Five of the Best...CDs of 2008

'We must have music...!' sang Noel Coward and he's right, of course. Here's five favourites from 2008 you may care to try for yourselves...

All I Intended To Be
Emmylou Harris

It's a major event when a new Emmylou CD is released.

“I’ve always seen myself as a relentless songfinder, a singer of other people’s work whom I admire greatly, and an occasional songwriter.”

This statement is a fitting indication of the CD's content.

Key tracks: 'Moon Song', 'Gold' and 'Sailing Round the Room'.

Impossible
John Foxx and Louis Gordon

Things have been very active on the John Foxx front of late, with a number of limited edition releases coming our way. I thought 'Impossible' was the pick of the bunch, with reworkings of classic tracks from various eras. There's new versions of quite a bit of his 'From Trash' work as well as older stuff such as 'The Man Who Dies Every Day'.

When I Cut Loose
The Toy Hearts

I stumbled across The Toy Hearts very recently and am particularly enjoying their second CD. It's bluegrass, folk and blues, UK-style.

Key tracks: 'When Angels Sing to Me', 'Giving You Back Your Troubles'.

Sex and Gasoline
Rodney Crowell

World-weary, outsider cynicism. Great lyrics and musically excellent. The title track is one of the best; 'Truth Decay' and 'Forty Winters' stand out too.

Little Honey
Lucinda Williams

This speedy follow up to 2007's 'West' sees Lu in a clearly more optimistic and happy frame of mind. It's a good mix of up tempo rockers (such as 'Real Love' and 'Little Honey') and thoughtful ballads ( 'If Wishes Were Horses'). Here's hoping for some UK tour dates in 2009.