Album Review: Sabine McCalla - Don't Call Me Baby

Sabine McCalla

Don't Call Me Baby

***and1/2 out of *****

New Orleans has been called "the northernmost Caribbean city" and on Sabine McCalla's debut full length album the singer/songwriter digs into this vibe.  Don't Call Me Baby floats along on warm wafting sounds from further south, digging into McCalla's Haitian roots before drifting up into the Gulf of Mexico and right into the Bywater of the Crescent City and beyond. 

Album Review: Leyla McCalla - Breaking The Thermometer

Leyla McCalla

Breaking The Thermometer

***and1/2 out of *****

The companion album to Leyla McCalla's Breaking the Thermometer to Hide the Fever, muli-disciplinary music, dance and theatre work developed with collaborator Kiyoko McCrae, the Breaking The Thermometer record is a tribute to Radio Haiti and McCalla's personal journey as well as others Haitian memories and connections to that country.

The album opens with percussion and McCalla talking about her personal trip to Haiti to visit relatives on "Nan Fon Bwa" before her powerful cello work enters the scene. "Fort Dimanche" uses banjo and percussion as well as others memories of the country while "Bon Appétit Messieurs" is an old Radio Haiti broadcast which leads directly into the banjo and skittering beats of "Le Bal est Fini" which is a dynamic combination of styles and a major highlight on the album. 

Vocally McCalla sings with passion on "Dan Reken" and delicately on "Pouki" (which also features Melissa Laveaux) as McCalla's singing is dynamite throughout the album.  The dance ready percussion and vibrating strings resonate on "Dodinin" while the personal stories of more Haitians start "Ekzile" before rising string work and percussion lead to a swelling finale. 

"You Don't Know Me" stands out as a pop single on a very fluid album and while it is fine in and of itself, it seems a touch out of place and one note. Better is the slow rising dawn of "Vini We" complete with sweeping doorways and animal noises as the environment of Haiti comes to audial life. The field/earth song "Artibonite" is pushed along by percussion and McCalla's strong vocals before the floating/smoky guitars of "Mountain Song" and the French vocals of "Boukman's Prayer" wrap things up. 

The incredibly personal project from Leyla McCalla, Breaking the Thermometer, is an engaging journey of self-discovery and identity definition as well as a positive musical portrait of Haiti. While not as world welcoming as her best past work, the historic importance and individual Haitian pride throughout makes for a enjoyable discovery.    

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RtBE are huge fans of McCalla. ranking Capitalist Blues as our favorite of 2019 and high on our decades end list. Support the artist, buy the album and peep some video below:

Album Review: Leyla McCalla - The Capitalist Blues

Leyla McCalla

The Capitalist Blues

****and1/2 out of *****

There are albums that are absolutely about their time and place and then there are timeless albums, Leyla McCalla's newest release The Capitalist Blues does the neat trick of sounding both of the immediate moment and as if it has always existed.

The former member of The Carolina Chocolate Drops, McCalla's solo records have been successful but now she pulls all of her talents together with an anything goes attitude; a celloist by trade, McCalla wanted to expand her musical pallet and step away from the instrument this time out. Working with producer Jimmy Horn and his full King James and The Special Men band her touring trio and a host of others, Leyla increases the instrumentation and embraces the diverse musical styles of New Orleans and beyond to craft a warm, alive in the moment sound throughout.

The title track starts the record with a slice of gorgeous old-timey blues/jazz straight from Storyville as banjos strum, warbling trumpets and sultry singing lament the current state of affairs over timeless playing; the tune could have been written in 1919 or 2019. The protest Caribbean sounding anthem "Money Is King" is another track which sounds from another era, but written by McCalla to deal with the current cultural issue; dancing is encouraged while the brain works over the lyrics.

