5/17/2026

Velvet Underground & Nico- S/T: MONO (1967)- ****
Steve Hackett- Spectral Mornings (1979)- ***1/2

Maria McKee- Life Is Sweet (1996)- ***1/2
(Never got on board with Lone Justice, but I really enjoy McKee's solo records. This one especially. It's filled with great melodies and it's also noisy at times. Been years since I heard it. Still holds up.)

Milton Nascimento- Milton (1970)- ***1/2
Roxy Music- Country Life (1974)- ****

The Beach Boys- SMiLE: White Trash Soul Version ('66/'67'/2026)- ***1/2
(Fun hybrid using tracks from the unofficial, official and "Smiley Smile." It's HERE, if you care.)

The Beatles- Rubber Soul: U.K. MONO RM (1965/2009)- ****

The Young Rascals- Groovin': MONO (1967)- ****
("...on a Sunday afternoon.")

Johnny Thunders- Que Sera, Sera (1985)- ***1/2
Black Sabbath- Heaven & Hell (1980)- ****
David Bowie- Diamond Dogs: Bonus Tracks (1974/2004)- ****

Carlene Carter- Musical Shapes (1980)- ****
(This record, Rockpile "Seconds Of Pleasure," Elvis Costello's "Trust," Nick Lowe's "Labour Of Lust," and Squeeze's "East Side Story." Put'em in your CD carousel and hit shuffle.)

Dead Boys- Young, Loud & Snotty (1977)- ****

Television- Marquee Moon (1977)- ****
(When life gives you lemons, play "Marquee Moon.")

5/16/2026

Chicago Transit Authority- S/T (1969)- ***1/2

The Who- Live At Leeds (1970)- ****
(The greatest live album of all time turns 56 today. Turn it up!)

July-S/T (1968)- ***
(One of Sal Maida's favorite psych records. I prefer Blossom Toes and Skip Bifferty. This one never takes, and I keep trying.)

The Beach Boys- Pet Sounds: Kevin Gray Stereo Cut (1966/2015)- ****
(This record turns 60 today!)

Ron Wood & Ronnie Lane- Mahoney's Last Stand (1976)- ***
The Beatles- S/T, 2009 Stereo RM: Single Disc Edit (1968/2026)- ****

Todd Rundgren- Live In Chicago '91: The Riviera Theater (1999)- ****
(Amazing performance. Band is on fire. Todd's in excellent voice.)

Van Halen- 1984 (1984)- ****
Thin Lizzy- Johnny The Fox (1976)- ****
Joan Jett- S/T (1980)- ***

5/15/2026

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings- Acoustic Reckoning, Port Chester: 4/11/2026 (2026)- ***
(A brilliant idea and a terrific show. But, I am used to Gillian's and David's voices blending as one, and on this set, it seems Gillian is struggling a bit to hit her high harmonies. Maybe it's age, or as a friend suggested, maybe it's the Dead's material that is out of her comfort zone. Still worth listening to if you're a fan.)

Peter Gabriel- S/T (1978)- ***1/2
Mahavishnu Orchestra- Inner Mounting Flame (1971)- ***1/2
Prince- Graffiti Bridge: Personal Edit (1990/2026)- ***1/2

Peter Frampton- Carry The Light (2026)- **1/2
(I wanted more from this. Songs are very samey and they go nowhere. His guitar playing is still fab, but I'll never listen again.)

Teddy Thompson- Never Be The Same (2026)- ****
(Might be his best record. I'll decide on second or third spin.)

King Crimson- Larks' Tongues In Aspic: 2023 Mix (1973/2023)- ****
Paul McCartney- Flowers In The Dirt, 1988 Demos (2017)- ****
Bad Brains- I Against I (1986)- ****

Johnny Thunders- So Alone (1978)- ****
(Marriott, Lynott, Cook, Jones, Chrissie, Johnny--so many of my fave miscreants on one record!)

Pretenders- Viva El Amor (1999)- ****
(The unsung classic in Chrissie's catalogue, and the rare occasion when the cover "Human" is better than the Divinyls original.)

