I'M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU - Al Green

YEAR: 1972

LABEL: Hi

TRACK LISTING: I'm Still In Love With You, I'm Glad You're Mine, Love and Happiness, What A Wonderful Thing Love Is, Simply Beautiful, Oh Pretty Woman, For the Good Times, Look What You Done For Me, One of These Good Old Days

IMPRESSIONS: The King of Cool and the Sultan of Soul! "As silken as bedsheets and as soft as a mattress..." in the words of author Robert Gordon. This album contains three of my all-time favourite Al Green songs: the exquisite title track and "Love and Happiness" as well as a breathtaking cover of Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times".

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: I'm Still In Love With You, Love and Happiness, What A Wonderful Thing Love Is, Simply Beautiful, Oh Pretty Woman, For the Good Times, Look What You Done For Me, One of These Good Old Days

FACT SHEET: I'M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU is Al Green's fifth album. It is the most successful album of Green's career making it to number four on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B chart. The album was produced by Green's steady producer Willie Mitchell. "Oh Pretty Woman" is a cover of the Roy Orbison hit and "For the Good Times" is a Kris Kristofferson song.

RAINDANCING - Alison Moyet

YEAR: 1987

LABEL: Columbia

TRACK LISTING: Is This Love, Stay, Glorious Love, When I Say (No Giveaway), Blow Wind Blow, Weak in the Presence of Beauty, Ordinary Girl, You Got Me Wrong, Without You, Sleep Like Breathing

IMPRESSIONS: In 1987, I fell in love with this bit of pop perfection. It didn't hurt that Alison Moyet guest-starred on an entire episode of FRENCH & SAUNDERS where she not only performed "Ordinary Girl" but also acted throughout most of it (and she was quite funny). I believe I first got the album on vinyl and then promptly bought it on cassette which I played to death back in the day. Of course, when I finally got around to getting a cd player, I immediately bought it on compact disc as well. The only thing missing was 8-track. RAINDANCING is simply one of my favourite 80s albums.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Is This Love, Stay, Glorious Love, Blow Wind Blow, Weak in the Presence of Beauty, Ordinary Girl, Sleep Like Breathing

GUEST ARTISTS: David Freeman (vocals on "Sleep Like Breathing")

FACT SHEET: RAINDANCING is Alison Moyet's second album. "Is This Love?" was co-written by Alison Moyet and Dave Stewart (under his Jean/Manu Guiot pseudonym). The original UK version of the album had the songs in a different running order. "Sleep Like Breathing" duet partner David Freeman is from the band "The Lover Speaks".

STORMS - Various Artists

YEAR: 2003

LABEL: Cerpts Productions

TRACK LISTING: Storms - Fleetwood Mac, Knowing Me Knowing You - ABBA, Every Little Thing About You - Raul Malo, Lovesong - The Cure, Winter Kills - Alison Moyet, Blue - Sarah McLachlan, If I Could Reach You - The 5th Dimension, Back To Then - Darius Rucker, Blue - Barry Manilow & Sarah Vaughan, Don't Take Your Love From Me - Frank Sinatra, Neither One of Us (Wants To Be the First To Say Goodbye) - Gladys Knight & the Pips, No More Drama - Mary J. Blige, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore - Elton John, If I Could Only Stay Asleep - Patsy Cline, Ghost In This House - Allison Krauss, Trouble - Cat Stevens, Black - Pearl Jam, Who Am I Foolin' - Cheryl Wheeler, Two Star - Everything But the Girl

IMPRESSIONS: It was never my intention to put up a cd mix I made myself however there's no other I would consider before this one. The only cd mix I've made which has a fan base; everyone who has heard it declared it a classic. So who am I to argue with them? I would certainly say this is the one cd mix I consider a perfect jewel. Made on the 7th of January 2003, this cd was the result of a breakup and a broken heart ripped out of my chest and trodden on with golf shoes. Not only was the year 2002 a tough one for myself but for others I knew and this cd resonated strongly with all of us. Not only does it contain my number one favourite song of all time (Pearl Jam's "Black") but it also contains my number TWO favourite song (Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama"); both songs won Song of the Year Penguin Awards in their respective years. It features the song which had the most ever plays on my first ipod "City Lights" (Everything But the Girl's "Two Star" which had racked up 18 plays before I got my new ipod "Podzilla"). The cd also features the second saddest song ever recorded: The 5th Dimension's "If I Could Reach You" (the number one saddest song ever recorded, in case you're interested, is Stan Rogers' "First Christmas"). I am still extremely proud of the mood I managed to sustain on this cd and consider it my finest programming job.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Storms - Fleetwood Mac, Lovesong - The Cure, Winter Kills - Alison Moyet, Blue - Sarah McLachlan, If I Could Reach You - The 5th Dimension, Blue - Barry Manilow & Sarah Vaughan, Don't Take Your Love From Me - Frank Sinatra, Neither One of Us (Wants To Be the First To Say Goodbye) - Gladys Knight & the Pips, No More Drama - Mary J. Blige, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore - Elton John, Ghost In This House - Alison Krauss, Trouble - Cat Stevens, Black - Pearl Jam, Who Am I Foolin' - Cheryl Wheeler, Two Star - Everything But the Girl

