We could all use a little help now and then. And these artists know how to make the most of it. From star-studded jams to posthumous productions, here are the best collaborative albums I heard in 2019:
TINNITIST’S PICK
Various Artists
The Desert Sessions Vols. 11 & 12
WHO ARE THEY? Queens of The Stone Age singer-guitarist and rock ’n’ roll ringleader Josh Homme — who never met a collaboration he didn’t dig — joined by a ragtag gaggle of peers, pals, cronies and casual acquaintances including Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Les Claypool (Primus), Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters), Mike Kerr (Royal Blood), Carla Azar (Autolux, Jack White), Matt Sweeney (Chavez), David Catching (co-founder of Rancho De La Luna studio), comedian Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows), pseudonymed contributor Töôrnst Hülpft and newcomer Libby Grace.
WHAT IS THIS? An eight-song collection of eccentric rock, jammy excursions and general oddball tomfoolery helmed by Homme at his home-away-from-home studio near Joshua Tree. More significantly, volumes 11 and 12 — respectively subtitled Arrivederci Despair and Tightwads & Nitwits & Critics & Heels — are the first new Sessions sets in nearly 16 years.
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? What musicians do when they let their hair down and keep the tape rolling. Which is to say: You won’t hear any of these songs on the radio anytime soon. But you also won’t hear anything else quite like these songs on any of their regular albums either.
READ THE FULL REVIEW AND HEAR THE ALBUM HERE
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Avicii | Tim
Better Oblivion Community Center | Better Oblivion Community Center
Marc Cohn & Blind Boys of Alabama | Work To Do
Sheryl Crow | Threads
Rodney Crowell | Texas
Luther Dickinson & Sisters of the Strawberry Moon | Solstice
Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders | Get the Money
Chrissie Hynde With The 
Valve Bone Woe Ensemble | Valve Bone Woe
Norah Jones | Begin Again
Colin Linden & Luther Dickinson With the Tennessee Valentines | Amour
Nils Lofgren | Blue With Lou
Jesse Malin | Sunset Kids
Buddy & Julie Miller | Breakdown On 20th Ave. South
Karen O & Danger Mouse | Lux Prima
Soundwalk Collective With 
Patti Smith | Mummer Love
Soundwalk Collective With Patti Smith | The Peyote Dance
Chris Stamey & The ModRec Orchestra | New Songs For The 20th Century
Those Pretty Wrongs | Zed For Zulu
Tanya Tucker | While I’m Livin’
TO FIND REVIEWS OF THESE ALBUMS, PLEASE USE THE SEARCH WINDOW AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE
