Here’s the annual list of my top ten albums for 2020. I have no real idea if they are, in fact, the best albums of the year, as my listening habits have narrowed considerably with age. I listen to what I listen to. And as previously stated, it is a list that has no recognition of sales and/or chart position, and instead represents new work still being done by legacy artists that, for the most part, I’ve been listening to all of my life. So, if you wanna know what music, at 67, still lights me up, read on!
Gary Frenay’s Top Ten list for 2020
1 A Girl Called Eddy – Been Around (age 50)
This is a stunning record! A Girl Called Eddy (Erin Moran) is an illusive artist, releasing just one album and one EP since her debut over 20 years ago. She seems to release these incredible records and then disappear for years. Luckily for us, she has resurfaced with one on the finest classic pop album, front to back, I’ve ever heard. Produced by Nashville musician Daniel Tashian (Silver Seas), every song is a unique sonic adventure. If I can only convince you to seek out just one album from this list, make it be this one!
2 Burt Bacharach & Daniel Tashian – Blue Umbrella (age 92 & 45)
I’ve been listening to Burt Bacharach’s music since 1962 when I first heard, and fell in love with, Dionne Warwick’s recording of “Don’t Make Me Over.” With over 70 top 40 hits to his credit, Bacharach is one of the most important composers of 20th century popular music. The fact that, at 92, he is still writing new music of this quality, is the story of the year. His new collaborator is Daniel Tashian (see above), who is a perfect fit with Burt’s eclectic, passionate style of pop writing. Together, they have crafted a nearly-perfect album that equally shines a spotlight on Burt’s unique sense of melody and chords, Daniel’s thoughtful lyrics and his warm, clear lead vocals; just beautiful! This is mature, beautiful pop music, that only Bacharach could write!
3 Bruce Springsteen – Letter To You (age 71)
Hot on the heels of 2019’s Western Stars, where Springsteen exploited his SoCal singer/songwriter fascination (a lovely record!), Bruce’s goes back to what he does best; rock! Recorded at his NJ ranch with the E Street Band, Letter To You is truly Bruce at his best! The writing is timely and heartfelt, with songs about aging, mortality and finding purpose later in life. Many highlights here, but for me, the song “Ghosts,” is maybe the strongest, where he sings to a lost bandmate about how he still carries him by his side. It is so inspiring to hear music this good from Bruce, this far down the road.
4 Graham Gouldman – Modesty Forbids (age 74)
Other than Bacharach, and Paul McCartney, Gouldman has the longest career of anyone else on this list. He wrote his first hits in the mid-60’s for The Hollies, Herman’s Hermits and The Yardbirds, while still in his teens. He then became a founding member of 10cc, one of England’s greatest bands, ever! While he still fronts what remains of 10cc, and tours regularly in the UK, he records under his own name. The opening track, “Standing Next To Me,” is his story of being asked to tour with the Ringo Starr All Starr Band; really beautiful. Gouldman is a classic pop writer, and that’s the territory he mines here. He never strays from that, and I love him for it.
5 Fleet Foxes – Shore (age: mid-30’s)
There is something magical about Fleet Foxes. From their first EP releases in 2006 and 2008, Robin Pecknold & company have charted their own path in music. While they do evoke the best of early-70’s David Crosby and Danny Kirwan-period Fleetwood Mac, they are truly their own thing. They make haunting, harmony-based music, bathed in a distinctive reverb. This release, their 6th, doesn’t really break new ground, but when you have a sound this unique, I wouldn’t want them to. This is an album I can put on repeat, and just listen to all day. Like I said, magical!
6 James Taylor – American Standard (age 72)
While many older artists have gone the “great American songbook,” route, first mined by Harry Nilsson and Linda Ronstadt in the early-70’s, I would argue that none have done it better than Taylor does here. What sets this record apart from so many others, is JT’s sense of arrangement. Rather than being bathed in strings, like many others have chosen to do, James arranges every song as if it was his own, with his singular guitar style front and center on every track. Then, of course, there is his voice, which I could listen to all day, and sometimes do! Just a beautiful record!
7 Elvis Costello – Hey Clockface (age 66)
I picked his 2018 release, Look Now, as my album of the year in 2018. This record comes in a little shy of that one, but still has plenty to love about it. Whereas Look Now was his most classically-pop record since his 1998 collaboration with Burt Bacharach (Painted From Memory), this one stretches out a bit more, with EC exploring some more experimental song stylings, even including two tracks of spoken word. There are a few grittier rock songs that recall his early days with The Attractions, but he balances that with the utter beauty of “I Do (Zula’s Song),” which could’ve been on a 60’s Blue Note jazz album by Lee Morgan or Grant Green. The fact that Elvis can still dabble in such different styles, and own them all, sets him apart from any other artist his age. He really is amazing!
8 Paul McCartney – McCartney III (age 78)
While the rest of us were struggling to get through the pandemic of 2020, Sir Paul was immersed in his home studio, writing, dabbling and recording what would become this, his third self-produced and self-recorded long player. As the single most successful songwriter in recorded history (not my opinion, it’s well-documented), one wonders what Paul thinks he still has to prove? This far down his long and winding road, he is only competing with himself. But in reading interviews he did to support this release, it seems to come down to the simple fact that he just loves to do what he does; making music is his reason for being. At 78, there are certainly cracks in his armor, the main one being his voice, which has developed a very different character late in life. But once you get past that, there are some wonderful songs here, well worthy of our attention. And his sheer enthusiasm for record-making shines through on every track.
9 Paul Weller – At Sunset (age 62)
With the release of his 15th solo LP last summer, The Modfather, as he is known in England, joined John Lennon and Paul McCartney as the only artists to top the UK album chart in five consecutive decades. Wow! Largely unknown in America, Weller has had an amazing career in England, first in the bands, The Jam & Style Council, and then as a solo artist. And at 62, much like his countryman Elvis Costello, he continues to push himself, never repeating what he has done in the past. This newest album, is a sonic feast for the ears, that blends Weller’s love of all things soul (“Baptiste” resurrects the sound of Booker T & The MG’s), with spacier things that stretch out in creatively-adventurous ways. This LP reached #1 in England. Pretty incredible for an artist who released his first records in 1977!
10 Joey Molland – Be True To Yourself (age 73)
This is the feel-good album of the year. As the lone survivor of the legendary British power pop band Badfinger, Molland has never stopped working. He still tours every year, keeping the memory of Badfinger alive, and establishing his own legacy as a solo artist, with five solo recordings spread over the past four decades. Linking up here with producer Mark Hudson, is a master stroke. Hudson’s career includes collaborations with Ringo Starr, Aerosmith, Harry Nilsson, and his own brothers, The Hudson Brothers (in the 70’s), and he is a gifted arranger and producer. With Hudson in the producer’s chair, Molland’s songs truly come to life. And while the sound they create definitely evokes both Badfinger and The Beatles (he was an original Apple Records artist, after all), these songs sound fresh AND classic, at the same time, if that makes sense. Buy it!
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