Great Debut Discs - Singer/Songwriter 90's - 00's

Well let's see if we can find some right out of the box great discs made in the last few decades.

Jeff Buckley - Grace - 1994

2nd generation from this songwriting family. pushes everything right to the edge. captivating stuff



Cat Power - Dear Sir - 1995

raw power and emotion. she has kept this going for some time and had "it" right out of the gate



Nina Nastassia - Dogs - 2000

cut to the core voice with a direct and dark songwriting style. late night music



Jolie Holland - Catalpa - 2003

she was in Be Good Tanyas. not sure if this qualifies as a debut. but you can enjoy it for the good disc it is



Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender - 2004

a classically trained harp playing singer/songwriter? Yes along with Loreena McKennitt this is a small group. Pretty talented.



Jenny Lewis - Rabbit Fur Coat - 2006

she was of course in Rilo Kiley so does this qualify as a debut? i think so because it is so different. Anyways very quirky and really good!





Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim - 2008

is she 16 or 17 here? good grief she is good. little Joni here. a modern recording that allows space? and is not close miced all the time? wow!

Best of 2010 Part 2

So far I decided not to rank these releases but that will probably change. Instead for the next little bit I want to highlight some of the best music of 2010 and then we will release what got the most airplay on CKCU in 2010.

For today I want to spotlight another singer/songwriter, this time an American, Joanna Newsom. "Have One on Me" is the follow up to the spectacular "Ys", 2006. Her latest is one sweeping epic, part "Dr Zhivago" and part "Canticle for Leibowitz". Within the majesty are stark, quiet, personal moments of great intensity. She patches together a quilt of word play that is unique, varied and at times almost impenetrable. Her harp and voice tie it all together. In an often dull world she is the Dorothy after the tornado.