Monday, April 7: Listen for selections from Waiting For Columbus, the 1978 live album by April featured artist Little Feat. The record featured many of the band’s classic songs from its first era (c.1971-79) but also featured the Tower of Power Horns. We’ll also hear selections from Phish’s 2010 performance of the album as well as selections from In My Soul, the new album by blues and soul artist Robert Cray.
Tuesday, April 8: Here Be Monsters is the latest release from Jon Langford & Skull Orchard. Langford is among the most respected musicians in the alternative country scene; on this record he’s joined by members of The Waco Brothers, Jesus Jones, and The Horse’s Ha. We’ll hear from the release as well as selections from 3rd, the new release by The Baseball Project. The Baseball Project is the critically acclaimed alt-rock supergroup featuring Peter Buck (R.E.M., The Minus 5), Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows, R.E.M.), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Linda Pitmon and Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate). This time out the band writes about familiar baseball figures such as Cy Young, The Oakland A’s and Larry Yount.
Wednesday, April 9 2014: Listen for selections from St. Paul and The Broken Bones’ new release Half The City, the Alabama-based band blends element of soul, rock, and gospel across this acclaimed new release. We’ll also hear from At Yankee Stadium, the 1978 release by NRBQ. Founded in 1967, the band has never achieved wide commercial success but has influenced countless other bands including The Replacements, R.E.M., Los Lobos, and others. Plus classics from blues greats Slim Harpo and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.
Thursday, April 10 2014: Guitarist Nels Cline is known for his ability to work in a number of different musical styles, including avant garde jazz and pop music (he’s been a member of the Chicago band Wilco since 2004). We’ll hear from Macroscope, the fifth album from his all-instrumental project The Nels Cline Singers. Plus selections from the Los Angeles-based trio L.A. Witch. The all-woman band has garnered comparisons to The Breeders, Nirvana, and other iconic ‘90s rock acts.
Friday, April 11: Going Back Home is the new release from legendary Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson and Who frontman Roger Daltrey. The album features songs that Johnson wrote for Dr. Feelgood and as a solo artist. Johnson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013 and has already lived beyond the point that doctors expected. The former school teacher had success with Dr. Feelgood across four albums in the late 1970s and became a highly influential voice in British and American songwriting. We’ll hear from this new collaboration with Daltrey plus selections from Dr. Feelgood’s 1975 album Down By The Jetty.
Saturday, April 12: Listen for selections from the new self-titled release by Sisyphus, the new collective featuring rapper Serengeti, hip-hop musician Son Lux, and acclaimed singer songwriter Sujan (soof-yan, rhymes with spoof hahn) Stevens. The album is partly inspired by the art of Jim Hodges, and commissioned by the Walker Art Center and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music series in Minneapolis/Saint Paul. Plus selections from Decoration Day, the 2003 album by April featured artist Drive-By Truckers. The album was awarded an A- upon its release by Dean of American Rock Critics, Robert Christagau and hailed as one of the best alt. country albums in the years of its release. Plus selections from English Oceans, the latest release by April featured artist, Drive-By Truckers.
Monday, April 14: In 1995, Emmylou Harris released the daring Wrecking Ball album, which saw her moving away from the acoustic-based music she had built her career upon. The album saw her collaborating with producer Daniel Lanois (known from his work with U2, Peter Gabriel and Bob Dylan) to achieve a more electronic-driven release that also featured appearances from Steve Earle, Neil Young, and Lucinda Williams. The record has just been reissued in expanded form; we’ll hear selections from that as well as from Join The Band, the 2008 release from Little Feat, featuring collaborations with Vince Gill, Bela Fleck, and Emmylou Harris, among others. Plus, remembering singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester, who died this last week at the age of 69.
Tuesday, April 15: By 18 Memphis musician Alex Chilton had already had a runaway hit with his high school band The Box Tops (“The Letter”) but was growing increasingly disillusioned with the music business and with being a teen sensation. During rare breaks from the road, he began writing his own songs and moving further away from the pop direction his band found itself increasingly forced into. He recorded a series of demos in Memphis with a variety of friends and although those songs failed to land him a record deal, a mid-‘90s release called 1970 demonstrates that Chilton was becoming a formidable songwriter. We’ll hear from that collection as well as from the band that Chilton joined shortly after those sessions came to an end, Big Star.
Wednesday, April 16: In 1975 Memphis musician Sid Selvidge recorded a 12-track song cycle that became a local and regional classic upon its release that year. Selvidge was a cornerstone of the Memphis music scene and The Cold of the Morning features keyboard work from another Memphis legend, Jim Dickinson. The newly reissued version of the album was finished with help from Selvidge’s song Steve of the band The Hold Steady. We’ll hear music from that band’s new release Teeth Dreams as well.
