Category: Progressive Rock

It’s Snowing Outside The Mermaid Lounge, but We’ve Got Our Sixties Rotation EP and Donovan In The Spotlight To Get Us Through This Mess, Friday, February 25, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! If you live here in the Boston area, you know that we were all standing outside a couple of days ago without so much as a jacket on. Today? Today, it’s another foot of snow. Welcome to New England in February. But we’ve got some hot tunes here for you today.

Comin’ at you at 11:00 a.m. EST. The music that inspired us!

Here’s your Friday musical landscape:

11:00 a.m. The Sixties Rotation, Volume Two: Various Artists

There’s no sense denying it, we here in The Mermaid Lounge are lost in the past and find no release in most (but not all) of today’s music. People tell me I must be open-minded, but I actually don’t. Nope. Life is too short to listen to bad music. So, we don’t. This is the music that inspired the station. You’ll hear The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Four Tops, Buffalo Springfield, Roy Orbison, The Yardbirds, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Donovan, The Box Tops, Vanilla Fudge, Sly & The Family Stone, Cream, The Zombies, The Doors, The Chambers Brothers, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Who, The Temptations, and more! That’s five hours of commercial-free, uninterrupted music.

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Donovan

Donovan was a very big part of the sixties sounds, so his presence in the spotlight today is particularly fitting. His unique sound came from fusing pop, jazz, folk, psychedelic rock and world music. He was a favorite when I was young, and remains so today.

In a few hours, I’ll be digging myself out and heading off to work. But if you don’t have to be anywhere today, this would be a great day to tune us in. All you have to do is give us a shot. And we’re not talking about buying a subscription that you can “cancel anytime.” Don’t you love that shit? We do not require a credit card or a subscription here. The only thing you must have is an Internet connection. End of story.

The Sixties Are Back!

We’re Heading For The Weekend With Our New ‘In Your Dreams’ EP, and Our Album of The Week Later, Thursday, February 24, 2022

Good Morning, Dreamers! We’ve got a great, new extended playlist making its debut this morning. ‘In Your Dreams’ gives you just over five hours of uninterrupted music! Read on for details!

Are you dreaming of five hours of uninterrupted music?

10:00 a.m. In Your Dreams: Various Artists NEW!

We debut our newest long player today, called In Your Dreams, a playlist that includes the word dreams (and its variations, of course) in the title or lyrics…or a song that tells a story about a dream. You will hear Cream, Paul McCartney & Wings, the Marshall Tucker Band, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Laura Nyro, Patti Smith, The Wallflowers, John Prine, John Lennon, Tom Rush, Joni Mitchell, Nanci Griffith, The Band, Bruce Springsteen, The Shelters, Hot Tuna, Townes Van Zandt, Randy Newman, Three Dog Night, Mudcrutch, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The James Gang, Taj Mahal, Aerosmith, Alison Krauss, Electric Light Orchestra, Stephen Stills, Alison Krauss, Fats Domino, Widespread Panic, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, The Youngbloods, Patsy Cline and more! That’s five straight hours of uninterrupted music.

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Meet The Beatles by The Beatles

The next-to-last airing of the musical shot heard ’round the world is upon us. Get it while you can, folks. When you wake up on Sunday, disgusted with another foot of snow (at least in these here parts), there’s going to be a new selection on the turntable.

Great day to tune us in. We’ve got a great collection of extended playlists with themes, and ‘In Your Dreams’ is our newest. Be here today for its debut! It won’t cost you a cent. No joining fees. No subscriptions. No money must change hands. And no personal information is required (because we do not accept advertising to keep us afloat). We’re here in The Mermaid Lounge sharing our personal collection of more than 27,000 songs!

Dream Away!

It’s Midweek With ‘The Psychedelic Express’ EP and a Wide Open Stream Afternoon With On-The-Hour Trifectas, Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! We’ve got a great midweek line-up with ‘The Psychedelic Express’ EP followed by a wide Open Stream afternoon with on-the-hour Trifectas! What could be better?

Join us early this morning aboard ‘The Psychedelic Express’

9:00 a.m. The Psychedelic Express: Various Artists

We’re getting on board ‘The Psychedelic Express’ a bit early today, but a splendid ride is guaranteed for all. You’ll hear Vanilla Fudge, The Chambers Brothers, The Beatles, The Electric Prunes, The Animals, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Blues Image, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Cream, The Rolling Stones, Traffic, Dr. John, Procol Harum, the Grateful Dead, The Velvet Underground, Donovan, The Byrds, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and more!

