General Comments for all Naweedna Compilations
· Will Moyle’s Jazz Alive, a locally produced master collection of classic jazz. The Will Moyle stuff is the best collection of jazz I’ve ever heard. I taped it in the 80s from WXXI broadcasts.
· FFUSA: Folk Festival USA, a nationally distributed collection of excerpts recorded live at various folk festivals around the country – varying from traditional country to purely ethnic, to socio-political (one lesbian festival, in fact). FFUSA is eclectic, and the live recordings often catch a lot of crowd noise as well as bad microphone placement. Originally taped from WXXI in the 80s.
· GTWG: The Glory That Was Grease, another locally produced broadcast that featured the formative years of Rock and Roll from the 50s and 60s – my youth. The “Grease” may have been “Greece”, the Rochester suburb where the program originated. The GTWG is marginal but good for reminding my generation of their teenage years – if that can be considered a good thing. Originally taped from WXXI in the 80s.
· BBGR: Big Band Go Round, yet another local program featuring … Big Band, but also including most anything recorded from the 20s to 50s. The BBGR is so broad that it is unlikely to be duplicated anywhere. However, you have to have a fondness for the crackle of scratchy old 78’s and an appetite for schmaltz to fully appreciate it. Originally taped in the 80s.
· PHC & PHC-D: Prairie Home Companion – the middle years. I didn’t get started with PHC until the 80s, so I missed the early period, and I stopped taping when Garrison retired – for the first time. Remember the unfortunate guy who took over the time slot from Garrison? Me, neither. AS IF anyone could do that – a classic no-win situation. When Garrison un-retired (like Michael Jordan), the second version of the show was based in NYC, and I didn’t care for it that much, so I didn’t tape it. A few years later I discovered that he had gone back to the old format and was broadcasting from St Paul MN again. I’ve been digitizing those programs in real time ever since, and they are designated as PHC-D. The PHC stuff contains the essence of American music – in my not-so-humble opinion. The only nationally broadcast show that ever came close to matching PHC for quality and variety was the TV show, Northern Exposure – go figure. I have two Northern CDs; if there are more, I would like to know about them ASAP.
· WRUR: Bob “Music Man” Mahoney had been telling me about WRUR (FM88.5) broadcasts for years before I finally started recording them in September 2011. They are:
Mystery Train - Mark Grube (Wed 6-8),
Gumbo Variations - Rick Simpson (Th 6-8)
Open Tunings - Scott Regan (M-F 9-12).
The Music Man was right of course. If you believe that these radio shows are to be respected, then I have to believe that they validate my feelings about music.
· Recording & Release Dates: The parenthetical numbers appended at the end of track titles represent the release date of the album or CD. When a track comes from a compilation, I’ve tried to the date of original recording. Format: (xx, yy) where xx = last two digits of recording date; yy = last two digits of release date.
As usual, my comments are in blue. The other information comes from www.allmusic.com and various lyrics sources. Additions and corrections are welcome … encouraged, in fact.
In Memoriam … 2015:
· BB King NYT Obituary
· Clark Terry NYT Obituary
· Joe Cocker NYT Obituary
· Lesley Gore NYT Obituary
· Percy Sledge NYT Obituary
· Allen Toussaint NYT Obituary
The Playlist and Notes for Naweedna 2015
01 TTRH Intro Blend
Biography: Theme Time Radio Hour
Theme Time Radio Hour (TTRH) was a weekly, one-hour satellite radio show hosted by Bob Dylan originally airing from May 2006 to April 2009. Each episode was an eclectic, freeform mix of blues, folk, rockabilly, R&B, soul, bebop, rock-and-roll, country and pop music, centered on a theme such as "Weather," "Money," and "Flowers" with songs from artists as diverse as Patti Page and LL Cool J. Much of the material for the show's 100 episodes was culled from producer Eddie Gorodetsky's music collection, which reportedly includes more than 10,000 records and more than 140,000 digital files.
Interspersed between the music segments were email readings, listener phone calls, vintage radio air checks, old radio promos and jingles, even older jokes from Dylan ("My grandmother is so tidy she puts newspaper under the cuckoo clock"), poetry recitations; taped messages from a variety of celebrities, musicians and comedians; and commentary from Dylan on the music and musicians as well as miscellanea related to the themes. The show was not live (Dylan taped his portions at various locations and while touring), and the studio location at the so-called "Abernathy Building" was fictitious. Most of the "listener phone calls" and emails were also fictitious, although at least one email read on the show came from an actual listener.
