Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – December 9, 2025: The Dark

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/595/73159.html

Theme: The Dark.

This time of year – the weeks leading to the winter solstice – is the darkest time of the year. As well, with the erosion of democracy and human rights, the spread of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and homophobia, ongoing wars and the waning belief in proven science typified by climate change denial and vaccine conspiracy theories, we are living in dark times. So, these songs all relate in some way or another to the dark.

Guy Clark- The Dark

The Dark (Sugar Hill)

Steel Rail- Darkest Night

Coming Home (Crossties)

Kate Campbell- Dark Night of the Soul

For the Living of These Days (Large River Music)

Slaid Cleaves- Through the Dark

Together Through the Dark (Candy House Music)

Ana Egge- Ready for the Darkness

Sharing in the Spirit (StorySound)

Arlo Guthrie- Darkest Hour

Amigo (Rising Son)

Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris- In My Hour of Darkness

Grievous Angel (Reprise)

Tuba Sknny- Echo in the Dark

Some Kind-a-Shake (Tuba Sknny)

Eliza Gilkyson- Dark Ages

Dark Ages (Realiza)

Caroline Doctorow- Children of Darkness

Another Country: The Songs of Mimi and Richard Fariña (Narrow Lane)

Eric Andersen- Darkness

Eric Andersen in (Spoken) Pieces (EARecords)

Leonard Cohen with Cantor Gideon Zelermyer & The Shaar Hashomayim Choir- You Want It Darker 

You Want It Darker (Columbia)

Chris Rusin & Katie Wise- The Dark

Songs from a Secret Room (Rushing River)

Michael Jerome Browne- The Road is Dark

The Road is Dark (Borealis)

Clela Errington- Full Moon Dark Time

Walkin’ Each Other Home (Clela Errington)

Tom Russell- Darkness Visible

Blood and Candle Smoke (Shout! Factory)

Jamie Anderson- Run to the Darkness

The Truth Appears (Tsunami)

Johnny Cash- I See a Darkness

American III: Solitary Man (American)

Rob Lutes- Walk in the Dark

Walk in the Dark (Lucky Bear)

Carrie Newcomer- Singing in the Dark

A Great Wild Mercy (Available Light)

Chris Rawlings- Lifting the Darkness 

Two Sides to Your Story (Cookingfat Music)

Dave Clarke- In the Falling Dark

The Healing Garden (Crossties)

Next week: A Hanukkah Concert with Nefesh Mountain and More Songs for the Holiday.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – July 15, 2025: Blues in the Night

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/595/71087.html

Theme: Blues in the Night – all the songs have something or other to do with nighttime.

Eva Cassidy- Blues in the Night

Eva By Heart (Blix Street)

Dr. John- Such a Night

The Atco/Atlantic Singles 1968-1972 (Omnivore)

Judy Henske- Every Night When the Sun Goes In

The Elektra Albums: Judy Henske (Ace)

Stephen Barry Band- Every Night About This Time

Bluesville (Bros)

Michael Jerome Browne- Black Nights

That’s Where It’s At! (Borealis)

Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis- Night Life

Two Men with the Blues (Blue Note)

Tom Northcott- Night in the City

Sunny Goodge Street: The Warner Bros. Recordings (Wounded Bird)

Kim Wallach- Dark and Rainy Night

Chatter of the Finches (Black Socks Press)

Joni Mitchell- Rainy Night House

Ladies of the Canyon (Reprise)

Leonard Cohen- The Night of Santiago

Thanks for the Dance (Columbia/Legacy)

ES:MO (Elizabeth Shephers & Michael Occhipinti)- Night Comes On

The Weight of Hope (ES:MO)

Eliza Gilkyson- Dark Night of the Soul

Dark Ages (Realiza)

Susie Burke & David Surette- A Healing In This Night

Sometimes In the Evening (Madrina Music)

Anne Hills- Acquainted with the Night

Accidental August (Hand & Heart Music)

Ana Egge- Stay the Night

Is It the Kiss (StorySound)

Kerri Powers- Train in the Night

Kerri Powers (Kerri Powers)

David Amram- Subway Night

Subway Night (RCA)

Montreal- A Summer’s Night

A Summer’s Night (Stormy Forest)

Bill Morrissey- Summer Night

Standing Eight (Philo)

Tom Russell- The Night the Chinese Restaurant Burned Down

Play One More: The Songs of Ian & Sylvia (True North)

Mel Tormé- Blues in the Night

Tormé (Verve)

Next week: Flood Water.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – August 13, 2024: Kin Ya See That Sun

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/595/66394.html

Theme: “Kin Ya See That Sun.”

All of these songs have something or other to do with the sun.

Terre & Maggie Roche- Kin Ya See That Sun

Kin Ya See That Sun (Earth Rock Wreckerds)

Paul Simon- Was a Sunny Day

There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (Warner Bros.)

Ana Egge- Chasing Rabbits in the Sun

Is It the Kiss (StorySound)

Jason Lang- You Are My Sunshine

Handled with Care (Famgroup/Genison Music)

Shout Sister Shout- Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying

Hit That Jive (M.C.)