FACT SHEET: STORMS is a Cerpts CD Mix which was compiled on January 7, 2003. The cover art is by Edward Gorey.

THE BEATLES - The Beatles

YEAR: 1968

LABEL: Apple

TRACK LISTING: Back in the U.S.S.R., Dear Prudence, Glass Onion, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Wild Honey Pie, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Martha My Dear, Blackbird, Piggies, Rocky Racoon, Don't Pass Me By, Why Don't We Do It In the Road, I Will, Julia, Birthday, Yer Blues, Mother Nature's Son, Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey, Sexy Sadie, Helter Skelter, Long Long Long, Revolution 1, Honey Pie, Savoy Truffle, Cry Baby Cry, Revolution 9, Good Night

IMPRESSIONS: This is my favourite Beatles album. While I had my second favourite Beatles album "ABBEY ROAD" most of my life, I didn't pick up this album (on vinyl) until around 1980-1981 and immediately fell in love with it's treasure trove of schizophrenic songs; each one stands alone as a completely different listening experience. Oh, what riches! If variety is the spice of life, this is the spiciest Beatles album, mate. It's double album length gives you something to really sink your teeth into unlike single album at that time which were over before you knew it. Remember albums at that time were usually only about 35 minutes long so the "White Album" is more what we consider a single album length today. That having been said, THE BEATLES contains some of my all-time favourite Beatles songs: "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Happiness Is A Warm Gun", "Blackbird", "Don't Pass Me By", "I Will", "Mother Nature's Son", "Savoy Truffle" and "Good Night". Also, it has the superior version of "Revolution 1"; I prefer the album version (with its more challenging slower tempo) to the harder but less interesting single version. I also like the fact that the double album length makes it less of a "Lennon-McCartney Show" and lets George and Ringo have a little more space to shine without being pushed off the album with only one song each as usual. I just don't buy the usual complaint that the Beatles were working separately instead of together as a group. From everything I've read and heard from the Beatles' own mouths, each member ALWAYS worked up a song on their own and then presented it to the group for their input or to be assigned parts to play on it. How is "The White Album" any different since that's exactly what they did here as well. The only difference being they apparently separated themselves into individual studio rooms until they were ready to present the songs to the group. So instead of doing this at their individual homes, they instead did it in different rooms in the same studio. Sounds to me like they were working closer, not farther apart. And since the Beatles being forced together in one studio room during the recording of the "LET IT BE" sessions seems to have broken the group up, the working conditions on "The White Album" seems to have been the way the Beatles SHOULD have gone in order to keep working together; if they had stayed with that formula maybe they would've stayed together and given us a few more brilliant albums. Think of that the next time you hear someone whine about "The White Album".

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Back in the U.S.S.R., Dear Prudence, Glass Onion, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Martha My Dear, Blackbird, Piggies, Don't Pass Me By, Why Don't We Do It In the Road, I Will, Julia, Birthday, Mother Nature's Son, Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey, Sexy Sadie, Helter Skelter, Long Long Long, Revolution 1, Honey Pie, Savoy Truffle, Cry Baby Cry, Good Night

GUEST ARTISTS: Eric Clapton (lead guitar on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"), Mal Evans (backing vocals on "Dear Prudence", trumpet on "Helter Skelter"), Jack Fallon (violin on "Don't Pass Me By"), Pattie Boyd Harrison (backing vocals on "Birthday"), Jackie Lomax (backing vocals on "Dear Prudence"), Maureen Starkey (backing vocals on "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill"), Yoko Ono (backing vocals on "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and "Birthday", speech/tape/sound effects on "Revolution 9"), The Mike Sammes Singers (backing vocals on "Good Night").

