Delaney & Bonnie and Friends - Motel Shot: 3.5 stars

# [blues rock] [at least 4 listens]

Jon Langford & Skull Orchard - Here Be Monsters: 8.5 (high A-)

The Mekons - Ancient & Modern: 4 stars

The Bottle Rockets - South Broadway Athletic Club: 4 stars

The Bottle Rockets - The Studio Albums: 3.9 stars

In preparation for seeing the band live tonight, on tour for the new one (see adjacent review), I took the opportunity to revisit their entire catalog. In checking to see how my assessments compared with those of others, I found a lack of reviews. Here's how I would rate them though:

4 stars - Bottle Rockets (1993)

5 stars - The Brooklyn Side (1994)

4 stars - 24 Hours a Day (1997)

3.5 stars - Brand New Year (1999)

3.5 stars - Songs of Sahm (2002)

3.5 stars - Blue Sky (2003)

4 stars - Zoysia (2006)

4 stars - Lean Forward (2009)

4 stars - South Broadway Athletic Club (2015)

As you can see, in my view, their only completely undeniable album is The Brooklyn Side, which I consider to be essential. Most of their other studio albums are strong, although perhaps a little samey. In any event, the only alt-country band that I am behind.

Blaqstarr - Divine EP: 7 (B+)

# [electronica] [Sold back - probably more of an honorable mention. Not sure how Christgau gave this a full A. Hull gives it an A minus and files it under Techno/Electronica.] [at least 4 listens]