CD Review: No AMG review …
Lyrics: “Ooooo, we’re gonna have fun … Yeeeezzz!”
Well, Bob “Music Man” Mahoney did it again. He dropped a CD on me that contained one of the 100 Dylan radio broadcasts. Oh my, it was right up my alley: lots of old stuff, lots of musicology and lots of Dylan personality. I was HOOKED. I downloaded all 100 hours of the stuff and proceeded to cut out individual tracks sandwiched between Dylan’s comments. Along the way I learned about Eddie Gorodetsky and Dylan’s quirky sense of humor. His propensity for precise articulation continues to make me smile.
Each broadcast begins with Ellen Barkin reading a little something related to that week’s show theme. I’ve cut and passed a couple of those intros and ended with one that ALWAYS makes me smile: “Ooooo, we’re gonna have fun … Yeeeezzz!” Now let’s get into it …
02 The Cadets - Sixty Minute Man
Juke Box R&B (1950s, 1997)
Biography: The Cadets
CD Review: Juke Box R&B
Lyrics: Sixty Minute Man
Mark Grube played this track on his 2012.10.24 Mystery Train broadcast, I made a note and now I’m passing it on to you for your consideration. It’s from the 50s, my formative years, so it has special significance to me. Hope you enjoy it as well.
03 The Crawdiddies - Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down
Soul Of A Man (2012)
Biography: The Crawdiddies
CD Review: Soul Of A Man
Lyrics: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down
This is a local group that gets airtime on WRUR, especially Gumbo Variations. Rick Simpson played this track on 2014.06.19 and I immediately tagged it for Naweedna. It got bumped last year but here it is now. I really like Heather Taylor’s vocal and flute and this track shows off her talents. Young’ns doing old-timey stuff … I like that. Do you?
04 Nick Waterhouse - Ain't There Something That Money Can't Buy
Holly (2014)
Biography: Nick Waterhouse
CD Review: Holly
Lyrics: Ain't There Something That Money Can't Buy
They’ve been playing a lot of Nick Waterhouse on WRUR and that induced me to include one of his tracks. So far I’ve collected 14 Waterhouse offerings; I like ‘em all but this one seemed to be the best for a Naweedna compilation. Hope you agree.
05 BB King – Memorial Blend
You Put It On Me (1968)
Lucille (1967)
The Thrill Is Gone (1970)
Biography: BB King NYT Obituary
Lyrics:
You Put It On Me
Lucille
The Thrill Is Gone
The “King” has left the Abernathy Building. How do you commemorate that? I sorted through my 130-track BB collection and tried to find something less obvious than his signature “The Thrill Is Gone.” After a few listenings, I settled on “You Put It On Me” (from Brian Sheldon). Rick Simpson paid homage to BB’s passing with “Lucille” and that seemed appropriate in that BB explains the origin of his guitar’s name in a ten minute exposition. Okay, those three tracks would occupy nearly a quarter of NWN-15’s runtime. If I wanted to include them, I’d have to cut, chop and blend … and that’s what I did – trying to capture the essence of all three in half the runtime. The blend ends with “The Thrill Is Gone” and so is BB – sadly.
06 Chris LeDoux - Sons Of The Pioneers
Radio Rodeo Hits (1989)
Biography: Chris LeDoux
CD Review: Radio & Rodeo Hits
Lyrics: Sons Of The Pioneers
From the Alaska & Pacific NW trip log:
WY-196 from Buffalo to Kaycee runs along the eastern Big Horn foothills offering up big sky views of buttes and grassland. Janie researches the little towns we pass through and when she looked up Kaycee WY, she learned about a local cowboy musician: Chris LeDoux. He died a few years ago and there’s a Chris LeDoux Memorabilia shop but it wasn’t open yet. The town erected a very nice memorial with a large stature of a bucking bronco surrounded by showy plants and flowers.
Janie played some tunes on LeDoux’s web site and two of ‘em stood out and seemed to capture the ambiance of this portion of WY and our out west adventure in general. This is one of those tracks and I was taken by the homage to our pioneer predecessors: “Well way out west where the wild wind blows the eagle flies and the sage brush grows; Traditions are holding on you'll be glad to hear; They're being kept alive by the Sons of The Pioneers.”