FACT SHEET: THE BEATLES is the Beatles' ninth album (number 9, number 9...); the titles of the album is THE BEATLES and not "The White Album" although that's what it's usually called. The original working title for the album was "A Doll's House". The album was the first released after the death of their manager Brian Epstein and the first album released on their new Apple label. Most of the songs were written in Rishikesh, India while the Beatles were on a transendental meditation course with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with some work being done at Trident. Recording sessions were filled with tension and apparently featured all four Beatles basically working solo and bringing in the others for specific recording needs. The Beatles at the time were in a great deal of turmoil stemming from everything from Brian Epstein's death, group in-fighting, dissillusionment with the Maharishi, business pressures from Apple Corps and the continuing presence of Yoko Ono in the studio. Paul McCartney is reported to have played drums on "Dear Prudence" because Ringo Starr had temporarily quit the group; this resulted in the other three Beatles sharing drum and bass duties on "Back In the U.S.S.R." as well during this period. George Harrison asked Eric Clapton to play lead guitar on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and reciprocated by collaborating on the song "Badge" on Cream's "GOODBYE" album; during Clapton's time in the studio tensions eased and the Beatles were, according to Harrison, "on their best behaviour". This is the album which saw the Beatles move from 4-track to 8-track recording as well as experimenting wildly with a vast array of different musical genres and sounds from 1930's dance hall to country-western to avant-garde John Cage-like noodling to lush movie score sensibilities. The album cover was designed by pop artist Richard Hamilton to contrast Peter Blake's ornate SGT. PEPPER cover; the original album cover featured "The Beatles" in raised embossed lettering with a serial number to suggest a limited edition numbered release. "Dear Prudence" was written for Mia Farrow's sister Prudence who was in India at Maharishi's seminar but would often not come out of her room. "Glass Onion" overtly refers to the current "Paul Is Dead" urban legend with the lyric "and here's another clue for you all/the walrus was Paul". "Martha My Dear" was written for Paul McCartney's sheepdog Martha. "Julia" refers to John Lennon's mother. "Sexy Sadie" is about the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

BORIS KARLOFF IN THE INNER SANCTUM - Boris Karloff

YEAR: 1981

LABEL: Radiola/Radio Yesteryear

TRACK LISTING: The Wailing Wall, Birdsong For A Murderer, The Mahogany Coffin

IMPRESSIONS: Around 1979-1980 I got really big into old time radio shows owing mostly to my friend Ed Jacoby who discovered the local PBS radio station was rebroadcasting them daily. Also at the same time, my mother (who worked at ACME) called from the supermarket and told me there were a bunch of old-time radio cassettes for sale (by Metacom) and did I want her to pick me up some. What a question! Simultaneously I discovered Radiola records in stores and sent away for a mail-order catalogue. All this choice resulted in my swimming in old-time radio records and tapes. I still affectionately remember the thrill of having the mailman deliver that big LP-sized box containing about half a dozen Radiola records to my door. Among them was this BORIS KARLOFF IN THE INNER SANCTUM record. INNER SANCTUM is one of my favourite old radio shows and what could be better than a pair of episodes starring the King of Horror Boris Karloff??? I'll tell you what could be better: the little 15 minute episode of THE BLACK CHAPEL tagged onto the end, that's what. This is one of my favourite old radio shows of all-time. Airing a quarter of an hour before midnight on the CBS Pacific Network on the dark, winter evening of January 6, 1939, the story of "The Mahogany Coffin" is masterfully told by Ted Osborne (because unlike regular radio shows, this is simply one person telling a story in the best storyteller tradition). The Karloff episodes are top notch but this BLACK CHAPEL episode is a masterpiece!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: All of 'em.

FACT SHEET: "The Wailing Wall" is an episode of Inner Sanctum broadcast on CBS Radio on November 12, 1945 sponsored by Lipton Tea & Lipton Soup. "Birdsong For A Murderer" is an episode of INNER SANCTUM broadcast on CBS Radio with no broadcast date given. "The Mahogany Coffin" is an episode of THE BLACK CHAPEL starring Ted Osborne broadcast on the CBS Pacific Network on January 6, 1939.

