9/11/25

Cheap Trick- At Budokan: The Complete Concert (1998)- ***1/2
Elvis Costello & The Imposters- The Boy Named If (2022)- ****
The Who- Exciting The Who (Japanese RP, 1968/2021)- ****

Parcels- Loved (2025)- ***1/2
(No idea who Parcels were before last week, when I saw that they were headlining Forest Hills Tennis Stadium with The Lemon Twigs as openers. My curiousity piqued so I checked out the new one. Good stuff. Feels like a late 70's disco vibe- Chic, K.C. & The Sunshine Band--meeting current electronica. Nice layered vocals. Plenty of hooks. A pleasant surprise.)

Led Zeppelin- Live (2025)- ****
(E.P. released for the 50th anniversary of "Physical Graffiti," featuring four live versions of tracks from the album, two from Earls Court 1975 and two from Knebworth 1979. Both "Trampled Underfoot" from '75 and "Sick Again" from '79 are relentless!)

Sex Pistols- Never Mind The Bollocks...(Kevin Gray AAA Master, 1977/2025)-****1/2
(The greatest punk record of all time gets the Kevin Gray treatment. That's a hard one to wrap my head around. This record needs to be hot and grimy, not clean and spacious, which is Gray's specialty. I've had numerous versions of this over the last 50 years, and I can tell you they all sounded different. For years, the original U.K. was the keeper, but I sold that for big bucks in 2012. I've had different U.S. pressings, Rhino represses, none came close to the OG U.K...until now. You need to trust Kevin Gray. It's hot, full of body, which even the OG U.K. lacked. This pressing is definitive.)

James Booker- Sea Saint Studios, May 1975 (1975)- ***
("In May 1975, just weeks after blowing the roof off Jazz Fest, James Booker entered Sea-Saint Studios in New Orleans to record with a dream band: Cyril Neville on congas, Junior "Boy" Brown on drums, and Reggie Scanlan on bass. Booker was in full command — wild, inspired, unpredictable. They laid down four tracks in one session. At the end of the night, Booker insisted on leaving with the master tapes. He left them in a cab. They were never recovered. What survives is a cassette copy made for Reggie Scanlan — the only reason we can hear this music now. What you’re listening to is that tape." 
Glad I have it. But probably won't get a second spin. More of a loose jam than anything else.)

Suede- Antidepressants (2025)- ****
(My new favorite Suede record.)

Cheap Trick- Busted (1990)- ****
The Hives- The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons (2023)- ****