First, an explanatory note:

I refrain from calling these "The Best of 2011" because the following list is but one listener's biased opinion. I have culled these from the many good recordings that crossed my CD player this year. I'm sure I forgot to include a few notable recordings. All told, I estimate The Midnight Special received at least 1000 new recordings, and I listened to about 500 new recordings, of which about 200 made it into the WFMT library, and about 150 received airplay. I do not include reissues and most compilations among these favorites. As the cut-off date is November 15, some of the newest recordings will not be considered until next year.

Sometimes I am just overwhelmed by mediocrity and at other times marvel at the creativity and talent. There are 14 favorites this year, almost twice the number as last year. I probably could have halved these or doubled the number yet again. There was ample good music, but only these grabbed me. While I thought about these choices long and hard for several weeks, if not most of the year, had I made the list a day earlier or a day later it might have been slightly different.

Unlike in previous years, this year's recordings share the attribute of a high degree of energy and excitement. They deliver an emotional charge.

If a good friend visited from out-of-town with only an hour or two to spare, and asked me to play my favorites from 2011, I would play the following. Actually, I have purchased quantities of several of them to give to friends for the holidays.

By way of explanation, I have annotated the CDs on the list, arranged alphabetically.

Brother Sun: Brother Sun (self 53701 21102)
What happens when you unite three of the best male singers in the folk realm who already revel in harmony singing? Brother Sun. While numerous delightful female trios harmonize, few men bond that way these days (unlike the days of the folk revival when they were the norm). Added to great voices, energy and sincerity are worthy compositions in three distinct styles that bring to mind a modern day gospel.

 

Chuck Brodsky: Subtotal Eclipse (chuckbrodsky.com 8024)
Chuck Brodsky consistently delivers good songs on all of his CDs. His two songs about the holocaust, recorded on Holocaust Remembrance Day elevate this recording. Possibly two of the best songs written about the sorrow and tragedy of that unforgivable period of human history. Brodsky also includes some satirical jabs at contemporary society and a few of his arcane and appreciated baseball songs.

 

Ann Hampton Callaway & Liz Callaway: Boom! Live at Birdland (PS Classics 1199)
This is not a folk album, but full fledged cabaret with a wide range of material from the Beatles to Richard Harris to Carly Simon to Joni Mitchell to Bob Dylan to Carole King. The Callaway sisters, who possess great voices, interpret each song with a totally different arrangement in this live concert recording. They shape, mold and caress each song making it their own. The most luminous moment is Ann's performance of Joni Mitchell's A Case of You.

 

Pete Coe: Backbone (Backshift 57)
I'll go out on a limb to say that no contemporary performer brings as much electricity (in an emotional, not instrumental, sense) to traditional music. He turns every ballad he sings into a riveting, relevant tale. He also admittedly takes liberty with most of the ballads either to flesh out their stories or update them for current sensibilities, as well as tweaking the melodies to further grab the ear. He's chosen a diverse range of ballads and songs, including a Bob Zentz song, and brings them to life like no one else. (This recording was released in 2010, but received in 2011.)

 

Joe Crookston: Darkling & the BlueBird Jubilee (Milagrito 62011)
Joe Crookston's songs are dark, but hopeful. He always lights a candle at the end of the tunnel. His poetically powerful songs are quirky, but accessible. The Nazarene, based on his childhood, is spellbinding and engrossing. Crookston is among the ranks of today's best songwriters. He keeps the production simple on this recording so as to never obscure the songs.

 

Kate MacLeod & Kat Eggleston: Lost and Found (Waterbug 100)
This is the second time these friends have teamed up for a recording and their choice of material is superior to their first time around. They captivate with their loose harmonies and their outstanding musicianship with MacLeod playing fiddle and Eggleston playing guitar. They offer a harvest of terrific songs, originals, traditional songs, and covers, varied between vocals and instrumentals. Their covers of Andrew Calhoun's "The Living & the Breathing Wind" and Jean Ritchie's "None But One" justify the entire recording, and this is not to pale the rest of the performances.

