KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, May 24th, 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 Hydesville, New York. I've never been there before!]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Lewis Black: The core of the American public, their hearts and their minds are in the right place. And that gives me hope.

It was an abbreviated edition of The Klassics Show today. It's Memorial Day weekend in The States and it's a KSHE tradition to play a top 500 countdown starting at 10 a.m., so we had two hours of great music instead of the usual four. It was a bit disappointing, really, but who am i to argue with tradition. The worst part was that there was very little that i would consider “great” -- JT, ELO, Eagles, Jethro Tull and The Beatles and that's about all. The Grateful Dead track was one of their worst (i'm not a fan at all but i generally find them at least tolerable). So i really don't think i can grade this much more than a “B+”. Sorry....

Happy Memorial Day to my American friends and family, hope you're staying safe and sane.

The Marshall Tucker Band – In My Own Way

Dave Mason – Mystic Traveller

Genesis – Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

James Taylor – Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight

The Grateful Dead – Box Of Rain

Jackson Browne – Lawyers In Love

The Steve Miller Band – Don't Let Nobody Turn You Round

Shooting Star – Bring It On

The Electric Light Orchestra – Can't Get It Out Of My Head

Neil Young – Down By The River

The Michael Stanley Band – Promises

Bruce Springsteen – Downbound Train

Charlie – Killer Cut

Utopia – The Road To Utopia

Eagles – 'Ol 55

Judas Priest – Turning Circles

Jethro Tull – Hymn 43

The Beatles – If I Needed Someone

Here at home it was almost all single albums this week: only one 4-disc box set (entitled, strangely, “The Box”) and one double disc set: the three wonderful Tim Hart & Maddy Prior vinyl albums on two compact discs. A fairly long list, then.

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – Like A Rock

Dan Fogelberg – Love Songs

Frida – Something's Going On

Home – The Alchemist

Steve Reich – Drumming

ABBA – The Visitors

Caro Emerald – Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor

A Fine Frenzy – Pines

Van der Graaf Generator – The Box

Jefferson Starship – Platinum & Gold Collection

Mike Oldfield – Ommadawn

Spirit – Clear

Mott The Hoople – Mott

Various Artists – Hard Cash

Maddy Prior – Arthur The King

Blodwyn Pig – Getting To This

Dick Powell – Lullaby Of Broadway

Neil Young – Harvest

Joan Osborne – Little Wild One

Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet – Landfall

June Tabor & Oysterband – Fire & Fleet

Tim Hart & Maddy Prior – Heydays

Richard Thompson – 13 Rivers

Various Artists – Best Of 86/06

Art Garfunkel – Angel Clare

Marillion – With Friends From The Orchestra

Alan Stivell – The Best Of Alan Stivell

David Bowie – Let's Dance

Steeleye Span – Parcel Of Rogues

The Kinks – Muswell Hillbillies

Loreena McKennitt – Parallel Dreams

Chris Leslie – Origins

Camper Van Beethoven – Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart

Stevie Ray Vaughan – The Real Deal: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

The Pointer Sisters – Jump: The Best Of The Pointer Sisters

Wendy Carlos – Clockwork Orange

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, May 17th, 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/ after a few weeks of gallivanting around, i was back in Cheney, Kansas, where fitness centers, barber shops and hair salons will be re-opening soon, but not many other places yet.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Charles M. Schulz: I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time.

Well, gosh, wow, holy mackerel. It's a well-deserved grade of “A+” for this week's installment, what a brilliant four hours. Well, three hours of music plus the ads, but even the ads were mostly great! (Bart Inman was back, and his ads always make me smile and i can assure you that if i lived in St Lou or in Metro East, i would go to him for all of my heating and air-conditioning needs.)

The first twenty minutes alone consisted of four much-loved songs, including the opener, from Genesis's best post-PG album (IMFFHO) and the Neil Young track that really pissed off Lynyrd Skynyrd. (Apparently Mr Young now admits that he was “a little harsh.”) Now, although Michael Stanley wasn't from St Louis (he was born in Cleveland), he was hugely popular there and, in gratitude, he wrote a special version of his song “My Town” for the Gateway City. I've been hunting for the CD that this version appears on, but to no avail....

In other local news, KSHE listeners once voted Mama's Pride's song “Blue Mist” the best classic rock song of all-time, ever. Well, they were hometown heroes; i doubt the song would appear anywhere near the top of anyone's list outside Missouri but it's a great song and probably their best.

