CD Odyssey: The Road to 1,700

Each 100 reviews I like to reflect back and recap some of the highlights and lowlights along the way. Here we are at 1,700 reviews so let’s do that.

In a few days, I’ll post my reflections on the best records released in 2023, but in this article I’m going to reflect on the best and worst albums reviewed over the past 100 entries, regardless of the release year. There were seven 5-star albums over the last 100. They were:

• Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique (1989)
• Amyl and the Sniffers – Comfort to Me (2021)
• Joan Shelley – The Spur (2022)
• Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill (1986)
• Run the Jewels– Run the Jewels 2 (2014)
• Mr. Lif– Mo’ Mega (2006)
• Boy Golden – For Jimmy (2023)

Of some interest, four of the seven were rap/hip hop albums. That is more of a statistical anomaly than any change in my listening habits. The others were punk, folk and country respectively. Collectively, they also represent music spanning across 37 years, so still lots of variety going on.

I got a lot more picky in 2023 about what it takes for a record to stay in my collection, parting with 14 albums. Most of these records aren’t objectively terrible, they’re just not for me. Here’s a list of them grouped together by the reason I let them go:

Category 1: But I like this band!

• Sunflower Bean – Handful of Sugar
• Lyle Lovett – 12^th of June
• Lone Bellow– Love Song for Losers
• John Moreland – Birds in the Ceiling
• Jess Williamson – Cosmic Wink
• Okkervil River – Away

These five are all by artists where I have one or more albums by them already, and know I like them. In each case I did not scout the record before buying it, and in each case I regretted it. The one exception is the Okkervil River record, which I did listen to first, but that has not aged well since I purchased it in 2016.

Category 2: Since I’ve already paid the shipping…

• Alex Lahey – The Best of Luck Club

I ordered three Alex Lahey albums at once, likely influenced by the savings on shipping. Turns out at least one of them (Best of Luck Club) wasn’t worth the freight. Here’s hoping the other two fare better when I roll them.

Category 3: I really like that one song

• Wild Rivers – Sidelines
• Amanda Shires – Take it Like a Man

Wild Rivers write catchy tunes and a couple of them (Bedrock, Long Time) were so catchy they momentarily blinded me to the merely OK listening experience for the rest of the album. I guess you could say that they did not provide sufficient ‘bedrock’ for me to keep the record for a ‘long time’.

Amanda Shires’ song “Hawk for the Dove” is a gorgeous tune, and I also liked that she’s part of Jason Isbell’s band, the 400 Unit. In the end, neither the song nor the pedigree could save the full record.

Category 4: I saw them live!

• Scimitar – Black Waters

I saw Scimitar live when they opened for Alestorm. I thought this magic moment would somehow be part of my listening experience but alas, it was not. Enjoy live shows in the moment my friends, because the magic isn’t collectible. If you don’t believe me go watch a half dozen crap videos people upload to Youtube from their phones featuring tin-can sound and a close up view of the backs of people’s heads. Does it feel magical? Reader, it does not.

Category 5: F*** you, The Band

• The Band – Music from Big Pink, and subsequently their self-titled album

I only reviewed “Music from Big Pink” in 2023 (I had reviewed the Band’s self-titled release in 2021). However, Music from Big Pink was so self-absorbed and annoying it broke the spell that the Band had briefly cast over me in the months after I watched the 2019 documentary “Once Were Brothers”. I was so incensed I went back and purged my other Band album from the shelves as well. Also, who calls their band “The Band”? Stupid.

Category 6: The Fading Fires of Folk

• Maire Brennan – Maire

This was a tough one. I’ve owned this CD since it was first released in 1992, making it one of the oldest in my collections. Back in 1992 I was seriously into Celtic folk music and would snap up records with little more to go on than they were in the right part of the “world” music in the record store and had song titles in Gaelic.

I still love Celtic folk, but not with the burning singularity of desire I once had for it. I thought about keeping it for nostalgia alone, but the practicality of available space won out. God speed to your new home, Maire Brennan.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the best of 2023, coming soon!

CD Odyssey: The First 1300

As is tradition, I’m taking the arbitrary arrival at a big round number to reflect back on the last 100 reviews.

What stands out this time is that I found a lot more 5-star albums than usual crossing my path. I also became a lot more mercenary about parting company with albums that didn’t inspire me, partly because I overdid my enthusiasm over newly discovered artists, and partly because I’ve only got so much shelf space.

