Monday, August 31, 2020
Felt - Compilations - batch review
Because their albums are so out of print, I started exploring the possibility of getting a used compilation, and solving the problem of several unavailable albums at once:
Gold Mine Trash - 8 (A-), maybe even a 9 (A), but selling for ridiculous prices used
Bubblegum Perfume - Singles and album tracks [3 listens - honorable mention]
Absolute Classic Masterpieces - [3 listens -- downface -- alot of nondescript instrumentals]
Absolute Classic Masterpieces, Volume II - 2 CDs (one with singles; one with album tracks)
Stains on a Decade - Non-album tracks
So this idea didn't pan out.
Saturday, August 29, 2020
UGK - Ridin' Dirty [honorable mention]
:-) [Yet another overly long hip hop album from the late '90s. Might be a B plus if they had shown a little more restraint. Five listens. Number 23 (!) on Rolling Stone's list of top 200 rap albums.]
DMX - It's Dark and Hell Is Hot [honorable mention]
:-) [Could be a B plus, but two things call that into question: it's overly long, and spotty, and his "ferocious" rap style is kind of grating, especially with an overly long album.]
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Abba - Gold: Greatest Hits [honorable mention]
:-) [At an hour and a quarter, this is twice as long as it needs to be. If it were cut in half, I'd probably give it an A minus and get it. As it is, there don't appear to be any reasonably-sized comps for this band on the market, with just the mega-hits.]
Monday, August 24, 2020
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Sammy Massa - Gare a Toi Mon Ami: 3.5 stars
Mory Kante - Akwaba Beach: 4 stars
Not sure I realized it had been released on CD when I bought my vinyl copy. It wasn't easy to find these things out at that time.
LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening [honorable mention]
:-) [De-shelved in 2020. Everyone except Xgau, who likes this the most, seems to like Sound of Silver the most, including me.]
Jaguar Love - Jaguar Love [EP] [honorable mention]
:-) [De-shelved in 2020. Bought before the age of streaming. Matador post-punk, how could I pass it up?]
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Dead Moon - In the Graveyard: 3.5 stars
Only available at high prices for what is really a padded EP, at 28 minutes, with 6 real tracks and 4 others averaging 2:15. I will stick with the 2 CD comp with this band.
The Grateful Dead - Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY: May 8, 1977: 5 stars
This is a near-perfect show. I abridged it slightly to fit on two bootleg CDs. I cut out the execrable "Dancing in the Streets" and the mostly forgettable encore "One More Saturday Night." The show sounds perfect ending with that "Morning Dew." After fairly exhaustive listening to live Dead, I have come to what seems to be the consensus conclusion: The shows on Get Shown the Light are the best I have ever heard by far. That official release, though, sounds terrible, which may be why Christgau gave Cornell an honorable mention. It's vocals are so upfront, I don't even enjoy listening to it. I also feel like, with the Dead, you need the bootlegs. So I found a great matrix of this show and burned it to disc.
The show in Buffalo on the next night, May 9, 1977, I also burned to disc, minus "Ship of Fools" and "Good Lovin'" (and "Drums" of course) so it would fit on two CDs. I give that show 4.5 stars. Buffalo has 17 out of 21 unique songs from the other four, that's 15 with the two I cut out. That makes this one an essential complement to Cornell.
The May 5, 1977 show in New Haven, CT, I'm going to skip shelving. It's a great show (probably also 4.5 stars), but it only has the following three songs which aren't on Cornell/Buffalo: "Promised Land," "Sugaree," and "Looks Like Rain."
The May 7, 1977 show in Boston, MA only has 8 songs that are aren't on Cornell/Buffalo, and the show is overall much more spotty than the other three (3.5 stars) and plagued with equipment problems (which would necessitate heavy, time-consuming editing on Audible if I were even able to find a good matrix bootleg, see below):
"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" >
"Terrapin Station"
"Samson and Delilah"
"Friend of the Devil"
"Eyes of the World"
"The Wheel" >
"Wharf Rat" >
"Around and Around"
Given that, and that I could not find a matrix bootleg of this one, I will not shelve this either, and just stick with Buffalo/Cornell. I do have a digital copy of the set from the box set.
ZZ Top - Greatest Hits: 7.5 (high B+)
# [best of; arena blues] Padded out to 73 minutes with unnecessary new songs and remixes of classics. A 40 minute comp would be perfect.
Saturday, August 15, 2020
Yes - Fragile [honorable mention]
:-) [Had this when I was young, mainly for "Roundabout" and "Long Distance Runaround," which still sound great. None of the rest of it is that memorable.]
Thursday, August 13, 2020
Digital Underground - The Body-Hat Syndrome: 3.5 stars
I owned this when it came out and couldn't understand Xgau's high A minus. I eventually sold it back. Listening to it now, 27 years later, I notice a couple things: I probably should have realized it's at least approaching a B plus and kept it. But also, I don't remember a single track, which says something. Anyway, now it's way too expensive, and given that I owned it before, I won't be paying high prices for used. They are still selling it for download on Bandcamp, which means it's effectively digital only. Add that all up, with the fact that it might actually be an honorable mention instead of a B plus, and I'm not rebuying it.
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Sunday, August 9, 2020
The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle: 30th Anniversary Edition: 4 stars
This is right on the border of what I collect. This edition has the annoying dual stereo/mono w/bonus tracks format, but I have it, and given its stature, I might as well keep it.
Friday, August 7, 2020
Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels
:-( [I find that affected little catch she's inserted in her voice to be intolerable. Musical backing is fine. Songs vary from okay to annoying. Also seems to go on forever.]
Thursday, August 6, 2020
John Coltrane - batch review
Listened to each of these three times:
Coltrane Plays the Blues
Ole Coltrane
Coltrane Jazz
Coltrane's Sound
Penguin gives this 4-album run each 4 stars. If they had this in a box like the Miles Davis box for Cookin' etc. (which I have), I would probably get it. But I'm not picking these up piecemeal. They are all very nice though.
Coltrane Plays the Blues
Ole Coltrane
Coltrane Jazz
Coltrane's Sound
Penguin gives this 4-album run each 4 stars. If they had this in a box like the Miles Davis box for Cookin' etc. (which I have), I would probably get it. But I'm not picking these up piecemeal. They are all very nice though.
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
The Grateful Dead - One from the Vault: 3.5 stars
Show on August 13, 1975. I don't collect live Dead at B plus.
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Sunday, August 2, 2020
Various Artists - Dance Traxx: 3.5 stars
# [disco] I have a pristine vinyl copy from the era when to hear it, you had to buy it, so I'm keeping it.
Saturday, August 1, 2020
The Grateful Dead - Without a Net: 3.5 stars
A few reasons why I won't be getting this: I generally don't buy B plus live albums, particularly by the Dead; some of the songs on this one go on way, way too long; Mydland's tinkling is at its most obnoxious; this is from the exact same period as Dozin' at the Knick (and even has one song recorded at the same series of shows); and it's one of those "compilation from a series of different live dates" albums.
Brian Eno & J. Peter Schwalm - Drawn from Life
[Not sure how this got 4.5 stars in the Rolling Stone album guide.]
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