5/28/2026

Paul McCartney- The Boys Of Dungeon Lane (2026)- ***
Sally Baby's Silver Dollars- Festival Internationale, Lafayette: 4/24/2026 (2026)- ***1/2

Darryl Jenifer- Weather Channel (2026)- **
(Not what I expected or wanted from Bad Brains' guitarist. I lasted four songs.)

Kurt Vile- Philadelphia's Been Good To Me (2026)- **
(Lasted only three songs here.)

Blue Oyster Cult- Secret Treaties (1974)- ****
(AAAAAH! The best! Be gone, Kurt Vile!)

The Band- Personal Playlist (2026)- ****
Paul & Linda McCartney- Ram (1971)- ****

5/27/2026

Dr. Strangely Strange- Heavy Petting (1970)- ***1/2
Sonny Rollins- Freedom Suite (1958)- ****

Bob Evans- Goodnight, Bull Creek! (2009) - ***1/2
(Another suggestion from hpunch, really solid melodic pop. I refuse to call it power pop. There's more to it. Lots of familiar names, too- Brad Jones, Hans Rotenberry, Jim Hoke, Ken Coomer, & Will Kimbrough.)

Sonny Rollins- The Bridge (1962)- ***1/2
King Crimson- Discipline: Steven Wilson Remix (1981/2022)- ****
Neil Young- On The Beach (1974)- ****

Squeeze- Trixies (2026)- ***1/2
(I never give up on my musical heroes, and today it paid off. Still not loving a few songs, but there's more to love than I thought.)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer- Tarkus (1971)- ****

Fingerprintz- Beat Noir (1981)- ***1/2
(This was a much different sound, I think, than their first two. If memory serves, fans didn't really take to it. That's how I remember it. I think it still holds up.)

Detective- S/T (1977)- ****
(One of my faves back then, and I still love it now. Check out the playing on the song below. Love Jon Hyde on drums!)

Alice Cooper- School's Out (1972)- ****

5/26/2026

Sonny Rollins- Sonny Meets Hawk! (1963)- ****1/2
(I know most people reach for the obvious Sonny classics- "Saxophone Colossus," "Way Out West," "Volume 2," "Freedom Suite"- but I love his RCA years best, especially this, "The Bridge" and "Our Man In Jazz.")

Sonny Rollins- Our Man In Jazz (1963)- ****

Taj Mahal- Phantom Blues (1996)- ****
(A great, great record. The one below features Eric Clapton.)

 


Tom Newman-Fine Old Tom (1975)- ***
(Wacky, yet strangely appealing record from the leader of 60's psych band July, featuring Mike Oldfield, Fred Frith, Hughie Flint and Neil Innes. I wouldn't know where or how to begin describing what I just listened to, but I dug it.)

David Bowie- Space Oddity: Visconti 2019 Mix (1969/2019)- ***1/2
(Basically any "Visconti Mix" really just means more Visconti.)

The Beach Boys- Party! (1965)- ***
The Rolling Stones- Flowers: MONO (1967)- ****

Cheap Trick- Busted (1990)- ****
(An underrated classic, a few power ballads notwithstanding. But "Back N Blue" makes it all okay.)

Dead Boys- From the Sleaziest Catacombs: Live At CBGBs, 1977 (2026)- ***1/2
(Wish I could have been there. Great performance, but a mediocre capture.)

Sonny Rollins- Sonny Meets Hawk! (1963)- ****1/2

5/25/2026

Linton Kwesi Johnson- Bass Culture (1980)- ***1/2 
Jah Ruby- Dread Affairs (1977)- ****
Stevie Wonder- Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974)- ****
Bobby Womack- The Poet (1981)- ***1/2
King Crimson- Beat (1982)- ****
Genesis- Rock Theatre (1975)- ****
Jeff Lynne's ELO- Alone In The Universe (2015)- ****
Todd Rundgren- The Hermit Of Mink Hollow (1978)- ****
Paul McCartney- Tug Of War: 2015 Remix (1982/2015)- ****
Rancid-...And Out Come The Wolves (1995)- ****

5/24/2026

Grachan Moncur III- Some Other Stuff (1965)- ***
Lonnie Johnson- The Original Guitar Wizard, Disc Two: Hot Fingers (2006)- ***
Bob Marley & The Wailers- Exodus (1977)- ****

Bob Dylan- Another Self Portrait: Disc Two (2013)- ****
(This alternate version of "If Not For You" is gorgeous.)

 

 

Robert Palmer- Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley (1974)- ****

Bryan Ferry- The Bride Stripped Bare (1978)- ***1/2
(I am wiiiith you Dr. Wuuuu. "When She Walks In The Room" is a great song, though I still don't think it fits with my post-"Siren"/"Manifesto" mix. This record played better than I remembered, and it does have more good than bad. So I take that comment back. But, I stll wince during "Sign Of The Times" and "Hold On, I'm Coming.")

Thin Lizzy- Jailbreak (1976)- ****
Iggy & The Stooges- Raw Power: 1997 Iggy Mix (1973/1997/2012)- ****
13th Floor Elevators- Easter Everywhere (1967)- ****

5/23/2026

Cal Everett- The Weight Of Early Promise (2026)- ****
(Just wow. Even better second time around.)

George Harrison- Brainwashed (2002)- ****

Ray Barretto- Acid (1968)- ****
(A "veritable masterpiece" it says on the hype sticker, and I agree. If you had to pick one Latin boogaloo record for your collection, this is it.)

v/a-African Twist-Early Rock 'N' Roll From The Motherland: A Rockin' Bandit Compilation (2026)- ***
(This was a mixed bag, but some of it was a blast.)

 

Kid Creole & The Coconuts- Tropical Gangsters (1982)- ***1/2
The Who- Quadrophenia: Personal Edit (1973/2022)- ****

King Crimson- Red (1974)- ****
(Epic!)

Class Three Overbite- Horses For Courses (2008)- ****
The Cult- Pure Cult (1993)- ****
The Young Rascals- S/T: MONO (1966)- ****
The Heartbreakers- L.A.M.F.: The Found '77 Masters (1977/2021)- ****


  

5/22/2026

Johnny Clarke- King In The Arena (1978)-***
Teddy Thompson- Never Be The Same (2026)- ***1/2
St. Vincent- S/T (2014)- ***1/2
The Beatles- Hey Jude (1970)- ****
XTC- The Big Express: Steven Wilson Remix (1984/2023)- ***1/2
Trouble- Manic Frustration (1992)- ****
Tin Machine- S/T (1989)- ****
The Who- Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy: Alternative White Trash Soul Version (1971/2025)- ****