Best Music of 2005 - Honorable Mentions

Not quite making my final list but still worth a shout-out, here are some of my "Honorable Mentions" of 2005:

• Ryan Adams – 29
  Doesn’t quite hang together as well as his other 2005 releases but contains some good stuff nonetheless. A worthy capper to an audacious and mostly successful year of releases.
  
• Walk The Line (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  T-Bone Burnett summons wicked performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon and lends the music a dose of credible live energy. Purists will howl at this assertion, but some of these performances occasionally rival the Johnny and June originals.
  
• Kathleen Edwards – Back To Me
  Nice step forward for this darling of Americana.
  
• Bettye Lavette – I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise
  A career revival for the long-lost soul great, this record (produced by the incomparable Joe Henry) is true to its title and raises plenty of hell along the way. Grimy and gritty and plenty damned cool.
  
• Lee Ann Womack – There’s More Where That Came From
  Terrific return to form from one of mainstream country’s best traditionalists. Jettisoning the pop-wannabe slickness of her previous effort, Womack makes it feel like 1967 all over again (oh yeah, those were the days).
  
• The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
  One word: vibraphone. ‘Nuff said.
  
• Veronica Mars (Soundtrack from the TV Series)
  Seeming like a run-of-the-mill O. C. soundtrack ripoff, this alt-rock compilation pulls together a terrific collection of acts, some you’ve heard of, some you haven’t. Splitting the difference between The O. C. and The Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars makes yet another case for the vitality of pop music in TV shows.
  
• Howard Shore - Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring (The Complete Score)
  Geektastic in both scope and packaging, this ludicrously overpriced (but oh so worth it) 3-disc set (plus the whole thing on a 5.1 DVD) cuts almost nothing from the Extended Edition of the first film. Elvish lyrics and translations are captured in the impressive liner notes, and the music preserves the precise sequence of the film. For diehard nerds only (hey, that’s you!).

My complete Best Music of 2005 list will be posted shortly (ooh, shivers!).