New Music Musings

Just in time before seeing off the year, I’d like to take a final look at new music. This post highlights my six favorite albums of 2023 I reviewed.

Highway 61 – Driving South

After 30 Years and an incredible background story including the global pandemic, a near-fatal cancer episode and the death of a music mentor, Los Angeles blues rock four-piece Highway 61 released their debut album Driving South on March 24. While after their formation in the early ’90s the band managed to establish themselves on the Southern California club circuit, the record deal they sought remained elusive, and they broke up in 1993. Fast forward to the summer of 2022 when they reconvened for the first time in decades at an L.A. studio to finally record their first album. Highway 61 blend flavors of The Rolling Stones and Tom Petty with dashes of The Black Crowes and Stevie Ray Vaughan. For a little taste, here’s the kickass opener Walk On Water (full album review). Thanks again to Gregg Bell of Wanted Management, who brought Highway 61 on my radar screen!

Ian Hunter – Defiance Part 1

Ian Hunter may be an octogenarian, but he sure as heck can show all the young dudes how to rock. After his departure as lead vocalist from British glam rockers Mott the Hoople in 1974, Hunter launched a solo career and has released his own albums at a fairly steady pace. He frequently collaborated with Mick Ronson until the untimely death of David Bowie’s former sideman in 1993 at the age of 46. His 15th and latest album Defiance Part 1, recorded during COVID lockdown and released on April 21, features the late Jeff Beck, Slash, Billy Gibbons, Todd Rundgren and Ringo Starr, among others, who all added contributions at their home studios. The album also includes Hunter’s longtime collaborator Andy York, one of John Mellencamp’s guitarist, who also served as co-producer. Here’s This Is What I’m Here For, written by Hunter and featuring the late Taylor Hawkins (formerly of Foo Fighters) on drums, Waddy Wachtel (guitar) and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott (backing vocals) (full album review).

Lucinda Williams – Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart

Lucinda Williams may be among the ultimate rock & roll survivors. Only two and a half years ago, things looked pretty bleak for the singer-songwriter, who turned 70 in January. After her East Nashville home had been damaged by a tornado in March 2020, she suffered a debilitating stroke in November of the same year. Not only did the stroke limit Williams’ physical mobility, but it also took away her ability to play guitar, the instrument she had relied on to write her songs. None of this stopped Williams. After intense rehab, she returned to the stage. Still unable to play guitar, she adjusted her way to write music, collaborated with her husband and co-producer Tom Overby and others, and recorded the incredible album Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart, which dropped on June 30. I don’t mean to romanticize hardship, but I find Williams’ strength truly inspiring. Here’s the de facto title track Rock n Roll Heart, co-written by Williams, Overby and Travis Stephens, guitarist and Williams’ road manager. The song features Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa on backing vocals (full album review). Only select songs of the album are available on streaming services.

Cordovas – The Rose of Aces

East Nashville, Tenn.-based Americana and country rock band Cordovas have become one of my favorite contemporary groups since the summer of 2018 when I coincidentally caught them at a free open air summer concert in New Jersey. Their three-part harmony vocals and warm sound remind me of other groups like The Band, Grateful Dead, Eagles and Little Feat. Cordovas were formed in 2011 by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Firstman  after he had put out a series of solo projects and served as bandleader on NBC’s former late-night TV show Last Call with Carson Daly from 2005 to 2009. On August 11, they released their fourth studio album The Rose of Aces, another gem. Here’s Love Is All It Takes, a song written by Firstman with a neat Allman Brothers Band vibe (full album review).

The Rolling Stones/Hackney Diamonds

Hackney Diamonds is no Sticky Fingers or Exile On Main St., but the first new Rolling Stones album with original music in 18 years still marks a late-stage career highlight. Released on October 20, Hackney Diamonds sounds remarkably fresh and dynamic for a band that has existed for 61 years! The first Stones album since the 2021 death of longtime drummer Charlie Watts features Elton John, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Bill Wyman, Paul McCartney and even Watts, among others. One of the most effective contributions are Lady Gaga’s backing vocals on Sweet Sounds of Heaven, a great soulful ballad credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It also includes Wonder on keyboards and piano, but you don’t notice unless you carefully listen to Jagger telling Wonder, ‘Play me something, Steve’, at around the 5:30-minute mark or check the credits – a relatively small wrinkle on what I think is the Stones’ best studio album since 1989’s Steel Wheels (full album review).

Raze Regal & White Denim Inc. – Raze Regal & White Denim Inc.

The collaboration between Raze Regal, who AllMusic calls an eclectic, psych, jazz, and rock-influenced guitarist, and James Petralli, vocalist of Austin, Texas indie rock band White Denim who he co-founded in 2006, is one of my most intriguing new music discoveries this year. The album’s sophisticated sound blending jazz, rock, soul and pop at times reminds me of Steely Dan and some of Gino Vannelli’s work I’ve heard. Here’s the cool opener Ashley Goudeau, named after a local Austin morning news anchor, a song about a parasocial relationship with a TV personality (full album review).

Sources: Wikipedia; AllMusic; YouTube; Spotify