Holiday Traditions

Okay, admittedly I've gone a little crazy with the Christmas music on blogs past, so I'm going to try and reign it in this year.

I had been recording off of the Christmas music channels on SiriusXM dating back to last year.  When the channels re-emerged in 2021, I kept the recordings to around an hour and fifteen minutes so one could fit it on a disc (I prefer flash drives, but then I have USB capable stereos, boom boxes, and ports in my car).

What is offered here is a single track of Christmas music from the Holiday Traditions channel.  This track clocks in at 1:17:32, and contains music that focuses on Christmas songs recorded between the 1940s & 1960s.  All in all, it's a good playlist for any Christmas occasion.

Here's the track list:

Carol Of The Bells  -  Percy Faith

Snowfall  -  Glen Miller Orchestra

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town  -  Lester Lanin

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer  -  Burl Ives

Silver Bells  -  The Ray Conniff Singers

I'll Be Home For Christmas  -  Beegie Adair

The Little Drummer Boy  -  Henry Mancini

The Christmas Blues  -  Dean Martin

Sleigh Ride  -  Ferrante & Teicher

Here Comes Santa  -  The Chris McDonald Orchestra

Blue Christmas  -  Elvis Presley

Joy To The World  -  Andy Williams

Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy  -  The Boston Pops Orchestra

Jingle Bells  -  Jim Nabors

Away In A Manger  -  Billy Andrusco

Baby It's Cold Outside  -  Dinah Shore & Buddy Clark

Silent Night  -  Frank Chacksfield

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!  -  Ella Fitzgerald

(There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays  -  Perry Como

Winter Wonderland  -  Frank Sinatra

Hurry Home For Christmas  -  Eydie Gorme & Steve Lawrence

Do You Hear What I Hear  -  The Carpenters

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas  -  Johnny Mathis

The Christmas Song  -  The Hollyridge Strings

I Saw Three Ships  -  Percy Faith

White Christmas  -  Bing Crosby

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town  -  Alvino Rey with The King Sisters

Sleigh Ride  -  Leroy Anderson

You're All I Want For Christmas  -  Al Martino

Holiday Traditions

Enjoy!

Rock And Roll Forever

The album of the week is the 2000 release, Rock And Roll Forever, by Lemmy, Slim Jim & Danny B.  A similar version of this album (with 3 tracks omitted) was released 6 years later under the band name The Head Cat.

This is a covers album by the supergroup of Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead), Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats) and Danny B. Harvey (Lonesome Spurs & Rockcats), which formed after the individual members had contributed to an Elvis Presley tribute album back in 1999.  As the story goes, Lemmy picked up an acoustic guitar and started playing some of his favorite songs from the '50s, and as the other two knew them well, joined in.

There's nothing groundbreaking on this album...  just three guys paying homage to the music they obviously love.  If you're a fan of early rock and roll, be sure to give this one a listen.

Lemmy, Slim Jim & Danny B: Rock And Roll Forever

Enjoy!

Get Back

Yes, it's the 2021 documentary series produced by Peter Jackson, and available on Disney +.  Now, I'm not a Disney + subscriber, but thanks to some good folks on some of the music download pages I visit, I was able to obtain all 3 episodes to share with you!

At the time I'm scheduling this post, I'm about half way through the series...  so I'm not going to say much more about it other than it'd be worth your time to download and give it a watch, even if you're not a Beatles fan.

The Beatles: Get Back, Episode 1

The Beatles: Get Back, Episode 2

The Beatles: Get Back, Episode 3

Enjoy!

Magical Mystery Tour, Track-By-Track

 

Magical Mystery Tour was an album The Beatles released on November 27, 1967 in the United States.

Earlier this year, The Beatles Channel on SiriusXM ran a track-by-track special for the album, with guest hosts including Billy Joel, Ann Wilson, Steve Jordan, Kevin Bacon, Meg Griffin, Trey Anastasio, John Popper, Billy Idol, Kim Cattrall, Moby & Geddy Lee.  Presented here is that show.

Listen Here

Magical Mystery Tour Track-By-Track

Enjoy!

The Black Crowes 11.23.2013

Since I haven't dropped a bootleg yet on this blog, I figured now was as good a time as any.

This show takes us back to The Black Crowes' Lay Down With Number Thirteen Tour, and is the second show at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, which happened on November 23, 2013.  At this point, the tour was winding down (there were only 6 shows to go, all played in December of that year).