What else? Where do i begin?! James Taylor, yes. A Fleetwood Mac song with Christine McVie on vocals and i think she was the best singer FM ever had; in fact i've loved her voice ever since she was in Chicken Shack. Led Zeppelin was a surprise, as so much of their music shows up on KSHE's regular playlist but it was great to hear so i won't complain. Dan Fogelberg (whose appearance pretty much assures a grade of “A+”), Roxy Music and then a great Bob Seger track i'd completely forgotten about; Thin Lizzy, The Beatles, Eagles and Yes and... absolutely nothing that pissed me off! Life is good after all....

Oh, and here's a stealth bomber escaping St Louis after being mugged in Ferguson, aiming for Metro East. God, i hope that pilot knows what he's doing.... Stay safe, everyone!

Genesis – A Trick Of The Tail

Steely Dan – Night By Night

Neil Young – Alabama

The Michael Stanley Band – My Town (St Louis)

Bruce Springsteen – Incident On 57^th St. / Rosalita

UFO – Just Another Suicide

Trevor Rabin – Now

Foghat – Drivin' Wheel

James Taylor – Your Smiling Face

Foreigner – Woman Oh Woman

Fleetwood Mac – Warm Ways

Kansas – Miracles Out Of Nowhere

Led Zeppelin – How Many More Times

The Moody Blues – Steppin' In A Slide Zone

Grand Funk Railroad – Heartbreaker

Status Quo – Down Down

Electric Light Orchestra – Boy Blue

Hookfoot – Living In The City

Dan Fogelberg – The Language Of Love

Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug

Rod Stewart – The Ball Trap

Barclay James Harvest – Poor Boy's Blues / Mill Boys / For No One

Mama's Pride – Blue Mist

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – American Storm

The Guess Who – Bus Rider

Buckingham Nicks – Don't Let Me Down Again

Shooting Star – Breakout

Thin Lizzy – Dancing In The Moonlight

The Beatles – Wait

Styx – Lights

Bad Company – If You Needed Somebody

Missouri – Movin' On

Eagles – The Last Resort

John Mellencamp – Rumbleseat

Yes – Going For The One

Chilliwack – Fly At Night

Good Rats – Injun Joe

OK, the score at home this week was one 4-disc set and three double albums, and a couple of cds i hadn't played in a long time and doubt i'll ever play again (yes, Dan Ar Bras and Donnie Munro, i'm talking to you – you've made some wonderful records but those i played in the past seven days were bo-o-o-ring...)

Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

George Harrison – Wonderwall Music

Dan Fogelberg – River Of Souls

Peter Hammill – The Noise

Frida Lyngstad – Djupa Andetag

Jeff Beck – Who Else!

Renaissance – A Song For All Seasons

Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin

Dan Ar Bras Et L'Heritage Des Celtes – Finisterres

Donnie Munro – Gaelic Heart

ABBA – Gold: Greatest Hits

UB40 – The Very Best Of UB40

Paul McCartney – Run Devil Run

Talk Talk – Laughing Stock

Mike Oldfield – QE 2

Afro Celt Sound System – Volume 2: Release

Paul Young – Wherever I Lay My Hat: The Best Of Paul Young

Kim Mitchell – Shakin' Like A Human Being

Great Big Sea – Play

Peter Gabriel – Us

Dan Fogelberg – Windows And Walls

The Who – Quadrophenia

David Lindley – El Rayo-X

Eliza Gilkyson – Land Of Milk And Honey

Dixie Dregs – Night Of The Living Dregs

The Byrds – Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

Pink Floyd – Pulse

Outback – Baka

Colin James – Take It From The Top: The Best Of Colin James

Altan – Harvest Storm

Van der Graaf Generator – Do Not Disturb

Arkells – Michigan Left

Various Artists – Africa Rising

Steve Hackett – Watcher Of The Skies: Genesis Revisited

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, Mother's Day, 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 Norfolk, Virginia, for the second week in a row.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Robert Frost: In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.

As my regular reader will appreciate, this week's blog post is unprecedented. This may well be only the third time in forty years i haven't had to work on Mother's Day: and it's certainly the first time i've had it off since i discovered The Klassics Show, whenever that was – twelve or so years ago. Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year at my other job, but this year, thanks to the global pandemic, they're not expecting the usual insanity. The others should be able to handle it.

(Normally, in order to get Mother's Day off, i need special permission from the Archbishop Of Canterbury. It's a simple procedure, though – virtually a rubber stamp. His Grace Justin Welby [the current A. Of C.] flies over in his private jet and we meet at Bentley's [pub] for dinner and a few beers, play a few games of darts [he's darned good, too!] and have a few more drinks. Then, while he's still capable of holding a pen, i give him the papers to sign and pour him into a cab to take him back to his hotel. Easy-peasy. And i go back to the bar. Of course, this year, the bars are all closed anyway, so getting the necessary permission would have been impossible.)

