Sunday, January 29, 2017
Saturday, January 28, 2017
The Slits - Typical Girls: 7 (B+)
This is the 12" version, the one with 4 tracks instead of 2, lauded by Kurt Cobain. Ridiculously expensive.
Kevin Ayers-John Cale-Eno-Nico - June 1, 1974: 3 stars
Breaking protocol (come to think of it, maybe I'll revise the protocol to start ratings at 3 stars), because of historical significance. The first side, especially Eno's two songs, are nearly unlistenable. Nico's track is almost as bad. The second side, Ayer's side, is pretty good though, and somewhat redeems the whole project. Not enough to rate 3.5 stars though.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Yaz - Upstairs at Eric's: 3.5 stars
Very good album. I became familiar with every note in college, because I was dating someone who loved it. Holds up pretty well, and happens to be in my wife's tiny collection, so I will not be adding it, but solid.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Loudon Wainwright III - Attempted Mustache: 3.5 stars
See review of his Unrequited for general observations which also apply to this one. I think I'll try III as well (which has the additional attraction of being semi-eponymous), just to close the loop, but I'm guessing I'll feel similarly about that one and will end up sticking with Career Moves, which works beautifully as a best-of.
Friday, January 20, 2017
Jinx Lennon - Know Your Station Gouger Nation!!!: 4 stars
His best. Classic track: City of Styrofoam Cups.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Archie Bronson Outfit - Coconut: 3.5 stars
Maybe only a B+, but I'm keeping it because it speaks to me personally.
Sheer Mag - III 7": 4 stars
Yet another band that is too cool to release things on CD. This is really good, but I'm not buying digital, and I'm not paying $10 shipped for 13+ minutes of music on vinyl. It doesn't rise to that level of me needing an aural souvenir for that price. Streaming it 3 or 4 times on Bandcamp was enough.
Jinx Lennon - 30 Beacons of Light ... [honorable mention]
:-) [Here's a great description of this album: "Interspersed with the studio tracks are live gems from his gigs and
little fillers and intros that add to the ramshackle, but never boring
format." This is from Everett True. Ramshackle is a good word. But the live/studio mishmash format is not a good one in my view.]
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Chic - Chic [honorable mention]
:-) [Upped from neutral] [Good tracks are all on Plus Grands, but I have in the Original Album Series box anyway.]
Monday, January 2, 2017
Love - Love: 3.5 stars
I've spent the holidays partly filling my listening gaps on Love. While this is good, I think The Best of Love gets more or less the essentials from this, so it's not going in the collection. Much more R&B-ish and less psychedelic/complex than Forever Changes and Four Sail, not surprisingly.
Love - The Best of Love: 4.5 stars
This is the way I got my fix of non-Forever Changes music by Love. I could have purchased the two-CD Love Story, but the first disc of that is very similar to this, and the second disc of that is the rest of Forever Changes plus some questionable later material. This has enough of the early material, including virtually all of Da Capo, to keep me satisfied. So, I think this and Forever Changes, which is a masterpiece, does it for me, although entries on the debut and Four Sail are still to come. (I also listened to Reel to Real once and will not being doing so again.)
Sunday, January 1, 2017
The Mekons - Existentialism
:-| [Christgau: "Live-to-a-single-mike barroom renditions of barely finished new songs buttressed by audience chorales"]
Flamin Groovies - Supersnazz: 3.5 stars
I begrudgingly give this a B+ in honor of all the old hippy critics who tell me it's groovy. Personally, I would never play it for enjoyment.
Love - Da Capo: 3.5 stars
Not in the collection. Side 2 is the 19 minute psychedelic workout "Revelation" which is as inessential as it sounds and brings this one down a notch. All of side one is on The Best of Love, which I do own, other than "The Castle" which I can do without.
Vince Staples - Summertime '06: 3.5 stars
I'm not going to reward the over-stuffed double disk format by buying this, but it's pretty good.
John Phillips - Pay Pack & Follow: 7 (B+)
Essentially a Richards/Taylor-era Stones side project? I think it sounds pretty okay, although I'm sure I'm upping it a notch for sentimental reasons.
Ali Farka Toure - The River: 7.5 (high B+)
# [desert blues] I have his Niafunke, and I think I'll keep it at that, although I also intend to listen to his collaboration with Toumani Diabate, In the Heart of the Moon.
The Silos - About Her Steps: 3.5 stars
Probably wouldn't keep this one in the collection if I had streamed it first, but I've got a near mint vinyl copy that I bought years ago and I might as well keep it.
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