{"id":47621,"date":"2009-12-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/features\/2009-inspired\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T07:31:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T07:31:34","slug":"2009-inspired","status":"publish","type":"feature","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/features\/2009-inspired\/","title":{"rendered":"2009: Inspired"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a strange year out there, with big changes everywhere, in politics, music and even my own little corner of the world.\u00a0 What cut through the clutter of news about beginnings and endings, of new ideas fighting for space alongside old paradigms in disarray, was some truly amazing new music.\u00a0 In a year that demanded inspiration, we got it in spades (and hearts and diamonds).\u00a0 \u201cI still believe you could save me from me,\u201d sang Switchfoot\u2019s Jon Foreman, and like so many of his musical brethren, this was the year he made me believe yet again in the healing powers of rock and roll.<\/p>\n

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Comeback of the Year<\/o:p><\/b><\/p>\n

Superdrag \u2013 Industry Giants<\/i><\/p>\n

Plenty of reunions \/ reformations feel lukewarm, desperate or otherwise unnecessary. \u00a0In thorough contrast, Industry Giants<\/i> found this uber-talented, if often drama-challenged, Tennessee quartet picking up where they\u2019d left off several years before and delivering a set that\u2019s nothing short of incendiary.\u00a0 Like I said before: \u201cmuch more than merely a successful reunion disc, this might just be the best album of Superdrag\u2019s acclaimed career.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Collection of the Year<\/o:p><\/b><\/p>\n

Jayhawks \u2013 Music From The North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology<\/i><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not generally a big fan of collections, but I couldn\u2019t get this one out of the CD player for weeks.\u00a0 In combining the highlights of the two halves of the Jayhawks\u2019 evolution \u2013 the early partnership of vocalist\/guitarists Mark Olson and Gary Louris, followed by Louris\u2019 second-half ascendance to creative focal point of the band \u2013 this album creates a story arc that\u2019s both gorgeous and compelling.\u00a0 Twenty tracks of spot-on harmonies, chiming guitars and wonderful songwriting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Old Guys Rock Award<\/o:p><\/b><\/p>\n

Ian Hunter \u2013 Man Overboard<\/i><\/p>\n

At 70 years young, Ian Hunter<\/a> remains a force of rock and roll nature.\u00a0 Besides turning out the third in a trilogy of tremendous late-career albums with the wonderful Man Overboard<\/i>, Hunter also reunited with his septuagenarian comrades in the tremendously influential Mott The Hoople<\/a> for a set of live shows that not just lived up to, but exceeded every reasonable expectation a fan could harbor.\u00a0 Retirement, bah.\u00a0 Fifty years on, this guy is still kicking the Rolling Stones\u2019 wrinkled asses every time he opens his mouth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Album of the Year (Mainstream)<\/o:p><\/b><\/p>\n

Switchfoot \u2013 Hello Hurricane<\/i><\/p>\n

Every so often, a band that was already terrific delivers an album that feels like a culmination of everything they\u2019ve ever aspired to.\u00a0 Building on the perfect power-pop of The Beautiful Letdown<\/i>, the muscular alt-rock of Nothing Is Sound<\/i>, and the experimental ambitions of Oh! Gravity.<\/i>, Hello Hurricane<\/i> is the album fans always knew this band had in them.\u00a0 Here the San Diego quintet\u2019s grasp equals its huge reach, as they lay their musical hearts and souls bare for an 11-track set that frontman Jon Foreman has described as \u201cthe songs we\u2019d want to die singing.\u201d\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t get any better than that; not in this world.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Indies of the Year<\/b><\/p>\n

For the second year in row, here are the top five independent albums that crossed my desk — winners all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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5. Circa \u2013 HQ<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Ex-Yesmen Billy Sherwood and Tony Kaye have made a lot more Yes music in the past three years than the creatively dormant cash machine still milking the touring circuit has.\u00a0 Teamed with fellow aficionados guitarist Jimmy Haun and drummer Jay Schellen, these guys are making some of the most accessible and entertaining modern prog around, and certainly the most Yes-like new music available anywhere.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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4. Michael McDermott \u2013 Hey La Hey<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

It seems that every year now I get knocked sideways by an album I wasn\u2019t expecting; this year it was my \u201cdiscovery\u201d (only 19 years late, but who\u2019s counting) of singer-songwriter-Springsteen disciple Michael McDermott via his terrific new disc Hey La Hey<\/i>.\u00a0 Ten tracks of superb songcraft, richly detailed, beautifully arranged and compellingly performed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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3. Mike Zito \u2013 Pearl River<\/i><\/b> <\/p>\n

Blues guitarist Zito is making a habit of appearing on these lists, and why wouldn\u2019t he?\u00a0 Over the past 20 years a lot of talented folks have attempted to travel down the hard blues trail forged by Stevie Ray Vaughan, but nobody\u2019s done it more successfully than Zito, who wrings emotion from every note he plays and effortlessly slides between writing songs that tear at your heart and ones that simply demand you move your feet.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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2. Jon Troast \u2013 Living Room<\/i><\/b> <\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit, this might be a bit of a sentimental favorite, given that one of the living room concerts during the tour that inspired this album by storytelling troubadour Troast took place in my very own abode. But let\u2019s face it \u2013 there simply isn\u2019t enough genuine optimism left in the world that we can go wasting it, and Troast\u2019s spare, beautifully crafted renderings of moments large and small are so artful and engaging that it\u2019s virtually impossible not to be won over by the magic he weaves. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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1.\u00a0 Big Big Train \u2013 The Underfall Yard<\/i><\/b> <\/p>\n

Simply the most exciting and affecting prog band working today, Big Big Train managed to top 2007\u2019s tremendous The Difference Machine<\/i> with this magnificent disc, full of epic tales of loss and redemption, decorated with guest shots from luminaries like Nick D\u2019Virgilio (Spock\u2019s Beard), Jem Godfrey (Frost*), Francis Dunnery (It Bites) and Dave Gregory (XTC), and featuring stellar work by the core lineup of Greg Spawton (songwriting\/guitars\/keys), Andy Poole (production\/bass) and newcomer David Longdon (vocals\/flute).\u00a0 The mainstream wags \u2013 the same lot who\u2019ve kept Yes out of the quote-unquote Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the last 15 years \u2013 might prefer to pigeonhole this into some sort of \u201cProg Album of the Year\u201d ghetto, but this album is far too impressive for that sort of nonsense.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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It was a strange year out there, with big changes everywhere, in politics, music and even my own little corner of the world.\u00a0 What cut through the clutter of news about beginnings and endings, of new ideas fighting for space alongside old paradigms in disarray, was some truly amazing new music.\u00a0 In a year that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":50415,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"tags":[],"feature_type":[5609],"class_list":["post-47621","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\/47621","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"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature\/47621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47621"},{"taxonomy":"feature_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature_type?post=47621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}