Andy Gullahorn - Reinventing the Wheel

Andy Gullahorn is a clever singer-songwriter who writes songs about real life with complete honesty.

Wow I think that's the deepest thing I've managed to write on Best Album of the Day thus far. All kidding aside, Reinventing the Wheel is an excellent album.

I previously mentioned Gullahorn in my review of Jeremy Casella's newest album. They are both part of a big group of musicians that put out some quality stuff. I've got some posts coming up that include more music from this group. (Check out The Rabbit Room sometime and you'll find some good recommendations)

Back to the point, I love this album. Being thirty years-old with a wife and kids allows me to really relate to many of the songs. The track "More of a Man" is totally me. Except for the part about rubbing deer blood on my face. Who does that, Andy?

"How Precious Life Is" is a great song that anybody who has had the life-altering experience of having kids will relate to. "Desperate Man" is something I listen to whenever my life seems to be running on fumes.

This album can be listened to straight through, no skipping necessary. It's real, it's melodic, and every song flows smoothly into the next one. "Give It Time" is a perfect closing track.

Musically it's mainly acoustic with some moments of orchestration, percussion, and other various non-electric instrumentation. Similar to my last post, this is not one you'll listen to when working out. Instead listen to it when you are in a contemplative mood. It will hit the spot.

Also, be sure to check out Andy Gullahorn's website. The man is a genius. Comedic genius that is. "The Drive With Andy" videos are awesome.

We'll have to book him for one of his famous house concerts someday. Given the current readership numbers for Best Album of the Day I'm sure we'd all fit in a standard size living room to hear him do his thing.

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Wood - Songs from Stamford Hill

I've meant to put this album up here for a long time now. It's one of the great albums that nobody has ever really heard (unless you know me - I made sure friends had a chance to hear this one!).

Wood were a band from the UK that released Songs from Stamford Hill, their only album, in 1999. Headed by James Maddock (who is now living in New York and has a solo career - nice guy too), they mixed flavors of Wallflowers, Neil Young, David Gray, Sting, etc. I think the only single that received US airplay was "Stay You," and attention was limited at best. The song is a bit cheesy but it's still a really good song.

If you were to give me my choice of five albums to take with me on a deserted island, this one would definitely be included. It's maybe not in my top five favorite albums of all time (close however), but I've listened to it over and over and it is impossible for me to get sick of it.

The song "Whole Lot to Think About" is undoubtedly my favorite on the album. There's nothing like an acoustic ballad in 3/4 time with some good pedal steel to make it complete. "You Make Me Feel Bad" and "Our Time Has Come" are also two of the best in my opinion.

It's a pretty mellow album so don't expect to put it in your iPod for working out or anything like that. But if you and your spouse are really wanting to make some babies anytime soon, throw this one in!*

*NOTE: If you are like me in your baby-making ways you'll want to make sure you've got your player set to "repeat" for this album.

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Dan Wilson - Free Life

I'm going to go ahead and get all of the Semisonic talk out of the way first thing. I'm sure everyone knows the song "Closing Time". It's been on nearly every VH1 One Hit Wonder special. No matter what that song did to this band, they put out a pretty decent album in Feeling Strangely Fine ("Secret Smile" and "Gone to the Movies" put me to sleep many nights). It's tough to be stuck with the one hit wonder label...I even walked past a Dan Wilson solo performance in Minneapolis figuring he didn't have much to offer. I was wrong.

Wilson has put together a great solo album in Free Life. He has some great compilations with Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) on "Free Life" and "Baby Doll", Sheryl Crow on "Sugar", and Gary Louris (The Jayhawks) on "Cry" and "Come Home Angel". He's also written songs for the Dixie Chicks, Jason Mraz, and Mike Doughty. Obviously Wilson is talented and it really shows on this album. "Cry" first caught my attention, but the whole disc is solid. If I ever get a chance to hear him again, you can bet I'll stop and listen....

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Rich Price - All These Roads

Got another Dispatch connection for you. I don't know a lot about this guy, apart from him being Pete Francis' roommate in college. I first heard a couple songs off of his Night Opens disc. He has a great voice...makes for a pretty layed back sound on his albums. I heard the song Queen B off of this disc, which was one of those songs you can listen to repeatedly, and checked out the rest of the album. It's soft, but it's really pretty good. If you like the sound, I recommend listening to his previous albums as well...you'll get hooked.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Bon Iver is a solo project by Justin Vernon. I first heard about this album when the Star Tribune ran a story about him. He was originally in a band call DeYarmond Edison. After their break up, Vernon went up to his father's land in Wisconsin for the winter to get some solitude for three months. After a few days of hard work on the land he began to write and record this album. He would spend his mornings in the deer stand and then go to work for 12 hours a time on the album. I really like the somber sound of the album. "Skinny Love" is a great song that I can't stop listening to...definitely worth checking out!

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Pete Francis - Iron Sea and the Cavalry

Meet Pete Francis. I know nothing about this guy other than 2 things: 1) He used to be in the band Dispatch, and 2) His new album is awesome.

He's got a folk/alt-country type sound. Sometimes his voice sounds a little like Mason Jennings or Ryan Adams, but it's pretty unique so I don't have a good comparison there.

The songs on this album are really strong. My favorites so far include the title track and "Stowaway", which almost sounds like a mix between the aforementioned Jennings and John Prine. Great song!

This would be a perfect album for a road-trip across the Midwest. Enjoy!