The Fall - The Frenz Experiment: [7.5 (high B+)

Yo Yo - Black Pearl: 8 (A-)

The Go-Go's - Greatest: 9 (A)

Elvis Presley - Tiger Man: 8 (A-)

A little corny and forced, but definitely the best part of the TV special conglomeration to me.

Bike for Three! [Buck 65 and "Greetings from Tuskan"] - More Heart Than Brains: 8 (A-)

His collaborator definitely should have chosen a different name.

Public Enemy - Power to the People and the Beats: Public Enemy's Greatest Hits: 8.5 (high A-)

Nine Inch Nails - Broken [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

Black Eyes - Hostile Design [EP] [Dischord, 2025]: 9 (A)

Holy shit. Thank you for this.

Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs - Pharaohization!: The Best of Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs: 7.5 (high B+)

I almost picked up a copy, because it's one of the first, if not the first, retrospectives on Rhino, so somewhat of an historic release. #roots/bluesrock/texmex

The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter: liked

:-)

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm: liked

Docked a notch for bloat (songs drag on, and so does the album).

Various - Source: Music of the Avant Garde, Issue Number 4 [Source,1968]: liked

The release I listened to and am posting about here contains the following tracks:

Source Record Number One

A. Robert Ashley – “The Wolfman” (15:15)

B. David Behrman – “Wave Train” (15:15)

Source Record Number Two

C. Larry Austin – “Accidents”(16:59)

D. Allan Bryant – “Pitch Out” (17:45)

The two tracks on Source Record Number One are presented in the Spin guide as full albums, even though they do not appear to be such. At least, I could not find full albums with those track names. Or rather, there are Italian-only releases of albums with those titles, which also contain the track in question, but they are not on the Source label from 1968, as specified in the Spin guide. Anyway, I listened to those two particular tracks four times each.

Ray Charles - Doing His Thing: 7.5 (high B+)

#r&b

Lightnin' Hopkins - Blues Masters: The Very Best of Lightnin' Hopkins: 8 (A-)

I normally don't grade blues, but I feel pretty comfortable with this.

Serengeti - Kaleidoscope: liked

If I could listen to this more than the three free plays on Bandcamp, I would almost certainly give this at least a 7 (B+). Digital-only (and limited edition LP/cassette).

Lindval [Linval] Thompson - Cool Down [Clocktower, 1979]: 7.5 (high B+)

With the great Tony Chin on rhythm. Never remastered. CDs are either on Abraham (which appears to be a highly suss label), French releases, or under the title "Presents African Princess," with different track titles, etc. So I just went for a vinyl reissue on Clocktower, which I think may be affiliated, or even the same as, Abraham, but I'm frankly sick of worry about this kind of thing.

Soukous Stars - Pas d'Panique (Keep Cool): 7.5 (high B+)

#import

Lokassa et Soukous Stars - Megamix, Vol. 1: 8 (A-)

On guitar: Dally Kimoko, Lokassa Ya Mbongo, Nene Tchakou

The Fall - Palace of Swords Reversed: 8 (A-)

There are only three songs on here that I don't already have: "Putta Block," "Wings," and "City Hobgoblins." So I'm going to end up skipping this, because I don't like the prices being asked.

The Fall - Dragnet: liked

Many, many plays. To me, this is the one early Fall album I can't get behind. However, I do have a copy, because so many others seem to really like it, and because it completes my collection from Witch Trials through Kurious Oranj. Therefore, I have also posted the cover. I didn't sweat the version I bought because of my I would say disinterest in the album. Note: I way docked this from the 7.5 (high B+) appearing in a former batch review. Not sure what I was thinking/hearing at the time.

The Fall - Grotesque (After the Gramme): 7 (B+)

Upped from the "liked" appearing in a former batch review, after many more than the four or five plays that went into that original assessment.

