Fantastic Music and Far Out Albums ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

       Fantastic music resides in my vinyl collection though some might think that some of my albums are pretty far out.  And some are indeed "far out" as we used to say back in the hippy dippy sixties and seventies.  I was striving to achieve an eclectic interesting collection of music that might have something to appeal to many listeners, but most of all I was looking for music that I could enjoy. I think I was successful in my quest for a broad ranging collection of record albums.  

         Flo & Eddie, Full Moon, and the Four Tops have left my building and now reside in some other collection unbeknownst to me. The Graham Nash produced album by The Fool was maybe one of the worst albums ever made so I felt no great urge to keep it. However, as bad as my three albums by Frankie Stein and his Ghouls may have been, I probably should have hung on to them just for the novelty and for the fact that they were albums purchased during my early adolescent years.  But I didn't keep them.  Here are some albums in the F file that I did keep in my collection...

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

The Four Seasons "Gold Vault of Hits"  (1965)  was given to me as a Christmas gift from my mother in 1965 while we were still living in northern Indiana.  They were one of  my favorite groups at the time and this album has some great tunes, all big hits.  Nothing really bad on this album and it is worthy of any collection.  Well worn after years of play, it was worth keeping for the sentimental personal nature if not for the music.

Federal Duck (1968)  Don't know where I obtained this cut-out, but this album is very weird at times while being interesting and occasionally oddly beautiful.  I've never seen another copy, but since it has been written about on various internet sources I know I'm not the only one who has a copy.  Still it has a uniqueness that I think makes it worth keeping.  So I kept it.  And did I say it is weird.  I mean the band has a tuba player as well as other assorted musicians.  I like it and that's what matters to me.

Dan Fogelberg "Nether Lands" (1977)  I used to listen to this album so much. Listening now transports me to that time.  My first wife Cathy was a Fogelberg fanatic and through her I gained a great appreciation for his music.  This album came out while Cathy was pregnant with our son who we named Daniel Neil in honor of her favorite artist and mine (Neil Young).   I own several Fogelberg albums on cassette and CD, but this is the only one I have on vinyl.  

Peter Frampton "Wind of Change"  (1972)  I was well aware of Frampton from his work with The Herd (I used to have their album) and Humble Pie (I listened to them a lot on albums owned by friends).  After his Wind of Change album came out I heard it at a friend's house--frequently.  They were playing it every time I was there it seemed.  The album grew on me to the extent that I went out and purchased a full price copy of it.  This is some of Frampton's best work.

Function  "Play It Maestro" (1979)  This prog rock Christian album comes from a Swedish group.  It's a bit run of the mill, but I find it to be okay listening.  Actually I haven't listened to it much.  I found it at a Books-a-Million store in West Knoxville around 1988 or so and it was cheap.  It also has a violin player pictured on the cover as well as a violinist playing in some of the music.  I guess I'd say that I kept this for the album art, but the music could grow on me if I listened enough.

The Fourth Way (1969)   If I remember correctly, I found this album in the cut-out bin at the University of Tennessee Bookstore.  The attraction for me about this album was the violin player. This jazz music was a bit alien to me at first, but soon took hold of me.  It's funky electrified jazz rock by top notch players.  Of course I'd keep this album--the violin you know.

        I'm sure you recognize some these, but do you have a favorite among them?  Do you keep any albums because of the artwork?   What is your favorite artist with an F name?  

Edification Etcetera ( #AtoZChallenge ) ( #IWSG )

         Edification, education, enlightenment, entertainment--this post is all about the E's...and the ears.  Reading is fine, but hearing can be sublime.  Sitting back and just listening to a person reading or to a musical artist singing or playing can be a truly relaxing experience.  It's also a great way to pass time while driving.  Believe your ears!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 

The co-hosts for the April 6 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jemima Pett, Patricia Josephine, Louise - Fundy Blue, and Kim Lajevardi!

April 6 question - Have any of your books been made into audio books? If so, what is the main challenge in producing an audiobook?

      This question doesn't apply to me, but it is certainly related to my A to Z Theme for 2022.  Audio is where I'm at this April.  My collection of vinyl records has provided me so much listening pleasure throughout the years.  The process of recording music or the spoken word is an art in itself.  Pleasing sound is what keeps a listener engaged. Even unpleasant sound can serve some purpose--but I won't bother going there.

       So skipping the writing topic, let me think about my vinyl collection.  Not much E-ticket action here (a Disney reference a lot of folks might not understand).  I got rid of Ellington, but kept Ellis.  Also I sold my Edin-Adahl album and now don't even recall what they sounded like.  But I did hang on to a few records by artists beginning with the letter E...

