{"id":47475,"date":"2006-12-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-12-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/features\/2006-a-rebuilding-year\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T11:59:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T11:59:01","slug":"2006-a-rebuilding-year","status":"publish","type":"feature","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/features\/2006-a-rebuilding-year\/","title":{"rendered":"2006: A Rebuilding Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

In baseball they call it a rebuilding year\u2026 that in-between space where you\u2019re more preoccupied with missing the past and looking forward to the future than with focusing on the present you\u2019re inhabiting.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say the year 2006 made a big impression on me musically.\u00a0 Other than the few standouts noted below, the biggest news for me this year was that Fountains Of Wayne, the Redwalls and Jimmy Eat World are all back in the studio working on 2007 releases.\u00a0 That said, here are a few randomish awards:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Album I Most Regret Not Reviewing This Year <\/strong><\/p>\n

Like many latter-day fans of the Jayhawks (at last count there were at least 17 of us), I despaired at the fate of Gary Louris and company, lapsing into hiatus after issuing two of the finest and most underappreciated albums of their career, 2000\u2019s Smile<\/i> and 2003\u2019s Rainy Day Music<\/i>.\u00a0 The good news is, Louris and Jayhawks compatriots Marc Perlman and Kraig Johnson also had an active side project going with Soul Asylum\u2019s Dan Murphy and Wilco\u2019s Jeff Tweedy in the alt-country supergroup Golden Smog.\u00a0 The Smog returned in 2006 with their finest effort yet, a compendium of compelling melodies, jangly guitars, urgent vocals and off-kilter humor.\u00a0 \u2018Twas Another Fine Day<\/i> indeed when these guys got together to make music again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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\"jackiegreene_american\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Local Boy Made Good Award <\/strong><\/p>\n

The weird thing is, I\u2019ve never even seen Jackie Greene live here in our mutual hometown of Sacramento, CA — I finally caught him in concert two hours away this past summer up at Lake Tahoe, and did he ever impress.\u00a0 This precocious 24-year old talent\u2019s major-label debut American Myth<\/i> melds everything you ever loved about Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen into a package that\u2019s modern and classicist all at once.\u00a0 The sure-handed prodigy covers a rich, distinctly American musical landscape that ranges from hard boogie to acoustic folk and just about everything in between.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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<\/u><\/p>\n

Progressive Instrumental Albums Of The Year <\/strong><\/p>\n

No that\u2019s not a misprint.\u00a0 Not only is there reason to make such an award this year \u2013 there are\u00a0two.\u00a0 First up, in the indie category, we have Pete Prown and <\/place><\/placename>Guitar <\/placetype>Garden, who delivered the bold, fluid Satch-meets-Gilmour stylings of Secret Space<\/i>.\u00a0 Meanwhile, over on Zoe\/Rounder, Ken Ramm and Euphoria blew my mind with the evocative, eclectic world-blues-electronica\u00a0of Precious Time<\/i>.\u00a0 Two of my favorite listens of the year, without a doubt.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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The Annual \u201cSometimes With A Million Bucks I Still Couldn\u2019t Buy A Clue\u201d Award <\/strong><\/p>\n

Last year it was Jet\u2019s Get Born<\/i>, the year before it was Ian Hunter\u2019s Rant<\/i>.\u00a0 It seems every year now I discover an album that came out a while before that I simply missed out on, and that upon further inspection turns into an instant favorite.\u00a0 This year it was Switchfoot\u2019s Nothing Is Sound<\/i> that took my CD player by storm and stayed there for weeks.\u00a0 Call it U2 lite if you must, but this talented quintet has emerged from the CCM ghetto to light up your radio with lyrically searching, melodically rich, stadium-sized anthems for the soul.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Indie Release Of The Year <\/strong><\/p>\n

First Runner-Up<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Jon Troast sent me an e-mail one day asking if he could submit his independent release Second Story<\/em>.\u00a0 Having never heard of the <\/place>Lake Geneva, <\/place>Wisconsin resident and having had more than my fill of sensitive-guy singer-songwriters over the years, I was prepared to be underwhelmed, and delighted to sit down to a hearty meal of self-prepared crow.\u00a0 Second Story<\/em> is full of sweet acoustic grooves and endearingly over-the-top sentiments, and finished a strong second in my personal indie sweepstakes this year.<\/p>\n

Indie Of The Year <\/strong><\/p>\n

Chris Cubeta wowed me with 2003\u2019s out-of-nowhere Sugar Sky<\/a><\/em>, but even that superb disc in no way prepared me for the sheer quality \u2013 no, majesty — of 2006\u2019s Faithful<\/em>.\u00a0 By turns exuberant and introspective, tender and fierce, matter-of-fact and elegiac, Faithful<\/em> is literate rock and roll of the first order, and\u00a0the best excuse all year to use the adjective \u201cSpringsteenesque.\u201d\u00a0 Do not miss it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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<\/p>\n

Major Label Release Of The Year <\/strong><\/p>\n

In a year when the majors put out a bare handful of discs worth listening to, Continuum<\/i> stood out above the crowd.\u00a0 Showing remarkable (and admirable) musical growth, John Mayer graduated from the school of love balladeers, grew up and earned a graduate degree in the blues.\u00a0 Continuum<\/i> is full of mature musical statements that resonate with tight grooves and thoughtful, often powerful lyrics.\u00a0 He caps off the best set of songs he\u2019s written to date with outstanding guitar playing and increasingly nuanced and soulful vocals.\u00a0 In the liner notes, Mayer tips his hat respectfully to Eric Clapton, but he shouldn\u2019t be so modest — with this album, they\u2019re now officially peers. \u00a0No, really\u2026 I’m serious.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


Other Albums That Earned Numerous Spins<\/strong>:\u00a0 Gin Blossoms \u2013 Learning The Hard Way<\/i><\/a>; Tom Petty \u2013 Highway Companion<\/i><\/a>; Jake Stigers \u2013 Comin\u2019 Back Again<\/i><\/a>; Dixie Chicks \u2013 Taking The Long Way<\/i><\/a>; Andy Timmons Band \u2013 Resolution<\/i><\/a>; The Who \u2013 Endless Wire<\/i>; Jet \u2013 Shine On<\/em><\/a>; Ben Folds \u2013 superdunnyspeedgraphic, the lp<\/i>. <\/p>\n

Most Painful Listening Experience Of The Year<\/strong>:\u00a0 When I suggested we do a retrospective focusing on arena rock, I did not count on getting stuck reviewing not one, but three of the genre’s low points.\u00a0 On the other hand, I did manage to have some fun while\u00a0assessing the finer qualities of these albums by Asia<\/a>, Foreigner<\/a> and REO Spedwagon<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In baseball they call it a rebuilding year\u2026 that in-between space where you\u2019re more preoccupied with missing the past and looking forward to the future than with focusing on the present you\u2019re inhabiting.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say the year 2006 made a big impression on me musically.\u00a0 Other than the few standouts noted below, the biggest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":50995,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"feature_type":[5609],"class_list":["post-47475","feature","type-feature","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","feature_type-best-of"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature\/47475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/feature"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"feature_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature_type?post=47475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}