The Cramps - Gravest Hits [honorable mention]

:-) [I happen to have this one on cassette.]

Askia Modibo - Wass Reggae: 7 (B+)

Not available used at reasonable prices for a B+.

The Jesus Lizard - Liar

:-|

Swans - To Be Kind [honorable mention]

:-)

Fleetwood Mac [with Peter Green] - The Pious Bird of Good Omen [honorable mention]

:-) [Very traditional blues]

Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection [honorable mention]

:-) [I'm going with Christgau and Hull on him (Honky Chateau and Rock of the Westies), plus Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, which is his best per Allmusic users and a personal favorite from youth. Plus the first Greatest Hits.

Ian Dury - New Boots and Panties!! [honorable mention]

:-) [Could be a B+, but # [pub rock] even if so, plus it's not available on CD anyway, except with extra tracks]

Boise Cover Band - Unoriginal Artists

:-| [Doug Martsch of Built to Spill side project]

Mickey Guyton - Remember Her Name

:-|

Parquet Courts - Sympathy for Life: 7.5 (high B+)

The Heptones - On Top [honorable mention]

:-)

Thomas Anderson - Ladies and Germs: 7 (B+)

Upped from honorable mention and purchased.

Apollo Brown - Sincerely, Detroit [honorable mention]

:-)

Buster Poindexter - Buster Poindexter [honorable mention]

:-)

Dexys Midnight Runners - Too-Rye-Ay [honorable mention]

:-)

King Crimson - The Young Person's Guide to King Crimson [placeholder]

[See review of In the Wake of Poseidon]

King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon

:-| [This completes my investigation of this band. I would listen to the comp Young Person's Guide, but it's not on Napster, and was never released on CD other than in Japan. Plus, in my listens I would have heard 11 out of its 15 tracks, and of those other 4, only one track was on a regular issue album - "Ladies of the Road" from Islands.]

Jimi Hendrix - Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix

Looked into Jimi one-disc comps. I'll stick with Smash Hits. This one, generally considered the best, has nothing not on Voodoo Child and the regular issue albums, except the studio version of Red House from the UK edition of the debut. In the end, the gestalt doesn’t hang together because it spans so much stylistically.

Robert Earl Keen - A Bigger Piece of Sky: 7.5 (high B+)

 

# [country]

Derek Senn - How Could a Man: 7.5 (high B+)

 

# [indie folk]

Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka [honorable mention]

:-)

Merle Travis - Songs of the Coal Mines [honorable mention]

:-)

Merle Travis - Folk Songs of the Hills

:-|

Guru - Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1: 7 (B+)

# [jazz]

American Music Club - Everclear

:-|

Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman [honorable mention]

:-)

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz [honorable mention]

:-)

Muddy Waters - Blues Sky: 7 (B+)

# [blues] [Contains 3 tracks from each of his first 2 Blue Sky late-period albums, and 4 from the third, plus 2 okay live tracks.]

Pussy Galore - batch review [early EPs]

Feel Good About Your Body - 7 (B+) - good luck finding this for a reasonable price

Groovy Hate Fuck - 7.5 (high B+) - same [Spin "Essential Punk Album"]

Pussy Gold 5000 - hm

Sugarshit Sharp - hm - non-Shove "later" EP

All of these except for the last are on the Corpse Love comp (ie, all of the Shove EPs). Unfortunately, that's no way to hear this band (also includes snippets of their version of Exile and some other random things). Good for archival purposes, but good luck listening to 78 minutes straight of their caterwauling. Band needs to be taken in small doses.]

Shove label had its headquarters about a mile and a half from where I now live. I walked over there and looked at it. Actually looks like a really nice place. Maybe it wasn't then.

Various Artists - Jack Ruby Presents the Black Foundation: 8 (A-)

OOP and selling used for far too much for a VA comp at A minus.

The Plastic People of the Universe - Magical Nights: 7.5 (high B+)

Normally, I would not buy a best-of at this level, but I'll make an exception for this band.

