Monday, November 27, 2023

Top 10 for 2023

Here are my picks for the Top 10 folk-rooted or folk-branched albums of 2023. As in past years, I started with the list of hundreds of new albums that I listened to over the past year and narrowed it down to a short list of about 30. I’ve been over the short list several times over the past couple of weeks and came up with several similar – not identical – Top 10 lists. Today’s list is the final one. The order might have been slightly different and there are several other worthy albums that might have been included, had one of the other lists represented the final choice. Any new albums that arrive between now and the end of the year will be considered for my 2024 list.

1. Payadora Tango Ensemble Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango (Six Degrees). The powerful songs on Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango are based on testimonies, poems and other writings from women in Toronto who survived sexual violence and other forms of torture at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Masterfully played by the musicians of the Payadora Tango Ensemble Rebekah Wolkstein, Drew Jurecka, Robert Horvath and Joseph Phillips – the songs are brought to life by singers Aviva Chernick, Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk, Lenka Lichtenberg and Marta Kosiorek.


2. Daniel Kahn & Jake Shulman-Ment
The Building and Other Songs (Oriente Musik). Most of the songs on The Building and Other Songs by Daniel Kahn & Jake Shulman-Ment are Daniel’s Yiddish-language versions of great songs written by the likes of Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Woody Guthrie, Tom Paxton, and Tom Waits. However, these are not simply translations from English to Yiddish. By reading the Yiddish to English translations in the CD booklet, it is quickly evident that Daniel has fully re-imagined each of the songs in ways that are both faithful to the original versions and that take the songs in entirely new directions.


3. Tom Paxton & John McCutcheon
Together (Appalseed Productions). During the pandemic, Tom Paxton, one of folk music’s greatest singer-songwriters since the early-1960s, and John McCutcheon, one of folk music’s greatest singer-songwriters since the mid-1970s, got together on Zoom to write songs. Together – mostly duets and a few solo performances – has 14 of their best songs. The songs range from inspiring (“Ukrainian Now,” “Letters from Joe”), to humorous (“Same Old Crap”), to insightful (“Invisible Man”) and poignant (“Christmas in the Desert”).


4. Sylvia Tyson
At the End of the Day (Stony Plain). In a long and distinguished career, Sylvia Tyson has given us so many memorable songs as a member of Ian & Sylvia and Quartette and as an important solo artist. Now, at 83, Sylvia has decided to retire from making records and is bowing out with At the End of the Day, one of the finest, if not the finest of her solo albums. With shades of folk, country and cabaret music, these finely crafted songs are beautifully sung by Sylvia and beautifully arranged and produced by my old pal Danny Greenspoon.


5. Eliza Gilkyson
Home (Realiza). On Home, Eliza Gilkyson offers a lovely set of songs – some of which offer various approaches to the meaning of home. For example, “True North” views home through the prism of mature love, while in “Man in the Bottle,” Eliza recalls home through the memories of her father, the songwriter and folksinger Terry Gilkyson. Other highlights include “Sunflowers,” a song of solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and duets with Robert Earl Keen and Mary Chapin Carpenter.


6. Too Sad for the Public
Vol. 2 – Yet and Still: Traditional American Folk Song-Stirring by Dick Connette (StorySound). I’ve long admired how composer Dick Connette has re-imagined songs from traditional folk music sources (as well as creating some songs of his own inspired by folk traditions) – first with Last Forever, his duo with the late Sonya Cohen, and more recently with Too Sad for the Public, an ensemble whose membership grows and contracts depending on the needs of the song. Several tracks are steeped in traditional New Orleans jazz, another of my favorite genres. Several fine singers – Ana Egge, Chaim Tannenbaum, Rayna Gellert – help bring the songs to life.


7, Taj Mahal
Savoy (Stony Plain). From 1926 until 1958, the Savoy Ballroom was a major music venue in Harlem, a place where the likes of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald and countless other jazz and blues performed. On Savoy, Taj Mahal offers a joyous tribute to the music of that era (as Holger Peterson points out in the liner notes, all but one of the songs would likely have been heard at the Savoy).


8. Cat Power
Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert (Domino). Although it was actually recorded at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, a few days before he got to the Royal Albert Hall, Bob Dylan’s Live 1966: The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert is, arguably, the most essential of Dylan’s many live albums. The seven solo acoustic songs are the work of a master and the eight electric songs rock hard with a group that would later become The Band. On this tribute, Cat Power went to the Royal Albert Hall and recreated the legendary 1966 concert: the same solo acoustic songs and the same electric band songs, all in their original order. Cat Power beautifully nails the acoustic songs and I think I like her more subtle versions of the electric band songs even more than Dylan’s.


