Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 110 Best Albums of the 2010s, representing a varied cross-section of artists, genres, and styles. Click “Next Album” below to explore each album in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & album index here.

DANGER MOUSE & DANIELE LUPPI | Rome
Parlophone/EMI (2011)
Selected by Terry Nelson

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What do you get when you combine the talents of one of the most creative music producers of his generation with those of an acclaimed Italian composer? You get Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi's Rome, an album inspired by the music from spaghetti westerns. The duo wanted to capture the sound of those westerns so badly, they used musicians who recorded on many spaghetti westerns. Nine of the LP's fifteen tracks are instrumentals with Jack White and Norah Jones evenly splitting the remaining six. When I first played the album, I got a vibe that was more of a sixties foreign film like Darling instead of a spaghetti western. The highlight tracks are White's "Two Against One" and Jones' "Season's Trees.” Rome is beautifully arranged and the track sequence is absolute perfection. Danger Mouse and Luppi, along with a crucial assist from White and Jones, created a flawless soundtrack to a movie that does not exist.

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