 |
| Browsing in the Rough Trade Shop (Photo credit: Lee Jordan) |
The Battle of the Bands posts that I've been doing at my blog Tossing It Out have been dredging up memories for me. I discussed some of this in the two posts preceding this current post. Most of us attach personal memories to certain songs from our past. Finding songs to use in my "Battle" posts have prompted me to do some research on the backgrounds of the songs and the artists performing them. Since this musical history coincides with much of my personal history, a virtual mixtape of memories starts playing in my head to help me write my blog posts regarding this topic.
This week for example I've used a Carole King / Gerry Goffin tune called "Snow Queen" which you can listen at Tossing It Out. I had known this song from an old cutout album that I had bought back around 1971 or so. I usually paid forty-nine cents to ninety-nine for albums on sale. I didn't buy many albums at full record store cost back then. I was always rather frugal.
Sometimes I'd find albums by bands I was familiar with, but mostly there were artists that I didn't know. Sometimes I'd recognize a name associated with other albums I owned and that would make me more interested in the mystery album that I was considering to buy. Most of my album collection was probably purchased from the cut-out bins. Most of it was music that I liked.
For one version of the Battle of the Bands song I used a cut from an album by Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends. This is an album of mostly cover songs with a couple of originals. The group sounds a bit like Brasil 66, the Carpenters, Fifth Dimension or other groups in that vein. I enjoyed the album when I was in college, but forty years later listening back I think I more greatly appreciate what the Nichols Trio was doing. It's an album lushly orchestrated with some very nice vocal work.
But don't let me digress.
My point as far as memoir goes is that by digging these old albums out and listening to them closely I can recall times when I heard this music before. The melodies and sometimes the words swirl through my head as a wash of memories flood my mind. The music stretches from my past into the future of that past time. I remember prompted by the tracks on the vinyl.
I suppose I would compare listening to a once familiar album to paging through a scrapbook or photo album looking at the images and remembering.
You might want to check out some of the videos on YouTube by Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends.
Here are links to a few of their songs:
I'll Be Back
Cocoanut Grove
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Did you buy cut-out versions of albums? What interesting albums have you found in the cut-out bins? Do you have memories associated with buying record albums or listening to them?
I have plenty of memories of albums, singers and songs from way back as I used to work in a record shop.
ReplyDeleteThese past years have been taken with Daniel O Donnell whom I have met many times.
The world is a better place with music in it. Imagine no music?????
Yvonne.
Not sure I have many cut outs....the stuff in those bins didn't appeal to me. But I have LOTS of memories of buying records. That was what I spent all my allowance on. My mom used to get furious w/ me about it. So I started to borrow some of my bff's albums and sneak my purchases in mixed in w/ hers, telling mom 'Liz loaned these to me to tape'. For my confirmation at age 13 in 8th grade, I begged and pleaded for ELO's 'out of the blue' double LP that was out of my price range. My parents balked at getting me a record for such a 'holy occasion'. I said, 'then don't get me anything. you asked what I wanted, I told you, you said no, so don't ask anymore.' Guess what I got? :D
ReplyDelete