3/17/2026

Edward Bear- Close Your Eyes (1973)- **1/2

John Lennon- Plastic Ono Band: Ultimate Mix, Side One (1970/2021)- ***
(This "ultimate" mix is pretty terrible. It's a muddy mess and completely ruins the original, raw feel of the recording.)

Beady Eye- Complete 7" Singles: A White Trash Soul Compilation (2025)- ****
Utopia- Ra: Side One (1977)- ****
Juliana Hatfield & Eric Payne- Bets (2026)- ****
Kid Creole & The Coconuts- Wise Guy (1982)- ****
Creedence Clearwater Revival- Green River: Abbey Road HSM (1969/2018)- ***12

Outfit- Preservers Of The Pearl (2026 )- ****
(Excellent new record from Daniel Romano.)

v.a- Phil Spector's 20 Greatest Hits (1976)- ****
("Walking In The Rain!" That is all.)

The Motors- Approved By (1978)- ****
(Been years since I played this one. So many gems!)

Montrose- S/T (1973)-
(Took in about 600 records this weekend. Been listing for sale on Discogs and listening as I go along. I am in the "M" box.)

The Monkees- Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. (1967)- ****

3/16/2026

Kraftwerk- Radio-Activity (1975)-***1/2

Juliana Hatfield & Erik Payne- Bets (2026)- ****
(Second spin even better. Love this record.)

Robert Palmer- Double Fun (1978)- ****

Olive Jones- For Mary (2026)- ***1/2
(A rec from Paul In DK. Good stuff! Like Norah Jones but meatier. Thanks Paul.)

Nicky Hopkins- The Tin Man Was A Dreamer (1973)- ****

Heaven 17- S/T: Side One (1982)- **1/2
(This did not hold up, though I still love the 12" version of "Let Me Go.")

Halfnelson- S/T (1972)- ***1/2
Lene Lovich- Stateless (1978)- ***1/2

3/15/2026

Henry Mancini- Music From Peter Gunn (1959)- ***
Bob Dylan- Blood On The Tracks: MoFi Orig. Master (1975/2012)- ****
v/a- Jin Records: 1967-1969 (2026)- ***

v.a- Written In Their Soul-The Stax Songwriter Demos: Uncut Songs Part One (2023)- ****
(This set is endlessly entertaining. Some highlights below.)

(Stax Lagniappe) 

Squeeze- Trixies (2026)- ***1/2
Elton John- Tumblweed Connection (1970)- ****
Traffic- John Barleycorn Must Die (1970)- ****

The Tubes- Personal Playlist (2026)- ****
(It's HERE for your listening (dis)pleasure. Fair warning, it's heavy on the Todd Rundgren produced records. Hey, whattaya want from life?)

The B-52's- Cosmic Thing (1989)- ****
Alice Cooper- Greatest Hits (1974)- ****

Scandal- S/T (1982)- ****
(This was great! I've got a few stories about this record, this band, Patty. Maybe I'll add it to the book. Or not.)

3/14/2026

Herbie Nichols- The Prophetic Herbie Nichols (1955)- ***
The Finn Brothers- Finn (1996)- ****

Holly & The Italians- The Right To Be Italian (1981)- ****
(Always loved "Tell That Girl To Shut Up," but had no recollection of the rest of the album. It's pretty great!)

Ray Davies & The Kinks- Bonus Tracks, Demos & More: An hpunch Compilation (2026)- ***
Marshall Crenshaw- #447 (1999)- ***1/2

The Beach Boys- Dance Dance Dance (1981)- ****
(All analog repress of "Today" with the last two filler tracks removed. Smart reissue.)

Billy Idol- Rebel Yell (1983)- ***
Black Sabbath- Vol. 4 (1972)- ****
Small Faces- Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake: Stereo, Side One (1968)- ****
The Black Crowes- A Pound Of Feathers (2026)-   ***1/2
Iggy Pop- The Idiot (1977)- ****

Cameo- Alligator Woman (1982)- ****
(I love this record! Haven't heard it in years, but I picked up 700 records this weekend and there were two copies of this. It's a $5 record, but it's $500 worth of badass.)