The previous 100 albums yielded only 4 perfect scores, but between Disc 1201 and 1300 this number ballooned to 10. They were:

• St. Vincent – Masseduction (Disc 1206)
• St. Vincent – MassEducation (Disc 1207)
• Nazareth – Loud ‘N’ Proud (Disc 1235)
• Hurray For the Riff Raff – Small Town Heroes (Disc 1244)
• Ice-T – O.G. Original Gangster (Disc 1247)
• Lucius – Nudes (Disc 1252)
• Gillian Welch – Hell Among the Yearlings (Disc 1283)
• Better Oblivion Community Center – Self-Titled (Disc 1292)
• Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won’t Hold (Disc 1294)
• Mattiel – Satis Factory (Disc 1300)

Six of those albums were released in the last three years, proving there is plenty of great music being made right now. Particularly St. Vincent. I’ve gone back into her back catalogue even further as a result of these two gems, and found even more great music.

The oldest was 1973’s “Loud ‘N’ Proud” which is one of the first albums I ever bought. You could argue it had a sentimental advantage, but I would argue it is just plain great.

No albums fell as low as a single star, but I still parted with 10 that ranked between 2 and 3 stars. They weren’t all bad, but for one reason or another I didn’t feel like I’d put them on enough to justify keeping them. The best thing about letting a good record go is that it will end up in the collection of someone else who’ll appreciate it more than you did.

Here’s the list of records that I parted with over the last 100:

• Amelia Curran, “Watershed” (3 stars) – This was a solid folk record, but I knew in my heart I wasn’t going to play it enough. I gave it the good home it deserved.
• Lucy Dacus, “Historian” (3 stars) – A friend bought me this record and I liked it, but despite amazing tracks like “Night Shift” I knew deep down I wasn’t likely to play the whole record often enough.
• Dar Williams “In the Time of the Gods” (2 stars) – I love Dar Williams and this album was the result of me glutting myself on her collection and then paring back when I realized I’d gone too far. Even so, I still have four of her albums.
• Jethro Tull “Stand Up” (3 stars) – This is a classic album by the standards of most music lovers, but not for me. Weirdly, I prefer Jethro Tull’s synthy eighties phase.
• Nilufer Yanya “Miss Universe” (3 stars) – This record is the one I came closest to keeping. Yanya is a brilliant new talent in the field of pop music and has a bright future, but this record didn’t call to my heart like I hoped it would when I first heard it.
• 10cc, “How Dare You?” (2 stars) – I fell hard for 10cc and bought three of their albums, but the first one I reviewed came up short. Hopefully the other two fare better.
• Capercaillie, “Roses and Tears” (2 stars) – One of my all-time favourite folk bands, but another example of where I have too many other albums that I simply like better – in this case, eight of them.
• Little Feat, “The Last Record Album” (2 stars) – I was temporarily blinded by the brilliant pop song “Long Distance Love” but when I came to my senses I realized I had three other Little Feat albums that were all better overall.
• B. Dolan, “The Failure” (2 stars) – This album has a killer spoken word track honouring Evel Knievel but otherwise it didn’t grab me.
• Marissa Nadler, “Little Hells” (2 stars) – Like a lot of albums on this list, “Little Hells” was me falling for a new (to me) discovery and over-indulging on their back catalogue. I still have four other albums by Marissa Nadler and while I admire her songwriting and love her voice, I am nervous that her ambient style will continue to chafe at my bias for crisp, spacious production.

Alice Cooper continues to be my most reviewed artist, at 28 albums. Steve Earle takes over sole possession of second with 20 and Tom Waits comes in third at 19.

Thanks for reading!

CD Odyssey: The Road to 1,200

If you’ve been reading long enough, you’ll know I enjoy taking a moment to pause every 100 albums and look back. For the actual 1,200^th review, scroll down (it is a good record) but for now, let’s take a look back at how we got here.

The number of 5-star albums really took a nose dive over the last 100 reviews. About 1 in 11 usually makes the cut, but from album 1101 to 1200 there were only four. They were:

·         Tom Petty – Damn the Torpedoes (Disc 1101)

·         Rollins Band – Weight (Disc 1126)

·         Daniel Romano – Sleep Beneath the Willow (Disc 1132)

·         Heather Maloney – Making Me Break (Disc 1200)

The first of those albums I’ve known all my life and the last I found in a music review, but the other two were recommendations. It is a good reminder that if you want to bring great music into your life, then be open-minded to suggestions

Fun fact: I previously parted company with a Daniel Romano album (“Modern Pressure”) showing another side of musical discovery: just because you like one record by a band, doesn’t mean you have to like them all.

