Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Two incredible events took place this weekend.  Two!

When I was in high school I had two jobs my junior and senior year. During the week a friend and I worked for a small janitorial company, The Holland Company. We each had a small office building that we cleaned 5 nights a week. Most of the time afterwards we’d head to a local coffee shop, sit, drink coffee and shoot the shit.

Another job was on the weekends, working in Carefree, Arizona for a couple of guys that were  putting in a new subdivision. This was real grunt work, cutting and clearing brush, loading it on a flatbed, hauling it to the dump, unloading the truck and then repeat. We made and set lot markers, painted them, painted block walls and a bell tower, La Tierra Prometida, (The Promised Land) it’s there to this day, lest anyone doubt my construction abilities.

With these two jobs I was probably clearing $50 -$60 bucks a week, pretty heady money for those days. My income allowed me to pursue one of my favorite hobbies, buying and listening to record albums. Fortunately in the mid 70”s Phoenix was home to one of the great progressive radio stations of all time, KDKB, owned and run by the late Bill Compton.

KDKB exposed Phoenix to an incredible quantity of fresh, new, unheard artists. Bruce Springsteen was an unknown, AL Stewart, Jerry Riople, McKendree Spring, Spirit, King Crimson, New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Souther-Hillman- Furray Band, Jetrho Tull, Poco, Billy Joel, well, you get the point. Plus bands which were at that time fairly new, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, CSNY, Hendrix, Cream, the list could go on and on. It was an expansive time in original, progressive music. When cuts were played off more well known albums they weren’t the ones you heard every day, they were track 3 or 4, off of side B.

Once a week after Donoldo and I got our checks we’d shoot over to Evolution Record’s, Camelback and Scottsdale Road, spending easily an hour or more deciding what album, or on a binge week, two albums to purchase. 

Albums then weren’t just about spinning on the turntable, there was an art, a ritual to a new album. First you read the album, the back cover, the liner notes, a booklet if it was included. Who was playing on it that was recording with other artists, what studio was it recorded in, when was it recorded, who wrote what on it. All knowledge needed to really enjoy the music experience. Of course there is a method to storage as well. Alphabetical order by the band name, followed by the proper chronological order of release. I still do it, it drives my wife crazy.

To enjoy the album  to it’s  full potential a nice component system was in order. At the time I had an Advent receiver/amplifier, Kenwood KD 2055 Turntable and the smaller Advent speakers. Senhieser headphones rounded out the unit. All of this in a 10” x 14” bedroom. Quality makes it’s demands.

Then, open the turntable cover, clean the album, lower the needle and let it begin. If Mom and Dad weren’t home it was a good time for volume.  If either one or both were home it was time for the headphones. Either way, lay back on the bed and let the music fill my mind.

By the time, years down the road, that I finally got rid of my album collection to make the switch to Cd’s (working my way back to vinyl currently) I had upwards of 300 albums. 

I’m  really getting to a point here.   Over the years I’ve purchased Cd’s to replace vinyl, with a lot of the purchases off of Amazon. I received a new one just the other day, Eldorado – The Electric Light Orchestra. I don’t know how many I’ve purchased over time, but his one was unique, happily so.

I have finally received a Cd from Amazon that, the Jewel Box isn’t cracked, broken, scratched, loose on the inside or missing the actual album cover!

I don’t remember what the second thing was, but put on an album and enjoy your evening.