DOWN IN THE BASEMENT: JOE BUSSARD'S TREASURE TROVE OF VINTAGE 78s 1926-1937 - Various Artists

YEAR: 2002

LABEL: Old Hat Records

TRACK LISTING: The Lost Child - Stripling Brothers, How You Want It Done? - Big Bill Broonzy, The (New) Call of the Freaks - Luis Russell & His Orchestra, The School House Fire - Dixon Brothers, Greenback Dollar - Weems String Band, You Got To Go Down - Blind Gary, The Old Ark's A-Moving - A. A. Gray & Seven-Foot Dilly, Runnin' Wild - James Cole's Washboard Four, Keep It Clean - Charley Jordan, Get the "L" On Down the Road - Bill Johnson's Louisiana Jug Band, I Got A Bulldog - Sweet Brothers & Ernest Stoneman, Old Hen Cackle - Coleman & Harper, Song From A Cotton Field - Bessie Brown, Atlanta Bound - Gene Autry, Easy Rider Blues - Soileau & Robin, Hot Lips - Bill Brown & His Brownies, Uncle Dave's Beloved Solo - Uncle Dave Macon, Hastings Street - Blind Blake & Charlie Spand, Ain't That Trouble In Mind - Fields Ward & the Grayson County Railsplitters, Give the World A Smile - The Corley Family, Original Stack O'Lee Blues - Long Cleve Reed & Little Harley Hull-Down Home Boys, Hot Town - Fess Williams & His Royal Flush Orchestra, Paddlin' Blues - Gitfiddle Jim, Plow Boy Hop - Grinnell Giggers

IMPRESSIONS: Joe Bussard is a national treasure. His passion for and conservation of early 78 rpm recordings of "string bands, blues, jazz, country, cajun, gospel" and other "old time music" is priceless. But not only does he collect these records but he also makes them available to anyone who asks him. I myself have availed myself of this service for a small fee and received several cassette tapes of requests from the man. In his own words: "I'm just a crazy old poppy-eyed hoot owl. Nuttier than a fruitcake! Some people are so goddam cranky-ass they can't have no fun. Well, I've been having fun! You can't say you don't have fun when you come down here (to Joe's basement)! I say, don't hold anything back! Enjoy yourself, relax and live!" This Old Hat Records cd has one of the best packaging and greatest booklets ever to accompany any cd!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Lost Child - Stripling Brothers, How You Want It Done? - Big Bill Broonzy, The (New) Call of the Freaks - Luis Russell & His Orchestra, The Old Ark's A-Moving - A. A. Gray & Seven-Foot Dilly, Runnin' Wild - James Cole's Washboard Four, Keep It Clean - Charley Jordan, I Got A Bulldog - Sweet Brothers & Ernest Stoneman, Old Hen Cackle - Coleman & Harper, Song From A Cotton Field - Bessie Brown, Atlanta Bound - Gene Autry, Easy Rider Blues - Soileau & Robin, Hot Lips - Bill Brown & His Brownies, Uncle Dave's Beloved Solo - Uncle Dave Macon, Hastings Street - Blind Blake & Charlie Spand, Ain't That Trouble In Mind - Fields Ward & the Grayson Country Railsplitters, Give the World A Smile - The Corley Family, Original Stack O'Lee Blues - Louis Cleve Reed & Little Harvey Hull-Down Home Boys, Hot Town - Fess Williams & His Royal Flush Orchestra, Paddlin' Blues - Gitfiddle Jim, Plow Boy Hop - Grinnell Giggers

FACT SHEET: Joe Bussard is known as "The King of Record Collectors" with a museum-quality collection of over 25,ooo 78 rpm discs. He generously shares his collection with reissue labels (of which this is one) as well as just folks who can request tapes of any records they want for just a nominal fee. From 1956 6o 1970, Bussard ran the last 78 rpm record label called Fonotone which released new recordings of "old-time" music. Bussard also DJ's the weekly "Country Classics" radio programme for Georgia Tech's radio station WREK Atlanta as well as shows for three other radio stations. Luis Russell was Louis Armstrong's long-time musical director as well as being the father of current blues singer Catherine Russell. Charley Jordan's "Keep It Clean" was covered with new lyrics by R. Crumb. The Down Home Boys' recording of "Original Stack O'Lee Blues" owned by Joe Bussard is the only known copy known to exist; the song is the basis for Lloyd Price's number one hit "Stagger Lee".

SPACE ESCAPADE - Les Baxter

YEAR: 1958

LABEL: Capitol

TRACK LISTING: Shooting Star, Moonscape, Mr. Robot, The City, A Distant Star, The Commuter, Winds of Sirius, The Other Side of the Moon, Somewhere In Space, Earth Light, The Lady Is Blue, Saturday Night On Saturn

BONUS TRACKS: (On the El/Cherry Red cd reissue): Cornflakes, Toy Tiger, Havana, The Trouble With Harry, Sinner Man, The Left Arm of Buddha, The Clown on the Eiffel Tower, Melodia Loca (The Chilean Drive-You-Crazy Song), Venezuela, Cherchez La Femme, Rush Hour Romance, Designing Woman, Blue Echo, Ricordate Marcellino (Remember Marcellino), La Panse (The Little Flower), The Lonely Whistler, Love Song from "Houseboat", Please Mr. Sun

