With the Top Ten out of the way — and focusing only on the new — I offer this list of five compilation/soundtrack/reissues worth discussing:
1. Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City. This brings together work from a wide array of artists who relied on a small set of session musicians during the late 1960s and early 1970s and in doing so changed the way Nashville was perceived. It was released in connection with the fabulous exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
2. Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone. I like this album a lot more than the folks at Rolling Stone. I agree that it can be uneven, but it is never dull.
3. Selma. The soundtrack, by bringing together the old and the new in civil rights music, finds a way to work on its own.
4. Bob Dylan, The Cutting Edge 1965-66: Bootlegs Vol. 12. These are the sessions that produced Dylan’s three greatest albums and this collection gives a glimpse into how they came about.
5. Bruce Springsteen, The Ties That Bind: The River Collection. As with the Dylan collection, this gives a glimpse into the recording process that resulted in the Boss’ most underrated album.
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Hank Kalet 