5/7/2026

Melvin Jackson- Funky Skull (1969) - ***1/2
(One of the wackiest records I have ever heard and I mean that in a good way.)

v/a- Black Rockabilly Vol. 1: A Rockin' Bandit Compilation (2026)- ****

Neil Diamond- Wild At Heart (2026)- ***
(Better than I expected. Some winners. A few losers. Def worth a second visit.)

The Lemon Twigs- Look For Your Mind! (2026)- ****1/2
Clive Hunt- Orthodox Dub (1978)- ***1/2
v/a- Soul Deep: A Burning Wood Weekend Mix (2026)- ****
The Rolling Stones- Between The Buttons: U.K. MONO (1967)- ****
The Lemon Twigs- Look For Your Mind! (2026)- ****1/2







 

5/6/2026

The Allman Brothers Band- A Decade Of Hits: 1969-1979 (1991)- ***1/2

The Lightmen Plus One- Energy Control Center (1973)- ****
(Modal, spiritual, free. Take your pick. Highly recommended if you dig this sort of jazz.)

Jim Jones All Starts- Cat Fight (2026)- ***
(This is a lot of fun from the get go, but not much changes by the end. Lots of groovin' and howlin' but not a lot of actual songs.)

Kool & The Gang- Light Of Worlds (1974)- ***1/2
Elvis Costello- Live At The El Mocambo (1978)- ***1/2

Foxtide- Entropy (2026)- **1/2
(Press release said, "California sounds revival? Not called as such yet, but that line leading from The Beach Boys and Buffalo Springfield through the ‘70s scene seems to be being revived and modernized by the likes of The Lemon Twigs and a number of other artists. Judging by Entropy, its new album, San Diego trio Foxtide should definitely be included in any such revival list." WRONG! This record is slightly more interesting than a Coldplay record and sounds NOTHING like the aforementioned trio of bands.)

Bash & Pop- Friday Night Is Killing Me (1993)- ****
Joe Jackson- Hope & Fury (2026)- ****

Traffic- Mr. Fantasy: Mobile Fidelity Remaster (1967/1993)- ****
(First time I heard this. It's pretty damn great! I'll take as many mixes of this as I can.)

The Lemon Twigs- Do Hollywood (2016)- ***1/2
(This record blew my mind in 2016. It's fair to say, this record started the love affair with The Lemon Twigs. But ten years later, and two brilliant records in the last three years with a new one due this week,  have to say this record plays like a hot mess. The kids have come a long way and there are plenty of fun moments to be had on "Do Hollywood." But...wow. This is a nutty record.)

Utopia- Live From Levon Helm's Studio, 7/3/81 (1981)-****
(One of the very best Todd/Utopia live shows. Top Three. The memories add to it, of course. It was a live simulcast on WNEW-FM. I had my cassette player armed and ready. My girlfriend was over, a new Todd fan, or actually, more of a Kasim Sulton crush. And the band played more than half of the yet to be released new album. Still, the band was on fire. And it still sounds great.)

5/5/2026

Joe Thomas- Is The Ebony Godfather (1971)- ***
Leon Russell- S/T (1970)- ****
Julian Cope- E-Man Groovin' (2026)- **1/2
Ronnie Foster- Two Headed Freap (1972)- ***1/2
Jocelyn Brown- Somebody Else's Guy (1984) ***1/2)
Brian Eno- Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974)- ****
Montage-S/T (1969)- ****
Buzzcocks- Singles Going Steady (1979)- ****
Labi Siffre- Crying Laughing Loving Lying (1972)- ***
v/a- The Lemon Twigs: Mood Swings (2026)- **1/2
Small Faces- S/T: Decca, MONO (1966)- ****

Sugar- Copper Blue (1992)- ****
(Today wasn't a great day for writing notes. But this record inspired me to at least say this. "Copper Blue" is relentless! Hook after hook after hook. Loud and hard and in your face and never skimping on melody. Like Motorhead playing power pop. That is all.)

5/4/2026

Del Jones' Postive Vibes - Court Is Closed (1973)- **
(Not a typo, the album cover says "postive." This is the first line of a user review on Discogs-
"STONE CLASSIC early 70's black, aural-Counter-Cult-statement using the form of dynamic Jammer FUNK... 'n I mean FUNK!" Well, I found nothing funky about it. Trippy and amateurish.)

Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band- Time (2010/2026)- ****
Etta James- Tell Mama (1968)- ****

Jimmy Lewis- Totally Involved (1974)- ****
(Great southern soul. Jimmy is a screamer! And he's got some great raps, too.)

v/a-The Lemon Twigs: Inspiration (2026)- ***1/2
Graham Parker 12 Haunted Episodes (1995)- ***
Abba- Gold (1992)- ****
Clarence Reid- Running Water (1973)- ***

Gary Klebe- Out Loud (2026)- **1/2
(I like about a dozen songs by the Shoes. I never quite understood their cult status as legendary power poppers. The breathy vocals and sameness did little for me, though I do love the handful of songs I love. This solo outing from Klebe doesn't venture from the Shoes formula, which I guess might be a good thing for Shoes followers. But for me, it was a poppy blur for 40 minutes. And I really don't like how he sings. He's kinda clunky.)

