Live Albums???

When I was a wee lad, my brother and I begged our folks for a stereo for the rec room.  Pleaded, badgered really until they finally took pity on us and got one to replace the lame excuses for music delivery systems we had until then.  It was one of those all in one silver Citizen numbers.  You remember the type.  It had a cassette deck, 8-track deck, tuner and phono all rolled into one.  We were over the moon.  We couldn't wait to blast the tunes, and back then what we blasted more often than not was Kiss.  My aunt used to buy me 8-tracks of them and a friend of mine gave me a bunch of albums that he had inherited from his brother.  We would get dressed up, paint our faces and rock out to Kiss Alive 1 and 2.  I even made a little Kiss sign with my Lite-Brite.  Listening to the crowds we would pretend we were in Detroit, playing all the songs.  My bro' was the Space-Ace, my friend was the Demon and I was the Star-Child.


Fast forward a decade or two and my son was digging through grandpa's garage and found my old Kiss albums.  Let me tell you they were thrashed.  Played out.  Fallen soldiers who had served the Kiss Army well.


Today I managed to score a pretty good copy of Kiss Alive 1 to replace it's fallen comrade, but it got me thinking about the 'Live' part of Kiss Alive.  See the truth of it is it's not live.  They overdubbed and replaced a lot of what was considered live at the time.  It has slowly, over time, come to light that not a lot of what is left on the album is live.  Rumour is they even added the crowds later.  Not live, memorex.  So can you really call it a 'live' album, can you include it in the lists of great live rock statements.  No I don't think you can, but then again it's called Kiss Alive not Kiss Live.

Mad Dogs and MTV

Maybe The Buggles were right.  Me and a buddy of mine were watching a youtube video of some old concert footage and he mentioned that 'this kind of stuff wouldn't fly anymore' and it got me thinking.  Videos not only 'killed the radio star' they also changed music for the worst.  It was the start of a slippery slide to where we are now, manufactured music.  Stuff created in studios with producers and labels that are more concerned with how things look than any sort of musicianship.  Case in point:

We used to have this.

Now we have this.

Now don't get me wrong, I like Duran Duran, but the progression that MTV created started it off.  Now we have the Kei$ha's and Gaga's of the world, that may or may not have talent, dominating things.  Back in the day showmanship meant something, but it took a backseat for the most part.  The music was in the forefront where it should be.  

Now there are plenty of examples of exceptions to the previous statement, but watch this and tell me if this would make it into the rotation of what is left of video stations.

Confession

So, I have a confession.  I haven't always made collecting vinyl a priority.  Growing up

in Ukee, the local stereo shop stocked mostly tapes and cd’s so it was easier to get 

them over records.  Then when I was in university, I went down to the local

record haunts and bought some vinyl now and then but I also bought a hell of a lot of

cd's.  They’re really easy.  Portable and small, these are things you think about when

you are on the go.  I always had a walkman or discman of some sort with me wherever

I went.  Because it really should be about the music right?  Not the medium.  And 

when you are on the go, traveling between school and home, Victoria, Ucluelet and

Vancouver, I figured it was more important to have the music with me.  It was.  Music

means a hell of a lot to me, so making it portable was a priority.

Then, when I settled down and started my career, I still purchased the occasional

album, but I still bought CD's.  They were great in the car.  Nothing finer than cruisin'

around, tunes cranked, enjoying the drive.  The portable factor was still important.

Soon, the whole mp3 thing started and I followed.  I spent many hours digitizing my

CD collection.  Organizing, getting cover art, making sure everything was perfect.  I

amassed umpteen gigs of music, all stored as convenient 1's and 0's.  Oh yeah and

they were even more portable!  Instead of carrying around a few cd's with me I now

could carry an artist's entire catalogue on a machine smaller than a cassette case. 

Crazy really.  I had THOUSANDS of songs at the touch of my fingers, instant access,

everything a music obsessed person like myself would want.

Wrong.

I found that the music became impersonal.  I wasn't getting the same thrill I used to

get when I was buying physical things.  The 1's and 0's became what they really

were.... data.  I would sit in front of the iTunes store, clicking, trying to find something

to buy and I just wasn't getting excited.  CD's felt the same, no thrill, no buzz, just

data that had to be brought home and ripped into my neatly organized collection.  It

became more about the collection.  And that bothered me.

So finally what happened was I started looking at my vinyl collection more and more. 

Pulling the albums out and really looking at them again.  Then a bunch of us at work

got together and started to listen to vinyl.  As a group.  And it was great.  I started

getting that buzz back.  I started going out and buying music.  I would buy vinyl and

bring it home and play it.  Look at the albums, read the liner notes.  It was good to feel

the records, place them on the turntable.  The whole experience felt right.

Now I'm not saying that I'm done with CD's and mp3's.  The convenience still has it's

place.  But right now vinyl seems more real to me.  So that is where I'm headed.

You should give it a try.

Call Me The Breeze

JJ Cale 'Call Me The Breeze'

Skynrd did this song justice but nothing beats the original.