The band is in fine form here, and play several covers throughout the show.  You can click HERE to see the setlist.

The Black Crowes Los Angeles, CA 11.23.2013

Enjoy!

I'll be taking a few days off from the blog to enjoy Thanksgiving and (maybe) work on another project.  Back on Saturday with a cool radio show for all to enjoy!  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Time Out

The album of the week is Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet.

1959 was a big year for jazz, with many classics recorded and released that year.  Time Out was one of those classic albums.

This was the first jazz album to sell a million copies, with Take Five being the first jazz single to sell a million copies as well.  The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

I could go on and on about the greatness of this album, but I will let the music speak for itself.  If you're one of those "I don't like jazz" people, download this, give it an honest listen, and get back to me.  If you appreciate music and somehow have missed this one, download it and thank me later.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out

Enjoy!

The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

I remember seeing this when it first came out.  We were all thrilled to see some of our favorites.

At the time, it seemed pretty cool.  Looking at it now, it's an absolute train wreck, and is pretty damn sad.

Here it is...  The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.

Not sure if saying enjoy would really be appropriate here.

8 Songs A Week 12.04.2020

8 Songs A Week is a weekly themed program on SiriusXM's Beatles Channel, hosted by Meg Griffin.

The show presented here aired on December 4, 2020.  Every week, voters rank a list of songs fitting the theme, and this show basically counts them down.  The theme for this show was Side Two Opening Songs, and the show runs just under 30 minutes.

Here's the track list, with the listen and download links to follow:

I've Got A Feeling

Please Please Me

Good Day Sunshine

I Should Have Known Better

Eight Days A Week

Hello Goodbye

And Your Bird Can Sing

Here Comes The Sun

Listen Here

8 Songs A Week 12.04.2020

Enjoy!

I Take What I Want

Ahhhh...  the original by Sam & Dave.

Tom Petty regularly played a couple different versions of this song on his Buried Treasure show, and while I like the James & Bobby Purify version, I had to go with the original here.  Just a fantastic tune!

This song has been covered by many, and there's a great live version by Rory Gallagher on YouTube as well.  To be honest, there's not a bad version of this song out there (that I'm aware of).

Enjoy!

Laundromat

About 7 or 8 years ago, I stumbled upon the late, great Rory Gallagher.  It was on one of the music shoutboxes I frequent...  there was a run of shows by him, and I decided to give one a try to see what it was all about.

I have to say I was a fan the moment I heard that first show, and downloaded as many of his albums as I could find.  I'm a big fan of all of his work, but really enjoy his early 70s albums and performances.

I had actually seen the Beat Club performance of Laundromat (seen here) as part of a compilation of videos on yet another site (that had one of his shows available for DL).  It's off Gallagher's self-titled first album (which I highly recommend, and may soon share the deluxe version that was recently released).

If you're unfamiliar with Rory Gallagher, and are a fan of blues-based rock, or are just a fan of amazing guitar players, do yourself a favor and check out his work.

As mentioned, here's his performance of the song Laundromat from the German TV show Beat Club.  Enjoy!

Resources

I wanted to do a post sharing some of the music download websites I frequent.  I've been using a few of these sites for 10+ years trouble-free...  wouldn't be posting any sites I've had issues with...

Zinhof

This is a site out of Croatia (I think) that has daily posts, but the real gold can be found in the shoutbox.  You do have to register to view the shoutbox...  I used one of my many 'burner' e-mail accounts.

Uloz.to

I don't use this one as much as I used to...  great site out of Czechoslovakia that's useful for finding complete discographies.  One warning...  while most uploaders are kind enough to post the bitrate, not everybody does, so you can spend a little time downloading only to find the content isn't of good quality.

Soundaboard

Good site if you're looking for a variety of live shows.

Revolution Rock

Another good site for discographies, with the ability to download individual albums.  The primary downloading platform is Zippyshare, which can be a pain in the ass with all of the popups, but with a little effort, you can get around all of that.  The host also posts his own radio shows twice a week...  some interesting stuff can be found on those shows.

Myzuka

This is the Russian site I've spoken about on my Facebook group.  Outstanding site for finding just about everything you could ever want, and it offers the bonus of being able to listen to the music as well!  Only downside to this site is you have to DL albums track by track, but considering everything that's available there, it's not all that big a deal.

