Stefon Harris + Blackout -Legacy Dances (2026) ***
Erykah Badu & The Alchemist- Before The World Blows (2026) ***
The Rascals- Time Peace: Greatest Hits (1968) ****
St. Vincent- Actor (2009) ***1/2
Aerosmith- Draw The Line (1977) ****
The Beach Boys- Sunflower (1970) ****
The Jayhawks- Sanctuary Park (2026) ***1/2
Jethro Tull- Stand Up: Kevin Gray Cut (1969/2026) ****
Prince- Timeless (2026) ****
Duwayne Burnside- Red Rooster (2025) ****
Rhetta Hughes- Re-Light My Fire (1969) ***1/2
• "Legacy Dances" is a pretty terrific jazz record from Stefon Harris, and it would have rated higher if not for the ill-advised vocal tracks.
• The new Badu is two records in one- a really good 35 minute record and a pretentious 35 minute load of nothing. Unfortunately I wasn't paying attention to song titles as it played, so I can't make an edit and I'm not sure I want to spend another 70 minutes figuring it out. But, there were many moments where I thought, "Hey! This is good!" And, there were just as many where I said "Oh shut up!" out loud to no one.
• Some nice stuff on the new Jayhawks. See how it goes on the second spin.
• "Stand Up," like "This Was" is stunning!
• I heard the Duwayne Burnside record a few days after I posted my best of 2025 list. If I heard it earlier, it would have been bubbling under the Top Ten. A great record!
2 comments:
I have been enjoying the new Jayhawks album a lot so far. Sounds great and the songs are really good.
Looking forward to playing the new Jayhawks. Duwayne Burnside’s album is very good. What a family of musicians!
“if not for the ill-advised vocal tracks” can be applied to far to many contemporary jazz songs. The banality of the often utopian lyrics don’t help. I’ll still try the Stefon Harris since he’s one I’ve liked since I saw him 27 years ago.
- Paul in DK
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