Over to Dorchester-on-Thames this week for a live broadcast of the opening concert from the 2012 English Music Festival in Dorchester, England with the BBC Concert Orchestra in music by Parry, Curtis, Delius, Vaughan-Williams, Ireland and Moeran.

Celebrating their 60 years as a tight-knit little band, The BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Martin Yates and featuring Mark Bebbington, play an outstanding program of World Premieres and seldom heard works by British composers, and a couple of work-horses in the mix.

Here the rundown:

Live from Dorchester Abbey, Dorchester-On-Thames
Presented by Catherine Bott

The opening concert from this year's English Music Festival in Dorchester-on-Thames. The BBC Concert Orchestra are joined by pianist Mark Bebbington in John Ireland's Legend and the first performance of an early work by Vaughan Williams, his Piano Fantasia. The concert ends with another premiere: conductor Martin Yates's completion of Moeran's Second Symphony.

Part 1:Parry: Jerusalem
Curtis: Festival Overture
Vaughan Williams: Piano Fantasia (World Premiere)
Part 2:Ireland: Legend
Delius: Over The Hills And Far Away
Moeran: Second Symphony (World Premiere)

Mark Bebbington (piano)
BBC Concert Orchestra
Martin Yates (conductor).

It's Anti-road Rage Wednesday, and this one does the trick.

Enjoy.

Taking a break from Festivals the week for an appreciation of one of the world's great Soul/Funk geniuses. Curtis Mayfield, live in Concert from Nottingham, England and recorded by The BBC on February 18, 1984.

Mayfield is probably best known for his soundtrack to SuperFly, but his legend goes back way further than that. As a member of the R&B Vocal group, The Impressions, he was responsible for such 60's anthems as Amen, People Get Ready and a string of other hits.

As an artist, writer and producer, he pioneered that combination of Soul, Funk and Consciousness raising that was such am integral part of the '70's and '80's in music.

Here is a rundown of this week's concert:

Curtis Mayfield - 1984-02-18 Nottingham,England
Venue: Marcus Garvey Centre

Setlist:
1. Mighty Mighty, Spade and Whitey (5:58)
2. Gypsy Woman (3:34)
3. All Night Long (6:00)
4. People Get Ready (2:39)
5. Superfly (3:45)
6. Freddy's Dead (4:54)
7. Move On Up (7:05)
8. We Gotta Have Peace (5:27)

Enjoy the long weekend and don't get crazy out there.

I thought I'd offer a dose of Madchester tonight via a 1990 concert, recorded at Blackburn featuring the one and only Charlatans (or Charlatans UK if you don't want to confuse them with the pre-Dan Hicks 1967 band) by the BBC.

One of my favorite bands of the 90's who I remembered very well seeing in 1990 and realizing something interesting was brewing in the UK again.

They've gone through a number of personnel changes over the years but have weathered most of it pretty well with lead singer Tim Burgess still fronting the band. The latest word is they are planning on a tour in the Spring with confirmed dates in Tokyo and London. Fingers crossed they show up on the West Coast.

But in case you missed them the first time around, crank this one up and enjoy in the meantime.

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Staying with some of the "bad boys" of The British Invasion. Wildly popular and influential in their native UK, The Pretty Things were relegated to the more-or-less/ also-ran category. And it stuck with them for the better part of their careers - which was a shame because it wasn't true. The Pretty Things were true originals and, as legend has it, The Pretty Things and The Rolling Stones were very much in competition with each other even to the point of members crossing over briefly into each others bands.

With all that in mind - here is the rundown of what's up on the player tonight.

The Pretty Things - BBC Saturday Club - Jan. 8, 1966

1. Sitting All Alone
2. Midnight To Six Man
3. Buzz The Jerk
4. L.S.D.

The end of the week is coming. Play this one loud and get ready for Friday Night.

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This day in 1941 was staring at the 600th since that ominous overture to Poland in 1939. And in that time, Europe was engulfed in a series of invasions, surrenders and daily desperation.

From London came word that German bombing raids over Britain the previous night were mostly confined to the Southeast and Northeast of England, but casualties were reported to be small. It was also the second successive night London went without a raid alarm.

The RAF retaliated with attacks on targets throughout occupied Europe.

The Free French Island of Tahiti declared itself on the side of DeGaulle.

There were unconfirmed yet persistent reports that Athens had fallen to the Germans and that Greece was in danger of being a lost Allied cause.

From Berlin came news that the previous nights address by Charles Lindbergh of the America First Committee at Madison Square Garden in New York drew praise in the German press, fueling speculation that maybe America would not get involved in the War after all.

Hitler concluded talks with Hungarian leaders in the wake of preparing German plans for the occupied Balkan region. Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka returned to Tokyo, armed with assurances and a renewed alliance with Berlin. Rumors that Germany was planning a move to Spain and Portugal were shrugged off as British propaganda, despite credible reports that some 2,500 German operatives posing as "tourists" were roaming the streets of Madrid.

It was also learned that German brewers were considering the idea of "light beer" to go with calls from the government to curb alcohol use, even though they hadn't even entered the experimental stage yet. And shortages were turning into rationing of cigarettes and cigars, in the wake of government calls to ban tobacco, which was deemed not such a good thing from a morale point of view.

