Various American Folk Singers and Balladeers

Jim Reeves The Country Side of Jim Reeves

The Statler Brothers Country Music Then and Now

Jim Reeves We Thank Thee

Jim Reeves Moonlight and Roses

Hank Williams The Best of Hank Williams

The Saint James Society Bab (A/Y)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor G_d’s Pee At State’s End!

Black Rose Burning Fear Machine

Ghoti Hook Songs We Didn’t Write

Planning For Burial

Lou Reed Walk On The Wild Side/The Best of Lou Reed

Larry Renn Paradise Knife & Gun Club

Sheila Rickards & King Tubby Jamaican Fruit Of African Roots

Cliff Richard Wired For Sound

Reo Speedwagon Hi Infidelity

Today is Labour Day, and as I read the news today, oh boy, I was reminded that I used to have a playlist from the days of Music Appreciation. I grabbed my iPod and found the list; it contains some great selections, for sure. Here are a few of them:

Working Class Hero by John Lennon, a personal favourite.

Working Man by Rush, Canadian content, eh!

Workin’ Man Blues by Merle Haggard, gotta have some C&W

Working for the Man by Roy Orbison, I still rave about his concert in 1977

Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, a perennial favourite

And I will close with two songs that have a trade in their titles:

The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel and Piano Man by Billy Joel

I don’t think I have any songs in my weekly playlist. Correct me if I am wrong. As usual, it is an eclectic group of artists that cover a lot of ground. I like Jim Reeves, but I have reached my yearly quota, and I am glad his albums are in the past. Moving forward in the “R” section, I listened to Lou Reed, Larry Renn & Sheila Rickards & King Tubby.

I enjoyed revisiting Lou Reed and taking a “Walk On The Wild Side.” Larry Renn provided some Canadian content, not a great album, but not a bad one either. It goes down easily if taken infrequently. Sheila Rickards is worth reading about and a pleasure to listen to. And, of course, King Tubby is an iconic figure in Jamaican music and reggae, having had a profound influence worldwide.

The Statler Brothers and Hank Williams checked off the Country music content box. These are two artists that I don’t tire of listening to. I grew up with my Dad playing Hanks Villiams to my Swedish Granny‘s requests.

The Saint James Society and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are two new albums that I snagged at Record Collectors Paradise. The Saint James Society was a used record, but they are a new band to me. Bab(a/y)lon Risingwas their only album, that’s a shame because I enjoyed this album, which means I would probably have purchased more of their albums if they had them. They play some good psychedelic/prog music, good enough for me to play it several times back to back.

Listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor brought back fond memories of the concert they headlined. Along with Roy Orbison, Godspeed You! Black Emperor rank high in my favourite concert list.

Ghoti Hook’s album, Songs We Didn’t Write, is a great title for an album of covers. They are no longer an active band, but they have left us a legacy of some decent punk music. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti.

Planning For Burial are a shoegaze/post-metal/ambient/gothic/rock band that has released several albums. I have two: “Desideratum” and “Below the House.” I like both of them.

Reo Speedwagon Hi Infidelity is a memory album. It was a gift from someone I used to know.

So, there you have it—another week of stellar music from a diverse grouping of musical talents. If you listen to even one of these to find out what the heck Norman is listening to, bravo. New music is a joy that should be celebrated and listened to. It expands our horizons and gets us out of the musical echo box. Happy listening, everyone.