Friday, June 30, 2017
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs: 7.5 (high B+)
Not a huge fan of the album (or the artist), but I acknowledge that it's loved by many.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Madilu System - Sans Commentaire: 3.5 stars
Dally and Syran on solo, so typically great guitar work, but there are also some cheesy keyboards and it's all a little samey. Still, I would buy it in physical if prices were more reasonable.
Cheb Khaled - Hada Raykoum: 3.5 stars
I actually went as far as to purchase this on relatively expensive vinyl before having heard it, because it was impossible at the time to find on the internet to listen to first. I wanted to hear it because I have loved many of Khaled's albums, and Muzikifan puts this in his Africa Top 50. I'm not that enamored of it, and much prefer N'ssi N'ssi, which is on my all-time top 100. But I will keep this since I love Khaled, it's not bad, and it's so rare.
Friday, June 16, 2017
Various Artists - C86: 3.5 stars
Pretty nice compilation. But it's not like I'm going to get anything other than the original version of this on cassette, which I'm not going to do in any event and it barely would make the cut anyway. Still, I'm glad I got to know it.
The Grateful Dead - Europe '72: 4 stars
Perhaps I lack imagination or taste, but this is the best of the official recorded works I have heard. Then again, I am by no means an expert or committed fan of the band, so my view is not worth much if anything.
The Grateful Dead - Live/Dead: 3.5 stars
Not a huge fan of the band, but I'll keep this since so many love it. Many of these jams are just a little boring.
Sun Ra and his Arkestra - Jazz in Silhouette: 7 (B+)
# [jazz] [Penguin gave this a crown in every one of its editions.]
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Various Artists - The Rough Guide to Jug Band Blues: 3.5 stars
Needless to say, too old-timey to go in the collection (only the best of those make the shelves).
The Chills - Stand By: 4 stars
What a great EP. If it were available for even a decent price (say, $12 new for an EP), I would buy a physical copy. But I'm not paying $17 new or $14 near mint used for a slipcase CD. I also don't like non-regular issue product.
Sunday, June 4, 2017
The Scruffs - Wanna' Meet the Scruffs?: 3.5 stars
Might add it to the shelves, but ridiculously over-priced for the B+ level, so not going to do that.
Delaney & Bonnie & Friends: On Tour with Eric Clapton: 4 stars
This is their best work, and the one to have if you are only going to have one, but it falls just short of an A in my book.
Delaney & Bonnie - The Best of (1992): 4 stars
This Rhino release appears to contain almost all of the same songs as the 1972 Atco release of the same name.
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Various Artists - American Epic: The Soundtrack: 3.5 stars
Pretty good, but doesn't do anything for me that Harry Smith didn't do long ago. Plus, it's a real hodgepodge, and the changes in styles are jarring. I do have hopes for the 5 CD set though ("The Collection"), in that presumably it will be more of a piece, or each CD will. But I'm going to wait to see if anyone says good things about it.
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