Music Log

A chronological listing of my music reviews.

2024

Hippopotamus Sparks

9/10
After Exotic Creatures Sparks kinda disappeared into collaborations, Swedish operas, and Hollywood musicals. Six or seven years later they... more

Paura: A Collection of Italian Horror Sounds from the CAM Sugar Archive Various Artists

9/10
This is an excellent and diverse compilation of music from various (mostly) 70s horror films and thrillers. There are... more

2020

Pink Pistachio Candy Pebbles, The

8/10
The band has certainly gotten much more proficient since those early Planet Pimp singles. The formula remains the same:... more

Mind Hive Wire

8/10
Wire has been on autopilot since their 2015 self-titled release. There’s nothing wrong with the records, just none of... more

2018

Strictly Instrumental Vol. 4 Various Artists

7/10
A collection of 50s and 60s rock and roll instrumentals from Buffalo Bop. At times a little bit Link... more

Strummin’ Mental Part One Various Artists

8/10
The first Strummin’ Mental CD compiles thirty or so surfy guitar instrumentals from the early 60s. The aesthetic here is raw,... more

2017

Una Farfalla Con Le Ali Insanguinate Gianni Ferrio

6/10
I bought this knowing neither the composer nor the movie. It was cheap and had an interesting cover… never... more

Ecologia Del Delitto / Gli Orrori Del Castello Di Norimberga / Cani Arrabbiati Stelvio Cipriani

7/10
This is a double CD set of Mario Bava soundtracks. Cipriani’s work is a little corny at times. To... more

Les Cauchemars Naissent La Nuit – Nightmares Come At Night Bruno Nicolai

8/10
Bruno Nicolai is often cited as Ennio Morricone’s conductor for many of his soundtracks. I get the feeling that... more

I Malamondo / La Tarantola Dal Ventre Nero Ennio Morricone

7/10
I originally bought this dual soundtrack CD because I wanted the music from La Tarantola Dal Ventre Nero. That soundtrack is... more

Escalation Ennio Morricone

8/10
There is a lot of variety on this soundtrack. It feels similar to the excellent Danger: Diabolik score. But, unlike that... more

La Tarantola Dal Ventre Nero Ennio Morricone

8/10
Although it contains two fantastic easy-beat Edda Dell’Orso songs, most of this is standard giallo experimentation. I also have... more

Spasmo Ennio Morricone

8/10
Another solid giallo score from Morricone. There are three main themes here: “Bambole”, “Spasmo”, and “Stress Infinito”. The first... more

Every Man Got Dreaming Sandoz

8/10
When not using the Sandoz moniker to make intense dub reggae albums, Richard H. Kirk’s side project sounds much... more

Senza Sapere Niente Di Lei Ennio Morricone

7/10
This is hardly the most memorable Morricone soundtrack. It’s a bit repetitive and lacking in hooks, but it provides... more

L’Ultimo Uomo Di Sara Ennio Morricone

8/10
The opening title track is a dull, schmaltzy pop song, but once you’re past that it ramps up into... more

Metti, Una Sera A Cena Ennio Morricone

10/10
I know I say this about every Morricone record I own, but seriously, this is one of his absolute... more

Indagine Su Un Cittadino Al Di Sopra Di Ogni Sospetto Ennio Morricone

10/10
In my mind, this ranks up there with The Good, The Bad and The Ugly as one of Morricone’s most memorable... more

Quattro Mosche Di Velluto Grigio Ennio Morricone

10/10
I forgot how much I liked this score. I tend to only remember the prog-rockish opening number because it... more

L’Uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo Ennio Morricone

10/10
Morricone’s subsequent Giallo soundtracks would rely heavily on improvisational and experimental music. However, this one retains quite a bit... more

Veruschka Ennio Morricone

10/10
As far as easy-listening Morricone goes, this is one of his best. There are hints of bossa nova, echo-y... more

La Califfa Ennio Morricone

10/10
For a brief period, this CD was my holy grail of Morricone soundtracks. I took to eBay in search... more

