Everybody knows that the boat is leaking, everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling, like their father or their dog just died

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erry Rafferty's music makes me smile. His lyrics make me smile. His voice is warm and soothing, making me believe, as the title of the last song on Ferguslie Park says, everything will turn out fine. I know Joe Egan is part of Stealers Wheel, but I can't dredge up feelings about his contributions. Maybe it just needs more attention.

Stuck in the Middle with You, their one huge hit from their eponymous first album, seems to annoy some folks. Puzzling. Slide guitar doesn't make it to pop music much, and this has it in spades. Slick, slippery, wiggly slide. From the opening chords on acoustic guitar, the no-nonsense bass, silly-serious hand-claps, through vocal harmonies, multiple electric guitars snapping, and some of the subtlest drumming in a pop song (cowbell! before cowbell was, well, whatever) it bounces perkily through really strange lyrics I still love, nearly 40 years later.

The slide guitars (plural; there are, briefly, two) shimmer over another electric guitar playing a noodley little lead, and two rhythm guitars, one electric, one acoustic. One benefit of an endless stream of top-notch studio musicians instead of a regular band is you get a wide variety of ace performances on every instrument.

Lyrically, I've always thought this was another guy at the party Randy Newman's momma told him not to come to.

When I bought Feguslie Park long after its release, I rediscovered Star, which somehow sneaked onto San Diego radio while I still lived there. But the real killer here is Blind Faith; something about the earnest search for just the right memories of happier-but-harder times always felt like a journey I wanted to finish.

All three Stealers Wheel albums are available on CD these days. Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty are master songwriters (their first album was produced by the illustrious team of Lieber and Stoller) and delicious performers. Even their wistful sad songs feel good.

The Salvador Dali-esque covers don't disturb me as much as they should. Animalised faces, disemboweled lizards, faces in the ground; I suspect even Dali would find them strangely disconnected from the bright cheerful music within. Perhaps another case of production decisions made by someone other than the artist?

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Twang should be a genre all to itself. I'm a sucker for twang. Play way back by the bridge, turn the reverb up to some kind of tape-slap setting, and it might not even matter what the words are.

Of course, if the words are about oatmeal pies, pointy boots, quarters and Little Debbie, that's just fine, too.

I blame Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS) for psychobilly; rockabilly was usually pretty friendly and happy. SCOTS took it to the edge, and many have taken it right over. None for me, thank you. I like my musical energy to be positive.

"Walk Like a Camel" is just plain silly, if you squint your ears and block out external nonsense. Of course, Little Debbie's 'special outfit' probably isn't a flannel sleeper, but at least there's nothing here requiring explanation to the four-year-old.

Yet.

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nd one more show with Charlie. Too much information. No; not here. That's what the show is about.

It used to be that you'd read Rolling Stone or get music suggestions from the DJ on the radio. But now that there's far too much music even to hear it all on the radio, let alone discuss, how do you filter out all the noise and zero in on the music you've never heard of, but want to hear?

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wo more shows with Charlie (it's been two weeks; it's a weekly show. Coincidence, or design?)

On the December 8th show we talked about social networks. In this one, you get to hear me completely blindsided because I hadn't gotten Charlie's email telling me what we were talking about so I hadn't done my homework. I realize I don't really sound like a blathering idiot. I only felt like one. (My fault, not Charlie's. Charlie is a gracious and entertaining host.)

As always, no autoplay, please. Click the little button. Yes, that one, the pointy triangle thing.

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If you're in the Roseville/Sacramento area, please visit some good people we know:

The Voice Training Studio, certified in Speech Level Singing training. My lessons there have completely changed how I use my voice, and tripled my confidence

Roseville Guitar Works, owned and operated by Jeremy Nellist, Luthier. Jeremy is a friendly, smart guy who loves music and musical instruments. "Non Multae, Sed Multum"

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