Afternoon Wide Open Stream with Trifectas

We’ve got a wide Open Stream all afternoon and into the evening with on-the-hour Trifectas:

3:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt

4:00 p.m. Three Dog Night

5:00 p.m. Marvin Gaye

6:00 p.m. Carly Simon

7:00 p.m. Paul McCartney & Wings

Tune us in. Join other listeners around the globe who know what we’re all about. We are totally free. There’s no advertising to kill the mood. And there’s no endless D.J. chatter. What are you waiting for?

All Aboard!

What Could Be Better Than a Friday ‘Under The Influence’ and With Lucinda Williams In the Spotlight Later? February 18, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We’ve made it to Friday. Yes, we have. And it’s looking good as the weekend approaches. Next to love, perhaps being ‘Under The Influence’ is the most sung-about condition. We’ve got it here for you today!

Come join the fun! They’re clearly ‘Under the Influence’

Here’s your Friday line-up:

11:00 a.m. Under The Influence: Various Artists

Look, let’s face it. We’ve all been here at one time or another in our lives, and sometimes with legal substances…but sometimes not. So, we can all identify with the songs of The Doors, The Byrds, Donovan, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Arlo Guthrie, Glenn Frey, Linda Ronstadt, Jonathan Edwards, Small Faces, The Rolling Stones, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Jackson Browne, Harry Chapin, Emmylou Harris, The Band, Eric Burdon & War, Bob Dylan, The Fraternity of Man, Little Feat, and more!

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Lucinda Williams

Lucinda Williams is a blues, country, rock and folk singer, songwriter and musician. Like so many other women of her generation, her early releases went ignored. However, as of today, Williams is recognized as one of the most influential singer-songwriters of her generation. Her commercial breakthrough finally arrived in 1998 with her album Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, which fused blues, rock, country, and Americana music into Lucinda’s own signature sound. The album won the Grammy for the Best Contemporary Folk Album. The rest, as they say, is history.

The weekend is technically here, people. Yes. Yes. I know we have one more day of work (in my case, two days), but the end is in sight now. It’s time to start to mellow out. It would be a great weekend to get on board the music train here in The Mermaid Lounge. Come on. You know you want to.

Just Push Play

Welcome To Sunday With Bobbie Gentry Owning Our Album of The Week and Our ‘Ode To Morning’ EP, February 6, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We’ve got a great line-up for you today as we finally focus a bit on Bobbie Gentry, a musical pioneer who is often overlooked. No more. Today is just the beginning.

Remembered for her hit “Ode To Billie Joe,” Bobbie Gentry was so much more than that. But we start there today.

Here’s today’s line-up:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Ode To Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry NEW!

This is another artist who has been high on our list, but when you’re a one-woman band here it takes time. Bobbie Gentry really just wanted to write songs to sell to others. She never really wanted to perform her own work. But singing Ode To Billie Joe was cheaper than hiring someone else to do it, so she went into the studio. The rest is history, and the album garnered several Grammy Awards. The problem is that people only remember her for Ode to Billie Joe, and she was so much more. We will begin to reveal the many facets of Bobbie Gentry today.

3:00 p.m. Ode To Morning: Various Artists

This is the second airing of our newest EP. Last week we gave you our ‘Here Comes The Night’ EP, so this week we give you our songs that focus on the morning. You’ll hear Nanci Griffith, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Dusty Springfield, Linda Ronstadt, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Electric Light Orchestra, Harry Nilsson, Emmylou Harris, The Wallflowers, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Norah Jones, Todd Rundgren, Gordon Lightfoot, Willie Nelson, Jefferson Airplane, Harry Chapin, Three Dog Night, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Foreigner, Gram Parsons, Taj Mahal, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, B.B. King, Hoyt Axton, Townes Van Zandt, Badfinger, Chris Hillman, Hot Tuna, Fairport Convention, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Association.

This would be a most excellent day to join the rest of the listeners from around the world. I must say, I believe we are also catching on here in the U.S. these days. Hell, we’re so much better than Spotify. We don’t charge you to be misinformed. And we don’t charge you for the music either. All you need to do is push the button below.

