Vulgar Boatmen: Wide Awake: 8 (A-)

Dan Bryk - Lovers Leap: 8 (A-)

Golden Sounds Band - Swahili Rumba [Naxos World, 2003]: 8 (A-)

Not sure why this is so unheralded. An hour of excellent Kenyan soukous, essentially. Thanks, Muzikifan.

Joni Mitchell - For the Roses: 8 (A-)

Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark: 9 (A)

Joni Mitchell - Blue: 9.5 (high A)

Lifers Group - Lifers Group [Hollywood EP, 1991]: 8 (A-)

Not always identified as an EP, but that's what it seems to be. Essentially only three unique tracks ("The Real Deal," "Belly of the Beast," and "Suckers" --  totaling 15 min 38 sec), the other six tracks all being radio or other edits, instrumentals, bonus and/or short tracks.

The Gothic Archies - The Tragic Treasury: Songs From A Series of Unfortunate Events [Nonesuch, 2006]: 8 (A-)

Motorhead - Overkill: 7 (B+)

As noted elsewhere, I consider this band to be at least as much punk as #metal, so I have a copy. The legendary Jimmy Miller produced, so I wanted to like it much more than I have ever been able to.

Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell: disliked

:-(

Action Bronson - Dr. Lecter: disliked

:-(

Garland Jeffreys - Garland Jeffreys: 7 (B+)

#singersongwriter

Lords of Acid - Lust: liked

:-)

Sky Smeed - Live at the Rock House: 7 (B+)

#country/folk/live

Miles Davis - batch review

I have had the following shelved for years and will grade them as I replay them, if I feel that I am qualified to do so at the time. But they are all at least 8 (A-), obviously:

     A Tribute to Jack Johnson

     Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West

     Bitches Brew

     Dark Magus

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue: X (X)

See post re: In a Silent Way.

Miles Davis - In a Silent Way: X (X)

What to say about a work of such incredible importance? Should be in any comprehensive popular music collection.

Various - Mush Filmstrip (Frame 1) [Shadow, 2001]: 8 (A-)

Including Aesop Rock, Odd Nosdam, Clouddead, etc. Nice compilation.

Les Amazones d’Afrique - Musow Danse: 8 (A-)

The Sundays - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic: liked

:-)

Les Amazones de Guinee - Wamato: 8 (A-)

Waylon Jennings - Ultimate Waylon Jennings [RCA Nashville/BMG Heritage, 2004]: 8 (A-)

Also have Greatest Hits (1979) and The Essential (2007) on the listen queue.

Sam Fan Thomas - Makassi: 8 (A-)

 

Various - The African Typic Collection [Earthworks, 1989]: 8 (A-)

Couldn't find an image of my copy's cover in the correct size on the internet, so the above is what you get. This has three out of six tracks by Sam Fan Thomas. The title track, "African Typic Collection," is from an album of his called Makassi, which I will post about separately. The other two of his tracks on here are from a self-titled album called, obviously, Sam Fan Thomas, which is called by its lead track on AllMusic as Si Ticha, which is one of those two tracks. Ya get me?

Miles Davis - Agharta: 8 (A-)

See post re: Pangaea. De-fatboxed as well.

Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Upsetters - Battle of Armagideon (Millionaire Liquidator) [Trojan, 1986]: 7 (B+)

Very spotty album. Anyway, copies are way too expensive. Basically #import, even though it does seem to have been reissued once in the US.

Black Eyes - Cough: liked

:-)

Willi Carlisle - Too Nice to Mean Much [self-released EP, 2016]: liked

6 songs, 24 min 28 sec. Might be a 7 (B+), but I'm not raring to play it again to make the distinction, so I settled on this. Even at that grade, it's #country/folk anyway. And even if not, or I wanted to have a rare country/folk EP, physicals are ridiculously pricey.

Meat Beat Manifesto - 99% [Mute, 1990]: 7.5 (high B+)

Speaking of 99%, I'm at least that sure that I had this once and sold it back (which is consistent with my current inability to locate it). I have a pretty solid memory of doing that, probably on the basis that it's #electronic/dance and comes in at this grade in my estimation. Anyway, I played it four more times at present in order to ensure that this is not a phantom grade, so I've almost certainly actually played it at least eight times.

William S. Burroughs/Kurt Cobain - "The 'Priest' They Called Him" [Tim/Kerr, 1993]: liked

This is a single (9 min 42 sec), with Burroughs intoning his spoken word narrative over guitar noodling by Cobain. Posted cover because of the novelty of the project. Apparently, that's Novoselic on the cover.

Allen Ginsberg - The Ballad of the Skeletons [EP]: 7 (B+)

Listed/marketed as an EP, but this is really a single. It contains the title track, with extra edited and clean versions, and a "B-side" cover of "Amazing Grace." I played this because of what I now think is the extremely overstated assessment of the title track made by the AllMusic editor ("one of the most passionate, powerful, and articulate performances in the history of rock" (emphasis added)). #singles

Various - That's the Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk [A&M, 1984]: 7.5 (high B+)

A Hal Willner production. Normally, this would be #multiartistcomp, but I bought a nice copy for a fantastic price because there was no other easy way to hear it, and I feel like keeping it, which maybe indicates I should move it a notch higher. Most critics seem to put this at about my grade or below though, with the exception of Christgau, who gives it an 8 (A-).

