Sunday, June 21, 2026
Saturday, June 20, 2026
Two Nice Girls - Like a Version [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)
Can't even find a decent cover image to purloin. I owned this once but think I sold it off. I kind of wish I hadn't, even though it's #indiepop, because it feels a little like a collector's item at this point. And it came out in the same year as Slay Tracks, although this one did get a CD release. Good year for EPs, as I remember.
Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues, Vol. II [Columbia, 1970]: X (X)
See post re: the original volume.
Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues [Columbia, 1961]: X (X)
What's a schlub like me going to say about something like this? I have it on pristine vinyl.
Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues [Columbia/Legacy, 1997]: X (X)
Not qualified to grade, but obviously essential. This is the single-disc, 16-track distillation. Beautiful, budget release. Never went for that famous but ridiculous 1990 box set that repeats songs after themselves. Who wants to hear things like that? Or "program" a CD? So stupid and useless. It won all kinds of awards though.
Katie Alice Greer - "Fly" by the Dixie Chicks: liked
Might be a 7 (B+), but no physicals anyway. Very lo-fi. And yes, I'm an aging perv and I want her. She's pushing 40 now anyway.
Bill Scorzari - Sidereal Days (Day 1): 7.5 (high B+)
Might be an 8 (A-), but #artisanal anyway. A few too many overlong songs. Should definitely have been edited down to 40 minutes -- with this kind of raspy, idiosyncratic delivery, and sometimes heavy subject matter, it just lasts too long.
Friday, June 19, 2026
James Blood Ulmer - No Escape from the Blues: The Electric Lady Sessions: 7 (B+)
w/Vernon Reid. #jazz/blues
Mott the Hoople - Backsliding Fearlessly: The Early Years [Rhino, 1994]: 8.5 (high A-)
Excellent collection of tracks from the pre-Columbia years (which started with All the Young Dudes in 1972). In other words, great tracks drawn mostly from their four initial studio albums for Island/Atlantic. Absolutely essential for any kind of fan of the band (other than fanatics who would have those four albums anyway). The period is mostly ignored on the Retrospective compilation.
Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard - 'Em Are I: 8.5 (high A-)
His best in my view. Makes me wish I had an 8.75. I could round up, but I reserve 9 (A) for albums that, at least for a time, I don't want to stop playing.
Monday, June 8, 2026
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