The Curator

 We are all curators these days. It's anybody who makes a list of their favourite records, like me. In days gone by you were expected to have an art gallery or museum and arrange the display of choice items of interest to best effect.

I wasn't entirely convinced by Stuart Maconie's idea, as curator of the Northern Soul Prom, that the makers of the original 60's records would have liked to have a resource like the BBC Symphony Orchestra to make their records with and so his concert would be how they wanted their 7" singles to sound. They might well have used such musicians had they been available in some studio in downtown Detroit in 1964 but they weren't and by now the records are iconic and we like them as they are, thank you very much. As with Trojan Records, how they sounded then is what we like about them and the lily doesn't need to be gilded.

Last night's Stevie Wonder Prom didn't stay on my radio for long. It wasn't Stevie Wonder. Of course, Lauren & the Heatwaves the other week weren't the Ronettes, the Vandellas or the Supremes but several of those are no longer with us and the Heatwaves put in a tremendous performance of various artist masterpieces and were a joy. I'll have a look at Stuart's Northern Soul effort on the telly when it comes up but the Albert Hall isn't the Wigan Casino, Stoke's Twisted Wheel or even a weekend in Skegness in an out of season holiday camp so it won't be very 'real'. I don't necessarily object to things being 'commodified', that is what a lot of music is, but there needs must be a limit.

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But the art of 'curation' isn't as easy as it looks.

Compiling the playlist that comprises DGBooks Radio has been a great pleasure, sitting here remembering records and deciding which of them and why get included. People have listened to it. The undeservedly obscure Jess Davies Band's listeners have increased by 150%. Those are the records I'd play on a pop radio show. As Rick Nelson sang on Garden Party, which might yet get added in,

You can't please everyone

So you'd better please yourself.

 

But while there's always going to be things one forgets, it's good that there's always someone there to remind me. It is definitely not a request show but unless the correspondance generated by the 24 hours' worth of tracks gets out of hand, it is all welcome. I am indebted to a listener who pointed out the omission of White Horses by Jackie. Yes, of course.

Admirers of Queen, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Black Sabbath or Music by John Miles need not apply. They won't be entertained quite so welcomingly.

There's no Ian Dury, Police, Paul Weller, Springsteen, Eagles and ever onwards. No, they haven't lasted or weren't that good in the first place but there's no Joni Mitchell because it looks like she's not made most of her work available.

But, Good Lord, You know it ain't easy - you don't know how hard it can be. I'd put 460 songs on there until just now I remembered Sugar, Sugar all by myself.