4 am - 5 am

4 A.M. Eyes are closing despite your struggle. Morton Feldman's almost seamless fabric of music for piano and string quartet is both hypnotic and transporting. I use the word "fabric" with good reason. The composer is said to have written in admiration of tapestries with just the occasional fascinating imperfection. The recording Piano And String Quartet is by The Kronos Quartet and Aki Takahashi (Nonesuch).
As you drift between the conscious and unconscious worlds, you may glance at a mute television to find that Oliver Postgate's Clangers is being aired. If you can't find a channel showing these stop-frame animated parables of the wonderful armadillo-like creatures and their planet, you can always use Vernon Elliot's lovely score (Trunk) to dream your own version.

1. Morton Feldman - Piano and String Quartet (Kronos Quartet) pt 1
    Morton Feldman - Piano and String Quartet (Kronos Quartet) pt 2
2. *The Clangers - Dialogue From Episode 1 (3:33)
3. The Clangers - The Start Of Music (4:30)
4. The Clangers - Musical Sequences (2:30)
5. The Clangers - From "The Seed" (3:18)
6. *The Clangers - From "Music Of The Spheres" (3:19)
7. The Clangers - A Clangers Opera - Act One (Compiled By Oliver Postgate) (11:34)

3 am - 4 am

3 A.M. Quarter to three has come and gone, but that won't stop Only The Lonely (Capitol) from being the ultimate Frank Sinatra album for this time of night - weary, confidential, and completely self-obsessed. You could ask for no more than "Angel Eyes", "Good-Bye", or "One For My Baby". The only record that I know of that is more drained of expectation is Chet Baker's early vocal masterpiece "The Thrill Is Gone". Indeed. You can find it on Chet Baker Sings (Pacific Jazz), and he does. There is a James van Heusen song that both men share. Sinatra's version can be found on In The Wee Small Hours (Capitol). It is both noble and knowing. Chet's narcotic rendition could once be found on Chet Baker With Fifty Italian Strings and has now been reissued as the title track of Deep In A Dream: The Ultimate Chet Baker Collection (Pacific Jazz). It is altogether more troubling.

My cigarette burns me

I wake with a start

My hand isn't hurt

But there's pain in my heart

But we'll love anew

Just as we used to do

When I'm deep in a dream of you.

Now as you edge closer to the darkest hour, play "Ghost Of Yesterday" or "Laughing At Life" (with Lester Young) from Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday On Columbia (1933-1944).

1. Frank Sinatra - Only The Lonely (4:09)
2. Frank Sinatra - Angel Eyes (3:43)
3. Frank Sinatra - Willow Weep For Me (4:48)
4. Frank Sinatra - Good-Bye (5:47)
5. Frank Sinatra - Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry (4:00)
6. Frank Sinatra - Spring Is Here (4:45)
7. Frank Sinatra - One For My Baby (4:27)
8. Chet Baker - The Thrill Is Gone (2:48)
9. Chet Baker - Spring Is Here (1:11)
10. Chet Baker - Let's Get Lost (2:58)
11. Chet Baker - You Don't Know What Love Is (4:52)
12. Chet Baker - My Funny Valentine (vocal) (2:18)
13. Chet Baker - Deep In A Dream (4:33)
14. Frank Sinatra - Deep In A Dream (2:48)
15. Billie Holiday - Ghost of Yesterday (2:39)
16. Billie Holiday - Laughing at Life (2:56)

2 am - 3 am

2 A.M. Jimmy Reed will put a little motor in the mood with the woozy groove of "Take Out Some Insurance" and "My Bitter Seed" from Rockin' With Reed (Vee-Jay). The lights are low - there would be cigarette smoke, but you know that is a filthy habit ... and your heart can't stand another drink. This record does all the hurting for you. The world is winding down. Hounddog (Columbia/Legacy) is the perfect accompaniment. Mike Halby and David Hidalgo's impossibly slow blue pulse never sound better than on "I'll Change My Style".

1. Jimmy Reed - Going To New York [1958] (2:23)
2. Jimmy Reed - A String To Your Heart [1957] (2:53)
3. Jimmy Reed - Ends And Odds [1957] (2:24)
4. Jimmy Reed - Caress Me Baby [1958] (2:54)
5. Jimmy Reed - Take Out Some Insurance [1959] (2:25)
6. Jimmy Reed - The Moon Is Rising [1958] (2:24)
7. Jimmy Reed - I Wanna Be Loved [1958] (2:17)
8. Jimmy Reed - Baby, What's On Your Mind [1957] (3:09)
9. Jimmy Reed - My Bitter Seed [1957] (2:20)
10. Jimmy Reed - Rockin' With Reed [1953] (2:31)
11. Hounddog - No Chance (4:22)
12. Hounddog - I Brought the Rain (3:32)
13. Hounddog - I'll Change My Style (3:51)
14. Hounddog - Down time (3:35)
15. Hounddog - Lonely Dying Love (3:47)
16. Hounddog - Eddie's Gone (4:11)
17. Hounddog - All Fired Up, All Shook Down (5:32)
18. Hounddog - Somebody (Stop the Bleedin') (5:14)

Midnight - 1 am

MIDNIGHT.

