Minutemen - Politics of Time: 7 (B+)

# [odds and sods] [Tempted to get this anyway, despite Christgau's B- and Hull's C+, for the first seven tracks, which apparently were meant for a non-SST Minutemen studio album that never materialized and would have been great. So far I've resisted the temptation.]

Minutemen - Paranoid Time: 8 (A-)

Have this on 7-inch, where it belongs.

Minutemen - Introducing the Minutemen: 9.5 (high A)

I think SST did a phenomenal job with this compilation. I consider it the equivalent of, and a great companion to, the comp No Strings Attached by the Meat Puppets.

Black Flag - Damaged: 8 (A-)

Have this on vinyl and have never "upgraded" to CD.

Gurf Morlix - Caveman: 7 (B+)

# [roots/blues/country] [4 listens]

The National - Cherry Tree [EP] [honorable mention]

:-)

The Pogues - Poguetry in Motion [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

# [Celtic rock/punk]

The Fall - Slates [EP]: 9.5 (high A)

One of the great punk/post-punk EPs. Bought this on original vinyl, it's so good. I wish it had a good release on remastered CD. It was combined unremastered with A Part of American Therein, 1981, a mediocre live album, and then issued alone on a nicely remastered CD with a judicious number of bonus tracks. But both of those CDs are ridiculously expensive, so I'm sticking with just the original vinyl. Actually, there's a VG+ of the version with the live album, but this looks like a first generation CD transfer (on "Dojo Limited" in 1992), so I'll pass. If the remastered one (on Castle Music in 2004) had copies selling for that, I'd go for it. Follow me?

The Fall - Early Years 77-79: 7.5 (high B+)

 

Put this together as a playlist. It doesn't come close to solving the "first 3 albums unavailable problem." Copped this from a fan website: Tracks 1-3 are from the single "Bingo-Master's Break-Out!;" tracks 4-5 are from the single "It's The New Thing;" tracks 6-7 are from the single "Rowche Rumble;" track 8 is from the album Dragnet; tracks 9-11 are from the single "Fiery Jack." Used copies are ridiculously expensive (cheapest by far is VG+ for $21 shipped). Pass at this grade.

Thomas Anderson - The Moon in Transit (Four-Track Demos, 1996-2009): 8 (A-)

Upped from 7 (B+).

Devo - Duty Now for the Future [honorable mention]

:-)

Various - Zetrospective 2: Hope Springs Eternal: 7 (B+)

# [multi-artist comps]

The Gregg Allman Band - Playin' Up a Storm: 7.5 (high B+)

Not available used at reasonable prices.

The Fall - Early albums - batch review

These are all ridiculously overpriced, first generation CDs/bloated second generation, etc. Given that they are all in the B+ range, I will skip them and start with Slates and Hex Enduction Hour, the first truly great Fall works by what appears to be the general consensus. I also listened to the live one from this period, A Part of America Therein, 1981, which I would give an honorable mention. I did not listen to the other live one from this period, Totale's Turns.

Live at the Witch Trials - 7 (B+)

Dragnet - 7.5 (high B+)

Grotesque (After the Gramme) [honorable mention] [four or five listens]

Clarence Carter - The Best of Clarence Carter: 7.5 (high B+)

# [soul/best of]

Age of Chance - One Thousand Years of Trouble [honorable mention]

:-)

Various - Black Star Liner: Reggae From Africa: 7 (B+)

# [multi-artist comps]

Withered Hand - EPs - batch review [honorable mentions]

Among Horses 1 [with A Singer of Songs]

Inbetweens

You’re Not Alone

Aby Ngana Diop - Liital [honorable mention]

:-)

Atmosphere - So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously [honorable mention]

:-) [Standout track: “Bigger Pictures”]

Bettie Serveert - Lamprey [honorable mention]

:-)

Built to Spill - Sabonis Tracks [EP] [placeholder]

[Two tracks from Ancient Melodies of the Future and two live versions]

Built to Spill - Carry the Zero [EP] [placeholder]

Australia-only release. Two tracks from Keep It Like a Secret and two outtakes from that album. One of the latter is on the EP entitled Center of the Universe ("Now and Then"). The other outtake, "Forget Remember When," was on some vinyl versions of the album, but not the CD. I would buy this, despite the Australia-only factor, but it's ridiculously expensive for two songs, both of which appear on the live album Live. ps, the other two tracks are "live acoustic" tracks.

