'40s Junction
- Misty-Erroll Garner (Not everyone knows that Garner wrote this classic for the piano in 1954. Scores of artists--including Johnny Mathis, most famously--covered it with Johnny Burke's lyrics. I'm not surprised that SiriusXM played it on its '40s Junction station because it sounds as though it's from that decade.)
- The Kids Are Alright-The Who (Anyone who thinks this way, without guile, deserves an A for attitude. I was pleased when I learned that Big Star's "In The Street" was chosen as "That '70s Show"'s theme song, but I've read that "The Kids Are Alright" was in contention, and I imagine it would have worked just as well. Strongly recommended: Neil Finn's cover version.)
- It's Likely To Have A Name Next Week-Caravan (Nearly eight minutes of appealing early '70s prog rock, with elements of Brian Auger and Yes, that could just as easily have been played on the Jam_On station. The melody is mainly instrumental with minimal, unobtrusive vocals and plenty of space for the guitar and keyboard to surge ahead. The honesty of the title is a bonus.)
- Another Star-Stevie Wonder (Yet another gem from the treasure trove, "Songs In The Key Of Life." It's one of the longer tracks on the album; vocally and instrumentally, however, Wonder and company could easily sustain this groove for an additional eight minutes.)
- A Love Bizarre-Sheila E. (It's easy to hear Prince's influence on this tune he co-wrote with Sheila E.)
- Love Letter-Bonnie Raitt (Most songs with a title like this would run the risk of being overly syrupy. That's not the case here. Raitt sings "Love Letter" with her usual full-throated, bluesy conviction and rocks its rhythm.)
- Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?-The Manhattan Transfer (It's a testament to the song's adaptability that it lends itself equally well to a solo vocalist such as Louis Armstrong, a smoky piano rendition by Ellis Marsalis, and the collective vocal harmonies of The Manhattan Transfer.)
- That Old Black Magic-Debby Boone (Boone takes an interesting approach on this cover, singing it in the style of Frank Sinatra's "Saturday Night Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week." It's a slower tempo than that of the definitive version, to my ears, by Louis Prima and Keely Smith, but it works. Sidebar: If you like the Prima & Smith version, check YouTube for Jim Henson's "Sam And Friends" segment that features it. The puppets dancing to it on TV, as well as the puppets watching it, obviously dig it.)
- Claude Debussy: Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun (French National Orchestra/Daniele Gatti, conductor) (After two years of reviewing music on this blog, it's about time this piece came up. I'm always curious to hear how the flutist in any rendition of this piece approaches the opening solo. This soloist takes a somewhat slower, more deliberate approach than I've heard on other recordings, but it's no less appealing.)
- Franz Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 60 in C major (Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields/Sir Neville Marriner, conductor) (When you're as talented and prolific a composer as Haydn, you can confidently incorporate a deliberately out-of-tune passage for the violins into a symphony's final movement as a joke that listeners will enjoy. I was sorry to learn of Marriner's passing on Sunday at age 92. If you've listened to any Classical radio station or streaming service for more than an hour in your life, you've probably heard at least some of his many engaging, accessible interpretations of orchestral or choral pieces.)
- Lesley Ann-David Sanborn (This is the closest Sanborn's saxophone has ever come to sounding like a music box while playing a song's hook. This track is a mainstay of smooth jazz radio stations, for good reason.)
