Thursday, April 30, 2020
Lou Reed - Live: Take No Prisoners [honorable mention]
Eric Clapton - Backless [honorable mention]
:-) [Possibly a B plus, but the traditional blues songs and some of the dreckier material holds me back. Plus # [blues]. I was tempted to have Glyn Johns' back-to-back productions with Clapton (including Slowhand), but with Christgau's B minus and its placement on Allmusic, I'm grading it honorable mention and moving on. It really might be a B plus though.]
Bauhaus - 1979-1983 - Volume 1 [honorable mention]
:-) [Tempted to also review In a Flat Field, given it's the band's highest rated regular-issue album, but this includes almost half of that, so I'm going to skip it.]
Neil Young - Unplugged [honorable mention]
:-) [Not much of a live album person, especially of the "unplugged" variety. Also see review of Are You Passionate?.]
Robert Calvert - Lucky Lief and the Longships
:-| [Eno produced and played. A couple goods songs, and some really terrible ones. The good ones, not surprisingly, sound like Eno.]
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Neil Young - Are You Passionate?
:-| [I'm on the fence with Christgau's "***" for Neil, mostly off at this point. I went for Greendale because I saw it live and liked it, and also Harvest Moon because it's so loved. But this, Unplugged and Peace Trail are a pass. This is consistent with Allmusic users and critics alike (although less so for Unplugged, which I also am biased against because it's live, especially acoustic), although not all the way with Tom Hull, because he gives this one an A minus, inexplicably.]
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
:-( [Lyrics are the same line repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over.... What do people hear in this crap? One of the worst albums I have ever heard. At least 6 listens.]
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Serengeti and Kenny Segal - Ajai: 7.5 (high B+)
Digital only. Later: Well, then limited edition vinyl and CD were put out. And then a further limited edition, with a couple EPs appended to make it a double, was put out. I don't like limited editions of anything, although the vinyl is still available. So ultimately, I will continue to pass on this. [Actually bought digital and paid Kunaki to turn it into a CD. They did a great job. I'm sure I'll be using that service again in the future. Also upped from 7 (B+) upon listening to the custom CD. And my cover looks like this:
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty: 7 (B+)
Not sure what some people hear in this. Not on a par with their 2-4 classic trilogy.
The Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa: 3.5 stars
# [blues rock] The great songs on here, like all Dead songs, are more definitive live; and Dead albums are currently available on CD only stuffed with a bunch of additional crappy bonus tracks. I'll stick with AB, WD, and several live albums and bootlegs. [ps, and In the Dark]
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Eno, Moebius, Roedelius, Plank – Begegnungen: 3.5 stars
# [ambient/krautrock] Try finding this at anything approaching a reasonable price. If I could find a box set of all the early Sky records (After the Heat etc.), I'd buy it.
The Grateful Dead - Reckoning: 3.5 stars
Not paying the asking prices for a live, acoustic set at B plus.
The Grateful Dead - Blues for Allah: 3.5 stars
Very spotty album. First few songs are amazing, and then it descends into jazz-rock schmaltz. I would give side one an A minus at best (even that side deteriorates a little as it goes on) and side two a B at best, averaging out to B plus at best. One reason I gave it the benefit of the doubt at B plus was so I could post the cover, which is one of the best I know. As for buying it, the choices are bad: first generation CD transfer, ridiculously overpriced used vinyl, or a remastered CD loaded with bonus tracks which I'm sure are crappy. Ultimately with this band, I think I'm going to end up with just American Beauty and Workingman's Dead on the studio albums. [ps, and In the Dark]
Monday, April 20, 2020
Kitaro - Oasis [honorable mention]
I think this is the Kitaro album I played fairly often in the late 1980's, but I can't be sure. I'm pretty sure it was orange anyway, and this seems to be the only orange record of his from around that time. But I have to say, it doesn't look familiar, or even sound familiar. Posting a cover for this one so I know which one I ended up settling for. I also only played it twice, because if this is the one I used to have, I listened to it many, many times.
Glenn Branca - The Ascension: 3.5 stars
I'd probably buy this just as a Sonic Youth precurse, or at least for the picture of a young Lee Ranaldo on the back cover, but it's ridiculously expensive, so I'll pass.
The Grateful Dead - Dozin' at the Knick: 4 stars
If I didn't fear I was biased, I would call this my favorite Dead recording after Cornell. I only saw them live once, at this same arena two years after this was recorded. It was a great show, and 3 years later Garcia was dead.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Anna Domino - Anna Domino [honorable mention]
:-) [A little cocktail-jazzy, and doesn't really stick to you. Could be a B plus, but only available on expensive imports or used, so I'll skip this. Beside, I want this on Crepuscule for some reason, and with only the original tracks.]
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Geto Boys - The Geto Boys: 3.5 stars
Never realized that this was a remix album. Mainly of Grip It! On That Other Level (10 out of that albums 12 tracks). I dutifully listened to that once. I think I like this better, but either way, it's the one I've got.
Geto Boys - We Can't Be Stopped [honorable mention]
:-) [Very spotty album. Several of the songs are terrible, a few are good, and one is great. You know which one. Might be a B plus, in which case I would buy it, but it's totally and completely unavailable for reasonable prices, maybe because of the cover, and I'm not spending three figures for it.]
