About half way through March, I told my mom that the month was looking pretty weak so far because, by guessing what I would get to by the end of it, it was possible there wouldn't be any A- albums for the monthly recap. Although there ended up being three A-'s, I was right that the month would be relatively weak. March has been the weakest month in 2021 so far because it's pretty likely that you've never heard any of my top albums.
All of my top five albums surprised me one way or another. The first surprise came from the guitar and fiddle group the Mississippi Sheiks, who recorded in the 1920s and 1930s. I expected to like them, but they were much better than I anticipated--Walter Vinson's emotive and unique voice brought to the group to a level worth checking out nearly 100 years later. The next (and biggest) surprise came from delta bluesman Bukka White only a few days after I made that remark to my mom. I was pretty uncertain about White but upon my first listen, it was immediately obviously that, behind Charley Patton, he was the best bluesman I'd come across so far. In fact, it wasn't until I listened to Gram Parsons's Grievous Angel that White's Parchman Farm wouldn't for sure be the best album of the month (it still could be). In hindsight, I should have anticipated that Parsons's Grievous Angel would be as good as it is--it's Gram after all--but there's always massive critical acclaim for posthumous albums and I was wary about being too optimistic going into it. As it turned out, all that worrying was for nothing.
Based on the field of competition, a David Bowie album was guaranteed to be on the list and though I tackled his critically acclaimed and widely influential Berlin Trilogy this month, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) was the one that I chose for the list. It too came out of nowhere--out of all the Bowie albums I checked out this month, it was the one I anticipated the least--and it actually ended up being my second favorite Bowie album. Although I have high praise for it, I don't recommend you check it out unless you're already a fan of Bowie. It's one of his weirdest and most out-there albums--needless to say, I won't be playing it around the house when the semester wraps up. To round out the top five is The Original Delaney and Bonnie. It was also a surprise, but in a different way than the rest. Robert Christgau gave it an A+ so it should have been the best album of the month in theory, but I found it to be somewhat disappointing. More generally though, I was disappointed with Delaney and Bonnie. I expected them to be a nice detour from the more rock-oriented music I often listen to, but instead I found myself spending most of the month trying to figure why exactly they weren't clicking with me. I was particularly befuddled with my lack of enthusiasm for On Tour with Eric Clapton--everything from the guitar to the horn section to the vocals seemed excellent and yet I barely moved a muscle while listening to it. Returning to The Original Delaney and Bonnie at the end of the month, I'm pleased to find it sounding more full and soulful than when I reviewed it although, at least for now, I don't see why Christgau thought so highly of it. Maybe with even more time, I'll gain further appreciation for the duo.
In April, I should have no shortage of great albums for my recap. I've nearly finished listening to all the artists I'm currently on--I have four albums to go for Paul Simon, three or so from Bowie, and one from Gram Parsons and Delaney and Bonnie each. The four artists that will replace them are the Eagles, Bonnie Raitt (whom I'm particularly excited to do because she too is into early blues music), The Kinks, and Love. Additionally, the blues artists I want to check out are Memphis Minnie, one of the only female blues guitarists of the time and best remembered for "When the Levee Breaks," which Led Zeppelin covered, and Lead Belly, a widely celebrated musician who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
My 5 Favorite Albums from March:
David Bowie: Scary and Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)
Delaney and Bonnie: The Original Delaney and Bonnie (1969)
Gram Parsons: Grievous Angel (1974)
The Mississippi Sheiks: Honey Baby Let the Deal Go Down (2004)
Bukka White: Parchman Farm (1970)