9. David Francey
The Breath Between (Laker Music). David Francey was already in his 40s in the 1990s when he emerged seemingly out of nowhere – actually from Ayer’s Cliff, a small town in the Eastern Townships of Quebec – as one of Canada’s finest singer-songwriters. Now based in Elphin, an equally small town in Eastern Ontario, David has continued to maintain the highest of standards in his songwriting and performing. Among the highlights on The Breath Between are ”Two Shadows,” a beautiful love song, “Narrow Boats,” a duet with Terra Spencer, that captures a wistful moment on the banks of the Thames in England, and “This Morning,” a tribute to John Prine featuring the always delightful playing of Dave Clarke, the guitar virtuoso who brought many of David’s early songs to life 25 or so years ago.


10. Michael Jerome Browne
Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain). As the album title, Gettin’ Together, suggests, most of the songs feature Michael Jerome Browne, long one of Canada’s finest interpreters of almost any kind of traditional blues and folk styles, getting together with a bunch of collaborators ranging from Stephen Barry, the leader of the great Montreal blues band that Michael played in before emerging as a solo artist, to Eric Bibb, the contemporary blues legend that Michael frequently works with on tour, to peers like Colin Linden, Tielhard Frost, John McColgan and Mary Flower, and renowned legends like Happy Traum, John Sebastian and Harrison Kennedy

I will be featuring songs from each of these albums on Stranger Songs, Tuesday December 5, 3:30-5 pm (ET), on CKCU. The program is now available 24/7 for on-demand streaming at this link. 

–Mike Regenstreif 

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday December 2, 2023


Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and available for on-demand streaming anytime. I am one of the four rotating hosts of the Saturday Morning show. 

This episode of Saturday Morning was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/62954.html

Cat Power- Mr. Tambourine Man
Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert (Domino)

Finest Kind- The Faded Roses of December
Lost in a Song (Fallen Angle)
Rosalie Sorrels & Mike Reggenstreif (1993)

Rosalie Sorrels- Walking Down the Lonely Street
If I Could Be the Rain (Folk-Legacy)
Mark Ross- Look for Me in Butte
Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)
Jay Peterson- Daddy, What’s a Train?
Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)
Utah Phillips- All Used Up
The Long Memory (Red House)

Sylvia Tyson- Sweet Agony
At the End of the Day (Stony Plain)
Tom Russell & Mike Regenstreif (2018)

Tom Russell- Chocolate Cigarettes
Hurricane Season (Stony Plain)
Gathering Time- You Were On My Mind
Old Friends (Triple-G Records)
Sylvia Tyson- Not Quite Rain
At the End of the Day (Stony Plain)

Orit Shimoni- New York
Winnipeg (Orit Shimoni)
Chava Alberstein- Fellini in New York
End of the Holiday (Rounder)
Mike Regenstreif & Erik Frandsen (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Erik Frandsen- Unique New York
Antiques: New & Used (Erik Frandsen)
Happy Traum- New York Town
There’s a Bright Side Somewhere (Lark’s Nest Music)

Cole Quest & The City Pickers- Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key
Self [En] Titled (Omnivore) 

David Baxter- Marching into Glory
Day & Age (Proper Channels)

Bonnie Dobson- Everybody’s Talkin’
Bonnie Dobson (RCA)
Caroline Doctorow- Other Side of This Life
Follow You Down (Narrow Lane)
Fred Neil- Blues on the Ceiling
Bleecker & MacDougal (Elektra)
Karen Dalton- Little Bit of Rain
It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going to Love You the Best (Koch)
Judy Mayhan- The Dolphins
Judy Mayhan (Decca)
JackDaw- Song for Fred
Ghost in the Big House (Cutthroat)

Jack Hardy- Orphan from Madrid/Guernica
Landmark (Great Divide)
Payadora Tango Ensemble featuring Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk- Sabina’s Letter: Some of Us Must Survive
Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango (Six Degrees)
Brendan Nolan- Parallel Limbs
Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Song (AlmondSeed Media)
Noel Paul Stookey- Jean Claude
Just Causes (Neworld)
SONia disappear fear & Mike Regenstreif (2017)

SONiA disappear fear
- By My Silence
By My Silence (Disappear)
Shelley Posen- Packed
Mazel (Well Done Music)

Ian Tamblyn- Tiger Lily Road
Scenes Trough a Mirror (North Track)

Mike Regenstreif & Lynn Miles (2013)

Lynn Miles- Wintery Feeling
Winter (Lynn Miles)
Mike Regenstreif & Jesse Winchester (2006)

Jesse Winchester- Snow
Jesse Winchester (Stony Plain)
Short Sisters- Snow, Snow
A Planet Dancing Slow (Black Socks Press)
Rod MacDonald & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Rod MacDonald- The Coming of the Snow
After the War (Blue Flute Music)
Garnet Rogers with Doug Long- Give the Fiddler a Dram
Summer Lightning: Live (Snow Goose)

Swing & Tears- Dirty Old Town
Swing & Tears (Swing & Tears)
Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick- Just a Little While to Stay Here
Guy & Billy (Daring)
Mike Regenstreif & Connie Kaldor (2015)