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Talking Heads - True Stories [honorable mention]
:-) [Even at honorable mention (a stretch for that grade), I would probably buy this for this band, whom I love, and have all their other studio albums, but since this is a quasi-soundtrack rather than a regular-issue album, and it's not really that great, I will skip it.]
Monday, April 13, 2020
The Mekons - "This Sporting Life" b/w "Frustration"
[Just a placeholder to note that both of these songs are on The Mekons Story.]
Glenn Branca - Lesson No. 1: 7 (B+)
# [experimental] I would probably still buy it given the historical importance and Sonic Youth connection, if the original were available used for a reasonable price. Later reissues have an extra, long track, not on the original. I listened to the extra track ("Bad Smells") three times on its own since it has Ranaldo and Moore on it.
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Super Mama Djombo - Super Mama Djombo: 4.5 stars
Apparently, they recorded only once - six hours of material at the same time in Lisbon. This compilation includes three from Na Cambanca (one with a different title that I can't quite match up with Na Cambanca, "Seiango," and their big hit "Pamparira 79," here titled "Pamparida"), one from Festival, one from Mandjuana, and two from A Memoria De N'Famara Mane. The album is rounded out with six previously unreleased tracks, plus a live introduction. The six hours of recordings appear to have been put out in part on five original albums from Cobiana, four mentioned above. The other, Sol Maior Para Comandante, appears to be one long track, split into two ~18 minute sides. I will listen to all of these Cobiana releases.
Incidentally, other than the five Super Mama albums, Cobiana only appears to have put out one other album, by Ze Manel & 2M G-B, which I will also evaluate.
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Friday, April 10, 2020
The Beatles - Let It Be [honorable mention] [plus batch review]
:-) [My Beatles collection consists of Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the white album, and Abbey Road. I also have some early albums on vinyl. Not a big fan obviously. My brother, however, was a giant fan, so I know almost all of their albums by heart. I seriously considered adding this one, but it's such a hodgepodge, and almost not an official album, given its weird history, different versions etc., that I ultimately decided not to.]
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Grrrl Gang - Here to Stay! [honorable mention]
:-) [Indonesian girl group pop-punk. "Night Terrors" is a great track.]
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
801 - 801 Live: 3.5 stars
Maybe a remastered version would sound better, but those are only available as Japanese imports. Otherwise it's first generation CD transfers, or original vinyl, for a bootleg quality live recording at B plus level. I'm not going to do that. Always nice to hear Eno though.
David Byrne - The Complete Score from the Broadway Production of "The Catherine Wheel": 4.5 stars
I wonder if Christgau/Hull would have given this a full A if they had reviewed the "Complete" version, with 23 tracks, instead of the "Songs from" version, with 11. This is the one I played over and over in the 1980s.
Monday, April 6, 2020
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter [honorable mention]
:-) [Might have been a 7 (B+), but it goes on and on forever.]
The Mekons - Journey to the End of the Night
:-| [Owned this at one point and sold it back, after at least three listens. After just now listening again, I think I made the right choice.]
Fountains of Wayne - batch review
I originally gave each of these 4 stars. I think, like all of this band's albums, they are really more of honorable mentions. I just let Christgau influence me too much. They sound okay when I put them on, but I could not want to put them on less.
Traffic and Weather
Welcome Interstate Managers
Sky Full of Holes
It may be the singing, but more likely it's just the relentless poppish-ness. A friend of mine once pegged them as all their songs sounding like '80s sitcom theme songs. I have to agree. In going through my collection trying to cull the herd, and eliminate albums that I either have zero emotional connection to, or actively have a bad one, these jumped out at me in the latter category. De-shelved in 2020.
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Catalog scrubs complete [original]
Beck
Lil Wayne
Emperor X/Chad Matheny
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Max Romeo
Jon Hassell
Thelonious Monk
Black Flag
ABC
The Lounge Lizards
Flying Lotus
Eek-a-Mouse
Macy Gray
The Bongos
Tavares
Todd Snider
Michael Prophet
Brother Ali
EPMD
Barry White/Love Unlimited
No Doubt
Aztec Camera/Roddy Frame
Hound Dog Taylor and The HouseRockers
Roches/Maggie/Terre/Suzzy
Television/Tom Verlaine/Richard Lloyd
LCD Soundsystem
Dennis Alcapone
ZZ Top
Spiritualized
Buck 65 [skipped Game Tight and Year Zero]
Marshall Chapman
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Butch Hancock
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
The Flatlanders
Joe Ely
Oumou Sangare
Creedence Clearwater Revival/John Fogerty
Lloyd Cole
Dumptruck
Unrest
Superchunk
Wild Nothing
Marianne Faithfull
MC Paul Barman
Joni Mitchell
Van Morrison
Beach House
Marvin Gaye
Bhundu Boys
Boston
The Residents
Built to Spill/Doug Martsch
Eugene Chadbourne
Cake
Paul Butterfield
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Negativland
Danny & Dusty
Dead Kennedys
Spinners
Janet Jackson
Jeff Beck
Prince
Sleaford Mods [except odds-n-sods Chubbed Up which is n/a]
Billy Joel
Jenny Lewis
Rilo Kiley
Garbage
Alice in Chains
Slint / Squirrel Bait
Chrome
Wu-Tang Clan
Cocteau Twins
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Blondie/Debbie Harry
Old 97's
The MekonsFountains of Wayne
Bill Withers
Hot Chocolate
The B-52's [only album I didn't listen to was Good Stuff]
U2
Youssou N'Dour
Girls Against Boys
MF Doom
Spoon
Augustus Pablo
Dr. John
Mott the Hoople
Tall Dwarfs/Chris Knox
Digital Underground
Sly & Robbie [double scrub!]
