Category: Vinyl / Tunes Blog

WE SKIPPED THE LIGHT FANDANGO

Probably my favorite single ever, released in 1967 and made arguably even better by Annie Lennox on a wonderful sounding LP in ’95. The original recording was used in many films, including the 1989 New York Stories with Nick Nolte. Amazing that it was written 55 years ago by Procol Harum. Sadly, Gary Brooker, who led the band throughout their history, and who co-wrote and sang this classic, passed away on February 19, 2022. He was 76.

A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum.

JAZZ TO RELAX

I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz lately. It helps me de-stress from all the news coming out of Eastern Europe.

Miles Davis led several quintets over his long career, and I’ve been spinning those records lately.

It’s fun to rediscover your favorite Miles LPs after they’ve been sitting on the shelf for years, From Bags Groove up to In a Silent Way they are all superb. Of course, Kind of Blue is tops, thanks to Bill Evans.

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CRIME OF THE CENTURY

The band Supertramp knew a few things. I was fortunate enough to see them in concert during their prime in the mid ’70s (at the height of the Cold War). I clearly remember being impacted by their music’s message about the dangers of power, corruption, and greed.

Nothing much has changed.

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WILDFIRE

One night, Michael Murphy, a singer from Texas, dreamt a song complete with lyrics. He composed it with Larry Candler in a few hours that morning. Murphy believes the song came to him from a story his grandfather told him when he was a little boy. Released in February 1975, “Wildfire” became Murphey’s highest-charting pop hit in the United States. It hit #3 on Billboard that week and is considered a classic today.

Happy Valentine’s Day

HERE’S A MUCH BETTER IDEA

The Pro-ject Automat Turntable doesn’t include speakers, but it does include a fully-automatic start-and-stop with a German-made assembly that disengages and decouples while the record plays, thereby preserving the sound from mechanical vibration. I personally use Rega decks, but this option is very appealing.

MUSIC REVENUE CHART

For folks who care about such things, here’s an interesting chart adjusted for inflation that shows where each music format has fallen in yearly revenue. LPs peaked in 1978, and CDs peaked in 1999. Only sales of new items are included. Colored vinyl is the new collectible fetish. Elsewhere, physical music formats have remained niche products, with revenue from used sales on-line unaccounted for. The days of finding gold in used record stores are pretty much over. Click on chart to enlarge.

GET BACK

The Beatles: Get Back is a new documentary series directed and produced by Peter Jackson. It covers the making of the Beatles’ 1970 album Let It Be, which had the working title of Get Back.

Check it out. All you have to do is look at the 1969 photo above to know The Beatles were way ahead of their time. I mean, who else was wearing Chucks besides George?

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VINYL IS HOT

In the last five years new vinyl LP sales in the USA have doubled to over 30 million units sold per year. That’s more than new CD sales today, and these numbers don’t include used record purchases.

Prior to 2016, the sales numbers for new vinyl was increasing but not anywhere this rate. Only problem is, most everything currently released on LP is on backorder. This is primarily due to increased demand and decreased supply (due in no small part to the small number of pressing plants and the lack of vinyl pellets). See this for more:

Analog Planet article

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WELCOME TO THE BOOMTOWN

Seattle is and has always been different. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s an assemledge of people from across the nation looking for learning, recreation and progressiveness, yet it remains reasonable (except for the more recent cost of living increases, homelessness, rioting and traffic problems). Continue reading “”

CHARLIE WATTS R.I.P.

The only drummer in The Rolling Stones since its inception passed away today at age 80. He was the core of the band. Married to the same woman since 1964, with as steady a beat as was possible, and always a purveyor of fashion, Charlie was as cool as they came. Everyone loved him (bottom right in photo). Only two, Mick and Keith, remain from the original line-up. Kind of like The Who and The Beatles…

This is a real loss, never replicated. Charlie will forever be deeply missed. Continue reading “”

WHO’S NEXT – 50 YEARS LATER

Today marks the 50th anniversary of The Who’s best album. I would say arguably, but the only other contenders are Tommy and Quadrophenia, and while these are classics as well, none has this record’s cache.

“Won’t Get Fooled Again” from the album Who’s Next becomes increasingly relevant with each passing year. Continue reading “”