Can I cry a little bit?

There's nobody to notice it

Can't I cry if I want to

No one cares...

Randy Newman's magnificent "Just One Smile" comes from Dusty Springfield's Dusty In Memphis (Rhino). It's the record you selected just ahead of that pile of Peggy Lee albums you keep for this very occasion.
The blue mood is irresistible now. The hi-fi plays "You Don't Know Me" from Ray Charles's Modern Sounds In Country And Western (Rhino):

You give your hand to me

And then you say hello

And I can hardly speak

My heart is beating so...

1. Dusty Springfield - Just a Little Lovin' (2:21)
2. Dusty Springfield - So Much Love (3:33)
3. Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man (2:31)
4. Dusty Springfield - I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore (3:13)
5. Dusty Springfield - Don't Forget About Me (2:55)
6. Dusty Springfield - Breakfast in Bed (3:00)
7. Dusty Springfield - Just One Smile (2:44)
8. Dusty Springfield - The Windmills of Your Mind (3:53)
9. Dusty Springfield - In the Land of Make Believe (2:34)
10. Dusty Springfield - No Easy Way Down (3:13)
11. Dusty Springfield - I Can't Make It Alone (3:59)
12. Peggy Lee - Don't Smoke In Bed (3:10)
13. Ray Charles - Bye Bye Love (2:13)
14. Ray Charles - You Don't Know Me (3:14)
15. Ray Charles - Half as Much (3:26)
16. Ray Charles - I Love You So Much It Hurts (3:35)
17. Ray Charles - You Win Again (3:30)
18. Ray Charles - I Can't Stop Loving You (4:13)
19. Ray Charles - Hey, Good Lookin' (2:13)

1 am - 2 am

1 A.M. Surrendering to melancholy... Lucinda Williams's Essence (Lost Highway) plays as loud as the hour allows. Her tales of "Lonely Girls" and reasons to cry use only the essential words. This is a deeper shade of "Blue", her lovely ballad. She will inquire, "Are you down?"
If this is not the way to go for you, then put on John Prine's Great Days (Rhino), a collection of his finest moments, or his album of duets, In Spite Of Ourselves (Oh Boy). Finally, play Sam Phillips's Fan Dance (Nonesuch). It is in a world (and class) of its own and you can visit it.

1. Lucinda Williams - Lonely Girls (4:03)
2. Lucinda Williams - Steal Your Love (3:17)
3. Lucinda Williams - Blue (3:56)
4. Lucinda Williams - Out of Touch (5:30)
5. Lucinda Williams - Are You Down (5:28)
6. Lucinda Williams - Essence (5:53)
7. Lucinda Williams - Reason to Cry (3:44)
8. John Prine - Unwed Fathers (3:32)
9. John Prine - Linda Goes To Mars (3:10)
10. *John Prine & Patty Loveless - Back Street Affair (2:47)
11. *John Prine & Connie Smith - Loose Talk (2:44)
12. John Prine & Dolores Keane - In A Town This Size (3:31)
13. Sam Phillips - The Fan Dance (3:45)
14. Sam Phillips - Five Colors (3:42)
15. Sam Phillips - Taking Pictures (1:57)
16. Sam Phillips - Soul Eclipse (3:11)
17. Sam Phillips - Say What You Mean (3:37)

11 pm - Midnight

11 P.M. The day is almost done. Now there is a choice between words and another form of eloquence. Joni Mitchell's Blue (Reprise) sounds better than ever at this hour. All of today's confessional writers need to spend a year of pre-midnight hours with this record before sharing their pain with us.
Something still darker and stronger can be found in the tormented imagination of Gesualdo: Madrigals, directed by William Christie (Harmonia Mundi). It is hard to imagine the world from which these compositions came. Carlo Gesualdo was the heir to a prince and was said to have been a murderous cuckold who displayed the slain bodies of his first wife, her lover, and a child of doubtful paternity. It can make you uneasy about even listening to this music.
You probably have enough of your own troubles. Pablo Casals's recordings of the Bach Cello Suites (EMI Classics) will bring the day to a supernatural conclusion.

