Ron’s Top 10 Favorite Folk CDs of 2011
Okay, there are 12 CDs on my list of top 10. Sue me. Since folk music is such a diverse genre, and because we were blessed with so many great recordings during the past 12 months, I felt it was okay to add a couple of additional CDs to my list of personal favorites. I do not like to use the word “best”, because each of these recordings strikes me in different ways and it is unfair to compare one to the other in that respect. Suffice it to say that this list represents what I feel are important recordings of 2011 that showcase outstanding artistic achievement in our folk community.
Here they are:
ARI & MIA “Unruly Hearts”
self –www.ariandmiamusic.com
BEARFOOT “American Story”
Compass – www.compassrecords.com, www.bearfootband.com
BROTHER SUN “Brother Sun”
self – www.brothersunmusic.com
DAVID WAX MUSEUM “Everything is Saved”
self – www.davidwaxmuseum.com
DISAPPEAR FEAR “Get Your Phil”
self – www.disappearfear.com
GILLIAN WELCH “The Harrow & The Harvest”
Acony Records – www.gillianwelch.com
JOE CROOKSTON “Darkling & The Blue Bird Jubilee”
Milagrito Records – www.joecrookston.com
JOEL MABUS “American Anonymous”
Fossil Records – www.joelmabus.com
JOHN McCUTCHEON “This Land: Woody Guthrie’s America”
self – www.folkmusic.com
THE ONCE “Row Upon Row of the People They Know”
Borealis – www.borealisrecords.com, www.theonce.ca
RED MOLLY “Light in the Sky”
self – www.redmolly.com
SPUYTEN DUYVIL “New Amsterdam”
self – www.spuytenduyvilmusic.com