Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 4, 2022: A Week’s Worth of Songs

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

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was prerecorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/57765.html

Theme: A Week’s Worth of Songs.

The show begins and ends with songs about every day of the week. In between are songs about each day of the week.

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee- Different Blues

Working Man Blues (Sunset Blvd.)

Spanky & Our Gang- Sunday will Never Be the Same

Spanky & Our Gang (Mercury)

Mike Regenstreif & The Durham County Poets (2014)

Durham County Poets- Monday Morning

Grimshaw Road (Durham County Poets)

Cowboy Junkies- Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning

The Caution Horses (BMG)

Taz Halloween- Wednesday’s Blues

I Am/Songs by Lynn Swisher Spears (Ugwerks)

Sam Baker- Thursday

Horses and Stars (Blue Limestone Publishing)

The Whiteley Brothers- Friday Night Blues

Sixteen Shades of Blue (Borealis)

Stan Rogers- Acadian Saturday Night

From Coffee House to Concert Hall (Fogarty’s Cove)

Kris Kristofferson- Sunday Morning Coming Down

Me and Bobby McGee (Monument)

The Mamas & The Papas- Monday, Monday

If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (MCA)

Jack Williams- Tuesday Night at the Candlelight

Far Away, Long Ago (Wind River)

Tom Russell & Gretchen Peters- Ash Wednesday

The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day (Shout! Factory)

Dakota Dave Hull- Sweet Thursday

Under the North Star (Arabica)

Mike Regenstreif & Tom Paxton (2009)

Tom Paxton- Angeline is Always Friday

Tom Paxton 6 (Elektra)

Gordon Lightfoot- Saturday Clothes

If You Could Read My Mind (Reprise)

Caroline Doctorow- Sunday Morning

Dreaming in Vinyl (Narrow Lane)

Mississippi John Hurt- Monday Morning Blues

Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Terri Hendrix- Double Shift Tuesday

The Slaughterhouse Sessions: Project 5.2 (Wilory)

Charles Mingus- Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting

Blues & Roots (Atlantic)

The Cats & The Fiddle- Thursday Evening Swing

That's on, Jack, That's On: Selected Singles 1939-1950 (Jasmine)

Norma Waterson- On Fridays He’s Fred Astaire

The Very Thought of You (Hannibal)

Bebop Cowboys with Chris Whiteley- Dancing on a Saturday Night

Canadian Dance Hall (Bebop Cowboys)

Sylvia Tyson & Mike Regenstreif (1997)

Ian & Sylvia- Sunday

Movin’ On 1967-1968 (Mercury)

Fats Domino- Blue Monday

Fats Rocks! (Bear Family)

Tom Rush- Every Day in the Week

Blues, Songs and Ballads (Fantasy)

Next week: Songs of Jimmie Rodgers. Update (October 3): The Jimmie Rodgers theme will be postponed to a later date. Next week's show will a tribute to old friend Mary McCaslin, who passed away today at age 75,

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Carrie Elkin -- Call It My Garden

CARRIE ELKIN
Call It My Garden
Red House
carrieelkin.com

Earlier this week, I responded to the Penguin Eggs critic’s poll for 2010 in which I listed my top 10 CDs of last year and my top three new discoveries among all the artists I heard for the first time over the course of the year. Although the year is still relatively new, I’m reasonably sure that Carrie Elkin will be among the top new discoveries that I list in the 2011 poll and it wouldn’t surprise me either if Call It My Garden made the top 10 album list.

Although Call It My Garden was my introduction to Carrie, the Texas-based singer-songwriter has been around for a while and has a number of earlier CDs to her credit. She is a mature artist who has obviously developed her song-craft and performance styles.

The album, which has the feeling of off-the-floor spontaneity in its music-making that I really appreciate, opens with “Jesse Likes Bird,” a joyous, anthemic tribute to a seemingly still-innocent spirit. About two-thirds of the way through the track, the song turns into an instrumental bluegrass romp that’s about as joyous as the song itself.

As much as I like the joy I hear in the opening track, it is Carrie’s sadder and quieter songs that really slay me. Among the most stunning is “Dear Sam,” a song-letter-tribute written for singer-songwriter Sam Baker who was severely injured in a 1986 terrorist attack in Peru. The song is a stark reminder of how trivial day-to-day troubles can be in comparison to what some people have experienced. Another is “Landeth By Sea,” an impressionistic portrait of a disintegrating love relationship.

Among the other highlights on the album are “St. Louis,” in which a conversation with a seatmate on a plane helps to put life and love into perspective; “Shots Rang Out,” an observation of a woman in a desperate situation; and “Berlin,” a celebration of individual resiliency.

Carrie Elkin’s songs are layered in meaning and seem to reveal more each time I’ve listened to the album – especially when following the lyrics as posted on her website.

--Mike Regenstreif