Many think of REGINALD DWIGHT (aka ELTON JOHN) as a cheesy over-the-top pop-rock lightweight, but on closer inspection his early collaborative work with lyricist BERNIE TAUPIN holds up well more than 40 years on.  Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is arguably their most ambitious and successful work, a sprawling 2-LP set that took the world by storm in 1973.  Hear this surprisingly eccentric album in its entirety with commentary by your humble host The Rock’N’Roll Nurse in yet another exploration of the power of collaboration.  EJ rockin’ with your DJ, fellow music geeks!

For the past 30 years or so, DAVID GREENBERGER and CHANDLER TRAVIS have been friends and collaborators, originally in 2 similarly-minded bands (MEN & VOLTS and The INCREDIBLE CASUALS) based in Massachusetts.  Over time, they built up an impressive collection of wonderful songs sporting GREENBERGER’s playful and smart lyrics and TRAVIS’s surprising and rich musical arrangements.  Many of the most successful of these collaborative efforts are featured on a recent release Bocce And Bourbon, which is featured in its entirety with commentary by its creators on this revelatory episode of GE.  Collab can be fab, fellow music geeks!

From last week’s 2 brother collaboration with SPARKS, this week we have 3 brothers in perfect tune from the early 1970s — THE HUDSON BROTHERS!  With a career that includes hit songs and a nutty children’s TV show (The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show) as well as a horror film spoof flop, this talented trio flew high for a decade, releasing a couple of stellar pop records in 1974-75 (Totally Out Of Control and Hollywood Situation) which are featured on this episode of GE.  Razzle dazzle indeed, fellow music geeks!

In 1972-3, the world was getting pretty heavy, and teeny-bopper brother sensations THE OSMONDS were not immune to the music trends of the time.  They released 2 LPs in succession that surprised fans and foes alike with their ferocity and their odd presentation of Mormon Church doctrine.  This episode of GE features those two albums (Crazy Horses and The Plan) in their entirety for your listening “pleasure” and religious cult edification.  The LDS never rocked so hard, fellow music geeks!

Brothers Ron and Russell Mael have been amazing musical collaborators since 1968, when they started HALFNELSON together. In the ’70s that band became SPARKS and exists to this day. From their first LP produced by TODD RUNDGREN in 1971, they produced a plethora of irreverent and visionary records over the following 30+ years, with many songs co-written with each other. This episode of GE compiles some great tunes from 1971-2006 for your listening pleasure. Enjoy the dada-pop with fangs, fellow music geeks!

The album The Last Day Of Winter is an extraordinary document of a particularly difficult experience.  Friends and collaborators GEORGE USHER and LISA BURNS created a strong set of subtly poetic songs created in a time of struggle and uncertainty.  Snippets from discussions with both authors are presented along with the entire album in this special episode of GE.  Art out of tragedy, fellow music geeks!

In the period 1965-66, The BEACH BOYS were in major transition, moving from an infectious touring pop band playing its innocuous pop hits to a serious contender in the pop artistry sweepstakes.  At the heart of this change was songwriter/producer wunderkind BRIAN WILSON and his chosen lyrical collaborators Tony Ashton and Van Dyke Parks.  The result was two intriguing and engaging albums, Pet Sounds and Smile.  While Pet Sounds stands as a beautifully creative response to The BEATLES’ Rubber Soul, Smile was destined to be abandoned and never officially released.  Hear both works in their entirety (the latter as re-recorded and finished by WILSON and PARKS in 2004) and selections with the hastily recorded Smiley Smile on this episode of GE.  The pain of genius unmasked, fellow music geeks!

BRIAN ENO spent a good chunk of time in the latter half of the 1970s in Germany, collaborating with the likes of CLUSTER, HARMONIA and DAVID BOWIE.  Hear some of the highlights of those collaborations, many of which cemented ENO’s role as the unappointed King Of Ambience.  Space out righteously, fellow music geeks!

The Rock’N’Roll Nurse gets a huge boost this week from special guest DJ MISS DEENA, as 2 vinyl lovin’ fanatics sport their most questionable finds from across the years.  Weird, obscure, headscratching, goofy, zany — you’ll hear the likes of YMA SUMAC, RICHARD SIMMONS, RODD KEITH, JIMMY HASKELL, SAMMY DAVIS JR., BARRY MANILOW and MIKE NESMITH on this very special episode.  Cognitive dissonance in spades, fellow music geeks!

BRIAN ENO is known for his great solo records stretching back to the 1970s, but has also been an amazing collaborator on many very influential records as well.  This episode of GE focuses on a few of those fertile collaborations, including the LP collaboration with ROBERT FRIPP from 1973 “No Pussyfooting”, which is presented in its entirety.  ENO +1 for you, fellow music geeks!