Twelve From: Best of 2006 List

This is The Crutch's Top 12 of 2006 - in no order. Needless to say, several great albums were not included.

SSM - SSM (Alive)
[mp3] The freshest and best rock and roll this year.

The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers (V2)
[live mp3] Probably won't be the best album they'll inevitably create, but this debut blows away the majority of the field.

Archie Bronson Outfit - Derdang Derdang (Domino)
[mp3] Arctic who? Franz who? You should know Archie Bronson Outfit.

The M's - Future Women (Polyvinyl)
[live mp3] The drumming alone makes this album a must listen, but the over all craftsmanship puts it on this list.

Comets on Fire - Avatar (Sub Pop)
[mp3] The heaviest of the bunch, but it's just more to love.

Jay Reatard - Blood Visions (In the Red)
[mp3] The best thing Jay Reatard has done - and that's a statement within itself.

King Khan & the BBQ Show - What's For Dinner? (In the Red)
[mp3] If you've forgotten what rock and roll sounded like, listen to this album.

Soledad Brothers - The Hardest Walk (Alive)
[mp3] The last album this band may ever put out, but it's an impressive one.

Catfish Haven - Tell Me (Secretly Canadian)
Simple, soulful, and passionate - not much else is needed.

Functional Blackouts - Severed Tongue Speaks For Everyone (Criminal IQ)
[mp3] This isn't your average punk album - it'll put hair on your chest.

The Black Angels - Passover (Light in the Attic)
[mp3] Psychedelia done right.

The Drones - Miller's Daughter (Bang!)
[mp3] The Drones are the best band from down under since Radio Birdman.

Four From: a live setting

T. Rex - 20th Century Boy (German TV - Musikladen - 1973)
If not for Marc Bolan, David Bowie would've never been David Bowie.

The Reigning Sound - We Repel Each Other (Goner Fest - 2005)
The best band that the general public has never heard of.

The White Stripes - Hello Operator/Baby Blue (Peel Sessions - 2001)
This version of "Hello Operator" (minus the cover of Gene Vincent's "Baby Blue") is what made them popular in England (before the U.S.), and this session impressed John Peel so much that he touted them as the most exciting live act since Jimi Hendrix.

The Beatles - Money (Swedish Radio - 1963)
If I heard this in 1963, I'm sure I would've shit my pants as well.

Three From: 1989

The Pixies - Tame (Doolittle)
If the timing was right, The Pixies would've been Nirvana.

The Gories - I Think I've Had It (House Rockin')
Thank god for Mick Collins.

Lenny Kravitz - Let Love Rule (Let Love Rule)
Kravitz had some real talent before he became a "rock star."

Three From: 1979

George Thorogood - Who Do You Love (Move It On Over)
Over his career, Thorogood's covers are better than the originals themselves, including this Bo Diddley tune.

The Cars - Bye Bye Love (The Cars)
Hands down one of the best debut albums ever.

Wire - I Am the Fly (Chairs Missing)
Who would've guessed this Brits would have such an influence?

Three From: 1966

Nancy Sinatra - Lightning's Girl (How Does That Grab You?)
I'm waiting for Jack White to cover this.

The Sonics - Cinderella (Boom)
The godfathers of punk.

Love - My Flash On You (Love)
Love, The Zombies, and The Kinks (in a popular sense) are the three most unappreciated bands of the 1960s.

A New Direction

Monte has decided to go a different direciton. All our few contributors are busy doing other things, but we still would like to contribute to the world of music by introducing folks to new and old music. Therefore, we are moving in another direction. Stay tuned...

The Ettes – Shake the Dust (SFTRI)

Jonk’s Music Blog

“The Ettes are a band you'll love to love, bringing with them a magical story, a great look, and a killer sound.”

Overall:
I was surprised at some of the side information this little piece was offering, but then I got to the end, read this quote, and saw that this was the press release off of BMI. You couldn’t just say two lines in your own words? Christ. What’s the point?

Review Rating: n/a

-----

Big Stereo
Writer: Travis

"I’ve hated The Ettes for about one year now. To be honest it is totally not fair. Easy now, I’m working it out. You know when you hate the prettiest girl in the room just because she’s hot? And you kind of just want her to trip up because you’re a little bit envious or jealous or whatever. It’s kind of like that. The Ettes are hot, and I kind of want them to trip.

A year ago their music was sloppy in a bad way. They sounded like a high school band at their first battle of the bands. But. Ok.They had a change of bass players and have totally 100% pulled it together. I’m glad. Their new single “No More Surprises” is totally worth checking out. They are so much tighter as a band… like they’re listening to each other play. Also, it’s worth mentioning that the production is totally top notch. The Ettes have found perfect pop rock."

Overall:
Did you hate them because they were popular or because their music was “sloppy”? I’m guessing this isn’t really supposed to be a review...or even writing. The odd thing is that The Ettes quote this. Yes, totally.

Review Rating: 8%

-----

The Beacon (Florida Int’l University Newspaper)
Writer: Samanta Qui’on

“Blending Nancy Sinatra style with the fiery swagger of the Stooges, the Ettes are the latest band to hit garage punk.

The trio formed just two years ago in L.A. and nabbed a record deal with Sympathy for the Record Industry through live shows and the support of local radio.

Shortly thereafter, their debut album, Shake the Dust, was recorded with renowned London garage rock producer Liam Watson.

With most songs averaging around two and a half minutes, there's no room to get bored.”

Overall:
It reads like something from a college newspaper, but at least she’s covering a band nobody knows about, while doing a decent job at comparing the band’s sound.

Review Rating: 50%

----------------------------------

Conclusion From Reviews:
The Ettes are said to sound like...The Stooges, The Ramones, Nancy Sinatra, Patsy Cline, Shangri-Las, Holly Golightly, The Rolling Stones, The Slits...and they’re garage rock...pop. And everyone digs it.

Supplement:
We barely found anything on The Ettes – nobody covered this band, even though they made it to 15 on CMJ’s top 200. They did indeed move from NY to LA, but might have benefited from a stay in Memphis along the way to get a little fried chicken grease into their sound. They have all the logistics in place - recording with Liam Watson, being on Sympathy, and getting a natural buzz - but like their cover of Reigning Sound’s “We Repel Each Other”, The Ettes’ inclination to over-polish their sound will leave fans of their influences skeptical. We definitely give them credit for the effort, and we certainly recommend this over a lot that is out there, but if you find yourself loving this, do yourself a favor and have a taste of a female-led band that has a little more bite to it, such as Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra. The Ettes are worth a listen, but they haven't earned any invitations to bed.

Found Ettes Tracks:
No More Surprises
Gimme

Videos:
Reputation (live at Cinespace)
You can actually find this entire Cinespace set at YouTube. Just search on The Ettes.

Additional Listening:
Reigning Sound – We Repel Each Other (live at Goner Fest '05)
Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra – Out of Style
The Stooges – Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell
The Slits – So Tough
Nancy Sinatra – Lightning’s Girl
Patsy Cline – Walkin’ After Midnight
The Shangri-Las – Sophisticated Boom Boom
Holly Golightly – Virtually Happy