Dave's Faves 2006

1. The Master Has Come Back – Damian Marley / Welcome to Jamrock

I gave this CD to Tony for Christmas last year, and we both listened to it a little and then kind of forgot about it. Last summer I loaded it into my MP3 player, and discovered that there were some awesome tunes on it. Later I had it in my car, and Tony wanted to know who it was. By fall, Nate had it on repeat on his computer. A family fave!

2. Wild 2Nite – Shaggy / Clothesdrop

Featuring Olivia. No redeeming social value here, but I do like Shaggy. There's always plenty of upbeat fun.

3. Free Up – Los Lobos / The Town and the City

Ah yes, Los Lobos. Another fantastic concert at the Zoo last summer - we took Nate and Tony with us. By the end they had the stage covered with dancing women, and playing La Bamba. This CD is pretty good - like most Los Lobos recordings, it will take repeated listening to get the full appreciation.

4. Zydeco Cha Cha – Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas / Hang It High, Hang It Low

Speaking of the Zoo – there's nothing like a little Zydeco on a hot summer night. This is relentlessly happy dancing music.

5. Poor Tarzan – Little Charlie & the Nightcats / Alligator Records 35x35

This is off of another great Alligator collection celebrating its 35 years in business. They tried to get one recording from each year on the CD. I love the "jungle beat" of this one, even though it's a sort of novelty song.

6. Better Not Touch – Shemekia Copeland / The Soul Truth

Shemekia's the daughter of blues legend Johnny Copeland, and she's become quite the sensation herself. The tunes on this CD remind me of some of the R&B bands that used to play the bars back in the 70's. This one has a great horn section.

7. Bubble Pop Electric – Gwen Stefani / Love, Angel, Music, Baby

Featuring Johnny Vulture. Diane gave this to me as a present, mostly for the picture of Gwen spread out on the back cover. It's mainly high energy pop tunes, and this cut is a very subtle story about teenage romance.

8. Who You Fighting For? – UB40 / Who You Fighting For?

When I heard that UB40 was going to play the Myth, I thought, "Are they still around?" Apparently so. I grabbed their latest recording, and although it's not as good as some of their early 80s stuff, it's still UB40 – political as ever.

9. Close My Eyes – Matisyahu / Live At Stubb's

This is the Hasidic Jew Reggae star from New York. It sounds odd, but he's got a great band. At times they sound like early Police.

10. Always Tomorrow – Bob Mould / Body of Song

I love this CD. It was really hard to pick a fave off of it. It reminds me of cruising across Wisconsin to and from Milwaukee for the Lung Association. It's the right mix of Husker Du, Sugar and Bob's recent electronic recordings.

11. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured – Arctic Monkeys / Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

The Arctic Monkeys were the buzz band for a while last year, and usually I can resist the hype. Tony bought me this for Father's Day, and it's really very good. Kind of like the Libertines, but with a better guitarist.

12. All Night – Damian Marley / Welcome to Jamrock

Featuring Stephen Marley. Buy this CD. It's the top fave of the year.

13. Johnny Can't Dance – C. J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band / Step It Up!

I picked this up as a bonus when I bought some other CDs from Alligator's website and it's a lot of fun. You can never have too much Zydeco.

14. I Fell in Love – Susan Tedeschi / Live in Austin

Another Zoo fine concert from last summer. She's got a terrific band, and had a very satisfying show.

15. Is She Really Going Out With Him? – Joe Jackson / The Bootlegs Vol. 1 - Celebrating 35 Years at First Avenue

OK, so this is not one of my favorite Joe Jackson songs. However, this is a fave because I was there – you can hear my whistle and I'm one of the people yelling "WHERE?" John and I went to this for his 50th birthday, and it was one of the more memorable 1st Avenue shows I've seen. The rest of this CD has some interesting cuts from everyone from the Replacements to Atmosphere to Richard Thompson.

16. Get on the Boat – Prince / 3121

Have you been to his club in Vegas yet? Another great CD by Prince. This cut has a fantastic jam with Sheila E and Maceo. Maybe he'll play it at the Super Bowl.