Connie Kaldor- Solo Clarinet
Keep Going (Coyote Entertainment)
Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi- Nature Boy/Natur Bokher
The Wolf and the Lamb: Live at The Shakh (Arc)

David Francey- I Called It Love
The Breath Between (Laker Music) 
Ynana Rose- Redwood Holler
Under a Cathedral Sky (Ynana Rose Music)
David Broza- Untitled
Night Dawn: The Unpublished Poetry of Townes Van Zandt (S-Curve)
Brittany Jean- The Dutchman
Colors & Covers (Brittany Jean)

Cedar County Cobras- Poor Boy
Homesick Blues (Cedar County Cobras)
Michael Jerome Browne with Mary Flower- Black Dog Blues
Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Alice Gerrard- December Daisies
Sun to Sun (Sleepy Cat) 

I’m taking some time off in December, so I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on January 27. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm.

--Mike Regenstreif

Monday, November 20, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 28, 2023: Stormy Weather


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62871.html

Theme: Stormy Weather.

All of the songs on this show have something or other to do with stormy weather. Some of them are literally about storms and some use storms as metaphors.

Doc & Merle Watson- Stormy Weather
Sittin’ Here Pickin’ the Blues (Rounder)

Stephen Mendel- Ready for the Storm
Sing Me a Story (Stephen Mendel)
Sylvia Tyson & Mike Regenstreif (1997)

Sylvia Tyson- Leaves in the Storm
At the End of the Day (Stony Plain)
Ian Tamblyn- Storm on the Mountain
Scenes Through a Mirror (North Track)
The Wailin' Jennys- Storm Comin’
Bright Morning Stars (True North)
Steel Rail- A Thousand Miles of Snow
A Thousand Miles of Snow (Crossties)
John Gorka & Mike Regenstreif (2012)

John Gorka- Holed Up in Mason City
Bright Side of Down (Red House)

Anna & Elizabeth- Don’t Want to Die in the Storm
Anna & Elizabeth (Free Dirt)

Christine Lavin- Here Comes Hurricane Season
Happydance of the Xenophobe (Yellow Tail)
Don Armstrong- Raging Storm
Mother Don’t Give Up on Me Now (Ronstadt Record Co.)
Christine Albert- Under a Stormy Sky
TexaFrance-Encore! (MoonHouse)
Eliza Gilkyson & Mike Regenstreif on Zoom (2022)

Eliza Gilkyson- Calm Before the Storm
Paradise Hotel (Red House)

Sean Gagnier- (Song of the) Wheelhouse Door
Circle Harbor (Sean Gagnier)
Stan Rogers- White Squall
From Fresh Water (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)
Guy Clark- Blowin’ Like a Bandit
Craftsman (Philo)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Michael Jerome Browne- Louisiana 1927
That’s Where It’s At! (Borealis)
Bill Staines- Louisiana Storm
The Second Million Miles (Red House)
Tom Rush, Jamie Hartford, Odetta, Emmylou Harris, Carolyn Hester, Nanci Griffith, Frank Christian- Wasn’t That a Mighty Storm
Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) (Elektra)
Garnet Rogers- Hallelujah! The Great Storm is Over
Speaking Softly in the Dark (Snow Goose Songs)

Chris Rawlings- Lillooet
Pearl Soup (Cooking Fat Music)
David Mallett- Snowbound
Open Doors & Windows (Flying Fish)
Judy Collins & Mike Regenstreif (2014)

Judy Collins & Jonas Fjeld- The Blizzard
Winter Stories (Wildflower/Cleopatra)

Molly Mason, Mike Regenstreif & Jay Ungar (2005)

Jay Ungar & Molly Mason- The Snowstorm
The Pleasures of Winter (Fiddle & Dance)

Next week: My top 10 folk-rooted or folk-branched albums of 2023.

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 21, 2023: Conversation and Songs with Noel Paul Stookey


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62799.html

Theme: Conversation and Songs with Noel Paul Stookey.

The conversation with Noel Paul Stookey – recorded on Zoom on November 21 – was punctuated by these songs:


Peter, Paul & Mary
- Whatshername
Album 1700 (Warner Bros.)

Peter, Paul & Mary- The House Song
Album 1700 (Warner Bros.)

