Lost In A Lover's Dream – Georgie Fame – Half standards, half new stuff, the great English singer and piano player is in full jazz momentum with just bass and guitar to accompany him, this is actually a singers album and Fame has always been a fine one. The songs are calmly love sophisticates, "Wide Eyed And Legless" so more than "Blossom" – Grade: A-
No Color – The Dobbs – West Coast experimental boys use heavy polyrhythms and obtuse song constructions and winding melodies on a brace of pop songs that repay close attention with tunes you can humm in the shower – Grade: B
Christmas In The Sand – Colbie Caillat – The seasonal album to beat, the great Caillat makes her case for a Christmas season where Santa hangs five and gets wiped out. All four originals are wonderful, all the roasted chestnuts are beatific and lovely – Grade: B+
Blak And Blu – Gary Clark Jr – Yes, the "Third Rock From The Sun" tips its hat in Jimi's general direction, and proves he is comfortable enough anywhere and still smart enough not to be married to the 1960s blues where he obviously excels. Yes, comfortable – Grade: B+
Live At The Bowl 68 – The Doors – Three albums in two years later, Morrisson was just beginning to get too heavy into drugs and therefore it was up to Manzarek to overindulge his fucking keyboards which won't shut up. And the poetry sucked even then – Grade: B-
Dethalbum III – Metalocalypse: Dethklok – without researching it, I assumed this was a "Spinal Tap" like satire on Death Metal. Actually, it is a virtual band based on a cartoon character – Whatever – Grade: C+
Hello My Name Is… Bridgit Mendler – Modern Disney pop fodder, the youth of America deserves better than this. Emanuel "Eman" Kiriakou is here but there is no "Who Says" around, instead this is self-consciously important twaddle with crappy lyrics by Bridgit herself. I didn't hate the "Lemonade Mouth" soundtrack but that doesn't mean everybody on it needs their own album – Grade: C-
good kid, m.a.a.d. city – Kendrick Lamarr – West Coast guy, straight outta Compton, about to hit it big ten years into his career. The song with Drake is really good, the rest is OK mood rap. But Compton have given us better – Grade: B
Banks – Paul Banks – Not bad modern folk, repays close listening with splendid small gems. So listen closely because only on the second track does he mine his band hard – Grade: B
Viva Duets – Tony Bennett – You could do much worse. Look at it this way: Bennett can still sing the standards at the Spanish duets are not to carry him but to sell what we already own – Grade: B
We Don't Even Live Here – P.O.S. – "Fuck Your Stuff" is a ridiculously great rap song, best since Killer Mike's "Rap Music", and it is just the beginning on this excellent hip hop hard hitter from the Minnesota native. And neighbor Justin Vernon is brilliant on the chorus of "How We Land" and between the #2 and #3 track, you will be seriously hooked – Grade: B+