Saturday, May 16 - Released in 1984 The Big Express was Swindon, England’s XTC’s seventh studio album; we’ll hear selections from it on this episode of Strange Currency as well as several songs produced by the band’s Andy Partridge for the Britpop band Blur as well as music from Mike Keneally’s 2008 rarities collection Wine and Pickles.
Monday, May 18 - The Waterfall is the first album in four years from Kentucky’s My Morning Jacket. The veteran act recalls classic rock bands such as Yes and The Band on this outing, which will be followed in 2016 by another collection of material written and recorded at the same time. We’ll hear selections from The Waterfall on this episode of the show as well as music from Edge of the Sun, the latest from Calexico. We'll also remember blues guitar legend B.B. King, who passed away on Friday at the age of 89.
Tuesday, May 19 - Hooteroll? is the 1971 jazz fusion collaboration between the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia and keyboardist Howard Wales. It features many of the musicians who would accompany Garcia during his solo performances during the 1970s, though it would be the one and only extended collaboration with Garcia and Wales, a man Garcia later called “really difficult” despite his exceptional musical prowess. We’ll hear from that release as well as from To Terrapin: Hartford ‘77 an archival live release from the Grateful Dead.
Wednesday, May 20 - The Travelling Kind is a new collaborative effort between longtime friends Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris and is the follow-up to their highly acclaimed 2013 album Old Yellow Moon we’ll hear selections from this new recording and music from The Traveler, the new album by Old 97’s frontman Rhett Miller.
Thursday, May 21 - Released in 1993 Giant Steps is the third studio album by The Boo Radleys, containing the band’s signature pop sounds it also features forays into reggae, noise rock, and other sounds. We’ll hear selections from this record as well as music from Blur guitarist Graham Coxon’sLove Travels at Illegal Speeds.
Friday, May 22 - Released in 1999 Blur’s 13 was the final studio album by the band to feature all four original members until 2015’s Magic Whip. We’ll hear selections from 13 as well as selections from Nowhere the 1990 release from the band Ride.
Saturday, May 23 - Don’t Think That I’ve Forgotten is a documentary film which chronicles the Cambodian rock scene which was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. We’ll hear selections from the soundtrack to that film as well as music from Dengue Fever’s 2005 album Escape From Dragon House.
Monday, May 25 - It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah is the 1995 debut album from the British band Black Grape, featuring former members of the band Happy Mondays. Incorporating elements of hip-hop and distinctly English sound of the Happy Mondays, the record was viewed as a groundbreaking release when it first appeared. We’ll hear selections from it on this episode of the show along with music from Second Coming the 1994 album from The Stone Roses.
Tuesday, May 26 - Released in 1973 Innervisions is one of the highlights of Stevie Wonder’s “classic” era and features songs such as “Don’t You Worry Bout A Thing,” “Higher Ground” and “Living For The City.” We’ll hear selections from it as well as from Tower of Power’s debut album East Bay Grease.
Wednesday, May 27 - Listen for selections from Sound Affects, the 1980 album by The Jam and music from Pink Flag, the 1977 debut album from Wire.
Thursday, May 28 - Released in 1969 Dr. John’s Babylon was ignored upon its release but today stands as a fascinating artifact of its time. Recorded in the wake of the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. it is a record that its creator said could just as easily have been made by Hieronymus Bosch. We’ll hear selections from that recording as well as from Steely Dan’s classic Aja album.
Friday, May 29 - It’s the return of Vinyl Friday: Released in 1976 Velvet Darkness is the debut album from British-born guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Featuring performances from musicians he would align himself on future releases, the record has been maligned as one of Holdsworth’s weakest by some and praised as his best work by others. Holdsworth himself, for a variety of reasons, is reluctant to claim it as part of his official discography and would not release another album under his own name until 1980. We’ll hear selections from that recording as well as from Joe Satriani’s 1984 self-titled EP. Having played in number of rock bands in the San Francisco Bay Area, Satriani self-financed this recording and performed all the parts—including percussion passages—on the electric guitar. Out of print for many years the album was recently reissued for Record Store Day.
Saturday, May 30 - Released in 1981 Frank Zappa’sShut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar consists of some of the multi-faceted musician’s most incredible guitar solos to that point in his career. Recorded almost entirely in the live setting between 1972 and 1980 the album features appearances from Zappa band luminaries such as Jean Luc Ponty, Steve Vai and Terry Bozzio. We’ll hear selections from that recording as well as from Miles Davis’ Miles At The Fillmore release.
