Phoebe Bridgers - Lost Weekend: liked

:-)

The Fall - I Am Kurious Oranj: 8 (A-)

Tom Ze - Imprensa Cantada [2003]: 7.5 (high B+)

Completely unavailable for anything approaching a reasonable price. I might be docking it a notch for bloat, in which case it's #miscarticles. Even if I uppped it a notch, it's #import anyway, but it grew on me, just like the man said.

The Fall - Perverted by Language: 7 (B+)

I have the 1998 CD release on Castle, with four bonus tracks opening and one outtake closing.

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain: 9 (A)

Their best regular-issue album, after One Nation, in my view. Yeah, "Wars of Armageddon" is on the lame side, and the title track is maybe overrated, but it earns its 9 (A) and stands up to many, many plays. A definite classic. I sprung for the 2026 CD remaster on Westbound/ORG Music, with the cover pictured above.

Black Oak Arkansas - Black Oak Arkansas [Atco, 1971]: 8 (A-)

I'm going to use the old standby that this was reissued on CD in apparently unremastered form, in which case I usually don't go back to the original vinyl. If cheap copies were available, I might make an exception, but I'm not seeing that. Thanks to Tom Hull for pointing this one out. Around a dozen plays.

Ass Ponys - Under Cedars and Stars [EP]: liked

:-)

Motorhead - No Sleep at All: 7 (B+)

Upped a notch for general regard, and collected even though #live, because it's Motorhead.

Amanda Shires - Nobody's Girl: 8.5 (high A-)

Afghan Whigs - Soft Control: 8.5 (high A-)

Chuck D as Mistachuck: Celebration of Ignorance: 8.5 (high A-)

Why is no one noticing that this genius is doing some of his best work ever as he approaches seventy?

Unholy Modal Rounders - Unholier Than Thou 7/7/77 [Don Giovanni, 2024]: 8 (A-)

 

The Fall - Cerebral Caustic: 8 (A-)

Albert Hammond Jr. - AHP [EP]: liked

:-)

Galaxie 500 - On Fire: 8 (A-)

Galaxie 500 - Today: 7.5 (high B+)

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Manfred Mann's Earth Band [Polydor, 1972]: 8 (A-)

Eli "Paperboy" Reed - Sings Walkin' and Talkin' and Other Smash Hits! (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [2025, Yep Roc]: liked

Twelve-track original issue came out in 2005. This is the reissue with 27 tracks (ie, 15 bonus cuts). The "deluxe" isn't always there in the title. I was actually not up to "liked" after the third play, but on the fourth, I found it growing on me very slightly. But not enough to keep listening - fairly certain it would never go above one, at the absolute most two, notches, and it would still be #blues/r&b.

Rory Block - Heavy on the Blues: 7 (B+)

#blues

Dolly Parton - Ultimate Dolly Parton: 7.5 (high B+)

#country/bestof

Tipps and Obermiller - Little-Kid Heart: 7 (B+)

#folk/country/americana

Willie Nelson - Workin' Man: Willie Sings Merle [Legacy, 2025]: 8 (A-)

Boogie Down Productions - Edutainment [Jive, 1990]: 7.5 (high B+)

Speaking of not being able to fathom a Christgau grade (which is extremely rare with me), his "bomb" designation for this is a mystery to me. Hull's B+ is much more like it. There are definitely some duds on this, but overall, it works. Docked a notch for bloat.

The Coup - batch review

I have had the following on the shelf for many years, which means they range from 7 (B+) to 8 (A-) (I don't think I ever thought any of them were above that grade). I will grade them one day if and when I listen to them again:

     Genocide & Juice

     Steal This Album

     Party Music

     Pick a Bigger Weapon

Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts - As Time Explodes: 7 (B+)

I cannot fathom how Christgau got to 10 (A+) on this. Normally, this would be #live, but it's Neil, and of course I am always hesitant to second-guess Christgau.