Sunday, June 30, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Mose Se "Fan Fan" - Belle Epoque: 3.5 stars
Some outrageously good tracks, but also several pretty bad ones. Given how rare and expensive it is, I will pass.
Nyboma - Anicet [honorable mention]
:-) [Very uneven, might be a B+ overall but not going to worry about it – not buying used vinyl for a 1994 album, and CDs are ridiculously expensive.]
Professor Omari Shabini and John Ngereza - Paulina: The Best of...: 3.5 stars
Can’t even find it in Discogs, let alone for sale. Not sure how it made it onto my listen list, probably Muzikifan. Title track is great, others not so much.
Juggaknots - Re:Release [honorable mention]
:-) [Clear Blue Skies plus extra. First few tracks are great, but the rest of the album wears on me a little.]
Run the Jewels - 2 [honorable mention]
:-) [Could be a B plus, but like the debut, it was originally released as a free digital download and while it is now available on CD, it's relatively rare and expensive, so I will not collect it. I'm really not crazy about the group's work.]
Friday, June 28, 2019
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Youssou Ndour [N'Dour] & Le Super Etoile - Rewmi: 3.5 stars
Basically cassette-only, so no physical for me. There was a CD version, but it looks like there are only two or three left in the world and they're going for prices too ridiculous to pay for B plus.
NRBQ - Tapdancin' Bats: 3.5 stars
See my review of their debut. Exact same with this one, except I like it a hair better. Might even be an A minus.
Talking Heads - The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads: 4.5 stars
[Grade is for original two-LP version.]
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Friday, June 21, 2019
Steely Dan - Gold [placeholder]
All these songs are on must-have albums, other than "Hey Nineteen," "Green Earrings," "FM," and "Babylon Sisters." Given that "FM" is not an album track, the 1982 vinyl would give you two Gaucho tracks and one Royal Scam.
Neil Young - Psychedelic Pill
:-| [Cut Driftin' Back in at least half, and leave off the alternate mix of the title track, thus making it one CD, and it would be an honorable mention.]
Neil Young - Harvest Moon: 3.5 stars
Lizzo - Cuz I Love You [honorable mention]
:-) [4 listens. Possible 7 (B+). Maybe one day I will listen again if people keep mentioning it.]
Madonna - Madame X: 3.5 stars
Somewhat hesitantly upped from an honorable mention after all the A minuses and more from critics I respect convinced me I was underrating it. So now on shelves.
Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats: 7 (B+)
# [industrial] I would get this anyway for historical importance if it were available domestically in any acceptable format. What this really needs is a single disc digipack reissue. There are some remastered jewel box versions from the mid-90s and 00s, but they are only available used for too high prices. There is also a double disc reissue that looks nice, but I don’t want two discs and it’s an expensive import.
Lee "Scratch" Perry & Dub Syndicate - Time Boom X De Devil Dead: 3.5 stars
I would only buy this on an On-U Sound label. Issued twice by them. Original vinyl in 1987 is ridiculously expensive used. And the unremastered 1994 CD in a jewel box with repeating tracks at the end is not something I would want. Not sure why the reviewer in the Spin guide gave this a 9 (ie, 4.5 stars or full A). I do note that under Perry's own entry in that book, instead of the Adrian Sherwood one, the grade is 4. The album is also extremely repetitive.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Shania Twain - Up ["red" pop version] [honorable mention]
:-) [Starts off great, but goes on way too long.]
Lee "Scratch" Perry - Back on the Controls: 4 stars
Dub tracks are pretty great for dub, probably B plus. The main versions are better, A minus at least, maybe a full A, but I'm not parsing it out with the dub tracks. Anyway, this is not really on CD, and configured terribly anyway so I would not buy it if it was: the main and dub tracks alternate, instead of there being a second disc with the dub versions, as is typical. In the end, this is good enough that I decided to break protocol and buy this in digital (FLAC) and burn to double disc to put on the shelves.
The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld [US 1991]: 3.5 stars
# [ambient house] Although I bought this and Aphex Twin's first Selected Ambient Works, which are the pinnacle of the genre by almost everyone’s (maybe everyone’s) estimation.
Howard Tate - Howard Tate [Atlantic 1972]: 3.5 stars
I probably wouldn't buy this today, but I have this on good vinyl and will keep it.
Howard Tate - Get It While You Can [a/k/a Howard Tate] [Verve 1967]: 3.5 stars
Cover on the right (which is self-titled) is the one I have. I probably wouldn't buy this today, but I have this on good vinyl and will keep it.
NRBQ - NRBQ: 3.5 stars
# [blues rock?] But I've got a nice copy on vinyl, and I'm going to keep it as a cult band collector's item. Plus, Christgau gave it an A minus, which is why I bought it originally - to hear it.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
The Mothers of Invention [Zappa] - Absolutely Free
:-( [Definitely one of the worst albums I've ever heard.]
LL Cool J - Radio [honorable mention]
:-) [Honorable mention mainly for being so historic. But I've always been ambivalent about very early rap -- so elemental that it's actually boring on some level. Listened way more than 3 times - even owned it once I'm pretty sure.]
Friday, June 14, 2019
Lee "Scratch" Perry - The Black Album: 3.5 stars
In the normal course I would get this. But they arranged it, like with Back on the Controls, so that each track is followed by its dub version, instead of making them separate discs. I think this was a bad idea, and makes it useless to me as a physical. I did go for Back on the Controls, but read about that in its own review. "Trendsetter" is a great track. Grade is for non-dub tracks. Dub tracks are neutral.
Thursday, June 13, 2019
Neil Young - Time Fades Away: 7.5 (high B+)
I own the original vinyl, and did not upgrade to CD when it came out in 2022 at 7.5.
Monday, June 10, 2019
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Volume II
:-( [Would be a neutral if not so damn long. And even if I wanted to get it for historical value, used copies are ridiculously expensive.]
Saturday, June 1, 2019
Beastie Boys - "She's On It" b/w "Slow and Low" [honorable mention]
Finishing up odds and ends on this band. This one appeared on The Beastie Boys Anthology ("Slow and Low" was on Licensed to Ill), so I don't have to worry about buying a single. Posted cover because it's the Beastie Boys.
Beastie Boys - Polly Wog Stew EP [honorable mention]
Actually not bad hardcore. Broke protocol and posted the cover because it's the Beastie Boys, and I was 16 and living in Manhattan when this came out. Still not getting it though, because it's no more than HM and Ad-Rock's not on it.
Beastie Boys - Cooky Puss: 3.5 stars [12" maxi-single]
Would definitely buy this if it were selling for less than $100. As it is, it is pre-trio (with drummer Kate), so I'll start my collecting with Rock Hard. I will print this out in a slim case and shelve it though because of its historical importance. And if they ever reissue it in a nice form (like not with Pollly Wog Stew on a CD), I'll get it.
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