Il Poliziotto Della Brigata Criminale Ennio Morricone

9/10
I finally bought this CD after being nagged by my Discogs.com wishlist alert for months. I shouldn’t have waited... more

I Figli Chiedono Perché Ennio Morricone

10/10
Don’t be dissuaded by the fact that all the tracks lest one are titled, “I Bambini Ci Chiedono Perche.”... more

Giornata Nera Per L’Ariete Ennio Morricone

9/10
Although this disc is part of the Crime box set, the music here is very much in the vein of Morricone’s... more

Gli Intoccabili Ennio Morricone

7/10
Gli Intoccabili opens with the tense and pounding, “Ballad of Hank McCain.” It’s reprised three more times on the record... more

Revolver Ennio Morricone

10/10
One of three discs included on the Crime box set of Poliziotteschi soundtracks. The highlight of the soundtrack is the nine minute long “Revolver.”... more

Gli Occhi Freddi Della Paura Ennio Morricone

8/10
The final CD from the Fear box set is pure experimental improvisation. There isn’t much method to this madness, just jazzy noise,... more

Il Gatto A Nove Code Ennio Morricone

9/10
With the exception of the title song, “Ninna Nanna In Blu,” all of the tracks on this CD are... more

Una Lucertola Con La Pelle Di Donna Ennio Morricone

10/10
This was perhaps one of the first non-Spaghetti Western Morricone soundtrack that I discovered and it remains one of... more

Slalom Ennio Morricone

7/10
I like this soundtrack well enough, but it doesn’t have any of the jazzy or avant-garde elements of my... more

Le Foto Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene Ennio Morricone

10/10
Another great soundtrack from the Maestro box set. This one is a split between easy listening bossa numbers and avante garde... more

La Donna Invisibile Ennio Morricone

10/10
A very mellow, bossa nova tinged soundtrack from a film I’ve never seen. It includes the fantastic “La Moda” which... more

2016

The Horror Films Collections, Volume 2 Various Artists

9/10
This compilation covers Italian films from the early Seventies all the way to 1991’s Hobgoblin and features compositions from a wide... more

The Legendary Italian Westerns Ennio Morricone

10/10
This was a very important CD in the development of my musical tastes. It was the starting point of my love... more

Sing-A-Longs And Lullabies For The Film Curious George Jack Johnson and Friends

1/10
Horribly boring acoustic guitar music that’s sure to appeal middle-aged mommy bloggers and other deranged psychopaths. For whatever reason,... more

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newly

8/10
Well, Gene Wilder died a this week so it’s fitting that the next CD in my queue would be... more

Vertigo Hermann, Bernard

6/10
In my limited listening experience, all Bernard Hermann scores sound pretty much the same. I got this mostly based... more

Terminal City Ricochet Various Artists

7/10
Like any compilation, there will be a range of quality in the songs. Most of the tracks that I... more

Star Wars: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack John Williams

7/10
Star Wars kinda soured on me in the early 00’s. Yeah, the prequels sucked, but even worse for me was... more

Pulp Fiction Various Artists

7/10
By 1994, having become bored with most of indie rock I had been listening to as a college student,... more

2015

The Prisoner Various Artists

10/10
An absolutely fantastic collection of themes and incidental music from the sixties cult T.V. show, The Prisoner. I use this... more

Planet of the Apes Jerry Goldsmith

8/10
There are lots of echoes and percussive bursts that elevate this mostly run-of-the-mill film score. It’s the appropriate music... more

Naked Lunch Various Artists

7/10
I tried very hard to like the book Naked Lunch. All the cool kids thought it was just the bee’s... more

Midnight Express Giorgio Moroder

6/10
It’s hard to believe that this soundtrack won the Oscar for original score in 1979. Other than the disco... more

Lolita Nelson Riddle

9/10
Although a couple of the pieces on this soundtrack recording sound like they came straight from The Donna Reed Show,... more