Garth Brooks - The Hits: 8 (A-)

The Ex - Too Many Cowboys: liked

So long and bloated, it became a little bit of a chore to listen to. A “see also” in the Rolling Stone 2026 list of the 100 Greatest Punk Albums of All Time.

The La's - The La's: 8 (A-)

Too Much Joy - Cereal Killers: 8 (A-)

Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun: liked

:-)

Downtown Science - Downtown Science: 9 (A)

Slept-on classic

Serengeti - Kenny Dennis LP: 8 (A-)

Serengeti - KennyV: 8 (A-)

Digital-only. Kenny Dennis V

Judas Priest - Stained Class: liked

Might be 7 (B+), but #metal anyway. I'm tempted, because copies are cheap.

Ice Cube - Lethal Weapon: liked

Docked a notch for bloat/weak second half/long Parliament rip.

Boredoms - Soul Discharge: neutral

:-|

Various - Black Havana: 7.5 (high B+)

#dance/electronica/house

Garland Jeffreys - Escape Artist: 7 (B+)

I like the songs on this a little more than on Ghost Writer, but it's slightly more derivative (he sounds like he's trying to do his best Elvis Costello impersonation), so it evens out at the same grade. I like the EP that came with this, Escapades, a little more, and would give it 7.5 (high B+), mainly for the two reggae songs on the second side, but it's still #singersongwriter/folk/blues like the album proper. Too bad, because it looks like it sold as a separate seven-inch EP as its own separate release, at least in the UK/Europe. I'll probably cave on this and/or Ghost Writer one day, because it seems wrong to only have King of In Between by this artist.

Moe Tucker - Playin' Possum: neutral

:-|

John Lennon - Mind Games: 8 (A-)

Yet another one where Christgau's ridiculous grade (C+) kept me away unreasonably for decades.

Graham Parker - The Mona Lisa's Sister: 8.5 (high A-)

A very fine album. Not sure why Christgau crapped on it when it came out, but that terrible review kept me away for decades. I can't really find a thing about it not to like. There were always indications that there was something here (eg, it was in that little Rolling Stone album guide on the 1980s, the new Rolling Stone album guide grade), but I took the lazy way out and relied on the "Dean," to my detriment. The kind of album I'm always happy to play again after it ends.

Marti Jones - Unsophisticated Time [A&M, 1985]: 8.5 (high A-)

This is a mid-eighties, near-classic bit of proto-Americana or something like that. Maybe the female version of Thomas Jefferson Kaye a decade later. I know that's a strange and possibly useless comparison but it's what came into my head. And I despise comparisons. I'm not really comparing them so much as trying to locate them in some kind of genre, which is difficult. Anyway, I lean towards 8.25 but round up in that case. Got a sealed vinyl copy for a ridiculously good price, so a bit of a treasure. It was released originally on CD but only in Germany. Then there was some Don Dixon boutique CD reissue in 2000, but essentially, this is vinyl-only. Very happy to discover this, 41 years after its release.

Mekons - Horrorble (Mekons vs Tony Maimone in Dub Conference): 7 (B+)

This is the double-CD deluxe version with the original Horror album included, so now I have two copies of that. Bought this at a Mekons show in Portland, Maine to support the band, and because I am a Mekons fanboy and completist. Grade is for the dub version.

Soukous Stars - Rumba Soukous: The Heartbeat of Africa [Cassava, 2001]: notation

I would like to listen to this if I ever find a streamable version. The only review I have seen is lukewarm (Christgau at two-star honorable mention), so I do not want to buy it sound unheard. For some reason, he has this listed as artist "Rumba-Soukous" -- a band which I do not think exists. Discogs credits this to Soukous Stars. So does AllMusic. Here is the cover to avoid confusion:

Motorhead - batch review

I've had these forever, and will post on them individually as I play them again:

     No Remorse

     Ace of Spades

     No Sleep 'til Hammersmith

Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Trust: 9 (A)

Queen - Greatest Hits [Hollywood, 1992]: 8 (A-)

Upped a notch for general regard. AllMusic says this: "Not to be confused with 1981's Greatest Hits, 1992's Classic Queen, or 1992's reissue of 1981's Greatest Hits, 2004's Greatest Hits is a superb 20-track sampler of Queen's best, eclipsing all of the aforementioned packages." Taking a pass on Classic Queen, I have the 1992 issue, as noted above.

The 1981 issue has the same number of tracks as the 1992 issue (17), but "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Flash" instead of "Body Language" and "I Want to Break Free." I did play "Flash" three times, just to be thorough, although I've obviously heard it many times before. Definitely a good one to leave off. (I also obviously have "Bohemian Rhapsody.") Discogs actually has 2004 as being a reissue of 1981, which seems to be more accurate given the same 17 songs and cover image, and the 1992 issue as its own release. Anyway, the 2004 issue adds two live tracks and "I'm in Love with My Car" to get to 20. I can also do without those.