Monday, June 30, 2025

6/29/25

James Booker- Robert Sacre Tapes, Liege: 11/9/76- ***1/2
(The unreleased remainder of the set that was released on the "Mr. Mystery" LP. The Beatles' medley is Booker at his finest, though he doesn't sound too good on the two vocal tracks.)

Black Uhuru- Guess Who's Coming To Dinner- ***1/2
Snooks Eaglin- The First Decade: 1953-1962 (D1)- ***
John Williams- Jaws O.S.T. (2025 Mix)- ****
v/a- A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco- ****

Deep Purple- Come Taste The Band- ***1/2
(The Tommy Bolin record deserves more.)

v/a- One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost And Found (Personal Playlist)- **
(Best boxed set ever!)

James Booker- The Rauch House Party: Booker's Last Recording, November 1983- *1/2
(There seems to be three people at this party and Booker seems out of sorts when speaking. But his playing is mind-blowing. You will never hear a version of Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" quite this brilliant ever again. He would be dead days later.)

Jules Shear- The Great Puzzle-
(When I listen to "Allow Me," it's my favorite Jules record. Same could be said about "Watch Dog." But tonight, this record is his best.)

Montage- S/T-
The Who- Odds & Sods (Sal's Version)-

4 comments:

Cleveland Jeff said...: One Kiss is a great box, and I think that Puzzle is Shear’s best. My favorite box is Brown’s Star Time, but Rhino made a bunch of great ones.; June 30, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Anonymous said...: While I like several Black Uhuru albums, seeing them live made me love them. They opened for King Sunny Adé and his African Beats who also were amazing. A superb gig.

Tommy Bolin’s two solo albums have gotten a ton of spins here, but I haven’t tried Come Taste the Band in years. Will give it a go.

- Paul in DK; June 30, 2025 at 6:30 AM
hpunch said...: I listened to Jules Shear's The Third Party the other day and thought if it was done with a full band it could be his best album.; July 1, 2025 at 5:36 AM
Michael Giltz said...: Agree with Cleveland Jeff. I might think Beg Scream & Shout ties One Kiss but wouldn't argue strenuously. All great boxes.; July 3, 2025 at 1:42 AM

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Now Playing 4.0

"Now Playing" started out as nothing more than me writing down what I listen to everyday. It was another way to start a conversation. It took some time to take off, and now has been getting a good number of hits and comments. To be clear, Now Playing is NOT me grading records. It's me grading the listening experience. I created a Pete Townshend playlist that consisted of 15 songs that I love, so why did it get three and a half stars instead of four? Maybe the sequencing. Maybe I wasn't in the mood. Who knows? Robert Palmer's "Drive" recently came out on vinyl for the first time and man, did it sound great! Four & a half stars! I still like five Robert Palmer albums more. Got it?

Now Playing

Monday, June 30, 2025

6/29/25

4 comments:

1/29/2026

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