Last year I joined the vinyl resurgence movement and bought a turntable. Like many of my generation, I at one time, had a pretty substantial collection of great albums that I thoroughly enjoyed. But with the dawning of the digital age, the space intensive records were slowly replaced and they went the way of the eight track.
So instead of just buying back all of those old favorites, which can get pricey if you're not careful, I began looking at flea markets, garage sales and eBay. To make it interesting, I set my budget to no more than five dollars on a single album and I have found that the search has been as rewarding as the find itself. It's like those old days of discovery, searching the cut-out bins at Tower Records. And with that, my collection grows, one LP at a time.
On a recent flea market stop, I came across a near perfect copy of Al Stewart's 1976 classic The Year of the Cat. It's not a record I ever owned but something about it caught my attention. I'd like to say it was the cover art but I'm probably the least likely guy to be attracted to cats. I remember hearing the title track often on the Dr. Don Rose show on the Bay Area's KFRC 610 AM. I had no idea what any of the lyrics meant but I always thought there was something very cool about it in a jazzy pop tune kind of way. The rest of the album was more of an unknown to me, but I figured for one dollar, I couldn't go wrong.
The great thing about albums is the ceremony that accompanies the first spin. It forces you to sit back and actually listen. As the needle drops and I hear that beautiful surface noise, I'm immediately swept into the wonderfully warm sound that ONLY vinyl can offer. And then there's the thorough study of the cover, the artwork, the lyrics and the liner notes - essential to the whole experience.
As I listened to side A, I realized the whole record is filled with gems. I flipped to side B - another cool aspect of the album experience - and the ceremony continued onward to the crown jewel title track that closes out the album. It's so 70's retro cool but still relevant with that great piano intro and easy backing groove into that first lyric:
On a morning from a Bogart movie
In a country where they turned back time
You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre
contemplating a crime...
Who even writes lyrics like that today? I found myself wanting to listen to the entire record again. When was the last time that happened to you? As it turns out, I am not the only one. This has become the 'go- to' record in our house because it gets everyone's attention. They stop and take notice. There's something about it that resonates and makes you want to hear it again. It got me thinking. This would make a perfect feature for boomitude and maybe Al Stewart would be willing to tell us his story.
We tracked him down and set up an interview. I met up with him in New York and we hung out and talked for awhile. He's an interesting and talented man who generously shared the story of this amazing and lasting musical statement. Before I left, I told Al how I picked up the LP for a dollar and asked if he would sign the cover. He happily obliged and as he handed it back to me, he said in perfect Al Stewart style, "Now it's worth two dollars!"
Here is the outcome of our meeting. Sit back and enjoy this special boomitude.com album feature:
Related links:
Al Stewart
boomitude - a matter of life and music
Album covers courtesy:
Capitol/EMI
Collector's Choice
Columbia Records
Rhino
Photo credits:
Randall Armor
Glenn A. Baker
BBC
Annie C Photography
Lizard's Lair Productions
Mark Moerman
Lori Stoll
I recommend that you see Al live if you get a chance. Between songs he tells stories and makes observations on life. It's a very entertaining show. I've also had the pleasure of meeting Al on both sides of the Atlantic, he is just as he sounds in this interview, bright and funny. Thanks for many hours of listening pleasure Mr. Stewart!
I remember when I got my first CD when things were changing over and how disappointed I was with it. My expectation was that the sound would be more exciting and the instruments and voices laser sharp. It did not take me long to realize that it was just the opposite. The sound was more homogenized and less immediate. Perhaps not the case with an expensive sound system, but records just sounded better to me.
Another issue is that CD often cram on much to much music, just because they can. That is great in Opera or Symphonic stuff, but imagine If the Dark Side of the Moon, or any piece concept or not had to consider the problem of being to short!
Can't wait to see what they replace the CD with!
I never gave up my turntable and vinyls. The downside is having to schlep all those heavy records whenever I've moved--but I've managed to keep the collection together and in good shape all these years.
The upside is that everyone I know thinks of me whenever they find a cool old vinyl record. Just last week someone gave me some pristine and hard-to-find B'way cast albums (remember how lushly packaged, complete with librettos, they were during the vinyl years?) that they found in the garbage. But the real find was a couple of oddball Petula Clark singles: "Downtown" sung in German and "Sign of the Times" sung in French. Makes me sad to think of how much good, interesting, and/or weird music that will be lost forever when the last vinyl copy of it is tossed into the dumpster.
If memory serves (and that's not a given!), the violin break in "Broadway Hotel" was played by Bobby Bruce, who was the player in the famous coda of The Who's "Baba O'Riley"...