KBCO compiles studio gems
By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published December 4, 2008 at 7 p.m.
KBCO has set the standard for in-studio live performances and turning them into a good cause. Two decades worth of performances have seen some of those songs become hits around the world and given the Boulder County AIDS Project much-needed funds year after year.
The latest version is a double set (though the price is kept at $15) with many highlights from the radio station's past year, particularly Death Cab for Cutie's live, low-key take on I Will Possess Your Heart.
After 20 years, though, even the best formula can sometimes be stale. The results are best when artists go for something different or unusual. Too often you get the likes of Sheryl Crow sawing through a ho-hum version of My Favorite Mistake, included in disc one.
So it's good to hear the unusual on this, whether it's Phil Lesh & Friends taking on the Grateful Dead's Shakedown Street or the inclusion of the often-taken-for-granted Buddy Guy and Emmylou Harris. Locals also get some love, with Richie Furay and Big Head Todd & the Monsters scoring a track each.
The real prize here is the second disc, a chronological set of 21 songs tracing Studio C's roster and evolution over the years, starting with Melissa Etheridge's breakthrough hit Bring Me Some Water from her first Studio C session in 1988 and ending with DeVotchKa's How It Ends from 2008. In between you find treasures such as Boz Scaggs' stripped-down Lowdown from '94, Dr. John's Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On from '98, Tom Waits' exquisite Picture in a Frame from a very rare '99 session and Corinne Bailey Rae's Like a Star from '06. Fans of the late Jeff Buckley will find a haunting Last Goodbye from '95.
The second disc is a reminder of how much of an institution the station is, and not just in Colorado.
KBCO Studio C 20th Anniversary Edition
* Grade: B
* On sale: 8 a.m. Saturday at Ultimate Electronics locations all over the metro area, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs (locations at www.KBCO.com)
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