The Rolling Stones - GRRR!: notation

I thought about buying the three-CD digipack version of this 50th anniversary collection, just as the collector's piece that it is, but decided against it. Even though their my favorite band, I'm not a completist with respect to them. (I skipped several live albums, the dreaded and awful Hot Rocks, that singles collection, etc.) But I couldn't find it for a good price anywhere at this late stage and just lost interest. And it's not on Spotify so I couldn't even check out the flow.

Shabazz Palaces - Exotic Birds of Prey [EP]: liked

:-)

Imperial Teen - Seasick: liked

At least four plays

Imperial Teen - The Hair the TV the Baby & the Band: liked

:-)

Imperial Teen - What Is Not to Love: liked

:-)

Super Rail Band de Bamako - Kongo Sigui: 8.5 (high A-)

Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton - Play the Blues: Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center: 7.5 (high B+)

#live/jazz/blues

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party - The Supreme Collection, Vol. 1 [Caroline, 1997]: placeholder

As noted on Discogs, this is a combined reissue of Greatest and Latest Hits, Vol. 1 [Sirocco, 1988] (minus track "Milate Rahen") and Greatest and Latest Hits Vol. 2 [Sirocco, 1988].

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Rapture [Music Club, 1997]: 8 (A-)

Underwritten as "An essential selection from the genius of Qawwali". Music Club is a fantastic reissue label.

Howlin' Wolf - Ain't Gonna Be Your Dog [Chess, 1994]: 8 (A-)

Volume 2 in the Chess Collectibles series. I stupidly had this in the de-shelve box. Then I pulled it out, gave it another listen, de-fatboxxed it, put it back on the shelf and am now even checking out the first volume in this series, One More Mile, by Muddy Waters. Just this side of what I like to call the early CD era, still fatboxxed as noted but at least digitally remastered.

The Mighty Diamonds - Speak the Truth: liked

:-)

Ray Charles - Genius + Soul = Jazz [Impulse, 1961]: X (X)

Sometimes (often?) paired with My Kind of Jazz [Tangerine, 1970]. I did not listen to that one. This one is definitely not my kind of jazz, so if that one is in the same category.... #jazz

Paul Simon: Graceland: 9 (A)

Various - No Thanks! The '70s Punk Rebellion [Rhino, 2003]: 9 (A)

I love this compilation. For some reason, it seems to have been somewhat ignored by the critical community when it came out, but eventually, it came to my attention. I love it because it made me search up some of the more obscure punk bands, like Penetration, Subway Sect, the Boys, 999, Rezillos, the Ruts, Sham 69, and the Skids. It's just great, and they had the wisdom to keep it to four discs. I consider it on a par with the other great four-disc genre /era compilations like The Funk Box, Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music, and The Sound of the Suburbs. I regret that I do not have the booklet that came with it, just the discs, in original jewel boxes, which I got for relatively cheap because of that. But there is something punk about not having the accoutrements. I did go up on eBay to see if anyone was selling the booklet but was disappointed to see the price gouging and so passed.

Eric Clapton - No Reason to Cry [RSO, 1976]: 8 (A-)

I think it became fashionable for rock sophisticates to hate on Clapton in the mid-1970s for some reason. This one has the Band on alot of it, and Dylan on one track. What's not to like? Okay, the lyrics aren't profound, but it sounds good. Clapton's guitar solos are classy and restrained throughout, and it's got a nice groove to it. I stayed away from it for years because of the bad reviews, and spent my listening time elsewhere, but I get to enjoy it now in my old age I guess. And it has "Hello Old Friend" on it.

Shakira - Donde Estan Los Ladrones?: 8 (A-)

Shakira - Laundry Service: 8.5 (high A-)

Shakira - Oral Fixation, Vol. 2: 8.5 (high A-)

Shakira - She Wolf: 8 (A-)

Ray Charles - The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years: X (X)

I never wanted the Birth of Soul box set. It's too complete (everything he recorded for Atlantic), and it's too long. Unlike others, I do like the fact that it's on three discs even though it could fit on two, but it's still too long. I struggled alot with his Atlantic albums, but eventually got this one, and individually evaluated these four:

Ray Charles (aka Hallelujah I Love Her So) (1957)

The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)

What'd I Say (1959)

The Genius Sings the Blues (1961)

