my 10 for 05 (part 2)

5. ryan adams and the cardinals - jacksonville city nights
i bought this album in the midst of living in baton rouge and dealing with the ramifications of hurricane katrina. it was pretty much one of the few bright spots of september, but that has not really tainted my opinion. i had heard a couple of these songs at the show i had seen in june, so i was awaiting this release quite a bit. i had not been prepared for what i heard though. the record itself was very country, very honky-tonk, very divergent from cold roses, the previous release. i really enjoyed the use of the steel guitar on cold roses, and that instrument was used even more on JCN, as well as the use of a string section. upon first listen, i really didn't know what to make of the album. i grew to very much love it though, and it was hard for this record to not crack the top 3 of 2005. as it stands, it makes it in at number 5.

tracks to check out on this release: 'the hardest part', 'my heart is broken', and 'hard way to fall'

4. coldplay - x&y
this was probably the most highly anticipated album of the year to start 2005 in my book. moreso than even the 3 ryan adams releases. the last coldplay studio album, a rush of blood to the head, was an all time classic album in my opinion. there are so many songs on it that carry more weight than most whole albums have these days. so i guess with these vaulted expectations, there was not much of a chance for this new album, x&y, to live up to them. as i look back at it, it does and does not meet expectations. the band seemed to set out to create the perfect album. they sound more like u2 on this release than their other two, and there are some definite big arena songs (see: 'square one' and 'speed of sound') but there's definitely a shortage of piano driven songs that made a rush of blood to the head so fantastic. i think with this record they are trying to prepare themselves to becoming the biggest rock band in the world, at least i think chris martin has alluded to that idea in interviews i read leading up to the release of x&y. i say all of that not to point it out as a bad thing, there's nothing wrong with expecting big things from yourself, but i guess i think its a bit arrogant to publicly acknowledge that your goal is to be bigger than u2. the album itself has its very strong points and some not so strong points, but its nowhere near the power of the previous two studio albums. still, it stood above many releases in 2005 which lands it at #4.

tracks to check out on this release: 'talk', 'til kingdom come', 'low'

3. the white stripes - get behind me satan
this album came out the same day as x&y, and i was able to pick up a copy of it. this album also had to grow on me since i didn't really enjoy it much the first few times i listened to it. i fell hard for 'elephant' and had reasonably high hopes for the new record, even though i don't consider myself that much of a white stripes fan. i don't have any of the previous albums before elephant. anyway, with the 2005 release, i think jack white is definitely pushing the boundaries of where rock music can go. can a rock song be made up of only mandolin and drums ('little ghost') or be based on piano alone ('i'm lonely (but i ain't that lonely yet)')? the genre lines are definitely blurred on this record, which is not necessarily a bad thing. jack white pretty much said "screw following the rock music formula, i'm making songs i want to make", and it totally works. it may have been panned by some critics, but this album has remained in heavy rotation 6 months after its release and i've grown to really enjoy it, almost as much as i like 'elephant'.

tracks to check out on this release: 'take, take, take', 'the denial twist', 'my doorbell'

1-tie. david crowder band - a collision (or 3+4=7)
i don't even know where to start to describe how much i love this album. i had not even heard one song off of it until i went to the show back in october. the lyrics really impacted me, and the music is great too. i'll just repost what i typed shortly after getting the full album in november:

"I’ve listened to this album everyday for a week. It is tremendous. I came home one day and jumped around when I was able to hear one song on the big stereo. I don’t know if I was near an emotional cliff or what, but I was even near tears during one of the songs. The lyrics are so powerful on some of the songs, and I think this album is a big step forward from Illuminate."

tracks to check out on this release: 'foreverandever, etc.', 'you are my joy', 'i saw the light'

1-tie. ryan adams and the cardinals - cold roses
this was my 2nd most anticipated album of 2005 after x&y, and this one did meet all my expectations. i was salivating after having heard many new songs on RA's website during the winter and early spring, and eagerly awaited the first new studio album since 2003. i remember the afternoon i purchased the record sitting in my car waiting for my family at a local restaurant just listening to the new songs and reading the lyrics. the music was so good, the different use of instruments, the haunting steel guitar, the driving rhythm section, the great lyrics. it completely lived up to my expectations and then some. definitely the best record i heard this year.

tracks to check out on this release: 'let it ride', 'if i am a stranger', 'sweet illusions'