Two compelling versions of "On The Beach"

Chris Rea, best known for the hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," recorded a strong track suitable for late-night listening.  "On The Beach" is an album title track.  A repeated five-note phrase gives the song its atmosphere, and Rea's low-pitched vocals maintain a reflective mood.  When I was at KNJZ, we played the fast version on a best-of compilation.  I was surprised to find, a few years later, that the original version on Rea's 1986 album is considerably slower but no less captivating.  I haven't heard either version on the air in years, but if you'd like to be transported back to a comforting place or time, both versions are worth your time.

Sparking a forgotten earworm memory

In my previous post, "One priority of a good chorus teacher," I mentioned some of the enjoyable pop songs my sixth grade chorus class sang.  There was another song we sang that I'd forgotten about until just recently--"Elvira" by The Oak Ridge Boys.  This was the one country song our class sang, and the memory of it makes me smile--and cringe a little.  Looking back, it's funny to remember our sixth grade class singing, "Giddy up, oom poppa, oom poppa, mow mow," while Mrs. B. played the piano.  I can't deny that the song's hook is memorable, though.  True to my word in another recent post, I listened to it in its entirety during "American Top 40"'s 1981 year-end countdown.  After all, there was a ranking attached to it, and that made it more compelling.

Online radio sampler highlights XVI

Standout selections heard this afternoon:

WHRW (Binghamton, NY)

• Fly Me To The Moon-Shiro Sagisu (Strong female vocals backed by soaring orchestral accompaniment.)
• Solid Gold-Keith Mansfield (Just as Chuck Mangione's "Give It All You Got" is perfect Olympics theme music, "Solid Gold" is ideal theme music for any action-packed sports broadcast or highlights show.)

WRCT (Pittsburgh, PA)

• Martini Time-The Aqua Velvets (How Marshall Crenshaw or Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet might sound if they recorded an album of surf instrumentals; it was good to hear this track from '95.)
• Georgy Girl-Prabha Devi (Naturally, when you hear this oldie by The Seekers, you probably think, "This is a sitar instrumental waiting to happen."  Wait...You don't think that?  Give this version a listen; it might convince you.)

WUCF (Orlando, FL)

• Beautiful Love-Frank Potenza (A fine tribute to the music of understated guitarist Joe Pass.  The entire CD, "For Joe," is recommended.)
• Jammin' In The Boro-Larry Douglas & Jorge Pineda Alltet (Appealing uptempo trumpet and ensemble playing with recurring vocals.)

WUKY-HD3 (Lexington, KY)

• Things Are Getting Better-Cannonball Adderley (Adderley leads a swingin' ensemble in a tune reminiscent of "I'm Beginning To See The Light.")
• All Or Nothing At All-Denise Donatelli (Smooth, sultry vocals.)

Persistent earworm alert III

Over the past week, Billy Preston's song, "Will It Go Round In Circles," has gone through my mind repeatedly.  It isn't a bad song to have stuck in one's mind.  There's a catchy chorus, some cool keyboard and harmonica playing, and an arrangement that's unlike any other.  I'm not sure why it has come to mind so much, but it might be a flashback to KARO, the former oldies station I listened to when I was in college.  Preston's song used to come up on KARO fairly often back then, along with "Betcha By Golly, Wow" by The Stylistics and Michael Murphey's "Wildfire."  I'd hear that opening piano lick and "I've got a song, I ain't go no melody...," and I had to listen until the song was over.  Looking back, it was one of the better hits of the '70s.

The allure of song rankings

It's odd how putting a number on a song sometimes increases its allure.  I think back to my radio countdown listening habits in the '80s and early '90s.  In the early '80s, I would listen to all four hours of "American Top 40," jotting down the name, artist, and ranking of each song.  In later years, I latched onto year-end radio station countdowns and top-rock-songs-of-all-time surveys.  Songs that I would have flipped past or turned off under any other conditions had to be endured, at least fleetingly, or my listening experience would have felt incomplete.  I kept wanting to find out, "What song is next?  Is it a song I like?  Will its ranking be higher or lower than I would have guessed?" 

Admittedly, a "my world is the world" bias would sometimes creep in as I listened.  As a kid, I would sometimes think, "That song is number one this week?  More people bought and/or listened to that song than any other?  How is that possible?  The vocals are grating, and there are so many better songs in the countdown and others that didn't even make the countdown.  Besides, none of my friends or family members like that song."  A few seconds later, I would concede, "Then again, we're one small sample of listeners in just one of the many cities surveyed."

Looking back, I had no idea how those rankings were tabulated.  In some cases, I knew, in general terms, but I didn't know the specifics.  If the countdown was based on sales, how many record stores were contacted?  Did the record store workers providing the data provide exact sales figures or approximations based on memory?  When the rankings also factored in how often songs were played on the radio, how was that tracked?  Did the number of times listeners requested a song factor into the rankings?  For local radio station countdowns, was it strictly a matter of ranking songs based on how many listeners listed them as favorites?  How were ties handled?  One station, for instance, would have an annual top 500 rock songs countdown.  Many years, the top-ranked song was Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" or The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again."  Was that top ranking based on a survey of local listeners or national listeners, or was it simply the collective opinion of station staffers?  One local station in the mid '80s put a refreshing disclaimer on the jazz albums countdown it sent to record stores.  The fine print said that the rankings were based on sales and the station "music staff's judgment of each album's appeal."  Another radio station that provided weekly countdowns to record stores then printed on each survey, "Rankings are based on sales and requests only, not rotation."  In other words, the rankings didn't necessarily reflect how often the station played each song.