Put It Right Here.

The Original Sixties EP, The Final Airing of “Sticky Fingers” and LIVE DEAD! All On Tap For Saturday, February 5, 2022

Good Morning, Weekenders! Some of us have to work in retail for a living, but many of you can start to enjoy our weekend offering today!

It’s baaaaaack!

Here’s your Saturday line-up:

10:00 a.m. The Original Sixties Rotation: Various Artists

Ah, yes. The music that is the lynchpin of this radio station. One of our very first playlists ever created here. You will hear from The Monkees, Sonny & Cher, Mary Wells, Dusty Springfield, The Drifters, The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Hollies, Petula Clark, Buddy Holly, The Kinks, Neil Diamond, The Band, The Yardbirds, The Searchers, The Rolling Stones, Donovan, Bob Dylan, Fats Domino, Simon & Garfunkel, The Supremes, Aretha Franklin, and many more. More than five hours of uninterrupted sixties music.

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones FINAL AIRING!

Today we have the final airing of Sticky Fingers, our current Album of The Week. Tomorrow, we’ll have a brand new selection for you.

10:00 p.m. LIVE DEAD! The Grateful Dead Live at Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia, March 27, 1988 NEW!

Another great soundboard recording of the world’s ultimate road and jam band for your listening pleasure. This one is from the Hampton Coliseum.

In addition to all this great Saturday programming, you’ll get our usual wide Open Stream courtesy of The Music Mermaid. She has impeccable musical taste, as you well know if you tune us in every day. We won’t cost you a cent. This isn’t Spotify. We don’t air medical misinformation, nor are we seeking to turn our little station into a repository of talking heads. Join us (figuratively, that is). There are no subscription fees and no joining fees.

Put the Cursor Here.

Heading Toward The Weekend, We’ve Got Songs About Luck and Chance, America In The Spotlight, and Our AOW, On Thursday, February 3, 2022

Good Morning, Early Risers! We’ve got some great stuff on tap today as we slide on down toward the weekend, including songs about good luck, bad luck, and just pure dumb luck.

Today’s musical line-up. In a nutshell.

Here are all the details on today’s line-up:

11:00 a.m. Good Luck, Bad Luck, Dumb Luck: Various Artists UPDATED!

We were on a roll here last night and added a few more songs to the list of songs about good luck, bad luck, and just pure dumb luck. You’ll hear Alison Krauss & Union Station, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, The Rolling Stones, Joe Walsh, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Paul McCartney (with and without Wings), Cream, The Byrds, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and more!

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones

Time for my Thursday mantra: Time’s getting short on this one. The final airing will be on Saturday, so get it in while you can! On Sunday, we’ve got a brand new selection to unveil.

7:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of America

Like all bands, the story of America doesn’t just lie in their “hits.” Those are the songs that the record company knows will certainly sell. The success of those songs also gives bands the creative license they need to produce great work. America is no exception. People refer to their stuff as soft rock, and I guess that’s one term. This band was so much more. For me, they are more along the folk-rock line, with unbelievable melodies and harmonies, and pretty fair songwriting. They’re up In The Spotlight tonight.

Come on, folks. Tune us in. We don’t even charge you. We’re in this for the music, and the music alone. And frankly, if nobody listened, I’d still be doing this. It’s my personal project. I’m sharing my music collection. Just push play. Okay?

PUSH HERE.

We’re at Midweek With Our ‘Here Comes The Night’ EP and The Beatles Album Openers Later, Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We’ve hit our midweek stride with a great EP about night time, and a brand new playlist of songs that open the Beatles US and UK album releases.

The Beatles album openers are on tap for later!

Here’s today’s musical landscape:

10:00 a.m. Here Comes The Night: Various Artists

We’ve got an EP dedicated to the morning, and we’ve got one for the night. Songs with the word “night” in the title, lyrics, or both is on tap for this morning. You’ll hear Warren Zevon, the J. Geils Band, Poco, Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, Bonnie Raitt, The Traveling Wilburys, The Beatles, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Joe Walsh, the Ronettes, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Wilson Pickett, Steelers Wheel, Gregg Allman, Sam Cooke, Phoebe Snow, The Electric Prunes, Jimmy Cliff, and more!

7:00 p.m. The Beatles: The LP Opening Songs NEW!

