Avett Dennen

With their recent new album releases, here's a look at my top ten favorite Avett Brothers and Brett Dennen songs, not including any from the new albums of course.

Let's start with the Avett Brothers, who released Magpie and the Dandelion on October 15. It's a good album, but not great like some of their others. I'd give it a 7.5/10 overall. Better than most stuff put out by popular musicians these days, but too short and too many slow songs without any tracks that significantly move me (at least yet). I also recently saw them live in San Francisco, and although I wish we could have had better seats and it would have been less cold, they were awesome live. There are few bands that can match their talent, emotion and energy in my opinion. Briefly, here's a list of my favorite tunes of theirs - only 2 of which were played in their approximate 25 song set list at the concert.  They obviously have written and recorded a lot of songs beloved by their fans, so these are just ones most meaningful to me. Go check out all their music and you will be energized and enlightened.

10. Ill With Want, from I And Love And You
9. Murder in the City, from The Second Gleam
8. Shame, from Emotionalism
7. The Weight of Lies, from Emotionalism
6. A Father's First Spring, from The Carpenter
5. The Once and Future Carpenter, from The Carpenter
4. I and Love and You, from I And Love And You
3. Salvation Song, from Mignonette
2. The Perfect Space, from I And Love And You
1. If It's The Beaches, from The Gleam
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Now for Mr. Brett Dennen, who released Smoke and Mirrors on October 22. I'm still waiting on this CD to come in the mail, so can't really review it. From the few songs I've heard, I think it will be similar to his last two albums with more of the upbeat singer-songwriter pop feel and splashes of rock, soul, country, and reggae mixed in to different tracks. His recent sound is still great, but very different from his soft and simple, first self-titled album. But my favorites come from old and new Brett. Here they are!

10. Because You Are a Woman, from So Much More
9. Sydney (I'll Come Running), from Loverboy
8. Wrong About Me, from Hope for the Hopeless
7. Frozen in Slow Motion, from Loverboy
6. Oh the Glorious, from Brett Dennen
5. There Is So Much More, from So Much More
4. So Far From Me, from Hope for the Hopeless
3. San Francisco, from Hope for the Hopeless
2. Ain't No Reason, from So Much More
1. Heaven, from Hope for the Hopeless