Todd Rundgren
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Tom Petty
Pamelo Mounk'a
Jay-Z
Jimi Hendrix
Scientist
The Plastic People of the Universe/Pulnoc
Sonny Boy Williamson [II]
Blake Babies/Juliana Hatfield
Sugar Minott
Eric Clapton
Rod Stewart/Faces
Fine Young Cannibals
Horace Andy
Redman
Royal Trux
Cluster
Amon Duul II
Mojo Nixon (and Skid Roper)
Iris Dement
Kip Hanrahan/Conjure
Pussy Galore
King Crimson
Ian Dury
Elton John
They Might Be Giants
Roxy Music
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
Son Volt
Dixie Chicks
Luna/Dean Wareham/Dean & Britta
Aerosmith
Jethro Tull
Richard [and Linda] Thompson
The Cramps
The Scene Is Now
Social Distortion
Bjork
The Specials
Afghan Whigs
Serengeti
Bad Religion
Neil Young
Run-D.M.C.
Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst/Desaparecidos
Iggy Azalea
Britney Spears
Idles
Jedi Mind Tricks
Mighty Diamonds
Camper Van Beethoven
Bonnie Raitt
Tom Waits
Tom Ze
Korn
The Cure
Stevie Wonder
Dillinger
Michael Hurley
Holy Modal Rounders
Peter Stampfel
Stampfel & Weber
Jeffrey Frederick & the Clamtones
Bang on a Can
Terry Riley
Moby
The Orb
Juluka
Mazzy Star
Pink Floyd
Felt
Surfer Blood
My Bloody Valentine
Dire Straits
Homeboy Sandman
Bad Brains
Jonathan Richman
Iggy Pop/Stooges
Caetano Veloso
Mountain Goats
Santigold
Elliott Smith
Pearl Jam
Mutabaruka
The Smiths
Kendrick Lamar
Papa Wemba
Eric Church
The Feelies
Khaled
The Mekons - "Never Been in a Riot" b/w "32 Weeks"/"Heart and Soul": 3.5 stars
If this were an EP, instead of a single, I would buy it for historical importance. Or if it weren't selling for around $50 used in merely good condition. I would also print it out if the first thing were true. 3 songs at 6 minutes is lesser than 4 songs at 10 minutes (eg, Spiral Scratch, which I did print). I also looked into purchasing this on the various artists compilation Fast Product - The First Year Plan, which has both the Mekons' first two singles on Fast, but it was way too expensive, plus the non-Mekons songs (other than the Gang of Four) are mediocre at best. An album called Mutant Pop 78/79 has everything other than the second Mekons single, but it's also way too expensive. On that note, I'd give the Mekons' second Fast single ("Where Were You" b/w "I'll Have To Dance Then (On My Own)") a B plus also.
There appears to be a third single, ostensibly on Fast too, "Work All Week" b/w "Unknown Wrecks." I will evaluate that as part of the Quality of Mercy album, which appends both sides of that single as well as all four tracks from the Teeth EP, which was on Virgin. Because the third single is not really on Fast, the EP is on Virgin, and all these tracks are on the Quality of Mercy album, I think what I will do is create a CD single of the first two Fast singles only (five songs).
Bill Withers - Still Bill: 4 stars
It's albums like this that make me think I should use quarter stars. I think Pitchfork's tenth of a point is ridiculously over-precise, but quarter stars seems like maybe the way to go. 4.25 stars for this one.
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Friday, April 3, 2020
Fountains of Wayne - Fountains of Wayne [honorable mention]
:-) [Christgau gave this and the second one A minuses, but neither appeared in his year-end lists, or, more tellingly, in his 1990s book. Anyway, I take this as a sign that he doesn't really think they're better than B plus, and I obviously think they're a notch below that.]
Fountains of Wayne - Utopia Parkway [honorable mention]
:-) [See my review of the self-titled first album.]
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Brian Eno - David Byrne: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts: 4.5 stars
I now have the CD version with "Very, Very Hungry" instead of "Qu'ran." But I'm pretty sure I fell for this with the latter track, in the 80s, not that this one songs makes or breaks things.
Blind Faith - Blind Faith: 8 (A-)
Yes, this has Jimmy Miller in the middle of his string of producing the four greatest albums in rock and roll.
Dwight Twilley Band - Sincerely: 7 (B+)
Original vinyl used, and remastered CDs, not available at reasonable prices. Arguably # [blues rock] anyway.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
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