KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, April 26th, 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 listening from Herndon, Virginia. I've never been there before. It's in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, apparently.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Mark Twain: We have the best government that money can buy.

Don't tell me that this program isn't informative. Out of work thanks to covid-19? Amazon [dot] com is hiring, and paying upwards of $15 (U.S.) an hour! Of course, you'll need to be eligible to work in the States, but you will not need either experience or a resumé and they're an essential service and an equal opportunity employer. Apply here: https://www.amazondelivers.jobs/?cmpid=OAAAMK0378H3 I'd go for it myself except i wouldn't want the pay cut....

Based on the first four songs, this week's edition would have barely merited a grade of “B,” but then along came Mama's Pride to shoot it immediately up to an “A.” “Laurie Ann” is a brilliant song from their wonderful debut album (their second album was very good; the less said about their so-so third album, the better). After that, there was nothing that let me down at all and a whole load of uplifting music (and boy, do we need that now!). I think the highlight of the morning, for me, was the track by Real Life – not for its intrinsic worth, although it's a very good – but more because i hadn't heard it in so long. Even the REO Speedwagon ten-minute track didn't piss me off – it was from their debut album and the singer was Terry Luttrell and not that egregious ass Kevin Cronin, who only became their vocalist when Terry quit (personality conflicts) to join Starcastle. It was probably my least favourite track of the morning, though. (As i've said before, the alleged musicians in REO Speedwagon must have studied “The Book Of Rock'N'Roll Clichés” and not understood that it was satire.) (Inexplicably, the band remain extremely popular in St Louis.)

There's was a load of great schtuff. Paul McCartney's song is another one that's a big fave in STL but not much recognised elsewhere (although i happen to love it). The track from Fleetwood Mac was a delightful surprise and selections by Jackson Browne, Spirit, The Beatles, Rush, Steely Dan, 10 c.c., The Sweet and Pretenders were all brilliant but let us spare a thought for Renaissance. Their song, “Mother Russia,” is a brilliant achievement, a magnificent work, based on the writings of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. And depressing as hell. Maybe not really appropriate for life as we know it these days....

Anyway (or, as they say around here, “anyways”) (idiots, but more to be pitied than scolded, i s'pose) here's the playlist and an added bonus pic of Herndon. It looks nice....

Lou Gramm – Ready Or Not

Touch – When The Spirit Moves You

Kansas – Reason To Be

Jefferson Starship – Save Your Love

Mama's Pride – Laurie Ann

Paul McCartney – Smile Away

Santana – Stand Up

Leon Russell – Tight Rope

Headstone – Turn Your Head

Graham Parker – White Honey

The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays

April Wine – Oowatanite

The Moody Blues – Ride My See-Saw

Jackson Browne – Running On Empty

Spirit – I Got A Line On You

Renaissance – Mother Russia

Heartsfield – Music Eyes

Michael Stanley Band – Say Goodbye

Real Life – Send Me An Angel

The Grateful Dead – I Need A Miracle

The Beatles – The Word

Journey – Where Were You

Rush – Time Stand Still

Bruce Springsteen – Prove It All Night

The Pretenders – Message Of Love

Fleetwood Mac – I Don't Want To Know

Robin Trower – Sweet Wine Of Love

Michael Murphey – Wildfire

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Ripplin' Waters

10 c.c. -- The Wall Street Shuffle

Icehouse – Electric Blue

Kayak – Periscope Life

Emerson, Lake & Palmer – C'est La Vie

Billy Joel – Vienna

Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne

Dire Straits – Industrial Disease

Hardline – Hot Cherie

Van Morrison – Domino

REO Speedwagon – Dead At Last

The Smithereens – Blues Before And After

Foreigner – I'll Get Even With You

Firefall – Headed For A Fall

The Sweet – Fox On The Run

Wet Willie – Everything That You Do (Will Come Back To You)

Here at home, yes, it's another long list this time, in spite of a few double albums. There were no 3 or 4 disc box sets, though. Here's what the optical drive on the super computer at Spriggs Towers had to suffer this week:

Fleetwood Mac – Tusk

The Doobie Brothers – Stampede

Rory Gallagher – Blues

Weezer – Six Hits

Trigger Hippy – Trigger Hippy

Roy Wood – Music Book

Chelsea Williams – Boomerang

Court Yard Hounds – Amelita

Amazing Blondel – England

Dead Can Dance – Dionysus

Afrocelts – Seed

The Beatles – Revolver

Richard Thompson – 13 Rivers

Humble Pie – As Safe As Yesterday Is

The Mahavishnu Orchestra – The Inner Mounting Flame

Mark Knopfler – Sailing To Philadelphia

Colin James – Traveler

Pete Townshend – White City: A Novel

Warren Zevon – The Wind

Susan Tedeschi – Live From Austin, TX.

