KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, Nov. 1st, 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 an American address. This week, according to https://whatismyipaddress.com/ i was listening from Santa Clara, California, where there have now been 406 deaths due to COVID-19.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Franz Schubert: Music embodies feeling without forcing it to contend and combine with thought, as it is forced in most arts and especially in the art of words.

Well, who can one trust these days? There was an ad on this morning's program, placed by Uniting Missouri PAC, attacking Missouri state auditor Nicole Galloway, who's running for governor against Republican incumbent Mike Parsons, accusing her and her husband of corruption and abuse of office and stating that she was under investigation for felonies. I subscribe to the St Louis Post-Dispatch and i try to keep up, especially with the election so close and i'd never heard of any of that before, and i like Nicole, so i dug a little deeper and discovered that the charges are a load of old cobbler's. 100% false. I expect advertisers to maybe bend the truth a bit, but that was egregious. She should sue. Vote for Nicole, folks! (At least she'd beautify the Governor's Mansion. Yes, i know, i'm shallow.) (Editor's note: can we cool it with the politics, please, Dad?)

OK, on to the music, Today's show came within a hair's breadth of being graded an “A+”, but it lost points for the appearance of Yoko Ono, as a backing vocalist on “Instant Karma!” and it "merely" earns an "A". I love the song, of course, and as there are quite a few backing vocalists, her voice is pretty buried in the mix, but it's there: an audible screech. Shudder!

Otherwise, it was a magical morning. Hardly anything annoying, just the one song by Blend which actually was all right until you learn that the prize of the title is the carcass of a bear that was shot by some dipshit hunter who ventured forth to blow the brains out of furry woodland creatures. Otherwise, a lot of it was taken from my very own record collection and there was much that i can honestly say i love love LOVE. And as we all know and as Todd Rundgren (who popped in twice today) said, “love is the answer.”

Right off the top we had Steely Dan, followed closely by Yes, Renaissance (a track that featured the excellent Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash on electric guitar), Dylan, Todd, Camel, Nazz, Captain Beyond, Flash & The Pan... all music that i adore. I think that my favourite song was the one by Nazz, but there were so many to choose from. The Buddy Miles track was excellent, but i prefer the version he recorded on Jimi Hendrix's Band Of Gypsys album.

Here's the playlist and a picture of Nicole Galloway. Vote early and vote often! If the United States hasn't devolved into complete anarchy after the election, i'll see you next week.

Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic

Chris Rea – Working On It

Jefferson Starship – No Way Out

Little Feat – Rocket In My Pocket

Yes – Changes

Renaissance – Ashes Are Burning

Todd Rundgren – Hello It's Me

Uriah Heep – The Wizard

The Steve Miller Band – Winter Time

Bob Dylan – Lay Lady Lay

Camel – Lady Fantasy

Traffic – Empty Pages

Crosby, Stills & Nash – Southern Cross

Nazz – Open My Eyes

Fleetwood Mac – Emerald Eyes

Jim Capaldi – Living On The Edge

Joe Cocker – The Letter

Captain Beyond – Sufficiently Breathless

The Climax Blues Band – Using The Power

Russ Ballard – Voices

Flash And The Pan – Hey, St Peter

The Grateful Dead – U.S. Blues

Alvin Lee & Mylon LeFevre – So Sad (No Love Of His Own)

Lucifer's Friend – Spanish Galleon

Ray Gomez – Make Your Move

Bad Company – Painted Face

The Babys – Looking For Love

John Lennon – Instant Karma!