1. Joni Mitchell - All I Want (3:34)
2. Joni Mitchell - My Old Man (3:34)
3. Joni Mitchell - Little Green (3:27)
4. Joni Mitchell - Carey (3:03)
5. Joni Mitchell - Blue (3:05)
6. Joni Mitchell - California (3:50)
7. Joni Mitchell - This Flight Tonight (2:52)
8. Joni Mitchell - River (4:05)
9. Joni Mitchell - A Case Of You (4:23)
10. Joni Mitchell - The Last Time I Saw Richard (4:16)
11. *Gesualdo da Venosa - Madrigaux - Les Arts Florissants - 01 - Ahi, disperata vita (1:25)
12. *Gesualdo da Venosa - Madrigaux - Les Arts Florissants - 02 - Sospirava il mio core (1:36)
13. *Gesualdo da Venosa - Madrigaux - Les Arts Florissants - 03 - O malnati messaggi (2:06)
14. *Gesualdo da Venosa - Madrigaux - Les Arts Florissants - 04 - Luci serene e chiare (4:44)
15. Johann Sebastian Bach  - Suite No 1 in G (prelude) (2:31)
16. Johann Sebastian Bach  - Suite No 2 in D minor (preludium) (3:48)
17. *Johann Sebastian Bach  - Suite No 3 in C (preludium) (3:34)
18. *Johann Sebastian Bach  - Suite No 3 in C (Bourées I + II) (3:29)

10 pm - 11 pm

10 P.M. You've run out of explanations and tall tales. Miles Davis's In A Silent Way (Columbia/Legacy) rides on a Tony Williams cymbal all the way to the immaculate puzzle of Radiohead's Amnesiac (Capitol). "Morning Bell" at evening time. Something leads you to Surf's Up (Capitol), the Beach Boys' very own archaeological dig, you dig? The Brian Wilson title song is so beautiful and bold. The lovely track that Cameron Crowe used at the end of Almost Famous can also be found here. It's the work of brother Carl and is called "Feel Flows". Keep that remote control close at hand. Here comes Mike Love's "Student Demonstration Time". Will the madness never end?

1. Miles Davis - Peaceful-Shhh (18:05)
2. Radiohead - Morning Bell (3:15)
3. Beach Boys - Don't Go Near The Water (2:44)
4. Beach Boys - Long Promised Road (3:36)
5. Beach Boys - Take A load of Your Feet (2:33)
6. Beach Boys - Disney Girls (1957) (4:13)
7. Beach Boys - Student Demonstration Time (4:04)
8. Beach Boys - Feel Flows (4:51)
9. Beach Boys - Looking At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song) (1:59)
10. * Beach Boys - A Day In The Life of A Tree (3:12)
11. Beach Boys - Till' I Die (2:46)
12. Beach Boys - Surf's Up (4:11)

* Different version to compilation

9pm - 10pm

9 P.M. Face it, you are settling in for the night. Let Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece (Polydor) wash over you:

Fair play to you

Killarney's lakes are so blue.

These songs are beautiful and unfathomable:

Linden Arden stole the highlights

And he put his finger through the glass

For still more mischievous moods, dive straight into Bob Dylan's Love And Theft (Columbia). One song, "Floater (Too Much To Ask)", states:

I left all my dreams and hopes

Buried under tobacco leaves.

The very next, "High Water (For Charlie Patton)", advises you:

Throw your panties overboard.

There is lots of life in lots of old dogs.

1. Van Morrison - Fair Play (6:16)
2. Van Morrison - Linden Arden Stole the Highlights (2:39)
3. Van Morrison - Who Was That Masked Man (2:56)
4. Van Morrison - Streets Of Arklow (4:23)
5. Van Morrison - You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River (8:46)
6. Van Morrison - Bulbs (4:20)
7. Van Morrison - Cul De Sac (5:53)
8. Van Morrison - Comfort You (4:26)
9. Van Morrison - Come Here My Love (2:23)
10. Van Morrison - Country Fair (5:38)
11. *Bob Dylan - 21st Century - Floater (Too Much To Ask) (4:59)
12. Bob Dylan - 21st Century - High Water (For Charley Patton) (4:04)

* Different version to compilation

8pm - 9pm

8 P.M. Assuming you didn't get pulled over for speeding, you are where you need to be right now. If you are with your beloved, then you already know what sets your scene. We shall discreetly fade to black. Is that Sonic Youth that I hear in the distance?
If you should find yourself waiting by the phone for an invitation that never comes, literal-minded selections may mock you as much as they comfort. In this respect, Al Green's Call Me (Hi) probably just beats Don Covay's "It's Better To Have (And Don't Need)" from Mercy Mercy: The Definitive Don Covay (Razor & Tie).
Resist the temptation to play old slow songs. "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" from My Fair Lady (Sony Classical/Columbia/Legacy) will only alarm the neighbors as they hear the stifled sobbing coming through the walls. Dogs fear human tears nearly as much as lightning.

