SiriusXM highlights XII

Highlights heard yesterday:

1st Wave

• Cruel To Be Kind-Nick Lowe (Lyrically, the tune expresses a philosophy that's questionable, at best.  It's extremely catchy power pop, though.)

'60s On 6

• Venus-The Shocking Blue (A great guitar lick in a memorable one-hit wonder tune.)

'70s On 7

• Right Back Where We Started From-Maxine Nightingale (An ear-catching hook that doesn't leave the listener's mind easily.)

The Bridge 

• Blue Bayou-Linda Ronstadt (One of Ronstadt's best hits; it segues well with Stephen Bishop's "On And On.")
• From The Beginning-Emerson, Lake & Palmer (A haunting guitar line propels one of the band's best tunes.)

The Groove

• I Wanna Be Rich-Calloway (There's no hidden subtext in the lyrics; the protagonist wants "money, lots and lots of money," in this fun melody from 25 years ago.)

Real Jazz

• June In January-Wes Montgomery (Straight ahead jazz from an ensemble that cooks.)

Siriusly Sinatra

• Bewitched-Charlie Watts Quintet featuring Bernard Fowler (Extremely smooth vocals with lush orchestral backing; it's one of the highlights, along with "My Ship," from the "Warm & Tender" CD.)

Spa

• Wish-James Sera (Appealing, meditative guitar.)

The Spectrum

• Ode To Billie Joe-Sarah McQuaid (A good cover of the Bobbie Gentry tune that smooths out quirks within the original version's tempo.)

Stingray Music highlights VI

Compelling selections I heard this morning:

Baroque

• J.S. Bach: Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005 (Paul Galbraith, guitar) (Galbraith transfers this violin sonata effectively to the guitar.  The third movement, Largo, is particularly lyrical.  If I hadn't known that Bach composed this piece, I don't think I would have guessed that this sonata was originally composed for the violin.)

Cocktail Lounge

• Campus Crowd-The Seventy Sound Group (Dig this groovy, decadent instrumental...)

Cool Jazz

• Midnight Blue-Kenny Burrell (A sly, swingin' bounce; one of guitarist Burrell's standout tracks.)

Folk Roots

• The Loneliest-Heidi Talbot featuring Louis Abbott (Talbot's voice has an interesting blend of Kate Rusby and Petra Haden qualities; both are used effectively here.)
• The River Jordan-Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys (Tasteful, engaging lead singing, harmonizing, and pickin'.)

Jazz Masters

• I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance-Benny Carter Quartet (A smooth, sax-led ensemble; despite his long odds, the protagonist seems at ease.)

Jazz Now

• Wednesday Morning-Chris Parker Trio (Tasteful, elegant combo playing.  Also recommended: "Waltz For Apple" and "C'est Possible.")

Soul Storm

• You Go To My Head-Cassandra Wilson (One of the highlights of Wilson's latest release, "Coming Forth By Day."  Another Billie Holiday cover that stands out: "I'll Be Seeing You.")

Swinging Standards

• Without A Song-George Benson & The Count Basie Orchestra (Benson is right at home singing with big band accompaniment.  It's no surprise coming from an accomplished vocalist and guitarist who has been recording for more than 50 years.)

Ingredients of smooth showmanship

After watching a good concert by longtime St. Louis artist Ralph Butler and his band last night, it occurred to me that there are three things any good band that performs mostly covers should do.  Butler and his band nailed all three aspects:

• Getting the crowd on its feet: Two of the band's strongest performances, of the Santana/Rob Thomas tune, "Smooth," and Jeffrey Osborne's "Stay With Me Tonight," got audience members of all ages dancing.  Butler sang with conviction, and the band echoed his commitment.
• Interacting with the audience without overdoing it: Butler did this several times throughout the night and was especially effective when singing to two young girls from the audience during Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World."
• Presenting a mix of slow, midtempo, and fast songs by various artists that appeal to a wide age range: I was especially glad to hear the quintet play Stevie Wonder's "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers, and Bruce Hornsby & The Range's "Every Little Kiss."  Each of those songs has held up over the decades and should appeal even to audience members who aren't immediately familiar with them.  Butler prefaced "Lovely Day" with "If there's anyone in the audience who knows this song and would like to sing it, we'd like to invite you to forget about it. No, really...If you want to sing, come on!" 

Another smooth move: Butler worked the names of the concert's sponsors and what they sell into the lyrics of Marc Cohn's "Walking In Memphis."  After seeing Butler and his musicians play twice at Station Plaza in Kirkwood over the last two years, I see why they've had such long careers.  When you have talent, a welcoming set list, and you acknowledge the audience, you've got the makings of a strong concert.

