Ann Peebles - Straight from the Heart: 7 (B+)

# [soul]

Jeffrey Lewis - When That Really Old Cat Dies [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

 Digital only (really, streamable-only(!))

Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life: 9.5 (high A)

I have the CD version with the A Something’s Extra EP included, which I would separately rate 8 (A-).

Hound Dog Taylor and The HouseRockers - Natural Boogie: 7.5 (high B+)

# [blues]

DJ Black Low - Uwami: 8 (A-)

[upped from 7.5 (high B+)]

Phelimuncasi - Ama Gogela: 7 (B+)

# [ampiano/gqom] [cassette/digital only]

Homeboy Sandman - Don't Feed the Monster

:-(

Adeem the Artist - White Trash Revelry [honorable mention]

:-) [They is a pretty good singer, but they’s songs all sound a little overly familiar.]

Lyrics Born - Vision Board 7 (B+)

[Upped from honorable mention - really, I don't trust my own ears versus Christgau and Hull both coming in at A minus. I need to develop a mind of my own. But they're both smarter than I am and have better taste.] [5 listens]

PinkPantheress - Take Me Home [EP] [honorable mention]

:-) [3 songs; 7:39]

PinkPantheress - To Hell with It [EP] [honorable mention]

:-)

Television - Adventure: 9 (A)

"Days" may be Verlaine/Lloyd's most beautiful song. I love Verlaine's work, but I think his solo career demonstrated that he worked best with Lloyd. 65/35 relationship.

LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem: 7 (B+)

# [electronica]

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle: 9 (A)

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence Clearwater Revival: 7 (B+)

# [blues rock - beyond which they evolved] I've ended up with all their studio albums except the first and last.

Dennis Alcapone - Forever Version: 7.5 (high B+)

Once-owned. Looking back, selling was a mistake. However, there is now only ridiculously overpriced original vinyl, the first generation, unremastered CD transfer (1991) which I sold back, and ridiculously overpriced "Deluxe Edition" CD, with 5 mostly unremarkable bonus tracks and a remix of a track already on the original. Since the comps My Voice Is Insured and Guns Don't Argue are not available for less than a fortune, I guess this means I have no Dennis Alcapone.

Bad Brains - The Youth Are Getting Restless: 7 (B+)

# [live] [At least 4 listens - 95% sure I owned this once]

Mary J. Blige - Good Morning Gorgeous: 7 (B+)

# [r&b]

Kady Diarra - Burkina Hakili: 7 (B+)

# [wassoulou? adjacent anyway]

Marshall Chapman - Dirty Linen: 7 (B+)

# [country]

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik: 7.5 (high B+)

Jimmie Dale Gilmore - Jimmie Dale Gilmore: 7 (B+)

# [country]

Jimmie Dale Gilmore - After Awhile: 7.5 (high B+)

# [country] [owned this once and sold it back]

Oumou Sangare - Timbuktu: 7.5 (high B+)

# [wassoulou] [Note: Oumou, Worotan, and Seya are all on the final listen pile]

Saba - Few Good Things: 7.5 (high B+)

Direct sale is $27 shipped for CD (shipping alone is $9). LOL.

Hound Dog Taylor and The HouseRockers - Beware of the Dog!: 7 (B+)

# [blues/live]

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle: Volume Two [notes]

For someone who owns all the albums except the first two and the last, this only offers the following two songs from each of those albums:

"Walk on the Water" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Susie Q" (Pt. 2) - Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Born on the Bayou" - Bayou Country

"Good Golly Miss Molly" - Bayou Country [strange choice, to me anyway]

"Lookin' for a Reason" - Mardi Gras

"Hello Mary Lou" - Mardi Gras

I realize that almost the exact same argument can be made about Chronicle (original volume), but that one is a classic in its own right, and has all the charting singles. It's also a Diamond selling album.

Anyway, obviously not worth buying at full price for a 1986 "remastered" CD. Especially since I may end up adding either or both of the first two albums.

John Fogerty - The Long Road Home: X stars

No grade in this case, but not because it can't be assigned one obviously. The problem I have with this is that all the Creedence songs are on other albums I own, with the exception of "Born on the Bayou." I thought this one was on Chronicle but it's not. Turns out I'm not the only person who has noticed this. There's a thread on the Hoffman forums where this is discussed briefly. Shockingly, it was not a charting single, and that comp only included charting singles, so it was left off. Anyway, because it's so familiar, I put it in the "on other albums" category. That means the album offers the following 5 Fogerty solo tracks:

"Centerfield" and "The Old Man Down the Road" from Centerfield (1985)
"Rambunctious Boy" and "Hot Rod Heart" from Blue Moon Swamp (1997)
"Deja Vu (All Over Again)" from Deja Vu All Over Again (2004)

Nevertheless, I mistakenly bought this comp when it came out. I de-shelved it in 2022. I'm not a big fan of Fogerty or Creedence, and it's not worth cluttering up the shelves for the 5 Fogerty solo tracks (plus, I should mention, some live tracks).