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

Don Ellis Orchestra  "Autumn" (1968) and "At the Fillmore" (1970)---  When I heard "Variations for Trumpet" from Ellis's Autumn album played on the Knoxville NPR station late one night I knew I had to have that album.  Soon after hearing it,  I found the album in the bookstore at the University of Tennessee where I was attending at the time and added it to my collection.   Later for my Christmas list in 1970 I included the Ellis At the Fillmore album and my mother delivered as she so often did. I think my sister helped her find some of these more obscure albums that I would ask for, but whatever the case my mother was amazing when it came to giving me things I asked for.  Maybe I was kind of spoiled too?   Well, I'm not going to go into that since this is about Don Ellis.  These are two great jazz rock albums that I felt hesitant to give up.

Easy Rider  "Ride On" (197?)  Here's an album that I can almost guarantee that no one reading this post owns--that is unless you're an old friend from East Tennessee.  This was a band from the Maryville TN area that consisted of some friends and other guys I remotely knew.  I'm not sure how many copies they pressed, but my friend Lonnie Carver (who was in the band) gave me a copy.  I'm certain that not too many copies remain so it is likely a rarity.  Not bad music from some capable musicians who continued to play over the past many decades up to this present day.   For a sampling of some music from a couple of the members of the band you can check out these links:   Captain Suck & the Mediocre Band   and  Lonnie Carver "Let's Run"  (singing a song that I wrote). 

Earth Opera  (1968) is a vinyl album I picked up from a used record store sometime in the eighties.  In the early seventies I had their album  Great American Eagle Tragedy (1969) on 8 track cartridge and liked it a great deal, but as with most 8 tracks it met its doom somewhere along the way.  When I saw the earlier Earth Opera album in the bins for a cheap price I claimed it for my vinyl collection.  Albeit strange sounding, it's a good album will some excellent musicians who went on to have illustrious musical careers in other realms.  This is a weird psychedelic relic of the sixties--just my kind of thing.

Roky Erickson is one of those artists who became a quest for me as I scoured record stores across the country.  I became a fan of his group 13th Floor Elevators in the late sixties, but didn't begin my quest for more of his music until the late eighties.  I've found several CDs and cassettes of Roky's music as well as all of the albums by the Elevators.   I think I found both "The Holiday Inn Tapes" (1987)   and "Casting the Runes"  (1987) at a record store in Texas.  Since the latter is a picture disc I figured that made it extra collectable.  Whatever the case, for raw rock and roll music Roky rocks.

   

          Is there anything in this post that you remember?   Do you have any albums that were made by people you know?    Did any of them achieve a decent level of fame or fortune?  

Down Music Memory Lane ( #AtoZChallenge )

       Down Music Memory Lane is where the records from my collection take me whenever I listen to them.  So many wonderful hours of my life have been spent listening to the music or hearing it as a background track for whatever I might have been doing at certain points of my life.  Music is like that for most of us I think.  And even if the actual vinyl records are no longer in my possession, the music remains with me.  Sometimes my memory needs to be prodded though...

         Debussy and Dvorak albums may have disappeared from my vinyl collection, but I have them all and more on CD.  Same with Bob Dylan and Tommy Dorsey.  Maybe I should have kept the Deep Purple album that my friend Fred gave to me so many years ago, but that too I replaced on CD. Don't worry though--I still have a few good ones left under the letter D...

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

       

Donovan  "In Concert" (1968)  This is another of several albums given to me by my mother as Christmas presents.  Each year she would request that I give her a list of things I'd like to have for Christmas and from age 15 and on I would compile a list of a dozen or so albums that I wanted most.  Not sure why Donovan ended up on that list for the Christmas of 1968 (my senior year in high school), but I did like his radio hits enough to add this album.  I'm not usually a fan of live recordings, but this one is particularly well recorded with minimal crowd noises, no obligatory drum solos, and very tastefully performed music.  It's an excellent album to listen to while spending time alone or in quiet times in intimate settings.  

Dreams and Illusions  (1968)  This is another of the albums I found for a quarter in the cut-out bins at the peculiar Atlantic Mills Discount Store in Knoxville TN.  Firstly the group/album name caught my attention:  "Dreams" and "Illusions" were two psychological effects that had always fascinated me.  The song titles intrigued me.  And looking at the musician credits I noted that there was a violin player listed.  Done deal!  Sold for a quarter and kept to this day.  It's kind of weird music at times, but overall it is music I find to be appealing.

The Doors   "Strange Days"  (1967)  At one point I had just about all of The Doors catalog in my vinyl collection.  I got rid of all of them except for this album.  It was a Christmas gift from my mother in 1967.  Also it has a juggler and circus type motifs on the cover art.  And it's an excellent album worth keeping as a representation of a great sixties group.

Dave Clark Five  "Greatest Hits" (1966)  When my sister was teen crazy over The Beatles I eschewed them in favor of other English groups like DC5, The Kinks, and The Zombies.  Dave Clark 5 had some great hits that don't seem to be heard much anymore.  Good musical memories in this disc and it was a 1966 Christmas gift from my mother.  It seemed like an album worth hanging onto.  

        Are you familiar with these old gems?   What D artists would be some of your favorites?