Eight standout songs heard today:
KFSL (Fossil, OR)
- Find My Way Back To My Heart-Alison Krauss & Union Station (Krauss consistently conveys just the right amount of sadness when singing about heartbreak.)
KMMS (Bozeman, MT)
- When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around-The Police (I still think this is one of the band's best driving rhythms. Lyrically, its chorus conveys one of life's accurate truisms. This is arguably the group's best track, in my opinion.)
KRUI (Iowa City, IA)
- Evergreen-Renata Zeiguer (The production gloss serves these high-pitched vocals well. This indie rock tune captures the feeling of wandering through the woods and appreciating nature effectively.)
WAJH (Birmingham, AL)
- He's Gone Away-Five Plus Six (A first-rate contemplative, trumpet-driven instrumental rendering of this folk tune. It's a tasteful elegy for bassist Charlie Haden, who recorded the tune with Pat Metheny.)
WDCB (Chicago, IL)
- Keep On Keeping On (Live)-Ahmad Jamal (A kickin' piano groove.)
WTUL (New Orleans, LA)
- Comfortably Numb-The Bad Plus joined by Wendy Lewis (This is a creative way to cover this much-played Pink Floyd tune. Lewis's voice reminds me somewhat of Suzanne Vega. It's interesting hearing such vocals juxtaposed against piano glissandos that, in a new age piece, might be used to conjure up images of waterfalls. I'm not surprised that The Bad Plus pulls off this unlikely blend, given the group's strong cover of Rush's "Tom Sawyer.")
WZRD (Chicago, IL)
- Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now (Live)-Poi Dog Pondering (I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this unexpected cover. Poi Dog Pondering? The rock band I enjoyed playing on KCOU in the early '90s, thanks to "Postcard From A Dream (Toast And Jelly)," "U Li La Lu," and "Be The One?" That band covered the McFadden & Whitehead R&B dance anthem? Yes--with impressive zest.)
- Change The World-Lettuce (This strong funk groove reminds me of Tower Of Power's peak in the '70s. T.O.P.'s "Only So Much Oil In The Ground" could segue with this.)