The lesson here?  Perhaps it's best to just sit back and enjoy the music, without getting too caught up in the methodology.

Shuffle mode results XX

The latest lineup of tunes played in my iTunes library shuffle mode:

   1.  Mas Que Nada-Walter Wanderley
(A brisk, uptempo whirling dervish of an instrumental.)
   2.  Patio Swing-Hot Club Of Detroit
(Saxophone, guitar, and accordion conjure up the feel of a Summer night in the patio swing; a pleasant instrumental.)
   3.  Just A Chance-Badfinger
(Badfinger has had garnered a lot of positive press for being a standout power pop group.  The tight, guitar-heavy feel of this track shows the band's way with a catchy hook.)
   4.  Satin Doll (Live)-Chicago
(A bonus track of a great jazz standard on the reissued version of "Chicago VIII."  The horn section shows its commendable jazz/lounge chops.)
   5.  Born At The Right Time-Erin Bode
(A movingly sung cover of the Paul Simon tune.)
   6.  Sting Ray And The Beginning Of Time (Pt. 4)-Exploding Star Orchestra
(Atmospheric, spacy, and true to its title.)
   7.  The "In" Crowd-Gregory Porter
(Ramsey Lewis shows how cool this melody is, instrumentally.  Gregory Porter shows how cool it is, vocally.  Also recommended: Marshall Crenshaw's interesting midtempo cover.)
   8.  Why Does The Wind?-Tracey Thorn
(If you like the wistful feeling of Everything But The Girl's "Missing," you might also like EBTG singer Thorn's singing here against a synthesized backing.)
   9.  Bozajte me-Brina
(This Slovenian singer caught my ear on a BBC program about a decade ago.  Her voice, and the track's spirited fiddling, got my attention.)
 10.  On Eagle's Wings-Thomas Jones
(A tasteful piano rendition of a hymn that the congregation at my former church used to sing over 30 years ago.)
 11.  Shiver And Shake-Albert Collins
(Ear-catching blues guitar and saxophone convey a '50s rock/'60s surf music feel.)
 12.  El-Ray Blues-Ellis Marsalis
(One of the slickest numbers by any Marsalis; piano and bass are in fine form here.  The entire "Heart Of Gold" CD, from which this emanates, is well worth the money.)
 13.  Horses-Artie Traum
(A relaxing, uptempo piano, guitar, and flute piece that brings The Rippingtons to mind.)
 14.  I Found A Road-The Kennedys
(Maura and Pete deliver the optimistic, uplifting goods once again.)
 15.  It Ain't Easy-Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet
(For fans of The Be Good Tanyas...)
 16.  Feel-Big Star
(It's amazing, with songs this tuneful, that this band didn't have the commercial success it deserved in the '70s.)
 17.  Dance Away-Roxy Music
(The band's most accessible uptempo track; I'm surprised this wasn't played on the radio more often.)
 18.  August Day Song-Bebel Gilberto
(A hypnotic vocal that might draw you in...)
 19.  Waltzing Matilda-Dan Zanes & Debbie Harry
(An unexpected vocal collaboration that clicks; it's difficult not to smile as you listen.)
 20.  Energy Spent-Liam Finn
(Presenting a lyrical defense of Nietzsche's expression, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger...")
 21.  Red Red Robin (WNEW "Easter Tapes" version)-Steve Goodman
(It's great to hear Goodman's voice and vigorous guitar come to life on possibly the best version of this tune I've heard.)

FM dial scan highlights XXX

Among the best tracks played this morning:

KDHX 88.1 FM

• Pink Moon-Nick Drake (The title track and most accessible tune from Drake's bare bones, voice-and-a-guitar album.  Recommended for Memorial Day: "Day Is Done" and "Time Has Told Me."  Recommended for frequent, repeated listening: The first four tracks on Drake's "Bryter Layter" album--"Introduction," "Hazy Jane II," "At The Chime Of A City Clock," and "One Of These Things First.")
• The Wind-Cat Stevens (Lyrically and instrumentally appropriate for Memorial Day; poignant, solemn, and concise.)
• Save Me-Aimee Mann (Mann excels at this type of stark, honest songwriting.  I can't imagine anyone else singing these lyrics as effectively as she does.)

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Sack Of Woe-Elizabeth Shepherd (I was surprised to hear this 2012 track on WSIE because it's on the border between jazz and rock.  Vocally, it's a cool, controlled tale of the protagonist's misery.  Instrumentally, it reminds me of Steely Dan's "Babylon Sisters.")
• Bowing To Bud-Eliane Elias (Faithful to the spirit of Bud Powell; it's an Elias piano instrumental I'd add to my recommendations from last Tuesday.)

KSHE 94.7 FM

• Fool In The Rain-Led Zeppelin (The band's best song, in my opinion, due in no small measure to a great skipping, shuffling piano part.)

WFUN 95.5 FM

• Wake Up Everybody-Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (The band's most inspiring hit, to my ears; noble lyrics about having one's priorities in the right order and making the world better.)
• I Like It-DeBarge (Not every singer could pull this off, but El DeBarge sings in the glass-shattering stratosphere, and it works especially well here.)