Betcha didn't see this coming....

OK, you know the routine. Let's get on with it.
* Gordon Lightfoot -- Ten Degrees and Getting Colder, from SUMMER SIDE OF LIFE (1971). This is just about perfect. & I can't understand why it wasn't a hit. Was it too simple? Just some really nice pickin' by Gordy and friends with a sweet love-story lyric, and it ends in just the right place. & it's all over with in less than 3 minutes. Gordy shoulda had a dozen more hits in the '70s.
* Gordon Lightfoot -- Cotton Jenny, from SUMMER SIDE OF LIFE. OK, this is maybe a little TOO simple, too country. Though it's mildly charming. So why was it on his best-of? We won't be playing "Summer Side of Life," because it's freaking brilliant and I've been singing along with it for years....
* Gordon Lightfoot -- Talking in Your Sleep, from SUMMER SIDE. Where have I heard this before? Nice, mysterious broken-love lyric, very subtle use of vocal backing. Thought those were strings at first. haunting. Then the backing vocals get a little too forceful....
(Sorry for the delays, I'm fighting with my computer....)
* Gordy Lightfoot -- Cabaret, from SUMMER SIDE. This is another one of those multi-part suites Gordy sometimes does, pleasant enough if not a knockout. Subtle production by Joe Wissert (Turtles, Association, etc). And Gordy's "Love and Maple Syrup" wasn't the silly love song I've been seeking for years, which I think is actually called "Knotty Pine." The search will continue. Onward.
* C.W. McCall -- Wolf Creek Pass, from the same album (1975). Ol' C.W. had a Number One CB-radio hit with "Convoy" around '76. That wore out kinda fast, but I've always liked his earlier, smaller hits. They're pretty cheezy, that's why they're funny and charming. I could really do without the shrill women background singers from Tulsa, but the rest is cool and trucking-atmospheric. Did you know the guys playing behind C.W. are the guys who became Mannheim Steamroller? Really -- Don Sears, Chip Davis, those guys. Check out the credits.
* C.W. McCall -- Old Home Filler-Up and Keep On Truckin' Café, from WOLF CREEK PASS. This started out as a TV commercial, which I have no trouble believin'. Maybe a little TOO cheezy, tho cute now and then. Maybe Number 92 on the national charts.
* Gerry Rafferty -- The Royal Mile (Sweet Darlin'), from SNAKES AND LADDERS (1980). This was maybe too homogenized, too mainstream to ever be a hit -- there's no killer sax solo. But there is a really nice pennywhistle hook contributed by my hero Richard Harvey from Gryphon. And the choruses are nice. OK, maybe Number 80 on the charts....
* Bread -- Why Do You Keep Me Waiting?, from ON THE WATERS (1970). Bread was the best soft-rock band of the early '70s. There will be no arguments about this. They rocked just enough -- but David Gates got all the A-sides and the hits, and the rockier stuff by James Griffin and Robb Royer was left for B-sides, like this one. Nice, light vocals and subtle guitar.
* Bread -- The Other Side of Life, from WATERS. This sounds kinda like a brief draft for "It Don't Matter to Me." WATERS also includes "Make it With You," the gorgeous "Look What You've Done," and the best thing these guys ever did, "Been Too Long on the Road" -- which casual fans like me never heard until their second best-of....
* Bread -- This Isn't What the Governmeant, from BABY I'M-A WANT YOU (1972). David Gates does a "Taxman," whining about how much Uncle Sam takes. Still relevant today, if that matters. Sort of a gentle hoedown with lotsa finger-pickin'. Bread, huh? At least it's over fast.
* Gordy Lightfoot -- Sit Down Young Stranger, from IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND (1970). Talk about still relevant today.... Supposedly a welcome to American draft-dodgers of the time from Canada's unofficial poet laureate. But there's more going on here....
* Gordy -- Minstrel of the Dawn, from READ MY MIND. Tune starts out like "Pop Goes the Weasel"! Pleasant, forgettable.
* Gordy -- The Patriot's Dream, from DON QUIXOTE (1972). Another long suite piece. heard this once years ago and it's kinda bitter if I remember correctly. Lotsa pickin and grinnin up front. Yes, this gets bitter rather quickly. Wonder if Donald Trump's ever heard it...? The pickin' and grinnin' and the string-y production is an ugly contrast to most of the tough lyrics. ...We won't be playing "Don Quixote" and "Beautiful" because I added them to my playlist years ago....
* Tim Moore -- Second Avenue, from TIM MOORE (1974). Sweet, gloppy love ballad that I was a sucker for in the summer of 1974. It doesn't seem quite so impressive now. Orchestration could be bigger, grander, and should have been. Art Garfunkel later had a slightly bigger hit with this. Moore almost sounds like him. OK, not a lost classic.
* Three Dog Night -- Heavy Church, from NATURALLY (1971). My old buddy Jeff Mann was a sucker for this song, written by Alan O'Day (do you remember "Undercover Angel"? Why would you WANT to?). Killer choruses and some brief spacey guitar and organ. Not a total success, but those choruses are great. Woulda made a wild follow-up to "Joy to the World."
* Carly Simon -- We're So Close, from SPY (1979). Subtle. Maybe TOO subtle. And it takes 5 minutes. Lots of drama. And she does sound lonely....
* Slade -- Mama Weer All Crazee Now, from the SLADEST best-of (1973). Ok, enuf of this mellow stuf. This is freekin awesome, screaming and trebly, loud and silly. The louder you crank it, the better it gets. They shoulda had a dozen hits in Amurrica.
* Slade -- Gudbuy T'Jane, from SLADEST. More! Simple, chanty, upbeat foot-stomper. I could bcome a fan....
* Slade -- Coz I Luv You, from SLADEST. Uh-oh. Starting to sound like Queen. Not that that's a BAD thing.... Where'd that screechy violin come from?
* Slade -- My Town, from SLADEST. My beach, my waves, my chicks, get lost!
* The Captain and Tennille -- Ladybug, from COME IN FROM THE RAIN (1977). OK, I know you're gonna think I'm full of shit, but this is by FAR the best thing these folks ever did. It's glorious, and wherever you are it'll make the sun come out for you, I promise. Try it. And no, I haven't had too much coffee....
* Squeeze -- Hourglass, from BABYLON AND ON (1987). Oh, did you want more of The Captain? I don't think Squeeze nailed their songs very often, but this one really works. It's hypnotic and addictive, and the sax makes a BIG difference.
* Neil Diamond -- Love to Love, from DOUBLE GOLD (1973) and THE BANG YEARS. Gotta play this before The Girlfriend gets home, because she thinks Neil is The Antichrist. This is the typical Moody Neil from the mid-'60s, with added horns. Not bad. Tho not a hit....
* Kenny Rankin -- Silver Morning, from SILVER MORNING (1974). Well, I don't know, I thought that one time I heard this back in '75 that it wasn't too bad. Maybe I was wrong.... Slushy.
* Cream -- Deserted Cities of the Heart, from the HEAVY CREAM best-of. Not sure about Jack Bruce's pompous singing, but there's a great Eric Clapton guitar solo in the middle, and I'm a sucker for the title.
* Cream -- Those Were the Days, from HEAVY CREAM. Peter Brown's lyrics were often a real mouthful, as here. But the singing's better. The rather odd group vocals on the choruses remind me of Gentle Giant....
* Cream -- Doing That Scrapyard Thing, from HEAVY CREAM. OK, we're done here....