IMPRESSIONS: "Even today, in an era of science and satellites, the mystery of the universe has lost none of its magical appeal. We can close our eyes and dream of the future, wondering whether a starlit planet might soon replace a tropical island, the Riviera, or a distant mountain lodge as an ideal spot for a romantic holiday. Or, with the aid of the music in this album, we can drift into the future's lovemist with Les Baxter and make a spaceliner escapade by earthlight, tongue safely fastened in cheek." The cover of this album is probably one of the most famous in the lounge canon. But the music in the album isn't quite what one would expect from the album cover. Rather than weirdly spacey music, Baxter instead is working more on the lighter, easy listening side of his repertoire with music which sounds more like what I heard in my doctor's office when I was 5 years old. This is not a bad thing if you're in the mood for lighter Liberace lounge -- which I sometimes am -- but the promise of the wacky cover is not quite realized in the music itself. That having been said, this is still an enjoyable Les Baxter loungefest with its sugary strings and scintillating piano arpeggios. "The City" is actually one of Baxter's favourite compositions and late in life, when his memory was failing him, he still would often play "The City" for friends and family at his piano. While SPACE ESCAPADES is a nice, solid space age bachelor pad album, I think Les Baxter is better served with his more exotica-flavoured albums benevolently overseen by the Tiki gods.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Shooting Star, The City, Winds of Sirius, The Other Side of the Moon, Somewhere In Space, Earth Light, The Lady Is Blue, Saturday Night On Saturn, Cornflakes, Havana, The Left Arm of Buddha, Melodia Loca (The Chilean Drive-You-Crazy Song), Venezuela, Blue Echo, Love Song from "Houseboat", Please Mr. Sun

FACT SHEET: SPACE ESCAPADES is Les Baxter's 19th album; it's a little hard to come up with a proper number due to his frequent collaborations.

DR. DEMENTO 20th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION - Various Artists

YEAR: 1991

LABEL: Rhino

TRACK LISTING: Delicious! - Jim Backus, The Scotsman - Bryan Bowers, Junk Food Junkie - Larry Groce, Eat It - Weird Al Yankovic, Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor (On the Bedpost Overnight) - Lonnie Donegan, Wet Dream - Kip Addotta, Hello Muddah Hello Fadduh (A Letter From Camp), Wappin' - Darrell Hammond & Christopher Snell, The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley, Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett, Cocktails For Two - Spike Jones, Transfusion - Nervous Norvus, Beep Beep - The Playmates, St. George and the Dragonet - Stan Freberg, Witch Doctor - David Seville, Gitarzan - Ray Stevens, Earache My Eye (Featuring Alice Bowie) - Cheech & Chong, Dead Puppies - Ogdon Edsl, Dancin' Fool - Frank Zappa, Star Trekkin' - The Firm, The Time Warp - The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Masochism Tango - Tom Lehrer, The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun - Julie Brown, The Ballad of Irving - Frank Gallop, The Battle of Kookamonga - Homer & Jethro, King Tut - Steve Martin, Der Fuehrer's Face - Spike Jones, Fish Heads - Barnes & Barnes, Poisoning Pigeons In the Park - Tom Lehrer, Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out - Shel Silverstein, The Cockroach That Ate Cincinatti - Rose & the Arrangement, Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen, Pencil Neck Geek - Fred Blassie, Ti Kwan Leep/Boot To the Head - The Frantics, Existential Blues - Tom "T-Bone" Stankus, They're Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haaa! - Napoleon XIV

