The Rolling Stones - Headin' for an Overload: 4.5 stars

Excellent Stones bootleg, maybe the best I've heard, but then again I'm no expert and have about a dozen I'm still trying to work through. Anyway, the best band ever at the peak of their powers. What could go wrong? This one's getting printed out and put on the shelves.

Parquet Courts - American Specialties: 3.5 stars

This one is a lot better than people give it credit for, which is nothing. It's basically a first EP. However, it's only on original issue cassette or re-issued over-priced vinyl, so it's not going on the shelves.

Parquet Courts - Human Performance: 4 stars

Another great band that keeps releasing 4 star albums, but I can never hear one at the crucial 4.5 level, although Light Up Gold comes close. I have also streamed their EP Monastic Living once and am not going to be spending any more time with that one.

The Silos - The Silos: 3.5 stars

Loudon Wainwright III - Album III: III.5 stars

Please see prior LWIII reviews.

Various Artists - Lost in Mali: 3.5 stars

# [hodgepodge; folkloric]

Wussy - Forever Sounds: 8 (A-)

Kurt Vile - Wakin on a Pretty Daze: 3.5 stars

We get it -- you're way baked. This and his prior album -- Smoke Ring for My Halo -- are very, extremely similar, and all the reviews seem to back this up. Don't really feel the need to have two of his works in the collection, as well as that The War on Drugs album, so I'll go with my old standby: All else being equal, the earlier one gets the nod. But they're both good.

Roxy Music - Greatest Hits: 4 stars

Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal: 4 stars

Danger Mouse - The Grey Album (Re-Mastered): 4 stars

A classic from the pre-download era. Printed out and put on the shelves.

John Fahey - The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death: 3.5 stars

I like Fahey’s work well enough. But I think I’ll just stick with Of Rivers and Religion/After the Ball and the anthology Return of the Repressed. This art form has always been a little too minimalist for me.

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Automatic

:-|

Ka - Honor Killed the Samurai

😑

Garbage - Strange Little Birds

:-|

The Upsetters - Super Ape

😐

Various Artists - The Rough Guide to the Music of the Balkan Gypsies: 3.5 stars

# [Balkan brass]

Gil Scott-Heron - The Best of ...: 4 stars

Clearly a major artist, but this has not aged all that well in my opinion, there are better comps on the market, and the CD version is way too expensive. [Reconsidered after some time. Found mint first gen CD transfer, which sounds terrible but got it anyway.]

Diblo Dibala - Hi-Life: 3.5 stars

Physicals and even digital copies are extremely rare.

Kool A.D. - Not O.K.: 3.5 stars

No physical, so not going in the collection.

Brian Eno - Another Green World: 5 stars

Brian Eno - Small Craft on a Milk Sea

😑

The Replacements - Let It Be: 8.5 (high A-)

The Replacements - Tim: 8 (A-)

The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me: 8 (A-)

Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition

:-|

Paul Simon - Surprise

😑

Jinx Lennon - Trauma Themes Idiot Times: 8 (A-)

Not what my cover looks like, but this is the closest I could find.

Eric Clapton - Slowhand: 4 stars

John Prine - Bruised Orange: 7 (B+)

# [folk] Christgau and Hull both give this a B+ too, but I also note how high it places on Allmusic, which is surprising. [Actually, picked this up as part of the Crooked Piece of Time box, which I could not resist.]

Shonen Knife - Burning Farm

😑

Paul Simon - Rhythm of the Saints

😑

Beautiful South - 0898: 3.5 stars

Please see my review of Welcome to the Beautiful South. Same general observations.

Samba Mapangala and Virunga - Karibu Kenya: 3.5 stars

Nice one. Physicals are ridiculously expensive though, so I am doing without.

The Robert Cray Band - Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: 7.5 (high B+)

# [blues]

Lou Reed - The Bells: 3.5 stars

Konono No 1 - Konono No 1 Meets Batida: 7 (B+)

# [congotronics]

Heartsrevolution - Ride or Die: 3.5 stars

While I like this one a lot, I’m not going to put it on the shelves. Too marginal as far as impact and reach to merit that. Sub-popular, I would call it.

Ab-Soul - Do What Thou Wilt [no apparent physicals even if I did like it]

😑

Vince Staples - Prima Donna: 4 stars

No physical, so not for the collection.