The J. Geils Band – First I Look At The Purse

Genesis – Home By The Sea

Paice Ashton Lord – Remember The Good Times

Schon & Hammer – The Ride

Buddy Miles – Them Changes

Ironhorse – You Gotta Let Go

Blend – The Prize

The Michael Schenker Group – Cry For The Nations

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils – Break Away (From Those Chains)

The Zombies – Time Of The Season

Shoes – She Satisfies

Here's what troubled my optical drive this week:

Luna – Luna

Various Artists – A Little On The CD Side, Volume 8

Pyewackett – Sheffield Hallum Wakes Folk Festival 1991 (ssh, it's a bootleg)

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

Ray Davies – Working Man's Cafe

Dengue Fever – Cannibal Courtship

Steve Earle – Transcendental Blues

Jack Bruce – SomethinEls

The Kinks – Sleepwalker

Paul McCartney – Ram (deluxe edition)

Home Service – Alright Jack

Fairport Convention – Nine

Steeleye Span – Est'd 1969

Warren Zevon – Genius: The Best Of Warren Zevon

Afro Celt Sound System – Volume 2: Release

Tori Amos – Strange Little Girls

Wizzard – Introducing Eddy & The Falcons

Rhiannon Giddens – Factory Girl

10,000 Maniacs – In My Tribe

James Taylor – Greatest Hits

Cat Stevens – Laughing Apple

ABBA – More ABBA Gold

Oysterband – Granite Years: Best Of ... 1986 To '97

Various Artists – World Of Noise

Alan Stivell – Live In Dublin

Van der Graaf Generator – Still Life

Marillion – Brave

Eagles – On The Border

Various Artists – A Little On The CD Side, Volume 9

The Beatles – A Hard Day's Night

Afro Celt Sound System – Volume 3: Further In Time

James Taylor – American Standard

Various Artists – Joni 75: A Joni Mitchell Birthday Celebration

Jerry Douglas -- Traveler

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, Oct. 25th, 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 an American address. This week, according to https://whatismyipaddress.com/ i was listening from New York City. I once felt that "The Big Apple" was my spiritual home, but then i found St Louis – or, more precisely, St Louis found me. Although i confess i wouldn't go there (or anywhere else in The States) now if you paid me.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Ringo Starr: We will miss George for his sense of love, his sense of music and his sense of laughter.

https://showmestrong.mo.gov/

It is, of course, the finest four hours of radio that i'm aware of but sometimes i think it would be useful if they had, as does the other radio station i listen to, Radio Paradise, a PSD (“play something different”) button. I could have used it a couple of times this morning. Eric Burdon's unadultered wankery (according to his song he's a “long-haired leaping gnome,” FFS) was painful, and The Guess Who's Burton Cummings attempt to channel Jim Morrison was downright embarrassing. I like a lot of The Guess Who's music but “Friends Of Mine”? Ugh.

The first song of the day wasn't that great, either, that lament for a long defunct baseball team. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_St._Louis_Browns if you're interested. It was rather tedious, to be honest. Things soon got better. Christine McVie was the best singer Fleetwood Mac ever had and that Yes song is an all-time favourite. Historically speaking i ultimately grew tired of The Police thanks to Sting's overweening ego, but there's no doubt they were all superb musicians.

Almost everything was enjoyable, really, apart from the above-mentioned. A few that were “merely” good but a whole ship-load of much-loved songs (that may well be my favourite Cat Stevens song listed there). And Rory Gallagher popped in for the craic so that's an automatic grade of “A+” but the truth is, i think it would have merited that grade anyway.

As to the more important schtuff, i.e., the ads, it was great to hear Bart Inman back on the air – he explained his absence by the fact that his business has been overwhelmed. From his spots, he seems like a really nice guy and i love his droll sense of humour. I'm glad he's doing well. 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skip Battin – St Louis Browns

