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The Best Vocal Performances of 2010

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By Chris Moore:

Welcome back for another installment of this year-in-review list series, brought to you by the Weekend Review.  Tonight, I’m happy to present the top fifteen vocal performances of 2010.  Some, like “In Vain or True” and “White Blank Page,” are impressive for their use of complex vocal arrangements.  Others, like “Machine Gun” and “Memories” are notable for the emotive quality of Sara Bareilles’ and Rivers Cuomo’s respective performances.

There have been some excellent vocal performances this year, ranging from the raw vulnerability of Steven Page’s cover of “Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure” to the unleashed quality of Alison Mosshart’s lead on “Gasoline.”  This was one of the most difficult lists to assemble, as the great vocal leads of the year run the gamut in various ways.  So, I’ve done my best to assemble and rank these tracks, taking into account the quality of the individual voices, the emotion behind each delivery, and the overall coherence and interest potentially generated by each vocal.

Without further ado, here’s the list, and be sure to check back tomorrow for another list in this end-of-2010 series!

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCES of 2010

1)  “In Vain or True” – Dhani Harrison, Ben Harper, & Joseph Arthur (of Fistful of Mercy; As I Call You Down)

2)  “White Blank Page” – Marcus Mumford (of Mumford & Sons; Sigh No More)

3)  “Machine Gun” – Sara Bareilles (Kaleidoscope Heart)

4)  “Memories” – Rivers Cuomo (of Weezer; Hurley)

5)  “Please Move” – Kevin Devine (of Bad Books; Bad Books)

6)  “Thieves” – Zooey Deschanel (of She & Him; Volume Two)

7)  “Gasoline” – Alison Mosshart (of Dead Weather; Sea of Cowards)

8)  “I Have Learned” – Ed Robertson (of BnL; All in Good Time)

9)  “Only the Ocean” – Jack Johnson (To The Sea)

10)  “Summer Sun” – Ben Thornewill (of Jukebox the Ghost; Everything Under the Sun)

11)  “The Chorus Girl” – Steven Page (Page One)

12)  “Ain’t No Grave” – Johnny Cash (American VI: Ain’t No Grave)

13)  “The Dance Class” – Rhett Miller (of Old 97’s; The Grand Theatre, Vol. 1)

14)  “Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure” – Steven Page (A Singer Must Die)

15)  “Don’t Look Down” – Philip Selway (Familial)

Announcing: end of the year WEEKEND REVIEW festivities!

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By Chris Moore:

To put it lightly, this has been a groundbreaking year for the Weekend Review and all its various off-shoots.  Featured here weekly on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video blog, the Weekend Review has gone “one-a-week” for what will be a combined total of 52 full-length album reviews by the end of the year.  In addition, there will have been over 30 “Yes, No, or Maybe So” one-sentence reviews, the “Top Five Rock Artists of the Decade (2000-2009)” five-part series, and various other one-off segments.

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time to go out with a bang.  Thus, I am happy to announce that — starting tomorrow — there will be a music review list posted every day for the rest of the year.  In many cases, this will be in addition to other posts, such as the regularly scheduled sessions.  These lists will include the biggies like the top twenty albums and the top twenty-five songs of 2010, as well as lesser ranked items such as the top three debuts and the top ten music videos.

Be sure to check your LS Blog.  Check it often, as there are still six more Weekend Reviews, the New Music 2010 Special Report, and so much more before the year is over.

It all kicks off tomorrow — fittingly — with the Best Cover Songs of 2010 list.  Don’t miss it!

The Weekend Review kicks off the summer this week!

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By Chris Moore:

Hi all!  I’m happy to announce that the Weekend Review is back this week to kick off summer the right way…

…with some awesome reviews!

So, look out this week for reviews of albums from the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and an album that just came out this year.

As a side note, I was inspired this weekend by one of my friends to write a “top ten albums” list for the first half of 2010.  I’ve copied my list below, and it’ll be interesting to see what stays the same and what changes by December 31st.  For once, I’m including no commentary.  Just the list.  So, consider it a preview of what’s to come in six months!

Top Ten Albums of 2010 (so far)

1)  All in Good Time – Barenaked Ladies
2)  Sea of Cowards – The Dead Weather
3)  Heaven is Whenever – The Hold Steady
4)  Broken Bells – Broken Bells
5)  Volume Two – She & Him
6)  Transference – Spoon
7)  Mojo – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
8)  Stone Temple Pilots – Stone Temple Pilots
9)  High Violet – The National
10)  Be in Love – Locksley

The Weekend Review – A Weekday Report

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By Chris Moore:

Hi everyone.  I wanted to write a brief note to reassure everyone that my decreased volume of posts the past couple weeks is no cause for alarm.  Far from it — I want nothing more than to chip into the mounting number of posts that I have researched, rehearsed, planned out, and in some cases, started.

The school year ends a week from today, which means that I am officially in the grip of the craziest time of year for a teacher.  Grading is mounting almost as high as tensions among students trying to get their grades up and/or keep them as high as they are in the face of beautiful weather and a desire for summer to begin.  Come on, you remember those days…

So, I’m doing my best, but I simply refuse to rush through posts, particularly the Weekend Review articles.  As soon as school’s out (for the sum-mer, as Alice Cooper might sing), I’ll catch up with some non-weekend installments of the Weekend Review.  I know, I know… it flies in the face of all that is good and right!

But, rest assured, much more new and interesting material is on its way this summer.  For some, it’s a time to step back.  For me, I can’t think of anything I would rather do than immerse myself in the writing of songs, reviews, and more.  So, before I go, let me offer up some things to look forward to.

First, I’ll let you in on the upcoming Weekend Reviews.  In no particular order, I’ll be tackling Bob Dylan’s legendary Bringing It All Back Home, the much lesser-known 2002 Phantom Planet disc The Guest, and Jack Johnson’s most recent release, To The Sea.  The jury’s still out on if that one deserves the full Weekend Review treatment, or a more compact serving of “Yes, No, or Maybe So.”

Speaking of which, I will also be posting a one-sentence review for tomorrow.  It’s not much, but it’s a little morsel to hold you over until I get back into full swing.

For now, though, I’m going back to watching the Jack Johnson En Concert DVD — which is excellent, by the way, and makes me like the songs from 2008’s Sleep Through the Static even more than I like them individually and much, much more than I like them as an album — while washing dishes.  After dishes, it’s grading of some projects and then off to bed for me before my 5am wakeup call to the Star Trek: Voyager theme song.  Yes, that’s right.  You didn’t misread that.  Seriously, though, I highly recommend it.  I wake up much more peacefully and happily ever since I sprung for the ringtone.

Such a dork…

Okay, that’s all for now, but tune in tomorrow, perhaps as you’re waiting for your copy of the new Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album, Mojo, to rip to your iTunes, and please be patient with me until school’s out next Monday night.

Take care until then!