Noel Paul Stookey & Mike Regenstreif on Zoom (2023)

Noel Paul Stookey
- John Henry Bosworth
Paul and (Newworld)

Noel Paul Stookey- Not That Kind of Music
At Home: The Maine Tour (Neworld)

Peter, Paul & Mary- State of the Heart
No Easy Walk to Freedom (Gold Castle)

Noel Paul Stookey- Wedding Song (There is Love)
Paul and (Newworld)

Noel Paul Stookey- El Salvador
Just Causes (Neworld)

Noel Paul Stookey- Jean Claude
Just Causes (Neworld)

Noel Paul Stookey- Revolution (1 X 1)
Facets (Neworld)

Noel Paul Stookey, Peter Yarrow, Jonathan Edwards, Tom Chapin, Holly Near, Josh White, Jr., David Mallett, Barry Ollman, David Roth & Maureen McGovern- I Will Stand (Work Together)
Summerfallwinterspring (Neworld)

Noel Paul Stookey- For the Love of It All
At Home: The Maine Tour (Neworld)


Noel Paul Stookey
- America
At Home: The Maine Tour (Neworld)

Noel Paul Stookey- Dance to the Manulenjo
Dance to the Manulenjo – single (Neworld)

Noel Paul Stookey- In These Times
Just Causes (Neworld)

Bonus – for on-demand listeners – a verse from the theme song from The Birds of Paradise, Noel’s rhythm & blues band while he was in high school:

Noel Paul Stookey- Birds of Paradise
Sung spontaneously on Zoom

Next week: Stormy Weather.

--Mike Regenstreif

Friday, November 10, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 14, 2023: Songs of Utah Phillips


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62730.html

Theme: Songs of Bruce “Utah” Phillips (1935-2008).

Utah Phillips & Mike Regenstreif (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Utah Phillips- The Telling Takes Me Home
The Telling Takes Me Home (Philo)

Saul Broudy- Starlight on the Rails
Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)
Pop & Bodie Wagner & Dakota Dave Hull- Old Buddy, Goodnight
Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)
Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen- Going Away
Live in Concert (Compass Rose)
The Sorry Muthas Wolverine 14
Greatest Hits Vol. 3 (Wampus Cat)
Utah Phillips- Phoebe Snow
Good Though! (Philo)

Finest Kind- The Goodnight-Loving Trail
Lost in a Song (Fallen Angle)

Rosalie Sorrels- Rock Me to Sleep
Travelin’ Lady (Sire)
John Gorka- I Think of You
So Dark You See (Red House)
Penny Lang- If I Could be the Rain
Stone + Sand + Sea + Sky (Borealis)
Kate Wolf- Clearing in the Forest
The Wind Blows Wild (Rhino)
The Short Sisters- Rock Salt and Nails
Love and Transportation (Black Socks Press)

Utah Phillips & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Utah Phillips
- Frisco Road
Good Though! (Philo)
Finest Kind- He Comes Like Rain
Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)
Bruce Brackney- Hood River, Roll On
Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)
Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin- Walking Through Your Town in the Snow
Heart Songs: The Old Time Country Songs of Utah Phillips (Rounder)
Priscilla Herdman & Utah Phillips- I Remember Loving You
Darkness into Light (Flying Fish)

Fred Holstein- Nevada Jane
Fred Holstein: A Collection (Fred Holstein)
Rosalie Sorrels- Ashes on the Sea
Strangers in Another Country: The Songs of Bruce “Utah” Phillips (Red House)
Margaret Christl & Simon Christl- The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia
House of Song (Margaret Christl)
Utah Phillips- Eddy’s Song
The Telling Takes Me Home (Philo)

Magpie, Dan Schatz, Emma's Revolution- Singing Through the Hard Times
Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)

Next week: Songs and Conversation with Noel Paul Stookey.

--Mike Regenstreif 

Thursday, November 2, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 7, 2023: Addendums to Past Themes


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62639.html

Theme: Addendums to Past Themes and CKCU Funding Drive.

This is the second of two editions of Stranger Songs falling during CKCU’s annual funding drive for 2023 – and something that I do every year on the second Stranger Songs funding drive show is addendums to past themes. More often than not, when I choose a theme for Stranger Songs, there are more possible songs to choose from than I can include – and sometimes new music that fits the theme arrives after the show has been produced. So, I’ve chosen a few of the themes from the past year for addendums.

Please click on this link to show your support for Stranger Songs and CKCU, and help us stay on the air for another year. https://www.canadahelps.org/me/6rEQFU7Z

Tom Paxton- Home to Me is Anywhere You Are
Comedians & Angels (Appleseed) 
Daniel Kahn & Jake Shulman-Ment- Heym iz Mir Aleyn Nor Vu Du Blaybst (Home to Me is Anywhere You Are)
The Building and Other Songs (Oriente Musik)
Mike Regenstreif & Tom Paxton (2001) photo: Janice Hanson

Tom Paxton
- Letters from Joe
Together (Appalseed)

Ian Tyson- Some Kind of Fool
Ol’ Eon (Stony Plain)
Tom Russell- Sam Bonnifield’s Saloon
Play One More: The Songs of Ian & Sylvia (True North)
Ian Tyson- Old Corrals and Sagebrush
Eighteen Inches of Rain (Stony Plain)

Liz Simmons- Night in the City
Poets (Morgana Music)
Joni Mitchell- Raised on Robbery
Court and Spark (Asylum)

Daniel Kahn & Jake Shulman-Ment- Di Tsukunft (The Future)
The Building and Other Songs (Oriente Musik)
Leonard Cohen- Samson in New Orleans
Popular Problems (Columbia)

Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop- No More Fish
Red Shoes (Borealis)
Shelley Posen & Mike Regenstreif on Zoom (2023)

Shelley Posen- Nothing Fancy
Old Loves (Well Done Music)

Dr. John & The WDR Big Band- Stagger Lee
Big Band Voodoo (Orange Music)
Jack's Waterfall & Maria Muldaur- Piano Players Heaven
Call Dr. John (M.C.)

