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7 hours ago, mrjamiam said:

New subwoofer says it needs about 50 hours of break-in (!).  So I designated today as 70's concert day, with Aerosmith Live Bootleg, Allman Brothers At Fillmore East, Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush Live, and Sammy Hagar All Night Long.

If that doesn't break in I dont know. B)

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For Independence day yesterday, I spun a still-sealed NOS LP of this:

The+Band+Of+The+Grenadier+Famous+Marches

Ironically it's on the London label and played by a British military band. But it's a great-sounding record and the Brits play Sousa with a finesse that brings out the art and subtleties of Sousa's finely crafted marches. The music took me to a happy place of local parades, football games, and being drum major in high school.

Drum Major HH Parade.jpg

Edited by JohnnyB
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6 hours ago, mrjamiam said:

Nice hat!

Yeah, it was incredible--16" high, the inner frame was handcrafted from rattan, the covering was white rabbit fur and it stayed on my head thanks to an overlapping armor plate chin strap.

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Dwight Yoakam, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. This album is a masterpiece in so many ways. The sound quality, the mix, the mastering are all first rate. The band is very tight with a great blend, with acoustic instruments including slide dobro with fiddle and mandolin blended with steel guitar and twangy electric guitar. But it is the songwriting, the crafting and content, that make this album a masterpiece--the voice of the displaced Appalachians who left their beloved homes among the hills to take jobs up north for financial reasons. It was that or work the coal mines. One of the songs is dedicated to Dwight's grandpa, who worked the mines for 40 years.

In the summer of '63 was a hit song named "Detroit City" or "I Wanna Go Home." It was the lonely lament of a (probable) Appalachian who's an autoworker by day in Detroit, but spends his evenings at the bars, lonely and self-sedated. Yoakam's album takes this concept and explores it much further, and he knows what he's writing and singing about. He was born in Pikeville, KY, which is practically the epicenter of Appalachian culture. It's the county seat of Pike County, the site of the trials and public execution resulting from the McCoy/Hatfield feud. He grew up in Columbus, however. He wrote all but a couple of the songs including one called "Bury Me" by the Big Sandy, which is the river that runs through Pikeville. 

This displacement has personally affected me as well. I'm from Cincinnati and have spent a cumulative 29 years there. In Cincinnati is an incorporated town within the borders of Cincinnati named Norwood. For a long time Norwood was home to the manufacturing plant for the original Camaros and Firebirds. It was like a miniature Detroit with Appalachian autoworkers, lots of country bars and clubs, and a twang in the local accent. I also married into families with Appalachian roots, twice. My first wife's grandparents were from small towns in central KY, and my present wife's sister-in-law is actually from Pikeville, and my wife's father was also from Kentucky. Although he became an accomplished opera baritone and music director, my wife has memories of him getting together with his cousin and they'd pull out their guitars and have a go with old gospel and country songs.

417Q5c4qzwL.jpg

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Well, after all the things I post of 60-, 80-, 100-, and 250 yr-old music, I thought I'd advance to this 20th century album from a scant 32 years ago, Heatbeat City by the Cars. I have the LP but while sorting through the garage a few days ago I came across the pre-recorded cassette, which I bought  the year of its release for my 75-mile round trip commutes, and played it in the Town Car while I ran errands today. Now I'm going to play the LP while I putter around the house. I loved New Wave and Power Pop when they hit big in the early '80s and this is one album where the phasing, overdubs and use of synth is well blended, enhances the songs and has held up over time.

cars-heartbeat-city-full.jpg

This is a great album. Every song is a keeper, and the sensation of one good song after another reminds me of early experiences with Beatles albums that had no filler. I found the title track which closes the album to be particularly touching the way that Ocasek's quivering vocals convey the sense of sadness and loss. At that point I think I understood the title, "Heartbeat City," describing the pounding heartbeat you might experience when encountering an important lover from years before, as in the line, "Jacki, what took you so long?"

Edited by JohnnyB
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Digged this out of the LP stash today. Anything Geldof is always a great listen.

Boomtown Rats - V Deep

The+Boomtown+Rats+-+V+Deep-Front.jpg

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Our holiday spins through Scotland were lead by Roger Taylor's Fun On Earth, Oli Brown's Songs From The Road, and German band SEEED with Taylor by far in the lead.

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Listening to this on my drive to work today;

to my ear it sounds a LOT like early Sabbath;

the riff, the sloppy jazzy drums, the vocal melody, the production, and esp @ the end the double overdubbed different solos.

if it was an SG w/ a little more gain instead of a tele, and a more nasal sounding vocal it coulda been on Sabs 1st record.

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  • 1 month later...

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