I listened to them all at least four times. See separate post on What'd I Say. I'm passing on The Genius of Ray Charles as #bigband/popvocals. If one has the best of under review, one has nine of the 13 tracks on Ray Charles (1957), so no need to consider that one separately. That leaves The Genius Sings the Blues, which I will evaluate separately. For reference here are the album breakdowns on this one:

9 from Ray Charles (1957) (13 total)

5 from Yes Indeed! (14 total)

2 from What'd I Say (10 total)

2 from The Genius of Ray Charles (12 total)

1 from Ray Charles in Person (live)

1 single

Orchestra Super Mazembe - Giants of East Africa: 8.5 (high A-)

Random Notation

I spent alot of this fine Fall day evaluating two three-album runs that could not be more different:

Ray Charles

Ray Charles (1957)

Genius of Ray Charles (1959)

Genius Sings the Blues (1961)

Pere Ubu

St. Arkansas (2002)

Lady From Shanghai (2013)

Carnival of Souls (2014)

I know, they're only semi-contiguous in each case, but still.... One big difference is that the Ray Charles albums are near the top of his catalog, critically, while the Pere Ubu ones are near the bottom of theirs. These exercises felt strangely similar enough on some level to make a note of it though.

Jimmy Reed - The Best of Jimmy Reed [GNP Crescendo, 1973]: notation

The Rolling Stone guide has this at five stars and therefore the best non-box set collection of Reed's work. However, according to AllMusic, it is a needle drop and sounds awful. In any event, almost all of its tracks are on The Very Best of Jimmy Reed [Rhino, 2000], which I have a copy of and has long been under review. I will get to it eventually. I will also note here that this one has the majority of the tracks appearing on Bright Lights, Big City [Chameleon, 1988], an early CD-era compilation which I de-shelved, presumably in favor of the Rhino set.

The Mighty Diamonds - The Right Time: 8.5 (high A-)

I have this on pristine vinyl. Apparently, this was issued on remastered CD in UK/Europe, but copies are ridiculously expensive, and Discogs has no dates on the releases, so....

The Rascals - Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits [Atlantic, 1968]: 8 (A-)

Probably upped a notch subconsciously for being in both iterations of Christgau's now-defunct "Record/Rock Libraries." Contains tracks from all three albums they did for Atlantic with the name "The Young Rascals": The Young Rascals (1966), Collections (1967), and Groovin' (1967). I hope to get around to listening to each of these one day.

Muddy Waters - At Newport: X (X)

I'm not qualified to grade this, but it is the highest rated album by Muddy on AllMusic, which says something, and of course I have a copy.

Muddy Waters - Hard Again: 8 (A-)

Muddy Waters - Folk Singer: X (X)

Normally, I would not collect something like this, but I have a beautifully remastered copy on CD, and, as Christgau calls it, it is "luxurious and intimate," so I will keep it. Stupid to let go of something like this.

The Platters - Encore of Golden Hits: X (X)

Not qualified to grade. This is what I have for them, on pristine vinyl.

Mother Love Bone - Mother Love Bone: 7 (B+)

I "liked" the album Apple (on here), and would probably give the Shine EP a 7 (B+), and even though I entered Apple as a "liked," I'm going to bump the whole thing up a notch on the strength of the EP, and just to have a nice release like this that epitomizes the band. I have the single-disc version. And I'll make an exception to #bestof given the stature of the short-lived band as a grunge-progenitor. 

Muddy Waters - Trouble No More: Singles (1955-1959) [Chess, 1989]: X (X)

Please see post re: His Best, 1947 to 1955.

Various - History of House Music, Vol. 2: New York Garage Style [Cold Front, 1997]: 7.5 (high B+)

#electronica/dance

Alberta Hunter - Amtrak Blues: X (X)

I owned this once and sold it off after numerous listens, not because I didn't like it so much as it wasn't something I wanted to collect. I probably still feel that way. I don't really see this as blues, or even jazz -- more like traditional pop vocals. I just listened to it again to make sure. Really great album. #traditional/popvocals

Joy Division - Substance: 8 (A-)

The Specials - The Singles Collection: 8 (A-)

The Specials - The Specials: 8.5 (high A-)

The Specials - Ghost Town/Why?/Friday Night Saturday Morning [Chrysalis EP, 1981]: 9 (A)

Bauhaus - 1979-1983, Vol. 2: liked

:-)

Muddy Waters - The Best of Muddy Waters: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: X (X)

