Review 2005 / Music: Alt.country and Americana had a bumper year, writes Joe Breen

The American singer-songwriter John Prine, in an interview with The Irish Times earlier this year, noted that the Nashville concept of anodyne country music was creating a monster "which hardly resembles itself. I think the record companies discovered that there was a hole in pop music and they could fill it with so-called country, this mediocre pop stuff which they call country."

Prine is right and the message is getting through on this side of the Atlantic. Mainstream country continues to decline in content and popularity. Even the spirited rhythms of bluegrass are beginning to dull after the music got a burst of life following the movie and soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

But the more adventurous strains of Americana and alt.country continue to prosper and often in unlikely places. Winnipeg, Manitoba is not exactly everyone's idea of a music city, but local band Nathan's confident, eclectic and wonderfully entertaining debut, Jimson Weed, continues to thrill months after its release. There is a freshness and warmth to Keri McTighe's quirky country/folk/pop songs of offbeat love and life.

Caitlin Cary has a more established track record from her days in Whiskytown with Ryan Adams, but Begonias, her album of country duets with Thad Cockrell, was one of the year's best - though Woody Guthrie's granddaughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie, and her husband Johnny Irion also produced a memorable album of duets in Exploration. Expect a lot more from this duo.

A lot is always expected of Ryan Adams, and this year he delivered, not once but three times. First out was the countryish Cold Roses, followed by the even more determinedly country Jacksonville City Nights, both recorded with his band The Cardinals. The introspective 29, laden with reflective piano-based ballads, closed out the year on a more sombre note.

Mary Gauthier is no stranger to the dark side of life, and the New Orleans-raised singer-songwriter's Mercy Now was replete with songs of emotional travail and survival. Hard going but stunning in its honesty and compassion.

John Prine's worldview is lighter in tone, though there were dark shadows hanging over Fair & Square, his first solo album of new songs since he came through his bout with cancer. Prine's ability to turn a hackneyed phrase into a wisdom-filled observation rich in humour remains true, but there were also more sentimental leanings.

In the roots area, the irrepressible Dimanche a Bamako by the veteran Malian duo Amandou and Mariam, with a big helping hand from Manu Chao, was a timely reminder that Africans have fun too, while Ry Cooder's story of corruption and cultural terrorism in LA was vividly played out in Chavez Ravine.

Tracy Chapman had terrorism of another kind on her mind on Where You Live, a passionate, angry and frequently tender note on America today. Some may find her overly religious, but there remains a gritty honesty in that fragile voice.

Other notable albums: Kathleen Edwards's Back to Me carried a mean thump; Dwight Yoakam stirred the fire of old with Blame the Vain; John Hiatt was the definitive grumpy old rocker on the excellent Master of Disaster; Clem Snide was the definitive grumpy young rocker on the deliciously offbeat End of Love; and Josh Rouse was gorgeously misty-eyed on Nashville.

Finally, we said goodbye to Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuba's great smoothie, and to Link Wray, in whose hands a guitar was like a lethal weapon.

PICK 2005

Nathan Music Co: Jimson Weed

Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell: Begonias

Amandou and Miriam: Dimanche a Bamako

Ryan Adams: Cold Roses

John Hiatt: Master of Disaster