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For those who have never listened to the program—it is on the air from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. every Monday to Friday—the CDs juxtapose the same kind of music of unrelated genres as the show's host does on air. DiscDrive is, without a doubt, one of a kind, although I have noticed lately that the CBC is sort of imitating its own, so to speak, on programs preceding DiscDrive and even at night. One may take this as a compliment to DiscDrive, but that is neither here nor there. What one needs to know is that Gothe has a fine sense of humor, a very special kind that at times makes listeners wonder whether he is pulling their collective legs, or he is serious when he asks questions that will inevitably lead to responses by his audience. And, he is fast on the uptake when he slips up by announcing the wrong piece or mispronounces a word. Unfortunately, the CDs do not contain any of his humorous quips, but the music gives an indication of his unique view of the world and of music.

Almost all of the selections on both CDs are taken from CDs previously recorded by CBC Records, but not all. Those that are from the CBC's own feature a corresponding number (i.e. SMCD 5225 etc.) In a way this set of CDs is a good introduction to the network's long list of recordings and so might inspire listeners to want to dig into their pockets to obtain some of them, especially if they want to hear more of a particular kind of music.

CD2's first five selections all fall within what might be described as classical music by the likes of Boulogne, Beethoven, Fanny Mendelssohn and Granados even if they are from different eras and countries. These are followed by Cette Vie by Alpha YaYa Diallo from the African Guitar Summit and then Smile the While from Don Messer's Violin. Anyone a bit uptight will probably ask what these two are doing on what appears to be a classical recording. Well, Gothe asks his listeners to put aside mental boxes, niches, and straightjackets. Anything goes on his program and he thus ensures that boredom is banished. I know because Gothe has been my afternoon companion for those 20 years come September. Of course, I don't like everything he plays, especially when he tends to feature too much Mozart, but that is my personal problem; others, I have discovered, love lots of Mozart. Also, on CD2 I happen to care little for the song from the Blue Angel made famous by Marlene Dietrich and sung here by Jean Stilwell, but love Jesse Greer's Just you, Just Me from the Jazz Summit album, and Balakirev's Islamey. There are 21 selections in all on this CD.

CD1 opens with Shostakovich's Dance 1: Jazz Suite No. 2. It is followed by a Mozart Rondo and then the truly gorgeous Baïlèro: Chants d'Auvergne. A little further down, there are songs by Vaughan Williams and Aznavour as well as a traditional French Canadian tune, J'ai vu, J'ai vu, followed by Bach's Ave Maria arranged by Gounod. The Ave Maria always makes me chuckle because I can never listen to it with a serious mind ever since I traveled up the Huanpu River from Shanghai with it blaring loudly over the ship's sound system, competing with a truly awful and violent Chinese film about the country's battles with Japan. Well, other listeners won't be so afflicted and should be able to enjoy the harps played by Julia Shaw and Nora Bumanis with considerable delicacy. And after a Max Bruch piece there is the great Ben Heppner singing Strauss making even me like something from Der Rosenkavalier. There are 18 pieces of music on this CD, of which the final two are Rameau's Fanfarinette, once presented as a tango (arranged by Wilmer Faucett) and the other as a Jazz arrangement by Phillippe Lapoint. The Fanfarinette happens to be DiscDrive's opening number, and over the years it has been presented to us in a variety of versions. CD2 closes with another two versions, an arrangement by Doug Cox featuring dobra and band in what could be described as 'country', and No. 21 is a rag piano version of the Fanfarinette (arranged by Andy Fielding).

By the way, the cover depicts what Gothe is all about: music, good food and great wine. His references to the last two are ever present, and then there used to be his various cats. Sadly, they have all departed this world and we have to do without comments about them. Anyway, this CD set and its three hours of music has completed my day as I write this on a late weekend evening, after listening to Saturday Afternoon at the Opera on CBC Radio Two.