The Iron Giant Various Artists

10/10
Although it contains two selections from Michael Kamen’s score, this is mostly a collection of songs featured in the... more

Forbidden Planet Barron, Louis and Bebe

6/10
This is a weird album. It is considered to be one of, if the the first record comprised entirely... more

Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Original Cast Recording Various Artists

7/10
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the greatest musical about a statutory rapist since Subway! The Musical. I saw the off... more

Batman Prince

3/10
I think I liked the “Batdance” video on MTV back when this came out. Maybe I was just caught... more

Apocalypse Now Coppola, Carmine and Francis Coppola

9/10
Not so much a soundtrack as it is an abridged version of the movie that you can listen along... more

1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) Eurythmics

9/10
Although technically speaking this is a soundtrack, I don’t think any of these songs made it into the film 1984.... more

At Home With Satan’s Pilgrims Satan's Pilgrims

7/10
Competent and straightforward surf music from this Portland group. This record isn’t the most exciting stuff this band has... more

Big City After Dark: Missing Links Volume 2 Link Wray

9/10
Discogs.com has been nagging me for months that this was available for cheap from a number of resellers and... more

Field / Noise Zebras

8/10
This is a limited issue, three track CD I picked up at a Zebras show. The songs are unlabeled... more

Parasitic Clones Under The Strong Arm Of The Robotic Machine Zebras

7/10
This is some nice Wisconsin spaz-rock that, with it’s Devo inspired hard-rock sound, fits in nicely alongside The Polysics.

C’est Chic! Various Artists

9/10
Another great 60’s girl group compilation from Ace Records. I think I like the Italian girl singers CD a tad bit... more

Back from the Grave Volume 9 Various Artists

7/10
The Back from the Grave series seeks to uncover raw sixties garage rock that has a punk-rock sensibility. It’s been well... more

The Meadowlands Wrens, The

8/10
I got this CD as a gift from my brother several years ago. I understand why he got it... more

Ciao Bella! Various Artists

9/10
A fantastic compilation 60’s girl-pop songs from Italy. The highlight of the CD is the opening track “Baluba Shake.”... more

Absolute Polysics Polysics

9/10
Absolute Polysics is Polysics at their spazziest. It was pretty jarring a first but I have come to like this record quite... more

We Ate the Machine Polysics

8/10
Polysics were another band (along with Lolita #18, Spoozys, Mummy the Peepshow, and Number Girl) that I saw at the excellent... more

Walkin’ with Link Link Wray

10/10
This CD compiles Link’s early sixties recordings on Epic records. Half the tracks are unreleased versions of songs including... more

Rumble! The Best of Link Wray Link Wray

10/10
Rhino knows how to create an excellent compilation and they have done it again her with this Link Wray... more

Streets of Chicago: Missing Links Vol. 4 Link Wray

10/10
Unlike Volume 1, which focused on a more rockabilly and countrified Link, this compilation of rarities is full on chains... more

Whore: Various Artists Play Wire Various Artists

6/10
Tribute/cover albums are a hit or miss. My liking of a track can unfairly depend on two things: first,... more

Change Becomes Us Wire

10/10
For this record the band finished recording songs that they had been writing back when they broke-up in the... more

Strays Wire

9/10
I got this CD as a bonus from ordering Red Barked Tree directly from Wire mail order. The disc opens with... more

Red Barked Tree Wire

10/10
It took a while warm up to this record. Not nearly as aggressive sounding as the most of post-2000’s... more

Object 47 Wire

8/10
While it starts out on a high note with “One of Us,” Object 47 doesn’t quite live up to the promise... more

Read & Burn 03 Wire

10/10
The third Read & Burn EP is the best of the lot. The band has moved beyond simply revisiting their punk... more

Send Wire

9/10
Send compiles seven of its eleven tracks from the first two Read & Burn EPs. Of the remaining four new songs, only... more

Read & Burn 02 Wire

9/10
The second in Wire’s 2000’s comeback EPs is slightly better than the first but generally it’s really just a... more

