My track-by-track tales follow this bare-bones list.

1. Taste, Blister On The Moon
2. Deep Purple, Comin’ Home
3. The Kinks, The Hard Way
4. Budgie, Truth Drug
5. The Rolling Stones, Citadel
6. Pete Townshend, I Am An Animal
7. Led Zeppelin, The Lemon Song
8. Jeff Beck Group, Ice Cream Cakes
9. Cream, World Of Pain
10. Steppenwolf, The Ostrich
11. April Wine, Weeping Widow
12. Yes, Does It Really Happen?
13. Genesis, Squonk
14. Triumph, Blinding Light Show/Moonchild
15. Bob Seger, Love The One You’re With
16. Stephen Stills, Blind Fiddler Medley
17. Steve Earle, The Week Of Living Dangerously
18. Dave Edmunds, Queen Of Hearts
19. Bob Dylan, Union Sundown
20. Jimi Hendrix, Johnny B. Goode (live, from Hendrix In The West)
21. Spooky Tooth, Fantasy Satisfier
22. Paul Simon, Take Me To The Mardi Gras
23. Savoy Brown, Leavin’ Again
24. Cheap Trick, Auf Wiedersehen (live, from At Budokan: The Complete Concert expanded reissue)

    My track-by-track tales:

    1. Taste, Blister On The Moon . . . The genesis of playing this track by the band Rory Gallagher led before he went solo has roots in the Valles Marineris system of canyons on Mars. Hang with me and all will be revealed. I had in mind to play a Taste track but couldn’t decide on which one. Then, I was watching a documentary about Mars on Saturday night while starting to prep the show and of course the canyons came up. Essentially, it’s a big rip in the surface of the planet. So, I thought, rip, blister . . . And here we are. One might ask, if I was watching a documentary about Mars why did I not then play David Bowie’s Life On Mars? Well, because I didn’t think of it until I started writing this, I’ve set up my show and so maybe Bowie’s tune finds its way into a future set. As for the Taste track, typically fine guitar from Gallagher, I love the sort of here comes the riff from this side, then that side, nature of it, before the vocals come in. And it’s not a speaker effect, simply the way he plays it.
       
    2. Deep Purple, Comin’ Home . . . To each their own but I’ve never understood Deep Purple fans who claim or lament that the band moved away from hard rock towards funk and R & B starting with the so-called Mk. III version of the band that debuted with 1974’s Burn album and featuring singer David Coverdale and bassist/singer Glenn Hughes. Burn, the title cut, rocks like crazy. As does Stormbringer, the title song from the next album. As does Comin’ Home, from the one and only album the band did with Tommy Bolin replacing Ritchie Blackmore on guitar. Sure, the band did change direction, which I think was a positive thing demonstrating versatility, but to suggest they lost the ability to rock is ridiculous.
       
    3. The Kinks, The Hard Way . . . It can be difficult sometimes to pull single tracks from a concept album and have them still make sense. But The Hard Way, a terrific riff rocker from The Kinks’ 1975 Schoolboys In Disgrace record, is at least one definite exception. The band loved playing it live and it was used as the opener for at least some shows on their Low Budget album tour that yielded the One For The Road live record in 1980.
       
    4. Budgie, Truth Drug . . . Great guitar shredding on this one from Welsh hard rockers Budgie’s 1982 album Deliver Us From Evil. It’s got a touch of the overproduced 1980s production sound I am not fond of but the guitar work salvages things for me. It’s the type of sound and album that, at the time, likely lumped Budgie in with bands they’d influenced, the so-called New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). Yet this was Budgie’s 10^th album by then and their roots go as far back as 1967. So, I suppose it could be argued they were pandering a bit to the newer sounds.
       
    5. The Rolling Stones, Citadel . . . The prevailing, accepted wisdom has always been that the Stones Satanic Majesties album is crap, a poor imitation of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper and so on. Even the band dismisses it – although they obviously thought enough of it to play 2000 Light Years From Home on the 1989-90 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour, to great effect with lighting and such. Granted, I’m a huge Stones fan so take my opinions for what you may think they are worth but. . . It’s a good album. Sure, maybe it was inspired by and sort of a copy of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper but 1. The actual album, the songs, are not at all like Sgt. Pepper. 2. Given Brit sensibilities and sense of humor, it’s quite possible it’s, as the Brits say, a sendup (spoof) of Pepper, especially the cover. 3. The boys were heavy into drugs at the time. 4. Citadel has a great guitar riff, typical Stones, really, and is one of many worthwhile songs on the album. Like 2000 Light Years From Home, 2000 Man, The Lantern, She’s A Rainbow and, yes, even Bill Wyman’s In Another Land.
       
    6. Pete Townshend, I Am An Animal . . . From Empty Glass, Townshend’s brilliant and still arguably best solo album, from 1980. But if you were another member of The Who at the time you’d no doubt be wondering why Pete was saving his best stuff for his solo career. I’ll forever remember this tune for the lyric “I will be immersed, queen of the effing universe.” Back then, such lyrics made you sit up and take notice.
       
    7. Led Zeppelin, The Lemon Song . . . I’m not going to get into Zep’s plagiarism issues this time. I probably do it too much. They apply to this song, too. You can read all about it. From Zep II, good song, nice riff.
       