Blueprint - Two-Headed Monster: 8 (A-)

Voz Di Sanicolau - Fundo De Mare Palinha: 8 (A-)

I am grading the 10” vinyl-only reissue version pictured here. I'm not buying a vinyl-only reissue. I also listened once to the original album (from which this is a selection), but it's selling for too much used, and it also seems like the reissuers did a selection for good reason -- the other tracks don't seem nearly as good.

Richard Thompson - Live! (more or less)

 

Placeholder – second disc is just not available to stream even on Youtube. And even if I wanted to hear it, I’d have to buy the vinyl, and I already have the first disc (which is just Bright Lights). Plus, it's odds and sods and live tracks.

Los Guanches - The Corpse Went Dancing Rumba: 7 (B+)

# [son]

ESG - Come Away with ESG: 7 (B+)

# [dance/electronica]

Ashford & Simpson - So So Satisfied [honorable mention]

:-)

FKA Twigs - Magdalene

:-|

Blondie - Plastic Letters [honorable mention]

:-)

Ezra Furman - Twelve Nudes

:-(

Lokassa Ya Mbongo - Adiza: 8 (A-)

Totally unavailable at reasonable prices. Dally Kimoko on guitar.

Duane Allman - An Anthology: 7.5 (high b+)

Tough call, but not getting a best of at B plus. Also, it ranges so widely stylistically that it has no gestalt.

Bill Laswell - Hear No Evil: 7 (B+)

# [experimental] Listened twice to the second disc on the reissue.

Prince Far I [the Arabs] - Crytuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1: 7.5 (high B+)

Best of the Cry Tuff series in my opinion. But not available at non-import prices, so not going for it at high B+. [four listens]

Prince Far I – Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter 3 [honorable mention]

:-)

Arlo Guthrie - Running Down the Road: 7.5 (high B+)

# [folk]

Various Artists - Best of Studio One: 7.5 (high B+)

 

Not buying a various artist comp at B plus.

Steely & Clevie - Play Studio One Vintage [honorable mention]

:-)

Lil' Kim - Hard Core: 7.5 (high B+)

# [porno rap]

Dennis Brown - Love's Gotta Hold on Me [honorable mention]

:-)

Dennis Brown - The Best of the Joe Gibbs Years: 8.5 (high A-)

OOP and unavailable at other than ridiculous prices, so not going for it as a best of at A-. I would buy Visions and Words of Wisdom separately, but the latter is way too expensive, and I don't feel right buying only one of the set. So, given the poor state of his catalog, I’ll end up with nothing of his on the shelves. Couldn’t find any other comp that had a fair number of the Gibbs tracks. This is alot like not having the two great Justin Hines albums, but what can I do?

Bomba Estereo - Deja: 7.5 (high B+)

I think some places might be calling this "Agua"? Totally unavailable anyway.

Tom Ze - Vira Lata na Via Lactea [honorable mention]

:-)

Miles Davis - Bags Groove [honorable mention]

:-) [Too much vibraphone for my taste]

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley - Simigwa [honorable mention]

:-)

Korn - Follow the Leader

:-|

Joni Mitchell - Dog Eat Dog [honorable mention]

:-)

Miles Davis All Stars - Walkin': X stars

Seems like it's one of the ones with the first great quintet, because of the title, but it's not. Those four I have in a nice box.

Halsey - Badlands [honorable mention]

:-)

Gregory Isaacs - Out Deh! [honorable mention]

:-) [4 listens]

Nirvana - Live at Reading

 :-| [I'll keep it though because it's Nirvana.]

Terry Allen - Bottom of the World [honorable mention]

:-) [Listened three times in days between starting Napster and starting blog]

Wolf Parade - Thin Mind [honorable mention]

:-) [Note to self: Guy 8 (A-)]

This Kind of Punishment - In the Same Room [honorable mention]

:-)

Jimmy Cliff - Wonderful World, Beautiful People [honorable mention]

:-) [a/k/a Jimmy Cliff]

Shane MacGowan and the Popes - The Snake: 7.5 (high B+)

# [Celtic rock/punk] [But I have it and so will keep it.]