Over the past year, it seemed nearly impossible to avoid the media obsession with Madonna's attempt to adopt an African child and Britney Spears' parenting and post-Federline escapades.
But gossip magazine and tabloid TV flotsam aside, 2006 was a terrific year for women recording artists.
Mary J.
Blige capped a career year with eight Grammy Award nominations. The Dixie Chicks likewise struck Grammy fortune, finding their way back from country music establishment exile with five nominations. Breakout artist Corrine Rae Bailey scored well too, with three nominations for her debut album, while K.
T. Tunstall rocked to Grammy consideration as well.
Yet the list of women artists honored with Grammy nominations hardly represents the wide scope of dynamic music created by women in 2006.
As we head into a new year, here are some of the other noteworthy albums released by women artists in 2006, and largely overlooked by the Recording Academy.
Bitch, "Make This, Break This" (KRS): Simply put, "Make This, Break This" is one bitchin' listening experience. Formerly one half of the alternative music duo Bitch and Animal, the multi-talented Bitch melds a potpourri of music styles into a sonic extravaganza on the album.
Employing her violin, a solid rhythmic charge and even a ukulele, the charismatic artist creates a vivid sonic tapestry, woven beautifully with lyrical threads that shift between deeply personal observations, such as on the opener, "Unstick," to more politically provocative fare on "Rise" and looking glass view on "Train Station."
Rory Block, "The Lady and Mr. Johnson" (Rykodisc): You've heard of the "King of the Blues.
" Well, Rory Block might just be the genre's queen today. The spirit of late blues icon Robert Johnson burns brightly on Block's "The Lady and Mr. Johnson.
" From the gritty "Cross Road Blues" to the languid "Me and the Devil Blues" and doleful "Come in My Kitchen," Block penetrates the very soul of Johnson's music with a piercing vocals delivery and ringing acoustic guitar. This album proves nothing short of one of the finest interpretations of Johnson's work.
Ane Brun, "A Temporary Drive" (V2): Unlike the Scandinavian pop-rock bands that many Americans have become familiar with over the years, Norwegian-born singer-songwriter Ane Brun has charted a distinct music course instilled with a strong folk foundation.
"A Temporary Drive" incorporates a wide range of stylistic touchstones anchored to a strong folk sensibility. From the alluring "To Let Myself Go" to the quirky country licks on "Balloon Ranger" and ethereal "Even So," the Norwegian-born artist's deceptively sparse sound blossoms with subtle intensity on each track.
Neko Case, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" (ANTI): Pop "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" into your CD player or dial it up on your iPod, and you may not listen to anything else for weeks.
Once you hear Neko Case's vocals kick in the on "Margaret vs. Pauline," you'll know why. She's blessed with one of the most sublime and distinctive voices in music today.
Case instills the album's playlist with a zesty spirit and sense of captivating subtle drama. The magnetic appeal of the album proves unavoidable. How this album didn't score at least one nomination among the myriad of Grammy categories is a mystery.
>_Ani diFranco, "Reprieve" (Righteous Babe): Hurricane Katrina provides the backdrop in part to Ani diFranco's latest album, "Reprieve." On the surface, "Reprieve" might appear an artistic response to the Katrina nightmare, which diFranco experienced while working on the album in New Orleans in August 2005. But it's so much more than that.
DiFranco never allows the tenor of "Reprieve" to a sense visceral of anger or resignation, be it dismay over the government's response to the Katrina disaster or the corrosive effects of politics in the media age. Instead, she channels her musical energy and passion in a forward-looking direction, writing her music from the one source that counts the most - her heart.
Melissa Ferrick, "In the Eyes of Strangers" (Right On Records): One of the hardest-touring artists going, Melissa Ferrick somehow found time to lay down her sixth album in the past year.
And it's a gem. "In the Eyes of Strangers" maintains Ferrick's trademark for passion, but with even greater emotional boost and anthmic fire this time around. Ferrick exhibits wonderful creative dexterity throughout the album, incorporating country, pop, folk and rock influences into her acoustic-driven sound.
Regina Spektor, "Begin to Hope" (Sire): After receiving widespread praise for her major label debut, "Soviet Kitsch" in 2004, Regina Spektor went for an expanded sonic palette on her next album, this year's "Begin to Hope." A practitioner of so-called "anti-folk" music, Spektor added electric guitar, and drum machine and electronica elements to her creative repertoire on the record. The result produced a playlist flush with appealing melodies flavored with a measured dash of enticing quirkiness.
But the secret of the Spektor sonic charm lies as much in her diverse vocal delivery as it does her instruments. Virtually from the opening song, "Fidelity," Spektor's singing infuses her music with its unmistakable character.
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