Max Webster – Max Webster

Rossini – 8 Overtures

Crash Parallel – World We Know

Joni Mitchell – Hejira

Collective Soul – Collective Soul

Yes – Keys To Ascension 2

Marc Jordan – Mannequin

Rod Stewart – When We Were The New Boys

Kate Bush – Aerial

Various Artists – Bringing It All Back Home: Music From The BBC TV Series

Yes – From A Page

James Taylor – American Standard

Chrissie Hynde – Stockholm

The Ramones – Ramones Mania

Fairport Convention – Shuffle And Go

Various Artists – Rattlesnake Guitar: The Music Of Peter Green

Elbow – Little Fictions

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, April 19th, 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, but don't ask me how i got there: the U.S. / Canada border remains closed.

Quotation Of The Week ~ Melissa (via Twitter): It's ok to not be ok right now.

How's everyone doing out there? I'm coping with the chaos all right, as, i suppose, are most people. I have good days and bad days, days when i simply do not want to get out of bed. I do, though. I get up and go out to work. We do what we have to do and apparently i'm “essential.” But my self-motivation and my ambition are on thin ice these days, my self-esteem is in the toilet, apathy is on the rise and yet i find myself weeping for ... well, for all sorts of things. Same as everyone, then: pretty much a mess but managing.

I was just about resigned to grading this week's program a “B+” or even a “B” but then, three quarters of the through Uman played “Sausalito Summernight,” which has to be one of the most uplifting songs i know and it redeemed the whole show. “A” it is.

There was certainly nothing wrong with the music, but the ordinary far outnumbered the great (as in life). Still (as usual) the highlight of my week.

Here's the playlist and a pic of the current situation:

Patti Smith – Because The Night

The Charlie Daniels Band – Blue Star

Steely Dan – Chain Lightning

Barry Goudreau – Dreams

Pete Townshend – Face The Face

Randy Meisner – Hearts On Fire

Ian Gomm – Hold On

The Climax Blues Band – I Am Constant

Manassas – Johnny's Garden

Glass Moon – Killer At 25

Wings – Let Me Roll It

Benny Mardones – Mighta Been Love

John Mellencamp – China Girl

The Alan Parsons Project – One More River

Poco – Pickin' Up The Pieces

Jackson Browne – Rock Me On The Water

Heartsfield – Racin' In The Sun

The Beatles – I've Just Seen A Face

Eddie Money – Runnin' Away

Thin Lizzy – Showdown

Dave Mason – So High (Rock Me Baby And Roll Me Away)

The Dixie Dregs – Take It Off The Top

Billy Joel – The Stranger

Nazz – Under The Ice

The Who – You

Gerry Rafferty – City To City

Aldo Nova – Fantasy

Jon & Vangelis – State Of Independence

Peter Frampton – I Believe (When I Fall In Love With You It Will Be Forever)

Santana – Let The Children Play / Jugando

Manfred Mann's Earthband – The Mighty Quinn

Trooper – Raise A Little Hell

Diesel – Sausalito Summernight

Neil Young – Only Love Can Break Your Heart

Styx – Sing For The Day

Atlanta Rhythm Section – Spooky

David Gilmour – There's No Way Out Of Here

Eagles – Try And Love Again

Grand Funk Railroad – Walk Like A Man

It's A Beautiful Day – White Bird

Nick Gilder – You Really Rock Me

707 – I Could Be Good For You

Ambrosia – Life Beyond L.A.

Symphonic Slam – Modane Train

Journey – Only The Young

In order to reduce the length of my own personal playlist this week, or at least the number of items on it, i decided to play a load of multi-disc albums – albums i rarely listen to because i don't usually have the time, but i'm home far more than normal nowadays. Not that there's any such thing as “normal” any more....

