LIC Radio

The late, great Ronnie Spector Seriously, this is the third week in a row where my voice has been complete shit. I guess bronchitis will do that to you, but this has gone on way too long. I also ended up missing three days of work. Evidently, people don’t want their bartenders to be hocking up a lung while making their drinks. The upside to this, however, was that I had quite a bit of extra time to plan the show. Not to give away too much of my “process,” while the birthdays often inspire some good musical choices, they frequently are off the cuff, last-minute picks.   Today, I believe, they were the highlights of the show.   The late, great Ronnie Spector was the woman of the hour. The embryonic recording of “Be My Baby,” not yet adorned by backing vocals and orchestra, is quite enlightening. Hearing her vocal before it got wedged between the cracks of the “wall of sound” gives the listener a chance to really hear her voice and phrasing. Her live tracks, backed by the Asbury ...

Photo by Richard E. Aaron One week later and I still feel and sound like shit. I thought I was getting better, but then…   In any event, I powered through and there were some nice gems in there today. Def Leppard covering CCR is something I never thought I would hear. Metallica covering Queen was much better than I thought it would be.   The highlight of the show, I think, is the complete live recording of the debut performance of “Purple Rain.” Captured during a benefit concert for the Minnesota Dance Theatre at the First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis, this recording served as the basic track to the version that appeared, after some editing and overdubs, in the film and its soundtrack. It is almost five minutes longer than the officially released version. I did the best I could in the time allowed to fix some issued with the source tape. It is definitely worth a listen.   Click here to check it out: LIC Radio 8/3/2026         Weather Report “Boogie ...

  Chick Corea Photo by Denis Williams I got hit hard with something this weekend, and I still feel sick as a dog. However, with Brett co-hosting today, I figured I could power through.   So what happened today? Brett’s picks went from the amusing to the random, to the highly questionable. Thinking about it after the fact, I don’t know what possessed up to play “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” and contrary to what we said during the show, I don’t think it is good idea to try to revive the word “satisfactual.” (I mean, Van Morrison can try if he wants.)   In any event, we had a good time. I don’t know about the people out in radioland. There was plenty to like, though. I would say that this episode is worth listening to in for nothing other than the live Atomic Rooster, hearing Sting cover Squeeze, and a killer recording of Johnny Winter doing his version of Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited.”   I also think I may have introduced Brett to one of his new favorite bands (Barclay James H...

  Deep Thoughts Records Northampton, MA Back after a week off. I had to take a quick trip up to Massachusetts to go through my late uncle’s stuff. He was quite the hoarder, but I’m not one to talk. I frequently say uncle Rod, who lost his hearing to an infection at the age of two, would put my record collection to shame if he had hearing.   Every time I go to the Pioneer Valley, I hit some of the record shops in Amherst and Northampton, and even though it wasn’t financially prudent to do so this time, it was an inevitability. (I wasn’t that bad. I spent less than a hundred bucks.)   Long story short, I know that I have been taking quite a bit of time going through my vinyl acquisitions from the last several months for gems to share, and now I have even more. Today I was able to conquer a good chunk of it, and it made for a pretty good first act. It was definitely varied, with tunes from albums that I had been seeking for years, along with tracks from random albums picked ...

Tony Williams Photo by Jan Persson I had tentatively been amassing recordings all week for this show, but it wasn’t until this morning that I was certain that I could do it. You know, computer issues and whatnot. Not to go too much into it, but after over a week of it being temperamental, today it seemed like it was finally willing to take a charge. In any event, I leaned a little harder on the “leftovers and backburners” folder, but the show must go on. And yeah, I started the show with Tony Williams again. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it?   Click here to check it out: LIC Radio 6/29/2026     The New Tony Williams Lifetime "Fred" (Allan Holdsworth) Gabe & Walkers, Iowa City, IA, 3/3/76 Studio version released on Believe It   (Columbia, 1975)     Men at Work “Be Good Johnny“ (Colin Hay, Greg Ham) From Business as Usual   (Columbia, 1981)     Bonzo Dog Band "Sport (The Odd Boy)" (Vivian Stanshall) From Keynsham   (Liberty, 1969) ...