The Band- The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show
Stage Fright (Capitol)
Colleen Rennison- All La Glory
See the Sky About to Rain (Black Hen)

Sylvia Tyson- I Never Got Over You
At the End of the Day (Stony Plain)
Eliza Gilkyson- True North 
Home (Realiza) 

Daniel Kahn & Jake Shulman-Ment- Mayn Tatns Hoyz (My Father’s House)
The Building and Other Songs (Oriente Musik)
Bruce Springsteen- The Rising
Springsteen on Broadway (Columbia)

Bruce Cockburn- Rouler Sa Bosse
Salt, Sun and Time (True North)

Next week: Songs of Utah Phillips.

--Mike Regenstreif

Monday, October 30, 2023

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday November 4, 2023


Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and available for on-demand streaming anytime. I am one of the four rotating hosts of the Saturday Morning show. 

This episode of Saturday Morning was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/62598.html

Julie Felix- Mr. Tambourine Man
Starry Eyed and Laughing… Songs by Bob Dylan (Remarkable)

Orit Shimoni- Winnipeg
Winnipeg (Orit Shimoni)
The Fugitives- (No Help)
No Help Coming (Fallen Tree)
The Fugitives- Edge of the Sea
No Help Coming (Fallen Tree)
Bob & Sarah Amos- The Hills That I Call Home
Ever Onward (Bristlecone) 
Kathy Kallick Band- It’s Lonesome Everywhere I Go
The Lonesome Chronicles (Live Oak)

Daniel Kahn & Jake Shulman-Ment- Yeder Eyner Veys (Everybody Knows)
The Building and Other Songs (Oriente Musik)
Leonard Cohen- Everybody Knows
I’m Your Man (Columbia)
Art of Time Ensemble featuring Steven Page- A Singer Must Die
Songs of Leonard Cohen Live (Art of Time Recordings)
Jennifer Warnes- First We Take Manhattan
Famous Blue Raincoat: The Songs of Leonard Cohen 20th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

Connie Kaldor- Leads to a Kiss
Keep Going (Coyote Entertainment)
Shelley Posen- I Want to Write a Standard
Old Loves (Well Done Music)
Mike Regenstreif & Missy Burgess (2014)

Missy Burgess- Smile
Play Me Sweet (Missy Burgess) 

Paul Mills- Doc’s Guitar
The Other Side of the Glass (Borealis)

Too Sad for the Public featuring Ana Egge- G. Burns in the Bottom (pt 1)
Vol.2 – Yet and Still: Traditional American Folk Song-Stirring by Dick Connette (StorySound)
Orit Shimoni- What Does It Matter
Winnipeg (Orit Shimoni)
Colin Cutler with Laura Jane Vincent, Dashawn & Wendy Hickman, Aaron Pants, Rebekah Todd, David Childers- Temple of the Holy Ghost
Tarwater (Colin Cutler)
Too Sad for the Public- G. Burns in the Bottom (pt 2)
Vol.2 – Yet and Still: Traditional American Folk Song-Stirring by Dick Connette (StorySound)

Deborah Holland- Brother, Can You Spare a Dime
The Panic is On: Songs from the Great Depression (Gadfly)
Deborah Holland- Do Re Mi
The Panic is On: Songs from the Great Depression (Gadfly)
Wenzel- I Don’t Feel at Home on the Bowery No More
Ticky Tock: Wenzel Sings Woody Guthrie (Conträr Musik)
Woody Guthrie- This Land is Your Land – alternate version
This Land is Your Land: The Asch Recordings Vol. 1 (Smithsonian Folkways)
Daniel Kahn & Jake Shulman-Ment- Dos Land iz Dayn Land (This Land is Your Land)
The Building and Other Songs (Oriente Musik)

Ray Bonneville- Night Cab
On the Blind Side (Stonefly)
Last Birds- After Dark
Endless Turn of Day into Night (Last Birds)
Kerri PowersKERRI POWERS- Someone Else’s Prayer
Love is Why (Must Have Music)
Tom Paxton & John McCutcheon- Do the Work
Together (Appalseed)

Alice Gerrard- Sun to Sun
Sun to Sun (Sleepy Cat)

Misty Blues- How Long Blues
Tell Me Who You Are: A Live Tribute to Odetta (Guitar One)
Odetta, Dave Keyes & Mike Regenstreif (2008)

Odetta- Careless Love/St. Louis Blues
Blues Everywhere I Go (M.C.)