Electric Light Orchestra – Afterglow

Jane Siberry -- Hush

The Albion Band – Lark Rise To Candleford

The Beatles – Anthology 3

Marillion – Anorak In The U.K. Live

Steeleye Span – The Journey

Dan Fogelberg – The Definitive Anthology

Talk Talk – Asides Bsides

Paula Cole – Revolution

Runrig – The Last Dance

Van der Graaf Generator – H To He Who Am The Only One

Paul McCartney – Wingspan: Hits And History

Dead Can Dance – Spleen And Ideal

Chicago – Chicago Transit Authority

Jethro Tull – Catfish Rising

Dan Fogelberg – River Of Souls

The Yardbirds – Smokestack Lightning, Vol. 1

Cassandra Wilson – Blue Light 'Til Dawn

Texas – The Hush

Jane Siberry – The Walking

Elbow – Little Fictions

Steve Hackett – Defector

Bill Bruford – Feels Good To Me

London Grammar – If You Want

Brass Monkey – The Complete Brass Monkey

Sheryl Crow – Saturday Night Music Club

Dixie Chicks – Home

The Incredible String Band – Wee Tam & The Big Huge

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, April 12th, 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 listening from Chicago, for the first time ever. Cool! I've never been to the city although i've been to the airport, from which you can see the skyline 'way off in the distance and it looks spectacular.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Leopold Stokowski – A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.

First, the good news: Bart's back! You remember Bart Inman, the owner of Inman Air (heating & air conditioning, serving St Louis & Metro East): he used to advertise on The Klassics Show all the time, but it must be a couple months since he appeared and he was on twice this morning. A lot of people find his voice annoying but i don't and i enjoy his droll sense of humour. He also seems like a good person to work for: he's paying all of his people who are off work in quarantine and he's hiring new staff. Call 314-293-2600 if you're interested and have an HVAC licence, or have a look here: https://inmanair.com/portfolio/

Next, the better news: definitely a grade of “A+” this week. That grade is automatic whenever Dan Fogelberg makes an appearance but the show would have pretty much merited that regardless, with five much-loved songs in the first hour alone and nothing annoying (with the possible exception of U2). (OK, OK, before anyone starts to flame me, i can't stand U2 most of the time – their guitarist is a one-trick pony and i usually just want Bobo or Bozo or whatever his name is to shut up, but there is one song of theirs that i really do like: “Angel Of Harlem.” Unfortunately, KSHE never plays it.)

A few notes. It always surprises me that Cheryl Dilcher (r.i.p.) was so celebrated in St Louis, but not so much anywhere else -- although she did appear on a George Harrison album, so at least the cognoscenti knew her quality. I'd never heard of her until i started listening to KSHE (yet another reason for me to thank them). She was actually from Allentown, Pennsylvania but had connections in the area and was involved with the mayor's son for a while. I found a fascinating blog post about her here: https://homoerraticradioshow.blogspot.com/2009/10/cheryl-dilcher.html

Someone once bet Graham Nash that he couldn't write a song in thirty minutes; he wrote “Just A Song Before I Go.” This morning's song by Genesis is one of my favourites of theirs, and the song by The Jeff Beck group (featuring Rod Stewart when he was still important) is one of my favourites of theirs. I don't think i've ever heard Flo & Eddie here before and i wasn't overly impressed but it's always great to hear anything by Dylan, Loggins & Messina and The Beatles (of course!). I've heard Gamma's cover version of The Hollies' “I'm Alive” a few times now and i really like it. They were formed in 1979 by Ronnie Montrose.

Anyway, here's a pic of dear Cheryl, and the playlist. Keep safe, everyone!

Stephen Stills – Change Partners

Cheryl Dilcher – High

John Mellencamp – Small Paradise

Dave Mason – Headkeeper

Crosby, Stills & Nash – Just A Song Before I Go

Genesis – I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)

Gypsy – Tomorrow Is The Last To Be Heard

Eddie Money – Wanna Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star

Bob Dylan – A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Loggins & Messina – Back To Georgia

Robert Palmer – Bad Case Of Lovin' You

Novo Combo – City Bound (“E” Train)

Van Morrison – Caravan

Chris de Burgh – Don't Pay The Ferryman

Bob Welch – Ebony Eyes

Jackson Browne – For A Rocker

U2 – Gloria

Roger Hodgson – Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy)