1. Sonic Youth - 100% (2:29)
2. Al Green - Call Me (3:07)
3. Al Green - Have You Been Making Out O.K. (3:47)
4. Al Green - Stand Up (3:30)
5. Al Green - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (3:15)
6. Al Green - Your Love is Like the Morning Sun (3:13)
7. Al Green - Here I Am (4:18)
8. Al Green - Funny How Time Slips Away (5:37)
9. Al Green - You Ought to be with Me (3:21)
10. Al Green - Jesus is Waiting (5:37)
11. Don Covay - It's Better To Have (And Don't Need) (3:12)
12. Don Covay - I Was Checkin' Out She Was Checkin' In (4:24)
13. Don Covay - Mercy, Mercy (2:24)
14. Don Covay - Overtime Man (3:07)
15. Rex Harrison & Julie Andrews - I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face (5:26)

7 pm - 8 pm

7 P.M. You're in a car now, destination unknown. "Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today)" from The Temptations' Psychedelic Soul (Spectrum) compilation is rattling the bodywork. It alternates with Mary J. Blige's No More Drama (MCA) and El-P's Fantastic Damage or El-P Presents Cannibal Oxtrumentals (both Definitive Jux).
This might also be the time to revisit songs that you haven't heard for a while, such as "She Is Still A Mystery" and "Six O'Clock" from The Lovin' Spoonful - Greatest Hits (Buddha). You might prefer something by Salt-N-Pepa or Hanson, depending on your birthday.
At this hour, A Hard Day's Night (Capitol) is almost certainly a better Beatles choice for the motorcar than Revolver or The White Album. Then crank up Disc One of The Byrds' boxed set (Columbia/Legacy) for "She Don't Care About Time". Ignore people staring as you sing along with "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" while waiting at a red light.

1. The Temptations - I Can't Get Next To You (2:55)
2. The Temptations - Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today) (4:08)
3. Mary J. Blige - Family Affair (4:25)
4. Mary J. Blige - No More Drama (5:26)
5. El-P - Fantastic Damage (3:22)
6. El-P - The F-Word (5:27)
7. The Lovin' Spoonful - She Is Still a Mystery (2:59)
8. The Lovin' Spoonful - Six O'Clock (2:45)
9. Salt 'n Pepa - Push It (3:30)
10. Salt 'n Pepa - Whatta Man (with En Vogue) (4:27)
11. Hanson - Mmmbop (4:28)
12. The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night (2:32)
13. The Beatles - If I Fell (2:21)
14. The Beatles - Things We Said Today (2:38)
15. The Byrds - I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (2:35)
16. The Byrds - All I Really Want To Do (2:06)
17. The Byrds - She Don't Care About Time (2:35)

6 pm - 7 pm

6 P.M. As you gather yourself for the evening ahead, some cautionary words from Luke The Drifter may be advisable. "Too Many Parties And Too Many Pals" is one of Hank Williams Sr.'s homilies under that alias. You'll find it alongside terrifying ballads such as "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" on two of Hank senior's numerous collections (Jasmine, Mercury).
George Jones sings of a man who did little to heed such warnings. As "The Last Town I Painted" concludes, "I painted it blue". Then check out "Mr. Fool" from Cup Of Loneliness: The Classic Mercury Years (Mercury).
Switching over to Merle Haggard, you can take some comfort in the recklessness of "No Reason To Quit" (Capitol). Get back in the mood with some of Muddy Waters's ferocious Chess sides; "Just To Be With You", "Too Young To Know", and "I'm Ready" should do it. Then take it up to the top of the hour with Sonny Boy Williamson's "One Way Out" and "Commit A Crime" by Howlin' Wolf (various Chess compilations).

1. Hank Williams - Too Many Parties And Too Many Pals (2:59)
2. Hank Williams - They'll Never Take Her Love From Me (2:46)
3. Hank Williams - Men With Broken Hearts (3:11)
4. Hank Williams - Help Me Understand (2:56)
5. *Hank Williams - Please Make Up Your Mind (2:50)
6. Hank Williams - I've Been Down That Road Before (2:57)
7. Hank Williams - Be Careful Of The Stones That You Throw (2:59)
8. Hank Williams - I Dreamed About Mama Last Night (3:00)
9. Hank Williams - The Funeral (3:06)
10. Hank Williams - Beyond The Sunset (3:00)
11. Hank Williams - Just Waitin' (2:41)
12. Hank Williams - Ramblin' Man (3:03)
13. George Jones - The Last Town I Painted (2:30)
14. George Jones -  Mr. Fool (2:22)
15. Merle Haggard and/Willie Nelson - No Reason to Quit (3:16)
16. Muddy Waters - Just To Be With You (3:17)
17. *Muddy Waters - Too Young To Know (3:15)
18. Muddy Waters - I'm Ready (3:07)
19. Sonny Boy Williamson - One Way Out (2:48)
20. Howlin' Wolf - Commit A Crime (3:07)

* Different version to compilation

5 pm - 6 pm

5 P.M. Let's try another language. Swinging Addis, Volume 8, or Ethiopian Blues & Ballads, Volume 10, of the superb Éthiopiques series (Buda Musique), will transport you in time and space. We whine about whether our records are free enough, and dupe ourselves into thinking that piracy is a blow against the capitalist marauders, when we just want something for nothing. Here is a country that had a pop explosion in the brief window of opportunity between a feudal monarchy and the insane repression of distorted Marxism. Imagine that you dropped the greatest James Brown records into a 5,000-year-old well of deep lamentation and you will get the idea. Do you really want me to care about the nasty little Reagan's children of the Napster generation or which nitwit is running AOL Time Warner or Vivendi Universal this week? They all deserve one another

.Blasting out from the opposite coast, "Envy No Good" is a standout track from the Afro-Rock Volume 1 (Kona/DMI) collection. A young Englishman went to Ghana to seek out the last vinyl copies of this music. He made sure the musicians got their royalties. Any record that contains the work of K. Frimpong and His Cubano Fiestas can only improve your day.