Three was only a single 1-star review in the last 100, and that was King Diamond’s “Conspiracy”. In fact, I got so sick of hearing King Diamond that I decided to part with his entire discography. Goodbye and good riddance, King. In addition to the King Diamond purge (8 records total, 4 of which I reviewed in the past100), 7 more albums were also sent packing, mostly with a mix of regret and affection. These aren’t bad albums, they just didn’t quite make it to – or back to – the shelf:

• Whitehorse, “The Road to Massey Hall” (2 stars) – I love Whitehorse, but this album just didn’t click with me.
• New Pornographers, “Whiteout Conditions” (3 stars) – I like about half of what the New Pornographers do and since I was going to see them live I took a chance that “Whiteout Conditions” would be one of them. It came pretty close, but in the end didn’t make the cut.
• M. Ward “Post-War” (2 stars) – I love M. Ward as part of She & Him with Zooey Deschanel. His solo work? Less so.
• The Mastersons “Transient Lullaby” (2 stars) – I’ll often buy a band’s new album unheard if I liked their previous work. That’s what happened with this record, which turned out to be OK, but not shelf-worthy.
• Timbuk 3 “Greetings from Timbuk 3” (2 stars) – I bought this for the hit single “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” many many years ago. I liked a couple of other tracks as well, but not enough to keep it. Don’t feel bad, Timbuk 3 – I’ll always cherish your other album, “Eden Alley” (reviewed back at Disc 814).
• Guns ‘n’ Roses, “Use Your Illusion II” (2 stars) – One day I’m going to learn that albums I was willing to part with for beer money in the nineties are not going to win me over twenty-five years later. Case in point – this one.
• La Sera, “Music for Listening to Music To” (3 stars) – Almost kept it, but it just didn’t speak to me. I’ve got high hopes for my other La Sera album, though.

Alice Cooper continues to be my most reviewed artist, holding steady at 28 albums (where he will remain until he releases something new).

In terms of most reviewed artists, little changed other than Alice Cooper increasing his overall lead. I’ve now reviewed 28 albums by him, which is all of them at this point. Tom Waits and Steve Earle are tied for second place with 19 and Bob Dylan comes in right behind them at 18.

Thanks for reading!

CD Odyssey: The Road to 1,100

I’ve reached another (albeit lesser) milestone with 1,100 reviews written so it is time to check in and see what was notable over the past 100 reviews.

I’ve been doing a lot of “new (to me)” reviews under Rule #5 and because a lot of those new (to me) albums are new to the world there is a slight skew toward newly released music of late. 39% of the last 100 albums reviewed were from 2010-2017, compared to just 13% overall. 20% of the last 100 were from 2016 or 2017 only. I expect those numbers to all climb as a) less and less albums remain in my back catalogue and b) I buy more and more new music.

There were 11 5-star albums in the past 100, which is about even for the entire Odyssey overall. Here are the eleven albums that scored the full 5-stars from Discs 1001-1,100:

·         Paul Ngozi – The Ghetto

·         The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash

·         Jason Isbell – The Nashville Sound

·         Indigo Girls – Rites of Passage

·         Josh Ritter – The Animal Years

·         Mandolin Orange – Blindfaller

·         Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP

·         Conor Oberst – Ruminations

·         Frank Turner – Tape Deck Heart

·         Courtney Marie Andrews –Honest Life

·         Rush – Moving Pictures

These albums represent folk, country, rock and rap which is proof-positive that people who listen to only one kind of music are just limiting themselves.

Three were no 1-star reviews of late (which is too bad, because they are fun reviews to write) but I did give 15 albums only 2-stars. Eight of those (plus one 3-star album) got sold or given away to friends. Here’s the full list of albums that were dismissed from the collection out of the last 100:

• Hard Working Americans, “Rest in Chaos” – I had originally planned to buy this album then gave it a second listen and took it off my “to get” list. Then I saw it in the store and in a moment of weakness bought it anyway. Mistake.
• Seasick Steve, “You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks” – An OK record by the blues master, but I just have better ones I’ll always pick first.
• U2 “Boy” – U2 has a small number of great records and a whole ton of average ones. This is one of the latter.
• Tami Nielsen “Don’t Be Afraid” – Not even a great live show could save Nielsen’s underwhelming latest album, but I’d go see her again.
• John Prine “The Missing Years” – I binged on Prine’s back catalogue last year, and this was the inevitable purge.
• Daniel Romano, “Modern Pressure” – I came close to keeping this one but again, I just have a lot better options in the Daniel Romano section of my collection.
• The Wooden Sky, “Swimming in Strange Waters” – Another close one. I love everything else these guys have done and this one just suffered by comparison more than anything.
• Hawksley Workman, “The Delicious Wolves” – We owned this album for years and never played it. The Odyssey reminded me why.
• Eric Clapton, “461 Ocean Boulevard” – the only 3-star album to leave the collection so I obviously liked it, but I also realized there was nothing on it I couldn’t live without.