Weezer - Pinkerton [honorable mention]

:-)

Wild Nothing - Empty Estate [EP]: 7 (B+)

See review of same band's Golden Haze.

Wild Nothing - Golden Haze [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

No one is selling this 20 minute EP at prices that approach reasonable. Not for 7.5 (high B+) anyway.

Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run: 7 (B+)

See review of Ram - similar thing. [Choice cuts: “Band on the Run” and “Jet”]

The Muslims - Fuck These Fuckin Fascists: 7 (B+)

12 tracks in 21 minutes. I like that. But not paying full price for it at 7 (B+).

Joni Mitchell - Night Ride Home [honorable mention]

:-)

Armand Hammer/The Alchemist - Haram

:-( [Armand Hammer is Billy Woods and Elucid]

Billy Woods - Aethiopes

:-|

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - Rattlesnakes: 7.5 (high B+)

Little Simz - No Thank You: 8 (A-)

Digital only

Black Star - No Fear of Time: 7 (B+)

Streaming only (?) via subscription podcast network Luminary only (?). A monthly subscription costs $5, so you can sign up for a month just to listen to this, and then cancel your subscription and be left with nothing. Dumbest distribution scheme ever. Never would have bothered to search this out and give it a listen (really 4 listens) except someone whose ears I respect said it was really good. It's fine.

Superchunk - On the Mouth

:-|

Unrest - Imperial f.f.r.r. [honorable mention]

:-) [Not sure why all the hate from Christgau]

Dumptruck - For the Country [honorable mention]

:-)

Dumptruck - D Is for Dumptruck: 7.5 (high B+)

Iggy Pop - Everyday Loser [honorable mention]

:-)

Dumptruck - Positively Dumptruck [honorable mention]

:-)

Joni Mitchell - Song to a Seagull: 7 (B+)

# [folk]

The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field: 7 (B+)

# [indiepop]

Billy Woods - Church

:-|

Rob Base - The Incredible Base: 7 (B+)

# [proto-rap]

Wild Nothing - Gemini: 7.5 (high B+)

[See review of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Same story with this one, almost exactly.]

Marianne Faithfull - Strange Weather: 7.5 (high B+)

Marianne Faithfull - Easy Come, Easy Go: 8.5 (high A-)

[I actually stupidly de-shelved this in my second round of pruning a few years ago. I think for some reason I lumped her (and this album in particular) in with "female songstress sings standards" or something like that. But she's really rock, or alternative even. So I rescued this, reshelved it, and finished exploring her catalog. My original pruning is hard to understand because Broken English is very high up there on my list of favorite albums of all time. I guess I just wasn't understanding how much I like her, rather than just that one album, which is how I was looking at her then, I think.]

Marianne Faithfull - Broken English: 9.5 (high A)

MC Paul Barman - It's Very Stimulating: 7 (B+)

Usually "hip hop comedy" is #, but I make an exception for this guy for some reason. Maybe because I sensed he would get serious eventually, which he did on Echo Chamber [review to come - I have it in physical, I just need to hear it at least one more time to give it an official grade]. 

Ashley McBryde - Lindeville: 7.5 (high B+)

# [country]

Mama's Broke - Narrow Line: 7 (B+)

# [folk]

Converge - Jane Doe [honorable mention]

I usually don't post album covers for anything ungraded, but I'm making an exception for this one to commemorate the accomplishment of actually giving it 3 good listens. Are there really people who get enjoyment out of this? Or would they say it's not enjoyment precisely, but catharsis or something else? My emotional/aesthetic reaction was more accurately "neutral," but I upped it to honorable mention for the obvious effort it took to record. (I even toyed with the idea of buying a physical, as in, getting the cheapest used, beat up copy I could find, as a symbol of something, for a couple bucks. I mainly did this as a thought experiment, but what I found is that for some reason even copies like that are priced over $10 plus shipping for some reason.)

Sudan Archives - Natural Brown Prom Queen: 7 (B+)

# [electronica? R&B?]

2023 Single Listens (unless otherwise noted)

Ali & Tam's avec L'Orchestre Malo - Ali & Tam's avec L'Orchestre Malo [acoustic Congolese rumba]

Lenhart Tapes - Dens

Tainy - Data

They Might Be Giants - Book

Dorothy Carter - Waillee Waillee

Sierra Ferrell - Long Time Coming

Omar Khorshid - Guitar El Chark Vol​.​1

Car Seat Headrest - Faces From The Masquerade [Live]

Ustad Noor Bakhs - Jingul [EP]

Ace of Base - Greatest Hits [2000]