From his classic debut album 'Naturally' this 1971 gem is a pretty standard 12 bar blues shuffle with an almost demo sound to it. Cale plays a lazy guitar riff over a primitive drum track from an early drum machine. Layered on top of that is a couple more guitar tracks, a chugging rhythm guitar and a lead playing little riffs all over the place. Tempo wise it definitely has a slower pace than Skynrd's cover but you can't help bopping along to it nonetheless. The rest of the album is filled with songs you can put on as the background soundtrack to a lazy day.

Oh and did I mention that the album also features the song 'After Midnight'. You know the one, the one Clapton liked so much he covered it.....twice. Turned it into a beer commercial, you know that one. It's crazy too because at the time when JJ heard Clapton's version, he was dirt poor. It was actually the success of the Clapton cover that got JJ into the studio to record his debut.

And in case you were wondering, Clapton later covered another of Cale's songs, a little ditty called 'Cocaine'.

Pretty sure you've heard of that one.

Apollo Music

15,000 records $1ea.

That's what craigslist said, so ya gotta go check it out.

An add like this could go two ways. The vinyl mention wasn't even in the title, it was sorta placed in the add almost like an afterthought or an aside. That means whoever placed it either knew what they had and it was epic, or it was going to be a tremendous bust.

EPIC.

Me and a few of the V.A.G. group saddled up the cars and headed out after work to this industrial address in the middle of PoCo to go see what we could see. Once we found the place (wrong turn, backtrack needed, check the map etc.) we kinda stood outside this unassuming industrial complex wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. Who in their right mind would cram a record shop in the middle of all this.

Well Mike and Jamie of Apollo Music would.

From what I could gather from talking to them was they are in the business of buying bulk vinyl. They then sort it, put the cherries in the shop upstairs, and leave the rest in storage. So what we had stumbled upon was their version of a garage sale, two long tables down the middle of the main floor, garage door open, buck a record. Stay downstairs and you can flip through the bins and find the gems. Buck apiece. 15,000 unsorted records laying on and under the tables waiting for the taking. And I took, oh yes I did.

I was pulling vinyl with wild abandon. If I thought I might even kinda want it I grabbed it. I was grabbing modern rock, 70's southern rock, big band, calypso, 80's rock, stuff I already had but found one in better shape, everything. Got some Black Oak Arkansas. Found the first four Average White Band records. The first Marshall Tucker album...check. Managed to get a couple BOC records. Even pulled 'Hey Jude' for a dollar. Soon one of the boys brought over a box so I could put it all somewhere. The place was full of people all talking vinyl. A couple guys next to me were looking for Blondie, another guy was searching for 60's stuff. Couple people were Jazz guys. If someone found something cool and they already had it they would hold it up for others to see, in case someone wanted it.

The music was social, everyone was having a blast. We were talking, laughing, enjoying the day. Mike and Jamie were coming by and asking if you needed anything, how you found the place, was it your first time there. They were awesome.

Social. That's the key. I have never had a bunch of friends over to my place for an iTunes buying party. No one opens up their hard drive and has a mp3 sale. I was there for 3 hours digging through the bins and it felt like 30 minutes. I ended up with 78 records and they charged me $75 bucks. I could have used that money on iTunes and bought 75 songs, instead I got whole albums. Some of it I would never be able to find online. But the big thing was I was out in the world enjoying the act of buying music. With like minded people, in a fun setting. Like I said EPIC.

Big thanks to Mike and Jamie, the day was great. As much as I want to keep it to myself, a place like this has to be talked about. Here are the stats:

Mike Rintoul / Jamie Anstey

Apollo Music Inc

8-2260 Tyner St

Port Coquitlam BC V3C 2Z1

Phone = 778-285-9544

Check 'em out if you can, but save a few gems for me.

KC

ps - I went upstairs to check it out. What I saw made my wallet scream. When the funds allow I'll explore the shop fully. I'll let you know what I find.

Flex-Able

In 1983, Steve Vai, with help from Frank Zappa, built and outfitted a small studio in his garden shed. Named Stucco Blue, Steve would use this home studio to record his first solo album - Flex-Able. The album is heavily influenced by Frank Zappa who Steve had worked with in the previous years. It also doesn't contain the 'shredding' that Steve would become known for. It does contain some of my favourite Vai tunes though.

I can't remember exactly what year I got this album, probably around 1987. I have the original cover above and I consider it one of the prized albums in my collection. The album contains the classic track "The Attitude Song" but for the purpose of this I have chosen a different track from the record, song 1, side 1....

Little Green Men

Hang Up Your Hang Up's

I can't get this song out of my head. It took a bit of searching around in order to find the album.'Man-Child' (1975) is one of Herbie's more funk influenced works. Wah Wah Watson plays a dominant role on the album, helping to write 4 of the 6 songs and his mastery of the wah wah pedal is one of the things that drew me to this album.

The hunt took place over a few weeks when I could find the time. I had searched the flea market bins to no avail although I was a little sloppy and might of missed it. I thought I had a lead at Zoo Zhop, but no good. He said he had it but couldn't be bothered to find it. Audiopile had a bunch of stuff that I ended up buying, always the case when you go out looking. Finally the album was found at Zulu. I checked the Hancock bins but it wasn't there. Luckily at the last moment I looked in the new arrivals bin and, voila, there it was. The feeling of finding something you are looking for is a big buzz for me. What usually follows is a strong desire to play the album right away so....

Without further adieu.... Hang Up Your Hang Ups