Now-Jill Andrews
(Andrews sings compellingly about why a relationship failed in this strong release from September.)
21. Triste-Dave Zinno Unisphere
(A brassy, expansive cover of the Antonio Carlos Jobim tune, with plenty
of room for each band member to solo. Also recommended: Kenny Barron's
rendition, with its great, self-assured piano intro.)
20. Unapologetic-Katherine Penfold
(Penfold's strong vocals shine in conjunction with a laid-back organ
accompaniment that mimics falling rain. This throwback-sounding tune,
released in October, would be equally at home on a smooth jazz or
R&B playlist.)
19. Fail Safe-William Tyler
(This guitar piece, from Tyler's solidly consistent "Goes West" release, could mark the start of a new Celtic/Country acoustic genre. Rhythmically, it could work as a prelude to Paul Simon's "Learn How To Fall.")
18. Rocking Chair-Over The Rhine
(One of 2019's more appealing songs, due to a melody and vocals that
fall somewhere between Bonnie Raitt's "Nick Of Time" and the Kenny
Loggins/Stevie Nicks tune, "Whenever I Call You 'Friend.'")
17. Forever Turned Around-Whitney
(This August release has a laid-back '70s
throwback feel. The lead vocals bring to mind Larry Lee's voice on the
Ozark Mountain Daredevils hit, "Jackie Blue," with a bit of ELO's
"Strange Magic" thrown in.)
16. The Optimist (Live in Minneapolis)-Cory Wong
(An electric guitar instrumental that could pass for a sketch comedy show theme. Wong also plays an impressive electrified version of The Vince Guaraldi Trio's "Christmas Is Coming," heard Saturday on Chris Thile's program, "Live From Here.")
15. Cast-Off-Bruce Hornsby featuring Justin Vernon
(Hornsby's almost church-like keyboard part underscores appropriately sour lyrics and vocals; somehow, this combination works.)
14. Guide-Steve Lacy
(I hear a Prince influence in the vocals and bass funk line; one of this year's catchier releases.)
13. Begin Again-Norah Jones
(Can a relationship be salvaged through another go-around? With a sly, slinky piano line underscoring Jones's always welcome breathy vocals, I'm inclined to think, "Maybe," at least.)
12. Song Without Words, No. 2: Ballad-Fred Hersch, WDR Big Band & Vince Mendoza
(If this elegant throwback instrumental had been around during the big band days of WEW, I wouldn't have hesitated to play it on the air.)
11. Echo Park-Bedouine
(I hear Joni Mitchell's influence in the lyrics and vocals of this 2019
standout. The outro of birds chirping closes the tune appropriately.)
10. Runnin' With The Devil-The Bird And The Bee
(I'm not a Van Halen fan, but The Bird And The Bee's reworking of the tune made me hear it in a new light. Actually, using piano in place of guitar with easier-to-decipher vocals improves the song more than I ever would have imagined.)
9. Light On-Maggie Rogers
(Kudos to Rogers for her honest admission that being successful sometimes entails a dizzying array of choices to make and more public exposure than you might want. The energetic, accessible hook sounds familiar but doesn't wear out its welcome. I wish more pop music sounded like this.)
8. Radiate-Ex Hex
(One of 2019's catchiest indie rock tunes. The vocals, guitar, and
drums contribute equally to the song's propulsive, great-for-driving
momentum.)
7. We Had Searched For Heaven-Tony Momrelle featuring Maysa
(The positive
ingredients making up this strong April release: Sincere lyrics,
beautifully sung to a refreshing uptempo melody, and an undercurrent
that resembles the bass line from Al Jarreau's "Save Me.")
6. Home (Re-recorded version)-Karla Bonoff
(On her "Carry Me Home" release, Bonoff revisits standout tracks from throughout her career, including this standout, originally recorded for Bonoff's strong 1977 self-titled release. The sentiments of longing for home still resonate all these years later, in Bonoff's re-recorded version. For beautiful vocal harmonies, I also recommend the cover version by The Boxcar Lilies.)
5. Diamond In The Rough (Acoustic Edition)-Shawn Colvin
(Colvin also revisited part of her career this year by releasing new acoustic versions of her "Steady On" tracks. Thirty years later, Colvin's strengths as a singer-songwriter shine just as brightly. Also recommended: "Steady On," "Shotgun Down The Avalanche," and "Ricochet In Time.")
4. 101-Smuggler Brothers
(2019's standout funk instrumental, as far as I'm concerned; its infectious riff would segue with "El Nino" by The Sound Stylistics.)
3. Blacck (Live at The Village Vanguard)-Jon Batiste
(2019's standout jazz piano riff, in my opinion; an appealing strut of a melody that accommodates piano, trumpet, saxophones, and scat vocals perfectly. Elizabeth Shepherd's "Shining Tear Of The Sun" has a compatible piano vamp and would sound appropriate before this.)
2. She-The Brothers Steve
(Immediately accessible, incredibly catchy power pop. It's deceptively difficult to craft a tune that sounds relatively basic lyrically and match it with a guitar line that keeps you hooked for the entire song. If sitcoms still had theme songs, I'd bank on the showrunner who insisted on this one. Seriously, if you can refrain from shaking your head in time to this, you just might be a cyborg.)
1. Dance In The Graveyard-Runa
(My immediate reaction upon first hearing this in April was, "I think I just heard my favorite song of the year." And, so it is. Wonderfully warm, spirited vocals and Celtic-style fiddling make these lyrics about celebrating life resonate. The cycle of life is sometimes painfully hard to accept, but these lyrics remind us to appreciate those who went before us, those who are still with us, and those we have yet to meet. Sung reminders are rarely more valuable than that. If the sentiments of which The Wailin' Jennys sing in "Old Churchyard" appeal to you, Runa's perspective here should provoke a similar reaction.)