The Who- A Quick One: True Stereo, Abbey Road HSM (1966/2022)- ****
The Skeletons- Waiting (1992)- ****

5/3/2026

Matteo Monico- Alfred Hitchcock: A Portrait In Piano (2025)- ****
Ian Carr-Belladonna (1972)- ***1/2

Rhetta Hughes- Re-Light My Fire (1969)-***1/2
(Didn't know Rhetta or this record, but it was a great spin. A real soulful beauty. Check it out, when you can.)

Steely Dan- Gaucho (1980)- ****
Graham Parker- Another Grey Area (1982)- ***1/2

Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band- Time (2010/2026)- ****
Robert Walter, Eddie Roberts, Stanton Moore- The Breaks (2026)- ****
(Loved both of these. Burning Wood reviews on tap.)

Paul Weller- 22 Dreams: Demos & The Like (2008)- ****
New York Dolls- S/T (1973)- ****
The Jam- The Gift (1982)- ****
Gloria Jones- Come Go With Me (1966)- ****

 

5/2/2026

Jerry Garcia- Reflections (1976)- ****
(A Grateful Dead record in all but name. And a damn good one, too.)

 

Frank Sinatra- A Swingin' Affair! (1957)- ***1/2
Todd Rundgren- Nearly Human (1989)- ****
David Bowie- Reality (2003)- ****

Tin Machine- S/T (1989)- ****
(I will never not defend this record.)

Harry Connick Jr.- She (1995)- ****
(The inside of the CD book says "Harry Connick Jr. & His Funk Band" and that band includes George Porter Jr., Russell Batiste, Zig Modeliste and the Bonerama horns for starters. Not before or since has Harry sounded like this. I played this to death in 1995 and saw the tour, which was one of the most entertaining live shows I have ever seen.)

 

 

Soundgarden- Superunknown: Sal's Edit (1994/2025)- ****
Hole- Celebrity Skin: Sal's Edit (1998/2020)- ****

Aerosmith- Rocks (1976)-****
(The greatest rock album of all time. Really.)

Swag- Catch-All (2000)- ****
(The greatest power pop album of all time. Really.)

The Runaways- Waitin' For The Night (1977)- ***
(Cherie Currie is gone. Joan Jett takes over. An uncredited Sal Maida plays bass for the Stu Sutcliffe of the band, Vicki Blue. Fun record.)

5/1/2026

John Hammond- So Many Roads (1965)- ***1/2
(I'm reading Robbie Robertson's memoir "Testimony" and didn't realize all of the times I've had this record in my hands that his backing band was HUGE! Mike Bloomfield, Charlie Musselwhite, and Mark Helm, Eric Hudson and Jaime Robertson, aka, Levon, Garth and Robbie.)

The Meters- Trick Bag (1976)- ***1/2

I-Roy- Ten Commandments (1978)- ****
(I-Roy's masterpiece, versioning Marley's "Exodus" album in its entirety, with each song based on a commandment.)

Raw Spitt- S/T (1970)- **
(Charlie Whitehead aka Raw Spitt produced and arranged by Jerry Williams aka Swamp Dogg. I gave it four songs. It's just a whole lotta bland, conisdering those involved.)

Sister Nancy- One, Two (1982)- ***
(A reggae classic and a rare one at that, that finally got a reissue after years of original copies going for $500-$1000. I never warmed to her voice.)

Ringo Starr- Long Long Road (2026)- ***1/2

Los Hombres Calientes- Vol. 3 New Congo Square (2001)-  ****
(Starting with their 1998 debut, right through their final release in 2005, this New Orleans collective featuring Jason Marsalis, Irvin Mayfield, Headhunter Bill Summers and Victor Atkins, along with numerous special guests including Burning Spear, John Boutte, Cyril Neville and Shannon Powell, put out some of my favorite music. They were always a go to while in New Orleans, and the rare occasions tghey played New York City. I haven't listened to these records in some time, but it's Jazz Fest and so they came to mind. I strongly suggest starting at the beginning.)

The Claypool-Lennon Delirium- The Great Parrot-Ox And The Golden Egg Of Empathy (2026)- ****
(This is a great record. It would be even greater if the unfunny Claypool crap was edited out. It would also make the album a more user friendly 45 minutes.)

Percy "Thrills" Thrillington- Thrillington (1971/1977)- ***1/2
(I found this unlistenable 50 years ago. It's actually quite good. If you don't know it, it's an instrumental version of McCartney's "Ram," recorded around the same time, but shelved until 1977. The styles range from big band, easy listening, dancehall, and maybe even jazz, if you use your imagination. Really smart.)

10cc- Sheet Music (1974)-****
The La's- S/T (1990)- ****
Graham Parker- The Real Macaw (1983)- ****
(What a trifecta!)