The phrase "fast and bulbous" from Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band's LP "Trout Mask Replica" (recently obtained by JP as a US import) becomes the theme of the show. Peel thinks it may become a catchphrase (like "safe as milk" in 1967-8), but it never caught on.
Peel plugs the upcoming Hyde Park free concert by the Rolling Stones, but gets the date wrong, and later in the show says that many listeners have called in to point this out.
Repeat of debut session from King Crimson, who (according to JP) hadn't yet recorded. They too would perform at the Stones' Hyde Park concert.
Peel plays a rare Robert Johnson track as an educational touch, he says, for the increasing numbers who believe that the blues was born among people in Chelsea who wear velvet trousers.
There is a blues feel to much of the playlist, with Chicken Shack and John Fahey in session and records by Johnny Winter and Velvet Opera, the latter a cover of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues", which Peel is enthusiastic about. The Michael Chapman track doesn't sound like a twelve-bar blues, but its lyrics mostly consist of traditional blues verses.
He also praises the new Fairport Convention LP - which (like the Velvet Opera track) he has on a pre-release acetate.
JP is looking for books by "the great prophet Beachcomber", especially “Sideways Through Borneo", and for a copy of Pink Floyd's single "Arnold Layne"
Peel mentions meeting Chris Barber ("one of my great heroes about 10 years ago") several times recently and being pleased to find "he was a really nice guy".
He's no longer over-using "nice", but uses “very excellent" twice in the outro to the Grateful Dead track – once to describe bass player Bruce Barthol who advised him to listen to the LP again after he hadn’t liked it very much on first hearing; and also describes Michael Chapman's Rainmaker LP as "very excellent".
John lists the lineup on Trout Mask Replica, in a halting style reminiscent of Fast And Bulbous
King Crimson: 21st Century Schizoid Man (session) (JP: Hey, they really know how to play those people, don’t they...")
Mentions Roy Guest will be on Wednesday’s Night Ride to talk about the upcoming Pop Proms he’s promoting at the Albert Hall
Robert Johnson: Sweet Home Chicago (album - Mississippi Delta Blues Singer) Kokomo K-1000 PasB has title of LP as "Robert Johnson Vol 2" but with the same label and cat no. An unofficial release.
"Leaping rather boldly into Mike Raven's territory"
Earth Opera: Sanctuary From The Law (album - The Great American Eagle Tragedy) Elektra EKS 74038 (JP: “if you find any, write and tell me, and maybe we’ll publish a newspaper….”)
John has to repeat the Travel Unit's bulletin about the mayhem in Devon caused by the spillage of aviation fuel into the River Yarty. It then sounds like John Walters, or, more probably, the taper, fades John out to interject irreverent sound effects or comments ("shh-t"), presumably his way of objecting to the use of the show for this purpose
Velvet Opera: Statesboro Blues (acetate “sent to exciting teenage producer John Walters and myself”) JP thinks "they should release it as a single – instantly…" It was eventually issued, but only as a B-side[1]. The PasB includes the catalogue number of the LP that was released