KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, Sept. 27th, 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 Santa Clara, California, again.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Ray Charles: Music is nothing separate from me. It is me.

I came very close to grading this week's program a “B”, primarily because of the awful song by REO Speedwagon and the abysmal, embarrasingly bad piece of shite by Bloodrock, but, nah, i'm too nice a guy. Besides, those two musical nightmares were more than compensated for by the sheer brilliance of so much of the rest of the show, so, an “A” it is.

It was really nice to hear The Left Banke – Uman doesn't play much mid-sixties music apart from the British Invasion schtuff.

A few random comments. “Thick As A Brick” was the drastically shortened radio edit. We're never likely to hear the full version, as it's about 45 minutes long, but i can accept that, as long as we get a long song once in a while. My favourite numbers today were those by The Fixx, Jeff Beck (of course!), Renaissance, Buffalo Springfield, Billy Joel and Genesis.

I have a few things to say about Jefferson Starship, but, you know, if you can't say anything nice, blah blah. I loved them as Jefferson Airplane. The first couple of Jefferson Starship albums were pretty good too. After that i completely lost interest. Anyway, here's the playlist:

The Babys – Isn't It Time

Jo Jo Gunne – Ready Freddy

The Left Banke – Walk Away Renee

Budgie – I Ain't No Mountain

Atlanta Rhythm Section – Jukin'

Montrose – Space Station #5

Spirit – Animal Zoo

Jethro Tull – Thick As A Brick

Grand Funk Railroad – Bad Time

The Fixx – Secret Separation

Strawbs – Keep On Trying

John Miles – Do It All Again

America – Don't Cross The River

Robert Palmer – Best Of Both Worlds

Ted Nugent – Hey Baby

Fleetwood Mac – Never Going Back Again

Bloodrock – D.O.A.

The Dwight Twilley Band – Twilley Don't Mind

Jefferson Starship – Girl With The Hungry Eyes

Jeff Beck – Blue World

Dire Straits – Lady Writer

REO Speedwagon – Only The Strong Survive

Utopia – The Very Last Time

Renaissance – Carpet Of The Sun

The Climax Blues Band – Towards The Sun

Bill Quateman – Shot In The Dark

Buffalo Springield – Broken Arrow

Billy Joel – Root Beer Rag

Night – Hot Summer Nights

Don Henley – New York Minute

Mott The Hoople – Roll Away The Stone

Mark-Almond – What Am I Living For

Trooper – Cold, Cold Toronto

Genesis – Dance On A Volcano

The Jon Butcher Axis – Don't Say Goodnight

Rainbow – Bring On The Night (Dream Chaser)

Supertramp – Child Of Vision

The Youngbloods – Darkness, Darkness

Steve Baron – Magic Magician

The Steve Miller Band – Serenade

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils – Country Girl

Icehouse – Crazy

Bad Company – Call On Me

The Police – Invisible Sun

My personal playlist this time is a bit longer than the lists have been recently. I've been working at my other job more, which makes this a little odd, but a lot of these albums are from the seventies, when records were shorter. The only double album this week was the deluxe edition of McCartney's Ram. The New Musik was a double CD but as each disc had just one album on it, i listed them individually. So sue me.

June Tabor – At The Wood's Heart

Various Artists – Super Box Of Rock II

Cassandra Wilson – Traveling Miles

Jane Siberry – A World Without Music

Bill Bruford – One Of A Kind

Nanci Griffith – The MCA Years: A Retrospective

The Motors – Airport: The Motors' Greatest Hits

Rory Gallagher – Top Priority

Mike Oldfield – Five Miles Out

Terje Rypdal – Descendre

Jon Anderson – 1000 Hands, Chapter One

New Musik – From A To B

New Musik – Anywhere

Van Halen – 5150

Laurie Anderson – Bright Red

Carbon Leaf – Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat

The Kinks – Schoolboys In Disgrace

Joan Osborne – Trouble And Strife

Radiohead – Kid A

Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited

Judy Collins – In My Life

The Home Service – A New Ground

Bonnie Tyler – Greatest Hits

Joan Osborne – Relish

Dead Can Dance – Into The Labyrinth

Sinéad O'Connor – Throw Down Your Arms

Wizzard – Wizzard Brew

Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane

Weezer – Six Hits

Loggins & Messina – Sittin' In Again

Paul McCartney – Ram

Quicksilver Messenger Service -- Quicksilver Messenger Service

Runrig – Everything You See

Marc Jordan – Mannequin

Jethro Tull – Thick As A Brick

Various Artists – A Little On The CD Side

Jakob Lindberg & Paul O'Dette – English Lute Duets

Jerry Douglas -- Traveler

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, Sept.20th, 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 San Francisco.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ H.L. Mencken (1880-1956): On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

Well, good old H.L. Mencken was prescient as usual....