I will be joining Ron Olesko of the Folk Music Notebook to MC the Greenwich Village Folk Festival's free online concert on Sunday, November 5, 7 pm (ET). You can watch the concert live at this link. It will also be archived for later viewing.

Andrew Calhoun- John’s Wife
Staring at the Sun: Songs 1973-1981 (Waterbug)
Mary Flower- Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
Ragtime Gal (Bluesette)
Cliff Eberhardt- Man in the Moon
Knew Things (Tin Pan Ally)
Tret Fure- The Language of Love
Lavender Moonshine (Tomboy girl)
Dean Friedman- Ariel
Dean Friedman (Real Life)

Windborne- Grey Funnel Line
Recollections/Revolutions (Wand’ring Feet)
David Francey- Harbour
The Breath Between (Laker Music)
Orit Shimoni- Witness
Winnipeg (Orit Shimoni)
Tom Waits- Tom Traubert’s Blues
Small Change (Asylum)
Daniel Kahn & Jake Shulman-Ment- Tom Trauberts Kloglid (Tom Traibert’s Blues)
The Building and Other Songs (Oriente Musik)

Finest Kind- Give Me Just a Little More Time
Lost in a Song (Fallen Angle)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on December 2. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm. 

--Mike Regenstreif

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 31, 2023: Halloween


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62553.html

Theme: Halloween and CKCU Funding Drive.

I’ve been involved in community radio, first in Montreal at CKUT, and now in Ottawa at CKCU, for almost 30 years and I truly love the diversity of programming that you only find on community radio stations like CKCU. 

It’s only at community radio stations that people like me have the freedom to curate and host our shows without regard to commercial concerns. CKCU has shows that reflect very rare diversity in genres, artists, songs, and communities – and we’re only able to do that with your support. 

All of us who create programs at CKCU are dedicated volunteers. I know that I work hard to create interesting programs each week on CKCU and I think my programming is unique. But that’s one of the great things about community radio – all of the programs are unique. 

So, please click on this link to show your support for Stranger Songs and CKCU, and help us stay on the air for another year. https://www.canadahelps.org/me/6rEQFU7Z


Bodie Wagner- Halloween
Vintage (Bodie Wagner)

Fourtold- Panther in Michigan
Fourtold (Appleseed)
Fourtold- The Nine Little Goblins
Fourtold (Appleseed)
Erynn Marshall & Carl Jones- Halloween Wedding March
Old Tin (Dittyville Music)
Jack Hardy- The Halloween Parade
The Passing (Prime CD)
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross- Halloween Spooks
The Hottest New Group in Jazz (Columbia/Legacy)

Skinner & T’witch- Halloween
The Fool’s Journey (Skinner & T’witch)

Laurie MacAllister- Are You Happy Now?
The Lies the Poets Tell (Laurie MacAllister)
John & Sheila Ludgate- Halloween Dad
The Kitchen Sessions (John & Sheila Ludgate) 
Loudon Wainwright III- Halloween 2009
10 Songs for the New Depression (Proper)

David Massengill- Come Take a Ride on My Broom
Mogana’s Sleepover and the Witch’s Hand (David Massengill)
David Massengill- The Witch’s Menu
Mogana’s Sleepover and the Witch’s Hand (David Massengill)
Stan Rogers- The Witch of the Westmorland
Between the Breaks…Live! (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)
Donovan- Season of the Witch
Donovan’s Greatest Hits (Epic)
Ella Fitzgerald- Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is Dead
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook (Verve)

Rockapella- Zombie Jamboree
Modern A Cappella (Rhino)
Vance Gilbert- Zombie Pattycake
Good Good Man (Disismye Music)
Vance Gilbert- The Day Before November
Good Good Man (Disismye Music)

Cab Calloway- The Ghost of Smokey Joe
St. James Infirmary (CTS)
Ray Bierl- Big Joe and Phantom 309
Any Place I Hang My Hat (Greasy String Productions)
The Balladeers- Tiptoe Through the Ghosties
It’s About Time (The Balladeers)

Count Basie- Trick or Treat
Hall of Fame (Verve)

Next week: Addendums to Past Themes.

--Mike Regenstreif

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 24, 2023: Conversation and Songs with Terri Thal


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62442.html

Primary Theme: Conversation and Songs with Terri Thal.


Terri Thal is the author of the newly published memoir, My Greenwich Village: Dave, Bob and Me. She became involved in the folk music scene while still a teenager in New York and was the first wife and manager of Dave Van Ronk. She was also the first manager of Bob Dylan and a number of other artists in the 1960s. I spoke with Terri on October 13 via Zoom.

The next five songs punctuated my conversation with Terri.