In terms of overall reviews, little changed other than Alice Cooper increasing his overall lead. I’ve now reviewed 28 albums by him, which is all of them at this point. Steve Earle stays in second place with 19 albums. The only change is that Tom Waits added a review and is once again tied with Bob Dylan with 18 albums.

Thanks for reading!

CD Odyssey: The First 1000

One thousand posts! Hard to believe I’ve made it this far, but here we are.

The last 100 discs saw some more noticeable shifts, both in terms of overall rating and which decade the album was coming from.

There were 10 5-star albums in the past 100, which is about even for the entire Odyssey overall, but there were considerably more 4 star reviews (33% of the last 100 vs. only 23% of all reviews). I ascribe this mainly to my new approach to checking out albums first on Youtube before I decide if I want to buy them.

Another shift is the most listened to decade. While the 1990s still has the overall lead with 236 albums, only 13 of the last 100 albums were from that decade. Instead, the 2010s have taken over, with fully one-third (34%) of my last 100 reviews being of records released since 2010. This is because since Disc 904 I’ve been alternating between a random album from the main collection and a random album from my backlog of recently purchased albums. While I’m still buying music from every decade, it isn’t surprising that a lot of my new music is, well, new.

Here are the ten albums that scored the full 5-stars from Discs 901-1000:

·         Warren Zevon– Excitable Boy

·         Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit And Think and Sometimes I Just Sit

·         Frank Sinatra – A Swingin’ Affair

·         Allman Brothers – Idlewild South

·         Dori Freeman – Self Titled

·         Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska

·         Blondie – Parallel Lines

·         Sera Cahoone – Deer Creek Canyon

·         Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs

·         Alela Diane – To Be Still

Four of these ten are albums released within the last ten years, so don’t let anyone tell you that “no one is making good music anymore.” There is plenty of great music being made every day.

Once again there was only a single 1-star review, which was Duran Duran’s “Rio”. Duran Duran is just one of those bands I love to hate. If Sheila decides to bring another one of their records into the house it’ll get similarly rough and unfair treatment.

As I run out of room for my collection I have become a lot more ruthless on getting rid of albums. Here’s the full list of albums that were dismissed from the collection out of the last 100:

• Billy Joel, “Storm Front” – just a bit too mopey.
• Steve Earle and Shawn Colvin, “Colvin & Earle” – I admire both artists, but this album didn’t work for me. One of the few I bought without an exploratory listen first.
• Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle “One from the Heart Soundtrack” – A bad run for collaborations, although I do still want to see the movie.
• Dar Williams “End of the Summer” – an example of how my new “listen first” system isn’t perfect. I bought this album after listening to it on Youtube, but still couldn’t find it in my heart to keep it.
• Annabelle Chvostek “Resilience” – the only Wailin’ Jennys solo album to not make the grade so far. I liked it though, and probably could’ve kept it but I knew someone who would enjoy it more than me and so passed it along.
• Steve Earle, “Terraplane” – Another “buy it on faith” album, but after this and “Colvin & Earle” the next Steve Earle album is getting vetted first. Sorry, Steve!
• Kills, “Ash & Ice” – Also bought on faith because I love the band. It was close, but I just see myself listening to one of the other four every time, so I let it go. Also, I know of a good home for it.
• Dido, “No Angel” – I bought this on a whim because it was in a bargain bin. I liked it, but just not enough to keep it.
• Sheryl Crow, “C’Mon, C’Mon” – this was a tough one because I love “Steve McQueen” and “Soak Up the Sun” but again, space is of a premium and I don’t see myself choosing this one over “Tuesday Night Music Club” when I want to hear Sheryl belt one out.

I also got rid of the two Beastie Boys albums that are instrumentals. I had previously reviewed “The Mix Up” and kept it, and hadn’t yet reviewed “The In Sound From Way Out” but when I reviewed “To the 5 Boroughs” I realized I wanted to hear the Beasties rap, and these albums didn’t provide that thrill so they are both gone.

In terms of overall reviews, Alice Cooper remains in top spot with 26 albums (two up from 100 albums ago), and Steve Earle stays in second place with 19 albums (two up as well). The third place tie between Tom Waits and Bob Dylan is broken in Dylan’s favour. Waits had a review, but Dylan had two, and now sits alone in third at 18 reviews.

Thanks for reading!