Fleetwood Mac – Spare Me A Little Of Your Love

Jefferson Starship – Layin' It On The Line

Yes – Heart Of The Sunrise

Joe Walsh – Mother Says

The Police – Driven To Tears

Eric Burdon & War – Spill The Wine

The Electric Light Orchestra – So Fine

The Who – Slip Kid

Boz Scaggs – Loan Me A Dime 12' 48” -- Duane Allman on guitar

The Doobie Brothers – Ukiah / The Captain And Me

Steely Dan – Any Major Dude Will Tell You

Traffic – Freedom Rider

Eagles – On The Border

George Harrison – This Song

Ringo Starr – Photograph

Graham Parker – Don't Ask Me Questions

Jackson Browne – Fountain Of Sorrow

Genesis – Your Own Special Way

The Guess Who – Friends Of Mine

Todd Rundgren – The Want Of A Nail

B.B. King – The Thrill Is Gone

Cat Stevens – Oh Very Young

The Rolling Stones – Monkey Man

Spider – Change

Jethro Tull – Hunting Girl

Free – Wishing Well

Lake – On The Run

Rory Gallagher – Edged In Blue

Pat Travers – Boom Boom Out Go The Lights

Sherbs – No Turning Back

The Grateful Dead -- Truckin'

Let's see. Three double albums and one triple – the Kiki Dee, amazingly, was the triple – my personal playlist is not overly long this week:

City Boy – Anthology

Steve Hackett – Metamorpheus

Coleman Hawkins – Body And Soul

Eliza Gilkyson – Paradise Hotel

Various Artists – A Little On The CD Side, Vol. VI

Fish – Weltschmerz

Manfred Mann's Earth Band – Angel Station

Jane Siberry – The Walking

Renaissance – Azure D'Or

J.S. Bach – 6 Cello Suites

Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home

The Move – The BBC Sessions

Bluehorses – Thirteen Fires

Max Webster – Mutiny Up My Sleeve

Dervish – The Great Irish Songbook

Kiki Dee – Gold

The Beatles – Beatles For Sale

The Kinks – Preservation Act 2

CANO – Aù Nord De Notre Vie

Oysterband – Holy Bandits

Planxty – One Night In Bremen

Jethro Tull – Stormwatch 2

Wendy Carlos – Clockwork Orange

The Pretty Reckless – Going To Hell

Jeff Beck – Official Bootleg U.S.A. '06

The Shadows Of Knight – Dark Sides: The Best Of The Shadows Of Knight

Various Artists – A Little On The CD Side, Volume 7

Ringo Starr – Ringo

Katrina & The Waves – Walking On Sunshine: The Best Of Katrina & The Waves

Fairport Convention – Shuffle And Go

Caro Emerald – Acoustic Sessions

Martin Carthy -- Shearwater

KSHE KLASSICS SHOW, Oct. 18th, 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 an American address. This week, according to https://whatismyipaddress.com/ i was listening from San Francisco.]

Quotation Of The Week ~ Haruki Murakami: As Duke Ellington once said, “There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind.” In that sense, jazz and classical music are fundamentally the same. The pure joy one experiences listening to “good” music transcends questions of genre.

I know that i've mentioned this before, but it never ceases to discombobulate me to hear hospitals advertising on the radio (and two different facilities had spots on this morning's show). That would be especially true now, i would have thought: infection rates in the U.S.A., soaring as they are, must keep these places pretty much filled to capacity. Perhaps they're looking for customers, er, patients who aren't so high maintenance. I won't complain, though: they helped pay for this fan-friggin'-tastic edition of The Klassics Show.

Yes, kids, it was an utterly brill edition and definitely an “A+”. Rory, of course, automatically means that grade, but this installment would have merited it even without the “check shirt wizard.” There was so much magnificent schtuff – and nothing annoying – i don't know where to begin.

Rory, of course, is my favourite guitarist. My favourite female singer is Joan Osborne (who is never played on KSHE). I've been thinking quite a bit lately about a favourite male singer and i've decided after much agonising that it's James Taylor. Dan Fogelberg and John Lennon would be close behind, but JT gets the nod and didn't one of his greatest songs (written about his nephew also named James) show up in the first hour, right before Rory.

I suppose the worst song today was the one by The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and there was nothing wrong with it all, it just wasn't particularly interesting. Perhaps “worst” is the wrong word to describe it. Least best, maybe? Great songs, however, were all over the place. Jackson Browne! Wishbone Ash! (I wouldn't call Wishbone Ash – still going strong after 50 years, btw -- a brilliant band: some of their music is dire. But they released some gorgeous music as well and today's selection fell into the latter category.)

