Top 10 Roots

by Mary Armstrong

1 Lila Downs
Shake Away
(Manhattan)

From folklore to funk, Lila Downs is a genius of concept, lyric and expression. She surrounds herself with musicians of the same caliber: Versatile enough to keep up with her highly trained voice, they make her farthest-reaching inspirations sparkle.

2 James Hand
Shadow on the Ground
(Rounder)

Country music don't make 'em like that anymore? Not true. James Hand is your man for true country, from heartbreaking echoes of Hank to bipolar swings of gleefully nonsensical rockabilly.

3 Los Texmaniacs
Borders y Bailes
(Smithsonian Folkways)

Max Baca of the Texas Tornados has gathered some serious players around his bajo sexto. No San Anto rock this time, just the purest south Texas conjunto songs and dance tunes, the melodies subtly interpreted by David Farias' accordion.

4 Keb' Mo'
Live & Mo'
(Yolabelle)

Mo' takes blues to a new plane with his slice-of-life songs. "Government Cheese" and "More than One Way Home" are tales of the 'hood, while "Victims of Comfort" preaches the green gospel.

5 Los Cenzontles, David Hidalgo, Taj Mahal
American Horizon
(Los Cenzontles)

Taj sings in that code-switching mixture of Spanish and English in the same sentence that is such a part of the Chicano experience. All the music of Mexican America, folkloric to blues, is put to the service of the story of trying to make a living and even having a bit of time left over for some hybrid fun.

6 Sarah Jarosz
Song Up in Her Head
(Sugar Hill)

Just out of high school, this young singer/composer/instrumentalist shows us which way bluegrass is heading.

7 Patty Loveless
Mountain Soul II
(Saguaro Road)

Loveless' second all-bluegrass CD makes us wonder why she records anything else. Her genuine twang is perfectly accompanied by full-time bluegrassers like Rob Ickes, Del McCoury and Mike Auldridge. Opening with a throwback version of "Busted" is just right for these times.

8 The Wailin' Jennys
Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House
(Red House)

The stunned pauses before the audience pins the meters with applause prove that reverie is a universal response to the blend of these three voices. They manage that difficult feat of sounding sweet without oozing over into cloying.

9 Loudon Wainwright III
High Wide and Handsome
(Second Story)

Wainwright, with extended family and longtime friends, has made two CDs of pure delight for those who love the old Charlie Poole songs and mystique. No track attempts to re-create the old sounds; these are loving personalizations of the classics, interspersed with newly written tales of Poole's exploits.

10 The Unwanted
Music from the Atlantic Fringe
(Compass)

Appalachian music's roots in old-world Celtic song-making is often cited, but few bands bring that process to life like The Unwanted. They play and sing old-time Southern music with the lilt it originally sported, and close the circle with a tender version of "No Expectations."

(m_armstrong@citypaper.net)