McCalla sings in French on the songs "Lavi Vye Nag", "Penha" and "Miz Pa Dous" as her Haitian Creole heritage swirls, but no matter the language her vocals are gorgeous; earthy to soaring from moment to moment. While her vocals are fine on their own she gets some excellent support on "Heavy As Lead". The tune is slow blues number led by a soothing B3 organ as it swells increasing backing vocals, chimes and love over it's six minutes run time.   

The album isn't all slow by any stretch, "Me and My Baby" proves Leyla can sing just as enchantingly in a playful mood over a rolling New Orleans strolling tune while "Oh My Love" pulls in the Zydeco for a party on the bayou. The one outlier on the record is "Aleppo" which deals with war violence in spooky shades, of angular electric noise rock guitar riffs and a deep bass before a feedback ending. The track is incredibly effective, if slightly out of step with the overall feel of the album.

The percussive led vivacious closer "Settle Down" finds the Haitian band Lakou Mizik helping out with poly-rhythmic force. McCalla manages to blend history, world music, protest, true emotions in a way that could keep going through partying night and reflective mornings.  Also a major player involved in Our Native Daughters excellent first release McCalla has already had a breakout year and her star is only shining brighter with The Capitalist Blues; a captivating collection of tunes from any political tilt, place, or era.
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Support the artist, buy the album and peep some video below:

Leyla McCalla with The Special Men Cover New Orleans Standard “Eh La Bas”

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday and to kick it off early RtBE wanted to shine the spotlight on two New Orleans artists who have collaborated to tackle an old Creole song. Leyla McCalla teamed up with the King James & The Special Men to record "".

It is a great take on the tune with some fantastic banjo playing from McCalla and an "Iko Iko" finish. Listen over at American Songwriter.

Here is Leyla's take on how this recording came to be:

“A couple of years after our initial meeting, Jimmy (King James) told me about a record he was working on featuring guest New Orleans singers,” McCalla says. “He asked me if I would be interested in participating and would I be willing to sing the classic Creole New Orleans tune ‘Eh Las Bas.’ This was particularly exciting for me as it’s one of the few times that I could arrive somewhere with just my banjo and my voice. A few days before the session, I was researching all of the versions of ‘Eh Las Bas’ that I could find and came up with a version that drew from from Danny Barker, to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Kid Ory with a Haitian sounding banjo lilt.”

Special Man Industries is starting to create a fun collection of recordings, follow them and support all the artists. More from the fantastic McCalla will be appearing on RtBE very shortly, until then here are some videos from both sets of artists.

Year In Review 2019 - Favorite Albums Part 3 (#5-1)

Another great year is finishing up for @RockBodElec and we wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE Presents the Best of 2019 Top Ten Albums numbers 5-1.

In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album either on the site or somewhere else we will link to that review and just give a quick summation; click on the name and title and you can read our full opinion. RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20 so you can expect some overlap if you already have seen that list.

Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but full releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle or singles for us.

The number ten just works for this so this is the second part of our top ten, #5-1. You can see #10-5  and the albums that just missed this as well. Like all of our lists or best of's these are meant to start conversations more than end them...

Top 50 Albums of the 2010's: Numbers 30-21

Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we worked that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.

Here comes RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.

If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place and haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.

Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably be ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.

Also from a practical standpoint, never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.  

We will break this down over five parts, doing ten albums a day. There were a ton of good records released over the last ten years, much more than fifty, but these are our choices. We kept our personal musical releases off the list, but feel free to listen and critique those.

As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed its rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8. For Reference, here is 50-41 40-31 and all of those are also listed at the bottom of this post.

Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. So let's kick it off...

Live Streams: Leyla McCalla

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can.

Today we highlight: Leyla McCalla

The Parlor Room Home Session series is presenting an RtBE favorite as Leyla McCalla live streams tonight at 8pm CDT.

