TOM’S TOP TEN 2008

First of all, I would like to thank Chris Diestler for making Wednesday night my favorite of the week; I would also like to thank Scott Hutton & Ira Gordon for making it all possible.

Trying to find the top ten albums of 2008 is a daunting task; so many great albums were released. I tried to make my list with as many jam bands as possible but I cannot live by jam alone – sometimes I need some toast to go with my jam.

#10 – Drew Emmitt “The Long Road”

Leftover Salmon’s multi-instrumentalist & vocalist breaks out with a solo record. Great songs from many genres with a lot of guests such as Sam Bush.

#9 – Waybacks “Loaded”

Americana meets jam on this relatively bluegrass-sounding disc. Traditional instrumentation overloaded with virtuosity make this a fun & fabulous album.

#8 – Stanton Moore Trio “Emphasis on Parenthesis”

Stanton incorporates an organ trio for this not-so traditional disc. Many timbres, rhythms and forms make up this very funky record.

#7 – Markus James “Snakeskin Violin”

Africa meets Mississippi in the middle of a dirt road; I can smell the BBQ from here and wow does it smell good.

#6 – Widespread Panic “Free Somehow”

Recorded in the Bahamas it is Jimmy Herring’s first studio effort with Panic. Not as strong as some of their early recordings it still holds up as one of my favorites of the year.

#5 – Michael Franti & Spearhead “All Rebel Rockers”

Sly & Robbie produce this juggernaut of the jam band scene. Every track is strong and different from beautiful to powerful; lean to heavy; the production value is awesome and so is this disc.

#4 – Xavier Rudd “Dark Shades of Blue”

Xavier is an Australian multi-instrumentalist whose strong points are song writing and texture with a flair for using his native rhythms mixed with rock’n’roll. A great disc from the relative newcomer to the jam band scene.

#3 - moe. “Sticks and Stones”

By far their best studio effort; “Sticks and Stones” is chockablock full of different qualities; from pop to jazz and everywhere in between. A forty-five minute tour of what a jam band studio effort should sound like.

#2 - YMSB “Mountain Tracks vol 5”

This live double disc has the best of what Yonder offers. Disc I is all live but not from the same show, disc II is from the same show. For a string band these guys pump up the jam. It is quite obvious they love what they do and so do I.

#1 – Keller Williams w/Gibb Droll, Jeff Sipe, Keith Moseley “Live”

This double live disc comes with an additional DVD. Many different facets and flavors dominate this improvisational tour-de-force. Reworked Keller originals and some great covers make this my favorite disc of the year.

Thank you so much for listening and have a great New Year. May your ears be blessed and your bowl always full.

Peace,

Tom

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