NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
JULIE BROWN . . . . . The Homecoming Queen’s Got A Gun . . . . . Trapped in the Body of a White Girl
THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS . . . . . St. Valentine’s Day Massacre . . . . . Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN . . . . . My Love Will Not Let You Down . . . . . Tracks (4CD)
MARY WEISS . . . . . Don’t Come Back . . . . . Dangerous Game
ROY ORBISON . . . . . (All I Can Do Is) Dream You . . . . . Black & White Night
JOHN DOE & THE SADIES . . . . . Stop The World And Let Me Off . . . . . Country Club
NICK LOWE . . . . . The Club . . . . . At My Age

KEITH RICHARDS . . . . . Will But You Won’t . . . . . Main Offender
PAUL WESTERBERG . . . . . Drop Them Gloves . . . . . PW & The Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys (Amazon.com Exclusive)
NEW YORK DOLLS . . . . . Better Than You . . . . . 'Cause I Sez So
VELVET CRUSH . . . . . California Incline . . . . . Stereo Blues
TELEVISION . . . . . See No Evil . . . . . Marquee Moon
MISSION OF BURMA . . . . . Possession . . . . .
KURT VILE . . . . . Dead Alive . . . . . Childish Prodigy
JULIAN PLENTI . . . . . No Chance Survival . . . . . Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper

ROSANNE CASH . . . . . I’m Moving On . . . . . The List
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY . . . . . Always And Forever . . . . . Slowly But Surely
T-BONE WALKER . . . . . Why Not . . . . . Grooves in Orbit
NRBQ . . . . . A Girl Like That . . . . . Grooves in Orbit
EXENE CERVENKA . . . . . Walk Me Across The Night . . . . . Somewhere Gone
THE BEATLES . . . . . The Honeymoon Song . . . . . Live at the BBC
CHUCK BERRY . . . . . Rock & Roll Music . . . . . The Great Twenty-Eight
SPOON . . . . . Well-Alright . . . . . Dark Was the Night
ELVIS PRESLEY . . . . . (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care . . . . . The Essential Elvis: The First Movies
M. WARD . . . . . Rave On . . . . . Hold Time
SIMON & GARFUNKEL . . . . . Bye Bye Love . . . . . Bridge Over Troubled Water

BILLY J. KRAMER & THE DAKOTAS . . . . . Bad To Me . . . . . The British Invasion: History of British Rock, Vol. 1
GIRLS . . . . . Laura . . . . . Album
ORANGE PEELS . . . . . Redwood City . . . . . So Far
THE MAMAS AND PAPAS . . . . . I Saw Her Again . . . . . The Mamas & the Papas - Greatest Hits
LANGHORNE SLIM . . . . . Say Yes . . . . . Be Set Free
JOSH ROUSE . . . . . It’s The Nightime . . . . . Nashville
THE CLIENTELE . . . . . Never Anyone But You . . . . . Bonfires on the Heath
YO LA TENGO . . . . . I’m On My Way . . . . . Popular Songs
VAN MORRISON . . . . . Into The Mystic . . . . . Moondance

The opening track from Julie Brown was for all those who returned to the old campus this month in the annual ritual known as Homecoming. That one goes back more than 20 years now and it still brings a smile to my face when I hear it. We moved on to the Cocktail Slippers, the all-female band from Norway who put out a Steve Van Zandt-produced disc earlier this year, which led quite naturally to Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. The energy on that one flowed nicely into Mary Weiss with a track that sounds remarkably like the Roy Orbison tune from his mid-'80s HBO concert that followed. John Doe & the Sadies offered both musical and lyrics continuity, and then Nick Lowe finished up with a tune about a group that most of us have been members of at one time or another.

One from the latest Paul Westerberg release has bit of Keith Richards in it, which is where this section began, and it also brought to mind a track from this year's New York Dolls album. From there we heard Velvet Crush with a track that finishes with an extended guitar solo that is reminiscent of Television, and that led to some more guitar-driven stuff from the new Mission of Burma disc. Kurt Vile brought us to more an introspective place even as he piled on the reverb, and then it was Julian Plenti with a suitably bleak conclusion.

A tune with some nice twang from the new Rosanne Cash disc kicked off this set, and it was followed by Holly Golightly offering her take on that sound. T-Bone Walker added some R&B to the mix, and then we heard from NRBQ with their own version of essentially the same thing, with an emphasis on the piano that made for a nice segue to a new one from Exene Cervenka. The '50s rock 'n' roll rhythm on that recalled the Beatles with John Lennon's report from the front lines of his life c. 1969, and then a classic from Chuck Berry fed very nicely into a Spoon track from back in the beginning of the year that's is similar to Elvis Presley having some fun in Jailhouse Rock. From there we heard a couple of covers to end it: M. Ward rearranging Buddy Holly and Simon & Garfunkel faithfully conjuring up the Everly Brothers.

Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas opened this finale with a hit from the early days of the British Invasion (it certainly didn't hurt that the tune was written by Lennon & McCartney), and the romantic teen entanglements expressed there seemed to flow nicely into a new one from Girls about a relationship running off the rails. Then it was time for the Orange Peels to weigh in on the subject with their California pop sound which, not surprisingly, sounds quite a bit like the '60s California pop courtesy of the Mamas and Papas. The mood turned hopeful with Langhorne Slim and Josh Rouse, which led to some quieter reflections from the Clientele and Yo La Tengo, and then we had Van Morrison returning from the sea to "rock your soul" as the curtain came down.

Here's another one from the New York Dolls