Jimmy Cliff - The Best of Jimmy Cliff [Island, 1975]: liked

Breaking protocol and posting the cover on an ungraded album, just to keep his best ofs straight. This is the import-only double album release from 1975. I'm still searching for an adequate best of for him.

Scarface - The Diary: 8 (A-)

Van Morrison - Remembering Now: 8 (A-)

His best in a very long time, in my view.

Al Green - The Immortal Soul of Al Green: notation

I've been very tempted to get this 4CD box set but always decide against it. It has songs drawn from his peak 1970s period (ie, non-gospel) with very few rarities (I think maybe just one long live track?). On the one hand, these kinds of boxes are great for artists who have long, spotty album catalogs, but on the other hand, this does not describe Al Green. His studio albums are mostly strong, and so I have most if not all of them. I also thought about the 3CD Anthology, but that's a rarities box as I understand it, which I only get if it proves somehow to be essential in one way or another, which this one does not appear to be. Here's the cover on that one:

Kiss - The Best of Kiss: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: 8 (A-)

Ashford & Simpson - Come As You Are: 8.5 (high A-)

I think I like this one best of all their albums. Even the schmaltzy ones ("Believe in Me") are good. Hugh McCracken on guitar.

Muddy Waters - Rare and Unissued: X (X)

This is in my somewhat eclectic Muddy Waters collection, probably because Christgau gave this the equivalent of at least a 9 (A).

Various - Punk 45: Extermination Nights in the Sixth City (Cleveland, Ohio : Punk and the Decline of the Mid-West 1975-82) [Soul Jazz, 2015]: 8.5 (high A-)

Various - Punk 45: Burn Rubber City, Burn! (Akron, Ohio: Punk and the Decline of the Mid-West 1975-80) [Soul Jazz, 2016]: 8.5 (high A-)

The liner notes I think incorrectly cite to The Akron Compilation [Stiff, 1978] as "The Akron Sound" from 1977. But this is a good Akron compilation, as are the LA and Cleveland entries in this Soul Jazz series. I intend to review The Akron Compilation at some point in the future.

Joy Division - Permanent: 8 (A-)

Not sure why I have this. I guess I've become a Joy Division completist over the years.

Zaiko Langa Langa - Hits Inoubliables, Vol. 4: notation

This appears to be a compilation of two albums: Pusa Kuna... Serrez! Serrez! and Volant: Makambo Ya Mikolo Oyo, each with four of the eight songs on this. I only listened once. It was mentioned in Gary Stewart's great book Rumba on the River, but seemed unremarkable on one play. He didn't actually say it was good. The former definitely sounded better than the latter. Actually, I played the former twice because the back half of the sebene on the last song, "Patshi Ya Ilo," was so outstanding.

Bopol Mansiamina featuring Nyboma etc.: "Esta Tierra no es Mia" b/w "La Cintura" [single]: 8.5 (high A-)

I normally don't rate singles, or post covers for them, especially digital-only ones, but one makes an exception for Bopol and Nyboma. Maybe I should be calling this an EP, because it's 12:24?

Collected, but not necessarily shelved or graded yet (some with provisional grades) 2026

List made in 2026, but acquisition could have been many years ago ... decades, a half a century, even:

The O'Jays - Ship Ahoy [8 (A-)]

Odyssey the Band - Back in Time [8 (A-)] [final listen shelf]

Al Green - Soul Survivor; Explores Your Mind

Joy Division - The Best of Joy Division

Peter Perrett - The Cleansing [8 (A-)]

Dean Wareham - That's the Price of Loving Me [8 (A-)]

Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock: The Album

Pavement - Hecklers Choice: Big Gums and Heavy Lifters - A Pavement Collection

Al Green - The Absolute Best

Catalog Scrubs Complete 2026

Middle Class

Delfonics

Martina Topley-Bird

Lambchop

Suicide Commandos

Rubber City Rebels

Bizarros

Pagans

Jazz Destroyers

Broncs

electric eels

X-X

Defnics

Human Switchboard

Pressler-Morgan One Plus One

Poli Styrene Jass Band

Mirrors

Styrene Money

Rocket From the Tombs

Waitresses

Hammer Damage

Chi-Pig

Denis Defrange [and Mark Frazier]

Jane Aire & The Belvederes

Ralph Carney

Numbers Band [aka 15-60-75]

Geto Boys/Willie D/Bushwick Bill

2026 Single Listens (unless 2 otherwise noted)

Marie Davidson - City of Clowns [Hull #16 of 2026]

Galaxie 500 - CBGB 12.13.88

Dove Ellis - Blizzard

Howlin' Wolf - The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues: X (X)

I don't trust myself to rate this, but it's obviously in the A-range somewhere near the top.

ZZ Top - ZZ Top's First Album: 7.5 (high B+)

#bluesrock

The O'Jays - Back Stabbers: 8 (A-)

XTC - Upsy Daisy Assortment: liked

Goes on a bit too long for my taste. Waxworks would be the way to go for me, but see separate post on that.

Various - The Philly Sound: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff & The Story of Brotherly Love (1966-1976): 8.5 (high A-)

Would be 9 (A) except it flags a little at the end. I somehow can't find this. Did I sell this off in a fit of stupidity and/or desperation??? I honestly don't remember doing that.

Warren G - Regulate... G Funk Era: 8 (A-)

Warren G - Regulate... G Funk Era Part II [EP]: 7 (B+)

Digital-only

Embrace - Embrace [Dischord, 1987]: 7.5 (high B+)

Interesting release history. Originally issued only on vinyl in 1987, when CDs had been in production for a few years, but it wasn’t released on CD until 1992, without a remaster. It was later remastered and reissued in 2002 and 2012, but annoyingly has two bonus tracks after the last song, “Last Song.” This seems like a mistake to me for an arguably hardcore release. Anyway, those remastered CDs go for a fortune, and I won’t buy original vinyl usually if there was a remastered CD. I guess I would make an exception if these were selling for reasonable prices, because of the historical importance of this, but they are not. In this case, I went for the 1992 release, even though it appears to be a first-generation CD analog transfer, because it has no bonus tracks, is essentially a companion release to the 1987 vinyl, and one was available for a reasonable price. Of course, Dischord has a habit of re-releasing things, and I predict that as soon as I receive my 1992 release, they will do just that with this.

Middle Class - Scavenged Luxury [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

Second EP, and a good one, from this unjustly obscure band. Copies are priced too high to worry about, just like the first.

Middle Class - Out of Vogue [EP]: 8 (A-)

Great early CA hardcore EP. Sells for ridiculous amounts, so I won’t even bother looking out. Upped a notch for the presence of the title song, which some say is the first hardcore song. I have that one on a compilation or two, which also argues against paying a small fortune for this. It’s also four songs in five minutes.