July 2016

• Brant Bjork - Punk Rock Guilt (2008,LP) ★★★★★
• The Re-Stoned - Totems (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• Yes - Fragile (1971,2016 RM) ★★★★☆
• Badger - White Lady (1974,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Midnight Ghost Train - Cold Was the Ground (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Porcupine Tree - Voyage 34 (2000,LP) ★★★★★
• The Wailers - Burnin' (1973,LP) ★★★★☆
• Yawning Man - Rock Formations (2005,S) ★★★☆☆
• Cheap Trick - Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Heron Oblivion - Heron Oblivion (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• Opeth - Heritage (2011,S) ★★★☆☆
• Fraction - Moon Blood (1971,LP) ★★★★☆
• Fu Manchu - We Must Obey (2007,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Focus - Moving Waves (1972, EU Compilation 2xLP) ★★★★☆
• Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Anyway You Love, We... (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Hole - Live Through This (1994,RM LP) ★★★★★
• Enya - Watermark (1988,SE) ★★★★★
• Fleetwood Mac - In Concert (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door (1979,RM LP) ★★★★☆
• The Kinks - The Best of The Kinks 1964-1970 (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Cake - Comfort Eagle (2001,S) ★★★★☆
• Black Mountain - IV (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• Prince Far I & The Arabs - Cry Tuff Dub... (1981,S) ★★★★☆
• ELO / Olivia Newton-John - Xanadu OST (1980,LP) ★★★★☆
• Fu Manchu - The Action is Go (1997,LP) ★★★★★
• Tom Jones - It's Not Unusual (1965,Japan LP) ★★★★☆
• Pepe & Her Rarotongans - Siren Songs of the South Seas (1979,LP) ★★★★☆
• Vanessa Fernandez - When the Levee Breaks (2016,LP) ★★★★★
• William Ackerman - It Takes a Year (1977,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Ozric Tentacles - Live at the Pongmaster's Ball (2002,LP) ★★★★☆
• Rival Sons - Hollow Bones (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets (1968,LP) ★★★★☆
• Tame Impala - Currents (2015,R) ★★★★★
• Paul McCartney - Flaming Pie (1997,R) ★★★★☆
• Scale The Summit - V (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Ringo Starr - Postcards From Paradise (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• Laura Marling - Short Movie (2015,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Steve Hackett - Bay of Kings (1983,LP) ★★★★☆
• Magnum - Kingdom of Madness (1978,LP) ★★★★☆
• Magnum - Vigilante (1986,LP) ★★☆☆☆
• Tiger High - Inside the Acid Coven (2014,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Peter Broggs - Cease the War (1987,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Linda Ronstadt - Greatest Hits (1976,LP) ★★★★☆
• Fleetwood Mac - Tusk (1979, 5.1 Audio-DVD)
  • Performance ★★★★★ * Sonics ★★★☆☆
• Steve Earle - I Feel Alright (1996,S) ★★★☆☆
• Vanessa Fernandez - Use Me (2014,S) ★★★★☆
• Bonnie Raitt - Slipstream (2012,S) ★★★☆☆
• Norman Blake - Blackberry Blossom (1977,S) ★★★★☆
• Ed Watson & The Brass Circle - Heavy Roller (1980,S) ★★★★★
• Riverside - Love, Fear & The Time Machine (2015,SR) ★★★★★
• Neil Diamond - Gold (1970,SR) ★★★★★
• Thievery Corporation - Abductions & Reconstructions (1999,SR) ★★★★☆
• Aimee Mann - Lost in Space (2002,SR) ★★★★★
• Madonna - Erotica (1992,SR) ★★★★☆
• Dead Can Dance - Into the Labyrinth (1993,SR) ★★★★★
• Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet (2007,SR) ★★★★★
• Pet Shop Boys - Actually (1987,SR) ★★★☆☆
• Weezer - Weezer (White Album) (2016,SR) ★★★☆☆
• Arcade Fire - Reflektor (2013,SR) ★★★☆☆
• Vanessa Fernandez - When the Levee Breaks (2016,S) ★★★★★
• 10CC - Deceptive Bends (1977,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Robbie The Werewolf - At The Waleback (1964,S) ★★★☆☆
• Badger - White Lady (1974,S) ★★★★☆
• Cheap Trick - Bang,Zoom,Crazy...Hello (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Paul Simon - Stranger to Stranger (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Dave Matthews Band - Crash (1996,LP) ★★★★☆
• Yes - 90125 (1983,Japan LP) ★★★★☆
• Weba Garretson - Such is Love (2013,LP) ★★★★☆
• Black Crowes - Three Snakes & One Charm (1996,LP) ★★★★☆
• Nebula - Heavy Psych (2009,S) ★★★☆☆
• Elvis Presley - Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis (1974,LP) ★★★★☆
• Slow Season - Mountains (2014,S) ★★★★☆
• New Bomb Turks - !!Destroy-Oh-Boy!! (1993,LP) ★★★★☆
• Brant Bjork - Brant Bjork & The Operators (2002,LP) ★★★★☆
• New Bomb Turks - Information Highway Revisited (1994,LP) ★★★★☆
• Killer Boogie - Detroit (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• Monolord - Vaenir (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• White Denim - Stiff (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• Thievery Corporation - Sounds From the Thievery Hi-Fi (1997,LP) ★★★★☆
• Camel - Coming of Age (1998,CD) ★★★★★
• Ursula 1000 - Voyeur (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Thievery Corporation - The Richest Man in Babylon (2002,LP) ★★★★☆
• Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy (2000,LP) ★★★★☆
• Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967,RM LP) ★★★★☆

84

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 ★☆☆☆☆

Playback:

• 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
• Pioneer Elite BDP-62FD Blu-Ray/SACD/DVD Audio Player / Polk LSi M Bookshelf
• Digital: Apple iMac "Core i3" 3.2 21.5in / J River Media Center 21 / Cambridge SoundWorks
• VPI 16.5 RCM

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 and YouTube are my go-to online resources. Music streaming is noted with an 'S'. For music on the road with my 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.