4/5/25

Preservation Brass- For Fat Man-****

Sarah Quintana- Baby Don't- ****
(Sweet new record. Full review coming up this week on BW.)

Elton John & Brandi Carlile- Who Believes In Angels?- ***
(Found another two tracks I like, and one more I can't stand, "Swing For The Fences," which sounds like a Fox Baseball promo. Horrible.)

Squeeze- Argybargy-****1/2
Earth, Wind & Fire- Head To The Sky-**1/2
King Crimson- In The Court Of The Crimson King (U.S. MONO Promo)-****
Cheap Trick- Heaven Tonight-****
Pixies- Doolittle-****
Ricky Byrd- NYC Made-****1/2
Bunker Hill w/Link Wray & The Ray Men- Singles-***1/2

Graham Parker- Howlin' Wind-****1/2

Squeeze- Some Fantastic Place-****
(Really underrated.)

Big Audio Dynamite II- The Globe-***
(I loved this record when it came out, but I lost patience about halfway through.)

T. Rex- Bolan's Zip Gun-***1/2
 

4/4/25

Icecream Hands- The Good China-****
Yusef Lateef- Eastern Sounds- ****
Levon Helm- Electric Dirt-****
Alison Krauss & Union Station-Arcadia-***
The Pretty Things- Get The Picture?-****
Bad Brains- Rock For Light-**** 1/2
Ricky Byrd- NYC Made-****1/2
The Darkness- Dreams On Toast-****
Stevie Wonder- Fulfillingness' First Finale-****
The Kinks- Something Else (Kevin Gray MONO Master)-****1/2
The Who- My Generation (Japanese True Stereo)- ****1/2
Eddie Money- Personal Playlist-****

4/3/25

Donald Harrison Jr.- The Chosen-****

Annie & The Caldwells- Can't Lose My (Soul)- ***1/2
(Debut from 80 year old Annie and her family. Not what I was expecting at all. I thought this was a gospel record. But it's more like a late 70's Isley Brothers record. Pretty good stuff.)

Elton John & Brandi Carlile- Who Believes In Angels?- **1/2
(This record is a mess.)

10cc- How Dare You-****

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass- Personal Playlist-****1/2
(If you can get the whole "Whipped Cream," thrift store, vinyl nonsense out of your head, you will hear a killer band with a sound like no other. They sold millions for a reason.)

Robyn Hitchcock- Globe Of Frogs-***1/2
Todd Rundgren & Kasim Sulton- Sing Bacharach (Wiltern Theater, 3/23/25)- ***1/2
Paul Carrack- Suburban Voodoo-****
Tommy Keene- Behind The Parade-***1/2
The Runaways- S/T-***1/2

 

4/2/25

Robert Walter- Cure All- ****1/2
(One of the very best from New Orleans, with James Singleton on bass and John Vidacovich on drums. Plus you get to hear Robert Walter on organ and piano, the latter, a not very common occurrence.)

Al Di Meola- Casino-****
Sade- The Best Of...- ****
The Techniques- Little Did You Know-****
Ronnie Lane- Anymore For Anymore- ***1/2

Charlie Rich- That's Rich-****1/2
(I truly love this record. It never gets old.)

Cops 'N Robbers- A's & B's- ***1/2

Martha & the Vandellas- Greatest Hits (MONO)- ****
(Because I only just found out today that Marvin Gaye plays drums on "Dancing In The Street," not to mention "Please Mr. Postman," "Fingertips" and "Psychedelic Shack." Holy crap!)

Tom Verlaine- S/T-****
Bad Company- Straight Shooter-***1/2
The Kinks- Kinda Kinks (Kevin Gray MONO Master)- ****
Los Lobos- By The Light Of The Moon-***1/2

4/1/25

Chappell Roan- The Rise & Fall Of A Midwest Princess-***1/2
Field Music and The NASUWT Riverside Band- Binding Time-***1/2
Raul Seixas- Krig-ha, Bandolo!- ***
v/a- Boppin' By The Bayou- ***1/2
Peter Townshend- Who Came First-****
Stevie Wonder- Songs In The Key Of Life (Personal Edit)- ****1/2

Jason Falkner- Bliss Descending- *****
(This hit the spot. And it made me think that I will probably die before Falkner releases a new record. Ah well. You win some, you lose some.)

The Godfathers- Birth, School, Work, Death-****

3/31/25

Bryan Ferry & Amelia Barrett- Loose Talk- ***
(I had no interest in a spoken word record until I found out that some of Ferry's music on this record dated as far back as the first Roxy Music album, and that Roxy drummer, Paul Thompson was involved. Verdict? Not bad. Interesting, though I prefer John Cale's spoken word more. Probably won't listen again any time soon, but if you're a Roxy fan, it's worth one pass.)

Branford Marsalis Quintet- Belonging-****
(Hot set. I enjoyed this far more than the original Keith Jarrett album.)

Jeff Matthews- Heavy Rotation E.P.- ****
(Another strong outing from Jeff and the usual suspects- Earl Slick, Paul Santo, Steve Holley and Mark Hudson.)

Shelagh McDonald- Stargazer-***1/2
(Long out of print cult classic of British folk, finally gets a vinyl reissue. Nice record, for sure. Not quite Sandy Denny, though maybe more like Joni trying to be Sandy. Definitely not as sweet or melodic as Sandy.)

Detective- It Takes One To Know One- ***1/2
(I played the debut to death back in the day and so the follow-up felt like a disappointment. But this record has aged well and really holds up on its own.)

v/a-Studio One Showcase 45-***

The Beatles- Rubber Soul (U.K. Stereo)- ****1/2
(Good band.)

Steve Earle & The Dukes (& Duchesses)- The Low Highway-****1/2
Elton John- Never Too Late (Personal Playlist From Soundtrack #2)- ****
The Kinks - Arthur, Or...(Bonus LP)-****
The Kinks- Lola Versus Powerman & The Moneygoround, Part One-****

3/30/25

The Techniques- Little Did You Know-****1/2

(Worked a record show in Garden City yesterday, so not much listening. I did find a cover to finally go with this record I picked up in Jamaica in 2023, so I am very happy. This record is sublime, just a perfect mix of ska, soul and doo wop.)

Eddy Arnold- The Best Of...****1/2
Rockpile- Seconds Of Pleasure- ****1/2