September 2017

• The Police - Ghost in the Machine (1980,LP) ★★★★☆
• Journey - Infinity (1978,LP) ★★★★☆
• Donald Fagen - Kamakiriad (1978,S) ★★★★☆
• Harvey Mandel - The Snake (1972,LP) ★★★★☆
• Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam (2006,S) ★★★☆☆
• David Gilmour - Live at Pompeii (2017,S) ★★★★☆
• Porcupine Tree - Signify (1996,LP) ★★★★☆
• Lindsay Buckingham & Christine McVie - Self Titled (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Robert Drasnin - Voodoo III (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Steven Wilson - To the Bone (2017,LP) ★★★★★
• Interpol - Our Love to Admire (2007,S) ★★★☆☆
• J Mascis - Tied to a Star (2014,S) ★★★★☆
• Brant Bjork - Europe '16 (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Jerry Garcia Band - Cats Under the Stars (1978,S) ★★★★☆
• Tycho - Awake (2014,S) ★★★☆☆
• Ringo Starr - Give More Love (2017,S) ★★★☆☆
• Robert Earl Keen - No.2 Live Dinner (2004,S) ★★★☆☆
• David Bowie - Alladin Sane (1973,LP) ★★★★☆
• Shawn Colvin - A Few Small Repairs (1996,S) ★★★★☆
• Steve Martin - The Long-Awaited Album (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Bob Seger - Greatest Hits (1994,S) ★★★★☆
• Steve Winwood - Winwood: Greatest Hits Live (2017,S) ★★★★☆
• Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos (1992,LP) ★★★★☆
• No-Man - Returning Jesus (2001,S) ★★★☆☆
• Steven Wilson - To The Bone (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Sufaris - Wipe Out (1963,S) ★★★☆☆
• Walter Becker - Circus Money (2008,S) ★★★☆☆
• Keb' Mo' - That Hot Pink Blues Album (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Frank Sinatra - Songs For Swingin' Lovers! (1956,LP) ★★★★☆
• Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain (1960,LP) ★★★★☆
• ELO - A New World Record (1976,LP) ★★★★☆
• Ry Cooder - Paradise and Lunch (1974,MFSL LP) ★★★★☆
• Jimi Hendrix - Experience Hendrix (1997,LP) ★★★★☆
• Mazzy Star - Fade Into You (1994,LP) ★★★★☆
• Neil Young - Hitchhiker (2017,Archival LP) ★★★☆☆
• Walter Becker - 11 Tracks of Whack (1994,S) ★★★☆☆
• Jimmy Smith - Crazy Baby! (1960,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Return to Forever - Musicmagic (1977,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Whiskeytown - Pneumonia (2001,S) ★★★☆☆
• Alice Coltrane & Carlos Santana - Illuminations (1974,S) ★★★☆☆
• Toyan - How the West Was Won (1981,S) ★★★☆☆
• Marty Stuart - Way Out West (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Elvis Presley - A Boy From Tupelo: The Sun Masters (2017,LP) ★★★★☆
• Various - Mambo For Cats (1957,S) ★★★☆☆
• Iron & Wine - Beast Epic (2017,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Steely Dan - Aja (1977,LP) ★★★★★
  • RIP Walter Becker 9-3-2017
• Beach House - Bloom (2012,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos (1992,S) ★★★★☆
• Wild Eyes - Get Into It! (2013,S) ★★★★☆
• Chris Robinson Brotherhood - If You Lived Here... (2016,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Steve Hackett - The Night Siren (2017,S) ★★★★☆
• Beach House - B-Sides and Rarities (2017,S) ★★★☆☆
• Pixies - Doolittle (1989,S) ★★★★☆
• Kings of Leon - Walls (2016,S) ★★★☆☆
• King Gizzard & The Flying Lizard - Flying Microtonal Banana (2017,S) ★★★☆☆
• Glen Campbell - Adios (2017,S) ★★★☆☆
• Shawn Colvin - A Few Small Repairs (1996,S) ★★★☆☆
• Monster Magnet - Spine of God (1991,S) ★★★☆☆

58

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 with 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.