Er, where was i? Oh, i remember: The Kinks! Yes! Klaatu (a band i don't recall ever hearing on the show before)! Elton John! Mama's Pride (“the pride of St Louis”)! And one of The Allman Brothers' greatest songs, “poppy” as it is.

Oh, dear me. My savage breast hath indeed been soothed by today's music. And here's a rare bird. It's a Northern Bald Ibis. Followed by the playlist.

Rare Bird – Turn Your Head

Steely Dan – Time Out Of Mind

James Taylor – Sweet Baby James

Rory Gallagher – They Don't Make Them Like You Anymore

Loggins & Messina – Peace Of Mind

Golden Earring – Vanilla Queen

Joe Walsh – Indian Summer

Blue Őyster Cult – Take Me Away

The Fabulous Thunderbirds – Powerful Stuff

Jackson Browne – Boulevard

Bachman-Turner Overdrive – Gimme Your Money Please

Wishbone Ash – Persephone

The Kinks – Tired Of Waiting For You

Trickster – If That's The Way The Feeling Takes You

Supertramp – Even In The Quietest Moments

Kerry Livgren – Mask Of The Great Deceiver

The Climax Blues Band – Mighty Fire

Stingray – The Man In My Shoes

Traffic – Rock And Roll Stew

U.K. -- Night After Night (live)

Yes – Siberian Khatru

Bruce Springsteen – Promised Land

Kenny Loggins – Love Has Come Of Age

The Charlie Daniels Band – Birmingham Blues

Paul McCartney – Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey

Klaatu – Calling Occupants (Of Interplanetary Craft)

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils – Standin' On The Rock

Atlanta Rhythm Section – Sky High

Jefferson Starship – Runaway

Procol Harum – Simple Sister

Elton John – Burn Down The Mission

Mama's Pride – Merry-Go-Round

Robin Trower – My Love (Burning Love)

The Allman Brothers Band – Revival

Kansas – Portrait (He Knew)

Little Feat – All That You Dream

Journey – Somethin' To Hide

Spirit – Nothing To Hide

Santana – Well All Right

My own personal playlist is a little long this time, which is rather odd, as two double albums (Roy Wood and Soft Machine) and one triple cd (Bruce Springsteen's) are in there. But it was pretty slow at my other job so i was at home a bit more than i have been lately. Here's the damage i did to my eardrums:

Richard Thompson – Bloody Noses

Various Artists – Cigarettes And Alcohol

Geri Allen Trio – Twenty One

Stèphane Grappelli – Fit As A Fiddle

Chelsea Williams – Boomerang

Various Artists – A Little On The CD Side, Vol. 5

The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver – Beat Of The Street

The Albion Band – Rise Up Like The Sun

Roy Wood – Music Book

Soft Machine – Third

Alison Krauss & Union Station – New Favorite

Various Artists – Hard Cash

Sheena Easton - The Collection

Horslips – Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part

The Kinks – Soap Opera

Various Artists – Daredevil: The Album

The Fixx – One Thing Leads To Another: Greatest Hits

Dead Can Dance – Dionysus

Bob Dylan – Love And Theft

Bruce Springsteen – The Essential Bruce Springsteen

Counting Crows – August And Everything After

Joan Osborne – Breakfast In Bed

Rory Gallagher – Jinx

Marillion – Script For A Jester's Tear

Various Artists – Beloved

Robin Trower – Day Of The Eagle: The Best Of Robin Trower

The Electric Prunes – Mass In F Minor

June Tabor – At The Wood's Heart

Paul Simon – The Rhythm Of The Saints

Bluehorses – Ten Leagues Beyond The Wild World's End

Franz Ferdinand -- Franz Ferdinand

Mick Abrahams – Mick's Back

Blondie – No Exit

Renaissance – Song For All Seasons

Rob Hyman et al. -- Largo