CP S17 EP35 2023

Guanella Pass in late Sept courtesy of Clear Vistas Photography

MONDAY OCT 02, 2023 — Autumn is my most favorite time of year. September into mid October is when Claire and I most enjoy our long drives through the west. We’ve made it a habit now to rotate in-state and out of state drives. This year, we stayed home except for a day-trip or two to see the fall colors here in Colorado. The colors this year are fantastic, as is the music from our state.

I’m not posting a weekly TOP five this morning… watch for the September TOP 20 later.

In about a month, NOV 6, I will be receiving the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from 105.5 The Colorado Sound (KJAC Greeley). As a part of that, a couple of weeks ago Adam Perry interviewed me for his Mile High Stash podcast – where he asks “what five albums would you take to a remoted Colorado cabin during a zombie apocalypse, armed with nothing but food, water and a crank-powered Victrola.”

Truth is, I only named four – but one is a double album, so there’s that. You’ll have to listen to find out which albums I picked .. oh, and only one has a direct Colorado connection – there’s that too 😉

MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEETING (MMMM)

www.starrsguitars.com

The Monday Morning Music Meeting (MMMM) is a way for you to let me know what you think of new music emerging from around the state. Results enter into which cuts stay in rotation, and which cuts make the final “best of” list.

Carolyn’s Mother – Back Porch – Joy (1999)
Dressy Bessy – Just Like Henry – Pink Hearts Yellow Moons (1999)
(D) Jenny Shawhan – Stuck in the Middle With You – You Got the Magic (2023)


Yonder Mountain String Band – Into the Fire – Get Yourself Outside (2022)
GRiZ – Astro Funk – Rainbow Brain (2021)
Volores – All That We Could Need – Ages (2023)
The Apples In Stereo – Dance Floor – Travellers In Space And Time (2010)
John Oates/Ryan Tedder – Stone Cold Love – Good Road to Follow (2014)
Sugar Nova – Touch Me, I’m Going to Scream, Pt. II – Halogen (2023)
(D) Heavy Diamond Ring – Place at the Table – All Out of Angels (2023)

The Samples – Close To The Fires – The Samples (1989)
N3ptune, Rusty Steve – Black Horse – Renaissance (2022)
Keith Oxman – The Splashers – Caught Between the Lion and the Twins (2008)

Jux County – Come See – Haxtun (1999)
(D) Bryce Menchaca – Flower Painted Black – Salt (2023)

The Barlow – All My Days – New Year, Old Me (2022)
Sera Cahoone – Always Turn Around – From Where I Started (2017)
Claire Heywood – Does My Heart Seem Broken? (2023)
Born In The Flood – Another night, another place – If this thing should spill (2007)
Mark Oblinger – Living Imitation – High Water Line (2019)
Neon the Bishop – A Damn Good First Impression (2023)
(N) Dragondeer – Across the Waves (radio edit) – Across The Waves (2023)

Philip Bailey – Love Is Real – Love Is Real EP (2010)
Alysia Kraft – Little River – First Light (2022)
BTTRFLY Quintet – Tijuca – Coast (2023)

THIS WEEK ON YOUTUBE (not all titles available)

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Live Music Colorado featuring  LiveMusicMegaSearch™

WEEKLY TOP FIVE + SPOTIFY HITS + WHERE AND WHEN DO YOU GO OUT?

Good morning from the Crystal Coast NC – courtesy of Clear Vistas Photography

MONDAY SPT 25, 2023 …. Claire and I are just ending our annual September road trips. For a second year we visited the Crystal Coast in North Carolina. Now we are looking forward to doing a couple of day trips this next week for the fall colors. In the meantime, I’ve been focused on finding out what the most popular Colorado titles are on Spotify, besides tracking radio airplay around the state.

BUT FIRST! I want to know a bit more about you and your music habits.

#COMUSIC – WEEK SPT 17-24 2023

Spin data pulled from the Colorado Playlist, 105.5 The Colorado Sound, Indie 102.3, 88.9 KRFC  and ten other stations that use playlist generator Spinitron, offering search functions for artists and agents to track airplay.

