April 2016

• Richard Thompson - Rumor & Sigh (1991, 2002 5.1 DVD-A) ★★★★☆
• The Dollyrots - The Dollyrots (2012,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Ruby the Hatchet - Ouroboros (2012,LP) ★★★★☆
• Scientist - Wins the World Cup (1982,LP) ★★★★☆
• Cavern of Anti-Matter - Void Beats/Invocation Trex (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Imarhan - Imarhan (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• My Dying Bride - Songs of Darkness, Words of Light (2004,S) ★★★★☆
• The Enid - In the Region of the Summer Stars (1976,LP) ★★★★☆
• Jane Birkin - Ex Fan Des Sixties (1968,S) ★★★☆☆
• Morton Subotnick - Silver Apples of the Moon (1967,LP) ★★☆☆☆
• The Idle Race - Idle Race (1969, RSD LP) ★★★☆☆
• Elvis Presley - I'm Leavin' (2016,RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• Geronimo Black - Geronimo Black (1972,LP) ★★★★☆
• Brant Bjork - Brant Bjork & The Operators (2002,S) ★★★★☆
• Pearl Charles - Pearl Charles (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• Pinback - Blue Screen Life (2001, RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• Pat Benatar - Precious Time (1981,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Hughes / Thrall - Hughes/Thrall (1982,LP) ★★★★☆
• Ram Jam - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram (1978,LP) ★★★☆☆
• The Church - Starfish (1988,LP) ★★★★☆
• Billy Riley - Sun Sound Special (1978,LP) ★★★☆☆
• The Third Power - Believe (1970, RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• Elliott Smith - Heaven Adores You Soundtrack (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• Albert Hammond, Jr. - Yours to Keep (2006,S) ★★★☆☆
• Nirvana - Unplugged (1994,LP) ★★★★★
• Robert Gordon - Too Fast to Live, To Young to Die (1982,LP) ★★★★★
• The Remains - The Remains (1966,RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think... (2015,2xLP) ★★★★☆
• Santana - IV (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire (1996,S) ★★★★☆
• Camel - Moonmadness (1976,LP) ★★★★★
• Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Prince - 1999 (1981,LP) ★★★★☆
• Prince - Around the World in a Day (1985,LP) ★★★★★
• Graham Nash - This Path Tonight (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• Field Music - Field Music (2005, RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• Prince - Purple Rain/God (1984, 12") ★★★☆☆ RIP 4-21-16
• The Remains - The Remains (1966, RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• The Volta Sound - My All American Girl (2002,LP) ★★★★☆
• Bombino LIVE @ The Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach CA 4/20/16 ★★★★★
• Bombino - Azel (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Bombino - Nomad (2013,LP) ★★★★☆
• Kasabian - Empire (2006,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Ian Lloyd & The Stories - Traveling Underground (1973,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Kasabian - Kasabian (2004,LP) ★★★★★
• Turnpike Troubadours - Goodbye Normal Street (2012,S) ★★★★☆
• Fleetwood Mac - The Alternate Tusk (2016, RSD LP) ★★★★★
• The Tornadoes - Beyond the Surf (1999, RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• Al Casey - Surfin' Hootenanny (1963, RSD LP) ★★★☆☆
• Cheap Trick - At Budokon: The Complete Concert (2016, RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• Johnny Cash - All Aboard the Blue Train (1963,RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• Bombino - Azel (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Brant Bjork - Punk Rock Guilt (2008,LP) ★★★★★
• Tom Petty - Kiss My Amps Live Vol.2 (2016,RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• The Animals - Animal Tracks (2016,RSD EP) ★★★☆☆
• Caverns of Anti-Matter - Void Versions (2016,RSD EP) ★★☆☆☆
• Wailing Souls - Firehouse Rock (2016,12") ★★★☆☆
• Witchcraft - Legend (2012,S) ★★★★☆
• Black Crowes - Amorica (1994,LP) ★★★★☆
• Fu Manchu - Something Beyond (2004, 7" Single) ★★★☆☆
• Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer, Different Park (2013,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Re-Stoned - Re-Session V.3 (2012,S) ★★★☆☆
• Dirtmusic - Troubles (2013,S) ★★★★☆
• Freeman - Freeman (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• Witchwood - Litanies From the Wood (2015,S)
• Songhoy Blues - Music in Exile (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Sand - Golem (1974,S) ★★★★☆
• Re-Stoned - Totems (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Atomic Bitchwax - TAB4 (2009,S) ★★★☆☆
• Fritz Reiner - Spain (Chicago Symphony) (2005,S) ★★★☆☆
• Spoon - A Series of Sneaks (1998,LP) ★★★★☆
• Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• Lee Hazlewood - Lee Hazlewoodism: It's Cause and Cure (1967,LP) ★★★★★
• Guru Guru - Hinten (1971,S) ★★★★☆
• Rockin' Tabby Thomas - King of Swamp Blues (1988,S) ★★★★☆
• Neil Young - Old Ways (1985,S) ★★★☆☆
• The Doors - Other Voices (1971,S) ★★★☆☆
• Fu Manchu - Gigantoid (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• Keith Richards - Crosseyed Heart (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Riverside - Love, Fear and the Time Machine (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression (2016,S) ★★☆☆☆
• The Black Crowes - Amorica (1994,S) ★★★★☆
• Moths - Moths (1970,S) ★★★☆☆
• Judas Priest - 5 Souls (2014,S) ★★★☆☆
• a-Ha - Stay On These Roads (1990,S) ★★★☆☆
• School of Language - Old Fears (2014,S) ★★★★☆
• The Police - Ghost in the Machine (1981,LP) ★★★★☆
• My Morning Jacket - Z (2005,S) ★★★★☆
• John Garcia - John Garcia (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• Weezer - (White Album) (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• Fu Manchu - Daredevil (1995,LP) ★★★★☆
• Stubb - Cry of the Ocean (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• Anathema - A Natural Disaster (2003,S) ★★★★☆
• Hela - Broken Cross (2014,S) ★★☆☆☆

94

Chuck's Rating Scale

• Classic / Essential (Tops) 4.4 to 5.0 ★★★★★
• Must Listen (Great) 3.4 to 4.3 ★★★★☆
• Worthy Effort (Maybe to Good) 2.4 to 3.3 ★★★☆☆
• Below Expectations (Bad) 1.4 to 2.3 ★★☆☆☆
• Avoid (Awful) 0 to 1.3 ★☆☆☆☆

My initial impressions (and ratings) may change after repeated plays. I love albums that grab my attention on the first listen, but many others take several listens to truly appreciate and ratings may be updated accordingly. Albums listened to for the first time are indicated with the artist in bold.

Proviso: I tend to play albums I am familiar with and enjoy (imagine that!), so my ratings are typically at the mid to high end of the scale. In March and April I will explore upcoming Record Store Day releases on Spotify. There tends to be a lot of mediocrity to sort through, so there will be many with lower ratings.

This list is chronological with the top album being the most recently played. Sound quality ratings are included for some releases, such as multichannel mixes and audiophile labels.

Vinyl is my preferred and typical method for playback, but I occasionally listen to SACD, DVD-Audio, Blu-ray and (less likely) Redbook CD. For releases I don't own, esp. for music exploration and discovery, Spotify and YouTube are my favorite online resources for music streaming (noted with an 'S'). A new designation introduced this month is 'Road,' which is for music played in my car via Spotify, Amazon Music, or my iPhone.

Last month's listening log can be found below.

Older lists are saved in the archive folder.