Monday, 30 March 2020

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, March 29th, 2020


[As you may or may not know, i live in Canada, and for some reason KSHE doesn't stream their audio to here; i have to connect via a VPN, to spoof a non-Canadian address. This week, according to https://whatismyipaddress.com/ i was back in Cheney, Kansas. I'm not quite sure how i got there, though, as the Canada / U.S. Border is now closed to all but essential travel. Maybe i'm essential!]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Kenny Rogers: I had holes in my jeans well before it was fashionable.

It could be my imagination, but it seemed to me that there were fewer ads and a lot more music on today's program. This would make sense, i suppose, as a lot of the Klassics Show's advertisers are concert halls (all now closed) and restaurants and bars (open only for take-out and delivery these days). Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of great music. I'm grading the show an “A+” because the inclusion of Dan Fogelberg automatically makes it that, but really, without Dan i don't think i could have gone much higher than “B.”

There were some big problems. I don't dislike Grand Funk Railroad but their song today – which wasn't about gay sex (I Can Feel Him In The Morning sung by a man?) but rather a musing upon God in general and war-is-hell in particular – was downright cringe-worthy. I'm on record as stating that, after about 1966, The Animals (under the leadership of wanker-in-chief Eric Burdon) produced some pretty embarrassing schtuff – like this morning's dreadful track. And Peter Frampton ... well, jeez. I liked his work with Humble Pie but solo? I must be one of the few people of my generation (i.e., old as fuck) who does not own a copy of Frampton Comes Alive. He was a good guitarist for sure but his solo work is just too cliché-ridden and tedious. (I'm expecting a load of rotting cabbages to be flung my way because of that statement, btw.)

There was, as usual, a lot of really enjoyable but far from brilliant music. I'd include Gypsy, Michael Stanley, Ambrosia and Starz in that list, and who the heck is/was Bill Quateman? Also, disappointingly, there was nothing by some of the program's regulars, like Elton John, Jackson Browne, Steely Dan or Billy Joel.

There were a few magical moments, of course: the entire 17-minute version of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” was a wonderful surprise; my all-time fave April Wine song; Jethro Tull and Robin Trower and ELO and Manfred Mann.... A great song by Poco i'd never heard before. It's always lovely to hear early Tull, Robin Trower and Manfred Mann – whose band must be one of the greatest interpreters of Springsteen ever. (And of Bob Dylan, too, for that matter.)

Still the highlight of my week, and here's a pic of opening act Gregg Allman (R.I.P.), and the playlist:



Gregg Allman – Come And Go Blues
Poco – Company's Coming / Slowpoke
Robert Palmer – Give Me An Inch Girl
Gypsy – Dead And Gone
Dan Fogelberg – Missing You
Asia – Here Comes The Feeling
Michael Stanley Band – Misery Loves Company
Grand Funk Railroad – I Can Feel Him In The Morning
Robbie Robertson – Showdown At Big Sky
Phil Collins – I Don't Wanna Know
Montrose – I Got The Fire
Bruce Springsteen – I'm A Rocker
Peter Frampton – Do You Feel Like We Do
Charlie – Johnny Hold Back
UFO – Lights Out
Jethro Tull – Nothing Is Easy
Kansas – Fight Fire With Fire
.38 Special – You Keep Runnin' Away
Starz – She's Just A Fallen Angel
Ambrosia – No Big Deal
Dave Mason – Only You Know And I Know
Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Jesse Colin Young – Ridgetop
The Alan Parsons Project – I'd Rather Be A Man
The Beatles – I Need You
Sammy Hagar – Run For Your Life / Danger Zone
The Animals – San Franciscan Nights
April Wine – Say Hello
Jefferson Starship – Mary
The Electric Light Orchestra – Roll Over Beethoven
Manfred Mann's Earth Band – Spirits In The Night
Robin Trower – Victims Of The Fury
Bill Quateman – Shot In The Dark
Roger Daltrey – It's A Hard Life / Giving It All Away
Dire Straits – Skateaway

It was the first full week of the closing of civilization (as we know it) so i was flailing about a bit with no professional help when i chose my own personal playlist. Here it is and obviously an amateur job. And it's another long list, thanks to self-isolating. I was okay with the music and the social distancing, though, as i'm not that social at the best of times:

Free – Tons Of Sobs
Carolina Chocolate Drops – Genuine Negro Jig
Rocket 88 – Rocket 88
King Crimson – Thrak
Trees – The Garden Of Jane Delawney
Rob Hyman et al – Largo
The Lovemongers – Battle Of Evermore (EP)
The Electric Light Orchestra – The Lost Planet
Ian Anderson – Homo Erraticus
The Albion Country Band – Battle Of The Field
The Beatles – Love
Steeleye Span – Please To See The King
Blodwyn Pig – Getting To This
Players – Players
Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back
The Kinks – Muswell Hillbillies
Wishbone Ash – Argus
Yes – Union
Richard Thompson – 13 Rivers
Lindisfarne – The Very Best Of Lindisfarne
Dan Fogelberg – The Innocent Age
Peter Hammill – Thin Air
Natalie Maines – Mother
The Cure – Greatest Hits
Steve Earle – El Corazón
The Beatles – Let It Be
Jeff Beck – Emotion & Commotion
French Frith Kaiser Thompson – Live, Love, Larf & Loaf
Fish – A Feast Of Consequences
Curved Air – Air Conditioning
Siouxsie And The Banshees – A Kiss In The Dreamhouse
Sandie Shaw – The Very Best Of Sandie Shaw
Cat Stevens – The Very Best Of Cat Stevens
Mike Oldfield – Islands
Max Webster – Max Webster
Seether – Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble – Live Alive
Rory Gallagher – Check Shirt Wizard: Live In '77
Caro Emerald – The Shocking Miss Emerald
Terje Rypdal – Odyssey

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