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The Glen Williams Music Review

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Welcome back to Let It Spin! For those of you who haven't visited here before, LIS is my review site concerning some of the great music out there. The music you see here is not the newest music, and is not necesarrily of any particular genre. On a typical visit to LIS, the featured reviews might include jazz, folk, punk, trip-hop, and alternative, just to name a few examples. My musical taste covers a broad range of styles, and my reviews will tend to reflect this.

Every CD reviewed in LIS is part of my private collection. This means that I have to make some pretty interesting admissions, like admitting that I actually own a copy of 12 Inches of Snow, Snow's premiere album. Yeah. But relax, it was a cut-out CD. It's not like I paid sixteen bucks for the thing.

Every new issue of LIS will have at least five featured reviews. The featured reviews are listed alphabetically by the performer's last name or the band's name. Movie soundtracks are listed by title. Most of these CDs are available at CDnow, and I try to provide a URL for those that aren't. Some CDs -- like cut-outs -- will not have any purchasing information. This is because they are most likely out of print, although some independent releases are not available through the web or through ordinary outlets. For cut-outs which are not in print, I can provide no information. For independent releases, if I don't provide any purchasing information, it means that I have no idea how to get a copy of the CD. It might have been a local band that stopped playing together, or it might be that I have fallen out of touch with my source. If you can provide information on how to obtain copies of these CDs, then please let me know.

This leads us to another category of CD. Some CDs are listed as "Scarce." This means that the CD might be out of print, but I have no way of finding out. It is unavailable at CDnow, but the label may not distribute through CDnow. An example of this is Brent Spiner's Old Yellow Eyes is Back, in which the Trek cast member sings standards like "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and "Marie." I have reviewed this album, but I could not find a source for it anywhere. Neither CDnow nor any of the multitude of Sci-Fi dealers on the web can provide it, and I have no way of knowing if it is out of print currently or not. Again, if you have any information regarding CDs of this nature, e-mail me at kallisti@slac.com and let me know.

Let It Spin uses a star system to rate albums. I know, original, isn't it? The highest rating is four stars and the lowest is no stars. The system translates thus:

  • **** - Four Stars. An essential album. Buy it now.
  • *** - Three Stars. A very good album. If you have the money, go for it.
  • ** - Two Stars. This album has some redeeming qualities, but it's not particularly good. Buy it if there's nothing else in the store.
  • * - One Star. You're better off getting a single or a compilation. Ignore it.
  • No Stars. Kill it before it spreads!

To see the system in action you can check out the Featured Reviews.

The reviews are also archived. From here, you can go to the Past Featured Reviews.

"Let It Spin" is the property of Glen Williams and content may be reproduced only with permission. To obtain permission, comment on reviews, or file a complaint, e-mail Glen Williams at his address, kallisti@slac.com.