NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
THE POSTMARKS . . . . . No One Said This Would Be Easy . . . . . Memoirs at the End of the World (Dig)
NANCY SINATRA . . . . . You Only Live Twice . . . . . The Hit Years
LAURIE JOHNSON . . . . . The Avengers Theme . . . . . With a Vengeance
MIKE REDWAY . . . . . Have No Fear Bond Is Here . . . . . Have No Fear Bond Is Here
THE BONZO DOG BAND . . . . . Hunting Tigers Out In ‘INDIAH’ . . . . . Cornology [3CD Set]
DON MCLEAN . . . . . On The Amazon . . . . . Don McLean
THE KINKS . . . . . Apeman . . . . . Lola versus Powerman and the Money-Go-Round, Part One
FIREWATER . . . . . Borneo . . . . . The Golden Hour
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE . . . . . She Has Funny Cars . . . . . Surrealistic Pillow

PETER & GORDON . . . . . A World Without Love . . . . . The British Invasion: History of British Rock, Vol. 1
CAMERA OBSCURA . . . . . Away With Murder . . . . . My Maudlin Career
ROD STEWART . . . . . You Wear It Well . . . . . Never a Dull Moment
THE PRETENDERS . . . . . Message Of Love . . . . . Pretenders II
SPOON . . . . . Got Nuffin . . . . . Got Nuffin
BIG STAR . . . . . You Get What You Deserve . . . . . #1 Record/Radio City
MOJAVE 3 . . . . . Kill The Lights . . . . . Puzzles Like You
THE PERNICE BROTHERS . . . . . Subject Drop . . . . . Discover a Lovelier You
PETER & GORDON . . . . . I Go To Pieces . . . . . The British Invasion: History of British Rock, Vol. 3

LEMON JELLY . . . . . Spacewalk . . . . . Lost Horizons
AIR . . . . . Do The Joy . . . . . Do The Joy
10CC . . . . . I’m Not In Love . . . . . The Original Soundtrack
ST. VINCENT . . . . . Just The Same But Brand New . . . . . Actor
BRIAN ENO . . . . . The Big Ship . . . . . Another Green World
BECK . . . . . Movie Theme . . . . . The Information
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS . . . . . Cardiff In The Sun . . . . . Dark Days/Light Years

VIVIAN GIRLS . . . . . When I’m Gone . . . . . When I'm Gone
RED BALL JETS . . . . . Stars Are Right . . . . . Rockin EP
YO LA TENGO . . . . . Today Is The Day . . . . . Today Is The Day
STILL LIFE STILL . . . . . Pastel . . . . . Pastel EP
FOUR VOLTS . . . . . Sunday Night . . . . . Triple Your Work Force
RICHARD X. HEYMAN . . . . . All For The Girl . . . . . Living Room!!
MARSHALL CRENSHAW . . . . . T.M.D. . . . . . #447
BUDDY HOLLY . . . . . I’m Gonna Love You Too . . . . . Buddy Holly
THE SHANGRI-LAS . . . . . Give Him A Great Big Kiss . . . . . The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 1

This one opened with a track from the upcoming Postmarks disc that sounds like a soundtrack song for a movie that hasn't been made yet, perhaps something in an action/thriller/espianoge vein. Of course, last year they covered the theme song for You Only Live Twice, but here we heard the original from Nancy Sinatra. Then it was the great theme by Laurie Johnson from the old Avengers TV show followed by one more Bond theme, this time from the original Casino Royale—the bastard child of James Bond movies, but one that I have a soft spot for in my heart. Mike Redway is the man singing, and his idiosyncratic way with a lyric brought to mind an old Bonzo Dog Band tune, which succeeded in hijacking this set and setting off in a totally different direction. So we had Don McLean covering a lyrically playful tune from an old 1920s British musical feeding into the Kinks' looking to get back to their natural roots, and that brought on Firewater's Tod A. explaining why he had to travel halfway around the world to clear his mind set to a rhythm that conjured up an old Jefferson Airplane tune featuring Spencer Dryden pounding out something similar on the drums.

Gordon Waller passed away recently; he was 64 and suffered from heart disease. Along with Peter Asher, they were the first British act in 1964 to hit the top of the charts after the Beatles earlier that year kicked off what eventually became known as the British Invasion. For the next couple of years Peter & Gordon had a pretty successful run, benefitting from Paul McCartney's relationship with Asher's sister Jane by recording a number of McCartney tunes that the Beatles had rejected. Such was the case with the track that opened this set, which was their first single and topped the American charts in late June of 1964. The closer here was their remake of a Del Shannon track, which I happen to prefer to the original. In between one from Camera Obscura's latest that has a little of that British Invasion feel, and the bit about putting thoughts down in a letter brought on Rod Stewart attempting to make amends by doing the same. The Pretenders followed with their own missive, and then it was the new one from Spoon bringing on Big Star with something of a philosophical reply, which in turn led to a couple of three-minute pop songs from Mojave 3 and the Pernice Brothers.

This section began with one from Lemon Jelly that didn't make it into the last program, mostly because it's about walking in space, as opposed to on the Moon. Splitting hairs I know, but sometimes that's the way it works. The first track made available from the upcoming Air release followed, and part of the refrain on that one brought to mind an old favorite from 10cc. The dream-like tone was carried forward by St. Vincent into one of those Brian Eno tunes with a title that perfectly suits the sounds that go with it (he does that a lot). From there we finished with a hazy one from Beck leading to a lovely bit of 21st-century psychedelia from Super Furry Animals.

Vivian Girls are a trio of women from Brooklyn who reach back to the Ramones crossed with the Shangri-las for much of their sound; they have a new album on the horizon and we heard the first track that's been put out there for consumption. From there it was a trio of EPs, starting with the Red Ball Jets, a band from Milwaukee who had some regional success some 30 years ago, and they were followed by Yo La Tengo with a rocking version of a tune that first appeared on their Summer Sun disc. One more from an EP brought a new song with some good energy from Still LIfe Still, and then it was Four Volts with a track that always calls to mind an old Richard X Heyman tune. The tone shifted in more of a pop direction with Marshall Crenshaw, who once upon a time played Buddy Holly in a movie, and then we completed the circle with the Shangri-las.

Here's another one from Peter & Gordon