The Fall - A Part of America Therein, 1981: liked

Live

The Fall - Live at the Witch Trials [I.R.S., 1979]: 8 (A-)

The Fall debut, studio album (despite the title). Upped from the 7 (B+) appearing in a former batch review, after many more plays than the at least three that went into that original assessment. The only remastered CD version is the two-disc "deluxe" edition -- which is absolutely swamped in crappy, worthless extra tracks, in my opinion. I listened to the extra tracks only once to make this determination. Terrible. (Well, there is a three-disc Cherry Red issue from 2019, which has the same tracks, but has the original album on its own disc, which is good. This pushes it out to three discs.)

The only other remaster is the vinyl reissue on Cherry Red from 2024. For some reason, this sells for a high price. Why didn't they also issue this remaster on CD? No doubt because it would cannibalize sales of the dumbass three-disc version.

As far as unremastered CDs, there is the original one on IRS from 1989, which is a first-generation CD transfer, and then the 1997 Cog Sinister vinyl drops, which reportedly even have skips on them. Cog Sinister did a 2002 reissue, sourced from the original masters this time, with three nice bonus tracks, but this is impossible to find. In the end, I found a VG copy of the original IRS CD issue for a tolerable price, and just went for that. Way too much agonizing over this, but the Fall catalog is a hellacious mess.

U2 - Easter Lily [EP]: liked

:-)

Moby Grape - Moby Grape: 8 (A-)

Ray Charles - Volcanic Action of My Soul: 7 (B+)

#r&b

Archers of Loaf - EPs/singles batch review

I don't typically grade singles, but I have all the following, which says something how much I love this band (and how good they are):

The Loaf's Revenge [EP]

The Results After the Loafs Revenge [EP]

"Jive Kata" b/w "Slow Worm"

"Vocal Shrapnel" b/w "Density"

I kind of wish I had been able to purchase these two 2020 singles, but I never got around to it after streaming them, and now they're gone and selling for way too much:

"Talking Over Talk" b/w "Cruel Reminder"

"Raleigh Days" b/w "Street Fighting Man"

Archers of Loaf - Vitus Tinnitus [EP]: 8 (A-)

I have this on 10" vinyl, even though it was issued on CD at the time. I think it's in one of those damn CD wallets.

Curtis Mayfield - Back to the World: 7 (B+)

 

Collected as part of Original Album Series, even though #r&b.

Bettie Serveert - Dust Bunnies: liked

 Very close to 7 (B+)

Trinity - Shanty Town Determination: liked

 Listened to the Blood & Fire reissue.

Fripp & Eno - The Equatorial Stars: liked

:-)

Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby: A Working Museum: 7 (B+)

Gavin Bryars - Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (with Tom Waits): notation

I have the first, 26-minute version on this on a release together with The Sinking of the Titanic. I think that's enough versions of this piece, but I did listen to this (with six versions at 74 minutes total) once for good measure. I will post about that one day.

Last Exit - The Noise of Trouble: 7 (B+)

#jazz/live

Zani Diabate et la Super Djata Band du Mali - Volume 2: liked

Cover posted to avoid confusion with similarly-titled releases on Numero Group. Might be a 7 (B+), but digital/vinyl-only anyway.

Kid Cudi - Have U Bn 2 Heaven @ Nite [EP]: liked

:-)

Fede Lawu et Matchatcha - Souci: 8 (A-)

Great Diblo Dibala lead guitar on this one. Probably bumped up a notch for that, but #import anyway. The CD version adds four out of five songs from the Fede Lawu solo album Soukous Non Stop, which does not have Diblo on guitar. I did not hear those songs, and so this grade obviously does not apply to them.

Bettie Serveert - Pharmacy of Love: liked

:-)

Average White Band - AWB: 8 (A-)

Average White Band - Show Your Hand: 7 (B+)

Aka Put It Where You Want It. #r&b

Patrice Rushen - Straight From the Heart: liked

Definitely drops off on side two.

