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The Rotation, #44

stack of lp records close up

William Shatner: THE TRANSFORMED MAN (1968)

I kinda don’t care what kind of man Shatner is. I enjoy the wry wink that comes with all his albums. The classical theatre interpretations here are the strongest pieces on the record, versus the interpretation of then-contemporary popular songs. When I watched TOS several years ago I came away from it thinking that Shatner has always been an actor with a lot of talent, but he chooses to do too much with his delivery and “Shatner’s-it-up.” If he’d done less with his deliveries he may have had a much different career known for more than his ego and Captain Kirk.

Collected Tracks

  • N/A

Willie Nelson: TEXAS IN MY SOUL (1968)*

Collected Tracks

  • Who Put All My Ex’s in Texas

Willie Nelson: GOOD TIMES (1968)*

You’d think that an album titled “Good Times” wouldn’t have so many sad songs on it.

Collected Tracks

  • N/A

Wilson Pickett: IN PHILADELPHIA (1970)*

And now, for something completely different, and much appreciated.

Collected Tracks

  • Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You
  • International Playboy

The Wombats: GLITTERBUG (2015)*

Not as much fun as previous Wombats records. I feel the ryeness of the lyrics got lost in the flashy production.

Collected Tracks

  • Greek Tragedy
  • Be Your Shadow
  • The English Summer
What is The Rotation?

The primary way I build my digital music collection is by maintaining a playlist called, “The Rotation.” On this list, I load albums of artists I’m interested in hearing; mostly new-to-me artists or albums. Because I need some organizational principle to conduct this survey, I go by the alphabetical listing of the artist. I typically move from earlier records to later records, although there are exceptions. If I’m excited to hear a new album by a favorite artist I’ll add it in an apparent random placement to hear it sooner than later. From this list I’ll select tracks to add to my collection. It’s rare that I DNF a record, and uncommon for me to not select a single track from it. I’ve been doing this for a while and am currently on my 9th trip around the alphabet. Above are the albums heard in a given session and what thoughts, if any, I have about them. These are mostly first impressions, so don’t expect in-depth analysis.


Asterisks (*) after the album title indicate that it is a new-to-me record.

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