Where Will This Post Take Us? ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

Where will this post take us?  Down memory lane for me and maybe down "what the heck is this music?" for others   Whatever, wherever, or whoever--this music is pretty good in my estimation.  But what do you think?

   My albums by Michael White were sold along with Joe Walsh and Stevie Wonder.  Oh well, I still have a handful of albums under W...

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

Wally (1974)   This is another one of those albums that I bought based on hearing one cut on the radio. This was in early 1975 when I was living in a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains.  When I heard the cut "The Martyr" I stopped what I was doing in order to listen.  The song prominently features the sound of electric rock violin and it being an excellent song I decided this was an album that I wanted to own.  Soon after I heard the song on the radio, I went to Knoxville to get the album.  No cut-out bin for this one--I had to get it for full price.  I think it was worth the money.  It's an excellent album by a little known prog rock band.

War  "Why Can't We Be Friends?"  (1975)  Maybe you're wondering why the album title is in Spanish on my copy.  I bought this in 1976 when I crossed over the border to Ciudad Acuna Mexico. Upon seeing a record shop I decided to check out the music to see if there were any bargains.  I saw this album in the window and thought it would be an interesting addition to my vinyl collection. It wasn't that much of a bargain price, but it's cool to have the Spanish version where everything on the cover is in Espanol, but the it's the same recording that you'd find on a version purchased in the U.S.  It's a good album.  You probably know this music.

Ralph Vaughn Williams  "Sinfonia Antartica"  (1970)     This is Williams' seventh symphony which expands upon incidental music he had written for the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic.  When I heard this on the University of Tennessee radio station WUOT I became very interested in the music.  This was an easy record to find at the University Bookstore--they must have stocked anything they played on the station.  What particularly drew me to this symphony was the use of the sound of a wind machine as well some unique symphonic orchestration that included an organ.  The imagery created by the music does remind me of the vast icy wastelands of Antarctica.  This is great music for reflection and relaxation.  

Wichita Fall  "Life Is But A Dream"   (1968)  Side one & side two   There are certain albums that I would typically put on when my head was in a certain altered state that called for music like I found on this album.  When I saw the album in a cut-out bin I could tell it was likely a weird interesting one.  I was right.   This was the kind of album that I'd put on late at night when the friends were all gone and the party was over.  Dreamy strange textures of orchestration and lyrics that were somewhat mundane but conducive to a state of reverie.  The music did much of the thinking for me when I listened to it.  I'm still entranced listening to this.  Big orchestral sounds in a rather impressive production.  Seems like this is an apt album to keep in my collection.

Nick Waterhouse   "Time's All Gone"   (2012)   This, my most recent acquisition, came as a gift from my youngest daughter and her significant other a few years ago as a gift (birthday?).  Unfortunately I have yet been able to play it since I don't have a turntable at present.  But thanks to YouTube you and I can listen to it.  Not bad at all.

        Is there anything in this post you remember?   Have you purchased any foreign releases of albums from the United States?    Which W artists are some of your favorites?