1. Girma Bèyènè - Ene Negn Bay Manesh (4:02)
2. Ayalèw Mèsfin - Hasab (3:57)
3. Alèmayèhu Eshèté - Tchero Adari Negn (4:27)
4. Lèmma Dèmissèw - Lezelalem Nuri (2:29)
5. Gétatchèw Kassa - Betchayen Tekezi (2:59)
6. Alèmayèhu Eshèté - Eskegizew Bertchi (3:16)
7. Alèmayèhu Eshèté - Ayalqem Tedengo (3:20)
8. Tèsfa Maryam Kidan - Heywèté (5:18)
9. Eyetegnu Nequ - Frew Haylou (4:17)
10. Hedetch Alu - Muluqen Mellesse (5:17)
11. Teredtchewalehu - Alemayehu Eshete (5:35)
12. Mercury Dance Band - Envy No Good (4:54)
13  K. Frimpong and His Cubano Fiestas - Kyen Kyen Bi Adi M'awu (6:54)

4 pm - 5 pm

4 P.M. Music of the longer shadows is now needed, something where you can detect the glue and rivets holding it all together. For goodness' sake, it's the Mississippi Sheiks' "The World Is Going Wrong" from Stop And Listen (Yazoo). Richard Manuel's yearning voice cries "Tears Of Rage" from Music From Big Pink (Capitol), while Emmylou Harris's unsentimental "Red Dirt Girl" (Nonesuch) reports the demise of a childhood friend. Finally, enter the world of Alice (Anti), Tom Waits's masterpiece of dark mirrors and the frozen earth. 

1. Mississippi Sheiks - The World Is Going Wrong (3:24)
2. The Band - Tears of Rage (5:23)
3. Emmylou Harris - The Pearl (5:02)
4. Emmylou Harris - Michelangelo (5:14)
5. Emmylou Harris - Red Dirt Girl (4:19)
6. Emmylou Harris - Bang the Drum Slowly (4:51)
7. Tom Waits - Alice (4:28)
8. Tom Waits - Everything You Can Think (3:10)
9. Tom Waits - Flower's Grave (3:28)
10. Tom Waits - No One Knows I'm Gone (1:42)
11. Tom Waits - Kommienezuspadt (3:10)
12. Tom Waits - Table Top Joe (4:14)
13. Tom Waits - We're All Mad Here (2:31)
14. Tom Waits - Watch Her Disappear (2:33)
15. Tom Waits - Reeperbahn (4:02)

3 pm - 4 pm

3 P.M. You are out of this world now. You might as well keep going. Skip James's Complete Early Recordings (Yazoo) will be your guide. The eerie falsetto ray sails out beyond the surface clicks and scratches. You may also need PJ Harvey's Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (Island), where the air is rarefied. By the time you read this you should be able to purchase Björk's Greatest Hits (Elektra). When you feel it is time to re-enter the atmosphere, cue up Ralph Stanley (DMZ/Columbia), a new installment of Dr. Stanley's beautiful art. Scare the pants off your death-metal nephew with the ancient tale "Little Mathie Grove": "And with his sword (he) cut off her head and kicked it against the wall."

1. Skip James - Devil Got My Woman (3:03)
2. Skip James - 4 O'Clock Blues (2:54)
3. Skip James - I'm So Glad (2:51)
4. PJ Harvey - Good Fortune (3:22)
5. PJ Harvey - A Place Called Home (3:44)
6. PJ Harvey - This Is Love (3:50)
7. *Björk - Hyperballad (5:23)
8. Björk - Human Behavior (4:13)
9. Björk - Big Time Sensuality (4:56)
10. Björk - Venus as a Boy (4:41)
11. *Ralph Stanley - False Hearted Lover's Blues (4:51)
12. *Ralph Stanley - Henry Lee (4:42)
13. Ralph Stanley - Lift Him Up, That's All (4:40)
14. Ralph Stanley - Little Mathie Grove (4:29)

* Different version to compilation

2 pm - 3 pm

2 P.M. Switch off the television, disconnect the phone, and pull down the shutters. Abandon clock time for one hour in a cool, low-lit room. Everything can wait. Two works from the end of the catalogue occupy you now: Schubert's "Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-flat Major, D. 960", played by Alfred Brendel (Philips), followed by Beethoven's "String Quartet in F Major, Opus 135", performed by the Budapest Quartet (Sony). They sing of ideas beyond words. Tell whoever was waiting on your arrival that you had to see your priest.

