Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – September 9, 2025: Part 1 – Songs and Conversation with author David Eisenstadt; Part 2 – Riding in My Car

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/595/71924.html

Part 1 – Songs and Conversation with author David Eisenstadt

The next three songs punctuated my conversation with David Eisenstadt, author of Jazz Musicians Under the Radar: 18 Notable Canadian Jewish Performers. Visit https://undertheradarbook.com/ for more information on David’s four Under the Radar books.

The Moe Koffman Quartette- The Swingin’ Shepherd Blues

The Swingin’ Shepherd Blues/Hambourg Bound (Quality)

Sophie Milman- No More Blues (Chega de Saudade)

In the Moonlight (Eone)

Nikki Yanofsky- West Coast Blues

Nikki By Starlight (MNRK Music Group)

Part 2 – Riding in My Car – featuring songs that have something or other to do with cars.

Woody Guthrie- Riding in My Car

Woody’s 20 Grow Big Songs (Rising Son)

Connie Kaldor- This Car

Wide Open Spaces (Coyote Entertainment)

David Mallett- Daddy’s Oldsmobile

Parallel Lives (Flying Fish)

Judy Mayhan- Morning and an Oldsmobile

Judy Mayhan (Decca)

Bruce Springsteen- Used Cars

Nebraska (Columbia)

Vance Gilbert- Cousin Shelly’s Station Wagon

Good Good Man (Disismye Music)

Joni Mitchell- Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac

Night Drive Home (Geffen)

Rosanne Cash- Black Cadillac

Black Cadillac (Capitol)

Eric Bibb- Pink Dream Cadillac

Blues People (Stony Plain)

The Blasters- Long White Cadillac

Mandatory: The Best of The Blasters (Liberation Hall)

Dropkick Murphys- Cadillac, Cadillac

This Machine Still Kills Fascists: Lyrics of Woody Guthrie (Dummy Luck Music)

The Beach Boys- Little Deuce Coupe

Fifty Big Ones: Greatest Hits (Capitol)

Asleep at the Wheel- Hot Rod Lincoln

Western Standard Time (Epic)

Chuck Berry- Jaguar and Thunderbird

Best of the Chess Years (Not Now Music)

Ray Harris- Big Old American Cars

Kinda Sets the Tone (Ray Harris)

Sass Jordan- Chevrolet

Bitches Blues (Stony Plain)

Victor Mecyssne- Ragtop Automobile

Personal Mercury (Villa Vee Music)

Hans Theessink- Mercury Blues

Songs from the Southland (Blue Groove)

Rod Abernathy- Just Get in the Car

Normal Isn’t Normal Anymore (Songs from Downstairs)

Next week: Pancho & Lefty and Other Songs of Townes Van Zandt.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – April 29, 2025: “Dublin Blues” and Other Songs of Guy Clark

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/595/69984.html

Theme: “Dublin Blues” and Other Songs of Guy Clark.

Guy Clark – who died in 2016 at age 74 – was a great Texas singer-songwriter who began releasing albums in 1974. In the liner notes to Old No. 1, Guy’s first album, Jerry Jeff Walker referred to Guy’s songs as “the natural music of the acoustic guitar.” These songs were all written or co-written by Guy.

Guy Clark- Dublin Blues

Dublin Blues: 30th Anniversary Edition (Compass)

Nanci Griffith- She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere

Blue Roses from the Moons (Elektra)

Jerry Jeff Walker- Like a Coat from the Cold

Ridin’ High (MCA Nashville)

Rick Robbins & Ramblin' Jack Elliott- Desperados Waiting for a Train

Walkin’ Down the Line (Seeds of Man)

Guy Clark- That Old Time Feeling

Old No. 1 (Sugar Hill)

Johnny Cash- Let Him Roll

Johnny Cash is Coming to Town (Mercury)

Asleep At the Wheel- Blowin’ Like a Bandit

10 (Epic)

Rosanne Cash- Better Days

This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (Icehouse Music)

Ramblin' Jack Elliott- The Guitar

This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (Icehouse Music)

Guy Clark- Ramblin’ Jack & Mahan

Boats to Build (Asylum)

Bill Hearne- The Cape

Always Trust Your Cape (Howlin’ Dog) 

Willie Nelson- Stuff That Works

Oh What a Beautiful World (Legacy)

Guy Clark- Cold Dog Soup

Cold Dog Soup (Sugar Hill)

Terri Hendrix- The Dark

This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (Icehouse Music)

John Prine & Emmylou Harris- Magnolia Wind

This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (Icehouse Music)

Bill Staines- Lone Star Hotel Café

Old Dogs (Red House)

Emmylou Harris- New Cut Road

Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town (Warner Bros./Rhino)

Guy Clark- The South Coast of Texas

Craftsman (Philo)

Suzy Bogguss- Instant Coffee Blues

This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (Icehouse Music)

Doug Cox & Sam Hurrie- Old Friends

Old Friends (Black Hen Music)

Steve Earle- The Randall Knife

Guy (New West)

Guy Clark- Once More With Caution

Dublin Blues: 30th Anniversary Edition (Compass)

Next week: The Banjo Special.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – July 9, 2024: Remembering Kinky Friedman

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/595/65896.html

Theme: Remembering Kinky Friedman (1944-2024).