CD Odyssey: The first 900 albums

Another milestone achieved with my 900^th review on Tuesday. The next disc is a great one but before we get there, let’s take a look back.

I continue to mark pretty hard, , and it is mostly showing up in a reduction of five star albums, and a corresponding bump in four star albums. In the last 100 reviews I gave 39 albums three stars (up one from the previous 100) and 36 albums four stars (up 6).

Five star albums slipped for the third straight time, and a mere 4 albums achieved a perfect score. This is down 1 from the previous 100 and less than half of the 11 I awarded between discs 500 and 600. The reviews are random, so I’m either getting to be a harder marker or possibly a lot of those classic albums I’ve had in my collection for years have now been reviewed, so I am increasingly reliant on new music.

That wouldn’t explain my next review, though, which is going to be a five star album that I’ve only owned for a few months. That’s a teaser! For now, here are the four perfect scorers from discs 801 through 900:

• Lyle Lovett– Pontiac
• Bob Dylan – Oh Mercy
• Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out
•  Blue Oyster Cult – Secret Treaties

This is Blue Oyster Cult’s second consecutive five star review (they got on in the previous recap for “Fire of Unknown Origin.” What can I say? I like Blue Oyster Cult.

There was only a single one star album in the past 100, and that went to the half-baked abomination that was Neil Young’s “A Letter Home.” Here’s the full list of albums that were dismissed from the collection:

• Neil Young, “A Letter Home” – yech. Truly terrible.
• Neil Young, “America Stars ‘n’ Bars” – not terrible but just not worth keeping.
• Heart “Bad Animals” – I really like the hit (“Alone”) but not enough to keep the rest of the questionable material. Gone.
• Black Mountain “IV” – a very recent parting as I only bought this album in the last few weeks and just saw the accompanying tour as well. It just isn’t up to the level of their earlier releases though, and I’m going to end the relationship now rather than drag it out for years. I already regret buying the T-shirt at the swag table.

A bit of a bad run for Neil Young, I suppose.

The nineties still hold a slight edge in terms of the decade with the most albums at 223. The eighties are in second with 196 and the oughts and seventies are neck and neck at 185 and 181 discs reviewed respectively. As I buy more and more newly released music the ‘tens’ are making a bit of a surge; I’ve already reviewed 67,with 11 of those in the past 100.

In terms of overall reviews, Alice Cooper remains in top spot with 24 albums (up one from 100 albums ago), and Steve Earle stays in second place with 17 albums (up one as well). Third place is a two way tie between Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, each with 16 reviews.

On we go toward 1,000 reviews!

CD Odyssey: The First 800

Last night I wrote my 800^th review. As is tradition, I like to take a pause and look back with a quick overview when I reach these milestones.

The first thing I noticed this time is that I’ve become a slightly tougher marker in the last 100 reviews. There were once again 38 three star albums of the last 100, but four star albums slipped down to 30 (from 38 in the previous one hundred reviews).

Five star albums slipped yet again. Between reviews 501 and 600 there were 11 five star albums, and between 601 and 700 there were only 7. This time I am down to only 5 albums getting a perfect score. Here is the best of the best over the last 100:

·         Paul Simon – Graceland

·         Iron Maiden – Powerslave

·         Gang Starr – Step in the Arena

·         Blue Oyster Cult – Fire of Unknown Origin

·         K.D. Lang – Absolute Torch and Twang

I could’ve predicted four of these making it to five stars, but “Absolute Torch and Twang” was a nice surprise.

There were no zero or one star albums in the past 100, and I kind of missed writing a really nasty review (they are devilish good fun). Despite this, I still decided to part company with 5 albums. Three of these were two star albums:

• The Eurythmics’ “Be Yourself Tonight” was a late addition to my collection of their music, and a reminder that I don’t need to always be a completionist.
• Reviewing “Steal This Album” and “Toxicity” in close proximity made me realize I am never going to truly enjoy System of a Down. I am now going to stop trying.

More interestingly there were two albums that I graded out at three stars but still gave away when I realized I would probably never play them. Both the McGarrigle Sisters’ “Matapedia” and Mozart’s “Coronation Mass” impressed me critically, but didn’t make me want to keep listening. Sometimes a record can be good, but just not right for you. Both of these fit that category.

In terms of overall reviews, Alice Cooper remains in top spot with 23 albums (up one from 100 albums ago, and Steve Earle stays in second place with 16 albums (up two). Third place is a three way tie between Bob Dylan, Queen and Tom Waits, each with 15 reviews.

CD Odyssey: The First 700

As is tradition, I'm taking a quick pit-stop to take stock as I reach another milestone - 700 albums reviewed!

