The Rolling Stones "Hackney Diamonds" is my favorite new album of 2023
Plus my top five new records
Many people tell me my musical taste is stuck in the 1960s and 70s. They’re wrong. I also like a lot of 80s music. But, they do have a point. Those are my favorite decades of music.
However, I make it a point to listen to new albums every year. Yeah, many of them are from my favorite artists of those years, but I occasionally try to hear some of the newer artists to at least pretend that I’m up to date on the current musical scene.
With that said, here are my five favorite new albums from 2023.
Who would have guessed that an Olivia Rodrigo album or song would ever make any of my top-of-anything lists? When I was checking out other albums of the year musings, there was one constant, “Guts.” I decided to check it out and while it’s not something I would regularly listen to, the songwriting and music are exceptional and extremely evolved for someone only twenty years old. Get ready for plenty of teenage angst, hurtful relationships and being a worldwide star at a young age. “Guts” gets my number five spot.
Neil Young went on a small acoustic tour of the West Coast last summer. It was his voice with a guitar, piano, harmonica and a pipe organ. The songs were mostly obscure, deep tracks with a few classic cuts thrown in. He recently put out this new album of those songs recorded live, with the audience sound cut out. Plus, there’s no break in between any of the tunes. It’s one forty-eight-minute-long piece of music. Leave it to Young and musical producing legend Lou Adler to come up with a fresh take on a stripped-down album. “Before & After” is my fourth favorite album of the year.
In March of 2022, Foo Fighters longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins suddenly died. His shocking death cast a pall across the entire music world. “But Here We Are” is the band’s first studio recording since Hawkin’s passing. For this album, band leader and frontman Dave Grohl steps back behind to kit to handle the drum parts. While it’s nothing earth-shaking and it won’t set any new musical ground, it’s a fairly typical Foo Fighters album. If you like them, you’ll like this one. “But Here We Are” is my third favorite album of 2023.
Lucinda Williams is one of music’s best storytellers. Very few musical artists paint pictures with their words like she constantly does. In November 2020, she suffered a stroke that left her unable to play the guitar. “Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart” is her first album since then. She brought out some big musical names to help, including Margo Price, drummer Steve Ferrone and Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa. The reviews were mixed but I like it…of course, I like everything Lucinda does. That makes “Stories…” my number two album of the year.
So what was my favorite album of 2023? Was there ever going to be any doubt that it would be The Rolling Stones? “Hackney Diamonds” is the band’s first album of new music since 2005. The opening guitar riff on their single “Angry” reminded me of their legendary album “Sticky Fingers.” The Stones brought out some big guns to help, including Bill Wyman, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Benmont Tench and Paul McCartney. It also has the last two songs that the late drummer Charlie Watts performed. When you put all this together, you have what I think is the best Stones studio album since “Some Girls”, in 1978. It’s easily my favorite record for 2023.
That’s my album rankings for 2023. I look forward to hearing some new music this year.