ZZ Top - ZZ Top's First Album: 7.5 (high B+)

#bluesrock

The O'Jays - Back Stabbers: 8 (A-)

XTC - Upsy Daisy Assortment: liked

Goes on a bit too long for my taste. Waxworks would be the way to go for me, but see separate post on that.

Various - The Philly Sound: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff & The Story of Brotherly Love (1966-1976): 8.5 (high A-)

Would be 9 (A) except it flags a little at the end. I somehow can't find this. Did I sell this off in a fit of stupidity and/or desperation??? I honestly don't remember doing that.

Warren G - Regulate... G Funk Era: 8 (A-)

Warren G - Regulate... G Funk Era Part II [EP]: 7 (B+)

Digital-only

Embrace - Embrace [Dischord, 1987]: 7.5 (high B+)

Interesting release history. Originally issued only on vinyl in 1987, when CDs had been in production for a few years, but it wasn’t released on CD until 1992, without a remaster. It was later remastered and reissued in 2002 and 2012, but annoyingly has two bonus tracks after the last song, “Last Song.” This seems like a mistake to me for an arguably hardcore release. Anyway, those remastered CDs go for a fortune, and I won’t buy original vinyl usually if there was a remastered CD. I guess I would make an exception if these were selling for reasonable prices, because of the historical importance of this, but they are not. In this case, I went for the 1992 release, even though it appears to be a first-generation CD analog transfer, because it has no bonus tracks, is essentially a companion release to the 1987 vinyl, and one was available for a reasonable price. Of course, Dischord has a habit of re-releasing things, and I predict that as soon as I receive my 1992 release, they will do just that with this.

Middle Class - Scavenged Luxury [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

Second EP, and a good one, from this unjustly obscure band. Copies are priced too high to worry about, just like the first.

Middle Class - Out of Vogue [EP]: 8 (A-)

Great early CA hardcore EP. Sells for ridiculous amounts, so I won’t even bother looking out. Upped a notch for the presence of the title song, which some say is the first hardcore song. I have that one on a compilation or two, which also argues against paying a small fortune for this. It’s also four songs in five minutes.

Wavves - Life Sux [EP]: liked

They want to meet Dave Grohl.

Sunny Sweeney - Sunny Sweeney [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

Digital-only

Middle Class - Homeland: 7.5 (high B+)

Might be an 8 (A-) but I’m not going to sweat that call unless someone undertakes a reissue program for the band, because anything they ever released (this and two EPs) costs a fortune. Actually, the two EPs are on Spotify, on a reissue with some demos and session work that is physicalized, although it also sells for a little too much, given the quality of those EPs and that it is cluttered with demos and session work. Anyway, see separate posts on the EPs.

Belle and Sebastian - Books [EP]: liked

:-)

Dijon - Baby: liked

:-)

Leaving Trains - Drowned and Dragged [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

Too expensive used for a 12-minute EP at this grade to even put up an alert.

David Greenberger & The Hi-Ho Barbers - Ginger Ale: liked

:-)

Jimmy Page - Outrider: neutral

First side is "liked," and second side is "disliked," so it averages out to neutral.

Holy Modal Rounders - 1 & 2: 8 (A-)

Jimmy Cliff - The Best of Jimmy Cliff: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: 7.5 (high B+)

I love these generally short comps, but because they’re short, if you even include one dud of a track (“Bongo Man," this means you), it docks the whole collection a notch, especially when there are other choices out there. #bestof

Herbie Hancock - Crossings: 7.5 (high B+)

#jazz/fusion

Various - DIY: We're Desperate: The L.A. Scene (1976-79) [Rhino, 1993]: 7.5 (high B+)

The least of the three compilations I was able to find on the early LA punk scene, in my view. The other two -- (Jon Savage presents) Black Hole: Californian Punk 1977-80 [Domino, 2010] and Punk 45: Chaos in the City of Angels and Devils (Hollywood From X to Zero & Hardcore on the Beaches: Punk in Los Angeles 1977-81) [Soul Jazz, 2016] -- are worth having. This one’s not bad -- it’s just not as good and seems to stray from “punk” in some places. Strange for Rhino not to get this exactly right, since they started in the midst of all this. Of course, maybe I’m taking the outsider’s (British) view of the scene. #mulitartistcomp

The O'Jays - The Ultimate O'Jays [2001]: [grade to come]

I wanted to update from the Love Train [1994] compilation, which was not only skimpy but was an early-CD era compilation, and it was either this or The Essential O'Jays [2005]. All of them are on Legacy.

Essential gives you these additional songs:

"Use ta Be My Girl"

"The Big Gangster"

"Message in Our Music"

Ultimate gives you these additional songs:

"Let Me Make Love to You"

"When the World's at Peace"

"Family Reunion"

"You Got Your Hooks in Me"

I played all of these songs three of four times, and you can see which one I went with. Interestingly, neither gives you "Rich Get Richer," which they should. It names names though, and I'm sure the labels owners didn't have the nerve.

John Fahey - Of Rivers and Religion: 8 (A-)

I have this shelved but also have a two-fer with After the Ball lying around awaiting evaluation. It will probably end up displacing this.

John Fahey - The Return of the Repressed: The John Fahey Anthology: 8 (A-)

The O'Jays - Love Train: The Best of the O'Jays: 8.5 (high A-)