Paired with the excellent "Fisherman's Box", there's a strong case that the Waterboys were the best folk rock band you've never heard in the late 80s & early 90s.
This box documents the time between "Fisherman's Blues" spent playing and writing what would become "Room to Roam". A fantastic ramshackle mess of folk, rock and Celtic Soul. Imagine Van Morrison recording the Basement Tapes during his time in Woodstock.
It seems appropriate to take a moment to mention this album today, since it would have been Mark Hollis' birthday.
Working in the same continuum as later Pink Floyd and then Talk Talk, "Solace" is the debut by a collection of musicians who are primarily known as sidemen. It's quiet and lyrical. Atmospheric and at times ethereal.
I have found that when you are quiet, and let the music talk to you, it's really something special.
The story goes that Jerry Garcia met them on a radio show in KSAN & requested them to be the opening act for Old & In the Way. (The O&ITW set is out there on the "Live at the Boardinghouse the Complete Shows").
As with every other release in this series that I've heard, the sound is fantastic. Whatever you think of Owsley, he was a fantastic taper. The 1973 set here is from the Boarding House, while the 1976 set is from the Great American Music Hall. There are certainly some sonic differences, but neither show is one to skip.
If you only know the Chieftains from their later years, when they seemed to record albums stuffed full of guest stars, you don't really know the band. This is a killer band, and if you are interested in traditional Irish music you really need to do yourself a favor & give it a listen.
There's no doubt in my mind that music can have healing and restorative properties. I'm pretty sure that Alabaster DePlume thinks so as well. His last album, "To Cy and Lee, Instrumentals vol 1" was perhaps the most satisfying listen of 2020. "Gold" is different, incorporating more of his spoken word and feeling a hair more of a pop album. It's a beautiful listen, and one I returned to again and again throughout the year.
Just like in 2021, Neil Young released another bunch of albums in 2022. None of them are bad, & if you are a fan you will probably want to pick them all up. My 2 favorites are "Noise & Flowers", where Neil is backed by the Promise of the Real & "Citizen Kane Jr Blues", a live record from 1974.