    8. Jeff Beck Group, Ice Cream Cakes . . . From 1972’s self-titled album, the so-called ‘orange album’ due to the fruit atop the cover art. It was the second and final record from the second version of the Jeff Beck Group featuring singer Bobby Tench, drummer Cozy Powell and keyboardist Max Middleton before the ever eclectic late great guitarist Beck moved on to Beck, Bogert & Appice and then jazz fusion and instrumental rock excursions via such albums as Blow By Blow, Wired and beyond.
       
    9. Cream, World Of Pain . . . Bluesy psychedelia from 1967’s Disraeli Gears, the album that featured the hits Strange Brew and Sunshine Of Your Love. World Of Pain was co-written by producer Felix Pappalardi – later the bassist in Mountain – and his wife Gail Collins, who in 1983 shot and killed Pappalardi after he had returned from being with his girlfriend. Supposedly, Collins and Pappalardi had an open marriage but perhaps not as open as Pappalardi thought.
       
    10. Steppenwolf, The Ostrich . . . Rocker from the band’s debut album, 1968. It covers lots of ground, lyrically: societal programming, expectations and groupthink, censorship, environmental issues and more. The words still apply today, and forever.
        
    11. April Wine, Weeping Widow . . . Rocking second single from 1973’s Electric Jewels album, it made No. 4 in home country Canada after Lady Run, Lady Hide hit No. 19 on the national charts.
        
    12. Yes, Does It Really Happen? . . . What? So said the progressive rock world in 1980. Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman are out and The Buggles boys of Video Killed The Radio Star fame Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes are now in Yes? So, er, yes, it really happened and, well, so? Turned out the new blood Buggles helped kick the brand out of its complacency while producing a kick butt, almost metallic progressive rock album that is among my favorites – and that of many I’ve talked to – by the band. As for Yes lineup changes, read the history. Fascinating stuff, but you might need a family tree spreadsheet to keep it all coherent.
        
    13. Genesis, Squonk . . . Perhaps my favorite Genesis song, played it on the show long ago, so it’s about time for a replay. It’s from A Trick Of The Tail, the first album after original lead singer Peter Gabriel left to go solo. The questions as to whether Genesis could successfully continue were quickly answered in the affirmative.
        
    14. Triumph, Blinding Light Show/Moonchild . . . I admit I’m not much of a Triumph fan. But I do like some of their stuff, particularly Rock & Roll Machine, Lay It On The Line, their cover of Joe Walsh’s Rocky Mountain Way and this progressive hard rock epic from their 1976 debut album.
        
    15. Bob Seger, Love The One You’re With . . . A souped up version of the Stephen Stills song from before Seger broke big beyond his home state of Michigan and environs. It was released on 1972’s Smokin’ O.P.’s (other people’s songs) on what is for the most part a covers album.
        
    16. Stephen Stills, Blind Fiddler Medley . . . Speaking of Stills, from Stills Alone, his excellent 1991 album. Just him and his guitar, with percussion on some tracks. One of those albums I bought on a ‘let’s give it a try’ basis when I saw it in a used bin years ago and what a treasure it is.
        
    17. Steve Earle, The Week Of Living Dangerously . . . Up tempo country rock, from Earle’s second album, Exit 0, released in 1987. Earle’s voice to me, like that of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison or John Fogerty, is one of those that is truly an instrument in itself. His music, like that of the others mentioned, isn’t the same if he’s not singing it.
        
    18. Dave Edmunds, Queen Of Hearts . . . From Repeat When Necessary, Edmunds’ 1979 album recorded concurrently with Nick Lowe’s Labour of Lust by the members of Rockpile – Edmunds, Lowe, guitarist Billy Bremner and drummer Terry Williams. The song, which in 1981 resulted in a big hit for Juice Newton, was written by Hank Devito, for many years the pedal steel guitarist in Emmylou Harris’s band.
        
    19. Bob Dylan, Union Sundown . . . Rocker featuring Dylan’s typically cynically and wonderfully enunciated lyrics, from 1983’s Infidels album. Guitarists Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and Mick Taylor of Rolling Stones fame join him on the album, co-produced by Knopfler and Dylan. Also on board are the noted Jamaican rhythm section team of Sly and Robbie – drummer Sly Dunbar and the late bass player Robbie Shakespeare.
        
    20. Jimi Hendrix, Johnny B. Goode (live, from Hendrix In The West) . . . Speed rock version of the Chuck Berry classic.
        
    21. Spooky Tooth, Fantasy Satisfier . . . Nice guitar riffing from future Foreigner leader Mick Jones on this one from 1974’s The Mirror album.
        
    22. Paul Simon, Take Me To The Mardi Gras . . . From the There Goes Rhymin’ Simon album, 1973. Mardi Gras was a single but only charted in the UK. Jazz keyboardist Bob James did an instrumental version two years later that has since been widely sampled by hip hop artists.
        
    23. Savoy Brown, Leavin’ Again . . . For some reason, whenever I play Spooky Tooth, see song 21, I think of Savoy Brown, and vice-versa. Both great if perhaps underappreciated bands. This lengthy, bluesy jam was on 1970’s Looking In album, after which all band members but leader/guitarist Kim Simmonds left to form Foghat. Simmonds then rebuilt Savoy Brown using some former members of fellow British blues band Chicken Shack, not including Christine McVie who had already joined post-Peter Green versions of Fleetwood Mac.
        
    24. Cheap Trick, Auf Wiedersehen (live, from At Budokan: The Complete Concert expanded reissue) . . . As the song title says, see ya.