Built to Spill - Center of the Universe [EP] [placeholder]

In U.S., promo only. German release on "City Slang" on maxi-single CD with four tracks: title track from Keep It Like a Secret, "Now and Then" (also on Carry the Zero EP), and two "live acoustic" tracks. Pass.

Modest Mouse - Interstate 8 ["EP"] [placeholder]

This is an 11 song, nearly hour-long "EP" by the great Cascadian slackers with the lisping front man. The first 3 songs are on Building Nothing Out of Something and the fourth is on This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. The fifth song, a 7 minute mini-epic ("Edit the Sad Parts"), appeared on the vinyl version of This is a Long Drive but not the CD (that vinyl issue also has a song which is physically unique to it in the MM catalog -- "A Manic Depressive Named Laughing Boy" -- which can be streamed obviously and is a fine song). The remaining 6 tracks here are apparently "bonus tracks" classed together under the rubric "Live in Sunburst Montana," a move which I suppose has the effect of reflexively categorizing the first five songs as the conceptualized "EP." Anyway, "Live in Sunburst Montana" is apparently the band's first demo, recorded (in one take?) in the front man's garage in Issaquah, Washington. Hence the name. The demo's 6 tracks go like this: one is a repeat of "Edit the Sad Parts" (perhaps a different version); "Broke" and "Whenever You Breathe Out, I Breathe In (Positive Negative)" are also on Building Nothing; "Novocain Stain" and "Beach Side Property" are also on This is a Long Drive; and "Buttons to Push the Button" (another fine song) was the B side of a single with "White Lies, Yellow Teeth" (also a fine song). So net-net this offers the MM aficionado  "Edit the Sad Parts" (in perhaps two versions) and "Buttons to Push the Buttons." Bought it anyway, and somehow writing this blog post has caused me to realize that their EP Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks is essential MM.

L7 - Live: Omaha to Osaka

:-|

Tapper Zukie - Tapper Roots [honorable mention]

:-)

Tapper Zukie - The Best of the Front Line Years [placeholder]

I would listen to this, but it's not available on streaming services. Anyway, it contains songs from M.P.L.A., Tapper Roots, and Peace in the Ghetto, all of which I have or will evaluate separately and the first of which I have.

Withered Hand - How to Love: 9.5 (high A)

For the first week of listening, I was thinking this was a masterpiece. I've backed off a half-point on that. The middle two songs are kind of slow and aren't up to the levels of the others. Nevertheless, this is a near-perfect gem and certainly the album of the year, if not the decade.

100 gecs - Snake Eyes [EP]: 7 (B+)

# [electronic] (Digital-only anyway) [4 listens]

Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork [honorable mention]

:-)

Body Count - Body Count: 8 (A-)

Lene Lovich - New Toy [EP] [honorable mention]

:-) 

Lene Lovich - Stateless: 7.5 (high B+)

Unavailable at reasonable prices.

Bettie Serveert - Log 22: 8 (A-)

The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein [honorable mention]

:-)

The Runaways - Queens of Noise [honorable mention]

:-)

The Runaways - The Runaways [honorable mention]

:-)

Bettie Serveert - Attagirl [honorable mention]

:-)

Beck - Guero [honorable mention]

:-)

Aphrodite’s Child - 666 [honorable mention]

:-)

JPEGMafia & Danny Brown - Scaring the Hoes [honorable mention]

:-)

Reflection Eternal [Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek] - Train of Thought: 7 (B+)

[Xgau mis-filed under "Kweli" and mis-titled it Reflection Eternal]