Three and four star albums continue to be the norm, with 38 records in each category. It is hardly surprising that a collection of my personal music would be slightly skewed toward the top.

That said, the number of five star albums is down, with only seven making the grade out of the last 100. Here is the best of the past 100:

• Alice Cooper - Love it to Death
• Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town
• Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
• Steve Earle - Guitar Town
• Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
• Body Count - Self Titled
• Dick Dale - Checkered Flag

Only one record scored the lowly 1 star, and that was shockingly an Alice Cooper album - the bizarre German import "Science Fiction."

I've been getting a bit more draconian in my willingness to get rid of albums lately. Although it pained me, "Science Fiction" was sold and so was Emily Haines' "Knives Don't Have Your Back." I managed to find more appreciative homes for three more records: Guru's "Jazzmatazz 3: Streetsoul," Bison BC's "Dark Ages" and Gordon Lightfoot's "Summer Side of Life" all got passed along to fellow music lovers.

Alice Cooper continues to lead in the total review category with 22, and Steve Earle has caught up to Tom Waits for second - I've reviewed 14 of each.

I think I may have even passed the halfway point of my journey somewhere along the way, although since I keep buying music it is hard to be sure. It doesn't matter where I'm at, only that I'm still enjoying the journey. I hope you are as well.

CD Odyssey: The First 600

As has become tradition, when I reach a milestone I do a quick summary - and 600 posts seems like a milestone to me.

If you don't like reading about milestones, then scroll down to see my 600th review, which is of a Blue Rodeo album.

In terms of highlights, 11 of the last 100 albums achieved five star ratings, which is about on pace for the whole Odyssey (once your sample size reaches a certain size, variations on percentages become rarer and rarer).  The recent standouts were:

Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever

Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back

Blue Oyster Cult - Spectres

Leonard Cohen - Songs

Blue Rodeo - Five Days in July

Leonard Cohen - Songs From a Room

Beck - Guero

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

REM - Automatic For The People

Johnny Cash - Live at San Quentin

Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister

If I could go back, I might drop Bowie down to four stars - I get a lot of those songs popping up on my MP3 player on random and I skip them more than I'd like to admit, but it could be you just need to hear that record in order to grok it in its fullness.

Two albums were sold. The first was Interpol's "Antics" which although it achieved two stars, just didn't grab me enough to stay in the collection.

The second was Frank Zappa's "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" which achieved one star, and I was likely being charitable. Fortunately I didn't give up on Zappa and I've since bought "Joe's Garage" and like it quite a bit.

In terms of most reviewed it is still the same three artists (Alice Cooper with 20, Tom Waits with 13 and Steve Earle with 12). Strangely, I haven't had a single review of any of these artists in the last 100 albums. KISS has caught up again to Steve Earle with 12 as well.

Now I'm off to randomly determine what album will be review number 601. Yeehaw!

CD Odyssey: The First 500

Five hundred posts!

As is my wont, I like to stop every hundred discs and take stock of how things are going. A little snapshot along the journey.  If you don't want a little snapshot, that's fine too - just scroll down and check out my 500th review, which is for Hawksley Workman's album "Lover/Fighter."

For those still with us, the past one hundred albums held true form with the majority of the albums achieving ratings of either three stars (37) or four stars (30).  Ten albums got rated with a full five stars, so if you're looking for the highlights here they are:

Indigo Girls - Self Titled
Steve Earle - Exit 0
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Mark Knopfler - Golden Heart
Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
Tom Waits - Mule Variations
Pearl Jam - Yield
Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
The Decemberists - The King is Dead
Kiss - Love Gun

Only one album achieved the lowly one star, and that was Radiohead's "Amnesiac."  Sheila said I could sell it, but it seemed wrong to break up the set, so I'm keeping it with a stern reminder to myself not to play it again for a long time.

I also gave away one album after I reviewed it, a collection of Charlie Parker songs.  Talented guy, but I just couldn't get into it, and I'm tired of pretending I can.

One hundred albums ago, Alice Cooper had the most reviews with 14, Tom Waits was second with 11 and Steve Earle and Queen were tied for third with 10.

Cooper has built on his lead, as I have now reviewed a whopping 20 of his albums.  Tom Waits is still second with 13 now and Steve Earle now sits alone in third with 12.  In case your wondering what I have a lot of in my collection, there's at least part of your answer.

CD Odyssey: The First 400

Three years ago I started this crazy project to listen to and review every one of my albums, and to not stop until I had gone through the entire collection.

