Category: Episodes

425. Donovan

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(July 2022) Episode 425 is DONOVAN. The Prince of Hippy Folk Rock. I had only known him through a greatest hits disc, but discovered there is a lot more to enjoy. His first two albums were Dylan clones, but he found his own original voice and style in a series of late 1960s albums, full of flower power, psychedelia, whimsy, and cosmic musings. Even the children’s music has charm.  The quality dropped in the 70s and 80s, but a couple of his 21st century albums were strong and creative.

Favourite album: A Gift from a Flower to a Garden 

Favourite song: Hurdy Gurdy Man

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: the greatest hits will suffice but you’ll probably enjoy a deeper dive into the 60s albums.

424. Roy Orbison

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(July 2022) Episode 424 is ROY ORBISON. He’s in the pantheon of early rock-n-roll icons, but also stands apart. For one, his melodic crooner voice contrasted with the bombast of his peers. And his music resided discretely at the intersection of rock, country and pop. Again, I’m not a listener of early rock-n-roll, but his songs don’t sound as much like museum pieces as those of fellow icons. With Lefty, I have now reviewed all the Traveling Wilburys.

Favorite album: In Dreams

Favorite song: Oh, Pretty Woman

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: mostly for historical interest

423. Judith Weir

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

Episode 423 is JUDITH WEIR. A contemporary British composer who serves as the first female Master of the Queen’s Music; for example, she composed the anthem for the Platinum Jubilee. Unlike most contemporaries her style and form are fairly conservative, but I find a lot that is enjoyable.  She has penned several operas and parochial songs; I like the chamber pieces best.

Favourite piece: Music for 247 Strings

Favourite chamber piece: Piano Quartet

Favourite choral piece: Ascending into Heaven

Favourite violin piece: Atlantic Drift

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: interesting but not captivating

422. Sam & Dave

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(July 2022) Episode 422 is SAM & DAVE. A top soul act with so many songs that have become American standards. The duo format, Sam high and Dave low, brought the call-and-response style over from gospel. It’s not my favorite soul, but it is still very good.

Favorite album: Hold On I’m Comin’

Favorite song: Hold On I’m Comin’

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: no soul playlist should do without

421. Carl Perkins

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(July 2022) Episode 421 is CARL PERKINS. A huge influence in early rock ‘n roll, particularly rockabilly. His influence on the Beatles is documented by the number of his songs they covered. He also wrote songs that others made huge hits (Elvis’ Blue Suede Shoes). I’m not into early rock ‘n roll, but it’s interesting to see what inspired others.

Favorite album: Dance Album

Favorite song: Matchbox

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: only of historical interest

420. Trouble

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2022) Episode 420 of the “opus project” is TROUBLE. While most 80s metalheads were either accelerating into thrash or blowing out their hair to sing anthems, these guys looked back to the roots of metal. Trouble’s first two albums are as close to Black Sabbath’s heavy sound as you’ll find, particularly Tommy Iommi’s drop-tuned tone. These made Trouble a pioneer of “doom metal.” Their subsequent albums, amidst lineup changes, had more conventional and groove metal approaches, but it’s still not bad.

Favorite album: Psalm 9

Favorite song: Revelation (Life or Death)

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: If you like early Sabbath, you’ll like Trouble

419. George Crumb

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2022) Episode 419 is GEORGE CRUMB. A contemporary American composer (he died earlier this year) known for demanding techniques, both vocal and instrumental, in experimental and avant-garde forms. The far-out nature of his compositions is evidenced in his particular style of notation (see below).  It can be an acquired taste, but I enjoy listening to those who expand boundaries.

Favorite piece: Star Child

Favorite orchestral piece: Variazioni

Favorite chamber piece: Sonata for Solo Cello

Favorite piano piece: Metamorphoses, Book II

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: not for everyone, but if you like to challenge yourself

418. Otis Redding

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2022) Episode 418 is OTIS REDDING. Indisputably one of the top soul voices of all time, with a voice that could equally evoke happiness and heartache.  He died young, so all his recordings were in the mid-60s golden age of soul. While it would have been interesting to hear what he would have done as soul evolved in the 1970s, it means all his music hits that classic tone.

Favorite album: Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul

Favorite song: Hard to Handle

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: a must-have for any soul playlist

????????????????????????????????????????????????

417. Jeff Beck

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2022) Episode 417 is JEFF BECK. One of the three Gods of Guitar to emerge from the Yardbirds, he did not earn the same fame as Page or Clapton. This may be due to an idiosyncratic, haphazard output that veered in style from blues rock to jazz fusion, pop rock, rockabilly and modern rock, all of which provided platform for his guitar chops. His musical legacy, though, comes from the first two albums, with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, which laid the foundation for heavy metal and blues rock, and gave us some classic rock staples.  And of course from his much-admired innovations and talents on the six strings.

Favourite album: Truth

Favourite song: Beck’s Bolero

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: mostly for guitar-o-philes

416. Circle Jerks

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2022) Episode 416 is CIRCLE JERKS, one of the better-known punk bands from the early 80s SoCal scene. The first two recordings are a good blitz of minute-length rages. But I get the sense that a Circle Jerks record is something a prog rock-listening 80s college student might pull out to show he gets punk too, eliciting an eye roll from his roommate who collects Minor Threat and Bad Brains original pressings (this may or not be based on a true story).

Favorite album: Group Sex

Favorite song: 86d (Good as Gone)

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: decent but not prime punk