IMPRESSIONS: I believe the first time I heard the Dr. Demento Show on radio was when it was brought to my attention by my friend Ed Jacoby. I naturally became an avid listener for years and even tape recorded some of the episodes. Sadly, due to the outrageously pitiful Philadelphia radio market, it only lasted several years before the show disappeared from local radio in the early 80's. Around that time, a vinyl box set came out which I snapped up; it's even signed by Dr. Demento himself. Once again sadly that set has never been issued on compact disc. There were also a few single LPs of Dr. Demento released in the 70s which I tracked down as well (also none of which have been reissued on cd, more's the pity). However, in 1991 Rhino went some ways towards rectifying that situation with this 2 cd set containing many of the most well-remember and popular songs the Doctor played on his radio show.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Scotsman - Bryan Bowers, Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor (On the Bedpost Overnight) - Lonnie Donegan, Wet Dream - Kip Addotta, Hello Muddah Hello Fadduh (A Letter From Camp) - Allan Sherman, Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett, Cocktails For Two - Spike Jones, Transfusion - Nervous Norvus, Beep Beep - The Playmates, St. George and the Dragonet - Stan Freberg, Gitarzan - Ray Stevens, Earache My Eye (Featuring Alice Bowie) - Cheech & Chong, Dead Puppies - Ogdon Edsl, Dancin' Fool - Frank Zappa, Star Trekkin' - The Firm, The Time Warp - The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun - Julie Brown, The Ballad of Irving - Frank Gallop, King Tut - Steve Martin, Der Fuehrer's Face - Spike Jones, Fish Heads - Barnes & Barnes, Poisoning Pigeons In the Park - Tom Lehrer, The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati - Rose & the Arrangement, Pencil Neck Geek - Fred Blassie, Ti Kwan Leep/Boot To the Head - The Frantics, Existential Blues - Tom "T-Bone" Stankus, They're Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haaa! - Napoleon XIV

FACT SHEET: Barry Hansen took on his Dr. Demento identity when in 1970 he played Nervous Norvus' "Transfusion" on the radio and a fellow DJ remarked that he must be demented to play such a song. The name stuck and the Doctor started his Dr. Demento Show which became syndicated in 1974. The Dr. Demento Show lasted on "terrestrial radio" until 2010 and has since moved to online streaming broadcasts at the show's official website. The opening theme song for the show is "Pico and Sepulveda" by Felix Figueroa & His Orchestra (actually Freddy Martin & His Orchestra); the song was re-recorded by the Roto Rooter Good Time Christmas Band and that has been the official theme played since 1974. The Doctor's traditional opening line for every show is "Wind up your radios, Demensions and Dementites!". During the show, various countdown intro music is from composer Harry Partch's "Barstow". The closing theme for the show is "Cheerio, Cherry Lips, Cheerio" by Scrappy Lambert (recorded under the name of Gordon Wallace) which Hansen found in a thrift shop.

AT THE COPA - Sam Cooke

YEAR: 1964

LABEL: ABKCO/RCA Victor

TRACK LISTING: Opening Introduction, The Best Things In Life Are Free, Bill Bailey, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, Frankie and Johnny, Medley: Try A Little Tenderness/(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons/You Send Me, If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song), When I Fall In Love, Twistin' the Night Away, Band Introductions, This Little Light of Mine, Blowin' In the Wind, Tennessee Waltz

IMPRESSIONS: This is the only live album Sam Cooke released in his lifetime. The one venue he wanted to play was the Copacabana; in the singer's mind you hadn't made it until you'd done it. Cooke famously played the Copa early in his career and bombed spectacularly. Therefore, he vowed he would not play the Copa again until he was ready. By 1964, he finally felt he was ready. This album represents a personal milestone for the singer because he successfully played at his "holy grail" venue at long last. As such, the album is an important audio document in Cooke's career but not necessarily representative of his music. Despite his huge success at the time, practically none of his hit singles can be found here. More Trini Lopez concert than Sam Cooke, the album features song choices which to our modern ears seem mighty odd for the singer to be performing. However, that's what put bums in seats at New York's Copa in 1964. Or should I say WHITE bums in seats. As such, the album also is a major success story in the crossover success of black artists into traditionally white charts. However, as a pure listening experience it can come across as a strangely underwhelming and frustrating affair; unless, of course, you yearn to hear the composer of "A Change Is Gonna Come" sing his rendition of "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey".

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Best Things In Life Are Free, Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out, Medley: Try A Little Tenderness/(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons/You Send Me, When I Fall In Love, This Little Light of Mine

FACT SHEET: AT THE COPA is Sam Cooke's 16th album (including "Best Ofs"). The live concert was recorded on July 7 - 8, 1964 at New York's Copacabana. Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In the Wind" was a personal favourite of Sam's and it provided inspiration for his own "A Change Is Gonna Come".

