Incredible music albums can be found on my record shelf. At least they are incredible to me. Music is about perception and taste. I've heard some people say they didn't care for music. Seems impossible, but maybe it's true. I'd say that would be a matter of perception because not liking music seems in bad taste to me.
Iron Butterfly? Why'd I get rid of their albums? I loved both of the albums I had by them, but they're now gone. Likewise, my two albums by It's A Beautiful Day also gone and it was a group that featured a violin player. Violin is a big theme instrument in many of my albums. What was I thinking? Well, at least I kept the following "I" albums...Links to the music are included throughout the post if you want to hear the music.
The Illusion "If It's So" (1970) I heard this album on an AM station that emanated from Lenoir City TN. I believe they played one side of this album maybe more than once. Whatever the case, once I heard it the music grabbed me, shook me, and marched me into the University of Tennessee bookstore soon after. That was the most likely place I figured I'd find this album in East Tennessee. Fortunately they had it at their usual premium prices, but I had to have it. I'm glad I got it because this is one of the best rock groups from that era. And now I'm glad I've kept it in my collection.
Janis Ian "Between the Lines" (1975) In the early months of 1975 I was taking a break from working and living in a large cabin in Laurel Valley at the edge of Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Many mornings I would hang out in the main room listening to the FM receiver on my roommate's fancy stereo. The song "At Seventeen" was getting regular airplay. It's such a beautiful song with a heartbreaking story. I felt the need to have the album that the song came from so much that I got someone to take me into Knoxville so I could buy a copy of the album. It was a great purchase. If you have never heard this album you should take a listen. Janis Ian is a masterful song writer who has been putting out great music since the mid-sixties.
The Incredible String Band "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" (1968), "The Big Huge" (1969), "U" (1970) If music can be described as "magical" then this is the band that plays it. This group has such a mystical and sometimes alien sound--psychedelic world folk hippy music or something. I found my first two albums by them for a dollar each in the cut-out bins of Big K in Alcoa TN in 1970. I was puzzled on my first listening of the albums but had to go back, and then back again and again. I keep going back to their albums. I really like this music. Maybe you'd find it weird. It's all a matter of taste.
Anything in this list that you recognize? Which artists starting with the letter "I" would be your favorites? What do you tend to perceive from listening to music and how does that affect your musical tastes?
Sorry, none of those ring a bell.
ReplyDeleteAlex, I'm not surprised, but The Illusion might be a group that you could appreciate. They really rocked.
DeleteLee
I can't say that I recognize any of the albums you've indicated for today's letter...but all the more reason to have a listen. 🙂
ReplyDelete⮞ AnjelaCurtis.com
Anjela, they are worth checking out I think. I can't see who wouldn't like Janis Ian.
DeleteLee
I have heard of some of these.
ReplyDeleteJamie, they're not totally obscure.
DeleteLee
I'm afraid I am ignorant of these artists too, but you make me want to know more. As for my choices, I've been known to like a bit of Iron Maiden in my time and the only other one that jumps to mind is Chris Isaak.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings: YouTube - What They Don't Tell You (and free fiction)
Tasha, I've got some Iron Maiden and Chris Isaak in my music collection, but not any on vinyl.
DeleteLee
I still have the album "Between the Lines" and I keep "Seventeen" on a playlist. Funny how some songs never lose appeal - or impact.
ReplyDeleteDiedre, "Seventeen" is one of the most masterful songs ever written in my opinion.
DeleteLee
I also had that Janis Ian album.
ReplyDeleteI think most people in their teens - whether male or female - are at some point able to strongly identify with the song 'At Seventeen'. When we're young, and in that stage between childhood and adulthood, most folks feel kind of like an insecure, confused outcast.
Most will outgrow those feelings eventually. Some, such as myself, kind of embrace them instead and decide to stay on the "outside", but with a sense of confidence about it.
I rarely ever hear it anymore, but on those occasions when I do happen to hear 'At Seventeen' playing somewhere, it instantly seizes my attention and transports me back to that place and time.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
STMcC, I think you're right about the Ian song. Most teens do feel a bit awkward and insecure about life. And it doesn't really stop at seventeen for many of us. I can still relate to the song "At Seventeen" except I'd be changing the lyrics to "At Seventy".
DeleteI'm definitely on the "outside" of the mainstream and I don't give a crap. I accept myself for who I am and just keep moving on.
"At Seventeen" is a song that I don't think I've ever heard covered by anyone else and it's such a beautiful and wistful piece of music that it can set me in a reverie. Like you I am transported to younger days.
I'm glad to hear you had this Janis Ian album. I consider it to be among the most flawless albums ever recorded and the song "At Seventeen" is a true musical masterpiece.
Lee
I an and the Incredible String Band were both cornerstones that have the foundations of many genres in music built upon them. I never owned anything by either, but am fully aware of both artists, I was around a different corner of my personal growth, at the time.
ReplyDeleteCraig F, both artists date back to the sixties and established their presences in the history of the rock era. They are artists who deserved far more attention than they received.
DeleteLee
Only one I'm familiar with here is Janis Ian.
ReplyDeleteJohn H, Janis Ian made an auspicious debut in the late sixties with her controversial hit "Society's Child" which I can recall getting a lot of play on the Chicago airwaves when it came out. "At Seventeen" was a big hit and yet Ian has remained respected in the music industry while being mostly little known with the public.
DeleteYou should check out Incredible String Band if you never have. They did some very weird music that I think is quite good.
Lee
Not one single I CD in my collection. And I'm not familiar with any of the albums you mention either. Very strange.
ReplyDeletePatricia, I is not an overly common letter in names of people or groups so I'm not surprised about the dearth in your collection.
DeleteLee
There's something that rings a bell with It's A Beautiful Day, but even perusing the wiki version of their story, I don't know what it is...
ReplyDeleteCW, The put out two really good albums in the late 60s and some more later that I can't recall ever hearing. I went to see them in concert around 1971 but cannot recall much of anything about it.
DeleteLee
I just listened to Janis Ian on another blog( Shady's Place) and enjoyed hearing this sad song. I've not heard it in a long time. I'm not at home so I can't look st my albums. I love classical so you know violins are big.
ReplyDeleteBirgit, I've just turned on to Ian's album to listen to while I blog. I never tire of this one.
DeleteLee
Love Janis Ian, had the album!
ReplyDeleteDyanne, I'm glad to hear so many others had this album.
DeleteLee