Bruce Cockburn- O Sun By Day O Moon By Night

O Sun O Moon (True North)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Sun, Son (Shining on the Water)

Love Over and Over (Polygram)

Thelonious Monk- North of the Sunset

Solo Monk (Columbia/Legacy)

Ian & Sylvia- Every Night When the Sun Goes Down

Four Strong Winds (Vanguard)

Jackie Washington- At Sundown

Keeping Out of Mischief (Pyramid)

Misty Blues- Go Down, Sunshine

Tell Me Who You Are: A Live Tribute to Odetta (Guitar One) 

Jay McShann- On the Sunny Side of the Street

Still Jumpin’ the Blues (Stony Plain)

Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley- Morning Sun

Morning Sun (Electro-Fi)

Chris Rawlings- Mr. Sunshine

Pearl Soupe (Cooking Fat Music)

The Magnolia Janes- The Sun in My Backyard

The Light Years (Be a Jane)

Miranda Hardy- Like the Sunrise

The Price of Happiness (Great Divide)

Hoyt Axton- We’ll Sing in the Sunshine

Mr. Greenback Dollar Man (Surrey)

Peter Yarrow- Weave Me the Sunshine

Peter (Warner Bros.)

John Stewart- Lost Her in the Sun

Bombs Away Dream Babies (RSO)

Linda Ronstadt- He Dark the Sun

Silk Purse (Capitol)

Katy Moffatt- Waitin’ for the Sun to Shine

Loose Diamond (HighTone)

Bonnie Koloc- Colors of the Sun

Rediscovered (Mr. Biscuit)

Pat Guadango- Warmth of the Sun

1964 (Campbell Music)

Lynn Miles- Time to Let the Sun

Fall for Beauty (True North)

Gordon Fleming- East of the Sun

According to Gordie: Gordon Fleming Anthology 1948-1990 (Just a Memory)

Next week: Murder Ballads.

--Mike Regenstreif

Too Sad for the Public – Vol. 1 – Oysters Ice Cream Lemonade: American Folk Fantasies Written and Arranged by Dick Connette

TOO SAD FOR THE PUBLIC

Vol. 1 – Oysters Ice Cream Lemonade: American Folk Fantasies Written and Arranged by Dick Connette

StorySound Records

dickconnette.com

storysoundrecords.com

For 20 years, since the release of the first CD by Last Forever, I’ve greatly admired the work of composer/songwriter/producer Dick Connette. In Last Forever, he teamed with the late vocalist Sonya Cohen to produce several albums of completely reimagined traditional songs and original songs steeped in tradition. I continue to find great musical riches whenever I return to the Last Forever albums – which I have done often.

Much of the material on Vol. 1 – Oysters Ice Cream Lemonade: American Folk Fantasies Written and Arranged by Dick Connette, his new project – recorded under the group name ‘Too Sad for the Public’ – continues in the vein of Last Forever with original songs based on traditional themes and a couple of fascinating covers of pop songs. The lead vocals are in the capable hands of Suzzy Roche (four songs), Rachelle Garniez (one song), Ana Egge (two songs) and Gabriel Kahane (one song).

All of the vocal songs on the album are entirely praiseworthy. Perhaps my favorite, if I had to pick just one, is “Black River Falls,” sung by Suzzy. The melody and chorus are based on Karen Dalton’s version of the traditional folksong “Same Old Man,” and the verses, each of which stands on its own, are based on Michael Lesy’s book. Wisconsin Death Trap.

Other favorites include “Old Alabama,” sung by Ana, which takes its inspiration from several traditional songs, most notably “Old Country Rock,” a country blues first recorded by William Moore in 1928 (the group name, Too Sad for the Public, comes from a repeated line in this song); and “Orphée in Opelousas,” sung by Gabriel, Dick’s reimagination of the Orpheus legend from Greek mythology which he sets in Louisiana to a score based on traditional Cajun songs.

I also love what he’s done with the two covers. “He’s a Bad Boy,” sung by Suzzy, was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin in the early-1960s. As John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers (and Sonya Cohen’s father) pointed out to Dick, the song is a teenage variation on “Stagger Lee.”

“Young Loves to Love,” sung by Ana, is a medley of two early Van Morrison songs – “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Sweet Thing.” The latter song came from Astral Weeks (my second favorite Morrison album) and the arrangement is reminiscent of it – and prominently features the nylon-string guitar playing of Jay Berliner, whose playing was a key component of Astral Weeks.  

The other theme that runs through the album is a tribute to the late Chuck Brown, a Washington, D.C. guitarist who was known as “The Godfather of Go-Go,” a form of funk music. This is first heard in “Liberty City,” a Jaco Pastorius tune that Brown quoted in one his own tunes. Dick offers three short passages from “Liberty City” as strategic interludes during the album. Then, as the penultimate track, there is the 12-minute go-go instrumental “Chuck Baby,” a direct tribute to Brown, whose intensity never stops swirling and building.

While the go-go tracks might initially seem an odd coupling with the folk-inspired material, Dick Connette and the musicians of Too Sad for the Public bring it all together in a way that just seems right.

Dick variously plays harmonium, piano, bass and bass drum throughout the album. In addition to the singers, he is joined by a core group of five musicians – including Chaim Tannenbaum on harmonica –and 12 other contributing musicians. Dick’s arrangements are masterful from the opening notes of the first track until the end of the album.

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--Mike Regenstreif