Slap and Tickle

Tracklist:

Dire Straits: “Once Upon a Time in the West”
U2 & Bruce Springsteen: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
Blues Project: “I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes”
Bob Dylan: “Duncan and Brady”
Squeeze: “Slap and Tickle (Live)”
John Sebastian: “Red Eye Express”
Harry Nilsson: “Turn on Your Radio”
Rufus Wainwright: “April Fools”
Loggins and Messina: “Nobody but You”
Jethro Tull: “My Sunday Feeling”
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: “Love Struck Baby”
Ten Years After: “Me and My Baby”
Buckingham/Nicks: “Races Are Run”
Chicago: “Mississippi Delta City Blues”
Black Crowes: “By Your Side”
Joe Walsh: “Funk #49 (from Late Show with David Letterman)”
The Everly Brothers: “The Price of Love”
Nick Lowe: “All Men Are Liars”
Steve Winwood: “Can’t Find My Way Home”

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Dire Straits: “Once Upon a Time in the West” Play this track

I’ve always had a soft spot for Dire Straits’ somewhat unheralded second album, 1979’s Communiqué. This tune kicks off the album and defines its vibe. —Rock Stamberg
This tune is filled with Dire Straits DNA. Mark Knopfler told me that, more than anything else, he is trying to create a mood with his songs. The song itself is unhurried and the languid Stratocaster guitar lines flow with the ease of gravity. Nothing is forced or pushed. This song screams because it whispers. -John Stix

U2 & Bruce Springsteen: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” Play this track

This could have been just a great picture. And while it is, the music is equally as great. Love the dynamics of the opening verse and the punch they land as the band comes in for the second verse. Springsteen knows the song and commits to it. He plays their song with his voice. Two of the greats showing you how good it can be together. NHT material indeed. -JS

Blues Project: “I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes” Play this track

The first album I wore out on my Garrard turntable was Blues Project Projections. It was rock, it was blues, it was the sound of 1966 FM radio. Al Kooper was my hero, and I followed the Blues Project around. If they were playing The Westchester County Center or the Palisades Amusement Park in Fort Lee, NJ, I was there. This is the opening track. I played it in my jam bands, sans Kooper’s Quarter Tone electronic keyboard (he called the Kooperphone). These are my roots in rock music. -JS

Bob Dylan: “Duncan and Brady” Play this track

Isn’t this a great Dylan track? This previously unreleased and jaunty rocker was recorded for a never completed record The Bard was recording with David Bromberg and his big band back in 1982. I wonder if there are any other long-lost recordings from those aborted sessions. Hmm … -RS
Dylan rocks out with another great story song. I didn’t know this one and suspect you don’t either. But we both love it yes? -JS

Squeeze: “Slap and Tickle (Live)” Play this track

One of my favorite vocal sounds, the distinction of these two voices in harmony or unison sucks me in every time. Melody forever and lyrics that rival Rundgren over smart guitar parts that always invite, and surprise makes Squeeze among my all-time favorite pop bands. And this song is one reason why. -JS

John Sebastian: “Red Eye Express” Play this track

This is the opening track from his 1970 debut solo album (John B Sebastian), which by the way is as good as anything we love by the Lovin’ Spoonful. Even if you’ve never heard it, you think you already know it. And you do! -JS

Harry Nilsson: “Turn on Your Radio” Play this track

This track is yet another example of Harry Nilsson’s outstretched musicality in fine form. He made it all sound so easy. -RS

When Rock played this for me the first time, I heard the opening guitar riff and said yes – this goes in. The rest of the song was just confirmation that he had picked a winner. -JS

Rufus Wainwright: “April Fools” Play this track

Rufus Wainwright caught my ear the first time I heard him in 1998. This was the song. He has developed into a master of far-flung musical genres in the years since, veering from pop and rock to classical to folk to opera to his penchant for covering Judy Garland albums in their entirety on stage. His first few records each remain stunning, however. -RS

Another Rock pick. Rufus Wainwright has a unique voice, great vocal phrasing, and casts a melody with hooks big enough to catch a whale. As Nick Lowe might say this is pure pop for now people. -JS

Loggins and Messina: “Nobody but You” Play this track

I had this idea for a theme where we play the opening tracks from a given band’s debut album. These were the first tracks on debut albums that listeners would hear. They had to have have something special about them. Loggins and Messina had a great duet vocal sound and a rock band with horns and a spitting Fend...