Richard Samet Friedman – or “Kinky” as he became known as a university student – was a noted singer, songwriter, novelist, essayist, occasional politician, animal rescue activist, and a larger-than-life character who died on June 27 at age 79.

Kinky Friedman at the Texas Book Fair in Austin (2013). Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Kinky Friedman- Me & My Guitar

Circus of Life (Echo Hill)

Willie Nelson- Ride ‘Em Jewboy

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Delbert McClinton- Autograph

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Lee Roy Parnell- Nashville Casualty & Life

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Kinky Friedman- Somethin’s Wrong with the Beaver

Kinky Friedman (ABC)

Asleep at the Wheel- Before All Hell Breaks Loose

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Kinky Friedman- Song About You

Circus of Life (Echo Hill)

Kinky Friedman- The Ballad of Charles Whitman

Sold American (Vanguard)

The Geezinslaws- Twirl

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Dwight Yoakam- Rapid City, South Dakota

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Guy Clark- Wild Man from Borneo

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Kinky Friedman- Top Ten Commandments

Sold American (Vanguard)

Kinky Friedman- A Dog Named Freedom

Circus of Life (Echo Hill)

Marty Stuart- Lady Yesterday

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Chuck E. Weiss- Ol’ Ben Lucas

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Billy Swan- When the Lord Closes the Door (He Opens a Little Window)

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Kinky Friedman- Jesus in Pajamas

Circus of Life (Echo Hill)

Kinky Friedman- Circus of Life

Circus of Life (Echo Hill)

Lyle Lovett- Sold American

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Tom Waits- Highway Café

Pearls in the Snow: The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Kinkajou)

Kinky Friedman- Resurrection

Resurrection (Echo Hill)

Kinky Friedman- Ride ‘Em Jewboy

Sold American (Vanguard)

Next week: A Salute to Nora Guthrie.

--Mike Regenstreif

Sing Out! Magazine – November/December ‘10/January ‘11

My copy of the latest issue of Sing Out! Magazine – November/December ‘10/January ’11 – arrived this week. The cover story is about South African singer-songwriter Johnny Clegg.

As usual, this issue of Sing Out! has a bunch of my CD reviews including:

Trevor Alguire- Now Before Us
Asleep at the Wheel & Leon Rausch- It’s a Good Day!
Jay Aymar- Halfway Home
Allison Brown- Viper at the Virgin’s Feet
Andy Cohen- Built Right Here on the Ground
Les Copeland- Don’t Let the Devil In
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott- At Lansdowne Studios, London
Finest Kind- For Honour and for Gain
Frazey Ford- Obadiah
Michael Hurwitz- Chrome on the Range
Chris Kokesh- October Valentine
Jimmy LaFave- Favorites 1992-2001
Terence Martin- The Last Black and White TV
Rain Perry- Internal Combustion
Oliver Schroer & the Stewed Tomatoes- Freedom Row
Bow Thayer- Shooting Arrows at the Moon
Craig Werth- The Spokes Man.

I’m now at work on a bunch of CD and book reviews for the next issue of Sing Out! and will resume posting more reviews here in early-February when those are done.

--Mike Regenstreif

Willie Nelson -- Country Music

WILLIE NELSON
Country Music
Rounder
willienelson.com

Willie Nelson, who turns 77 on Friday, has got to be one of the most prolific of all recording artists. He’s rooted in the Texas country tradition, but, like Ray Charles, he’s a genre-crosser who’s made compelling music in all sorts of styles. I have no idea how many albums he’s made over the years, but I’ve got more than 30 Willie Nelson keepers sitting on my shelves. (To be honest, there have also been some that haven’t made it on to my keeper shelves.)

In recent years, Nelson has released several excellent albums including Two Men with the Blues, a classy set of jazz and blues with Wynton Marsalis and his band, and Willie and the Wheel, a great western swing album with Asleep At the Wheel.

Add Country Music, recorded with a drummerless collection of A-list musicians assembled by producer T-Bone Burnett – and including Folk Roots/Folk Branches guest Riley Baugus on clawhammer banjo and Buddy Miller on electric guitar – to Nelson's list of fine recent albums. This one rooted, as the album title implies, in traditional country music. Most of the songs are bona fide classics.

The album opens “Man with the Blues,” the only Nelson original, an old-school honky tonk tune like the kind of songs Nelson was probably singing back in the 1950s, and closes with a deep-from-the-well arrangement of “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” an African American gospel tune that's given a haunting arrangement featuring Nelson stalwart Mickey Raphael on bass harmonica, Dennis Crouch’s heartbeat bass playing and some eerie guitar interplay between Nelson on gut string acoustic and Miller on electric.

One of my favourite tracks is an exciting rendition of f the Delmore Brothers’ “Freight Train Boogie” which, like Doc Watson’s version, you can’t help but feel the train boogieing down the tracks.

Other highlights include Merle Travis’ coalmining classic, “Dark as a Dungeon,” the tongue-in-cheek “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” and a sweet version of Hank Williams’ “House of Gold” that seems like a traditional folksong.

--Mike Regenstreif