1. Franz Schubert - D960, B flat major, I Molto moderato (20:03)
2. Franz Schubert - D960, II Andante sostenuto (9:00)
3. Franz Schubert - D960, III Scherzo: Allegro vivace e con delicatezza - Trio (3:58)
4. Beethoven - String Quartet 16 in F maj - op 135 - Allegrato
5. Beethoven - String Qu artet 16 in F. maj - op 135 - Vivace
6. Beethoven - String Q7uartet 16 in F maj - op 135 - Lento Assai Cantante e Tranquilo
7. Beethoven - String Quartet 16 in F maj - op 135 - Grave ma non Toppo Tratto Allegro

1pm - 2pm

1 P.M. Coffee is on the stove, if that is your poison. Duke Ellington and His Orchestra fill the air - it's Ellington At Newport (Columbia). Follow up with selections from Porgy & Bess (Verve) performed by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. This may be just the time to play Louis Armstrong's "Wild Man Blues" from The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (Columbia/Legacy). That cut contains everything you need to know.

1. Duke Ellington - Part I - Festival Junction (Live)
2. Duke Ellington - Part II - Blues To Be There (Live) (7:14)
3. Duke Ellington - Part III - Newport Up (Live) (5:31)
4. Duke Ellington - Diminuendo In Blue and Crescendo In Blue (Live) (14:20)
5. George Gershwin - Summertime (4:58)
6. George Gershwin - Bess, You is My Woman Now (5:28)
7. George Gershwin - It Ain't Necessarily So (6:34)
8. George Gershwin - A Woman is a Sometime Thing (4:47)
9. Louis Armstrong - Wild Man Blues (3:14)

NOON

NOON. If you are just waking up now, then you have missed a wonderful morning. Try playing the title song from Oklahoma! (Angel Classics) at full blast until you repent. For those of you just returning from your morning appointments, there is time enough for an act or two of a Mozart opera. Try the first act of Le Nozze di Figaro conducted by Karl Böhm (Deutsche Grammophon), all temptation and intrigue, or the finale conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (Archiv), for some sublime forgiveness. It depends on how that meeting went. Those leftovers in the refrigerator start to look like lunch. 

1. Soundtrack ' Oklahoma ' - Oklahoma (vocal - Cast) 1955 ((3
2. Mozart - Nozze di Figaro Overture
3. Mozart - Nozze di Figaro - Aria - La vendetta, oh, la vendetta
4. Mozart - Nozze di Figaro Duettino - Via, resti servita, madama brillante
5. Mozart - Nozze di Figaro Aria - Non so piu cosa son, cosa faccio
6. Mozart - Nozze di Figaro Aria - Non piu andrai, farfallone amoroso
7. Mozart - Nozze di Figaro Canzona - Act 2, Cavatina - Porgi, amor
8. Mozart - Nozze di Figaro Canzona - Voi che sapete
9. Mozart - Nozze di Figaro Aria - Venite...inginocchiatevi  
10 Mozart - Nozze di Figaro Finale - Ecco la marcia... andiamo
11. Mozart - Nozze di Figaro Finale - Pian pianin le andrò più presso 7)

11 am - Noon

11 A.M. Time for a cup of tea and a biscuit after all that hard work. Select a record from the dressing-up box - David Bowie's Hunky Dory (Virgin) or Elton John's excellent Tumbleweed Connection (Rocket), from his Annie Oakley period. This is also the occasion when you may seek out a lost gem like Judee Sill's "Jesus Was A Cross Maker" (Asylum) or "The Bells" from Gonna Take A Miracle (Columbia), performed by Laura Nyro and Labelle. 

1. David Bowie - Changes (3:37)
2. David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things (3:12)
3. David Bowie - Life on Mars? (3:54)
4. David Bowie - Kooks (2:53)
5. David Bowie - Quicksand (5:07)
6. David Bowie - Andy Warhol (3:56)
7. Elton John - Ballad of a Well-known Gun (4:59)
8. Elton John - Come Down in Time (3:25)
9. Elton John - Country Comfort (5:06)
10. Elton John - Son of your Father (3:48)
11. Elton John - Amoreena (5:00)
12. Elton John - Burn Down the Mission (6:35)
13. Judee Sill - Jesus Was A Cross Maker (3:31)
14. Laura Nyro and Labelle - The Bells (3:00)

10 am - 11 am

10 A.M. Turn up Madonna's "Rays Of Light", or even that "Into The Groove" 12-inch single (Warner Bros.) until the neighbours complain. Dance around the furniture with the Hoover like Fred Astaire and his hatstand. The Pet Shop Boys' Please (Capitol) will assist with the dusting. Elgar's "Enigma" Variations conducted by Sir Adrian Boult (EMI Classics) may bring a little nobility to the washing up. Gentlemen, beware, that novelty apron will rob you of your dignity. 