I almost didn't want to grade this week's program an “A”. There were a few bona fide classics, er, sorry, Klassics, but not many, and too many listenable but obscure songs. But then along came the epic track by Uriah Heep, one of the finest pieces of music i know. So, an “A” it is. And i Tweeted to the host to thank him for “Salisbury.”

There was nothing annoying, anyway, which is unusual. The Foreigner track was as bland as tapwater and probably gets my vote as the worst track today, but it wasn't loathsome, just boring. (Don't tell Adriana at Bentley's pub i said that, though: Foreigner is her favourite band...). It was nice to hear from John Lennon (with May Pang on backing vocals), especially as we no longer seem to get a Beatles' track every week and even more because John's solo schtuff is rarely played on the show. Paul and George make regular appearances. Ringo solo, never, although i can kinda sorta understand that.

Highlights of the show: The Who, Greg Kihn, ARS, Al Stewart, Ian Matthews (whose version of “Seven Bridges Road” was released before The Eagles' version), John Lennon and 10 c.c. Incidentally, The Blue Jays are not a group made up of members of the Toronto baseball team: it's a Justin Hayward (of The Moody Blues) side project.

The absolutely worst parts of today's show were the ads for https://www.shaneco.com/ (“your friend in the jewelry business”). The ads showed up in virtually every commercial break and Tom Shane has one of the most boring voices ever...

Anyway, here's the list, plus a totally gratuitous cat picture:

The Who – The Kids Are Alright

Firefall – Sweet And Sour

Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525

Jackson Browne – The Road And The Sky

Dwight Twilley – Girls

The Babys – The Golden Mile

Dave Mason – Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave

The Greg Kihn Band – Rendezvous

Novo Combo – Up Periscope

Jimmie Mack – Waiting For Tonight

Atlanta Rhythm Section – Georgia Rhythm

Santana – Transcendance

Morningstar – Through The Night

Robert Plant – Ship Of Fools

Lake – Paradise Way

Spirit – 1984

Al Stewart – Nostradamus

Strawbs – Hero And Heroine

Asia – Wildest Dreams

The Doobie Brothers – Here To Love You

Outfield – Say It Isn't So

Molly Hatchet – Bounty Hunter

Le Roux – Addicted

John Lennon -- #9 Dream

Uriah Heep – Salisbury

The Outlaws – Breaker Breaker

Farrenheit – Fool In Love

Foreigner – You're All I Am

Touch – Don't You Know What Love Is

The Max Demian Band – Paradise

The Blue Jays – Saved By The Music

Ian Matthews – Seven Bridges Road

Fleetwood Mac – Oh Daddy

Graeme Edge w. Adrian Gurvitz – Paradise Ballroom

Couchois – Do It In Darkness

10 c.c. -- Art For Art's Sake

The Marshall Tucker Band – Last Of The Singing Cowboys

Huey Lewis And The News – Walking On A Thin Line

I've been spending more time at my other job recently so my personal playlist this week isn't a lengthy one. It includes two two-cd sets (Elton John and Hendrix) plus a lot of music i haven't played in a long time. All good schtuff!

Baka Beyond – Spirit Of The Forest

Afrocelts – Seed

James Taylor – Before This World

Terje Rypdal – Conspiracy

Elton John – Diamonds

A Fine Frenzy – Bomb In A Birdcage

Colin James – One More Mile

Nik Kershaw – To Be Frank

The Albion Band – Stella Maris

The Fixx – One Thing Leads To Another

Catatonia – Equally Cursed And Blessed

Richard Thompson – Sweet Warrior

The Lovin' Spoonful – Greatest Hits

French Frith Kaiser Thompson – Invisible Means

Kate Bush – The Sensual World

Sandy Denny – Rendezvous

Emerson, Lake & Powell -- Emerson, Lake & Powell

The Kinks – Sleepwalker

Jimi Hendrix / Band Of Gypsys – Live At The Fillmore East

Robin Trower – Day Of The Eagle

Martin Carthy – Crown Of Horn

Silly Wizard – A Glint Of Silver

O.S.T. -- The Lion King

David Bowie – The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

Various Artists – 20 Collector's Records Of The 50s And 60s, Vol. 1

Peter Gabriel – Us

City Boy – Anthology

Yes –90125

Mark Knopfler – Golden Heart

Propaganda – A Secret Wish

Joni Mitchell – Hejira

Various Artists – The World Is A Wonderful Place

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, Sept.13th, 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 Santa Clara, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Billy Joel: "I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music."

