February 2018

• The Beach Boys - Greatest Hits (1997,Hoffman CD) ★★★★★
• Fantasy - Paint a Picture (1973,LP) ★★★★★
• Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Uncle Meat (1969,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Groundation - Hebron Gate (2003,S) ★★★☆☆
• Madonna - Music (2000,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Captain Beyond - Lost and Found (1972-1973) (2017,LP) ★★★☆☆
• David Bowie - "Heroes" (1977,2018 LP) ★★★★☆
• David Bowie - Low (1977,2018 LP) ★★★★☆
• Highly Suspect - Mister Asylum (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• Henry Mancini - The Pink Panther OST (1964,2014 RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• Geese in the Bog - Take Flight (2003,CD) ★★★★☆
• The Steeldrivers - The Steeldrivers (2008,S) ★★★★☆
• Foo Fighters - Concrete and Gold (2017,S) ★★★☆☆
• Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (2005,2018 LP) ★★★★★
• Steep Canyon Rangers - Out in the Open (2018,LP) ★★★★☆
• Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway (2003,LP) ★★★★★
• They Might Be Giants - Flood (1990,2014 MOV LP) ★★★★★
• Ravi Shankar - Portrait of Genius (1964,2017 RSD LP) ★★★★☆
• The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed (1967,2017 LP) ★★★★★
• Don Muro - Synthesizer Pop For a New Age (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Smiths - Meat is Murder (1985,LP) ★★★★☆
• Jonathan Wilson - Fanfare (2013,LP) ★★★★☆
• Vince Guaraldi - Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus (1962,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Rick James - Street Songs (1981,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Steve Winwood - Roll With It (1988,2017 LP) ★★★★☆
• Steve Winwood - Back in the High Life (1986,2017 LP) ★★★★☆
• The Feelies - The Good Earth (1986,LP) ★★★★☆
• Lee Hazlewood - Hazlewoodism: Its Cause and Cure (1967,LP) ★★★★☆
• Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi (1983,LP) ★★★★★
• King Crimson - Islands (1971,5.1 Wilson Remix) ★★★★☆
• Crowded House - Woodface (1991,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow (1984,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Beta Band - Champion Versions (1997,EP) ★★★★☆
• Soho - Hippychick (1990,EP) ★★★★☆
• Ali Farka Toure - In the Heart of the Moon (2005,S) ★★★★☆
• Prince - Around the World in a Day (1985,LP) ★★★★☆
• Henry Mancini - Experiment in Terror OST (1962,LP) ★★★★☆
• Third Eye Blind - Dopamine (2015,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Madonna - Erotica (1992,LP) ★★★★☆
• Jethro Tull - Songs From the Wood (1977,LP) ★★★★★
• The Steeldrivers - Self-titled (2008,S) ★★★☆☆
• Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig (2010,S) ★★★☆☆
• David Bowie - Diamond Dogs (1974,LP) ★★★★☆
• Rush - Signals (1982,LP) ★★★★☆
• AIR - Moon Safari (1998,LP) ★★★★★
• Fleetwood Mac - Mirage (1981,2016 LP) ★★★★☆
• Men at Work - Business as Usual (1981,MFSL LP) ★★★★☆
• Fu Manchu - Clone of the Universe (2018,LP) ★★★★☆
  • released 2/9/18
• Cibo Matto - Viva La Woman! (1996,LP) ★★★★☆
• Henry Mancini - Breakfast at Tiffany's OST (1961,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Alan Parsons Project - On Air (1996,LP) ★★★★☆
• Astrud Gilberto - Compact Jazz (1987,CD) ★★★★★
• Live - Throwing Copper (1994,LP) ★★★★★
• Trevor Jones - Last of the Mohicans OST (1992,2018 LP) ★★★★☆
• The Feelies - Here Before (2011,S) ★★★☆☆
• Various Artists - Django Unchained OST (2012,Splatter LP) ★★★★☆
• Free - Tons of Sobs (1969,LP) ★★★★☆
• George Harrison - Wonderwall Music (1968,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Free - Free (1969,2011 MOV LP) ★★★★☆
• It's a Beautiful Day - Self-titled (1968,LP) ★★★★☆

60

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'.

Previous month listening log can be found below.

Older lists are saved in the archive folder.