R2OK!

Cherskiy

Tonight’s show was Bob’s last for two or three months whilst he receives and then recovers from radiation treatment for his recently-discovered prostrate cancer. I’m sure everyone reading this will wish him well. Steve Lamacq will be sitting in for Bob during his absence, but the latter is still planning to do his Thursday show each week. He’s expecting to be back around the 13th or 14th of October – and a big incentive is that he’s wanting to get across to Nashville for the Country Music Awards at the end of October.

Tonight’s live artist was a firm favourite of Bob’s and judging by the reaction, the listeners too – electric blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa who was playing in an acoustic setting this evening. Looking at the line-up tonight, it read almost as a “Who’s Who” of the Bob Harris Saturday Show – most of the staples were represented, Bob was “wanting to make the most of it” - going through personal favourites before he left for the autumn, including his favourite vinyl single ever – Ben E King’s “Stand By Me”.

Steve Earle got the show off to a great start with “Satellite Radio” from his new album “Washington Square Serenade”. This song chugs along very nicely with an infectious beat that doesn’t want to stay hidden in the background. He has recorded a session for Bob Harris Country which will be broadcast on 4th October.
One of the artists featured heavily on the show that managed to break through into mainstream R2 airplay this year was Jesse Malin, “Don’t Let Them Take You Down” being played tonight from his latest album “Glitter in the Gutter”. Raw, hard-edged and gritty – wonderful.
The Drive By Truckers lost their front man Jason Isbell recently for the lure of a solo career – he’s been able to almost reinvent himself with the release of “Sirens of the Ditch”. Following on from last week’s track, Bob played “Grown” tonight, a flowing number that has but echoes of his previous style with the Truckers. Clearly he has had artistic issues he’s felt needed to be addressed – from the two tracks I’ve heard so far, this album sounds like a keeper.
“It’s All Good” is the new single by Seasick Steve and the Level Devils – the former hobo who was ironically hailed by Mojo as a ‘new talent’ recently in America despite being in his sixties! Not featuring on his new album “Cheap”, you’ll have to go for the four-track EP if you want this brilliant piece of music.
Kendel Carson popped up again in this list of Bob Harris favourites, naturally enough - and of course it had to be “I Like Trucks”! I suspect this won’t be the last we hear of this Canadian artist this year. “Rearview Mirror Tears” is the double CD it is taken from – ‘double’ being something of a cheat since the second CD only has two tracks on it, that didn’t really fit into the album line-up. Still, that’s nothing to worry about. Simply sit back and listen to a cracking debut album.
From big trucks to “Big Cars”, the new CD single from Heather Myles, who I’d never heard of before. Clearly this was a mistake on my part, since although firmly rooted in the traditional country stable, she had a very pleasant set of vocals and the song itself reflected this in its sympathetic arrangements. A cursory check reveals she performed this song live on the Thursday programme back in 2003 and was featuring nearly 30 times between then and 2006. Oops! Note to self – listen to the Thursday programme a bit more!
Another brilliant singer-songwriter from the folk end of the spectrum is Karine Polwart, whose clear and strong vocals featured prominently on “Hobo”, taken from the “Songs of the Radio Ballads” album, which also features artists such as Cara Dillon and Kate Rusby. Some people knock folk-orientated music, but you’re missing a treat if you skip tracks such as this.
The Felice Brothers have been on before, this trio from upstate New York providing a Dylan-esque ride through doom and despondency, courtesy of “Lady Day” from their album “Tonight at the Arizona”. Some of the band’s other tracks are available through their Myspace site and seem well worth the effort to search out – lots of influences from traditional and roots music there, especially on the one called “Whiskey”.
Now I wasn’t too keen on Sam Baker when tracks from his second album “Pretty World” have featured on the show in recent weeks – I wasn’t that impressed with his vocals nor the style they are delivered in. Whilst the minimalist backing is lovely, the way he ‘sings’ doesn’t sit too well with the rest of the song, and I’d almost go so far to say that he’s out of tune – I can’t literally understand what the fuss is about. One positive thing about “Odessa”, however, is the inclusion of Chris Baker-Davies on guest vocals – now if he’d just shut up, play the guitar and let her sing, it would be a whole lot better in my humble opinion!
Chuck Prophet’s “Summertime Thing”, taken from his 2002 album “No Other Love”, on the other hand, was rather good. This album is his fifth solo release. It has been described as ‘swamp rock’, whatever that means, but there’s a whole range of influences on show here. Bob has wanted to play this artist for a while and now I know why.
I’ve never really been exposed to much of Jethro Tull’s output but I have heard “Life’s a Long Song” before, probably because it’s featured on this show every so often – the last time being back in February. It is taken here from the 1990 “Original Masters” CD, a compilation of the ‘cream’ of the group’s songs. Well, if they’re all as good as this it would be worth acquiring.
One of the surprising finds earlier this year on this show was The Draytones, “Keep Loving Me” hitting the ground running right from the get-go with clashing, vibrant guitars and cracking vocals. Obviously firmly rooted in the sixties, this track still manages to get the pulse racing and the extremities tapping. Clearly one of Bob’s favourite songs of the year, and it’s not hard to work out why.
The “Love is the Song We Sing” 4-CD boxed set received another airing tonight, this week’s band being Moby Grape, who belted out “Omaha” to great effect. Never heard of them before – but brilliant.