1. Madonna  - Ray Of Light  (5:20)
2. Madonna - Into The Groove (12" Extended Remix) (8:06)
3. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (4:45)
4. Pet Shop Boys - Suburbia (5:07)
5. Pet Shop Boys - Oppurtunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) (3:44)
6. *Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Theme (1:22)
7. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation I (1:52)
8. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation II (0:46)
9. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation III (1:27)
10. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation IV (0:28)
11. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation V (1:54)
12. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation VI (1:11)
13. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation VII (0:56)
14. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation VIII (1:43)
15. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation IX (3:53)
16. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation X (2:52)
17. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation XI (0:58)
18. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation XII (2:20)
19. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation XIII (2:33)
20. Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations For Orchestra, Op.36 - Variation XIV (5:46)

9 am - 10 am

9 A.M. The guitar and tender falsetto of Curtis Mayfield lead The Impressions in "I'm So Proud" and "Keep On Pushing". If you can't find Big 16 (HMV) or 28 Originals (ABC) on vinyl, then The Ultimate Collection (Hip-O) will spin you out of doors or across tiled floors.
Men of leisure and Victorian-minded are inclined to answer their mail at this hour. The distraction of Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (Atlantic) will save on postage. Mighty singers still walk among us. Solomon Burke's mid-2002 release, Don't Give Up On Me (Fat Possum), is all the proof you need. I must declare an interest in this one, having co-written one track, "The Judgement", with my wife, Cait. Songs from Dan Penn, Tom Waits, Nick Lowe, Bob Dylan, and the album's producer, Joe Henry, recrown the King Of Rock And Soul. Now it is time to do some housework. 

1. The Impressions - Gypsy Woman (2:19)
2. The Impressions - Talking About My Baby (2:31)
3. The Impressions - Keep On Pushing (2:32)
4. The Impressions - You Must Believe Me (2:33)
5. The Impressions - People Get Ready (2:39)
6. The Impressions - Woman's Got Soul (2:18)
7. The Impressions - Meeting Over Yonder (2:22)
8. The Impressions - You've Been Cheatin' (2:35)
9. Aretha Franklin - Do Right Woman - Do Right Man (3:17)
10. Aretha Franklin - Dr Feelgood (Love Is A Serious Business) (3:21)
11. Aretha Franklin - Soul Serenade (2:36)
12. Aretha Franklin - Respect (2:27)
13. Aretha Franklin - Drown In My Own Tears (4:05)
14. Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) (2:44)
15. Solomon Burke - Don't Give Up On Me (3:45)
16. Solomon Burke - Flesh And Blood (6:07)
17. Solomon Burke - The Judgement (3:30)
18. Solomon Burke - None Of Us Are Free (5:29)

8 am - 9 am

8 A.M. The day is picking up pace. Mingus is playing loud in the kitchen, something is boiling. It's Blues & Roots (Rhino), or the excellent Thirteen Pictures: The Charles Mingus Anthology (Rhino). Hit the repeat function on "Jump Monk". Like the motor of a city, the rattle of an overhead railway, blood coursing back to the heart, air propelled through the pipes of an old hotel. There is a hoarse voice rising to a shout with the force of life.
What else would work at this hour? The rock-steady beat of Tighten Up: Trojan Reggae Classics 1968-1974 (Trojan) or "Expecting To Fly" from Neil Young's great, reissued compilation, Decade (Reprise).

1. Charles Mingus  - Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting (5:45)
2. Charles Mingus Quintet - Jump Monk (6:57)
3. Charles Mingus Quintet - Jump Monk (6:57)
4. Charles Mingus - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (4:49)
5. Charles Mingus - Hora Decubitus (4:44)
6. The Untouchables - Tighten Up (2:38)
7. Derrick Morgan - Fat Man (3:09)
8. Clancy Eccles - Fattie Fattie (2:41)
9. The Upsetters - Return Of DJango (2:30)
10. The Maytals - Monkey Man (3:45)
11. Dave Barker & The Upsetters - Shocks Of Mighty (2:47)
12. King Stitt & Andy Capp - Herbsman Shuffle (2:38)
13. Delroy Wilson - Better Must Come (2:47)
14. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Duppy Conquerer (3:16)
15. Neil Young - Expecting To Fly (3:45)

7 am - 8 am

7 A.M. There is a need for order and purpose to the day. Haydn symphonies are ideal at this hour. Concise and with an absence of bombast, they sharpen your wits with a wit of their own.Don't expect this from the slick machine of the modern orchestra. The period group is what you need, with the buzz and clang of the arcane bells, reeds, and bows. There are many recordings, but Volume 2 of the Haydn Symphonies Series, by the Academy Of Ancient Music (L'Oiseau-Lyre), directed by Christopher Hogwood, is a good place to begin.
As the murmur of news seeps unbiden through the walls and windows, you may prefer the prophecy of the opening measures of the Mozart String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465", often subtitled "Dissonant", performed by Le Quatuor Talich (Calliope), or turn to the piano for "On An Overgrown Path" played by András Schiff on the album Leos Janácek: A Recollection (ECM), or Brahms's autumnal intermezzos "Opuses 117 and 118", performed by Radu Lupu (Decca).