WHAT A DIFF'RENCE A DAY MAKES - Dinah Washington

YEAR: 1959

LABEL: Mercury/Verve

TRACK LISTING: I Remember You, I Thought About You, That's All There Is To That, I Won't Cry Anymore, I'm Thru With Love, Cry Me A River, What A Diff'rence A Day Made, Nothing in the World, Manhattan, Time After Time, It's Magic, A Sunday Kind of Love

BONUS TRACKS: Time After Time (First Version), Come On Home, It Could Happen To You, Studio Dialogue

IMPRESSIONS: Dinah Washington is on my Mount Rushmore of vocalists along with Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. "Here's the New Dinah Washington!" That's what the original 1959 liner notes to this album said. And that's kinda true since this is definitely more of a pop album and it resulted in tons of radio play as well as a Grammy for the NOT title track -- you'll notice the song is called "What A Diff'rence A Day Made" while the album title uses the word "Makes". Any road, this album features rather sweet strings a la the albums Nat King Cole or Ray Charles would've been turning out. However, Dinah's "tart tone" (as nicely referred to by itunes concerning her voice) manages to cut through the slightly saccharine strings and maintain the singing quality and emotional truth for which Dinah was renowned. Along with the epoch-making Grammy winning song, Dinah's "I Remember You" is probably my favourite rendition by ANYBODY of that standard. Another really nice touch from the 2000 Verve extended cd release, the final track on the cd features studio dialogue which ends just before the first track "I Remember You" begins; so if you set up your cd player so that the album starts over with track one when it reaches the end of the cd, you get a seemless segue right back into the album. Totally circular, babe!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: I Remember You, I Thought About You, That's All There Is To That, I Won't Cry Anymore, What A Diff'rence A Day Made, Manhattan, Time After Time, A Sunday Kind of Love, Time After Time (First Version), Come On Home, It Could Happen To You, Studio Dialogue

FACT SHEET: WHAT A DIFF'RENCE A DAY MAKES is Dinah Washington's 14th album. The album was arranged by Belford Henricks. The song "What A Diff'rence A Day Made" won the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording.

THE BEST OF - Spike Jones

YEAR: 1967

LABEL: RCA Victor

TRACK LISTING: Cocktails For Two, William Tell Overture, Chloe, My Old Flame, The Glow Worm, None But the Lonely Heart, Laura, The Man On the Flying Trapeze, You Always Hurt the One You Love, Der Fuehrer's Face, Dance of the Hours, Hawaiian War Chant

IMPRESSIONS: This has two vivid associations for me. Firstly of my grandfather Buster Mars who was the first Spike Jones connoisseur in my life. I bought this record in the mid-1970s at the Listening Booth store in the Pennsauken Mart where my grandfather and I would go almost every weekend. It was one of the RCA Victor "Pure Gold" reissues on vinyl in the 70s. I would play it on their huge record player which was the size of a bureau and an actual piece of furniture; encased in wood it also served as a storage place for all their record albums in a cabinet inside. My second association is with my friend Ed Jacoby who was also a fan of Spike Jones or any other silly music. When I was a wee kid, he had a reel-to-reel tape deck (as well as many other audio/visual equipment of the day) on which we'd make our own messed-up compilation tapes.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Cocktails For Two, Chloe, My Old Flame, The Glow Worm, None But the Lonely Heart, Laura, You Always Hurt the One You Love, Der Fuehrer's Face, Dance of the Hours, Hawaiian War Chant

FACT SHEET: Carl Crayson sings vocal on "Cocktails For Two", "You Always Hurt the One You Love" and "Der Fuehrer's Face". Doodles Weaver provides "commentary" on "William Tell Overture" and "Dance of the Hours" as well as vocals on "The Man On the Flying Trapeze". Red Ingle sings vocals on "Chloe", "The Glow Worm", "Laura" and "You Always Hurt the One You Love". Paul Judson sings vocals on "My Old Flame". Paul Frees provides vocals on "My Old Flame" as Peter Lorre. Aileen Carlisle sings vocals on "The Glow Worm". Helen Grayco and Spike Jones provide vocals on "None But the Lonely Heart". Jimmy Cassidy and Dr. Horatio Q. Birdbath provide vocals on "Laura". The cover portrait of Spike Jones was painted by Jack Davis.

MODERN SOUNDS IN COUNTRY & WESTERN MUSIC - Ray Charles

YEAR: 1962

LABEL: ABC-Paramount/Rhino

TRACK LISTING: Bye Bye Love, You Don't Know Me, Half as Much, I Love You So Much It Hurts, Just A Little Lovin' (Will Go A Long Way), Born To Lose, Worried Mind, It Makes No Difference Now, You Win Again, Careless Love, I Can't Stop Lovin' You, Hey Good Lookin'

BONUS TRACKS: You Are My Sunshine, Here We Go Again, That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven)