View this post on Instagram

"remarkable for the power and subtlety of her singing and songwriting, her multi-instrumental skill, and the constant changes of musical and emotional direction." - The Guardian 🌞ANNOUNCING🌞 Leyla McCalla brings her incredible musicality and deep cutting lyricism to The Parlor Room Home Sessions on Tuesday, June 23rd at 9pm, ET /8pm,CT. Watch at signaturesounds.com/homesessions 🏡 We're bringing it all back home! . . . #leylamccalla #banjo #cello #guitar #creolemusic #cajunmusic #haitianmusic #jazzmusic #folkmusic #theparlorroomhomesessions #livestream #livestreamconcert #concert #ournativedaughters @leylacello

A post shared by The Parlor Room (@parlorroommusic) on Jun 16, 2020 at 9:59am PDT

Join and support Leyla, she had our pick for best record of 2019 with The Capitalist Blues which also made our list of the best of the decade. 

To get in the mood for tonight's show here is "Money Is King":

Michot's Melody Makers with Leyla McCalla Releasing EP and Video

The Louisiana/Haiti connection is always strong, but when Michot's Melody Makers and Leyla McCalla team up to release an EP and video, things get taken to a new level. Tiny Island is a special capturing of the partnership live. 

RtBE has reviewed both MMM and Leyla in the past (rating Capitalist Blues our favorite album of 2019 and on our top albums of the last decade list) and even promoted a past live stream they shared earlier this year. Very happy to see them team up for Tiny Island.  From the Press Release:

Tiny Island was recorded and filmed by firelight on the night of March 6 on – yes, a tiny island -- in a small pond on Michot's home in Prairie Des Femmes, Louisiana. Played entirely live, the performance was put together for a tour stop on Ned Sublette and Ariana Hall's NOLA Reconnect, a virtual visit to Louisiana with attendees from all over America and Europe. Featuring a deep sonic collaboration with the tiny island’s frog and insect population, the set captures a more intimate and acoustic performance than the higher-decibel, psychedelic shows the Melody Makers are known for.

Grab the album today from Nouveau Electric Records. Here is some music from the combo:

Michot's Melody Makers ft. Leyla McCalla from Fast Friends on Vimeo.

Leyla McCalla – cello & vocals Louis Michot – fiddle & vocals Mark Bingham – electric guitar Bryan Webre – standup bass Kirkland Middleton – drums & t-fer   Executive producer: Ned Sublette for Postmambo Studies Produced by Louis Michot Recorded by Kirkland Middleton Mixed and mastered by Mark Bingham Film production by Conner Reever and Samuel Aguirre-Kelly for Fast Friends productions   1. Two Step de Ste. Marie 2. Latibonit 3. Les Plats Sont Tous Mis Sur La Table 4. Blues de neg francais 5. Bluerunner / La Lune est Croche NER 1021 http://nouveauelectricrecords.com/

Full Show Friday: Leyla McCalla @ Festival Worldstock 11/12/16

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Leyla McCalla!

Every April we have a special showcase for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on Leyla McCalla who will be playing Friday May 3rd on the Fais Do-Do Stage.

RtBE has only recently became aware of Leyla McCalla, but in that short time have been super impressed. From her amazing newest solo album Capitalist Blues to the powerful Our Native Daughters release Songs Of Our Native Daughters the former Carolina Chocolate Drop has already had an active 2019 and she still gets to play at Jazzfest in a few weeks.  

Pro-shot with pro-sound from Festival Worldstock 11/12/16. Enjoy:

  

New Single from Leyla McCalla, Signs with Anti Records

The New Orleans based artist Leyla McCalla has released her newest single "Fort Dimanche". You can listen to it, and the story behind it, below. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leyla McCalla (@leylacello)

RtBE have been fans of McCalla since we first heard her. Her last solo album was our favorite record of the year in 2019 and she was spotlighted on our best albums of the previous decade list. 

Anti is a solid label and RtBE are happy she will be working with them in the future.  

Album Review: Leyla McCalla - Sun Without the Heat

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Leyla McCalla's newest album Sun Without the Heat. 