The Beach Boys- California Girls (1980)- ****
(All analog repress of "Summer Days & Summer Nights" with the last two filler tracks removed. Smart reissue.)

3/13/2026

Tappa Zukie- Escape From Hell (1978)- ***
The Meters- Look-A Py Py: Kevin Gray Master (1970/2023)- ****

Tinariwen- Hoggar (2026)- ****
(I loved these guys at one time and then they fell off my radar. This new one is pretty great.)

The Beach Boys- Pet Sounds: Kevin Gray Stereo Cut (1966/2015)- ****

Juliana Hatfield & Eric Payne- Bets (2026)- ***1/2
(Juliana and her contractor! Who'd a thunk it? I really enjoyed this. Sweet melodies, chunky guitars and more than a few forays into Television/Verlaine territory. Looking forward to a second spin.)

Velvet Underground- Loaded (1970)- ****
Jellyfish- Spilt Milk: Vinylphyle Edition (1993/2026)- ****
Paul Westerberg- 14 Songs (1993)- ****
Husker Du- New Day Rising (1985)- ***1/2
Squeeze- East Side Story (1981)- ****




 

3/12/2026

Quarteto Novo-S/T (1967)- ****
(This record is a killer!)

v/a- Well Cha'rged Channel One (1997)- **1/2
(Below average collection of rock steady and dub.)

Thomas F. Browne- Wednesday's Child (1971)- ***1/2
Buddy Holly-Personal Playlist (2026)- ***

The Black Crowes- A Pound Of Feathers (2026)- ***1/2
(First pass was fun. Same template as the last record. I guess a few more spins will determine if the new songs are better or worse than the last album.)

The Tubes- Love Bomb (1985)- ****

State Of Micky & Tommy- S/T (2008)- ****
(Excellent U.K. psych, featuring a pre-Spooky Tooth and Foreigner Mick Jones.)

Music City- Welcome To Music City (2026)-****
The Byrds- Sweetheart Of The Rodeo (1968)- ****
Davey Lane- Finally, A Party Record (2025)- ****


Are you an Allman Brothers fan? 17 years ago today, the ABB played their 4th show of a 15 show 40th Anniversary run at the Beacon Theatre. There were many special guests during that run. Here's the show from 3/13/2009, with special guests Boz Scaggs and Bruce Willis.

3/11/2026

Squeeze- Trixies (2026)- ***1/2

U.K.- Danger Money (1979)- ****
(I've always considered the band's debut the better record because I love Bill Bruford so much. But Terry Bozzio is no slouch, and this has better songs.) 

Quarteto Novo- S/T (1967)- ****
(One and done with Airto Moreira, Heraldo Do Monte, Theo De Barros and Hermeto Pascoal. Fantastic!
Thanks pmac.)

Paul Gilbert- WROC (2026)- ***
(How's this for a concept--George Washington's Rules of Civility as 13 rock anthems? Good fun and, of course, amazing guitar playing throughout. Might have gotten another 1/2 star if it was 37 minutes long instead of 57 minutes long.) 

Todd Rundgren- White Knight (2017)- ***1/2

Frumpy- All Will Be Changed (1970)- **
(Lots of overplaying with no real songs. Like Deep Purple, with worse everything.)

Dr. Z- Three Parts To My Soul (1971)- **
(The cheapest original copy of this prog "classic" is currently going for $3100...plus $15 shipping. All Music said this, "At its most inventive and textured, however, Three Parts is an excellent example of early-'70s prog at its deepest and darkest, as inventive as it is occasionally magpie-like." I'm a fan of progressive rock, but I guess others use that term more loosely than I do. This record did nothing for me. The playing isn't particularly exciting. The drum solo in track three is not even as good as Little Ricky's was on "I Love Lucy." To my ears, this is Spinal Tap, only not funny. Check it out.)

The Lemon Twigs- A Dream Is All We Know (2024)- ****
(The kids have a new single out now and a new record in May. Love the single.)

Faces- Long Player (1971)- ****

Elvis Costello & Lucinda Williams- Crossroads (2002)- ****
(While digging for the "Spectacle" audio, I found this too. It's good! It's HERE, if you want it.)