Finnigan & Wood – Highway

The Beatles – It's Only Love

The Jeff Beck Group – I Ain't Superstitious

Gamma – I'm Alive

Flo & Eddie – Keep It Warm

Grinderswitch – Kill The Pain

LeRoux – The Last Safe Place On Earth

Ian McLagan – Little Troublemaker

Rusty Wier – Midnight Angel

The Who – New Song

Little Feat – Oh Atlanta

The Illinois Speed Press – P.N.S. (When You Come Around)

Dan Fogelberg – Promises Made

Moon Martin – Rolene

Foghat – Somebody's Been Sleepin' In My Bed

The Marshall Tucker Band – Running Like The Wind

Horslips – Sure The Boy Was Green

Blue Öyster Cult – Shooting Shark

Headboys – The Shape Of Things To Come

Shooting Star – Tonight

Chuck Francour – Under The Boulevard Lights

George Harrison – What Is Life?

The Doors – Back Door Man

Jefferson Starship – With Your Love

Mahogany Rush – A New Rock And Roll

I thought that, considering the current chaos, i might revert to playing nothing but music of a simpler time. Music has many powers and one of those is to transport you back to a better world – or, at least, a younger one. And i did play some of the schtuff that i grew up with this week, but my brain works in mysterious ways its wonders to perform tra la. (I was tested once, and that's true, btw.) My playlist was all over the place, as usual. Again, it's a long list. Here 'tis:

The Doobie Brothers – What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits

Jethro Tull – Catfish Rising

Van der Graaf Generator – Still Life

Yes – Tales From Topographic Oceans

Chicago – Chicago VII

Pete Townshend – Coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking

Florence + The Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Pink – Greatest Hits ... So Far!!

Dan Fogelberg – Souvenirs

The Kinks – Misfits

The Beatles – Beatles For Sale

The Mahavishnu Orchestra – Birds Of Fire

Barlow – Barlow

George Harrison – All Things Must Pass

Elbow – Little Fictions

The Cocteau Twins – Heaven Or Las Vegas

Paul Simon – Graceland

Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2

Peter Hammill – And Close As This

Sly & The Family Stone – Greatest Hits

The Beat – I Just Can't Stop It

Kirsty MacColl – Titanic Days

John Lennon – Mind Games

Jane Siberry – No Borders Here

Dick Gaughan – Harvard Tapes

The Kinks – Preservation, Act 1

The Kinks – Preservation, Act 2

Al Stewart – The Best Of Al Stewart

Sandie Shaw – Reviewing The Situation

The Oyster Band – Step Outside

Richard Thompson – Dream Attic

Sharon Shannon – Sacred Earth

Various Artists – Until The End Of The World

Seether – Isolate And Medicate

Kula Shaker – Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts

Annie Haslam – Annie In Wonderland

Afrocelts – Seed

The Bee Gees – Odessa

The Beatles – A Hard Day's Night

Elvis Costello – The Very Best Of Elvis Costello: The First Ten Years

Various Artists – Daredevil: The Album

Marillion – Anoraknophobia

Caro Emerald – Live From Emerald Island

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, April 5th, 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 listening from Parsippany, New Jersey. As far as i can recall, i've only been there once before.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Friedrich Nietzsche – And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.

That VPN of mine has been playing silly buggers for the past few days. I subscribe to Tunnel Bear (https://www.tunnelbear.com/) and i've been very pleased with them for several years, but just recently the secure connection keeps failing. It did several times this morning which meant that i lost the audio stream momentarily and had to reconnect. I didn't miss anything important but it was a little frustrating.

As to the program itself, after a pretty fine start this morning with the April Wine song, merde alors! Along comes one of the most annoying pieces of claptrap it has ever been my misfortune to have to suffer: Mason Rock's truly appalling, recitato (in an absurdly theatrical English accent) cover version of The Rolling Stones' song. Of course things improved – they could hardly have become worse! (I'm on record as saying that the lead singer in Pavlov's Dog – whose name escapes me and i can't be arsed looking it up – is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me, but their song today wasn't all that awful. Likewise, i'm not a big lover of the music of Styx, but today's selection was actually quite good.)