Pete Seeger- Solidarity Forever
If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope & Struggle (Smithsonian Folkways)

Dave Van Ronk- Cocaine Blues
Inside Dave Van Ronk (Fantasy)

Bob Dylan- Masters of War
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (Columbia/Legacy)

Dave Van Ronk- Mack the Knife
Let No One Deceive You: Songs of Bertolt Brecht (Flying Fish)

Terre & Maggie Roche- Malachy’s
Kin Ya See That Sun (Earth Rock Wreckerds) 

Note: This is the first edition of Stranger Songs that I’ve recorded since the day of horrific and unfathomable terrorism committed by Hamas in Israel on October 7, and the entirely predictable consequences that followed in Gaza. I despair for the innocent victims in Israel and in Gaza who have been injured and killed these last few weeks. May there soon be peace, shalom, salaam, in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank; in Ukraine, and everywhere else on Earth torn apart by war. These are just a few of the songs I was reminded of in the days that followed October 7.

Leonard Cohen- Story of Isaac
Songs from a Room (Columbia/Legacy)
Kronos Quartet with Sam Amidon, Brian Carpenter, Lee Knight & Aoife O'Donovan- Turn, Turn, Turn
Long Time Passing: Kronos Quartet & Friends Celebrate Pete Seeger (Smithsonian Folkways)
Nanci Griffith- From a Distance
Lone Star State of Mind (MCA)
The Klezmatics with Adrienne Cooper- I Ain’t Afraid
Live at Town Hall (Klezmatics Disc) 

Fran Avni with Rachelle Mingail Shubert & Jeffrey Simons- Sim Shalom/Bring the Peace
Kulanu: All of Us in Harmony (Fran Avni)

Next week: Halloween and CKCU Funding Drive.

--Mike Regenstreif 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 17, 2023: Remembering Kate Wolf


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62361.html

Theme: Remembering Kate Wolf (1942-1986).


Kate Wolf
was a very fine singer and songwriter, and folk music activist, who died of leukemia on December 10, 1986, about six weeks before she would have turned 45. Although her career as a touring and recording artist was relatively brief, Kate was, in her time, and to this day, a highly influential artist.

Kate Wolf- The Minstrel
Weaver of Visions: The Kate Wolf Anthology (Rhino)

Kate Wolf- Emma Rose
Back Roads (Rhino)
Dave Alvin- These Times We’re Living In
Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)
Nanci Griffith- Friend of Mine
Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)
John Gorka- Sweet Love
Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)
Peter, Paul & Mary- Give Yourself to Love
Discovered: Live in Concert (Warner Bros./Rhino)

Kate Wolf- Safe at Anchor
Safe at Anchor (Rhino)

Eric Bogle- Katie and the Dreamtime Land
Something of Value (Philo)
Eric Bogle- Cornflower Blue
Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)
Kate Wolf- Poet’s Heart
Poet’s Heart (Rhino)
Utah Phillips- See Here, She Said
Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)

Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl- Across the Great Divide
Forty (Daring)
Lucinda Williams- Here in California
Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)
Greg Brown- Kate’s Guitar
In the Hills of California (Red House)
Kate Wolf- Old Jerome
The Wind Blows Wild (Rhino)

Kate Wolf- All He Ever Saw was You
Poet’s Heart (Rhino)
Steve Fisher- Streets of Calgary
River (SNR Music)
Eve Goldberg- Traveling Day
Ever Brightening Day (Sweet Patootie)
Rosalie Sorrels- In China, or a Woman’s Heart
Report from Grimes Creek (Green Linnet)
Steven Gellman- California (For Kate)
All You Need (Hidden Poet Music)

Kate Wolf- Bird on a Wire
Looking Back at You (Rhino)

Next week: A conversation with Terri Thal, author of My Greenwich Village: Dave, Bob and Me.

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 10, 2023: Songs of Tom Waits


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62260.html

Theme: Songs of Tom Waits.

Tom Waits- A Sight for Sore Eyes
Foreign Affairs (Elektra)


Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer- Ol ‘55
Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Waits (Dualtone)
David Bradstreet- Grapefruit Moon 
Hindsight (David Bradstreet) 
Priscilla Herdman- I Hope That I Don’t Fall in Love with You 
Forgotten Dreams (Flying Fish) 
Tom Waits- Little Trip to Heaven (On the Wings of Your Love)
Closing Time (Elektra) 

Sneezy Waters- Invitation to the Blues
Sneezy Waters (Sneezy Waters)

Happy & Artie Traum- The Heart of Saturday Night
The Test of Time (Roaring Stream)
Claudia Schmidt- San Diego Serenade
Out of the Dark/New Goodbyes, Old Helloes (Flying Fish)
Tom Lewis- Shiver Me Timbers
Tinker Tailor Soldier Singer (Self Propelled Music)
Tom Waits- Semi Suite
The Heart of Saturday Night (Elektra)

VickiKristinaBarcelona- Cold Cold Ground
Pawn Shop Radio (StorySound)
Dave Van Ronk- Jersey Girl
To All My Friends in Far-Flung Places (Gazell)
The Once- The Briar and the Rose
The Once (Borealis)
Ball & Chain & The Wreckers- Come on Up to the House
Satisfied (Moo Music)
Tom Waits- Long Way Home
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (Anti-)

Tom Russell- Downtown Train
Road to Bayamon (Philo)
Kimmie Rhodes & Willie Nelson- Picture in a Frame
Picture in a Frame (Sunbird)
Missy Burgess- Time
Play Me Sweet (Missy Burgess)
Tom Waits- Tom Traubert’s Blues
Small Change (Asylum)

Tom Waits- Closing Time
Closing Time (Elektra) 

Next week: Remembering Kate Wolf (1942-1986).