(D) Debuted in TOP 5
(R) Re-entered TOP 5
LP = album (5 or more songs)
EP = extended play (3-5 songs)
SP = single play (1-2 songs)
* = Colorado expats, as long as they were born and/or raised here, or got their career started here or there is some other reason to include them.
** = serviced to Colorado media by Rocky Mountain Music Network, LLC.

(1) 1. GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV – Appaloosa Bones LP May-23 LP (May-23)
(2) 2. KILTRO – Underbelly LP (Apr-23)
(R) 2.LEFTOVER SALMON – Grass Roots LP (May-23)
(D) 3. SOY CELESTE – Break Out EP (Apr-23)
(D) 3. THE TRUJILLO COMPANY – 4 Arrows LP (Aug-23)
(3) 3. *THE WOOD BROTHERS – Heart Is the Hero  LP (Apr-23)

TOP SPINS ON SPOTIFY

1. ILLENIUM, JVKE – With All My Heart (30-Mar-23)
2. Tennis – One Night With the Valet (28-Mar-23)
3. Gregory Alan Isakov – The Fall (16-May-23)
4. Sid Siriram – Do The Dance (2-Jul-23)
5. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – Buy My Round (6-May-23)
6. The Motet – False Prophets (18-Jan-23)
7. CloZee – Microworlds (21-Jul-23)
8. Leftover Salmon – Blue Railroad Train (2-Apr-23)
9. Kiltro – All The Time In the World (6-May-23)
10. NOT A TOY – Nervous (2-Jul-23)
11. Big Gigantic – Keep On Rising (w/Aloe Blacc) (12-Feb-23)
12. Miranda Fling – “25” (2-Jun-23)

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FIREFALL – FRIENDS & FAMILY

Somewhere, somehow, I was reminded that a good critique starts off with something positive. Friends & Family, the new release from Colorado Music Hall of Fame band Firefall, is a hit and miss affair. That’s as positive as I can get.

For lifelong Firefall fans it’s likely a positive that they just released an album of covers from bands each of the current members were also in, shared stages with or collaborated with (the Doobie Brothers, Dan Fogelberg, Heart, the Marshall Tucker Band, Poco, Loggins and Messina, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Byrds, Fleetwood Mac, Spirit, the Band, Flying Burrito Brothers, and Gram Parsons). All legends, friends and family of the current members of Firefall.

The band’s core followers are now in their seventies and are proven to NOT be fans of new music. So, an album of covers from the aforementioned acts provides nostalgia – especially since Firefall hasn’t released an album of original material worth listening to or remembered since 1980, despite attempts in 2020 (Comet) and 1992 (Messenger).

It was the singular voice and song-writing of original founding member Rick Roberts, no longer able to perform, as well as singer-songwriter Larry Burnett, who left the band in 1981, that anchored the sound of Firefall for all time – they are long gone and so is the sound that elevated the band to national popularity between 1976 and 1982.

The only original member of the band is guitarist Jock Bartley, who owns the band name; so basically all we’re talking about here is a tribute/cover band with heavyweight national league players.

Whoever sequenced the songs on this album did the band a gross injustice. Listening to Friends & Family starting at track #1 (“Listen to the Music”) made me wonder if I should keep on listening. Skip “Listen to the Music” as well as the Lynyrd Skynyrd track “Simple Man,” both of which were released earlier as lead singles. What the band lacks on both is a strong lead singer capable of carrying the weight on such classic hits.

Fleetwood Mac‘s “World Turning” and the Spirit classic “I Got A Line On You” -sung by the newest Firefall member, singer/bassist John Bisaha (the Babys) – are “hits.” A credible cover of Gram Parson‘s “Ooh Las Vegas” closes out the collection, showing the strength of the band – their ability to harmonize. This is a band that sings well together despite not having a “world class” lead singer.

Firefall isn’t what they were and never will be. The misses on Friends & Family don’t do justice to the Firefall of yore, the musicians that make up the band now, nor the original recordings. So, unless you’re a Firefall super-fan you might want to skip most of this album and enjoy the few hits it does offer.