Now, 400 CDs in and still not quite halfway, it is amazing how much in my life has changed since I started.  I've lost my job, and then found a new job.  I've paid off my mortgage.  We've lost both our cats (Othello and Inigo) and have a new one (Vizzini).

Oh, and shameless plug - I've written a novel.  If there are any agents out there, I could use some representation.  One thing you'll be able to count on is my dedication to finishing a project.

Percentages on what decade the albums come from continue to hold fairly steady, although there were slightly more seventies albums reviewed in the past 100 (21) than eighties or oughts (17 each).  The nineties continue to hold a commanding lead, which is odd, because I don't think of myself as being particularly fond of that decade for music.  Here are the current standings:

Sixties:  27
Seventies:  88
Eighties:  91
Nineties:  106
Oughts:  90
Tens:  8

Note that I had to add a new category as I began buying music from the current decade, although one of those was a Rachmaninoff symphony from the previous century.  I'm also up to six albums from the nineteenth century with some classical music.

One hundred albums ago, Alice Cooper and Tom Waits led the way with 9 reviews each.  Alice has taken the lead all by himself now with 14 reviews.  Tom holds onto second with 11.  Steve Earle and Queen are tied for third with 10 reviews.

Five star reviews are holding steady at about one every 9.5 albums or so.  In the last hundred albums twelve achieved that mark, including three by Bob Dylan.  The twelve five star reviews were:

Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
Queen - A Night At The Opera
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Townes Van Zandt - Self Titled
Led Zeppelin - IV
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Shins - Wincing The Night Away
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Great Big Sea - Up
Tom Petty - Wildflowers
Blue Oyster Cult - Some Enchanted Evening
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin'

Two albums achieved the lowly 1 star - Jully Black's Revival, and Rare Air's Space Piper.  A third album, the soundtrack to Natural Born Killers was the first record so truly awful it achieved the infamous 0 stars.  I sold Revival, but Natural Born Killers was protected by Sheila and Space Piper has too cool an album cover for me to part with.  I also sold Roger Watters' The Pros and Cons of Hitch-hiking.  I gave it 2 stars, but I just couldn't see myself putting it on and listening to it when this is all over, and that's what it's all about.

More albums to come, and may you always have a ready answer for when someone asks you 'what are you listening to these days?'

CD Odyssey: The First 300

Earlier this week, I hit 300 reviews, and as is traditional at this time, I'm posting a quick entry to take stock.

Earlier this month I also passed the second anniversary of starting the CD Odyssey. It has been a lot more fun this time, and more memorable thanks to putting some of my impressions down in print along the way.

As I noted in my 200 review summary, after a suitable sample size, percentages tend to hold even, and it becomes increasingly easy to predict final tallies. That being the case, I won't keep a running tally of all the various entries I've done before.

I will note that in terms of what decade most of my music is from, the battle remains too close to call (this can drive a politician crazy on election night, but it's fun for the purposes of the CD Odyssey). The standings at present are:

Seventies: 67
Eighties: 74
Nineties: 76
Oughts: 73

The nineties were ahead after 200 as well, but the gap has closed considerably, and I have no idea which decade will end up on top (although the seventies looks destined for 4th).

Alice Cooper and Tom Waits have seen the most reviews so far, with 9, and Queen is close behind with 8 (Queen led after 200). There is a logjam of acts with 6 albums reviewed, including Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Rush, Kiss, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath. That is one kick ass logjam of musicians, methinks.

Five star reviews have increased slightly, and are now roughly one in every 9.5 reviews, which I think is a bit high. Still, when I look at the list of those that have recieved a 5 in the past 100 reviews I can't argue:

The Who - Who's Next
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
Townes Van Zandt - Our Mother The Mountain
Dire Straits - Making Movies
The Clash - London Calling
Judas Priest - British Steel
Rush - Permanent Waves
Beethoven - Symphonies Nos 2 & 5
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
Stan Rogers - Northwest Passage

In that same period, two discs managed to get the much less desireable 1 star - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. I hated listening to these albums, but writing the reviews was devilish good fun.

At 300 discs, I think I'm roughly a third done, so it would seem I've got four more years of this - I wonder if blogging will have gone the way of myspace by that point? Or maybe CDs will be archaic technology by then, and I'll be having a problem getting my players serviced?

CD Odyssey: The First 200

It seems like only yesterday I started this thing, and here I am at the 200 disc summary milestone. This blog has rekindled my love of writing and I thank all of you for your encouragement - whether you've posted a comment, or just told me about something you liked in person.

I think I'll stick as close to possible as my review of the first 100 and see how that goes.

