March 2016

• Heart - Dreamboat Annie (1976,LP FM RE) ★★★★☆
• The Pandoras - It's About Time (1984,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Jenny Lewis - The Voyager (2014,S) ★★★☆☆
• Wilco - Star Wars (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Eagles of Death Metal - Zipper Down (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart (2010,S) ★★★★☆
• King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - I'm in Your Mind Fuzz (2014,S) ★★★☆☆
• The Refreshments - Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy (1996,LP) ★★★★☆
• David Bowie - Alladin Sane (1973,LP) ★★★★☆
• Mikey Dread - World War III (1980,LP) ★★★★☆
• Barrington Levy - Poorman Style (1982,LP) ★★★★☆
• Kyuss - Kyuss (Welcome to Sky Valley) (1994,LP) ★★★★☆
• Brant Bjork - Punk Rock Guilt (2008,S) ★★★★☆
• Ray LaMontagne - Till the Sun Turns Black (2006,S) ★★★★☆
• Stubb - Cry of the Ocean (2014,LP) ★★★★☆
• Skip Gorman - A Greener Prairie (1994,S) ★★★★☆
• Failure - Magnified (1994,S) ★★★☆☆
• XTC - Nonsuch (1992,5.1 BD-A) ★★★★☆
• The Brood - In Spite of it All (1988,LP) ★★★★☆
• Black Stone Cherry - Magic Mountain (2014,S) ★★★☆☆
• Failure - The Heart is a Monster (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Black Rainbows - Supermothafuzzalicious!! (2011,S) ★★★★☆
• Smashing Pumpkins - Monument to an Elegy (2014,S) ★★★☆☆
• Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation (1973,LP) ★★★★☆
• Bonnie Raitt - Dig in Deep (2016,S) ★★★★☆
• Neko Case - The Tigers Have Spoken (2004,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Herb Alpert - Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965,LP) ★★★★☆
• Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (2015,LP) ★★★★★
• The Refreshments - Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy (1996,S) ★★★★☆
• David Gilmour - On An Island (2006,S) ★★★★☆
• Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (2009,S) ★★★★☆
• Brant Bjork - Black Power Flower (2014,Yellow LP) ★★★★☆
• Arthur Lyman - The Best of Arthur Lyman (196?,Japan Stereo LP) ★★★★☆
• AIR - Talkie Walkie (2004,S) ★★★☆☆
• The Cheiftains - Cheiftains 4 (1973,S) ★★★☆☆
• The Easybeats - Friday on My Mind (1967,S) ★★★☆☆
• Osibisa - Osibisa (1971,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Phish - The Siket Disc (2015,LP) ★★★☆☆
  • Not a good pressing. Very noisy.
• AIR - Moon Safari (1998,S) ★★★☆☆
• Phish - (Hoist) (1994,S) ★★★☆☆
• Nightnoise - At the End of the Evening (1988,S) ★★★☆☆
• Max Roach - We Insist! (1960,S) ★★★☆☆
• Kyuss - Blues For the Red Sun (1992,S) ★★★☆☆
• Mondo Drag - The Occultation of Light (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Seedy Jeezus - Seedy Jeezus (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Big Star - Jesus Christ EP (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• 31Knots - Trump Harm (2011,LP) ★★☆☆☆
• Alan Parsons - Try Anything Once (1993,S) ★★★☆☆
• Big Black - Songs About Fucking (1987,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Chrissie Hynde - Stockholm (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• David Bowie - Earthling (1997,LP) ★★★★☆
• Barrington Levy - Englishman (1979,S) ★★★☆☆
• The Atomic Bitchwax - Local Fuzz (2011,LP) ★★★★☆
• Alan Parsons - The Time Machine (1999,S) ★★★☆☆
• Silverchair - Frogstomp (1995,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Gentle Giant - The Power and the Glory (1974,S.Wilson Mix 2014 LP) ★★★★☆
• Camel - The Snow Goose (1975,Japan LP) ★★★★☆
• Camel - Mirage (1974, France LP) ★★★★★
• King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon (1970,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Riverside - Love, Fear and the Time Machine (2015,LP) ★★★★★
• Bob Dylan - Shadows in the Night (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• Vista Chino - Peace (2013,S) ★★★☆☆
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus (1971,LP) ★★★★☆
  • R.I.P. Keith Emerson 3/10/16
• Jimmy Cliff - Jimmy Cliff (1969,S) ★★★★☆
• M83 - Saturdays = Youth (2008,S) ★★★☆☆
• Blood of the Sun - In Blood We Rock (2007,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Birdy - Fire Within (2013,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Valerie June - Pushin' Against a Stone_ (2013,S) ★★★★☆
• Black Rivers - Black Rivers (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Jimmy Cliff - Rebirth (2012,S) ★★★☆☆
• Arthur Lyman - Taboo (1958,Stereo LP) ★★★★☆
• Temple City Kazoo Orchestra - Some Kazoos (1978,LP) ★★☆☆☆
• Mick Fleetwood's Zoo - I'm Not Me (1983,Japan LP) ★★★☆☆
• The Who - Who Are You (1978,Canada Red LP) ★★★☆☆
• Fu Manchu - (Godzilla's) Eatin' Dust (1999,LP) ★★★★☆
• Silverchair - Frogstomp (1993,S) ★★★☆☆
• Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal (2011,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Turnover - Peripheral Vision (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence (2014,S) ★★★☆☆
• Motorpsycho - Here Be Monsters (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• Pinback - Blue Screen Life (2001,S) ★★★★☆
• Alborosie - Dub the System (2013,LP) ★★★★☆
• Brant Bjork - Somera Sol (2007,S) ★★★★☆
• Fu Manchu - Return to Earth 91-93 (1998,S) ★★★☆☆
• Wight - Through the Woods Into Deep Water (2012,S) ★★★★☆
• Brant Bjork - Gods & Goddesses (2010,LP) ★★★★☆
• Ruby the Hatchet - Ouroboros (2012,S) ★★★★☆
• The Atomic Bitchwax - The Local Fuzz (2011,LP) ★★★★☆
• Ruby the Hatchet - Valley of the Snake (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• Brant Bjork - Black Power Flower (2014,LP) ★★★★★
• The Atomic Bitchwax - Gravitron (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World (1970,LP) ★★★★☆
• Placebo - Sleeping With Ghosts (2003,S) ★★★☆☆
• Ray LaMontagne - God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise (2010,LP) ★★★★☆
• Neko Case - Furnace Room Lullaby (2000,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Nirvana - Bleach (1989,LP) ★★★★☆
• Ray LaMontagne - Ouroboros (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Tame Impala - Currents (2015,LP) ★★★★★
• Porcupine Tree - Signify (2004,LP) ★★★★☆
• Stan Getz - Supreme Jazz (2006,S) ★★★☆☆
• Judy Collins - Colors of the Day (1972,S) ★★★☆☆
• The Postal Service - Give Up (2003,S) ★★★☆☆
• Keb Mo - Bluesamericana (2014,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Augustos Pablo - East of the River Nile (1977,LP) ★★★★★
• Alborosie - Escape From Babylon (2009,LP) ★★★★☆
• Skyhooks - Living in the 70's (1974,S) ★★★★☆
• Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins (2005,S) ★★★☆☆

107

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 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.