Well, dammit, this week's instalment almost received a grade of “A+” but i can tell you in one word why it didn't: REO Speedwagon and their pathetic excuse for a vocalist, Kevin Cronin. (OK, that was more than one word.) I've tried to like the band, i really have, and i know how very popular they are in St Louis, but i'd rather listen to Yoko One screeching .... Er, maybe not. Bad example. You get the idea, though.

When any radio show begins with one of my favourite songs of all time, from one of my favourite albums, you know it's grabbed my attention. Then, after a couple of pretty good selections, wop-bam-boom, a track from what may be my favourite Genesis album! Then Horslips, Steely Dan, Wings, The Beatles, Loggins & Messina, The Kinks, Yes, Warren Zevon and a track from ELO's first – and best IMO -- album. My week was made.

John Ulett, the host, said, as he was introducing the first song today, that although he'd never actually seen Northern Lights, he'd love to some day but as no one is travelling anywhere these days, here's a picture for you, brother, and the playlist (he may read this, you never know!):

Renaissance – Northern Lights

Bob Weir – Bombs Away

Neil Young – My My Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)

Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Horslips – The Man Who Built America

Deep Purple – Might Just Take Your Life

Starz – Cherry Baby

Foghat – Take Me To The River

Bruce Springsteen – Streets Of Fire

Angel – Rock And Rollers

Santana – Over And Over

Flame – Beg Me

Steely Dan – Doctor Wu

Michael Franks – Born With The Moon In Virgo

Heartsfield – House Of Living

The Marshall Tucker Band – Desert Skies

Dave Mason – Lonely One

Paul McCartney & Wings – Let 'Em In

The Beatles – I'm Looking Through You

Head East – Love Me Tonight

Loggins & Messina – My Music

The Kinks – All Day And All Of The Night

Joe Walsh – At The Station

Grand Funk Railroad – Some Kind Of Wonderful

Breathless – Takin' It Back

Yes – Perpetual Change

Warren Zevon – Poor, Poor Pitiful Me

Ten Years After – Choo Choo Mamma

Montrose – Rock The Nation

REO Speedwagon – Being Kind (Can Hurt Someone Sometimes)

U.K. -- Nothing To Lose (live)

Jars Of Clay – Flood

The Rolling Stones – As Tears Go By

Steppenwolf – Sookie Sookie

Jefferson Starship – Count On Me

The Grateful Dead – Tennesse Jed

Heart – Rockin' Down Heaven

The Climax Blues Band – Couldn't Get It Right

The Electric Light Orchestra – 10538 Overture

George Harrison – Dark Horse

Styx – Snowblind

The Doors -- Gloria

Here at home, we played an abnormally large number of “best of” collections this week. (Not that there is any “normal” any more.) This may be significant, on the other hand it may not be, who knows nowadays. Anyway, here's what troubled the optical drive chez nous in the past seven days:

Yes – Keys To Ascension

Sweet – The Best Of Sweet

Chicago – Chicago II

Warren Zevon – Genius: The Best Of Warren Zevon

UB40 – The Best Of UB40, 1980 – 2000

The All-American Rejects – The All-American Rejects

Ute Lemper – Illusions

Carbon Leaf – Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat

Loggins & Messina – Sittin' In Again

The Beatles – Rubber Soul

George Harrison – Best Of Dark Horse 1976-1989

Steve Winwood – The Finer Things

Jack Lancaster et al. -- Peter And The Wolf

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band – Gorilla

Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Trilogy

Focus – Hamburger Concerto

Manfred Mann's Earthband – Chance

Lisa Gerrard & Patrick Cassidy – Immortal Memory

Sparks – Lil' Beethoven

The Cure – Greatest Hits

London Grammar – If You Want

Max Webster – Max Webster

Paul Simon – In The Blue Light

The Pretenders – Greatest Hits

Wizzard – Wizzard Brew

French, Frith, Kaiser, Thompson – Live, Love, Larf & Loaf

ABBA – Gold: Greatest Hits

Rita Coolidge – The Best Of Rita Coolidge

Sheryl Crow – Threads

Steeleye Span – Est'd 1969

Allan Holdsworth – Metal Fatigue

Great Big Sea – Fortune's Favour

Jefferson Airplane -- Volunteers

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, May 3rd, 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 Norfolk, Virginia. I don't recall ever listening from there before, although i've been there in “real life” (whatever that is) on the way to nearby Virginia Beach.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Jackson Browne: I have prayed for America / I was made for America.

I confess i was a little worried. Last week, i read that Hubbard Broadcasting, which owns KSHE as well as a couple of other stations in St Louis and several more elsewhere in the midwest, had laid off staff everywhere. The current pandemic had resulted in declining ad revenues. I hoped that this wouldn't have an effect on The Klassics Show, and my fears turned out to be groundless. The show is an essential service, after all!

