Monday 25 May 2020

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

Monday 18 May 2020

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 57th 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

Monday 11 May 2020

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

Monday 4 May 2020

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