The 2010 GRAMMY Nominees: Rock and Roll Woman's Picks

The biggest music news of this past week was the announcement of the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Award Nominees, which took place during a live concert televised on CBS December 1st.

I generally have mixed feelings where the GRAMMYs are concerned; I'm either happy my favorites were nominated or upset that they weren't.  These emotions are usually chased with a shot of cynicism over the fact that the awards seem to be more of an enshrinement of popular, multi-million selling acts rather than a recognition of artfully-created music that possesses an actual soul.  (Not that the two are mutually exclusive, of course.  Remember the year the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack cleaned up?)

At any rate, here are the nominations that I'm happiest about this go 'round.  "I ain't no monkey, but I know what I like."  

Oh, and be advised - this post is extra-long!  So if you're down with it, let's get down to it . . .

Song of the Year:  Nice to see the excellent Ray LaMontagne earn this prestigious nom for "Beg, Steal or Borrow" from his latest album God Willin' And The Creek Don't Rise.



Best New Artist:  The British folkers Mumford & Sons are up against some stiff competition in this category (Justin Bieber, Drake), but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll pull an upset win. 

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals:  Elton John.  Leon Russell.  Need I say more?  The powerhouse duo earned this nom for "If It Wasn't For Bad" from their album The Union.  Love the film noir-esque video, too. 



Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance:  Probably the only category in which I wouldn't be disappointed to see any of the nominees win - well, with the possible exception of John Mayer.  (Sorry, y'all; I just find his version of "Crossroads" a bit anemic.)  Eric Clapton's "Run Back To Your Side," from Clapton; "Helter Skelter," from Paul McCartney's Good Evening New York City; "Silver Rider," from Robert Plant and his Band of Joy; and "Angry World," from Neil Young's Le Noise all earn the Rock and Roll Woman Seal of Approval©.  All of these men sing very well on their tracks; McCartney sounds especially invigorated, and Plant's cover of the Low song is achingly lovely.  But I'm hedging my bets with Neil's "Angry World."  I don't know if it's Neil himself or Lanois' sonic magic that's responsible, but Mr. Soul sounds as good here as he ever has. 









Best Rock Song: Neil's "Angry World" is up again in this category, along with Mumford & Sons' "Little Lion Man."  As good as the M&S song is, "Angry World" rocks just a little bit harder. 



Best Rock Album:  I liked Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Mojo, and I have nothing but respect for the immense talents of Jeff Beck, nominated here for Emotion & Commotion.  But again, I see Le Noise taking this one home. 

Best Americana Album:  Another category full of worthy contenders - Roseanne Cash's The List, Los Lobos' Tin Can Trust, Willie Nelson's Country Music, Robert Plant's Band of Joy, and Mavis Staples' You Are Not Alone.

My money's on Country Music.  Here's a haunting live version of my favorite track from Willie's T Bone Burnett-produced gem. 



Though I find the choice of categorization a little odd, I'm nevertheless thrilled to see Mavis' marvelous new album nominated for an award.  Here she is performing You Are Not Alone's title track with its author, Jeff Tweedy, who also produced the album.  She has said that this is "one of the most beautiful songs I ever sang," and I love the way he looks at her while she's singing it. 



Best Traditional Blues Album:  No disrespect meant to Cyndi Lauper - I've always liked her singularly unique voice - but what is Memphis Blues doing here?  Impressive guest list (Allen Toussaint, B. B. King, Charlie Musselwhite) aside, she's sadly out of her depth in this material.  When I think of traditional blues, I'm more inclined to think of artists like Pinetop Perkins and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (Joined At The Hip), or James Cotton (Giant).  These two albums, plus Charlie Musselwhite's The Well, are all strong contenders for this award.

From Joined At The Hip, I quite enjoy Messrs. Perkins' and Smith's laid-back take on "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."



Here's a smoldering live version of Muddy Waters' "Sad Sad Day," which James Cotton recorded for Giant. 



As much as I hate to choose here, I can see Charlie Musselwhite winning this one.  The Well is the first album in which Musselwhite either wrote or co-wrote every song, and he really knocked this one out of the park.  Here he and his fine band perform "Rambler's Blues," which I had the pleasure of hearing live at the 7th Ever ShedHed Blues Festival in Ocean Springs, MS, just four days before this video was made. 



Best Contemporary Blues Album:  Okay, I lied - THIS is the only category in which I'll be happy no matter who takes it home.  The late Solomon Burke is up for Nothing's Impossible, which was his sole collaboration with the late Memphis soul producer Willie Mitchell.  This is the only video of a song from the album I can find on YouTube.  It's a bit odd; made by a fan, it features the photography of Edmund Teske.  But close your eyes (or don't, if you like the photos) and listen to the song - Burke is in fine voice here. 



