Overeem’s Top 90 Fresh Fonograph Records of 2020

I was distracted by the past during October, having taken a DEEP-ASS dive into the dawning of disco (late-’73 to mid-’75) that revealed many joyous obscurities and reduced my tension and foreboding regarding this month. Many of my music-loving peers are flipping for Bruce Springsteen’s newest; I have only played the opening track, and stopped listening before it was over–it’s just the way I am, but his set-up has grown tiresome with me, even though the whole idea behind Letter to You seems designed for me, given the year I’ve been having. In addition, several hot new jazz records have dropped (by James Brandon Lewis–his second of the year–Angel Bat Dawid, Mary Halvorson, the Afrosynth production house, the fascinating Takuya Kuroda, and Kahil El’Zabar–his second of the year) that I haven’t given a fair amount of time to. But four newbies I’ll swear by (I may have over-self-started re: the Zeal and Ardor EP) pushed older records out of the Top 30, and revisited a few items that had paled a bit pushed them down the list as well.  Those two massive reissue box sets are at the bottom of my old-stuff list mainly because they’re too damned expensive for the common man, given much of their contents have been available before, more cheaply–but they are still listenable front to back, something you can’t always say about such white elephants.  If only the Prince box had included the Sign O’ The Times concert film…

Note: BOLDED ITEMS are new to the list.

1. Run The Jewels: RTJ 4
2. Gil Scott-Heron and Makaya McCraven: We’re New Again–A Reimagining
3. SAULT: Untitled (Black Is) 
4. 79rs Gang: Expect the Unexpected
5. Princess Nokia: Everything is Beautiful
6. Boldy James & The Alchemist: The Price of Tea in China
7. Fire! Orchestra: Actions
8. Body Count: Carnivore
9. Serengeti & Kenny Segal: AJAI
10. Neptunian Maximalism: Éons (band name and album title of the year, based on music’s justification of same)
11. Marx Lomax II: The Last Concert—Ankh & The Tree of Life
12. Mark Lomax II: The 400 Years Suite
13. The Third Mind: The Third Mind
14. Jyoti: Mama You Can Bet!
15. Hamell on Trial: The Pandemic Songs
16. Kahil El’Zabar: America, The Beautiful
17. Kahil El’Zabar: Spirit Groove (featuring David Murray)
18. Roisin Murphy: Roisin Machine
19. Open Mike Eagle: Anime Trauma Divorce
20. Anna Högberg Attack: lena
21. Tee Grizzley: The Smartest
22. The Good Ones: RWANDA, you should be loved
23. Various Artists: Hanging Tree Guitars
24. Fiona Apple: Fetch the Bolt Cutters
25. Shabaka and The Ancestors: We Are Sent Here By History
26. Bob Dylan: My Rough and Rowdy Ways
27. Ashley McBryde: Never Will
28. Charles McPherson: Jazz Dance Suites
29. SAULT: Untitled (Rise)
30. Zeal and Ardor: Wake of a Nation (EP)
31. Princess Nokia: Everything Sucks
32. Joel Ross: Who Are You?
33. Lido Pimienta: Miss Colombia
34. Bettye LaVette: Blackbirds
35. Mike & The Moonpies: Touch of You–The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart
36. James Brandon Lewis and Chad Taylor: Live in Willisau
37. James Brandon Lewis: Molecular
38. Various Artists: New Improvised Music from Buenos Aires
39. The Human Hearts: Day of the Tiles (EP)
40. Little Simz: Drop 6 (EP)
41. K. Michelle: All Monsters are Human
42. Drakeo the Ruler & JoogSzn:Quit Rappin
43. KeiyaA: Forever, Ya Girl
44. Bobby Rush: Rawer Than Raw
45. Thiago Nassif: Mente
46. Luke Stewart: Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet
47. Bette Smith: The Good, The Bad, and The Bette
48. Florian Arbenz & Greg Osby: Reflections of The Eternal Line
49. Irreversible Entanglements: Who Sent You
50. Kesha: High Road
51. Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson: Chicago Waves
52. Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids: Shaman!
53. Cornershop: England is a Garden
54. Elizabeth Cook: Aftermath
55. City Girls: City on Lock
56. Moses Sumney: grae
57. Apollo Brown & Che Noir: As God Intended
58. Al Bilali Soudan: Tombouctou
59. JD Allen: Toys / Die Dreaming
60. No Age: Goons Be Gone
61. Steve Earle: Ghosts of West Virginia
62. Ammar 808: Global Control / Invisible Invasion
63. Jeff Parker: Suite for Max Brown
64. Junglepussy: Jp4
65. Alicia Keys: ALICIA
66. Grimes: Miss Anthropocene
67. Dehd: Flower of Devotion
68. The Ridiculous Trio: The Ridiculous Trio Plays The Stooges
69. Burna Boy: Twice as Tall
70. Conway the Machine: From a King to a God
71. Mr. Wrong: Create a Place
72. Various Artists: Eyes Shut, Ears Open–A Burning Ambulance Compilation
73. Moor Jewelry: True Opera (EP)
74. Teodross Avery: Harlem Stories – The Music of Thelonious Monk
75. Asher Gamedze: Dialectic Soul
76. Optic Sink: Optic Sink
77. Laraaji: Sun Piano
78. Tiwa Savage: Celia
79. Jinx Lennon: Border Schizo Fffolk Songs for the F****d
80. Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra: If You Listen Carefully, The Music is Yours
81. Beauty Pill: Sorry You’re Here (EP)
82. Steve Arrington: Down to the Lowest Terms—The Soul Sessions
83. Etuk Ubong: Africa Today
84. Swamp Dogg: Sorry You Couldn’t Make It
85. Julianna Barwick: Healing is a Miracle
86. Black Thought: Streams of Thought, Vol. 3—Cane and Abel
87. Speaker Music: Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry
88. Lori McKenna: The Balladeer
89. Old 97s: Twelfth
90. Theo Parrish: Wuddaji