Hear Rock City

Great site for bootlegs...  specialized in classic rock, metal, and hair bands.

Guitars 101

This is a site that has a little bit of everything...  started as a site for musicians to upload their own creations.  What brought me to this one was their bootleg section (you'll need to scroll about half way down the page)...  it has both lossless (FLAC) and lossy (MP3) sections available.  If you're not familiar with the formats, MP3 is pretty much the standard.  However, I download FLAC files and use a program called MediaHuman to convert them to MP3.  Again, a great site if you're looking for bootlegs, though many of the users post via premium sites, so the downloads can be incredibly slow at times.

FM Concert Archive

Just what it says...  an archive of concerts that were broadcast on the radio.  Again, can find a little bit of everything here, and another site where you can listen as well.

Brooklyn Steve Reborn/The Plop Cave

This is a shoutbox that has all sorts of music available.  However, there are rules...  you are free to download whatever you'd like, but in order to make a request, you need to post some music yourself.  For the most part, it's a friendly group.

Blues, Blues, Blues

A nice site if you're looking for some blues.  However, the links can be iffy at times.

Bandcamp

Once upon a time, this was the place to find indie music.  Now, it seems as though more "national" bands are using it to get their material out.  For the most part, you have to pay to download, but occasionally you can find something for free.  You can also listen to music here.

Floppy Boot Stomp

Voodoo Wagon

Two sites run by the same folks...  lots of bootlegs and out-of-print stuff available.  Both of these sites also have "adult content," just to make you aware.

The Jolly Joker

All sorts of goodies here.  Only problem is, they're all uploaded to the premium sites, so downloads will be incredibly slow without a subscription.

Enlaces

While I don't use this one much, I thought I'd share as it's a site that links you up with lots of other music download sites.

Sadly, there are many more great sites that have gone away over the past few years.  Thanks to all of these sites and the kind users who regularly upload, I've been able to grow my collection over the years.  And for those sites that have a shoutbox, I highly recommend registering as many users are happy to upload your requests (I've done it myself several times on the Zinhof shout box).

Happy hunting all!

Pyromania

The album of the week is Def Leppard's Pyromania.

Def Leppard released their 3rd studio album in January 1983.  I'd say this album was an absolute monster, but that would be selling it short.

The band moved from being a straight-ahead metal band to a more radio-friendly sound, and it really paid off for them, spawning 3 Billboard Top 40 singles (and heavy rotation on MTV).  The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Albums chart, and sold over 10 millions copies in the U.S. alone.

Now, something I just learned was that original rhythm guitarist Pete Willis actually played on all of the songs (I had thought he was kicked out of the band before they went into the studio), with his replacement, Phil Collen, added some small rhythm parts and played lead on several tracks.

This album had a huge influence on my musical tastes, and was one of the first cassettes I owned.  I can't imagine that anybody alive in the 80s doesn't know a few songs off this album, but if you've not heard any of this, do yourself a favor and give it a listen!

Def Leppard: Pyromania

Enjoy!

Half A Hundred Years

Western swing band Asleep At The Wheel put out their 26th studio album back on October 1.  While it was originally scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2020 to celebrate the band's 50th anniversary, like most things, COVID ensured that date was not met.

Here's the video for the title track for the album, Half A Hundred Years.  As I recently celebrated that anniversary myself, I thought I'd share the song with all, and maybe upload the album a little later.

Enjoy!

Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee 10.09.2021

 

Over the past year or so, I've been going on these short runs of trying to get into country music.  While I still can't say I'm a fan overall, I have found a few artists who are pleasing to my ears, and also found a show that, overall, isn't that bad...  Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee on SiriusXM's Outlaw Country, hosted by former WWE wrestler "Hillbilly Jim" Morris.  If you're a subscriber, it's a 4 hour show that runs Saturday mornings (or anytime on demand with the app).  The show plays a mix of rocking country music as well as some "classic" country artists and rock and roll.

This posts offers the October 9 show, and since I already had this uploaded to Mixcloud, I will share both a link to listen to the show as well as a download link (if you'd like a copy for yourself).  Here's the track list, with the listen and download links to follow:

Don't Go Messin' With A Country Boy  -  Hillbilly Jim

The Ride  -  David Allan Coe

Leave Them Boys Alone  -  Hank Williams, Jr.

