10 albums a day #16

The Doors
- The Doors (1967, CD)
- Strange Days (1967, CD)
- Waiting for the Sun (1968, CD)
- The Soft Parade (1969, CD)
- Absolutely Live (1970, CD)
- Morrison Hotel (1970, CD)
- L.A. Woman (1971, CD)
- An American Prayer (1978, LP)
- The Doors Box Set (1997, 4 CD set)

The Doors remain something of an enigma to me, that is, I've never figured out exactly why I like them. I was never a Jim Morrison fanboy, so it's not that. At least, I don't think I was. There's something about their music that appeals to me, probably the darkness of the music and the mysteriousness (some might say nonsensicalness) of Morrison's lyrics. However, most of my favorites from The Doors were songs written by Robby Krieger, which tend to be less...uh...strange, shall we say, than Morrison's songs. Although I now have all their albums on CD, I originally bought all of them on LP and I still have all those records. I originally bought An American Prayer on cassette but later purchased the LP because it has much more extensive liner notes than the cassette. I also have some records that are now out of print and which, to my knowledge, were not released on CD, such as Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine, for example (and which I have not yet ripped).

The first one I ever bought was the LP The Doors, which I think I picked up when I was in Abilene and is just a little curious because it's a Spanish pressing (that is, made in Spain) with certain parts of the label in Spanish. The Morrison Hotel LP is another strange one, because it was made wrong. Side 2 of that record is really side 2 from The Soft Parade. So I didn't hear the actual side 2 of Morrison Hotel until I bought the CD.

The last four thumbnails pictured are from The Doors Box Set that was released in 1997. There is some redundancy with previous albums, but it also includes many songs that were never before released, as well as a couple of demo tracks and some alt takes of some of their songs that are interesting to hear. I may have to write up a post just about this album someday, because I still find it an interesting glimpse into their methods and the way they made their music. It comes with a book of very extensive liner notes and comments from the three surviving members.

I also have one record that the three survivors produced after Morrison's death (Other Voices), but it's mostly more of a curiosity to me and it's another one I haven't yet ripped.

Addendum: You may notice something out-of-place about Strange Days. It's the only album that doesn't have a picture of the group (or at least Morrison) on the cover. This is because it was leftover stuff from the original sessions and the record company released it against the group's will. They refused to appear on the cover.

Album count: 156.

My brothers! I have found you!

10 albums a day #15

Devo - Freedom of Choice (1980, cassette), Greatest Misses (1990, cassette)
Don Dixon - EEE (1989, CD)
Don Edwards - Saddle Songs (1997, double CD)
Don Williams - 20 Greatest Hits (CD)
Echo & The Bunnymen - Echo & The Bunnymen (1987, cassette)
Eagles - One of These Nights (1975, cassette), Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (1976, CD)
Drew Copeland - No Regrets (2004, mp3 download)
Doug Kershaw - The Best of (1972, CD)

Both Devo tapes were bought more or less on a whim. The best of the pair is the Greatest Misses. I'd like to get their Greatest Hits too, just for kicks. Don Dixon has probably been more successful as a producer and songwriter than as a performer. My favorite song of his is the excellently frenetic "Preying Mantis," but it's not on this disc. I have it on an Enigma label sampler CD, which is how I first learned of him.

Don Edwards sings traditional cowboy songs with no accompaniment but his own guitar, just like if you were sitting around a campfire with him some night out on the trail. This collection is not only very enjoyable to listen to, but is an important part of the preservation of these songs that are so easily lost to the mists of time. This set came from my dad.

Don Williams is another country singer who was one of my favorites when I was growing up. Echo & The Bunnymen is an 80s leftover.

I really like the older Eagles stuff, say, all the stuff from before their first "greatest hits" came out. I have several records of theirs that I haven't ripped yet.

Drew Copeland is a member of a group called Sister Hazel and this is--I think--his first solo album. It's that alt-rock-to-Americana stuff and I like it a lot. This was a recent Amazon free download.

Did anyone not love seeing Doug Kershaw perform on Hee Haw? The dude was a maniac. More music from my childhood that I still enjoy.

Album count: 147.

Overclocked

I have a dictionary just like that.

FromThere I Fixed It.

10 albums a day #14

David Schnaufer - Dulcimer Player Deluxe (1989, CD)
David Slater - Be With Me (1989, CD)
Deana Carter - Did I Shave My Legs for This? (1996, CD)
Deep Purple
- Deep Purple (1969, CD)
- In Rock (1970, LP picture disk)
- Powerhouse (1977, LP)
- Deepest Purple (1980, LP)
- Perfect Strangers (1984, CD)
Demon - Night of the Demon (1981, LP)

I think I must have gotten overzealous when I was deleting some posts to prevent redundancy at one time. I'm sure I commented on the David Slater CD before but it doesn't turn up in the search.

Anyhow, from the top. I became enchanted with the mountain dulcimer when I saw one played at the Institute of Texan Cultures on a history class field trip in seventh grade. I kept my eyes open for recordings of the dulcimer, but man were they ever hard to find. I came across the Schnaufer CD several years after its release, and it's awesome. He is an absolute master of the mountain dulcimer and if you want to hear some really great playing, get this CD or anything else by him that you can find. This is one of only two dulcimer-oriented albums I have. They are still hard to find.

