Category: musicPage 1 of 82

Steve Earle, Guitar Town, 1986 on MCA Records

Earle’s debut album from the mid-eighties – note the proud “Digital Recording” stamp on the cover (where now you’d see “All Analog” promoted). Topped the country charts, and…

T. Rex, T. Rextasy: The Best of T. Rex, 1970-1973, 1985 on Warner Bros.

Mid-eighties compilation of T. Rex. Between 1970 and 1973, the band had eleven top 10 singles in the UK – including many here. Produced by Tony Visconti. I…

Neil Young, Neil Young, 1969 on Reprise

Young’s debut solo album. It can be tricky to keep all the chronology straight here, as someone who came to Young much later in his career – but…

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Ella & Louis: Complete Studio Small Group Recordings, 2015 on Waxtime

Waxtime is sometimes a controversial label. Based on some differences between US and EU copyright law, they’re releasing classic jazz recordings without explicit access o the source material….

Dessa, Bury the Lede, 2023 on Doomtree Records

Dessa is a part of the hip-hop collective Doomtree out of MInneapolis – great collection of artists and she is (for me) one of the standouts. She was…

The Replacements, Don’t Tell a Soul, 1989 on Sire / Reprise

This was the Replacements first album with Slim Dunlop replacing Bob Stinson on guitar. It was recorded in LA, produced by Matt Wallace and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge,…

Junior Walker and the All-Stars, Anthology, 1974 on Motown

While many folks only know Walker and the All-Stars via their first and biggest hit, “Shotgun,” this 2xLP release collects recordings from 1965-1973 – good way to get…

Bill Evans, Polka Dots and Moonbeams, 1967 (aka Bill Evans Trio, Moon Beams, 1962) on Riverside

This 1967 reissue of the 1962 album Moon Beams (which was credited to the Bill Evans Trio) is credited to Bill Evans and retitled to Polka Dots and…

Charlie Parker, The Mercury & Clef 10-inch LP Collection

This 2021 box collects / reproduces the 10″ LPs put out in the early 1950s: I don’t normally collect 10″ records, but got a good deal on this…

Neil Young with Crazy Horse, World Record, 2022 on Reprise

Great to have Neil Young put out a new album in 2022, his fifteenth with Crazy Horse (including Nils Lofgren, Ralph Molina, and Billy Talbot). Neil Young Archives…

Peter Buck, Warzone Earth, 2015 on Mississippi Records

This is the third solo album from the former R.E.M. guitarist, all on Portland OR’s Mississippi Records. Frequent Buck collaborators present here include Scott McCaughey, Kurt Bloch, and…

Wham!, Make it Big, 1984 on Columbia

This was the second studio album from the duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley – the first, Fantastic!, didn’t make much of an impression in the US,…

Edgar Winter’s White Trash, Roadwork, 1972 on Epic

Double LP, recorded live at three venues: The Apollo Theater and the Academy of Music in NYC, and the Whiskey a Go Go in LA. The band here…

Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan, 1962 on Columbia

Dylan’s debut album – what a wonderful record. I’ve had multiple different copies, trying to find the best balance of pressing and condition. My current one is a…

Gerry Mulligan, California Concerts, 1955 on Pacific Jazz

Collection of live recordings featuring the Gerry Mulligan Quartet on the A-Side and the Gerry Mulligan Sextet on the B-Side. The quartet here is with Jon Eardley, Red…

Old Crow Medicine Show, Paint This Town, 2022 on ATO

Seventh full length studio album from Old Crow Medicine Show, recorded in their own studio (Hartland) in East Nashville, TN. Molly Tuttle guests on banjo on “Bombs Away.”…

The Waterboys, Out of All This Blue, 2017 on BMG

Mike Scott, the creative force behind The Waterboys, has continued to make interesting music and evolve their sound – here incorporating more contemporary pop sounds. It’s a double…

David Bowie, Unplugged & Slightly Phased: Acoustic Broadcasts 1996, 2021 on Parachute Recording Company

Basically a live bootleg, this collects Bowie’s appearances at the October 1996 Bridge School Benefit. Parachute Recording Company labels these things as radio transmissions based on the difference…

The Replacements; Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash; 1981 on Twin/Tone

This was the debut album of Minneapolis’ own The Replacements, in all its ragged glory. Somehow – likely because of how I acquired them – I’d always thought…

Various Artists, Heavy Soul, 1972 on Atlantic

Great compilation of early seventies soul on Atlantic, including luminaries like Aretha Franklin, Sam & Dave, and King Curtis but also some lesser known folks (at least for…