Courtesy: Fantasy Records
The end is near! The end of the year that is. The end of 2017 is only 48 hours away at the time of this post. With time quickly ticking away, there is still a lot of work for this critic to do with year-ender lists. Considering this, we’ll get right into it with one last list for the year’s new albums in the form of the year’s top new albums overall. This list was perhaps the most difficult of all for this critic to assemble. That is because of the amount of top quality material released across the musical universe this year. From punk to pop to jazz, world, rock and more, there were a lot of great records released over the past year. Keeping this in mind, coming up with this was no easy chore, to say the least. It was finally accomplished, though, and includes titles from the worlds of rocks, jazz, country and even world music.
Leading off this year’s best new album — in this critic’s ears and mind — is Ala.Ni’s debut album You & I. This record is a beautiful work that despite being marketed as jazz, could just as easily fit into any adult contemporary pop radio station’s rotation. Also included in this year’s finale are new releases from country music superstar Chris Stapleton, New Orleans-based singer/songwriter Marc Broussard, emo-punk band Young Fox’s new album and much more.
As with every previous list, this list features this critic’s Top 10 choices as well as five additional honorable mention titles for a total of 15 titles. Without any further ado, here for you is Phil’s Picks 2017 Top 10 New Albums.
PHIL’S PICKS 2017 TOP 10 NEW ALBUMS
- Prophets of Rage — Prophets of Rage
- Ala.Ni — You & I
- Jazzmeia Horn — A Social Call
- Diana Panton — Solstice/Equinox
- Fer Isella — Art of the Possible
- Nova Collective — The Further Side
- Scale The Summit — In A World of Fear
- Mike Mangioni & The Kin — But I’ve Seen The Stars
- John 5 & The Creatures — Season of the Witch
- Dishwalla — Juniper Road
- Project 86 — Sheep Among Wolves
- Chris Stapleton — From A Room Vol. 2
- Young Fox — Sky Beats Gold
- Gary Numan — Savage (Songs From A Broken World)
- Marc Broussard — Easy To Love
That’s it, folks. As noted, this was not an easy list to assemble by any means. Trying to determine which albums likely would have a certain amount of longevity through through musical and lyrical messages was a tough task. One cannot ignore the fact that what with the nation’s current political climate, the second coming of Rage Against The Machine was one of this year’s most important and standout efforts. In the same breath, the gentility and beauty offered by Ala.Ni, Jazzmeia Horn and Diana Panton makes their albums certain to stay in peoples’ minds and ears. Fer Isella’s new album, while instrumental is like the soundtrack to any major Hollywood drama such as Bridges of Madison County and other similar movies.
The jazz fusion feel of Nova Collective’s debut record and the prog rock of Scale The Summit’s latest record stand out just as much. Mike Mangioni & The Kin may stay under the radar, but that’s just fine with this critic. The group’s new album is a great independent offering. Dishwalla’s new album is a wonderful return for the band while John 5 & the Creatures’ new album is yet another example of how truly talented the guitarist truly is and that he made the right decision leaving Marilyn Manson’s band.
It is easy to go on and on about every album noted here. Regardless of the band’s fame, the fact of the matter stands that each album listed here is one that this critic feels is impacting and important for the given act and for the music community in whole. That being the case, this list stands as this critic’s best new albums of 2017. Now with all of the music stuff out of the way, it’s on to a handful of DVD/BD titles including best new box sets for families and for grown-ups, best new DVDs/BDs for families, and even best new documentaries. So stay tuned for all of that!
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