Ragin' Randy's Top 10 Albums of the First Half of 2014

So far, 2014 has been an unbelievable year of great music! Following is my countdown of the 10 best albums thus far:

10. Analog Son – Analog Son

Analog Son’s self-titled debut completely blew me out of the water. I was asked to review the album and had never heard of the band. After reading the press release explaining that the project is the brainchild of Kinetix members, Jordan Linit and Josh Fairmal, and the album featured members of The New Mastersounds, Lettuce, Soulive and more, I figured it should be a solid album.

9. Dustin Zahn – Monoliths

I first came across Dustin Zahn wandering home from a late night out in Madison, Wisconsin. I found a flyer on the ground for a free show, and I figured you can’t beat that! I went to the show with a couple of friends and I was instantly hooked. Best free show EVER! Ever since then, I’ve been waiting for a debut album from the Minneapolis native, and Monoliths turned out to be a masterpiece of techno and minimal house that will keep your head swimming.

8. Gramatik – The Age of Reason

While a lot of the bass music scene tends to get repetitive and bland for me, Gramatik is one artist that always seems to spice things up. His extremely tasteful instrumentations complement his love of hip hop style beats flawlessly. Age of Reason brought out the absolute best in Gramatik, who continues to blow all other bass music producers out of the water.

7. The String Cheese Incident – Song In My Head

Cheese heads have been anxiously awaiting a new album from The String Cheese Incident, and 2014 brought out their first studio effort in almost a decade. What made this album so great is that all of the songs have been in SCI’s live rotation for months, and even years in some instances. Not a single one was brand new, never heard before. That’s not to say that recording the album was easy for them, but it certainly gave them a lot more comfort. The band absolutely nailed every single one of these tracks and successfully portrayed an accurate representation of what these songs sound like in a live setting, while simultaneously keeping a concise studio feel.

6. moe. – No Guts, No Glory

These guys simply continue to amaze their fans. After 25 years, they are still continuing to make some incredible tunes. No Guts, No Glory saw quite a few brand new tunes, as well as some older ones getting the studio treatment. I was simply mindblown at the studio treatment of “Silver Sun,” while the entire rest of the album showed a sense of fun-loving maturity, which many bands begin to lack after a quarter of a century.

5. Umphrey’s McGee – Similar Skin

Can’t say much about Umphrey’s McGee these days. They are simply ON FIRE! Their newest studio effort is by far their best one to date, tackling some oldies and fan favorites, as well as some brand new material. Well known for their intricate dual guitar work, strong bass guitar and gut-wrenching drums, UM brought out their best in Similar Skin. Between “Puppet String” and “Bridgeless” getting beautiful studio treatments and the introduction of “Similar Skin” and others, UM makes number 5 on my list.

4. Phish – Fuego

Ever since Halloween of last year when Phish surprised their fans with an entire set of new material instead of the traditional cover album, Phans have been waiting, guessing and analyzing what to expect from Fuego. The result finds the quartet playing some of their best music ever at 30 years into their career. Phish 3.0 has never been better, and these new tunes show an incredible sense of musicianship and represent a beautiful new era in Phish history. As one review very astutely observed, “It actually sounds like they’re having fun - together.” Any Phan will tell you that, considering the band’s rocky history, it is a massive relief to see that.

3. Markus Schulz – Scream 2

While the trance and house scene has all but completely merged into the mainstream, very few producers can still make trance sound like the blissful, fist-pumping aural orgasm it originated as. Markus Schulz is the primary exception. Scream 2 is an absolute masterpiece of melodic, vocal and uplifting trance. Schulz keeps to his roots as one of the biggest names in trance and absolutely rocks this album. Any non-believers in electronic music need to check out “Dancing in the Key of Life” and “Towards the Sun.” If you can’t feel the magic on those tunes, then it’s just not meant to be.

2. David Crosby – CROZ

Up until now, David Crosby has been the least successful out of the quartet that once made up CSNY, as a solo artist. CROZ changes all that, however, with a beautiful album full of brand new tunes. Crosby’s voice seems untouched by his years, while his songs breathe with emotion. It’s as if he has released all of his ups and downs over his career into this one album. Crosby’s first solo album in over 20 years by far deserves the number 2 spot on my list.

1. Railroad Earth – Last of the Outlaws

From the first time I heard this album, I said to myself “This will be the best album of 2014.” So far, I have not seen or heard anything to convince me otherwise. The members of Railroad Earth were all seasoned musicians before the band was formed, and it certainly shows in their music. The lyrics and musicianship of Last of the Outlaws are absolutely outstanding. Every emotion is covered in the album, and complex themes such as mortality and new beginnings are portrayed, not just through the words or the sounds, but also within the actual structure of the songs. To be able to express and pull out emotions that way is absolutely unbelievable. Thank you Railroad Earth. You’ve made my number 1 spot on Ragin’ Randy’s Top 10 Albums of the First Half of 2014!

And there you have it folks! Hopefully the rest of 2014 will have just as much in store for us!

- Ragin' Randy