Standout selections heard today:
KEDM (Monroe, LA)
- Claudio S. Grafulla: Nightingale Waltz (Eastman Wind Ensemble/Frederick Fennell, conductor) (Stately and anthemic. Before the tune segued into a true waltz, I was almost compelled to stand at attention.)
KQAL (Winona, MN)
- Now Or Never Now-Metric (A blunt reminder of procrastination's pitfalls.)
KRCB (Santa Rosa, CA)
- Home-Karla Bonoff (Bonoff's self-titled 1977 album is consistently strong, and "Home," about the reassuring familiarity of being in one's comfort zone, is a key reason why. The Boxcar Lilies recorded a well-harmonized cover of it.)
- Luxury Liner-Emmylou Harris (Credit to Gram Parsons for solid lyrics about feeling forlorn. I'd argue, though, that by ratcheting up the tempo, Harris and company recorded a version that's even more compelling than the original.)
WAER-HD2 (Syracuse, NY)
- I Concentrate On You-Laura Klein & Ted Wolff (This pleasant, well-blended piano-and-vibraphone cover of the Cole Porter standard holds up for all seven minutes.)
WEMU (Ypsilanti, MI)
- This Bitter Earth-Veronica Swift (Grandiose orchestral instrumentation and vocals. I'd be curious to hear Mary Fahl sing this.)
- Creepin'-Don Braden (I always looked forward to playing Stevie Wonder's original version of this on KNJZ, and I'm pleased to hear how well the melody translates to the flute.)
WRPI (Troy, NY)
- Twilight-ELO (Say what you will about the dated spoken prologue, but the ingredients that typically make ELO hits hold up over decades--a memorable chorus, spacey backing vocals, and not particularly subtle orchestral scoring--are all here.)