Reissues and Past Recordings Freshly Excavated

1. Various Artists: Daora–Underground Sounds of Urban Brasil
2. Wussy: Ghosts
3. Various Artists: Turn Me Loose, White Man
4. Thelonious Monk: Palo Alto
5. Peter Stampfel and The Bottlecaps: Demo ‘84
6. Various Artists: Saint Etienne Present Songs for the Fountain Coffee Room
7. Milford Graves & Don Pullen: The Complete Yale Concert
8. King Ubu Orchestru: Concert at Town Hall – Binaurality Live 1989
9. Luiz Carlos Vinhas: O Som Psicodelico De L. C. V.
10. Oneness of Juju: African Rhythms 1970-1982
11. Junior Byles: Beat Down Babylon (Deluxe Reissue)
12. Various Artists: Soul Love—The Black Fire Records Story 1975-1993
13. Sun Ra: Unity—Live at Storyville NYC October 1977
14. Various Artists: La Locura de Machuca—1975-1980
15. Tony Allen: No Accommodation for Lagos
16. Various Artists: All Aboard! The CN Express—Rock Steady and Boss Reggae Sounds 1967-1968
17. The Pogues: BBC Sessions 1984-85
18. Ranil: Stay Safe and Sound!
19. Lee Scratch Perry with Seskain Molenga and Kalo Kawongolo: Roots from the Congo (reissue)
20. Dennis Gonzalez: Forever the Falling Stars
21. Hiroshi Yoshimura: Green
22. Milton Nascimento: Maria Maria (reissue)
23. Jon Hassell: Vernal Equinox (reissue)
24. The Awakening: Hear, Sense, and Feel
25. Bessie Jones: Get in Union
26. TEST: TEST and Roy Campbell, Jr.
27. Joe McPhee: Black is The Color
28. Various Artists: Stone Crush—Memphis Modern Soul 1977-1987
29. Walter Bishop Jr.: Coral Keys
30. Observer All Stars & King Tubby: Dubbing with the Observer (reissue)
31. Roky Erickson / 13^th Floor Elevators: You and Me and I (Live)
32. Bryan Ferry: Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 1974
33. Fela Kuti: Perambulator
34. No Trend: Too Many Humans/Teen Love (reissue)
35. Pharoah Sanders: Live in Paris 1975
36. Nina Simone: Fodder on My Wings
37. Yabby You & The Aggrovators: King Tubby’s Prophecies of Dub (reissue)
38. Various Artists: Léve Léve – Sao Tomé & Principe Sounds ‘70s-‘80s
39. Various Artists: Soul Jazz Records Presents Black Riot—Early Jungle, Rave, and Hardcore
40. Lee Scratch Perry: Play On, Mr. Music
41. Various Artists: Maghreb K7 Club–Synth Rai, Chaoui & Staifi (1985-1997)
42. Brother Theotis Taylor
43. Black Ark Players: Black Ark In Dub
44. Prince: Sign O’ The Times (Deluxe Edition)
45. The Replacements: Pleased to Meet Me (Deluxe Edition)