And i'm grading this week's instalment an A minus – not extremely fab or extraordinarily fab, merely fab. There were some wonderful songs, to be sure. Yes's brilliant cover of Paul Simon's brilliant “America” struck a particular nerve, and was probably the highlight of the morning. It's about a road trip in which the protagonists set out to find a version of the country that doesn't really exist except in an idealised sense, as you probably know. It made me wonder if the America i know and love will survive this crisis. There were a couple of other laments for the country (a pitiful, helpless giant these days) on the show, by Billy Joel and Jackson Browne. I wonder if that was intentional...?

There were a load of magic moments: Wings, Loggins & Messina, The Kinks, The Sutherland Bros. & Quiver (whose guitarist, Tim Renwick, is one of my top ten fave guitarists), Chicago, Eagles, etc., along with the usual number of obscurities (obscure for good reason, sometimes!) and nothing really annoying – although the 14+ minute-long adventure in banality by Midnight Sun was something i could have easily done without. Weren't the first couple of albums by Chicago superb? Such brilliant musicianship from every single member. Such a shame they started churning out pop sludge....

I do have to wonder about a line in The Byrds' song: “we'll be friends for life / she'll be just like a wife.” It's a song about a horse, for gosh sakes! What on earth was McGuinn thinking when he wrote that??

Anyway, here, have the Great American Eagle Tragedy, and the playlist:

Eddie Money – Take A Little Bit

The Moody Blues – The Story In Your Eyes

The Byrds – Chestnut Mare

Santana – Samba Pa Ti

The Doobie Brothers – Little Darlin' (I Need You)

Wings – Letting Go

Robert Palmer – Sailin' Shoes / Hey Hey Julia / Sneakin' Sally Through The  Alley

Loggins & Messina – Be Free

Sammy Hagar – Love Or Money

Foreigner – The Modern Day

The Sutherland Bros. & Quiver – (I Don't Want To Love You But) You Got Me Anyway

The Kinks – 'Til The End Of The Day

Orion The Hunter – So You Ran

Midnight Sun – Living On The Hill

Don Henley – The Last Worthless Evening

UFO – Shoot Shoot

Michael Stanley Band – Nothing's Gonna Change My Mind

Billy Joel – Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)

Steely Dan – Razor Boy

Michael Fennelly – Shine A Light

George Harrison – So Sad

Eric Clapton – The Shape You're In

Ten Years After – Rock & Roll Music To The World

Yes – America

The MC5 – Kick Out The Jams

Foghat – It's Too Late

The Marc Tanner Band – Hot And Cold

Dave Mason – Don't It Make You Wonder

Poco – Bad Weather

Jackson Browne – For America

America – Lonely People

Kim Mitchell – Go For A Soda

Chicago – I'm A Man

The Beatles – Girl

Bruce Springsteen – I'm On Fire

The Sweet – (Love Is Like) Oxygen

The Pousette-Dart Band – Amnesia

Dire Straits – Solid Rock

The Cars – Since You're Gone

Eagles – Midnight Flyer

Right, well, i've reduced the number of cds i played this week, down from the absurd list i posted a few weeks ago. It was easy: the Jimi Hendrix was a 4-CD collection, and there a few double albums there, too: albums that i rarely play but now, i'm home more often (more often than i would like, but i suppose that's the new normal). Anyway, here's the playlist:

Mama's Pride – Mama's Pride

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Elbow – Little Fictions

David Lindley – El Rayo-X

Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

The Doobie Brothers – Takin' It To The Streets

Peter Hammill – X My Heart

ABBA – More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits

Saga – Images At Twilight

Jethro Tull – A

The Allman Brothers Band – Eat A Peach

The Move – Shazam!

Enya – The Memory Of Trees

Runrig – In Search Of Angels

Pink – I'm Not Dead

Marc Jordan – Mannequin

Marvin Gaye – 15 Greatest Hits

Camper Van Beethoven – Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart

The Kinks – Muswell Hillbillies

Rory Gallagher – Kickback City

Jock Tamson's Bairns – Rare

Joni Mitchell – The Hissing Of Summer Lawns

Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill

Wizzard – Wizzard Brew

David Gilmour – Live In Gdansk

Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home

Rhiannon Giddens – Tomorrow Is My Turn

June Tabor & Martin Simpson – A Cut Above

Various Artists -- “Hard Cash”

The Bothy Band – 1975

The Broadside Band – English Country Dances

Rush – Retrospective II: 1981-1987

Agnetha & Frida – The Voice Of ABBA

Eliza Carthy – Restitute

Happy Rhodes – The Keep