If You've Got The Money  -  Willie Nelson

Hey Delilah  -  Blackberry Smoke

Can't You Hear Me Knocking  -  The Rolling Stones

Flatland Hillbillies  -  Rodney Crowell

Early Morning Rain  -  Gordon Lightfoot

Calico Country  -  Steve Earle & The Dukes

Fairground People  -  Dan Baird & Homemade Sin

Music City USA  -  Charley Crockett

Me 'n' Opie (Down By The Duck Pond)  -  BR5-49

Soapbox  -  Brent Cobb

I'll Be Your Baby Tonight  -  Charlie Daniels Band

Heard It In A Love Song  -  Marshall Tucker Band

Never Ending Song Of Love  -  Delaney And Bonnie & Friends

Waymore's Blues  -  Waylon Jennings

Homegrown  -  Neil Young

Nothing Else Matters  -  Chris Stapleton

Be Afraid  -  Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Down Past The Bottom  -  Lucinda Williams

The Whiskey Ain't Workin'  -  Travis Tritt & Marty Stuart

Whiskey River  -  Johnny Bush

A Feather's Not A Bird  -  Rosanne Cash

One Time One Night  -  Los Lobos

Old Dance Floor  -  John R. Miller

Anyhow  -  Kelsey Waldon

Shoot Low Sheriff!  -  John Anderson

Folsom Prison Blues  -  Johnny Cash

It's Now Or Never  -  Elvis Presley

Over The Hill  -  John Hiatt

Are You Listenin' Lucky?  -  Joe Ely

Old Chunk Of Coal  -  Billy Joe Shaver

Dead Skunk  -  Loudon Wainwright III

How Could I  -  Kentucky Headhunters

It Wasn't Me  -  George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Squeeze Me In  -  Delbert McClinton

Streets Of Bakersfield  -  Dwight Yoakam with Buck Owens

The Grand Tour  -  George Jones

Behind Closed Doors  -  Charlie Rich

King Bee  -  Wynonna

High Water (for Charlie Patton)  -  Bob Dylan

Chardonnay  -  David Ferguson featuring Margo Price

Milk Train  -  Dawn McCarthy & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

Sugarfoot Rag  -  Red Foley

The Reason  -  Son Volt

The Wire  -  Shovels & Rope

Son Of A Preacher Man  -  Dusty Springfield

For The Lonely Ones  -  Lucero

Get Out Of Denver  -  Bob Seger

Up Against The Wall Redneck  -  Jerry Jeff Walker

Feathered Indians  -  Tyler Childers

I Don't Mind  -  Sturgill Simpson

The Light Saw Me  -  Jason Boland & The Stragglers

On The Other Hand  -  Randy Travis

Are The Good Times Really Over  -  Merle Haggard

Sold American  -  Kinky Friedman

Tough As Funk  -  Tony Stampley

Ready For The Times To Get Better  -  Cody Jinks

The Ballad Of The Uneasy Rider  -  Charlie Daniels Band

Thanks A Lot  -  Ernest Tubb

Lookin' Back Blues  -  Jason Ringenberg

Nervous Breakdown  -  Wanda Jackson

Hollywood In Kentucky  -  Black Stone Cherry

Listen Here

Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee 10.09.2021

Enjoy!

All You Need Is Cash

Proudly presented for your viewing pleasure, the 1978 "mockumentary," featuring the fictional band The Rutles, All You Need Is Cash.

If you're a fan of The Beatles, be sure to check this one out...  great stuff, and you get a cameo appearance from George Harrison!

Enjoy!

Statesboro Blues

Most classic rock fans think of the Allman Brothers Band when one says Statesboro Blues.  However, Taj Mahal recorded his "modernized version" in 1967, with Jesse Ed Davis playing slide guitar, and it was released on his eponymous debut album in 1968.  Taj Mahal's arrangement of the song is said to have inspired the Allman Brothers (specifically Duane) to record the song themselves.

A little historical background...  Blind Willie McTell wrote the song, and first recorded it back in 1928.  Though McTell was born in Thomson, GA, in an interview, he called Statesboro, GA his "real home."  In 2016, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry due to its cultural, historic, or artistic significance.

Enjoy!

Earth And Sun And Moon

Is Midnight Oil's 1993 release Earth And Sun And Moon the best album of the 90s?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  In my mind, it definitely deserves consideration.