The Dandy Warhols - Earth to Dandy Warhols...: lilked

:-)

Ray Charles - True to Life: 7.5 (high B+)

#r&b

Cracker - Low [EP]: notation

All songs on Garage d'Or

Abdallah Oumbadougou - Amghar: The Godfather of Tuareg Music, Vol. 1: 8 (A-)

Digital/vinyl-only

Super Djata Band de Bamako - Authentique, Vol. 2: Feu Vert 81-82: 8.5 (high A-)

Digital/vinyl-only

Buddy Holly - 20th Century Masters: The Best of Buddy Holly: The Millennium Collection: notation

Listened three times, but will not bother grading. I note it has almost the same tracklist as Icon). I'm just sticking with 20 Golden Greats on vinyl and the Gold collection on CD. I could not find a worthy, short, CD-era compilation.

Roots Radics and Mighty Revolutionaires [The Revolutionaries] - Outernational Riddim: liked

:-)

Music Revelation Ensemble - In the Name of...: 7 (B+)

James Blood Ulmer. #live/jazz

Suede - Early singles/EPs batch review

I would say I "liked" these, on the whole. It's possible one of these would get up to a 7 (B+) on its own, but I'm not going to try to make that distinction, because it's #britpop either way. Here are the releases included:

The Drowners ("My Insatiable One" and "To the Birds")

Metal Mickey ("He's Dead" and "Where the Pigs Don't Fly")

So Young ("Dolly" and "High Rising")

Animal Nitrate ("Painted People" and "The Big Time")

Stay Together (single and long versions of title track, plus "The Living Dead" and "My Dark Star")

These are the four singles/EPs off the eponymous debut album, plus the non-album single "Stay Together" released after that and before Dog Man Star. Here's a Spotify playlist.

Outstanding track: long version of "Stay Together"

Bettie Serveert - Private Suit: 8 (A-)

Madonna - Madame X - Music From the Theater Xperience: 7.5 (high B+)

Digital/vinyl-only. #live

The Dandy Warhols - Rockmaker: liked

:-)

The Dandy Warhols - Odditorium or Warlords of Mars: 7 (B+)

The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia: 8 (A-)

The Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House: 9.5 (high A)

Masaka Kids Africana - Greatful: 8 (A-)

Digital-only

Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman - Miami Lice: Season Four [EP]: 8 (A-)

Vinyl-only

Madness - The Ultimate Collection: 7.5 (high B+)

Definitely the best Madness compilation I have heard, but still #bestof.

Television - Television: 7.5 (high B+)

Television - Live at the Old Waldorf: San Francisco, 6/29/78: 8 (A-)

Television - The Blow-Up: 7.5 (high B+)

I'm not going to play the #live card on Television.

Cypress Hill - III: Temples of Boom: 7 (B+)

Orchestre Maquis & Orchestre Safari Sound - Zanzibara 11: Congo in Dar: Dance No Sweat/1982-1986: 7 (B+)

#multiartistcomp

Cypress Hill - Skull & Bones: 7 (B+)

I'm going to call this #miscarticles and save myself some money. The second disc contains some inferior "rock" tracks versus the "hip hop" ones on the first. Notably, it's their first release not affiliated with Ruffhouse, and it shows. It could easily all have fit on one disc (the second one's basically an EP, the first one a standard album length).

Low - I Could Live in Hope: neutral

:-|

Last Exit - Iron Path: 8 (A-)

Cracker - Kerosene Hat: 7.5 (high B+)

Redman - Dare Iz a Darkside: neutral

Docked a notch for bloat. Fricking thing goes on forever, as always with this artist. In fairness, it's a scourge of basically the entire genre.

The Grateful Dead - The Best of the Grateful Dead [Rhino, 2015]: 9.5 (high A)

This two-disc compilation is a fantastic listen. A really, truly great historic overview that just squeezed in at the end of the CD era. I have all but six of these tracks in other configurations, but this is still worth having. What a Long Strange Trip was good, but this kills it. This is the regular-issue Dead I would take to that deserted island if I could only take one (together with a matrix of Cornell for live bootlegs). Just a very special compilation, beautifully done by Rhino.