I'd feel like a cad giving this anything other than 10 (A+), so I'll employ my usual dodge and leave it ungraded. I like to use that grade only for things I play obsessively, for a long period of time. In fact, that's pretty much what the grade means to me. I would never do that with this. But I do love it. Why when we want to listen to blues/oldies/etc. do we always have to take them in massive doses? I don't want to always hear an hour plus of Muddy. If fact, I almost never do, and when I do, it's more of an exercise in scholarship than a pure listening pleasure. I feel like that with most of the albums in the genres I noted earlier. On the other hand, this one's perfect: 11 songs, 32 minutes of some of the most core blues there is. I had this in the sell pile until I realized this one day looking at it. Now it's back on the shelves and is what I would most likely play when I just want to hear some Muddy. I also love this 20th Century Masters series.

Howling Wolf [Howlin' Wolf] - Rides Again: placeholder

I had to put up this placeholder while I considered the necessity, for historical, discographical, and/or artistic reasons, of getting a copy of the so-called "Memphis" or "RPM" recordings issued and reissued under various titles over the years. Here are the ones I considered, without labels and dates to keep this from turning into a discographical exercise. I did listen to the above configuration three times, but ultimately went with the Ace reissue of Sings the Blues pictured below.

Sings the Blues, all of which's tracks appear on the above:

Sings the Blues was also issued as Big City Blues:

Rides Again was also issued as Moanin' at Midnight: The Memphis Recordings:

I'm sure I've missed some. I am aware, for instance, that Bear Family Records issued two volumes of this material, with repeated tracks and whatnot that made it unpalatable to me as a listening object. In the end, I just went with the cheapest/most readily-available, which as noted above was the Ace reissue of Sings the Blues.

The Bats - Corner Coming Up: liked

:-)

New York Dolls - Actress: Birth of the New York Dolls: liked

Aka Dawn of the Dolls [Fab Discs, 1997] as a Johnny Thunders release, not to be confused with the reissue of Lipstick Killers (Mercer Street sessions) by the Dolls on Cleopatra Records. Upped from "neutral" because it's the New York Dolls. I read somewhere on the internet that "Actress" is often referred to as the name of the early New York Dolls but was never actually used at the time. I'm a Dolls completist, but I'll be skipping this one. #demos

ps, This was also released together with French Kiss '74 on Cleopatra Records, which is the Bataclan show in 1973/1974. I will post about release(s) of that show separately.

The Five Royales - The "5" Royales [King, 1960]: X (X)

I guess there were only four of them, so the title of the album has the "5" in quotes? But the cover also shows five guys, so who knows? I had originally determined to de-shelve this, because I thought it was a compilation of some kind that I didn't want, but apparently, it's a regular-issue album? Anyway, I've now determined to keep it for the time being.

Big Thief - Double Infinity: 8 (A-)

Sam Cooke - The Man and His Music [RCA, 1986]: X (X)

I originally de-shelved this, as an early CD-era comp that I didn't want, but I changed my mind. It's not a re-issue label early CD-era comp, which makes a bit of a difference. And it's also widely considered to be his best compilation, although I will try the later-issued Portrait of a Legend 1951-1954 [Abkco, 2003], which actually has better reviews than this one. I also looked into The Legendary Sam Cooke [RCA, 1974], but that one's a three-LP set, so I obviously will not look further. It was in one of Christgau's now-defunct Rock Libraries (replaced by the one under review), so that's why I looked. I would listen to Greatest Hits [RCA, 1998], but it doesn't appear to be streaming.

The Four Tops - The Best of Four Tops: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: 8 (A-)

Wilson Pickett - The Definitive Collection [Atlantic/Rhino, 2006]: X (X)

Awaiting shelving. But I already de-shelved A Man and a Half and Greatest Hits in favor of this. I also streamed The Very Best of Wilson Pickett [Rhino, 1993] once.

Mutiny - Funk Plus the One: 7.5 (high B+)

#r&b

New York Dolls - From Here to Eternity: The Live Bootleg Box Set: notation

Contains tracks from the following shows:

New York, 1975: 12 tracks, Little Hippodrome show - on Red Patent Leather

Paris, Bataclan, December 23, 1973: 3 tracks, contained on my issue of Red Patent Leather

Sweden, 1984: 3 tracks, mediocre at best

Detroit, December 31, 1973: 13 tracks [to come]

Long Island, My Father's Place, April 14, 1974 (WBOB radio broadcast): 11 tracks [to come]

Vancouver, 1974: 9 tracks [to come]

Dallas, September 1974: 8 tracks [to come]

I have found this release on YouTube and will listen to the shows I have not heard yet in due course and post above about them.

