On this page I review the albums I consider the best for each month, starting in January 2026. I’m not discussing new releases in the market, though it can happen, but new releases in my collection. That means that the albums discussed here can be from any period of time.
New album reviews appear on top of this page, so scroll down to see earlier reviews. Images are included as well, in the same way as elsewhere on this website. There’s no connection with the Philips label intended, but if a link can be made, I will do so. Have fun!
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May 2026: (1) Yusef Lateef – Psychicemotus, (2) Gabor Szabo – Spellbinder
(Psychicemotus: Impulse A-92, 1966, USA, gatefold cover)
(Spellbinder: Impulse/Verve Vault A-9123, 1966/reissue 2026, EU, gatefold cover)
In May 2026, the world lost one of its great jazz musicians and saxophone players: Sonny Rollins (Sept. 7, 1930 – May 25, 2026). Sonny Rollins definitely was one of my favorite jazz artists, especially for the “Way Out West” album, but his other albums, for as far as I know them are cherished and appreciated very much as well. May you RIP!
By way of an exception, I chose two albums of the month and coincidentally both were originally issued on Impulse in 1966. The reason for choosing two albums is that one of the albums, the Yusef Lateef album (an original Impulse promo pressing in mono), has been in my collection for several years but could never be played because of heat damage. Until now, that is. Though the album is of varying interest, the fact that I can play it, is quite sensational, IMO, and I have to thank the makers of the Pro-ject flattener for that. Some four or five years ago I took the album to a record store (Recordfriend in Amsterdam), which offered a flattening service for their customers. The man in service, who looked like a guru, saw the album and gave it back to me immediately, saying that nothing could be done about it. I got the feeling he judged me for being such an amateur to even ask. I never threw away the album, as it was a rare original, but I had no idea what to do with it. Last month I bought the Pro-ject “Flatten It” and the Yusef Lateef album was one that came to mind immediately. Because of the guru, whose message I took seriously, I had no hopes for any good results, but of course, I felt like giving it a try. Guess what happened… after the flattening treatment the album wasn’t only flat, it also played superb, with no audible traces left of the heat damage. This was not expected in any way and I found it to be quite sensational, like I said. I don’t think I will always be that happy as heat damage will usually result in problems that can’t be solved, depending on how severe the damage is, f.i. how long it has been exposed to a heat source, but this felt like a miracle. On top of that, the album also appeared to sound extremely well.
“Now, what kind of guru are you anyway?” (Frank Zappa)
OK, back to normal now… May wasn’t a big spending month for records (it was the flattener!) and to pick the record of the month was difficult this time because of the small amount of options to chose from! I could’ve chosen “Band On The Run” by Paul McCartney & Wings or “Together Again” by the Four Brothers (a jazz album) or the Analogue reissue of Bo Diddley’s first album (self-titled, Chess LP 1431). All fine albums but my first choice was “Spellbinder” by Gabor Szabo. Szabo was a Hungarian jazz guitar player who moved to the US in 1956, when he was around 20 years of age. He got much of his education there and what followed was a rich career, abruptly ended by his untimely death at the age of 45. He started the Skye Records label in 1968, with Gary McFarland and Cal Tjader. The first album by Gabor Szabo that I came to know was “Dreams“, originally released on Skye in 1968; a great atmospheric album with Hungarian influences. Then I acquired an original mono promo copy of “Simpático” on Impulse (with Gary McFarland), which was a bit of a disapointment (it’s a vocal pop album), and then this month I bought “Spellbinder”, a reissue of his first true solo album, also originally released on Impulse (1966). It’s a good sounding album, issued in the new Verve Vault series, and musically much closer to “Dreams” than to “Simpático”, which is a good thing, as you will understand. The tunes are simple but effective, with one vocal track, a cover of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”, originally done by Cher (and written by Sonny Bono, of Sonny & Cher fame). Another tune, “Gypsy Queen”, was made famous by Santana in 1977. Szabo had a style all of his own, characterized by hypnotic grooves and a matching guitar technique and tone (on an DeArmond amplified acoustic guitar). In the band are Chico Hamilton (drums), Ron Carter (bass) and Victor Pantoja and Willie Bobo (both on percussion). Except for Victor Pantoja, these gentlemen had all releases under their own names as well. Gabor Szabo can be found on a few Chico Hamilton LP’s on Impulse. See for instance “Man From Two Worlds” or “Chic Chic Chico“.
April 2026: Volker Kriegel – Inside: Missing Link
(MPS/BASF 33 21431-1, 1972, made in Germany, gatefold cover with built-in page)
Because of the record convention in Den Bosch, on April 10-12, it was an interesting month for buying records. I went to Den Bosch twice, on Friday and on Sunday, avoiding the crowdy Saturday. As usual, it was overwhelming, but not in a way that kept me from finding anything of interest. On the contrary, and to pick the most interesting album from the loot for April’s album of the month, was a challenge. Volkel Kriegel’s “Inside: The Missing Link” was chosen in the end, because of its appealing and varying complexity. Also worth mentioning: it’s a very good sounding album as well, a double album actually.