A brief moment of panic this morning, kids, as my Internet connection went down fifteen minutes before the program started. (It had been solid all week.) Fortunately, i did some basic troubleshooting and had it up and running again with two minutes to spare – and am i ever glad i did! In fact, i would have graded the show A+ if not for two selections: the Pavlov's Dog – the song itself wasn't awful but their singer (whose name i don't remember and frankly can't be arsed to look up) has one of the horriblest voices ever – and then ... ugh, Meat Loaf. The song is utterly cringeworthy, consisting as it does of Mr Loaf whining and feeling sorry for himself for five and a half excruciating minutes because the woman he's with won't drop her knickers for him. Give yourself a shake, Loafie! Or a cold shower. Just STFU. (Although, now that i think about it, doesn't a lot of pop music consist of white boys moaning about how they can't get laid? There probably have been doctoral dissertations written about this....)

That's the lowlights out of the way. The highlights – and there were an unusually large number – mean that we have a grade of “A.” Starting with The Allman Brothers' magnificent number there were many selections i can honestly say i love: Procol Harum, The Police, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Peter Gabriel, James Taylor (and i agree with Uman who said that JT has the perfect voice for a Sunday morning), etc. Even the obscure songs (The Henry Paul Band?) were all right. Which isn't always the case.

In the “i learn something every week” department, i often wondered about the song “Wooden Ships.” On the Crosby, Stills & Nash version (which was played today), the songwriting credit went to Crosby and Stills. However, the song was also recorded by Jefferson Airplane for the “Volunteers” album, where credit is given to Crosby, Stills and Paul Kantner. Apparently, Kantner's name had to be omitted from the CSN recording due to some legal dispute. David Crosby, lovely man, made sure that Paul received the royalties that were due him, though. Ah, The Klassics Show: entertaining and educational!

By the way, today's show was brought to you by Red's Tavern in Imperial, Missouri. Judging by the pictures on their Facebook page, it looks like a place i'd avoid completely, although to be honest i'm avoiding everywhere as much as possible these days....

Here, have a picture of the wonderful Diana Rigg, who died last week, aged 82. She solved all of my childhood problems.... Oh, and the playlist, of course:

The Allman Brothers Band – In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (live)

Firefall – Love That Got Away

Steppenwolf – Rock Me

Procol Harum – A Salty Dog

Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

The Police – I Can't Stand Losing You

Santana – Lightning In The Sky

The Band – Stage Fright

Pink Floyd – San Tropez

Spys – Don't Run My Life

Rare Bird – Sympathy

The Cars – You're All I've Got Tonight

Loverboy – Take Me To The Top

Jimi Hendrix – Crosstown Traffic

The Rolling Stones – Happy

Steve Gibbons – Down In The Bunker

The Who – Athena

Elton John – Teacher I Need You

Peter Gabriel – That Voice Again

Pavlov's Dog – Song Dance

Little Feat – Straight From The Heart

Foghat – Take It Or Leave It

James Taylor – Every Day

Crosby, Stills & Nash – Wooden Ships

The Marshall Tucker Band – Never Trust A Stranger

Meat Loaf – Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

Jackson Browne – The Fuse

Paul Simon – Mother And Child Reunion

Sea Level – That's Your Secret

The Henry Paul Band – Hollywood Paradise

The Rascals – A Beautiful Morning

The Alan Parsons Project – The Raven

Rush – The Analog Kid

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils – Jump At The Chance

Faith Band – Touchy Situation

The Firm – Satisfaction Guaranteed

Lou Reed – Walk On The Wild Side

Painter – Goin' Down The Road

Kenny Loggins – Swear Your Love

Grand Funk Railroad – The Loco-Motion

Cat Stevens – The Hurt

Eagles – You Never Cry Like A Lover

My own personal playlist isn't overly long this week, folks. There was one 3-cd set (Kate Bush's) and one double album (Camel), otherwise it was all single discs. It's not that lengthy because my other job is keeping me away from the home studio more these days. Here's the list:

The Doobie Brothers – The Captain And Me

Steve Winwood – Refugee Of The Heart

Kate Bush – Before The Dawn

Martin Carthy – Because It's There

Richard Thompson – 13 Rivers

Dengue Fever – Cannibal Courtship

Warren Zevon – Genius: The Best Of Warren Zevon

Supertramp – Classics, Vol. 9

Alison Krauss – Essential

Eric Bogle – By Request

Yes – Talk

Blondie – The Best Of Blondie

Genesis –Selling England By The Pound

Donovan – Neutronica

The Allman Brothers Band – Brothers And Sisters

Various Artists – The British Invasion, Vol. 6

Various Artists – Songs Of Our Native Daughters

Voice Of The Beehive – Honey Lingers

Various Artists – Visions Of The Daughters Of Albion

Van der Graaf Generator – Maida Vale

Joni Mitchell – Don Juan's Reckless Daughter

Camel – Camel At The Royal Albert Hall

Dead Can Dance – Anastasis

Peter Gabriel – Long Walk Home

Jerry Douglas – Traveler

Humble Pie – As Safe As Yesterday Is

Dan Fogelberg – Phoenix

The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver – The Very Best Of The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver

Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic

Saga – Images At Twilight

Rory Gallagher – Top Priority

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, Sept. 6th, 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.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Frank Zappa: Let's be realistic about this, the guitar can be the single most blasphemous device on the face of the earth. That's why i like it. The disgusting stink of a too-loud electric guitar: now that's my idea of a good time.

