"Radio Radio" Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour - Vol 1 - disc 1

Four discs, 78, 77, 71, 75 minutes each approximately. The sound is overall very crisp and clean, with only a few tracks suffering from their recording era. The six page booklet gives a short synopsis of several lesser known artists in this collection, but has the feel of being put together without much thought or direction...

...The discs are snapped in, inside the tri-fold book-style cardboard holder. One panel has a number of b&w photos of some of the artists, and is a nice touch. All tracks are listed with title, artist, length, year of release, and are listed under the various themes of the radio format. Some of these themes (usually with two or three tracks each) are weather, coffee, summer ,laughter, fools, guns, telephones, devil, eyes, and so forth. The b&w photograph of Dylan on the cover is nice and I'm assuming alludes to his earlier days when this music influenced him, but its possible that its use is for purely merchandising purposes. Yes, this music is from Dylan's radio shows. And no, Dylan is not heard anywhere on this collection. But the vast array of musical genres / groups heard on these four packed discs makes up (almost) for the lack of Dylan's commentaries. While the focus of most complaints is the fact that Dylan's voice is not heard (which was by and large great), the music goes a long way in making up for it. Artists include Johnny Cash, Bob Wills, Otis Spann, Little Richard, Fats Waller, Sonny Burgess, Muddy Waters, and Louis Jordan, among many other well known artists. But its the unknowns that give this set its depth and feel for a certain era of American music. People like Curtis Gordon, Hurricane Harry, Mr. Sad Head, Tin Ear Tanner, The Charmer, and Little Miss Cornshucks, among others, all contribute some great music - music that you'll never hear on the radio. Many genres are heard here, such as pop, country, rockabilly, blues, r&b, etc., and most tracks are from the 50's,with a few from earlier decades. The musical ground covered in this collection is truly a look at American music in many forms from an earlier period. This is music from a time when America was a different place, and music was strictly for entertainment, not to deliver any message, or to indulge any artist. This set is a treasure trove of, by and large, unheard music (with notable exceptions) by artists who at best were popular regionally, or nationally for a short time. This music will take the listener, with big ears, back to a time when music was simpler, unpretentious, and straight forward. Are all the tracks worth hearing over and over again? No. Every listener will have their favorites, and with open ears listeners will find a lot to like here. This first volume (and the two volumes following it) are a great introduction to some great American music that has influenced not only Bob Dylan, but countless other artists. Anyone who has a liking for American roots music should give these sets a listen. With the help of these sets listeners can once again hear music that influenced Dylan and any number of other artists. (Amazon)

CD 1:
1. Just Walking In The Rain - The Prisonaires 2. Stormy Weather - The Spaniels 3. Uncloudy Day - The Staple Singers 4. A Mothers Love - Earl King 5. Mother In Law Blues - Little Junior Parker 6. It Aint Far To The Bar - Johnny Tyler & His Riders Of The Rio Grande 7. One Mint Julep - The Clovers 8. Newks Fadeaway - Sonny Rollins 9. Say Hay - The Treniers 10. Heart - Damn Yankees (Broadway Cast) 11. Caffeine And Nicotine - Curtis Gordon 12. Coffee, Cigarettes And Tears - The Larks 13. Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash 14. Jail Bait - Andre Williams 15. Last Meal - Hurricane Harry 16. Mama Loves Papa - Jack Rhodes & His Lone Star Buddies 17. Father Alone - The Swan Silvertones 18. I'm A Married Man - Johnny Tyler & His Riders Of The Rio Grande 19. Leave Married Women Alone - Jimmy Cavallo 20. Alimony Blues - T-Bone Walker 21. You Cant Divorce Your Heart - Lefty Frizell 22. Heat Wave - Sol K. Bright's Hollywaiians 23. Hot Weather Blues - Mr. Sad Head 24. San Antonio Rose - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys 25. The Grape Vine - Lucky Millander 26. Get Out Of The Car - Richard Berry 27. Too Many Drivers - Smiley Lewis 28. No Money Down - Chuck Berry
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