07 The Djangoners - Bellville
Live - Self Release (2012)
Biography: The Djangoners
CD Review: Live - Self Release
Lyrics: Instrumental …
The Djangoners are a local group that frequently plays Rochester venues like the Little Theater. As their name suggest, they combine Django & Stephane’s Hot Club 30s classics with the more modern concept of “goners” as in wicked good - more young ones paying homage to their musical heritage. I’m a “goner” for the 13 tracks I’ve gleaned from WRUR broadcasts, all quickly rated ‘Excellent’.
08 Joe Cocker Jimmy Page - Bye Bye Blackbird
With a Little Help from My Friends (1969)
Biography: Joe Cocker NYT Obituary
CD Review: With a Little Help from My Friends
Lyrics: Bye Bye Blackbird
I’m not a huge Cocker fan but … I do like his rendition of “Bye Bye Blackbird” from With a Little Help from My Friends and included in the Sleepless In Seattle soundtrack. It works for me and as homage for Joe.
09 Eilen Jewell - Deep As Your Pocket
Butcher Holler: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn (2010)
Biography: Eilen Jewell
CD Review: Butcher Holler: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn
Lyrics: Deep As Your Pocket
Eilen’s tribute to Loretta Lynn is a great piece of work. WRUR’s DJs have played samples from the CD and I ended up buying the whole thing. This particular track stood out – even in comparison to Loretta’s original 1970 version. I pretty much like all of Eilen’s work but this one has found a home in my musical memory.
10 JD McPherson - Fire Bug
Signs Signifiers (2010)
Biography: JD McPherson
CD Review: Signs & Signifiers
Lyrics: Fire Bug
This is another artist that’s been featured on WRUR broadcasts – and even on PHC (2015.09.19). Of the 16 JD tracks in our library, “Steal Away” is my highest rated but it’s a little slow and not very representative of McPherson’s work. Ah but “Fire Bug” is an equally enthralling and sufficiently up-tempo to qualify for Naweedna. There’s a recognizable underlying rhythm to most of McPherson’s tracks and this one represents it well.
11 Quincy Jones, Roland Kirk, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Lalo Schifrin - Soul Bossa Nova
Q Gone Hollywood (1962, 2001)
Biography: Clark Terry NYT Obituary
CD Review: Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones
Lyrics: You can figure it out …
This one has been in the queue for several years and I decided to use it to commemorate the passing of Clark Terry. True, Clark doesn’t have much of a presence on the track but … It’s still a nice track with some good Kirk work. It was also used as the backbone for the Dream Warriors’ “My Definition Of A Bombastic Jazz Style.”
12 Willie 'The Lion' Smith - Knock Me A Kiss
BBGR (1920s - 1930s)
Biography: Willie 'The Lion' Smith
CD Review: No AMG listing for this track
Lyrics: Knock Me A Kiss
Ah, yes, you don’t get a Naweedna compilation without a genuine OLDIE. In this case it’s Willie “The Lion” Smith’s gem from the 20s or 30s. This track came from my very first BBGR tape and it doesn’t seem to be in All Music Guide’s database so I have very little information for it … other than it’s one of my all-time favorites.
13 Hey Mavis - Honey Man
Honey Man (2015)
Biography: Hey Mavis
CD Review: Honey Man
Lyrics: Honey Man
Yet more young talent promoted by WRUR DJs (Gumbo Variations: 2015.08.27). I owe my soul to the Honey Man … and now my mind as well. It flows like Tupelo Honey … try it, you’ll like it, the track and the real thing.
14 Allen Toussaint - Southern Nights
Austin City Limits (2010.01.09)
Biography: Allen Toussaint NYT Obituary
CD Review: Live Austin City Limits (2010.01.09) Performance
Lyrics: Southern Nights
Oh, we lost another good one; a true gentleman musician. Toussaint was only 77 … not that far from me. We have several Toussaint offerings in the library but … this one stands out. The track includes a ten minute monologue articulately painting the picture of summer evenings on deep porches that inspired the song: a city boy visiting family in the country where the houses are a gunshot apart, maybe for a reason; everything important in the world was on that long porch. Glenn Campbell’s cover topped out at #1 on the 1977 charts. Also, the track nicely conveys our emotions while traveling through those little, southern towns on our Gulf Coast Trip.