December 2017 Merry Christmas!

• King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon (1970,2011 LP) ★★★★☆
• Jimmy Buffett - Buried Treasure Vol.1 (2017,CD) ★★★☆☆
• Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989,LP) ★★★☆☆
• The White Stripes - White Blood Cells (2001,LP) ★★★★☆
• Pat Benatar - Crimes of Passion (1980,S) ★★★★☆
• Enya - Amarantine (2005,S) ★★★☆☆
• Nick Waterhouse - Holly (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta (1980,Japan LP) ★★★★☆
• Slint - Spiderland (1991,LP) ★★★★★
• Royal Blood - Royal Blood (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Beatles - Happy Christmas Beatle People! (2017,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers - The Long-Awaited Album (2017) ★★★★☆
• Wilco - A Ghost is Born (2004,LP) ★★★★☆
• Primus - The Desaturating Seven (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Roy Orbison - A Love So Beautiful (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Steven Wilson - To The Bone (2017,SR) ★★★★★
• Phish - Big Boat (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun (2000,2017 RM LP) ★★★★☆
• Doc Watson - The Essential Doc Watson (1973,S) ★★★★☆
• Stompin' Tom Connors - Merry Christmas Everybody (1973,S) ★★★☆☆
• John Lennon - Walls and Bridges (1974,2010 RM LP) ★★★☆☆
• Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What (2011,S) ★★★☆☆
• Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue (1977,LP) ★★★★★
• St. Germain - Self-titled (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• Blue Man Group - Three (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Link Wray & The Raymen - Self-titled (1960,LP) ★★★★☆
• Heart - Dog and Butterfly (1981,FM Blue LP) ★★★★☆
• Kenny Burrell - Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas (1966,S) ★★★★☆
• John Denver - Greatest Hits, Volume 2 (1977,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa (1969,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Madonna - Erotica (1992) ★★★★☆
• The Atomic Bitchwax - Force Field (2017,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Genesis - Selling England By the Pound (1976,SR) ★★★★☆
• Leonard Cohen - Cohen Live (1994,SR) ★★★★☆
• George Harrison - Brainwashed (2002,LP) ★★★★☆
• John Denver - Rocky Mountain Christmas (1975,LP) ★★★★☆
• Nick Waterhouse - Holly (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• John Fogerty - Blue Moon Swamp (1997,2017 LP) ★★★★☆
• Beck - Colors (2017,LP) ★★★☆☆
• The Fab Four - Hark! (2013,CD) ★★★★☆
• Poco - Crazy Eyes (1973,LP) ★★★☆☆
• 10,000 Maniacs - Our Time in Eden (1992,AF LP) ★★★★☆
• R.E.M. - Out of Time (1991,2017 RM LP) ★★★★☆
• Deep Purple - Machine Head (1972,LP) ★★★★☆
• Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead (1970,LP) ★★★★☆
• St. Germain - St. Germain (2015,LP) ★★★☆☆
• The Piano Guys - Self-Titled (2013,S) ★★★☆☆
• Muddy Waters - At Newport 1960 (1960,LP) ★★★★☆
• Brother Dege - Folk Songs of the American Longhair (2010,LP) ★★★★☆
• Van Morrison - Moondance (1970,2008 LP) ★★★★☆
• Moby - Play (1999,2016 LP) ★★★★☆
• Heart - Little Queen (1977,2016 FM LP) ★★★★☆
• The Orb - Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991,2017 LP) ★★★★★

53

Chuck's Rating Scale

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

Playback:

Vinyl

• VPI Scout JMW9 Tonearm w/Nordost Wiring, Ortofon 2M Black Cartridge
• Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum Integrated Tube Amp (KT-120 Tubes)
• Klipsch RF-3s, RC-3, RS-3s, KSW-15 Sub
• VPI 16.5 RCM
• Milty Zerostat3 Antistatic Gun

Digital

• Pioneer Elite BDP-62FD Blu-Ray/SACD/DVD Audio Player / Polk LSi M 703 Bookshelf
• PC AMD FX4300 Quad Core 3.8 GHz/12mb RAM / J River Media Center 22 / Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 DAC / Cronus Magnum / Polk LSi M 703 Bookshelf

My initial impressions (and ratings) may change after repeated plays. Albums that grab my attention on the first listen are great, but many others take several listens to truly appreciate and ratings may be updated accordingly. My top rating for greatest hit compilations is four stars.

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 titles I don't own, especially for exploration and discovery, Spotify, Bandcamp and YouTube are my go-to online resources. Music streaming is noted with an 'S'. For music on the road by CD, iPhone or iPad and Spotify, playback will be noted with an 'SR'. Sometimes for convenience I will stream music to my Amazon Echo, noted with an 'SE'.

Last month's listening log can be found below.

Older lists are saved in the archive folder.