You, Me and An Album

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Musician, songwriter, producer, engineer and ethnomusicologist Alan Williams (solo, Birdsong at Morning, Knots and Crosses) joins Al to talk about Carla Bley and Paul Haines’ 1971 album Escalator over the Hill. Alan discusses why he decided to explore EOTH during his high school years, what his favorite parts of the album are, why it has stuck with him over the years and how much he actually likes the album. Alan explores the challenges the album presents to the genrefication of music and talks about several of the artists involved, including Linda Ronstadt, Jack Bruce and Charlie Haden. He also shares details about the making of his soon-to-be-released solo album Floating on the Dreamline (out on March 6) and his experiences with directing the Album Ensembles at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, where he is a Professor of Music.

You can watch videos of the Album Ensembles’ live performances from Alan’s website:
https://www.alanwilliamsevidence.com/musings/an-incredible-simulation-the-umass-lowell-album-ensemble-projects

You can follow Alan on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube at @alanwilliamsevidence.

Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
The first seven episodes of Bonus Tracks—YMAAA’s subscriber-only podcast series—are now available at patreon.com/youmealbum. More monthly episodes and other good stuff are soon to come. Please consider subscribing! Your support will make it possible for Al to keep this podcast going.
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum

1:16 Alan’s introduction
2:27 Alan explains why he got interested in Escalator over the Hill
3:55 Alan describes his initial experience with listening to the album
7:17 Alan and Al talk about the album’s lack of a story
11:01 Alan talks about the blending of the jazz and rock worlds on EOTH
16:29 Alan explains why EOTH made a big impact on him
19:47 Is it best to listen to all six sides of the album all the way through?
22:24 Alan picks out some of his favorite parts of the album
27:27 Linda Ronstadt’s involvement with this album puts the rest of her career in perspective
30:53 Alan is impressed that Bley got the project completed in spite of the obstacles
32:50 Bley continued to collaborate with rock musicians after EOTH
34:38 Does Alan actually like EOTH?
39:45 Alan explains why he finds EOTH inspirational
42:45 Alan recounts a personal encounter he had related to EOTH
44:20 Alan talks about artists who influenced the sound of Floating on the Dreamline
47:49 Alan discusses how “Feel No Pain” came together
51:16 Al hears FOTD as sonically cohesive
53:06 Alan talks about his students’ eclectic musical tastes
53:56 Alan discusses the Album Ensembles at University of Massachusetts-Lowell
1:06:37 Alan talks about his imminent retirement and upcoming events

Outro music is from “Before My Eyes” by Alan Williams.
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Woodstock, NY-based composer and musician Will Epstein joins Al to introduce him to Lou Reed’s 1982 album The Blue Mask. Will talks about when he first got acquainted with the Velvet Underground and how he eventually started listening to Reed’s solo material and The Blue Mask specifically. He breaks down several of the album’s tracks, illustrating what impresses him about Reed as a songwriter and performer. Will also discusses his recently-released album Yeah, mostly and talks about his upcoming plans.

You can follow Will on Instagram at @willcrushwater and find his music on Bandcamp at https://willepstein.bandcamp.com/.

Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
The first seven episodes of Bonus Tracks—YMAAA’s subscriber-only podcast series—are now available at patreon.com/youmealbum. More monthly episodes and other good stuff are soon to come. Please consider subscribing! Your support will make it possible for Al to keep this podcast going.
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum

1:15 Will's introduction
1:55 Will talks about how he first got interested in the Velvet Underground and Lou Reed
5:24 Will explains why The Blue Mask impressed him when he first explored it
13:04 Al and Will discuss the album’s track sequencing
16:35 Will explains how “My House” inspires him
20:44 Will discusses the contradictions of “Women” and “Underneath the Bottle”
24:36 Will sees Reed as being connected to Larry David
26:50 Al is impressed by the fluidity of the moods on The Blue Mask
28:03 Will hears contradictions in “Waves of Fear,” too
32:15 Will talks about how listening to The Blue Mask had an impact on the making of Yeah, mostly
40:25 Will explains why he name-checked Reed in “Socks in LA”
42:23 Will revisits some of the times he saw Reed perform
44:07 Did Will channel Reed on “Dishwasher”?
49:03 Will explains why he chose Yeah, mostly as the album title
53:12 Will talks about his plans for the coming months

Outro music is from “Brideshead Revisited Revisited” by Will Epstein.
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This is an excerpt from the first-ever Patreon-only episode of You, Me and An Album, aka Bonus Tracks. On the original version of this episode, Mary Beth and Al Melchior discuss four songs, two that Mary Beth experiences as sad and two that Al experiences as sad. Al's choices were “Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)" by James and “Murmurations” by Amy Millan. Mary Beth’s were “Remember My Name” by Sons of Legion and “Hallelujah” by k.d. lang (specifically, her performance of the song at the 2005 Juno Awards). This excerpted version features the discussions of "Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)" and "Hallelujah." Mary Beth and Al wound up having very different reactions to each of the songs, and they try to figure out why each song made one of them sad but not the other.
To hear k.d. lang's Juno Awards performance of "Hallelujah," you can find it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE&list=RDP_NpxTWbovE&start_radio=1.
Mary Beth has a wonderful poetry channel on YouTube! Check it out and subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/@OnThePath88.
You can also follow Mary Beth on Instagram at @mbmelchior.
To hear the full version of this episode, plus all of the other Bonus Tracks episodes, join the YMAAA Patreon at patreon.com/youmealbum. More monthly episodes and other good stuff are soon to come. Please consider subscribing! Your support will make it possible for Al to keep this podcast going.
Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum.

