Inside MusiCast

DB’s Deep Cuts #19 —> For me, ZM is the best Police album, representing the sweet spot between the band’s early twitchy energy and Sting’s subsequent fussiness. My dark-horse pick today is “Bombs Away,” Stewart Copeland’s uptempo comment on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It’s buried at the end of side *one* (graphic is wrong), but for many other so called “new wave” bands, it would have been a single. Seventh-most-streamed track on this deep, deep record. Link to audio in comments.

Muso POI: Verse melody is an excellent example of the Mixolydian mode.

It doesn’t feel right that we’re celebrating Barney Hurley’s 56th birthday without him still with us. His life was cut short due to his relentless battle with cancer, and he left us on May 16, 2025. Barney was one of the founding members of Samuel Purdey, and his Powder Blue Tux project. He was friend to all of us here at Inside MusiCast and we truly enjoyed his passion for great music. He was a perfectionist and it shined through in the music he created. Happy heavenly birthday, Barney. You are missed as we celebrate you today.

Today, Bobby Caldwell would have turned 75.
There are singers you enjoy, singers you admire…and then there are those rare voices that somehow become part of the soundtrack of your life. Bobby Caldwell was one of those voices for me.

That unmistakably smooth, soulful voice was simply timeless. Of course, the world knows “What You Won’t Do for Love,” but anyone who dug deeper into Bobby’s catalog knows there was so much more — incredible songwriting, musicianship, jazz, soul, R&B and one great song after another.

He had that rare ability to make a song feel sophisticated and effortless while still hitting you right in the heart. Put on a Bobby Caldwell record today and it sounds every bit as good as it did decades ago. Great music simply doesn’t age.

Sadly, we lost Bobby in 2023, but thankfully he left behind a musical legacy that will continue to find new ears and new generations.

So today I’ll be turning up the volume and celebrating the man, the music and that incredible voice. I’m so grateful that we were able to hang a few times.

Happy Heavenly 75th Birthday, Bobby.

Forever cool. Forever soulful. Forever missed…

BP

In the Afterlife Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesIn the Afterlife · ...

Happy heavenly birthday to David Crosby, who would have turned 85 today. 🙏

DB’s Deep Cuts #18 —> People talk about post-’75 Doobies like there was a line in the sand where Michael McDonald usurped the band. It ain’t necessarily so! This funky, melodic, underappreciated, multi-sectioned gem by Pat Simmons could have passed for a McDonald composition, but it was written by a (maturing, evolving, mellower) legacy Doobie. If you’re listening for the first time, make sure to hang in for the haunting bridge — starts at 1:49. Link to audio in comments.

IMC's Musical Factoid Of The Day!

MJ's "Off the Wall" was released on this day in 1979.
Produced by the legendary Quincy Jones, this thing was absolutely LOADED: “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough,” “Rock with You,” “Off the Wall,” “She’s Out of My Life”… and not a bad groove in sight. It was the album that took MJ from already-famous Jackson 5 superstar to a full-blown solo phenomenon — and set the stage for the little album that would follow a few years later called Thriller.

Absolutely dig our friend Groovefunkel’s reimagining of “I Can’t Help It,” which just might be my favorite tune on the entire album. Written by Stevie Wonder, the cut included so many greats and former guests of IMC: John JR Robinson on drums, Greg Phillinganes on keys, and Jerry Hey with the horn arrangements, performed by the Seawind Horns, including Larry Williams. 47 years later, Off the Wall still sounds ridiculously fresh. It still remains my favorite solo album of his, so put that needle down, turn it UP, and good luck sitting still.

BP

Michael Jackson - I Can't Help It (Groovefunkel Remix) One of Michael's most enduring ballads, freshly remixed using the o...

TODAY IN MUSIC HISTORY: 1976, Elton John played the first of ten nights sold out nights at Madison Sq. Gardens in New York City. The $1.25 million generated from the shows broke the record set by The Rolling Stones in 1975

After the impossibly high standards set by tracks one and two (“Black Friday” and “Bad Sneakers”), “Rose Darling” is the Katy Lied track that tells you: Yes, it’s far-fetched, it’s impossible, but the whole album really is going to be this good. Come for the soaring Michael McDonald-bolstered vocal stack in the chorus, stay for the elegant Dean Parks guitar solo! Link to audio in comments.

57 years ago today!
All four Beatles gathered at EMI Studios on August 8, 1969 for one of the most famous photo shoots of their career. Photographer lain Macmillan took the iconic image that adorned their last-recorded album, Abbey Road. lain Macmillan was a freelance photographer and a friend to John Lennon and Yoko Ono. A policeman held up the traffic as Macmillan, from a stepladder positioned in the middle of the road, took six shots as the group walked across the zebra crossing just outside the studio.
BP