The title of this album refers to the attempt that was made to create the ‘missing link’ between the European jazz scene and the rock music scene of the late 60’s and early 70’s. I didn’t know the album, nor the artist and bought it on good luck, but it appears to be considered a masterpiece, creating an innovative fusion of genres, made with top musicians of the day. I call it prog-jazz.
I wondered if this album was still available as a reissue of some sort, and it is. In 2023 MPS reissued it on vinyl and there are some CD reissues on the market as well.
Other albums of interest, purchased at the record convention, are “Way Out West” by Sonny Rollins (Contemporary; 1950’s US pressing, but the cover is missing), “Holiday In Brazil” by Bud Shank, “In The Right Place” by Dr. John (Analogue Productions) and “Blood On The Tracks” by Bob Dylan (CBS).
Note: as with the Gentle Giant album, the reds of the labels were again hard to scan properly…
March 2026: Status Quo – Blue For You
(Vertigo 6360 128, 1976, made in Italy, single slip cover, no inserts)
I never realized how uplifting a good Status Quo boogie could be until I heard this 1976 album. Sure, I was charmed by what I owned of this band – not too much, two other albums actually (“Quo” and “On The Level“), but this one really hit me. It can be considered as the last album of the original Quo boogie area, which started with “Ma Kelly’s Greasy Spoon” in 1970. The “Frantic Four” appear to be fading away in people’s musical interests, but I guess this isn’t correct as this band could play those relatively simple hard rock boogies with great conviction and fire. With one foot in the rock & roll days of the past and the other firmly planted in the 1970’s, it could still appeal to many younger listeners, if only they were aware. Status Quo has their own space in the 1970’s rock history and should be appreciated much more for that.
The “Blue For You” pressing that I have, was made in Italy, and appears to be intended for the Dutch market. It’s a simple reissue, no gatefold and no lyrics innersleeve as with other pressings, though the innersleeve could have been lost. The sound is rather good, though one shouldn’t have audiophile expectations from any of this band’s recordings. Maybe a modern analogue treatment could do miracles, but I guess the time isn’t right for that yet. In the meantime I will buy more “Blue For You” pressings whenever I find them friendly priced, to see if some sonic improvements can be made.
February 2026: Gentle Giant – Octopus
(Columbia 32022, 1972/7?, made in the USA, single slip cover, no inserts)
“Octopus” by Gentle Giant is a masterpiece of progressive rock, blending intricate, polyphonic complexity with folk and classical influences. I already owned a recent reissue of this album (on Alucard) and the one featured here is an older American reissue, which I bought to compare the sound quality. It has a completely different cover, not half a as beautiful as the original European cover (by Roger Dean). For some reason I’m not always completely satisfied with the sound of Gentle Giant’s albums. I prefer the US album of “Octopus” above the Alucard reissue, as it appears to be more in balance, with slightly brighter sounding vocals. Steven Wilson worked on many of Gentle Giant’s albums, often improving on the sound quality, but for some reason he was not involved with the recent Alucard reissue of “Octopus”, even though his name is mentioned on the inside of the gatefold cover. Steven Wilson is working in the digital domain and though I appreciate the results, I would definitely welcome a true analog reissue program for essential Gentle Giant albums like the one reviewed here, “Free Hand” and “The Power And The Glory“.
Note: the reds of the labels were hard to scan properly, I’ll have to work on that one day…
January 2026: Dixie Dregs – Unsung Heroes
(Arista 203 630, 1981, made in Germany, single slip cover with printed innersleeve)
The first album of the month is “Unsung Heroes” by the Dixie Dregs, from 1981. I already owned the first two solo albums by guitarist Steve Morse and especially the first (“The Introduction”, 1984) is one of my favorite instrumental albums (the second, that I have on CD, has several vocal tracks as well). It was about time to dive deeper in this man’s discography. The Dixie Dregs was the band Morse played in prior to his solo career, though the group reunited in the late 1980’s with new recordings made between 1992 and 2000. It appears they still perform. “Unsung Heroes” is a virtuoso instrumental album that showcases the band’s peak musicianship, combining jazz rock, rock, classical, and more. I love to hear songs like “Cruise Control”, “Divided We Stand”and “I’ll Just Pick”, to name just a few. Pretty much unbelievable what these gentlemen achieve here. In January I also bought “Night Of The Living Dregs” (1979) which is equally interesting. Their other albums are on my want list now.
The covers for the Dixie Dregs albums leave much to be desired. Most are pretty ugly. The front cover presented here, made me think of the “Alarma” album by Daniel Amos (New Pax NP33095, 1981), which I have in my collection since my early days of collecting. On the Daniel Amos album, instead of blurred mouths, the eyes are blurred, as can be seen in the scan.
Also worth mentioning are both “cartoon cover” albums by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band (“The Impossible Dream” and “Tomorrow Belongs To Me“), which I bought this month as well. Choices needed to be made, but these are great albums as well.