New York Dolls - Misc. Releases: notation

Here are some misc. releases explained, to avoid confusion in the future. All albums are credited to the New York Dolls, except the first, which is a various artists compilation:

Punk Power, Vol. 1: Digital-only release which includes the Personality Crisis EP

Live 1974: Live show at Le Bataclan in Paris, France in December 1973, broadcast by Radio Luxembourg

Street Trash: Includes the Dolls Personality Crisis EP and Planet Studios demo tracks, together with Heartbreakers tracks

New York Tapes 72-73: Planet Studios and Mercer Street/Blue Rock Studio demo tracks

Great Big Kiss: Planet Studios demo tracks, plus Little Hippodrome/Red Patent Leather live tracks

Archive Series: Studio and Live [Rialto, 2001]: Not sure what this is

The Glam Rock Hits: Tracks from Personality Crisis EP, the Planet Studios demos, and Red Patent Leather

The Glamorous Life - Live: Tracks from Planet Studios demos and Red Patent Leather

Hootchie Cootchie Dolls: Two outtakes from the first album, combined with Mercer Street/Blue Rock Studio and Planet Studios demo tracks. Also appears to end with two live tracks from live show in Santa Monica, CA in 1974.

Looking for a Kiss [Delta Deluxe, 2003]: Outtakes from the first album, combined with Planet Studios demo tracks, and (I think three) live tracks from a show in Montreal Canada, September 27, 1974

Ism - Constantinople [EP]: liked

Really getting into the Amerindie weeds with this one. “C.I.A. Man” is right behind “Walk Through Walls” for sheer annoyingness.

Half Japanese - Horrible [EP]: liked

The first 6:45 (4 tracks) of this EP are probably more of a 7.5 (high B+). But the remaining 5:45 (one track), in other words, the “song” “Walk Through Walls” is probably more like a 1.5, if my grading scale went down that low. It is mostly Jadwin B. Fair shrieking at you like a little girl. Probably the worst track I have ever heard.

Bauhaus - The Bela Session [EP]: 8 (A-)

Contains the original single ("Bela Lugosi's Dead" b/w "Boys"), with three additional tracks from the same session that produced those other two. I guess the original release is an EP, even though it only contained those two tracks (plus a short, hidden demo track), because the title track is ~9 minutes long, so too long for a single. Anyway, this EP is not available for anything less than a fortune, so I was going to spring for the original single, which sells for a reasonable price (probably now that this is out), even though I usually do not buy singles, because of its importance, and also because, as noted, it's more of an EP. But then when I realized I could just get Crackle, the best of, for the same price, which includes the single version of "Bela Lugosi's Dead," I decided to just go for that instead.

Daryl Hall & John Oates - Rock 'n Soul Part 1: 8 (A-)

Thanks to my good friend Tammy for inspiring me to focus on this one and helping to give me the courage of my convictions. Love the cover too, with its orange tones and touching illustration of brotherly love.

Ben Webster - Soulville [Verve, 1957]: X (X)

This one gets a 10 (A+) from Tom Hull. #pre-bopjazz

Devo - Total Devo: liked

:-)

Devo - New Traditionalists: liked

Five listens

Jim Croce - Photographs and Memories: His Greatest Hits [Atlantic, 1974]: 7.5 (high B+)

There's a much later single-disc best of compilation I could try (Classic Hits [Rhino, 2004]), but this OG one is still in print, in a nice digipack, remastered, that was going for $5 shipped, so I just want with that. I made an exception for #bestof on this because Jim Croce was one of the very few (like two or three) music artists my parents played when I was growing up (the other two that come to mind are Janis Ian and Charles Aznavour).

Various - MTV Party to Go, Vol. 2 [Tommy Boy, 1992]: liked

:-)

Various - Jazz Satellites, Volume 1: Electrification: notation

I should've bought this when it came out. Oh well. I have an alert up and will purchase it sound-unheard if one ever shows up for a reasonable price. Cover added so that it sticks in my memory, plus it's cool.

Stevie Wonder - Music of My Mind: 8 (A-)

Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale: 8 (A-)