The musical spread is still pretty even over the four decades I've been alive. 100 discs ago, the eighties had a slim lead, but the nineties have made a strong showing and moved up the list. I just reviewed my first disc of the 2010s as well! Scroll down to read it - it should be just below this summary if this thing works the way it is supposed to. Anyway, here are the numbers frozen in time for posterity:

Seventies: 44
Eighties: 48
Nineties: 54
Oughts: 50

As before, with some soundtracks and best ofs straddling a decade, there may be some overlap.

In terms of ratings, here is where they stand now.

5/5: 19 albums
4/5: 65 albums
3/5: 63 albums
2/5: 37 albums
1/5: 3 albums
best of (not rateable): 13 albums

I'm still averaging one in ten albums at 5/5. There is a couple that I'd probably take down to 4/5 (like the Wailin' Jennys and Mark Knopfler's "Sailing To Philadelphia", but I'm sticking with my reaction at the time. Besides, it makes me more judicious knowing I can't change my mind later.

Last time around 2 albums had been sold as a result of low reviews, but I found some real crap this time - and actually had occasion to use the 1/5 rating 3 times this time around. Sadly, due to 'domestic considerations', I was only able to sell one of them (Elvis Costello). The other two continue to lurk on the CD racks, ready to strike at any moment from the darkness.

Overall, of the last 100 records, I've sold four more - Gordon Lightfoot's "Gord's Gold Vol II", Elvis Costello's "The Juliet Letters", Miles Davis' "Sketches of Spain" and Stan Rogers' "Turnaround". If you want to know why, read the reviews.

The Dice Gods continue to favour certain artists. Last time it was Kiss and Queen on top.

Queen still reigns with seven, but has some company with Tom Waits having had seven reviews of his own. Close behind is Alice Cooper with six.

Also noteable, Townes Van Zandt, Judas Priest, (the aforementioned) Kiss, Cypress Hill, Mark Knopfler and Rush all have four reviews.

And thanks for asking - still no Blue Oyster Cult. Maybe the dice are punishing me for complaining back at Disc 100. I choose to believe otherwise - obviously.

In terms of genre, Rock and Folk still dominate, which I don't see changing. Here's the top five after 100:

Rock: 73 albums
Folk: 56 albums
Pop: 37 albums
Metal: 20 albums
Country: 17 albums

Exact same order, and practically the same division as 100 records ago. If you're wondering how polls predict things, ladies and gentlemen - there you are.

Well - I now return you to regularly scheduled programming. I shall return with Disc 201, and we'll keep plugging away and do this thing.

CD Odyssey: The First 100

I started the CD Odyssey in earnest in July of 2009. With today's Stan Rogers review, I've officially reviewed my first 100 albums.

For posterity, I think it'll be fun to celebrate each such milestone along the way with a quick recap of where I'm at.

I've certainly learned that I like music spread pretty evenly over the last four decades. I've reviewed only one record with music from the forties and fifties (and one from the 19th century - thank you Tchaikovsky). I've done another six from the sixties. The rest breakdown as follows:

Seventies: 22
Eighties: 30
Nineties: 25
Oughts: 21

Due to soundtracks and best ofs, there is some crossover, so don't worry your pretty little head as to why the numbers don't add up.

In terms of ratings, here is where they stand now. I have gone back and removed double-tagging in the ratings, since really, that's just cheating. Pick a number and stick with it, Logan!

5/5: 10 albums
4/5: 34 albums
3/5: 29 albums
2/5: 20 albums
best of (not rateable): 7 albums

One in ten albums rating a 5/5 seems a bit high to me, but I guess this is my music, so I am going to like it more. Of the 20 albums that receive a 2/5, two of them have been sold (Primus and the Honeymoon In Vegas Soundtrack).

I've found that generally speaking, the dice have been pretty random, and no single section of the collection has been over-reviewed. That said, a few artists seem to be particularly popular with the Dice Gods:

Kiss and Queen lead the way with 4 albums each.

Close behind are Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt and Judas Priest with 3 each.

Shockingly, despite owning 15 Blue Oyster Cult albums, I've yet to roll a single one of them. Throw me a freakin' bone, here!

In terms of genre, it is thus far a battle between Rock and Folk. This is hardly surprising - I've fallen hard for both those temptresses over the years. Here's the top five after 100:

Rock: 36 albums
Folk: 32 albums
Pop: 14 albums
Metal: 11 albums
Country: 11 albums

Again, there is some crossover in genres, so once again, don't pop a blood vessel trying to make the numbers add up. They are for "illustrative purposes only".

I'm looking forward to the next 100 albums - what will be next? Bring me my dice and let's find out!