And back in the U.S. - Secretary of State Cordell Hull called for renewed support of Britain in their fight against the axis and to support Lend-Lease.

All on this day in April, 1941 as reported by NBC and it's News Of The World.

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Since I've been going on a familiarity binge the past few days (with Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Elvis Costello) I thought I would dig a bit deeper and pull up this one. Black Sabbath from one of their earliest surviving sessions for the BBC. Recorded for the John Peel Program on April 26th 1970, this session features the band right at the tipping point in their careers. It's ironic that Black Sabbath achieved a larger following in England and Europe than America, at first. It was around 1970 the U.S. finally caught up with the rest of the world and Black Sabbath became a household name ever since.

Before Black Sabbath came along, there really weren't any bands characterized as Heavy Metal, as least to the extent they explored doom-laden lyrics with dramatic word pictures. Most bands considered Heavy Metal had a basis in blues or hard Rock. Black Sabbath came along and changed all that, and in doing so, carved out their own niche in the annals of music.

Here is a rundown of what they play tonight:

1. Black Sabbath
2. Walpurgis
3. Fairies Wear Boots
4. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
5. Evil Woman

This should give you a good introduction of what the band were capable of. You may have missed some of these the first time around. The sound is a little strange in places. But the band certainly weren't.

News for this June 21st in 1955 was mostly all about the 10th Anniversary celebrations taking place in San Francisco, site of the first meeting of the United Nations. June 21st commemorated the signing of the UN Charter. Right after the newscast is a re-cap of the days activities and excerpts of addresses from British Foreign Secretary Harold Macmillan.

With the news was also enthusiastic anticipation over the upcoming Big Four Conference, to be held in Geneva in July. Macmillan voiced optimism that the issues of the Cold War were becoming more agreeable. In addressing the assembly, Macmillan hoped for a continuing of good relations between East and West. Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill was less unreserved, saying he welcomed the softening of positions, but was still wary that the Cold War was still very much with us.

In other news, it was reported two North Korean pilots defected to South Korea. CIO Leader Walter Reuther rejected an offer by the Auto Makers for uniform contract negotiations and President Eisenhower extended the Reciprocal Trade Agreements.

All that and a re-cap of the celebrations at the United Nations for this June 21, 1955 as reported by Ben Grauer of NBC Radio News.

Leonard Cohen has been a fixture on the music scene for many years. But it's been the past few years that he's witnessed a major rediscovery by fans, or a discovery by fans who had never heard him before.

So, to give you some idea of what the fuss was all about in the late 1960's (and those of us who can attest to the fact that everyone seemingly everywhere had a copy of Suzanne on their turntable), here is a session Cohen did for the BBC's Top Gear program, hosted by John Peel from July 9, 1968.

Here's what he plays:

London, England - (BBC Piccadilly Studio 1)
July 9, 1968
broadcast on John Peel's "Top Gear" BBC radio 1

1. You Know Who I Am

2. Bird On The Wire

3. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye

4. Dress Rehearsal Rag

The voice may be a bit more ragged and raspy now - the hair may be a bit more gray. But the magic is still there, just as it was in 1968.

So you didn't really miss anything.

News for this day in 1982 was preoccupied with military action.

From Lebanon came reports that the Israeli Army was making huge advances against the PLO. While PLO leader Yassar Arafat made an appeal to the Soviet Union and other Arab nations for aid in the wake of swift action by the Israeli's. As of this report, 25 Israeli soldiers were dead, and some 7 were missing.

From Capitol Hill came word there would be no sanctions placed on Israel. The U.S. Navy was re-deploying to other parts of the Mediterranean as a precaution against direct involvement.

Meanwhile, the Falkland Islands crisis was continuing with British and Argentine troops waiting to see who blinks first,

President Reagan was visiting the UK and called for Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, but no such call for withdrawal for The Falkands.

On Capitol Hill - the fight was continuing over the 1983 Fiscal Spending Plan with some calling the same old problem with the same old answers. Others called it the continuing Economic Mess.

And Kermit the Frog made the Commencement Address to the graduating class of Harvard.

All that and a lot more for this day in June, 1982 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup, the 8:00 network news and the 9:00 network news.

The history of Pop music fairly overflows with perplexities. Bands that should have made it, didn't. Bands that had no reason to exist became wildly popular. Bands with infinite promise that, for whatever reason, never made it out of the starting gate. Bands that just got lost in the shuffle.

It's not clear why a band like The Smoke never managed to secure a licensing deal with a U.S. label, but were relegated to cult status for almost their entire existence. True, their first single, My Friend Jack, became something of an underground legend, based on the fact that it was banned from the start because of it's alleged drug reference. And there were also several other bands calling themselves The Smoke, including a one-off band put together by West Coast wunderkind Michael Lloyd. But those didn't seem like good enough reasons to just ignore the band altogether.

But like I said, the history of Pop Music is no stranger to whims and perplexities.

Tonight's track, It Could Be Wonderful, issued in 1968, was one of a handful of singles that made their way into the hands of collectors and fans throughout the UK and Europe, where they enjoyed a modicum of popularity.

Luckily, because of their cult status, The Smoke have been enjoying a new-found popularity the past several years, due in large part to reissues of their completely rare singles and sessions.

Pop Music may be vague and perplexing, but fortunately it doesn't forget.