Some playlists are long; others short. By our standards, this one is pretty short but oh, so sweet. We give you the opening songs from both the US and UK Beatle album releases. As you know, some were different country-to-country and, in some cases, albums were released in one country and not in another. We do not focus on compilations or post-career releases…just the studio albums released on the Beatles labels over the years (Capitol, Parlophone, Apple, and so on).

A couple of more comments on this playlist, there is a complete list (with notes) on the blog under the Playlist tab should you wish to take a look. And while some sources do not include “With A Little Help From My Friends” as part of the opening to Sgt. Pepper, we here in The Mermaid Lounge do.

Come on, people. It’s midweek and we’re going strong around the planet this morning. It’s time to tune us in. We’re free 24/7. No credit card or subscription required. No personal information requested. We’re all about the music.

Just Push Play.

Under a Blizzard Warning in Beantown, and We’re Spinning Our House Playlist EP, Giving You The Final Airing of Our AOW, and LIVE DEAD! Later, Saturday, January 29, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! The snow’s flying. The wind’s blowing. And the music’s flowing. We’ve got a great line-up for you today, no matter what your weather is.

Our very own EP starts at 11:00 a.m. today and runs uninterrupted for just about five hours

Here’s today’s line-up:

11:00 a.m. #BecomeUngovernable House Playlist: Various Artists

It’s that magic time again. Our House Playlist calls, and we give you Barry McGuire, the Temptations, CSNY, Pink Floyd, Peter Tosh, Edwin Starr, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Chambers Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Byrds, Donovan, Jimmy Cliff, Cat Stevens, The Association, Marvin Gaye, The Band, Arlo Guthrie, George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, and more!

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan FINAL AIRING!

Today is the final airing of this week’s Album of The Week, Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan. Get it while you can. Tomorrow, there will be a brand new featured album when you roll out of bed.

10:00 p.m. LIVE DEAD! The Grateful Dead Live at Boston Garden, Boston, MA, May 7, 1977 NEW!

The Dead bring their Wall of Sound to the fabled Boston Garden for this one, vintage 1977. Another great soundboard recording for your listening pleasure from the world’s premier road and jam band.

Well, gang, we’re rolling here in The Mermaid Lounge. The good news is that we will keep on keeping on through this New England blizzard. Be sure to join your friends from around the globe today!

Tap Here!

Friday Brings ‘The British Are Coming’ EP and Puts Neil Young In the Spotlight As We Prepare For The Snow, January 28, 2022

Welcome to Friday as we all prepare to be bombed by a potentially historic nor’easter here in the Beantown area. As we all know in these parts, we can get anywhere from 10 inches to 2 feet. Stay tuned. But one thing is certain, the music is always outstanding here in The Mermaid Lounge, rain, snow or shine.

Yeah. They’ll be here promptly at 11:00 a.m. EST for an extended visit.

Here’s Friday’s musical landscape:

11:00 a.m. The British Are Coming: Various Artists

We all know how the story goes. The American musicians were influenced by the Brits, and vice versa. That’s how we got here. With this extended playlist, you’ll hear The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Them, The Hollies, The Who, The Animals, Yes, Queen, The Kinks, The Dave Clark Five, Rod Stewart, The Bee Gees (before they caught night fever; not after), The Yardbirds, The Pretenders, Lulu, Herman’s Hermits, Blind Faith, The Spencer Davis Group, Cream, Traffic, Donovan, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, and more! That’s five hours of uninterrupted music from across the pond!

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Neil Young

While we remove Eric Clapton from the limelight, we put Neil Young in the limelight. This isn’t a question of politics which, as you know, we keep out of this radio station’s airing. The public health is not a political issue, and medical misinformation is not in the public interest. We will neither participate in it nor will we give voice to those who do. Like Eric Clapton. Aside from Neil Young’s stand on the issue, consider that the man is the Energizer Bunny of rock n’ roll, recently releasing his 41st album and his 14th with Crazy Horse. His career has spanned more than a half century, and he is deserving of the spotlight.

All of our friends are here this morning, including our new listeners from Pakistan, Lithuania, and Turkey. Why don’t you join them? It’s easy, as they’ve found out. No information required. No subscription required. No credit card required. All you need is a computer, a new tab, and your mouse. Eek.

Music Nirvana Awaits!