KDHX 88.1 FM
- Starry Eyes-The Records (Songs about severing times with someone are rarely this catchy. This is a perfectly put-together song, from the forthright lyrics to the infectious power pop guitar part. This was one of my favorite tunes to play on KCOU.)
- Full Moon Turn My Head Around-Off Broadway (Liberating riffs like these are why people aspire to become rock stars. Every part here--vocals, guitar, bass, and drums--is essential for the tune's feel.)
- Darben The Redd Foxx-Dizzy Gillespie & Friends (One of Gillespie's friends was the great flutist, James Moody. If you've seen "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," recall the scene where Snoopy blows a leaf on top of the leaf pile while Charlie Brown rakes the yard; that'll give you a good approximation of the tune's intro. Moody carries the melody of his composition through its gentle intro and more powerful moments.)
- Lucy's-Mindi Abair (The deliberately muffled, minimalist vocals complement Abair's saxophone perfectly in this midetmpo smooth jazz standout.)
- Shame-Evelyn "Champagne" King (I'd forgotten King was just 18 when she had a hit with this. She sings here with the confidence of someone decades older; the saxophone and rhythm players are on board with the groove throughout, making this one of 1978's bigger hits.)
- Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Guitar Concerto No. 1 in D major (London Mozart Players/Andrew Litton, conductor; Nicola Hall, guitar) (The orchestra and Hall capture the piece's turbulent, foreboding passages and romantic, lyrical passages with equal grace.)
