Okay, everybody seems to have their own little series of album reccomendations and celebrations so here's my own. I think there's a lot of modern albums that get overlooked here simply because they're by younger artists, which makes them juvenile and unworthy of 'indie cred'. So here begins my series of sexy exciting albums from fairly recent years by fairly young chaps.
"Where The Humans Eat"
by Willy Mason 2004, Virgin Records
The first time I heard Willy Mason was when he appeared in a small UK club tour among many other "up-and-coming" artists, around the time this album was released. He performed the song 'Oxygen', the mission statement of young man with an old head on his shoulders. It was full of doubtful hope and wary optimism. I was blown away.
A short while later I saw he'd made music videos for 'Oxygen' and a travelling song called 'So Long'. This was when YouTube didn't exist and I often taped my favourite music videos off the TV. I watched these two videos all the time, I showed them to everyone. And I bought the album, finding Willy shared many of my own dreams and my own guilt.
"Entering the liquor store, you try your hardest to ignore
that street sleeper on your left there all alone.
And the young man on your right, with unchained soles and love of night
you look so scared they laugh and wonder if you're stoned,
But somewhere deep inside they feel a pain they've learned to hide,
'cause that same fear has brought much trouble on their homes,
and they know you won't feel safe
until that cop car wins it's race
and another life is driven off it's road." He sings in 'Hard Hand To Hold', over a wandering acoustic and electric blues that wouldn't be out of place in Bob Dylan's 'Bringing It All Back Home'.
You'll find much to love here, much to think about, much to sing along to. Rarely does a new artist come out of seemingly nowhere (Martha's Vineyard) with a debut album as inspired, soulful and complete as this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXIBM2oQZjg 'Hard Hand To Hold'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBSawyBHS_o 'So Long'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjtTGdhgjZY 'Oxygen'