RtBE are huge fans of McCalla's, having dug everything she has done, especially 2019's The Capitalist Blues which topped our Favorites list that year and was high on our decade's end list. 

Support the artist, buy the album, read the review and peep some video below:

Album Review: Our Native Daughters - Songs Of Our Native Daughters

Our Native Daughters

Songs Of Our Native Daughters

**** out of *****

The new outfit Our Native Daughters is a collection of four banjo playing women of color who are doing more then just picking on their first release Songs Of Our Native Daughters, they are singing of a spiritual journey, our history as a country, the struggles of their ancestors and how it effects people of today.

The four artists, Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Allison Russell and Leyla McCalla came together after Giddens (Carolina Chocolate Drops) invited the other three to her co-producer Dirk Powell's Louisiana Bayou Studio. The album, released by Smithsonian Folkways has deep roots, in Giddens own words:

"There is surely racism in this country — it's baked into our oldest institutions — just as there is sexism, millennia old. At the intersection of the two stands the African American woman. Used, abused, ignored and scorned, she has in the face of these things been unbelievably brave, groundbreaking and insistent. Black women have historically had the most to lose, and have therefore been the fiercest fighters for justice — in large, public ways that are only beginning to be highlighted, and in countless domestic ways that will most likely never be acknowledged."

The roots run deep and the group are not afraid to dig in, opening with the statement making "Black Myself". This is the most rocking the outfit gets and while the lyrical message is strong the four players are more effective when they go the acoustic route as things immediately improve on the following "Moon Meets the Sun" which juxtaposes proudly defiant lyrics with great singing and a lighter musical feeling showcasing more picking; an album highlight.   

Other immensely affecting numbers follow, particularly when things are scaled totally back. The foursome strip instrumentation down to hand claps and and minimal tom drum beats to recount a rape, murder and hanging in the sung and call response of "Mama's Cryin' Long" with cold realism around the brutal events while "Barbados" finds Giddens reciting poetry about slavery dipping into a humming soulful evocation before ending by turning the mirror of modern slavery on the listener (and performer) with cutting coolness.

"Quesheba, Quesheba" is Russell's showcase with an ominous violin leading the way before she partners with Giddens for the closing reminder "You're Not Alone". The "Slave Driver" cover is fairly straight ahead but in this context and the harmony of the four singers it takes on added depth while "Polly Ann's Hammer" reinterprets the John Henry myth and folk song from a powerful mothers perspective giving credit to the female workers. 

An old minstrel song "Better Git Yer Learnin'" was found by Giddens and updated lyrically and the tune is plucked and supported by a shaker and fantastic singing before a fiddle joins for the finale while the back porch easy acoustic blue grass of "I Knew I Could I Fly" finds McCalla using a warm folk number to explore the life of Etta Baker.

Spanish and Cajun flair drip into McCalla's "Lavi Difisil" before the groove and march get amplified for Kiah and Giddens "Blood and Bones" slow burner that focuses on slaves from Ghana caring for children and getting thrown away afterwards. The more upbeat "Music and Joy" breaks the growing tension with a playful work out which feels free and moves with grace. 

If you think music is suppose to appease the masses and fill the charts with glittering ditties forgotten about before next's weeks charts, then feel free to skip this album....actually on second thought, listen to this album if you feel that way. You will realize music is a life blood, a history, a powerful tool for change, surviving, defining, learning, growing, protesting, rejoicing and the human spirit. Songs Of Our Native Daughters is a great release in any genre.
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Support the artist, buy the album, peep some video below:

Live Streams: Michot’s Melody Makers, Leyla McCalla, Corey Ledet @d.b.a

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can. 