A bassist's baccalaureate memory

Seeing footage of various graduation ceremonies in recent weeks reminds me of my high school's baccalaureate service.  I remember it as a tasteful service in which the minister and various class representatives talked about what had been accomplished and what it might be like to face the future.  It was a thoughtful service of prayers, reflections, vocal and instrumental music--and a challenge to see if any of the choir singers about to take center stage would trip over the upright basses on the floor and go sailing into the risers.  Fortunately, no one tripped over the basses, but I cringed each time someone approached them, as one of them was mine.  I got a laugh from the minister as I whispered before leaving the stage, "At times like this, I wish I played the flute."

Online radio sampler highlights XVII

This morning, I sampled some of the most appealing radio stations I highlighted earlier this year.  Some of the better selections I heard were:

WNMC (Traverse City, MI)

• The Sun, Moon, And Stars-Nanci Griffith (Griffith sings and writes without pretense, resulting in an honest, refreshing consistency from album to album.)

WPRB (Princeton, NJ)

• The Castle At Sunrise-Jennifer Castellano (Do you feel ambivalent about facing the new day, thinking it's best to ease into it with a piece that becomes more commanding as it progresses?  This piano instrumental is for you, then.)

WRTI (Philadelphia, PA)

• Sugar-Dave Stryker featuring Javon Jackson (A smooth saxophone and organ groove.)

WUMB (Boston, MA)

• Left Of Center-Suzanne Vega (A convincing argument in favor of getting to know someone and finding common ground with someone who's quirky and not so accessible.)

WXPN (Philadelphia, PA)

• I Got The News-Steely Dan (One of the band's stronger non-hits, thanks to a great piano riff.)
• Starry Eyes-The Records (One of the catchiest power pop songs about severing ties with someone.)
• It's Only Natural-Crowded House (One of many excellent tracks on the "Woodface" album showcasing the vocal harmonies of Neil and Tim Finn.  Strongly recommended from the same album: "Chocolate Cake," "Fall At Your Feet," "Tall Trees," "Weather With You," "Four Seasons In One Day," and "How Will You Go.")

FM dial scan highlights XXXI

Some of the better selections I've heard this morning:

KDHX 88.1 FM

• Warrior-Laura Marling (Marling channels Suzanne Vega in this haunting tune; it's one of the more captivating songs of 2015, so far.)
• Why Can't We Be Friends-War (Listen to this tune, and tell me that it doesn't make you take life at least a smidgen less seriously.  If I didn't already know otherwise, I would never have guessed that this band also recorded "Slippin' Into Darkness.")
• Time-Jackie Moore ("Precious, Precious" was Moore's one top 40 hit.  "Time" should have charted, as well, as it's a good R&B tune appealing to a listener's social conscience.)

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Body And Soul-Mulgrew Miller (A sublime piano arrangement of this standard.)

KCLC 89.1 FM

• Satellite-Guster (Thanks, KCLC, for reminding me of this 2006 track that's ideal for driving.)

KEZK 102.5 FM

• St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)-John Parr (Parr emotes on one of 1985's best hits in a style reminiscent of Meat Loaf.)
• Hit Me With Your Best Shot-Pat Benatar (One of the stronger, more accessible '80s album rock tracks.  "Little Too Late," another '80s hit, deserved more radio airplay; if you like the feel of "...Best Shot," you'll probably like "Little Too Late.")

K297BI 107.3 FM, a.k.a. KNOU-HD2 

• Franz von Suppe: Light Cavalry Overture (Montreal Symphony Orchestra/Charles Dutoit, conductor)  (An up-and-at-'em way to start the day.  KMOX could have used this piece as its morning march decades ago.)

Hearing album tracks in their intended order

In today's era of purchasing individual songs more frequently than entire albums, the effect of hearing a great flow between songs on an album sometimes gets lost.  One triple play that needs to be heard in its original order falls on the "Where Have I Known You Before" album by Return To Forever featuring Chick Corea.  The second through fourth tracks on side one form a captivating, keyboard-anchored fusion trilogy.  Chick Corea's short solo piano composition, "Where Have I Loved You Before," is an effective prelude to drummer Lenny White's piece, "The Shadow Of Lo."  "The Shadow Of Lo" continues the theme that Corea starts in "Where...," switching it from piano to keyboard, and provides over seven minutes of spacy jamming from guitarist Al di Meola, bassist Stanley Clarke, White, and Corea.  The next piece, which Corea wrote, is "Where Have I Danced With You Before."  This fast solo piano piece is an effective bookend, and its last, slower measures punctuate the triple play with a definitive ending.  Although some songs on other albums can be heard in any order, these three tracks need to be heard in their original sequence; the effect is compromised otherwise.