Joe Bonamassa was encouraged by Bob to drop the formalities and ‘just play’ straight away – “Weak Heart” had everything that’s great about this artist without the electricals – he can certainly belt out a tune with just an acoustic guitar for company. Just turned 30, he had originally started reading and learning to play classical music until his dad played him an Eric Clapton record when he was seven. That was the catalyst: he started tearing into his dad’s collection of blues – and British blues in particular. Once he turned 11, he knew exactly what he wanted to do – form a band and play that sort of music. “When you’re 11, white and slightly chubby, plus you’re playing the blues in a club, you get press!” When he was 12, he was asked by a promoter to open for BB King – unbelievable. Of course, he said, when you get noticed, you then have to deliver! His goal now, he says, is to do this sort of thing for the rest of his life and have fun doing it. He then launched into “Woke Up Dreaming” (from his 2005 album “Blues Deluxe”) with some absolutely frenetic guitar – having set this cracking pace, his vocals didn’t disappoint either. Once you hear this track, it’s not hard to work out why Joe has become such a firm favourite with the Bob Harris Saturday Show audience. “You live it”, he says, referring to his guitar – there was never a set time for rehearsals, he is always thinking about how to play better. He spoke of guitar heroes such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rory Gallagher, Robin Trower and Jimi Hendrix. Apart from his excellent guitar playing, Joe Bonamassa was good in conversation with Bob – I got the feeling he could have gone on about his heroes and contemporaries for an hour or more. Sadly, there wasn’t time, but there was space for his third and final live song, “High Water Everywhere” from his 2006 album “You and Me” - “hey, you’re really making me work here, aren’t you, Bob?” He travelled to Europe with 12 guitars (‘backups for backups’) – he tours the States with 14 and personally owns over 200 – although when you hear that his dad is a guitar dealer it doesn’t sound so strange. As he says, “some women buy shoes, with me it’s guitars!” To end with, Bob played “Sloe Gin”, the title track of Joe’s soon-to-be-released seventh album. The artist described it as ‘the perfect night-time song’ – and he’s certainly not far wrong. Slower-paced than some of his material, it retains his trademark guitar and lyrics, finally descending into a cacophony of police sirens. A fantastic guitarist who was interesting to listen to – and definitely not the last we’ve heard of him here. A truly splendid set.

Making an impact on this very show this year were the Fountains of Wayne, and Bob went right back to the start of their output, playing “Radiation Vibe” from their 1997 self-titled debut album. If you’d heard this at the time, you could be forgiven for wondering why it took so long for the band to reach the sort of exposure they had when “Stacey’s Mom” was released.
Regulars to the Bob Harris Saturday Show may remember Farrah providing one of the jingles up until recently (“He’s coming from the West End….”). Similar to the Fountains of Wayne in many ways, Bob played “Fear of Flying” from last month’s album “Cut Out and Keep”. When Michelle Margherita’s backing vocals come to the fore mid-song, Jez Ashurst wisely lets her have centre stage – great stuff.
The Cowboy Junkies are another long-time favourite on this show – “Brand New World” was taken from April’s “At the End of Paths Taken” album, Margo Timmins’ seductive vocals drawing you in to the exquisite arrangement, the melodic backing wrapping you up in a cloak that you don’t really want to remove.
One of Bob’s favourite artists is Beth Nielsen Chapman, and no doubt he did not want to do his final show for a couple of months without playing something by her tonight. “Choose Love” comes from her forthcoming album “Prism” – she’s also touring the UK in November. Extremely uplifting music in the Sarah McLachlan mould – great stuff.
Whilst James McMurtry doesn’t quite sing “We Can’t Make It Here Anymore” (from “Childish Things”) in the same vein as the aforementioned Sam Baker, his style actually suits this tale of heartland America in a downward spiral. Two offensive words were bleeped out, however – but doesn’t this show go out after the watershed? Strange, given the language that has been broadcast on the so-called ‘Comedy Hour’! Given a choice between the two, I’d listen to this over “Pretty World”. Not surprisingly, this was Americana Song of the Year in 2006.
The Great Lake Swimmers are another recent revelation, their album “Ongiara” that was released back in April this year yielding several tracks that have featured on the Saturday Show. “Your Rocky Spine” is the first track on the album, and gives listeners a foretaste of the gentle music that is to come. Not quite country, not quite folk, not quite pop – the melodies here are almost haunting yet strangely inviting. This album is one of Bob’s favourite releases of the year – he described it as being ‘delicate’.
Bob receives numerous requests to play “La Cienega Just Smiled” by Ryan Adams each week – if it was down to a case of playing tracks by the numbers received, he says it would be on every weekend! This track comes from the artist’s second solo album, 2001’s “Gold”. It’s introspective and yet upbeat at the same time, the contrast between Ryan Adams’ downplayed vocals and the uplifting accompaniment noticeable.

Mia Riddle’s “Grandchildren” (from “Songs From Hatchet Lake”) was a casualty tonight – pity.

Hope everything goes well for you, Bob, and you’re back treating us to some great music in the autumn.
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Author: “To the Ends of the Earth: A Snapshot of Aviation in North-Eastern Siberia, Summer 1992”
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