Today we highlight: Michot’s Melody Makers ft-Leyla McCalla + Corey Ledet Album Release Performance

A host of great New Orleans musicians take the stage at d.b.a tonight starting at 8pm CST:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by dba New Orleans (@dba_neworleans)

We have reviewed all of these artists with Leyla even delivering our album of the year in 2019. It is going to be a hell of a show. To get it the mood here are the Melody Makers live from Saturn Bar:

New Single/Video from Sabine McCalla "Could You Be Love"

New Orleans based artist Sabine McCalla has a new video out for her single "Could You Be Love"

Check out the smooth flowing, throwback R&B track below:

 

Year In Review 2024 - Favorite Albums Part 1 (Honorable Mentions & Let Downs)

Another year is finishing up and @RockBodElec wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE presents 2024's Favorite Albums Part 1 (Honorable Mentions and Let Downs):

In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album, either on this site or elsewhere, we will link to that review and just give a quick summation; click on the name/title and you can read our full opinion. RtBE also worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20 so you can expect some overlap if you already have seen that list.

Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle, Spotify, AI curated playlists, or streaming for us.

These are the albums that just missed out on being included in our top ten favorite for the year (coming soon). After some very excellent albums, we have a few releases from artists we dig, which we were let down by. 

Like all of our lists or 'best of'', these are meant to start conversations, not end them...

Top 50 Albums of the 2010's

Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we filled out that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.

Here are RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.

If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place, some haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.

Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.

Also from a practical standpoint, never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.  

There were a ton of top notch records released over the last ten years, much more than fifty, but these are our choices. We kept our personal musical releases off the list, but feel free to listen and critique those if you would like.

As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed its rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8.

Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. So let's kick it off...

Year In Review 2024 - Favorite Albums of 2024

Here are our all of our favorite albums of 2024. This is the year end review, all in one place.

Below are our picks for RtBE's favorite albums of the year. It starts with our honorable mentions then moves into our top ten albums of the year. There is a short blurb about the album and a song from it, click on the title to read our full review of the selected records. The focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen to all the way through.

We also took some time to discuss our favorite album artwork, our favorite archive/live album releases and favorite live shows from the year if you are interested.   

Thanks for reading. Until next year....

Live Review: ChazFest Goes Abroad - 4/29/26 The Broadside, New Orleans, LA

ChazFest Goes Abroad

4/29/26 The Broadside 

New Orleans, LA

Twenty years ago New Orleans based musician Alex McMurray and his wife Kourtney Keller developed a local music festival, in-between Jazzfest weekends in New Orleans. The all day event would spotlight musicians from their Bywater neighborhood and was named after Washboard Chaz, who would also play with every act throughout the day. This year the festival returned, arriving at a new location, The Broadside in Mid-City, but a lot of friendly faces who played past ChazFest's were on hand to kick off this new era of the all day festival.

Live Streams: Hood To Holler - Votes for Kentucky and Beyond

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can. 

Today we highlight: Hood To Holler- Which Side Are You On? Votes for Kentucky and Beyond

Rep Charles Booker is hosting an online music gathering to pump up the vote in Kentucky and beyond:

View this post on Instagram

We are standing on the side of the people. The side of democracy. The side of action. To celebrate our commitment to the fight as we all prepare to VOTE, Hood to the Holler is proud to present a groundbreaking virtual music festival: “Which Side Are You On?” Don’t miss it. Register now. LINK IN BIO.

A post shared by Hood to the Holler (@hoodtotheholler) on Sep 23, 2020 at 5:12am PDT

Some RtBE favorites will be performing including Layla McCalla, Jason Isbell, Jim James and more.  Here are the Nappy Roots to get ready for tonight's live show.  

Top 50 Albums of the 2010's: Numbers 20-11

Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we worked out that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.

Here comes RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.

If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place and haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.

Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably be ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.

Never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.

We will break this down over five parts, doing ten albums a day. There were a ton of good records released over the last ten years, much more than fifty, but these are our choices. We kept our personal musical releases off the list, but feel free to listen and critique those.

As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed it's rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8.

Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. Here are numbers 20-11: