Greg Easterling's Blog

Weekdays Midnight - 5am

Classic Yes & Joe's Birthday
Posted:Friday, 11/20/2009 at 04:11am by Greg Easterling
We featured Yes on Thursday morning and one of their finest efforts, 1972's Close To The Edge album. It was a daring record, progressive musically without any potential singles...just three very extended tracks taking up the whole album. Close To The Edge was the third and final Yes album to feature perhaps the band's ultimate lineup: Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Rick Wakeman. This was drummer Bruford's final full length effort with Yes. We listened to Side 1 which features the title track, in four movements.

It's Joe Walsh's birthday today and we spotlighted some of his early music this morning. The James Gang Live In Concert was Joe's final record with the Ohio band that introduced him to a wider audience. In all, Walsh did three studio albums with the James Gang before departing for a solo career in 1971 about the time this live record was released. The songs on the James Gang Live In Concert are mostly drawn from the band's first two albums plus "Walk Away" the best known song from their third record. We listened to Side 1, highlighted by "Take A Look Around" and "Tend My Garden".

Coming up next week, we'll spin sides from America, ELO and Eric Clapton here on our Overnight Album Side.

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Morrison's Final Show
Posted:Friday, 11/13/2009 at 04:11am by Greg Easterling
We finished up our week of late night vinyl with a live one from The Doors. Today marks the 39th anniversary of Jim Morrison's final performance with the band on November 13th, 1970 in New Orleans. He died the following summer in Paris several months after the release of the L.A. Woman album.

This morning we played a side of vintage live recordings from 1968-70 entitled Alive She Cried; these performances were released in 1983 when there were relatively few Doors live recordings available with the exception of 1970's Absolutely Live set. In more recent years, these two albums plus the Doors At The Hollywood Bowl EP were combined into one Doors In Concert CD set. The surviving members of The Doors have also released a number of live cds on their own Bright Midnight Records.

We tracked Side two of Alive She Cried which included "Love Me Two Times" and "Moonlight Drive" plus a blues jam on "Little Red Rooster" with guest John Sebastian on harp.

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Allman's debut
Posted:Thursday, 11/12/2009 at 04:11am by Greg Easterling
We're featuring the Allman Brothers today on The Drive's Thursday Artist Portrait along with Bob Seger and this morning we spotlighted the Allman's first, self titled record, released in 1969. Commercially it didn't make a big splash, barely cracking the Top Billboard Top 200 but to those who noticed, this was an entirely different sound for an American band, especially one from the South.

Guitarist Duane Allman and his brother Gregg had grown up in Florida, playing in various Top 40 cover bands. They also listened intently to the psychedelic blues rock coming out of England from The Yardbirds with Jeff Beck and Cream with Eric Clapton. The Allmans then came up with their own original approach inspired by the Brits and the Chicago blues that had been their main influence. What we got was like nothing we'd heard before with the Allmans' twin guitar leads from Duane and Dickey Betts, Duane's scorching slide work, the duo drumming of Jaimoe and Butch Trucks and Gregg's R&B influenced vocals. We listened to Side one of the Allman's first record highlighted by "It's Not My Cross To Bear" and "Trouble No More".

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Back In the Groove w/ P. Collins
Posted:Wednesday, 11/11/2009 at 03:11am by Greg Easterling
We're getting back into our daily vinyl ritual after more than a week away with the Drive A-Z. This morning, we had Phil Collins' first solo record, Face Value, released in 1981 and the source of songs such as "In The Air Tonight" and "I Missed Again".

It was the beginning of a big dual career for Collins: successful solo artist while being the front man for the increasingly popular Genesis. Admittedly there was a time in the 80s when Phil was so ominipresent with Genesis, solo records, film soundtracks, playing and producing other artists, etc. that we suffered a bit of PC burnout from seeing his name everywhere. But now, over two decades later, we can sit back and enjoy some of the projects in which he was involved. We listened to Side 1 of Face Value, highlighted by tracks such as Phil's funky remake of Genesis' "Behind The Lines" with the horn section from Earth, Wind and Fire.

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Happy Birthday Grace
Posted:Friday, 10/30/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
We finish up our week with a birthday salute to Grace Slick, who was actually born in Evanston but only lived in the Chicago area for a relatively short period of time before her family moved on to California.

Grace became one of the most visible symbols of rock in the 1960's and in particular, the psychedelic San Francisco Sound with Jefferson Airplane and songs like "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love". She carried on with Jefferson Starship in the 70s and well into the 80s. Today we played Side One from her best selling record with J.S., Red Octopus, a #1 record for four weeks back in 1975 with the Top 5 single, "Miracles".

Grace is retired now from performing and concentrates on creating and selling her own artwork.

We'll have one more Overnight Album Side early Monday morning from Santana before we begin The Drive A-Z. The Overnight Album Side feature will return on Nov. 9.

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Short Week; Dylan & Gabriel
Posted:Wednesday, 10/28/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
After taking Monday off, we got back into the groove on Tuesday morning. Bob Dylan is in town this week for three consecutive nights at Chicago's historic Aragon Ballroom beginning Thursday evening. We got the ball rolling with a side from Planet Waves, recorded in just a few days time in late '73 and released in January of 1974. Like other recordings Dylan did with The Band, this one has a rustic, homespun quality to it. We listened to Side 2; notable tracks included "Forever Young" and "Wedding Song".

On Wednesday, we featured Peter Gabriel's fifth and most successful solo effort, So(1986), containing his #1 single, "Sledgehammer". It's one of those all too rare moments when the creative and the commercial intersect for all around great results. With notable songs like "In Your Eyes", "Don't Give Up"(with Kate Bush), and "Big Time", it's one of Gabriel's best efforts in a career that's included many steller moments. We listened to Side 2 which also contains "Mercy Street".

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Gasoline Alley Days
Posted:Friday, 10/23/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
We finished our week of vintage album sides with Rod Stewart and one of his great early records, Gasoline Alley from 1970. The sound of Rod's first albums was comfortable and rootsy with a charm all its own; classic rock with acoustic underpinings, drawing from r&b, country and folk influences. Stewart was often accompanied by his bandmates in the Faces: future Stone Ron Wood, Ronnie Lane, Kenny Jones and Ian McLagan. There's great original tunes like the title track and near definitive covers of songs associated with Elton John, Bob Dylan, Motown and the Rolling Stones. It's records like this that make us wish Rod had stayed a little closer to the "gasoline alley" where he started from. We listned to Side 2, highlighted by Elton's "Country Comforts", the Eddie Cochran rocker, "Cut Across Shorty" and "You're My Girl".

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Into The Music with Van
Posted:Thursday, 10/22/2009 at 04:10am by Greg Easterling
We're focusing on the important singers of rock today on The Drive and we featured one of the most influential on our Overnight Album Side this morning. We first heard Van Morrison back in the '60s with the Belfast band Them and songs like "Gloria" and "Here Comes The Night". He's gone on to have a long and illustrious solo career with dozens of albums to his credit. Today we spotlighted his 1979 release Into The Music, a critically acclaimed record but not one of his best known releases. It's pure Van though with a number of notable songs like "Bright Side Of The Road" and "You Make Me Feel So Free". We listened to Side 1 today.

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Gilmour's First
Posted:Wednesday, 10/21/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
We spotlighted longtime Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour this morning with a side from his self titled 1978 solo debut. Gilmour's album came out the year after Pink Floyd's Animals and concentrated on shorter songs with dark but less biting lyrics. There's no fellow Floyd band mates to be found here; Gilmour plays guitars and keyboards with Foreigner's Rick Wills on bass and drummer Willie Wilson from the Sutherland Brothers. We listened to Side 1 highlighted by "There's No Way Out of Here".

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A Very Petty Birthday
Posted:Tuesday, 10/20/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
We featured a side from Tom Petty this morning in honor of his birthday; he was born on this date, Oct. 20 down south in Gainesville, Florida. Today we played the third in a series of Top Ten albums that Petty and the Heartbreakers had during a nice run back in the 1980s.

It's Long After Dark, released in late '82 and featuring a variety of good original Petty songs including "You Got Lucky". Critics past and present have been lukewarm about this record but a closer listen today reveals a stronger group of tunes than originally thought...and much better than most of what is released today. Other highlights of Side 1 include "A One Story Town" and "Change Of Heart". The previous Petty albums were classics(Damn The Torpedoes & Hard Promises) and definately hard acts to follow.

After the release of this record, the Heartbreakers took some time off, changed bass players(exit Ron Blair, enter Howie Epstein) and spent almost two and a half years making their next record(Southern Accents).

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Motown Monday with Wonder
Posted:Monday, 10/19/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
We kicked off a new week this morning with Stevie Wonder, featuring one of a string of albums that Wonder recorded after he won the right to create his own music without undue interference from his longtime label, Motown Records. Wonder's new songs dealt with then current social, political and cultural themes that had often been previously avoided. Begining with 1977's hit album, Talking Book, Stevie wracked up an impressive series of hit albums that reflected his personal outlook. Today we spotlighted Fulfillingness' First Finale from the summer of 1974, a Number One LP with two Top Five singles("You Haven't Done Nothin'", "Boogie On Reggae Woman"). We listened to Side Two, highlighted by "Nothin'" plus "Bird of Beauty".

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Birthday for Bob
Posted:Friday, 10/16/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
We wrapped up our week of late night vinyl this morning with a birthday salute to Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. Our choice was the Dead's second live album which was recorded on tour in 1971 in New York and San Francisco(Winterland & Fillmore West). It's become known as "Skull And Roses" because of the the album's distinctive and colorful cover art.

The Dead were mostly working as a five piece at this point: Jerry, Phil, Pigpen, Bill Kreutzmann and Weir, whose lead vocals are featured on several songs("Mama Tried", "Playing In The Band")on this side. Longtime Bay area musician and ally Merle Saunders also plays keyboards here on several songs. We listened to Side 1 which also features Garcia singing "Bertha" and "Big Railroad Blues".

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Calling The Police
Posted:Friday, 10/16/2009 at 02:10am by Greg Easterling
We featured The Police yesterday as part of The Drive's Thursday Artist Portrait. Our featured side came from the band's third record, Zenyatta Mondatta(1980), the one that really broke them through to a larger audience here in the U.S. Many of the songs were catchy but also thought provoking lyrically("Driven To Tears", "When The World Is Running Down") as Sting really hit his stride as a songwriter here. The Police were THE band of their day though it wouldn't last long; they stayed together only long enough to release five records before going their separate ways. We flipped the album over and listened to Side Two this time, highlighted by "De Do Do Do..." and "Shadows In The Rain".

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Learning To Crawl with the Pretenders
Posted:Wednesday, 10/14/2009 at 04:10am by Greg Easterling
We rolled into Wednesday with The Pretenders' third album. Talk about changes...the band had been rocked by the drug related deaths of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and former bassist Pete Farndon since Pretenders II had been released over two years earlier. Chrissie Hynde also took some time out to have a child. She regrouped the band with drummer Martin Chambers in early 1983 to record one of their finest records, Learning To Crawl which features a number of Hynde's best songs. Side 1 is loaded with "Back On The Chain Gang", "Middle Of The Road" & "Show Me." We'll keep it in the 80s tomorrow morning for a side from The Police.

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Marshall Tucker, Paul Simon
Posted:Tuesday, 10/13/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
We began the week Monday with one of the names that instantly comes to mind when 70s southern rock is mentioned: The Marshall Tucker Band from South Carolina. Led by lead guitarist and main songwriter Toy Caldwell, Tucker toured early with the Allman Brothers and also recorded for Phil Walden's Capricorn Records. Starting with their debut, they had their own very recognizable sound, distinct from the Allmans and Lynyrd Skynyrd... a blend of rock, country and jazzy elements that utilized a variety of instruments ranging from pedal steel to sax, and especially flute. We pulled out their first Greatest Hits lp and blew the dust of some good ones like "Fire On The Mountain", "This Old Cowboy" and "24 Hours At A Time."

Paul Simon was born on this date(Oct 13)in 1941. We first met him as half of Simon and Garfunkel with much early solo success afterward. By the late 70s, his releases had already become a lot less frequent; there was nearly a five year gap between Still Crazy After All These Years and 1980's One Trick Pony with only a Greatest Hits lp in between.

One Trick Pony was also a film in which Paul starred though hardly anyone ever saw it. The album of the same name did better, hitting #12 on the Billboard chart with the Top Ten single, "Late In the Evening". Paul is ably supported here by a number of talented NY session pros including drummer Steve Gadd, guitarist Eric Gale and keyboardist Richard Tee. We listened to Side 1, highlighted by "Late..." and the bluesy title track.

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Remembering John
Posted:Tuesday, 10/13/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
We finished up last week's run of Overnight Album Sides with a birthday remembrance of John Lennon, who was born on October 9, 1940. We got John's Imagine album in the fall of 1971, following several recordings with Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band. For many, it stands as his best solo work, covering a range of musical emotions in a number of his most noteworthy songs...."Jealous Guy", "Gimme Some Truth", "Crippled Inside" and of course, the title track, "Imagine". We listened to Side 2 this time.

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Play It All Night Long
Posted:Tuesday, 10/06/2009 at 04:10am by Greg Easterling
We spotlighted the late Warren Zevon this morning with a side from his 1980 release, Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School. It was the follow-up to Warren's most popular record, Excitable Boy, the one that featured "Werewolves Of London". While Bad Luck Streak produced no big singles, it had a number of solid Zevon songs, recorded with the help of a great supporting cast that included Jackson Browne, a trio of Eagles(Walsh, Henley & Frey) and some of the best LA session players around.

We listened to Side 1; the chorus of the final song on the side("Play It All Night Long")contains Warren's reference to Lynyrd Skynyrd("Sweet Home Alabama, play that dead band's song..."). Almost 30 years later, Kid Rock would borrow heavily from both Zevon's "Werewolves" and Skynyrd's "Alabama" to create his hit single, "All Summer Long". The co-writers of each song also received credit and royalties for the Kid Rock song...Ed King, Gary Rossington and the late Ronnie Van Zant of Skynyrd plus Warren and his writing partners Waddy Wachtel and Leroy Marinell.

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Celebrating with The Joker
Posted:Monday, 10/05/2009 at 04:10am by Greg Easterling
It's Steve Miller's birthday and we have his big 1973 breakthrough album The Joker which peaked at #2 on the Billboard chart while the single of the same name went all the way to #1. Miller had been releasing consistently good records since the late 60s but The Joker really struck a chord with its relaxed but memorable lyrics and chorus. It was one of those songs that stuck in people's minds, getting Miller to a higher level commercially and setting the stage for even greater success later in the decade with the Fly Like An Eagle and Book Of Dreams albums. It's also one of the reasons fans keep coming back for more whenever Miller tours these days. We listened to Side 2 which begins with the title cut setting the tone with its laidback, bluesy vibe.

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The Beatles & Don McLean
Posted:Friday, 10/02/2009 at 03:10am by Greg Easterling
We spotlighted The Beatles on The Drive's Thursday Artist Portrait this week and also on our Overnight Album Side, featuring the soundtrack record from their animated film, Yellow Submarine(1969). Side two is made up of original music orchestrated by producer George Martin; Side one has actual Beatle songs that were intended for use in the movie. We'd heard the title track before on Revolver but there were a few new songs here including two previously unreleased George Harrison tunes, "Only A Northern Song" and a good longer jam, "It's All Too Much". John Lennon was featured on the rockin' "Hey Bulldog". While the Yellow Submarine soundtrack is far from the most essential Beatles recording, it's still an entertaining listen like almost everything they did.

We finished our week this morning with a birthday tribute to Don McLean, who's best remembered for his early 70's #1 hit, "American Pie". At nearly eight and a half minutes long, it wasn't just another single on the radio, making us really listen to the words of the song to figure out what Don was singing about. What we heard was sort of mini history of rock with references to Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Beatles and Stones as seen through the eyes of a fan. The line in the song, "the day the music died" has become commonly known as a classic reference to the plane crash that claimed the lives of Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper. We tracked Side one which begins with the classic title track.

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Elton and Billy(Gibbons)
Posted:Wednesday, 09/30/2009 at 04:09am by Greg Easterling
We played a side from one of Elton John's most popular efforts on Tuesday morning, 1973's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. He was already a major figure with several #1 albums to his credit but this record seemed to take Elton to an even higher, superstar level with the flashy costumes, platform shoes and outrageous glasses now part of his rock 'n' roll act. This was a two record set with twice the music and big hit singles, spending 8 consecutive weeks at the top of the charts. Side 1 never let up from start to finish...."Funeral For A Friend", "Candle In The Wind" and then "Bennie And The Jets"...you can't get any bigger than that! We put the needle down on Side 2, highlighted by the title track for starters and later, "Gray Seal".

On Wednesday, we reached to the end of the alphabet for ZZ Top and the first album of theirs to find a wider audience, their third record overall, Tres Hombres. After two overlooked efforts, ZZ Top hit the Top Ten in 1973 with this album which showcased their brand of rowdy Texas blues rock and some of their strongest songs to date. Influenced by the classic blues of John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf, ZZ Top won their audience through persistent touring and word of mouth since the media was slow to embrace this little ole band from Texas. We listened to Side 2, highlighted by one of their best known songs, "La Grange".

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Tonight's The Night
Posted:Monday, 09/28/2009 at 04:09am by Greg Easterling
We began our new week with Neil Young and a critically acclaimed record of his from the summer of 1975, Tonight's The Night. It was one of series of more ragged sounding records(along with Don't Be Denied & On The Beach)that followed in the years after Neil's best selling Harvest records, demonstrating his refusal to take the most predictable or commercial course during his long career.

Tonight's The Night was originally recorded two years earlier in the wake of the drug related deaths of two friends of Neil's including former Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten. That partially explains the darker tone to some of the songs on this record. We listened to Side 1, highlighted by the title track and a Crazy Horse live recording of "Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown" with the aforementioned Whitten in the band before his untimely demise.

