NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
VAN MORRISON . . . . . Tupelo Honey . . . . . Tupelo Honey
THE SWELL SEASON . . . . . Low Rising . . . . . Strict Joy
THE CANNONBALL ADDERLEY QUINTET . . . . . Mercy, Mercy, Mercy . . . . . Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club'
SUGARMAN & CO. . . . . . Down To It . . . . . Daptone Gold
JAMES BROWN . . . . . Night Train . . . . . Star Time (4CD)
TOM WAITS . . . . . Such A Scream . . . . . Glitter and Doom Live
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS . . . . . Albert Goes West . . . . . Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

THE CLIENTELE . . . . . Bonfires On The Heath . . . . . Bonfires on the Heath
FLEETWOOD MAC . . . . . Albatross . . . . . English Rose
THE PASSENGERS . . . . . Miss Sarajevo . . . . . Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1
BRIAN ENO . . . . . Deep Blue Day . . . . . Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks
CAROLYN MARK & NQ ARBUCKLE . . . . . Let’s Just Stay Here . . . . . Let's Just Stay Here
JOHN CALE . . . . . Darling I Need You . . . . . Fragments of a Rainy Season
FATS DOMINO . . . . . Blue Monday . . . . . My Blue Heaven: The Best of Fats Domino
MADNESS . . . . . Madness . . . . . Ultimate Collection

BRASSTRONAUT . . . . . Requiem For A Scene . . . . . Old World Lies
LOVE . . . . . You Set The Scene . . . . . Forever Changes
JULIAN PLENTI . . . . . Unwind . . . . . Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD . . . . . I Only Want To Be With You . . . . . The Very Best of Dusty Springfield
SHE & HIM . . . . . Sweet Darlin’ . . . . . Volume One
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN . . . . . Sherry Darling . . . . . The River
THE FOUR SEASONS . . . . . Sherry . . . . . Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
NEW YORK DOLLS . . . . . Better Than You . . . . . 'Cause I Sez So

TOMMY T. . . . . . Brothers . . . . . Prester John Sessions
MARVIN GAYE . . . . . Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) . . . . . What's Going On
RICKIE LEE JONES . . . . . Trouble Man . . . . . It's Like This
THE STYLE COUNCIL . . . . . Paris Match . . . . . Cafe Bleu
AL KOOPER & MIKE BLOOMFIELD . . . . . Together ’Til The End Of Time . . . . . Live Adventures Of Michael Bloomfield & Al Kooper
SOLOMON BURKE . . . . . Flesh And Blood . . . . . Don't Give Up on Me
JOE HENRY . . . . . Over Her Shoulder . . . . . Blood from Stars

One of the tracks on the new Swell Season disc has a certain Van Morrison-like appeal (not all that surprising considering the Irish connection), and it also conjured up a great old Cannonball Adderley Quintet tune that was pretty popular back in the mid-'60s. From there we heard another instrumental, this time by Sugarman & Co. from the new disc of rarities issued by Daptone Records. The main riff on that one flowed nicely into some James Brown from early in his career, and that set the stage for a kineticly menacing Tom Waits track that has a slight touch of the funk before Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds finished up with one that evokes a similar sense of peril.

A shift in mood to a more bucolic and dreamy state began with some beautiful imagery from the Clientele leading to an enchanting old instrumental by Fleetwood Mac. Then we heard a pensive and questioning U2 along with Brian Eno and special guest Luciano Pavarotti from the mid-'90s Passengers project, which brought on a sublimely mesmerizing track from Eno off of the soundtrack he created for a film about the Apollo moon missions. The waltz-like feel of that one segued into Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle working in 3/4 time followed by John Cale in concert alone at the piano, where he finished with a flourish that recalled the great Fats Domino. His New Orleans R&B influenced a great many musicians in Jamaica who went on to make some of the best ska records of the early and mid-'60s, like Prince Buster, whose tune provided Madness with a track on their first album, not to mention their name.

This section's opening tune from Brasstronaut featured some moody trumpet to accent its tale of hanging out with friends in clubs. That instrument was featured in a similar way in the Love track that followed, and then we heard it in more of a three-minute pop song context from Julian Plenti, who could very easily been inspired by the Dusty Springfield track that followed. The uptempo energy of that one was echoed in the She & Him tune, which flowed rather well into Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and a song that never fails to bring a smile to my face. I couldn't resist following up with the Four Seasons, but that opened the gate for the New York Dolls—a segue that, although it seems simply wrong if taken at face value, actually worked out quite well.

An instrumental track from Tommy T.'s new disc got this final portion of the program off to a soulful start, which was only intensified with the Marvin Gaye tune from his masterpiece that followed. Then we heard Rickie Lee Jones nicely covering another Marvin song giving way to the Style Council with some Continental jazz grooves; the piano accent on that one was echoed in a bluesy ballad by Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield from their 1968 San Francisco concerts. Speaking of bluesy, we finished with Solomon Burke doing a terrific job on a Joe Henry tune followed by an instrumental number from Mr. Henry's most recent release.

Here's another one from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band