It wasn't a promising start to this morning's program, kids: Harry Chapin (ond one of his longer – and worser -- songs, too). Yuck! In fact, if Dan Fogelberg hadn't shown up, i really don't think i could have graded the show much higher than a comparatively dismal “B+”. As you know, though, the inclusion of Dan – the friend and brother i never had – or ever even met -- means it scores an “A+”.

There was some fine music certainly but there was also a lot that was pleasant but just too ... generic. Probably my favourite songs were those by James Taylor and Bob Dylan (one of KSHE's slogans is “Real Rock Radio” after all!), oh, and The Kinks, of course. (In fact, during a commercial i nipped over to amazon-dot-ca and ordered the cd it comes from, “Schoolboys In Disgrace,” to replace my old vinyl album.) (Please don't start on me about the superiority of vinyl over compact disc. I don't have a working stereo system and listen to all of my music on the computer's optical drive, therefore, cds are better because i can play them.) Robin Trower, The Doobies, ELO, The Band, Van Morrison.... Curiously, this morning's Pink Floyd offering – and as much as i love the group, it's not a particular favourite – was also played on Radio Paradise around six hours earlier. The two stations do overlap occasionally but on the same day would be considered rare. And OMG yet another Eric Clapton song about Patti Boyd. Give yourself a shake, Slowhand!

 

Harry Chapin – Sniper

Peter Frampton – Baby (Something's Happening)

Robin Trower – Long Misty Days

Dan Fogelberg – Man In The Mirror

Leon Russell – Delta Lady

Ted Nugent – Dog Eat Dog

Z.Z. Top – TV Dinners

The Doobie Brothers – Without You

David & David – Welcome To The Boomtown

The Marshall Tucker Band – Blue Ridge Mountain Sky

Steve Winwood – Still In The Game

The Clash – Police On My Back

The Fixx – Red Skies

The Electric Light Orchestra – Nightrider

The Kinks – No More Looking Back

Eric Clapton – She's Waiting

Gulliver – Ridin' The Wind

Steppenwolf -- Monster

Journey – Of A Lifetime

Foreigner – That Was Yesterday

Blue Cheer – I'm The Light

Bob Dylan – All Along The Watchtower

Max Gronenthal – Get It Straight

Mistress – China Lake

Loggins & Messina – Trilogy

Gypsy – Gypsy Queen (Part 1)

Kingfish – Hypnotize

Ron Wood – I Can Feel The Fire

Le Roux – Let Me Be Your Fantasy

Starship – Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight

James Taylor – Something In The Way She Moves

The Band – The Weight

The J. Geils Band – Love-Itis

Randy Pie – Back To The Universe

The Rockets – Desire

The Michael Stanley Band – Don't Stop The Music

Trooper – Two For The Show

Van Morrison – Wild Night

Pink Floyd -- Fearless

My own personal playlist wasn't an overly long one this week, partly because there were three double albums (ELO, The Mothers' expanded version of “Uncle Meat”, and Genesis) but also because i've been working a bit more. Which is a good sign but it all may come crashing down when school re-opens on Tuesday. Anyway, here's the list:

Diana Ross And The Supremes – 20 Greatest Hits

Peter Gabriel – Rated PG

Sheryl Crow – Threads

Wendy Carlos – Clockwork Orange

Court Yard Hounds – Amelita

Electric Light Orchestra – Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra

Joni Mitchell – Taming The Tiger

Jackson Browne – The Next Voice You Hear: The Best Of Jackson Browne

David Lindley – El Rayo-X

The Mothers Of Invention – Uncle Meat

Sinéad O'Connor – Throw Down Your Arms

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into The Great Wide Open

Jefferson Airplane – Bless Its Pointed Little Head

London Grammar – If You Want

Cocteau Twins – Heaven Or Las Vegas

Elvis Costello – Spike

Elbow – Little Fictions

Wizzard – Wizzard Brew

Paula Cole – Revolution

Focus – Hamburger Concerto

The Doobie Brothers – What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits

Peter Hammill – Out Of Water

Genesis – Three Sides Live

John Kirkpatrick – Earthling

The Beatles – 1

Fairport Convention – Shuffle And Go

UB 40 – The Very Best Of UB 40

Amazing Blondel – Fantasia Lindum

Joe Cocker – Joe Cocker's Greatest Hits

Chicago Transit Authority – Chicago Transit Authority

RoryGallagher – RoryGallagher

Joan Osborne – Righteous Love

The Alan Parsons Project – I Robot

Jerry Douglas -- Traveler