IMPRESSIONS: Certainly one of the most influential albums of all time. This one makes me think of my late friend Peg. We would often listen to some Ray Charles when she was putting the water up for pasta (and she'd usually sing "Hit the Road, Jack" when it was time for me to go home). And one of the most often played of Brother Ray's output was this album.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: You Don't Know Me, Half As Much, I Love You So Much It Hurts, Just A Little Lovin', Born To Lose, It Makes No Difference Now, You Win Again, Careless Love, I Can't Stop Lovin' You, That Lucky Old Sun

FACT SHEET: MODERN SOUNDS IN COUNTRY AND WESTERN MUSIC is Ray Charles' 18th album (more or less); it is his fifth album released by ABC-Paramount after Charles left Atlantic Records for a much better contract. It is a concept album of sorts in that Ray Charles covers well-known country songs as a radical departure from his usual output. The album is considered a landmark in breaking down racial barriers in the music industry; by combining R&B with Country, Ray Charles received radio play on both black and white stations. The album spent 14 weeks at number one on the US pop charts.

SONG OF JOY - The Captain & Tennille

YEAR: 1976

LABEL: A&M

TRACK LISTING: Song of Joy, Lonely Night (Angel Face), Mind Your Love, Smile For Me One More Time, Shop Around, Going Bananas, Butterscotch Castle, Muskrat Love, Thank You Baby, Wedding Song (There Is Love), 1954 Boogie Blues

IMPRESSIONS: Here's another one that reminds me of summer in Egg Harbor with my second girlfriend; what exactly is this sudden gravitation towards memories of Kelly Ann??? I would only see her on summer vacations at my father's house in Egg Harbor and this is when I bought and played the hell out of this album. I was all of 10 years old and we both loved this album. At the time, "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" was my favourite song. Then there's the soaring gospel of the opening title track which still manages to thrill me to this day. Jerry Reed Hubbard's "Mind Your Love" is another barnstormer which should've been recorded by Ray Charles. And the side concludes with the deliriously (and deliberately) silly pseudo-instrumental "Going Bananas" which sounds like exactly that! While side one can still be listened to without any apology, side two is where all the embarrassment resides. However, I've reached an age when the unbelieveable saccharine kitsch of "Muskrat Love" (a tune I didn't like back then) and "Butterscotch Castle" can be enjoyed for this very quality. There's also that "Wedding Song (There Is Love)" squirmer which it seems every wedding during the mid-to-late 70's was required by law to play as the unlucky couple staggered down the aisle.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Song of Joy, Lonely Night (Angel Face), Mind Your Love, Shop Around, Going Bananas, Butterscotch Castle, Muskrat Love

FACT SHEET: SONG OF JOY is the Captain & Tennille's second album which proved equally as successful as their debut album and produced three top 5 hits. The title song was written by Reginald Rasputin Boutte and Billy Preston. "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" is another cover of a Neil Sedaka song who continued to be their patron saint after their megahit debut with Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together". "Shop Around" is a cover of the original Smokey Robinson & the Miracles #2 hit which took the Captain & Tennille to #4 on the charts. Finally, their third hit single was a cover of W.A. Ramsey's "Muskrat Candlelight" which they released as "Muskrat Love". The Captain & Tennille was basically a trio on album with Tennille on vocals and Daryl Dragon on bass and synthesizers while Hal Blaine played drums. Backup vocals were by Toni Tennille with her sisters Louise and Melissa.

AIN'T THAT A BITCH - Johnny "Guitar" Watson

YEAR: 1976

LABEL: Shout Factory

TRACK LISTING: I Need It, I Want To Ta-Ta You Baby, Superman Lover, Ain't That A Bitch, Since I Met You Baby, We're No Exception, Won't You Forgive Me Baby

BONUS TRACKS: Funkula, Follow Me

IMPRESSIONS: What an outrrrrrrrrrrrrrrageous cover! This album brings to mind commuting 40 miles round trip to my job at the Turnersville Lone Star down Cross Keys Road circa 1997. Somehow or other I had suddenly gotten Johnny "Guitar" Watson on my radar in the mid-90's and picked up this cd at Tunes. "Bitch" is probably the best place to start when delving into "the Gangster of Love's" 70's funk success.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: I Want to Ta-Ta You Baby, Superman Lover, Ain't That A Bitch, Since I Met You Baby, We're No Exception

FACT SHEET: AIN'T THAT A BITCH is Johnny "Guitar" Watson's 11th album. The album was certified gold and was Watson's first successful funk album after a long career as a blues artist. The album spawned two hit singles: "Superman Lover" (which would be later sampled by Ice Cube, Ghostface Killah and Redman) and "I Need It". Watson's often spoken lyrics lend him to be considered one of the forefathers of rap.