The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

Diverse acts break through

This wasn’t exactly the best year for music, but there does exist a handful of titles worthy of being mentioned.

They include a couple of newcomers, several veterans and some classic old rockers. So without further ado, here is the best from this year:

1) Robert Randolph & The Family Band – Unclassified

There are only two words for this album: “Soul Refreshing,” the title of Robert Randolph & The Family Band’s first-ever ballad. Known for their infectious live performances, this bluesy-funky-gospel-rock band has proven that they don’t need an audience to create magic.

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Unstoppable energy bursts forth as Randolph rocks his pedal steel like no other on “I Need More Love,” “Nobody” and “Run For Your Life.”

Blistering, blazing and brimming with joy, this album just might be life-affirming. And you wonder why it is the best album of 2003.

2) The White Stripes – Elephant

Yeah, so they’re a little more chic now and schmoozing with A-list celebrities, but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost their stripped-down dirty sound.

After listening to just the first two tracks of Elephant you want to thank God for The White Stripes. Using equipment that predates The Beatles, the “brother-sister” duo recorded their fourth album in a mere two weeks. The result?: Thumping beats, searing guitar solos and a singing Meg White.

3) Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Greendale

The Who created the rock opera, Neil Young has created the rock novel. Song by song, Young follows a modern-day family living in California, exposing the harsh realities of American life in 2003 with his sad, whiney little-boy vocals. Stripped-down beats and rugged guitar-playing combine for an authentically beautiful album.

Closing with “Be The Rain” Young pours out his heart, revealing his simple hippie ideals of peace, love and saving the planet. Want to help Young save the planet? Buy this album.

4) Vusi Mahlasela – The Voice

America was first introduced to Vusi Mahlasela in the powerful documentary “Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony” — a film exposing music impact’s on the lives of South African blacks during the apartheid struggle. Already a favorite in South Africa, Mahlasela relays his apartheid experience through songs like “Sleep Tight Margaret” — written for a friend who was killed in the fight for equality — on his first U.S. release.

With an acoustic guitar and a hauntingly soothing voice, Mahlasela infuses each song with a renewed sense of hope, combining elements of folk, traditional African and even a little rock.

Melancholic tracks like “Weeping” and “Red Song” quickly become uplifting, exposing the true beauty of this freedom-singer.

5) The Polyphonic Spree – The Beginning Stages of… The Polyphonic Spree

Don’t be scared away by their cult-like presence.

They might wear white robes and there might be 22 of them, but they can sing. And you will like it. The Polyphonic Spree take a variety of instruments — everything from a harp to timpani drums to a piccolo — and combine them with soaring, euphoric vocals to create a wonderfully-layered and uplifting masterpiece.

Plain and simple, this album makes you feel happy. Optimism abounds with cheerful lyrics like “hey now/it’s the sun/and it makes me smile/all

around.” This choral pop symphonic band tells us to “celebrate” and we have every reason to do so.

6) Allman Brothers Band – Hittin’ the Note

It has been nine long years since the Allman Brothers Band last put out a new album — but Hittin’ the Note made the wait well-worth it. Guitar-stud Warren Haynes and slide-master Derek Trucks help the band return to that combo of jazz and southern-drenched blues that the group created so well in the good ‘ol days, while Gregg Allman’s rough, grainy vocals sound stronger

than ever.

“Rockin’ Horse” tears at you with its ripping guitar solos, and “Desdemona” allows you to truly admire the band’s ability to beautifully layer a

ballad. We should all thank this “Old Friend” for returning with such a tasty piece of classic rock ‘n roll.