Bentley’s Bandstand: Favorite Albums of 2025 (First Half)
Shane Alexander, FOREVER SONGS. Not everyone has a name known across the country, but then again very few can write songs as strong and soulful as Shane Alexander. He calls Southern California home, but his heart belongs to the cosmos. There is a way Alexander builds his music into something that can’t often be equaled. When this album is heard, there can be no question true uniqueness is in our midst. Love is a near-impossible reality to really nail with only musical notes and lyrics, but when it happens it’s clear that the world has turned a few rotations right in front of our deepest feelings. Alexander has been doing this for years, and someday the world will know his name and music.
Annie & the Caldwells, CAN’T LOSE MY (SOUL). When it comes to soul singers working the gospel side of the street, it can be a lonely avenue. But with ANNIE & THE CALDWELLS, well, it’s a high-spirited aggregation that can definitely tantalize the spirit. There aren’t many recordings made in the modern era that touch this kind of glory, but this outfit surely does. With their Southern roots and spiritual center, there is no way not to show humanity where the center of humans really preside. When it’s saving the souls of those alive and seeking a center that needs finding, this is where it all begins. When the voices of true believers turn into one and step forward with all they have, life turns toward truth, and there can be no confusing where we are all supposed to go. Soul for all.
Galactic and Irma Thomas, AUDIENCE WITH THE QUEEN. Soul Queen of New Orleans is definitely a Queen in New Orleans, and has been for over half a century. And she just keeps getting stronger. This album paired with funk-rock primo kings know exactly how to hit the nerve just right, and make the city swing. It’s a marriage made on Tchoupitoulas Street, with one of the Crescent City’s most beautiful voices and the funkateers from flat-out another galaxy. Lion’s Den lives.
Valerie June, OWLS, OMENS & ORACLES. The kind of musical artist that comes once a decade, and that’s that. Valerie June has a lot of Memphis in here, and knows how to mix things up and make life bake. There isn’t one like her right now, and that is always a very good sign. Watch this woman to keep pushing right into the next sphere, and round up a rowdy army of those who know where life really begins. Find June’s secrets.
Van Morrison, REMEMBERING NOW. There was a decade starting in the late 1960s when Van Morrison put out a new album, it was stop the presses because there was no doubt it was going to ring the BIG BELLS. Starting with ASTRAL WEEKS, the Irishman’s soul was going to send shivers through listeners who had fallen for his music. Then things tapered off a bit when Morrison left Warner Bros. Records, and while there were great songs which escaped into the world after that, it didn’t feel like the man’s albums went all the way to heaven. Well, REMEMBER NOW does. Something has reconnected with Morrison and his muse in such a profound way that his light has taken over again and these songs are leading a way back to the musical promised land which brought so many thrills to the world. Van the Man.
Willie Nelson, OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORLD. There has only been one Willie Nelson, and there will never be another. Whoever had the idea for Nelson to record a disc of Rodney Crowell songs should be given a permanent pass to Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic, if in fact it still exists. This is where the human soul gets to sprout its wings for eternity, and never have to worry that there is indeed holiness in the land. Eternity exists here.
Marc Ribot, MAP OF A BLUES CITY. Every generation or three, a magical guitarist wanders onto the planks and somehow, without anyone being able to explain, generates a new kind of stringed fascination. Marc Ribot got a lot of lift-off from his early days playing with Tom Waits and then took his own excursion into a sound that is generated from inside the heart. This album will not be stopped. Instead, it will become a medicine guaranteed to fix what ails needy humans, and then shoots for joy wherever it wanders.
Lynn Taylor & the Barflies, WHERE THE HEART IS. When a true blue band arrives that doesn’t need to be more than it already is, it’s time to sing a song and bang the gong. Lynn Taylor is the kind of bandleader who gets exactly what he needs. And the group behind him lays it all out on the bandstand without anything missing. Taylor has a street tough combo with an eye for permanence. He will be here forever, and likely to be widely known before those turning things upside down are shown the exit. Guaranteed to boogie.
Thee Holy Brothers, HIGH IN MY BALLOON. There must be music that cannot be explained. That is the only way to make it to the next side. The songs that Thee Holy Brothers compose and perform are evidence that those among that can shoot for beyond the explainable will be here for years beyond normal beings, and likely aren’t sure how they do what they do. But they do. Willie Aron and Marvin Etzioni are Los Angelenos who drank the kool-aid and found out there are avenues of unreality that are here to show how to get there. The point is realizing when the doors swing open and let them in. Holy are thee.
Various Artists, A TRIBUTE TO CLIFTON CHENIER: THE KING OF ZYDECO. For about as long as the world has known about zydeco music, accordionist Clifton Chenier has been the king of it all ya’ll. The man also sings up a storm and knows how to throw a multi-hour danceathon to bring down the rafters. Of course he started out in Louisiana, but soon made his way around the world. When he passed away recently at 100 years old, there was nothing to do but throw on one of the man’s many albums and turn it up through the roof. But now that a super-fine tribute album has been produced with rather illustrious musicians, there will be plenty of time and energy for some get-down doings. Artists like the Rolling Stones, Marcia Ball, Steve Riley, Jimmie Vaughan, Lucinda Williams, David Hidalgo, John Hiatt, Steve Earle, Augie Myers and many more grace this gig with plenty of power. Produced by Steve Berlin and Steve Riley with executive producer John Leopold, there is gold in them there grooves. So crank it up and hit the floor, and don’t stop until you’re begging for more. Shake your moneymaker.
Bentley’s Bandstand: Favorite Albums of 2025 (First Half)