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Off Broadway "On" again
Posted:Friday, 09/25/2009 at 04:09am by Greg Easterling
We finished up our week of late night vinyl with the Chicago area band Off Broadway, who were active in the late 70s-early 80s. Their brand of power pop was best demonstrated on memorable songs like "Stay In Time" and "Full Moon Turn My Head Around" both of which got radio airplay at the time. Off Broadway has reunited from time to time over the years to play local venues like Fitzgeralds and is still fronted by longtime lead singer and songwriter Cliff Johnson. We listened to Side 1 of "On", highlighted by "Stay In Time" and "Hang On For Love".

Next week, we'll feature sides from Neil Young, ZZ Top, The Beatles, Don McLean and Elton John here on our Overnight Album Side.

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It's A Beautiful Day....really
Posted:Wednesday, 09/23/2009 at 04:09am by Greg Easterling
We hit midweek today with a trip back to 1969 and a notable album from that year, the debut record from the band It's A Beautiful Day. They were part of the famous San Francisco music scene of the 60s though a lot less visible than better known bands like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. Their first, self titled album showcased a unique, progressive sound centered around the band's leader David LaFlamme, a classically trained violinist and a key component of the band's sound. The songs were also special, particularly the first song on the record which has become a classic, "White Bird". We listened to Side 1 today which also included "Hot Summer Day".

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Live Allmans
Posted:Tuesday, 09/22/2009 at 04:09am by Greg Easterling
We started our week here on a Tuesday morning with a live one from the Allman Brothers Band recorded on tour back in the mid '70s. Despite the twin losses of founding members Duane Allman and Berry Oakley, the Allmans carried on with a revamped lineup anchored by Dickey Betts as the sole lead guitarist plus new members, Chuck Leavell(piano) and Lamar Williams(bass).

This is the lineup of the Allmans(still featuring Gregg)that played to its largest audiences since the band wasn't as well known to the general public when Duane Allman was still alive. In 1976, the Allmans released a live recording of their latest configuration that included historic performances from Watkins Glen(NY) and Bill Graham's Winterland in San Francisco. The album was released with the improbable title of Wipe The Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas" but features a nice representation of this later lineup performing songs from the first album up through Brothers and Sisters and Win, Lose Or Draw. We tracked Side 4 which included the classic Betts instrumental "Jessica" spotlighting some fine keyboard work from Chuck Leavell.

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Smooth Palmer/Rough Bruce
Posted:Thursday, 09/17/2009 at 03:09am by Greg Easterling
We hit the middle of the week yesterday with Robert Palmer who was at the height of his popularity back in the mid 80s with hit songs like "Addicted To Love". In reality, Palmer had been around for awhile, recording back in the early 70s with the British band Vinegar Joe and then on to a number of solo releases, some of which boasted the instrumental backing of members of Little Feat. Palmer was also singing with the band Power Station in the 80s and had success with a cover of T. Rex's "Bang A Gong". We brought in a copy of Robert's 1985 release, Riptide which became a Top Ten record with two Top Five singles.

Bruce Springsteen is coming back to Chicago Sunday night and we're spotlighting the occasion by featuring his music today on The Drive's Thursday Artist Portrait and also on our Overnight Album Side. This morning we have his 1973 debut, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ...just so there was no mistake about where Bruce was coming from. He was being promoted as the next Dylan in some reviews and while Bruce's early lyrical approach sometimes echoed that of Bob Dylan in the mid 60s, Springsteen was mostly about being himself, even at this early, pre-E Street Band stage. Clarence Clemmons and bassist Gary Tallent were already here though, providing the basis of bigger things to come. We listened to Side One, highlighted by Bruce's original recordings of "Blinded By The Light" and "Growin' Up".

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Friday, Nov 20, 2009
9:00pm
Long One @ 9
Pink Floyd
10:00pm
Ten @ 10 Replay
1970
Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
11:00pmThe Deep End
Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
7:00amRock 'n Roll Roots
Root Salute to Fleetwood Mac
9:00pmThe Classics
The Best of the Brass: Rock with Horn Sections
Monday, Nov 23, 2009
3:00amOvernight Album Side
America
10:00amTen @ 10
1978
1:45pmOne 45 @ 1:45
The Youngbloods
5:00pmLive @ 5
The Talking Heads
9:00pmLong One @ 9
R.E.O. Speedwagon
10:00pmTen @ 10 Replay
1978
Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009
3:00amOvernight Album Side
Electric Light Orchestra
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