1:47 What to expect from Bonus Tracks
4:38 Mary Beth joins the show
5:57 The theme of this episode was Mary Beth’s idea
7:05 Mary Beth and Al deal with sadness in music very differently
Discussion of specific sad songs
8:37 James, “Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)"
29:36 k.d. lang, “Hallelujah”
45:10 Other versions of “Hallelujah”
48:39 Mary Beth helps Al to understand why he doesn’t get “Hallelujah”
58:15 Mary Beth’s final thoughts about comparing reactions to the songs
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Woodstock, NY-based singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist Storey Littleton joins Al to talk about Madi Diaz’s 2021 album History of a Feeling. Storey explains why she chose to discuss this album, even though she doesn’t always listen to it regularly, and she highlights certain tracks that are among her favorites. She also talks about how the album is a departure from the breakup albums that she used to listen to. Storey and Al chat about Storey’s soon-to-be-released debut album At a Diner (Feb. 6 on Don Giovanni Records), and Storey goes into detail about how the writing and recording process for her recent single “January” developed.
You can pre-order At a Diner from Storey’s website, and while you’re there, you can also check out her videos, tour dates and more. Just go to https://storeylittleton.com/.
Also, you can follow Storey and her bands on the following platforms…
Storey:
@storeylittletn on Instagram
@storeylittleton on YouTube
Monogamy:
@m0nogamy on Instagram
Ida:
@talesofbraveida on Instagram

Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
The first six episodes of Bonus Tracks—YMAAA’s subscriber-only podcast series—are now available at patreon.com/youmealbum. More monthly episodes and other good stuff are soon to come. Please consider subscribing! Your support will make it possible for Al to keep this podcast going.
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum

1:33 Storey’s introduction
2:17 Storey chose History of a Feeling, even though she doesn’t always listen to it frequently
6:25 Storey’s mother was instrumental in her discovery of this album
9:01 Storey explains why she has such a strong affinity for the album
10:40 Storey talks about her most recent experience with listening to History of a Feeling
16:57 Al explains why he listened to the album backwards
20:27 Storey expounds on the indirectness of some of Diaz’s lyrics
21:54 Storey found listening to History of a Feeling to be a shocking experience
27:49 Al talks about a lyric that stood out for him
30:07 Storey and Al take note of the harmonies on “Do It Now’
30:49 Storey explains why “Man in Me” is one of her favorite songs on the album
35:39 History of a Feeling was a gateway to other music for Storey
37:51 Storey talks about a couple of other tracks that are among her favorites
40:33 Storey mentions the various drummers who performed on At a Diner
42:33 Storey discusses her parents’ contributions to At a Diner
43:27 Storey talks about the development of “January”
51:11 Why does Storey like playing at Tubby’s?
53:13 What’s next for Storey?

Outro music is from “At a Diner” by Storey Littleton.
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This is an excerpt from a Bonus Tracks episode published on the You, Me and An Album Patreon on Sept. 25, 2025. You can hear the entire episode, plus all of the other Bonus Tracks episodes, by joining the YMAAA Patreon at patreon.com/youmealbum.
Dulcimer player Sam Edelston joins Al to talk about listening to albums that are off the beaten path. Whether we're listening to genres we're unfamiliar with or music that we come across unexpectedly, finding the key that allows us to enjoy that music can be a challenge. Sam and Al talk about their experiences with listening to albums on a list that Sam created, which features artists ranging from Tom Lehrer to Bobby Bare to Kazuhito Yamashita. Sam also discusses how he has discovered and reimagined music through the fretted dulcimer—and he and Al chat about his terrific dulcimer rock album Making Waves.
You can keep up with Sam and his music at the following places:
https://www.samthemusicman.com/
@contemporarydulcimer on Instagram and YouTube
@Sam.Edelston.Music on Facebook
Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io. 
To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum.
0:17 Introduction: Sharing excerpts from Bonus Tracks
2:55 Sam joins the show
3:08 Al explains how he is approaching this episode
4:36 Sam talks about why he took up fretted dulcimer
7:44 “Mellow Yellow” got Sam started on his exploration of rock songs on dulcimer
9:20 Sam talks about the advantages of playing a three-stringed instrument
11:49 Sam explains how he varies some of the arrangements on his cover songs
16:09 Sam aims to take the integration of dulcimer into rock music to another level
19:33 Al didn’t connect with some of the music on Sam’s list
24:02 Sam found each of the albums on his list in unexpected ways
28:03 Hearing a cappella versions of songs sometimes gets Sam to explore the originals
35:49 Sometimes record store recommendations fill in the gaps that radio listening leaves
37:05 Al highlights some of the music from Sam’s list that he liked the most
39:09 Arranging songs for dulcimer enhances Sam’s enjoyment of songs that are new to him
Outro music is from “Wild Horses” by Edelston & Dulcimer.
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