Hard to Get Rid Of Albums ( #AtoZChallenge )

     Hard to get rid of albums that touch me in some personal way.  Whether it was the music that carried me through certain times of my life or a spark these albums light in my mind, some albums I hang onto while others have left my possession.   Whether here or gone away, the music in my life stays somewhere within me.

           Hall & Oates, Heart, and Hendrix have been sold and are long gone.  Maybe I should have kept the H.P. Lovecraft album that gave me so much enjoyment over the years, but I didn't.  The rock history relics by The Herd and Hour Glass are now history as far as my collection is concerned.  Never fear though, there are still some pretty interesting albums left in section H...

Links to the music are included throughout the post if you want to hear the music.

Bonus Album!  On 8 Track Cartridge   Lee Hazelwood (and Nancy Sinatra)  "Nancy & Lee"  (1968)     My mother had gotten this through the Columbia Record Club in 1968 and I laid claim to it.  Even though the more known Nancy Sinatra was the main attraction of this album,  I consider it to be a Lee Hazelwood album thus I've put it under H.  Hazelwood produced the album and wrote some of the best songs on it.  And he sings in that deep voice.  Nancy may have had the star power, but Lee was the real creative force in this collaboration. 

George Harrison   "All Things Must Pass"  (1970)   Of all the solo Beatles albums this one is probably the best.  It's certainly my favorite.  There are so many sublime musical highlights in this three record set.  This was a Christmas gift from my mother in 1970.  Much treasured by me and with so many good memories of music listening pleasure.

Merle Haggard "A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)"  (1970)     I'm pretty sure my mother bought this for me as a Christmas present in 1970.  At the time I wasn't a big fan of country music, but I was appreciative especially if it had to do with fiddle playing.    This is a great collection of western swing music.  I liked this record back then, but now I have more respect for it.

Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks  "Striking It Rich" (1972) & "Last Train to Hicksville" (1973)   Memory now evades me as to when I first became aware of Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks, but I'm pretty sure I had seen them in 1974 on a television show like The Midnight Special.  I liked the campy hot jazz sound.   And they had two violin players!  So naturally I went out and bought the "Last Train" album which they had featured in their TV performance.   This is a great, great album!

         In 1981 I went to see Dan Hicks and his Acoustic Warriors at a bar in Grand Junction CO. At first I thought the guy was sloppy drunk.  The music was loose and amateurish sounding.  Then they started playing some of the most intricate amazing campy jazz music I'd ever heard live.  I realized the start was just part of the Dan Hicks schtick.  The guy is a fantastic musician

         Years later--around 1994 or so--I went to hear him again with a new line-up of the Hot Licks at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano CA.  They were highly polished and slick.  It was a flawless performance.  The dual violinists were back as well as other top notch musicians.  A group worth seeing if you ever have a chance.

         I bought the "Hicksville" album for full price back when I first heard the group on television.  Sometime somewhere in the eighties I ran across the "Striking It Rich" album in a used record store. Had to buy it.  It's another good one.

The Hello People  "Hello People" (1968) and "Fusion" (1968)  In the early seventies I used to see the "Fusion" album at my friends Rick and Bill Page's house and it always intrigued me and I liked the sound.  Later, I saw both of the above pictured  Hello People albums in cut-outs and grabbed them both.  Two magical albums by one of the more unique groups of rock history.  In May of 1972 I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the opening acts for Alice Cooper at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium was going to be Todd Rundgren backed by the Hello People. It was a great concert with them coming first, followed by the solid rock and roll of the group Free, and closing with the outstanding theatrics of Alice Cooper.  However, for my personal tastes the highlight of the show was that opening act of Todd Rundgren and the Hello People.  These albums revive a heavy dose of music memories for me.

        

Hard Meat "Through a Window" (1970)   When I used to scour the record bins in the University of Tennessee Bookstore, there were certain albums I would keep stopping at to consider and then keep going.  Money was tight at the time and this record store was more expensive that mainstream stores, but they had some of the more interesting selections that I never saw elsewhere.  This Hard Meat album was one that I would always stop at and think "Should I buy or not?"  I thought the name was weird and figured the music might not be something I would like.  Then finally I succumbed. Maybe I had some extra money or something.  Whatever the case, I bought it.  So glad that I did.  This is some solid prog rock with a more acoustic bent in the guitars and some tasteful playing throughout.  Good songs by outstanding players.

          Are you familiar with any of these albums?    Have you seen any of these artists in concert?  What are some of your favorite H artists?