While largely ignored in America (as is the case with most of Midnight Oil's work, with Beds Are Burning probably being the only exception), this album reached #2 on the Australian Albums chart.  Like most of the other albums released by the Oils, the band sticks to themes that are close to their heart...  the environment, native peoples, and other social causes (lead singer Peter Garrett has served in a few positions in the Australian government).  But the biggest thing for me is the musical groove throughout the album...  the band is tight and had me hooked with the opening notes of the lead track on this album, Feeding Frenzy.

I won't bore you with other details, instead I'll urge you to give this great album a listen if you've not already heard it.

Midnight Oil: Earth And Sun And Moon

Enjoy!

And I'm thinking I'll be doing an "album of the week" feature for the blog, so let's consider this to be the first post in this series.

The KKK Took My Baby Away

The KKK Took My Baby Away is a song by the Ramones from their 1981 album, Pleasant Dreams.  There are several stories as to how the song came about, with three of them offered here for your consideration.

Ramones tour manager Monte Melenick said that it seemed clear to him that Joey was taking a not-so-subtle shot at Johnny, who used to tease Joey for being Jewish, for stealing his girlfriend Linda.

However, Joey's brother Mickey has disagreed, saying that the song had been written before Joey learned of Johnny and Linda's affair.  He explains that the song was written about Joey's relationship with a black woman whose parents disapproved of their interracial relationship.  When asked what happened to the girl, Joey responded by saying "the KKK took my baby away."

A third version of the story has former drummer Marky Ramone saying the song was inspired by Joey's experience at a mental institution where Joey had befriended an African-American woman.  A few days after meeting her, the woman left the institution, leaving Joey depressed, with the song being written about that episode.

Now, reading the many stories about the Ramones over the years, I'm going with the first story as it's pretty well documented that Johnny and Joey hated each other (they both took grudges against one another to their graves).  Whatever story you choose to believe was the inspiration, it made for a catchy tune.

Enjoy!

Working Class DJ 10.29.2021

 

Earlier this year, Rick Springfield began hosting a radio show on SiriusXM's 80s On 8.  I gave the show a listen when it first came on the air, and I have to say that I didn't really like it.

About a month went by, and I was searching SiriusXM's on-demand content when I saw the show again, and it featured a theme that caught my eye...  International Iguana Day.  Well, when I see a title like that, I have to check it out!

Much to my surprise, Rick seemed more relaxed, and sounded as though he was having fun with the show.  All in all, I found it more listenable than his earlier efforts, and from that point on, I was a fan.

This post will be offering his October 29 show, which had the theme of 80s Halloween Playlist Without Thriller.  While most of the songs were mostly what I was expecting, he did throw in a few surprises.  Here's the playlist, with a download link for the show to follow:

Pet Semetary  -  Ramones

Dead Man's Party  -  Oingo Boingo

Ghostbusters  -  Ray Parker, Jr.

Creatures Of The Night  -  KISS

Devil Inside  -  INXS

Zombie Zoo  -  Tom Petty

Poison  -  Alice Cooper

We Are The Dead  -  The Morris Springfield Project

Rick Springfield's Working Class DJ: 80s Halloween Playist Without Thriller

Enjoy!

Who played guitar on Creatures Of The Night?

I stumbled on this two-part article a little while back, and knowing I have many friends who are KISS fans, I thought I'd share.

While Ace Frehley appears on the cover, he did not play on the album.  And while it has always been assumed the lead guitar work was done by Vinnie Vincent, I've never really believed that to be true either as many of the solos on the album just don't seem to fit his style.

Well, this article will help connect some of the dots as to who actually played on Creatures Of The Night, as well as debunking some myths that Gene & Paul have always told fans regarding the process of replacing Ace Frehley and what exactly they were looking for.

The KISS guitarist auditions of 1982 (Part 1)

The KISS guitarist auditions of 1982 (Part 2)

Enjoy!

Making another start

Just on a whim, I thought I'd check a blog I abandoned back in May to see if I had the same issues I was encountering using several different Google accounts here.  Fortunately, with my 'Baron' account, I found a solution to my problems!

As I mentioned on the previous blog attempt, I'm hoping to make this a continuation of the content from my Facebook group, and in a little while, hope to be adding some 'original' content.

Be sure to check in regularly!