NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN . . . . . Thundercrack . . . . . Tracks (4CD)
MARAH . . . . . My Heart Is The Bums On The Street . . . . . Kids in Philly
GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR . . . . . Hold Back The Night . . . . . Ultimate Collection
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS . . . . . I Stand Accused . . . . . Get Happy!!
VAN MORRISON . . . . . Jackie Wilson Said (I’m In Heaven When You Smile) . . . . . Saint Dominic's Preview
JACKIE WILSON . . . . . (You’re Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher . . . . . The Very Best of Jackie Wilson

BOB DYLAN . . . . . I Threw It All Away . . . . . Nashville Skyline
TOM WAITS . . . . . The Part You Throw Away . . . . . Glitter and Doom Live
LEONARD COHEN . . . . . The Gypsy Life . . . . . Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979
DEVOTCHKA . . . . . New World . . . . . A Mad and Faithful Telling
GRIZZLY BEAR . . . . . While You Wait For The Others . . . . . Veckatimest
NEKO CASE . . . . . Star Witness . . . . . Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Bonus Disc Version)
EXENE CERVENKA . . . . . Honest Mistake . . . . . Somewhere Gone
ISOBEL CAMPBELL . . . . . Something To Believe . . . . . Sunday at Devil Dirt

LOU REED . . . . . Wait . . . . . Street Hassle
BRYAN FERRY . . . . . It’s My Party . . . . . These Foolish Things
THE COCKTAIL SLIPPERS . . . . . She’s A Fool . . . . . Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
THE PRETENDERS . . . . . Brass In Pocket . . . . . The Pretenders
THE BEATLES . . . . . That Means A Lot . . . . . Anthology 2
THE CLIENTELE . . . . . Tonight . . . . . Bonfires on the Heath
THE POSTMARKS . . . . . I’m In Deep . . . . . Memoirs at the End of the World (Dig)
ANGELO BADALAMENTI . . . . . Falling . . . . . Twin Peaks (Season One TV Soundtrack)
AIR . . . . . You Can Tell . . . . . Love 2

NNEKA . . . . . Africans . . . . . The Uncomfortable Truth
PETER TOSH . . . . . African . . . . . Equal Rights
BUNNY WAILER . . . . . Hypocritical Dub . . . . . Dubdisco
TOMMY T. F/ GIGI . . . . . Eden . . . . . Prester John Sessions
TAKEN BY TREES . . . . . To Lose Someone . . . . . East of Eden
PAUL SIMON . . . . . Under African Skies . . . . . Graceland
TOUMANI DIABATE . . . . . Ismael Drane . . . . . Tracks (4CD)

This program was the first to air after my experience at the MSG Bruce Springsteen concert, which was covered in some detail in the previous program post. Here we began with the tune that he used as an opener, saying it was "an outtake from the Wild and Innocent sessions," and the set finished with the Jackie Wilson tune that Springsteen and the E Street Band, along with guest Elvis Costello, used to close out the show. In between we heard one from Marah, a band that at times recalls the E Streeters, followed by Graham Parker and the Rumour covering the Trammps, the aforementioned Mr. Costello along with the Attractions engaging in their own brand of soul music, and Van Morrison finding inspiration from Mr. Excitement for some hot R&B.

A tune from Tom Waits' new live set brought to mind an old Bob Dylan track, so that's where this set started, and after the Waits tune we heard from Leonard Cohen also in a live setting, although from 30 years ago. Both of those tracks have an Eastern European feel to them, and that was continued in the DeVotchKa song that followed. From there it was Grizzly Bear giving someone the heave-ho, Neko Case recounting an awful event she once observed, Exene Cervenka admitting it's time to move on, and Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan looking for a reason to keep going.

This section kicked off with an old Lou Reed number that looks back with evident pleasure to the Girl Group sound of the early and mid-'60s. Lesley Gore had much success during those years; here we heard first Bryan Ferry and then the Cocktail Slippers covering songs that were hits for her. The Pretenders followed with a favorite that goes back to their very first disc, and then it was the Beatles and a track that was abandoned in 1965 and not officially released until the Anthology series of the mid-'90s. The romantic mood set by that one was sustained through a song from the new Clientele disc, and then we closed with a trio of tunes from the Postmarks, Angelo Badalamenti with Julee Cruise, and Air that added a whole bunch of synthesizers to the mix, taking us to a much dreamier place as a result.

The finale began with an artist whose name is Nneka: she has a German mother and Nigerian father, and her music shows a wide range of influences. There will be a new record early next year; until then an EP of some earlier material has been put together, and the track we heard conjured up an old Peter Tosh tune with a title that differs by one letter. A dub track from another original Wailer, the great Bunny Wailer, followed, and then it was new music from Tommy T., an Ethiopian bass player with a great feel for the reggae beat. A tune off the new disc recorded in Pakistan from Taken by Trees led to Paul Simon and some very talented South African musicians, and then we finished with the sublimely beautiful music of Toumani Diabaté, who hails from Mali and is a master of the kora, a 21-string harp-like instrument native to West Africa.

Here's another one from Tom Waits