Monthly Archives: April 2013

First Play – Meet the Beatles! – 1964

Meet_the_BeatlesA few months ago I was on my way home from work on the usual route through downtown and found myself stopped at a light in front of a record store that I hadn’t been inside in years, Tracks In Wax.  On a whim I figured what the hell and whipped in and parked in front.

Upon entering the store, the first thing I smelled was the smell of paper, old paper and for sure some dusty paper, very similar to a used book store but a little different, though that same hint of nostalgia hits you and you know there are some good memories on these shelves.  The lady working the counter gives me a nod and leaves me to my browsing after asking if I was looking for anything in particular, just my kind of place and one of the few places I will truly “shop”, the other also being a book store.

I enjoy that feel of flipping through the album jackets for the first time in many years and after looking over my usual band sections of Rush, Dream Theater and Iron Maiden, which I own essentially everything you can own of, but you always have to take that look for that one magical item that you have somehow missed over the years right?

After wandering around the various sections of Comedy, Jazz, Blues and just getting my lay of the land I head to the A’s in the Pop/Rock section and not soon after I get into the B’s and I find something that immediately grabs me, an original copy of the Beatles first USA release, “Meet the Beatles!”.  It wasn’t in in perfect condition (which I probably couldn’t have afforded anyway) but it looked in good condition, the young Fab 4 looking right back at you.  The record itself was also in good condition and very clean, certainly would play very smoothly.

My bebe saw the Beatles in concert where she grew up and when she talks about that night, there is something about it that you can just tell was a once in a lifetime magical event in her life and something she will never forget.  When we’ve talked about music and growing up with it as kids she has often mentioned sitting around with her girlfriends and listening to this album and all of them having to pick their favorite Beatle, something that I gathered was once chosen, there is no going back from.

Once I saw it and the price I assumed was something that was negotiable but already reasonable I had to have it.  Thankfully the person I received the nod from coming in the door was actually the owner of the shop and after sharing a bit of the story she agreed to knock down the price a bit and the deal was done.  I was excited all the way home and couldn’t wait to give it a spin on the turntable that I  had been surprised with for my birthday a few months prior.

When I pulled the album cover out of the bag and saw the expression on her face, I knew it had been the one to start off this “trip” with.  Once it started playing I could tell all of those memories had started to come rushing back.  From the first sounds and notes of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, how could that not be something special?

The vinyl journey and re-discovery had definitely started off as magical as I’d hoped.

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Filed under 60s Vinyl

And so it begins…

Why is this page here?  Good question!  Call it the old “About” page if you will.  If your into music and reminiscing about it, keep reading.

Music has always been a lifelong passion of mine.  Over the years I have so many memories attached to so many songs, albums, album art, lyrics, riffs, etc.

My parents always had a great love of music, so I was always surrounded by a wide range of music from gospel, country/western, big band, jazz, blues to rock n’ roll.  Growing up in the 70s and 80s also led me to discover my own likes and dislikes, but I’ve never had a problem picking up a Boston Pops, Madonna and Metallica CD on the same visit to the local Tower Records or Zia Records, which always led to a good conversation with the clerk behind the counter.

It is amazing how just choosing a piece of music to listen too can change or alter my mood, if only for a short period of time, but enough to get me to work in a better mood or home from work and feeling better about a stressful day.  It can bring about a wonderful memory from my childhood, through early school years, college and into adulthood (gasp!).  And then there is always the road-trip mix with which come the memories of Elvis blaring out of our various family cars’ stereo systems as we headed down I-5 on one of our many road trips to see friends and family.

Recently I started on a journey to begin collecting and listening to vinyl again.  I’m not someone who insists that vinyl sounds better than digital, though I agree it just sounds different, so to each their own on that endless debate.  There is just something special for those of us that did grow up with vinyl on the living room Hi-Fi, or the 45 in our bedrooms, listening to that song or band you know your mom would likely hate and too loudly at that.  Those great memories of that song with that skip or scratch in a track that just became part of the listening experience.  In short, sometimes perfection is simply overrated.

While I think we are slowly losing a lot of the artistry and talent involved in the entire package of creating an album of music in the “singles download” era, the digital era has brought one great thing to me and that is the ability to carry your entire music collection with you, wherever you are.  Being able to listen to something that maybe you haven’t listened to in a long time and have it all at the press of a button on your smartphone has helped me re-discover some of my music that I just hadn’t listened to in a long time.

So over time, this site will tell the story of my memories and good music that are attached to the sights and sounds of reading the liner notes, sliding the sleeve out of the album jacket and the sound of the needle hitting a piece of vinyl for the first time, all over again.

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Filed under Ramblings