 

Peter Mayer: Heaven Below (Blue Boat 1209)
Peter Mayer writes some of the most spiritual songs among contemporary songwriters, but he does not clobber the listener with "the message," and he stays away from common religious tropes. Instead, his poetry raises the spirit with elegance and grace. He visits a variety of subjects with keen vision and also a sense of humor.

 

Pete Morton: Economy (Anson 100)
Pete Morton is becoming an elder statesman among contemporary singer-songwriters. He carries on the broadside tradition with most of his songs incorporating a political message. He cleverly weaves his message into brightly colored images, a bit of whimsy, and sometimes a deceptively lively tempo where the social consciousness romps by before you're aware he's reached you. Some songs are slow and serious, but these help flesh out Morton's view of social justice and equality. His song "When We Sing Together" sums up everything and should become an anthem. (This recording was released in 2010, but received in 2011.)

 

Tom Russell: Mesabi (Shout Factory 826663-12775)
Tom Russell specializes in writing about the underside of America and the nightmares of the American dream. He chooses characters on the periphery of our consciousness, former and faded Hollywood icons, for example, to exemplify the human condition. Irony is Russell's best friend. He also focuses on the troubles of the US - Mexican borderlands and its unique culture unknown to most Americans. His voice conveys the power of a rolling prairie thunderstorm and his instrumentation strikes like lightning.

 

Spuyten Duyvil: New Amsterdam (self 85767 55749)
I remember tossing a cherry bomb into a lake when I was a kid. That's how Spuyten Duyvil affected me when I first heard them and this CD conveys that shock and excitement. Great original writing by member Mark Miller along with a traditional tune and one by Libba Cotton, and outstanding vocals from Beth Kaufman blast this group into the stratosphere. The basically acoustic octet rocks without running up the electric bill. They are so refreshingly original there's no way to describe them in a few words.

 

Steele the Show a compilation of songs by Davy Steele by his peers. (Greentrax 358)
I normally avoid compilations, but this one is compelling with performances by Andy M. Stewart, Dick Gaughan, Ian McCalman, Karine Polwart, Kate Rusby, Sally Barker, Siobhan Miller and others of the songs of one of Scotland's greatest songwriters Davy Steele. The voices, the songs and the settings are glorious.

 

Abigail Washburn: City of Refuge (Foreign Children 20286 15465)
Abigail Washburn is a certifiable genius. Her worldview departs from all other singer-songwriters mixing Appalachian string band with traditional Chinese music, cleverly crafted political songs and unusual love songs. Washburn started as a flash banjo player and still exhibits that talent here, but she fleshes out the fresh and unique sound with impressive array of instruments. The concluding a cappella "Bright Morning Stars" is a delicious dessert after varied multi-course banquet.

 

Susan Werner: Kicking the Beehive (Sleeve Dog 84501 42863)
Perhaps the title answers the question about how Susan Werner creates a superb CD in a different genre from her previous releases without missing a beat. Werner is one of the best singer-songwriters creating today, both as a singer and a writer. With Kicking the Beehive she returns to her contemporary singer-songwriter persona (after CDs of covers, contemporary agnostic gospel and original new American songbook). The songs on Kicking run the gamut from flat out rock love songs to soulful reflections on current issues of our society. Werner never is hesitant to kick the beehive, which is why no matter what style she chooses there's buzz and honey and she can sting with a song.

 

Randall Williams: Einstein's Dreams (Musafir 07)
In a flight of fancy, Randall Williams set Alan Lightman's book of prose poems contemplating physics, Einstein's Dreams to music. Lightman dissects relativity and Williams adds light with his music creating a constant of intellectual revelation and delight. Williams possesses one of the finest male voices among contemporary singer-songwriters which makes this unique endeavor ever the more pleasing.

Here are three other recordings worthy of interest:

Bettysoo & Doug Cox: Lie to Me (Borderline Talent 001)
Joel Mabus: American Anonymous (Fossil 2111)
Heather Styka: Lifeboats for Atlantis (Kite Stripe 02)