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday October 7, 2023


Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and available for on-demand streaming anytime. I am one of the four rotating hosts of the Saturday Morning show. 

This episode of Saturday Morning was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/62245.html

Melanie- Mr. Tambourine Man
Born to Be (Buddah)

Tom Paxton & John McCutcheon- Ukrainian Now
Together (Appalseed)

Tom Paxton & John McCutcheon- This Campfire
Together (Appalseed)
Utah Phillips- Joe Hill
We Have Fed You All a Thousand Years (Philo)
Rosalie Sorrels- Borderline Heart
Borderline Heart (Green Linnet)
Penny Lang & Mike Regenstreif (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Penny Lang- My Last Go Round
Stone + Sand + Sea + Sky (Borealis)

Noam "Nani" Vazana- Sin Dingun Hijo Varon (Without Any Sons)
Ke Haber (Noam Vazana)
Matthew Morgan- Sunny
Timepiece (Tiny Attic)
Bruce Cockburn- Us All
O Sun O Moon (True North) 

Connie Kaldor- Keep Going
Keep Going (Coyote Entertainment)
Randall Kromm- Come with Me Now
Late September (Randall Kromm)
Eliza Gilkyson & Robert Earl Keen- How Deep
Home (Realiza)
Jay Linden- Hand Your Heart to the Wind 
Ordinary Sunrise (Americana North)

Ed Sweeney with Cathy Clasper-Torch- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
A Sunday Drive (Ed Sweeney Music)

Too Sad for the Public featuring Ana Egge- Shake Sugaree
Vol.2 – Yet and Still: Traditional American Folk Song-Stirring by Dick Connette (StorySound)
Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band- Oh Babe, It Ain’t No Lie
Almost Acoustic (Concensus Reality)
The Balladeers- Freight Train
It’s About Time (The Balladeers)
Elizabeth Cotten- Casey Jones
When I’m Gone (Folkways)

Rachael Kilgour- The Smell of Autumn Leaves
My Father Loved Me (Rachael Kilgour)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Talk to Me of Mendocino
Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)
Mike Regenstreif & Jesse Winchester (2009)

Jesse Winchester
- Yankee Lady
Live From Mountain Stage (Blue Plate Music)
Liz Simmons- Who Knows Where the Time Goes
Poets (Morgana Music)
Joni Mitchell- Urge for Going
Archives – Volume 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) (Rhino)
David Francey- The Breath Between
The Breath Between (Laker Music)

Tony Turner- Crossroad’s Café
The Lost Sketches (Tony Turner)

Lyle Lovett- This Old Porch
Lyle Lovett (MCA/Curb)
Leo Kottke- Louise
Greenhouse (BGO)

Rod MacDonald- What Happened to You
Rants and Romance (Blue Flute Music) 

Mike Regenstreif & Tom Paxton (circa 1994)

Tom Paxton & John McCutcheon
- Complete
Together (Appalseed)
Johnny Cash- Can’t Help but Wonder Where I’m Bound
American VI: Ain’t No Grave (American)

C. Daniel Boling- The Missing Years
New Old Friends (Berkalin)
Tret Fure- This and So Much More
Lavender Moonshine (Tomboy girl)
Shelley Posen- Long, Long Tunnel
Old Loves (Well Done Music)

Reggie Harris- It Isn’t Nice
On Solid Ground (Reggie Harris Music)
Emma's Revolution with Reggie Harris- Our People Gonna Rise
Rooted (Moving Forward Music)
Dropkick Murphys- My Eyes are Gonna Shine
Okemah Rising: Lyrics of Woody Guthrie (Dummy Luck Music) 

Bob Dylan- Tombstone Blues 
Shadow Kingdom (Columbia/Legacy) 
John Forster- Route 9W Revisited
Location, Location, Location! (Acute Music)

Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl- Marblehead Morning
The Early Years (Daring)
Noah Zacharin- 17 Minute
Points of Light (Noah Zacharin) 
Connie Kaldor- Pain and Sorrow
Keep Going (Coyote Entertainment)
David Francey- Two Shadows
The Breath Between (Laker Music)
The Kennedys- Silence is a Warning
Headwinds (The Kennedys)

Yake Strom & Hot Pstromi- Pilky
The Wolf and the Lamb: Live at The Shakh (Arc) 

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on November 4. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm. 

--Mike Regenstreif