1. Haydn - Symphony No. 3 in G Major - I. Allegro (5:17)
2. Haydn - Symphony No. 3 in G Major - II. Andante moderato (6:42)
3. Haydn - Symphony No. 3 in G Major - III. Menuet. Trio (3:48)
4. Haydn - Symphony No. 3 in G Major - IV. Finale, Alla breve (1:51)
5. *Mozart - String Quartet No. 19 in C major ("Dissonant"), K. 465: I. Adagio - Allegro (10:55)
6. *Mozart - String Quartet No. 19 in C major ("Dissonant"), K. 465: II. Andante cantabile (7:45)
7. *Janácek - On An Overgrown Path I: I. Our Evenings (3:24)
8. *Janácek - On An Overgrown Path I: II. A Blown Away Leaf (2:56)
9. Brahms: Intermezzi, Op. 117 - No. 1 in E flat, Andante Moderato (5:44)
10. Brahms: Intermezzi, Op. 117 - No. 2 in B flat minor: Andante non troppo e con molta espresione (4:57)
11. *Brahms: Intermezzi, Op 118 No 1 Intermezzo. Allegro non assai in A minor (1:55)
12. *Brahms: Intermezzi Op 118 No 2 Intermezzo. Andante teneramente in A Major (4:31)

6 am - 7 am

6 A.M. A time of brief respite, before telephones and televisions assault us, and we may be still and patient enough for Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli sung by the Westminster Cathedral Choir (Hyperion). It was once thought that this work saved music in a time when dogmatic cardinals wanted to forbid the use of polyphony. Scholarship does a disservice to our imaginations by illustrating a more mundane reality. Listening to "Kyrie", you can believe that it would have been persuasive.
Voices are raised in praise. Perhaps it is enough to believe that they believe, but if that feels hypocritical, then you could always turn to Monteverdi's "Lamento d'Arianna" performed by the Deller Consort (Vanguard). It speaks of another kind of love and sorrow.

1. *Choir of Westminster Cathedral - Kyrie (4:28)
2. *Choir of Westminster Cathedral - Gloria (6:28)
3. *Choir of Westminster Cathedral - Credo (9:47)
4. *Choir of Westminster Cathedral - Sanctus (3:50)
5. *Choir of Westminster Cathedral - Benedictus (4:11)
6. *Choir of Westminster Cathedral - Agnus Dei I (4:59)
7. Choir of Westminster Cathedral - Agnus Dei II (5:09)
8. *Monteverdi, Claudio - Monteverdi: Il sesto libro de' madrigali - Lamento d'Arianna - Lasciatemi morire (2:13)
9. Monteverdi, Claudio - Monteverdi: Il sesto libro de' madrigali - Lamento d'Arianna - Ahi che non pu... (4:28)

*Different to compilation )

5 am - 6 am

What wakes you up at 5 A.M.? Toothache? Heartbreak? Or the nervous rush that comes from too much wine the previous evening? You can tell yourself it is still "night" in the hour after four. Once five strikes it is indisputably "morning".
What sound will soothe as the sharp light floods past the ill-fitting curtains of your hired room? You need fine gauze for the senses. Outside, the last taxis with exhausted revelers skulk home as newspaper trucks sling piles that lie in doorways.
Play Joao Gilberto's "Aguas de Marco" (Polygram), a song that has no need to raise its voice. It's either this or John McCormack's Songs Of My Heart: Popular Songs and Irish Ballads (Angel) at a low volume. The circuit of the vanity clock commences. It's just another parlour (or boudoir) game; in the words of Errol Flynn, this is only "for fun and sport".

1. Joao Gilberto - Águas de março
2. John McCormack - Garden Where The Praties Grow
3. John McCormack - The Harp That Through Tara's Halls
4. John McCormack - Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair
5. John McCormack - Kathleen Mavourneen
6. John McCormack - Believe Me If All These Endearing Young Charms
7. John McCormack - Green Isle of Erin
8. John McCormack - Kerry Dance
9. John McCormack - Oh Mary Dear (Londonderry Air)
10. John McCormack - Star Of The County Down
12. John McCormack - Oft In The Stilly Night
13. John McCormack - Meeting Of The Waters
14. John McCormack - Bardh of Armagh
15. John McCormack - Down By The Sally Gardens
16. John McCormack - She Moved Through The Fair
17. John McCormack - Green Bushes
18. John McCormack - Off to Philadelphia

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