There was lots of much-loved music by Mama's Pride, Thin Lizzy, Wings, Max Webster (the only song of theirs that KSHE ever plays, i believe), Genesis, Uriah Heep, Fleetwood Mac, Harry Nilsson (i don't think i've ever heard him on The Klassics Show before) and several others and i probably would have graded this one at least an “A” but of course the inclusion of a song by either Dan Fogelberg or Rory Gallagher automatically means an “A+” and this week we had both! (And i needed both of them today....)

Uman, the show's host, told an amusing little anecdote he heard from Joe Walsh, who produced Dan's brilliant 1974 album “Souvenirs” (from which this morning's song came) and who played on most of it (along with Graham Nash and three members of The Eagles). 'Way back when, Joe was “between jobs” and living in his car and coping all right but then J.D. Souther moved into it, too. Well, ok, said Joe, it'll be a little cramped but we'll be fine. And then Dan Fogelberg moved in and it got really cramped! So much talent in one wheeled vehicle....

OK, here's my bear, and here's the playlist:

April Wine – Like A Lover, Like A Song

The Mason Rack Band – Sympathy For The Devil

Deodato – Super Strut

Hudson Ford – Take A Little Word

Mama's Pride – Young And Free

LeRoux – Take A Ride On A Riverboat

Thin Lizzy – Don't Believe A Word

Bruce Springsteen – Thunder Road

Sherbs – We Ride Tonight

Head East – Since You've Been Gone

Wings – 1985

The Little River Band – Take It Easy On Me

The KBC Band – America

Max Webster – Battle Scar

Frankie And The Knockouts – Running Into The Night

Rory Gallagher – Calling Card

Pavlov's Dog – She Came Shining

Jefferson Starship – Caroline

Dave Mason – World In Changes

Genesis – Dance On A Volcano

Kenny Loggins – Easy Driver

New England – Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya

The Michael Stanley Band – Last Night

Uriah Heep – Easy Livin'

38 Special – Teacher Teacher

Charlie – Fight Dirty

Styx – Boat On The River

Sammy Hagar – Give To Live

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils – You Know Like I Know

Michael Bolton – She Did The Same Thing

Dan Fogelberg – As The Raven Flies

Fleetwood Mac – Hypnotized

The Stills / Young Band – Long May You Run

The Outlaws – Green Grass And High Tides

Ten Years After – I'd Love To Change The World

Trapeze – Don't Ask Me How I Know

Harry Nilsson – Jump Into The Fire

Rush – Making Memories

The Strawbs – Lemon Pie

Jesse Colin Young -- Songbird

It's the second week of the lockdown and yet my personal playlist is somewhat shorter than last week's. How do i explain this? Well, for one thing the RT was a five-CD box and the Princess Of Wales was a two-disc set, but otherwise, it's hard to say. Maybe i was watching too many YouTube videos.... Anyway, here's the list:

Various Artists – Stone Free: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix

Camper Van Beethoven – Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart

Court Yard Hounds – Amelita

The Bothy Band – Out Of The Wind Into The Sun

Buffalo Springfield – Last Time Around

Bill Bruford – Feels Good To Me

Richard Thompson – RT: The Life And Music Of Richard Thompson

Billy Talent – Dead Silence

Soft Machine – Land Of Cockayne

Rory Gallagher – Jinx

Humble Pie – As Safe As Yesterday Is

The Doobie Brothers – Toulouse Street

Various Artists – Hard Cash

Sonny & Cher – The Beat Goes On: The Best Of Sonny & Cher

Bill Bruford – One Of A Kind

Jackson Browne – Lives In The Balance

T. Rex – The Slider

Pink Floyd – A Saucerful Of Secrets

Ivie Anderson – I Got It Good And That Ain't Bad

Caro Emerald – The Shocking Miss Emerald

Dead Can Dance – Toward The Within

Various Artists – Diana Princess Of Wales Tribute

Bruce Springsteen – The Rising

James Taylor – American Standard

Jon & Vangelis – Short Stories

The Doobie Brothers – The Captain And Me

Phil Collins -- ... Hits

Elbow – Little Fictions

Joan Osborne – Love And Hate

Rhiannon Giddens – Tomorrow Is My Turn

Hooters – One Way Home

Milla Jovovich – The Divine Comedy

Godley & Creme – Cry: The Very Best Of Godley & Creme

Nik Kershaw – To Be Frank

Steeleye Span – Rocket Cottage

Propaganda – A Secret Wish