David Slater is someone who I kind of actually knew at one point. We both went to the same summer church camp/music school and were in many of the same classes. I still have an old recording (on cassette) from the camp talent show of 1982 on which he can be heard singing two Dan Fogelberg songs. It was clear even back then that he had an extra measure of talent beyond most of the people there. I came across this CD by chance in a clearance bin sometime in the mid-90s. The music on this one is standard Nashville pop-that-calls-itself-country.

I really like that Deana Carter CD. She has a great voice with the ring of authenticity and although she is not credited as such, I read that she did a lot of the production work behind this album--she wasn't just some singer that they pasted on to the songs, which is how so many "country" albums are made.

I have some other Deep Purple records that I haven't ripped yet. I also used to have both Machine Head and Who Do We Think We Are on cassette but wore them out and haven't replaced them. I did download "Lazy," which is from Machine Head and is one of my favorite DP songs. I used to go to sleep at night listening to Deep Purple. My favorite album of theirs overall is In Rock.

Click the link for comments on the Demon album. I also have their Uninvited Guest, but I haven't ripped it yet.

Album count: 138.

10 albums a day #13

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969, CD)
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà Vu (1970, CD)
Crystal Gayle - All Time Greatest Hits (1990, cassette)
The Cult - Love (1985, LP), Electric (1987, CD)
Dan Fogelberg - Greatest Hits (1982, CD)
Dan Seals - The Best (1987, CD)
Dan Zanes - Smile Smile Smile (2009, mp3 download)
David & David - Boomtown (1986, LP)
David Gilmour - David Gilmour (1978, cassette)

I really like those first two albums, but I hardly ever listen to them in full unless I'm driving. To me they are sort of "road" albums. I like the first one without Young the best, although I like him too and in fact have several of his albums.

I bought Electric because I really liked Love. I still like Love, but Electric seemed pretty lame to me.

I had to have Dan Fogelberg's greatest hits; it has my favorite Christmas song (and another saxophone song), "Same Old Lang Syne." The Dan Seals CD is my wife's; I ripped it out of curiosity after I had heard that he had died earlier this year.

If you have kids that watch Noggin, or at least who used to watch it a few years ago, you might know Dan Zanes as one of those people who did music videos for kids on that channel to fill in time between their regular programming. This was a free download from Amazon not long ago and it's a cool album.

David & David are one of the great overlooked duos of the 80s, and this is a solid album. I thought I had already written a specific post about it but it didn't turn up when I searched for it. I guess they just got overlooked that year what with all the awesome stuff coming from Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, Starship and so forth.*

Gilmour's first solo album is the only solo work of his that I have. It's a good album, and proof that not all of Pink Floyd's sound came from Roger Waters.

Album count: 129.

*I'm still waiting for the html guys to come up with a real sarcasm tag.

Sax in the bathroom

I am now up to being able to practice for about 45 minutes before my muscles give out. Ran a bunch of scales today, then played around with a book of simple jazz arrangements for a while just for fun. The book came with a CD of backing music, sort of a saxophone karaoke CD. Such a thing didn't exist 25 years ago, and it is a lot of fun, although right now I'm just playing solo--I don't think I'm ready to sync up with a CD yet. I've also been enjoying doing simple improvisations with no accompaniment. This is something I do all the time, either humming or whistling, while I'm working. I still have a long way to go before I can get the music in my head to come out of my fingers as flawlessly as when I whistle, though.

To finish, I let both kids honk on it a couple of times while I played the keys. They thought it was great fun. My daughter has declared she wants to play sax when she is able to start band next year.

Egads...

I just noticed that I never ripped my Little River Band tape. I will have to see if I can find it.

10 albums a day #12

Chet Atkins - Teen Scene (1963, LP)
The Chieftains - Another Country (1992, CD)
The Church - Gold Afternoon Fix (1990, CD)
Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead (1984, LP)
City of Glasgow Police Pipe Band - Scottish Pipe Band Music (1970, LP)
The Clash - The Clash (1979, cassette)
Cowboy Junkies - The Caution Horses (1990, cassette)
Cream - Disraeli Gears (1967, CD)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Down on the Corner (1991, cassette)

I first heard of the Chieftains years ago when I used to listen to NPR's Thistle & Shamrock Celtic music program all the time. This was the only CD they had at the store at the time. It's a good album, but it's not representative of their more traditional stuff. This one has collaborations with various American country artists, as you can see from the names on the cover. I never went out of my way to hunt down anything else, but I would not be against getting more of their stuff.

Gold Afternoon Fix is my only album from The Church. I like it, but I've never gotten around to getting anything else by them. The Clash tape is the only thing I have from them. Never got into that stuff much, just bought the tape one day out of curiosity. I bought the Cream CD because at the time it seemed that I kept reading references to it as one of the great influential albums in rock history. I guess it is, but I wouldn't want to be stuck on a desert island with it.

Album count: 119.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Part 1 of a short film featuring Rahsaan Roland Kirk that must be seen to be believed.



Kirk was also a master of circular breathing. This is a method in which you fill your cheeks with air and then push the air into the horn while simultaneously inhaling through your nose to refill your lungs. He used this method so there would be no breath breaks in his sound. You can see him do a little of it while he's playing the recorders.