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Bonny Light Horseman, Rolling Golden Holy, 2022 on 37d03d

The sophomore album from Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, and Josh Kaufman, joined here by Mike Lewis, and JT Bates. (Does this make BLH technically a supergroup, given…

Bonnie Bishop, Ain’t Who I Was, 2016 on Plan BB

I first heard the title track of this album on a Paste Sampler from 2017 so was happy to find the LP (produced by Dave Cobb) at Dyno…

Andrew Bird, The Mysterious Production of Eggs, 2005 on Righteous Babe / Grimsey

The original came out in the US on Ani Di Franco’s Righteous Babe Records, but my copy is a later reissue on Stillwater Minnesota’s Grimsey Records. Andrew Bird…

Various Artists, Footloose: Original Soundtrack of the Paramount Motion Picture, 1984 on Columbia

So in 1984 I’d have thought myself too cool for the Footloose soundtrack: Kenny Logins and Deniece Williams? But I also would have secretly loved it (as I…

Ry Cooder, Boomer’s Story, 1972 on Reprise

I love Ry Cooder’s career – so many different threads, all of which are wonderful. This was his third studio album in a roots/Americana/blues tradition. Randy Newman guests…

The Zombies, Begin Here, 1965 on Decca

My copy is a later reissue (2013) on Repertoire Records, half-speed mastered at Abbey Road Studios from HD 24 bit audio – the original was on Decca in…

Gil Evans, Gil Evans & Ten, 1957 on Prestige

My copy is the 2023 reissue by Craft Recordings for Record Store Day. Players: Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, this was Gil Evan’s fist recording as a pianist….

Echo and the Bunnymen, B-Sides and Live (2001-2005), 2022 on Demon Records

Released digitally in 2007 by Cooking Vinyl, but reissued on vinyl by Demon Records for Record Store Day 2022, on clear vinyl. A number of songs from Live…

Jolie Holland & Samantha Parton, Wildflower Blues, 2017 on Cinquefoil

Holland and Parton were the original core of the Be Good Tanyas, later joined by Trish Klein and Frazey Ford. I was (and still am) a massive fan…

The Magnetic Fields, i, 2004 on Nonesuch

All the songs on the album start with the letter i, a very Stephin Merritt thing to do. (Is this also related to the “i” in his first…

Fugees, The Score, 1996 on Columbia / Ruffhouse

Very hard to find original pressings of this – my copy is a 2021 reissue. This is an absolute must have, alongside The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which…

INXS, Listen Like Thieves, 1985 on Atlantic

This was INXS’ fifth studio album, but had their first US breakthrough hit with “What You Need.” Recorded at Rhinoceros in Sydney and produced by Chris Thomas. Includes…

Bonnie Raitt, Takin My Time, 1973 on Warner Bros

Raitt’s third full length album, produced by John Hall. Great versions of Mose Allison’s “Everybody’s Cryin’ Mercy” and Jackson Browne’s “I Thought I was a Child.” Guests include…

John Mayall with Eric Clapton, Blues Breakers, 1966 on London Records

This was the debut studio album for Mayall and the Bluesbreakers but credited to John Mayall with Eric Clapton. The band here includes Mayall, Clapton, John McVie, Hughie…

Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder , Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, 2022 on Nonesuch

How could you possibly go wrong with Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder together? Joachim Cooder joins on drums and bass. Produced by Ry Cooder; recorded, mixed and mastered…

The Chesterfield Kings, The Berlin Wall of Sound, 1990 on Mirror Records

The Chesterfield Kings were a garage-rock band from Rochester NY fronted by Greg Prevost. i randomly found a single of theirs in the mid-eighties (“She Told Me Lies”)…

Dead or Alive, Youthquake, 1985 on Epic

Dead or Alive sometimes get put in the one hit wonder category, based on the massive success of “You Spin Me Round” but this is really a great…

Waylon Jennings,Honky Tonk Heroes, 1973 on RCA Victor

I grew up with Waylon & Willie commonly playing around our household and in the last decade have come back to appreciate and collect their albums after a…

Jack Elliott, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, 1961 on Prestige International

One of the few duplicates I hang onto, as I have a repressing (Hard Travelin’) but this is the Vinyl Me Please reissue (as part of VMP Country)…

Sharon Van Etten, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, 2022 on Jagjaguwar

Van Etten’s sixth full length and fourth on Jagjaguwar, this was one of my favorite albums of 2022. Van Etten produced along with Daniel Knowles, with musicians Devin…