Dr. John won the GRAMMY in this category for 2008's The City That Care Forgot.  Here's the video for "Feel Good Music," from this year's nominee Tribal.  If this doesn't make you homesick for New Orleans, nothing will.



Buddy Guy is indeed Living Proof that the blues is alive and well in the 21st century, and on his album by the same name he's sounding as great as ever.  On "Stay Around A Little Longer" he's joined by B. B. King, and here's hoping that both of these treasures are around for a long time to come. 



If forced to choose one of these for the win, I'm going with Bettye LaVette.  Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook was inspired by her appearance at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors, where her stunning version of honoree The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me" stole the show.  Here's her performance from that night; I love the looks of awe on Pete Townshend's and Roger Daltrey's faces while she's singing.  (Check fellow honoree Barbra Streisand at 1:13 - even she's down with it!)



Kenny Wayne Shepherd is joined by an impeccable roster of blues greats, including Hubert Sumlin and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, on Live! In Chicago.  Here, Shepherd and Sumlin jam on Howlin' Wolf's "Rockin' Daddy" with Bryan Lee, Buddy Flett, and KWSB members Noah Hunt and Chris Layton.



Best Traditional Folk Album:  The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Genuine Negro Jig could and should win this category.  They should also perform at the Awards ceremony - I guarantee they'd take the tops of everybody's heads off - but, alas, we don't live in a perfect world.  Blu Cantrell's "Hit 'Em Up Style" was my jam in the summer of 2001; the Drops lay some serious folk-revival hoodoo on their version, which is now my preferred one!



Onward And Upward, from Luther Dickinson & The Sons of Mudboy, is the North Mississippi Allstar and Black Crowes guitarist's heartfelt tribute to his late father, the Memphis producer and keyboard master Jim Dickinson.  Here, Luther performs "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning," a song he originally learned from the Mississippi Fred McDowell album Amazing Grace.



Maria Muldaur & Her Garden Of Joy sees the bluesy folk siren return to her jug band roots.  This album  full of "Good Time Music for Hard Times" is a delight, and I highly recommend it. 

Best Contemporary Folk Album:  It wouldn't surprise me to see Ray LaMontagne win this one, but Guy Clark's Somedays The Song Writes You is a strong contender as well.  The legendary songwriter's moving ballad "Hemingway's Whiskey" will haunt you long after you've listened to it. 



Best Traditional World Music Album:  I had the honor of seeing Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba perform with Béla Fleck on the latter's Africa Project tour at the Lyric Oxford this past February.  The ngoni is an African ancestor of the banjo, and you owe it to yourself to check out these amazing musicians' latest album, I Speak Fula.



Best Contemporary World Music Album:  Again, I cannot recommend highly enough Béla Fleck's Throw Down Your Heart: Africa Sesssions Part 2 - Unreleased Tracks; Fleck's first album in this series won this category last year.  While you're at it, a viewing of the documentary Throw Down Your Heart - about Fleck's journey to the African birthplace of the banjo - is also essential.  Prepare to have your mind and your heart opened. 

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television, Or Other Visual Media:  Some heavy hitters in this category, but I'm casting my hopes between Crazy Heart and Tremé.  T Bone Burnett has painted another masterpiece with his assemblage for the Academy Award-winning movie, and if you want to take the pulse of New Orleans music right now, you can't beat the fine soundtrack of the acclaimed HBO series' first season.  Most of the songs were recorded specifically for Tremé, and many of these artists also appeared in the show as well.

Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television, Or Other Visual Media:  Hey, you gotta love a category that features two songs about New Orleans and another from a series set in Louisiana!  Randy Newman most recently won this GRAMMY in 2007 for "Our Town" from Pixar's Cars, so it's not too much to assume he'll take it home again for "Down in New Orleans" from Disney's The Princess and the Frog, performed by Dr. John.



True Blood's bittersweet "Kiss Like Your Kiss" was written by Lucinda Williams, and Elvis Costello performs it with her.



Steve Earle's "This City," written for Tremé, joins the esteemed host of deathless love songs penned for a deathless city.  "This city won't wash away/This city won't ever drown . . ." Amen, Steve, amen.



Of all these great songs, I have a feeling that Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett's "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart will win it.  A masterful turn from the young singer-songwriter, whom I saw perform this live at Proud Larrys back in May. 

Congratulations and good luck to all the nominees!