5/14/2026

Nico- Chelsea Girl (1967)- ***1/2
Sarah Quintana- Baby Don't (2025)- ***1/2
Boozoo Chavis & The Magic Sounds- Boozoo, That's Who? (1993)- ***1/2
The Boys- Alternative Chartbusters (1978)- ****
The Fabulous Thunderbirds- The Doc Pomus Album, 1978 (1978/2026)- **1/2
Robert Walter, Eddie Roberts, Stanton Moore- The Breaks (2026)- **** 
Amy Grant- The Me That Remains (2026)- ***
The Bluerunners- Honey Slides (2005)- ****
Sally Baby's Silver Dollars- Live At Jazz Fest, 4/23/2026- ****

5/13/2026

Cal Everett- The Weight Of Early Promise (2026)- ****
("For fans of Emitt Rhodes and Paul McCartney," it says. Maybe. To my ears, this is a really good Billy Joel record. I mean, his voice and phrasing is all Billy! And maybe a bit of Emitt.)

  

 

 

Bob Dylan- Live '66: The Royal Albert Hall Concert (1998)- Acoustic Set-***/Electric Set-****
(Actually Manchester from a few days earlier.)

Roxy Music- Avalon: Personal Edit (1982/2023)-***1/2
The Guitars Unlimited Plus 7- Crazy Rhythm (1961)- ***
v/a- Black Rockabilly Vol. 3: A Rockin' Bandit Compilation (2026)- ****

Irma Thomas- Live In The Gospel Tent, 5 /2/2026 (2026)- **1/2
(I've seen Irma at Jazz Fest do her Gospel/Soul set a number of times, and it's always outstanding. But this year's set is a trainwreck. The backing singers are flat, and I think Miss Thomas and the band were in two different tents during "My Sweet Lord." She's still the Queen!)

Warren Zevon- Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School (1980)- ***1/2

Paul McCartney- Personal Playlist (2026)- ****
(https://music.amazon.com/user-playlists/a777cc0dfaa04c0bbe1208f93737eb26sune?ref=dm_sh_lwj3fA0Fz1YGOGkczm3vApTTk)

Phil Manzanera- Diamond Head (1975)- ****
Joe Jackson Band- Volume 4 (2003)- ***1/2 

5/12/2026

Joe Gibbs & The Professionals- African Dub All-Mighty: Chapter Three (1977)- ***
Freda Payne- Band Of Gold (1970)- ***1/2
Jon Batiste- Hollywood Africans (2018)- ***1/2
Todd Rundgren- Runt: Alternate April 1970 Master (1970/2023)- ****

Paul McCartney- Memory Almost Full (2007)- ****
(New Mojo has Macca on the cover and a few songwriters pick their favorite McCartney songs, including Elvis Costello-  "Jenny Wren," Lucinda Williams - "My Love," I'm with her, by the way, and Paul Weller who chose "You Tell Me" from this record.)

Paul Weller- At The BBC Vol. 2: Disc One (2026)- ****
(Speaking of Weller, the first disc of this new BBC set was excellent. Great alternate versions, a few acoustic takes, some cool covers.)

The Lemon Twigs- Personal Playlist (2026)- ****
The Kinks- Face To Face: Kevin Gray MONO Cut (1966/2016)- ****

Joe Walsh- Analog Man (2012)- ****
(Unsurprisingly sounds like ELO with Joe singing lead. If you're a fan of both, there is no reason to not love this record.)

5/11/2026

Harry Nilsson- Nilsson Sings Newman (1970)- ***1/2
Irma Thomas- Take A Look (1966)- ***1/2

The Lemon Twigs- Look For Your Mind!- ****1/2 
(Gets better with each spin. New fave below.)
 

Graham Parker & The Shot- Steady Nerves (1985)- ****1/2
(There are at least four songs on this record that should have been huge MTV hits. Here's one of them.)

Utopia- Deface The Music (1980)- ****
XTC- Drums & Wires (1979)- ****

Frank Zappa- Hot Rats (1969)- ***1/2
(I think it was Steve Vai who said "Willie The Pimp" was his favorite guitar solo. It's an 8 minute solo in a 9 minute song, and it's def one of mine.)

Judas Priest- Point Of Entry (1981)- ****
Utopia- Adventures In Utopia (1979)- ****
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers- Damn The Torpedoes (1979)- ****