Xgau Sez: February, 2026

Some health notes, Bird: still lives, the live Dead, the A shelves explained, reissues not reevaluated, and some faves.

Hello Mr. Christgau. Are you alright? It’s been more than a month now since your last post. Regards — Martin Moeller, Vejle, Denmark

I am now officially and more or less completely recovered from prostate aquablation, a notoriously slow-healing procedure for old men with enlarged prostates which as I understand it is seldom cancer-related and definitely isn’t in my case.

Hi there, I hope this finds you both well. My question is very slightly time-sensitive but I’m aware it might too closely resemble work, in which case please ignore it. I’m not asking you to do my research for me. I enjoy listening to jazz but I’m not knowledgeable. Davis and Coltrane, both of whom I love, have releases for Record Store Day: The New Sounds, From Bebop to Blue, and Lady Be Good: Live in Europe with the Birdland All-Stars (for the former); and From Form to Spirit, and France 1965: The Complete Concerts (for the latter). There’s no way I can afford all of these, but of those you’re familiar with (assuming you are), could I ask which ones might represent the wisest investment? — Fred Hodson, Ipswich, U.K.

I’m not familiar with these, but a cursory glance suggests the Davis releases are archival and the Coltrane for completists (which I’m not). Instead let me recommend you investigate alto saxophonist and de facto inventor of bebop Charlie Parker, aka Bird, who seems to have gotten lost in the historical shuffle. Made his crucial breakthrough in the ‘40s. Check him out in the CG and you’ll find two full A’s and two A plusses. I’ve been playing Now’s the Time around here a lot recently and it never gets tired.

In my attempts to gain better appreciation for the Grateful Dead, your essays such as “They’re Grateful for the Dead” have been useful in capturing the atmosphere of the Deadhead culture. But the overall arc of your writing suggest there may have been a drop-off point partway through the ‘70s—after Europe ‘72, ratings drop from A’s and B+’s into B-’s and C’s, and the ‘90s ‘Dozin at the Knick review refers to the widespread belief that “two decades of Deadheads” may have been “marshmallow-ears.” Do you think this is an accurate reading of the Dead’s trajectory? Do you think something got lost in the tumult of Pigpen’s passing and the brief touring hiatus? — David D., Mesa, AZ.

I paid more attention to the Dead live than most critics, but as the Deadhead subculture became a mass cult the physical strain became too much. Note however that I covered a Dead concert in Jersey that I wrote up in the Newsday offices in Nassau County and then drove further east on Long Island to join Carola on Shelter Island, where I made our romance official and surprised her by showing her my copy after we got out of bed. At that point I don’t think she’d ever read a word I’d written. Pretty sure we saw them together at the Academy soon enough. Please also note that the review in question praises a 1990 live show for its “mesh of the tight and the shambolic that on their best nights rendered their music responsive and interactive”—there were good nights, not as many as there once were, but this was one. Parsing the exact moment when the good nights might have begun to dry up isn’t worth my time, and probably not yours.

Completely baffled by this review: “The Best of the Damned (Big Beat, 1999) A little late, I admit—going on half a century after Britpunk’s heyday, actually—an album by this well-named, overpraised band songful and rocking enough to play three times and squeeze into the A shelves (‘Jet Boy, Jet Girl,’ ‘New Rose,’ ‘Hit or Miss’) ***” 1999 --> not a half century after Britpunk’s heyday (1977 to 1999 ~ 22 years?). Maybe almost a quarter at best. “an album by this well-named, overpraised band songful and rocking enough to play three times and squeeze into the A shelves” --> it’s not going on the A shelf per your own grading rubric which awarded it a 3-star honorable mention. Do you think it’s any good? How good, if so? Straightforward language requested, something my Reader’s Digest reading late grandma would understand. — JM Welch, Elmira, NY

I don’t review every album on release; in this case, a collection made an impression many years after it appeared, and I reviewed it in the April 2024 Consumer Guide. So the half a century thing made sense in context. As for the A shelves, one problem with being known for grading things is that people get literalistic about it. Please allow me to use the term “A shelves” the way any normal person would—the shelves where I keep the important stuff as opposed to “housing only albums graded A.” Credence, for example, was one of those major bands whose catalogue included a B and B+, but at a certain moment in history I wanted to keep it all in one place. Haven’t played them in years though bet they’d sound pretty OK if I did.

You once raved about a reissue series released in 1982 on Epic Records called Okeh Soul, Okeh Western Swing, Okeh Jazz and Okeh Rhythm & Blues. I never bought them at the time when they were released as double vinyl albums but I see now that they were reissued on CD. You probably haven’t played them in decades—or have you? Are they all worth searching for? Hope you’re doing fine. — Harold Fenniman, Queens

I liked these sets in 1982 (ahem: “the finest major-label reissue anthologies since Atlantic’s long-lost History of Rhythm & Blues”). I see no reason I wouldn’t like them now. That said, for better or worse I play very little vinyl. CDs keep me busy enough unless I’m doing research or Carola or a visitor puts in a request. If the label were to send me the CDs in the mail I’d probably revisit them. But that is highly unlikely these days.

Maybe it is too demanding . . . but if asked about THE favorite album of all time, what are the quick choices that jump into your mind? Thank you and best wishes for all. — YMH, New York

Monk’s Misterioso, The Beatles’ Second Album, The Rolling Stones Now, something picked blind from my two dozen or so Armstrong CDs, maybe the longtime Bob and Carola fave Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (although obviously that’s not a timeless classic except for us who played it plenty when we were becoming a couple and the guys who made the record).