6 Favorite Singer-Songwriter Albums

1. Jonathan Richman- Jonathan Sings (Mann)

Richman is my all-time man-I-love-this-man-he-speaks-my-language-man. This is the first album by Jonathan Richman that I ever got, and while I love almost every single one of his albums, it’s still my favorite. Every single song is awesome. It showcases his song writing style perfectly. Silly, sweet, and honest. “That Summer Feeling” is some of his best writing, I think. There’s a cleverness in the rhymes that’s so Jonathan. The tenderness of “Someone To Hold Me,” the sheer thrill and joy of “Give Paris One More Chance.” It’s all so good.

2. Tom Waits- Rain Dogs (Fantano)

Liking Tom Waits is easy, but picking a favorite album from his discography is hard–especially since the quality of his music has been so consistent over the course of his career. I can’t say Rain Dogs is Tom at his boldest, but it’s one of the most memorable turning points in his career. It takes the weird, experimental sounds he was playing with just a few years prior with Swordfishtrombones, and compliments them with songs that are much more memorable, captivating, and clever. Plus, this LP took the cigarette-smoking, bourbon-drinking troubadour character he portrayed in his music and gave him a dark, mysterious angle–you know, instead of just looking like a grimy louse. Even though I think Tom had more interesting sounds ahead, the songwriting on Rain Dogs makes this album a powerhouse for me. The lyrical imagery, the weird sounds, and the melodies are all killer. “Tango Til They’re Sore”. Forever.

3. The Magnetic Fields- 69 Love Songs (Mann)

In some ways, Stephin Merritt is the anti-Jonathan Richman: Wry, sarcastic, never showing his true emotions. Instead, he hides them behind numerous personas and stories. These kinds of love songs–ones that work on many different levels–are really, really hard to write. It’s such a crowded genre, too. 9 out of 10 songs are love songs. I’m sick of love songs. I think people need to find a new topic. However, Merritt wrote 69 of them and ALMOST every single one is amazing. That’s a feat. That’s unheard of. This album is a pure masterpiece.

4. The Microphones- The Glow Pt. 2 (Fantano)

Jonathan has been talking on previous paragraphs about albums being certain kinds of albums. After years of enjoying the Glow Pt. 2, I’m still yet to completely make out what kind of album this is. Personally, this album makes me think about death, but not in a depressing, whiny, suicidal way. In fact, the idea of death doesn’t even come up that often. It’s just that the dude who wrote and recorded this album–singer-songwriter Phil Elverum–comes off as a man who is really conscious of his own mortality. These seem like the kind of songs one would write and sing after realizing he’s a tiny, insignificant spec in our large and ever-expanding universe. His shy voice only adds to this part of the album’s personality. The lyrics also a strong relationship element to them, but there’s a load of nature themes in there, too. It gives a familiar story a diffferen angle, for sure. The most stand-out element of this album, though, is easily Elverum’s production. It’s messy, noisy, and abrasive at some points; but simple, bare, and haunting during others. The Glow Pt. 2 comes together so cohesively while touching down on a myriad of different sounds and musical styles.

5. Paul Simon- Graceland (Mann)

I think this is a perfect album. Front to back, side to side, every song is perfect. It’s a great breakup album because it does the following:

1. Perfectly captures the feeling of breaking up.
2. Is extremely optimistic.

You gotta respect a songwriter who can do both of those things at once. I know for me, when I’ve had big break-ups in the past, there’s these huge highs of freedom and these terrible lows of terror and loneliness. Simon perfectly gets the highs, and considers the traveling, meeting people, newness, sweetness, and reflection. It’s great.

6. Phil Ochs- I Ain’t Marching Anymore (Fantano)

Though Bob Dylan went down in history as the poster child for socially conscious songwriters from the 60s, I think Phil Ochs was writing songs that had more brutal honesty to them. The extremely topical position Phil took with his tunes made him a bit of a singing, songwriting journalist. Take the track “Here’s To the State of Mississippi,” for example, which details the offensive acts of racism going on in the state at the time. “That Was the President” and “Draft Dodger Rag” do even more to paint the political sentiments at the time; yet, the title track of the album feels more relevant than ever in 2011.