2014

Read & Burn 01 Wire

9/10
In 2002 Wire returned after over a decade of dormancy and once again they have changed their musical focus.... more

Coatings Wire

8/10
Coatings compiles outtakes and alternate mixes of songs from The Ideal Copy and A Bell Is a Cup… with a few Manscape outtakes. For the most... more

Manscape Wire

7/10
The final record of their mid-eighties incarnation has Wire drifting even closer to New Order territory. It’s taken me... more

It’s Beginning to and Back Again Wire

8/10
This is a weird little release that contains alternative versions of many of the songs from A Bell Is a... more

A Bell Is a Cup Until it Is Struck Wire

10/10
Wire continues its slide towards mid-eighties dance music with this collection of songs. There’s a dreamy, goth-y quality to... more

The Ideal Copy Wire

10/10
After 154, Colin Newman picked up where 154 left off with A–Z and Graham Lewis went the experimental route and formed the almost unlistenable... more

Chairs Missing Wire

10/10
Of all the Wire releases, this one is my favorite. The music ranges from dreamy (“French Film Blurred”) to punky... more

Pink Flag Wire

10/10
Wire’s first album is the one that all my punk rock friends consider their best. For me, it’s a... more

Wendy and Lisa Wendy and Lisa

4/10
This is another one of those CDs in my collection that I bought because I wanted to buy something while I... more

Pure Guava Ween

8/10
This was my introduction to Ween. At the time I thought of them as They Might Be Giants with... more

The Pod Ween

7/10
The record is what happens when a band comprised of talented stoners is tasked with creating an LP’s worth... more

The Best of the Waitresses Waitresses, The

10/10
“I Know What Boys Like” was a personal new wave favorite for me as a kid. It was featured... more

Greatest Hits Ventures, The

3/10
I bought this from a bargain bin at either Best Buy or some other big box retailer thinking that... more

VU Velvet Underground, The

7/10
Another one of my wife’s CDs. I’ve never been much of a fan of this band but here, upon... more

Anthology Vapors, The

10/10
This is basically a CD repackaging of New Clear Days with about a third of the songs from Magnets. The Vapors are... more

Fear of a Punk Planet Vandals, The

4/10
I remember being pretty excited when I bought this CD. I loved the earliest Vandals records and finally being... more

Peace Thru Vandalism / When In Rome Vandals, The

9/10
As a kid growing up in Central Illinois Peace Thru Vandalism was one the first “punk rock” records I ever heard.... more

Major Chaos! Untamed Youth, The

9/10
This is a great collection of rarities from The Untamed Youth that I was hesitant to buy for a... more

At The Fabulous El Morocco Lounge Untamed Youth, The

7/10
This is far from the best starting point if you want to listen to The Untamed Youth. It’s a... more

Labour of Love UB40

5/10
Okay, I’ll give them credit for having the balls to misspell “labor” in their record title (USA! USA! USA!),... more

Replicas Tubeway Army

9/10
After having owned and loved The Pleasure Principle for years, I finally expanded my Gary Numan collection with this CD. Numan... more

Horsepower Triple Whip

8/10
What do you do when your guitarist/singer packs up and leaves town? You soldier on as an instrumental bass... more

Snake Creeps Down Triple Whip

8/10
This Champaign-Urbana trio was the first band with which Nonagon ever played a show. The songs are very much... more

Come Spy With Us Various Artists

10/10
This is a great compilation of mostly 60’s era spy movie theme songs (and a few T.V. series themes... more

Trio Trio

10/10
This was a weird import CD when I got it and it turns out there are about two dozen... more

The Great Lost Trashmen Album! Trashmen, The

9/10
Another fine collection of Trashmen recordings. Not much to add here except that these were all previously unreleased and... more

Tube City! The Best of the Trashmen! Trashmen, The

9/10
The Trashmen were a standout band from the surf era known mostly for their hit, “Surfin’ Bird.” That single... more