Adam Green - Gemstones

A7pha - II

Fishmans - 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare

Yo La Tengo - The Bunker Sessions [“live-ish” retreads of tracks mostly on This Stupid World]

The Folk Implosion - walk through this world with... [2 listens]

Various - Live Stiffs Live [2 listens]

Serengeti - Fall23

Hotline TNT - Cartwheel

The Streets - The Darker the Shadow the Brighter the Light

Alain Goraguer - La Planete Sauvage (Original Film Soundtrack)

Yeule - Softscars

Underscores - Wallsocket

Gladys Knight & The Pips - Pipe Dreams: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Broadcast – The Noise Made by People

Too Short - Gettin' It (Album Number Ten)

Rhythm & Sound - See Mi Yah [single rhythm; I also sampled the Remix album]

Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind

Morrissey - The Best of Morrissey

Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris; In Times New Roman...

Pharoah Sanders - Welcome to Love [Hull A+]; Pharoah

Laurie Anderson - The Ugly One with the Jewels and Other Stories [basically spoken word]

Katie Alice Greer - More Barbarism [EP]

Buck 65 - Dirtbike 1, 2, 3, 4 [3 sounded the best to me; maybe I'll play them again one day]

Lloyd Cole - On Pain

[Matthew] Herbert – Bodily Functions

James Mason - Rhythm of Life

Neil Young - Chrome Dreams

Various - Rainy Day [Christgau B+]

Felo Le Tee/Mellow & Sleazy - The III Wise Men [amapiano]

Panic Shack - Baby Shack [EP]

Steely Dan - Alive in America [live]

Paul Simon - Concert in the Park

Joan Soriano - La Familia Soriano [Christgau B+]

DJ /rupture - Minesweeper Suite [mixtape, goes on forever, Christgau B+]

The Meditations - Ghetto Knowledge

Red Rockers - Condition Red [not sure how Christgau came up with a B- for this]

Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited - Zimbabwe Mozambique

Various - Nexus Dub

Joy Oladokun - Proof of Life

Jesse Ware - That! Feels Good!

Joanna Sternberg - I’ve Got Me

Various - Zambush Vol. 2: Zambian Hits from the 60s and 70s

DFL - My Crazy Life [EP] [Ad-Rock on bass – Grand Royal release 1993]

Straw Man Army - SOS

Sheila Chandra - The Zen Kiss [exceptionally irritating]

Tinariwen - Amatssou

Protomartyr - Formal Growth in the Desert

Protomartyr - Consolation [EP]

Gary Lucas' Fleischerei - Music From Max Fleischer Cartoons [half available on Bandcamp]

Savage - Tonight [Italo disco]

Various - Return to Orange Street: Roots Rock Reggae

The Royals - Dubbing with the Royals

Queen Key - Eat My Pussy (Again)

War - War Live

Sylvester - Step II

Jon Langford - Gold Brick

Devo - New Traditionalists

Various - NOW That's What I Call Music! Disco

Fred again.. & Brian Eno - Secret Life

Naked Raygun - Throb Throb

Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Wainwright

Paul Simon - Seven Psalms [solo acoustic]

Various - The Descendants (Music From the Motion Picture) [Hawaiian]

Skyzoo - Milestones; The Bluest Note

The Left [Apollo Brown] - Gas Mask [also with DJ Soko & Journalist 103]

St. John Green - St. John Green

Leak Bros. - Waterworld

Emperor X - Tectonic Membrance / Thin Strip on an Edgeless Platform

Pink Floyd - A Collection of Great Dance Songs [six “hits,” half edited, one re-recorded]

Stevie Wonder - In Square Circle

Winter Hours - Winter Hours [Chrysalis, 1989]

Marta - When It’s Going Wrong [Tricky-produced and co-written]

The Bongos - Beat Hotel

J.B. Mpiana "Wenge Musica BC/BG" - Feux de l'Amour

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity

Montrose - Montrose

New Birth - The Very Best of the New Birth Inc.

Eyedea & Abilities - E&A

Buck 65 and Tachichi - Flash Grenade

Richard Thompson - Music from Grizzly Man

Wilco - What's Your 20? Essential Tracks 1994-2014

DakhaBrakha/Bedouin - The Bedouin Reworks of DakhaBrakha

The Bobby Lees - Bellevue

Richard Lloyd - The Radiant Monkey; The Countdown

Dennis Alcapone - Yeah Yeah Yeah: Mash Up the Dance

Steve Lacy - Gemini Rights

Czarface - Czarmageddon; Every Hero Needs a Villain

The Beatles - Revolver [2022 stereo remix]

Kim Petras - Slut Pop [EP]

Lucrecia Dalt - ¡Ay!

John Cale - Mercy

The Murder Capital - Gigi’s Recovery

Various - Folk And Great Tunes From Siberia and Far East [sampled what was available]

Black Midi - Hellfire [honorable mention]

:-)