In The Listening Room

I haven't bought much in the way of music lately, but I have certainly been enjoying the records and CDs that I already own. For instance, I've been revisiting some 80's Rush, mainly because of the biography I'm reading right now. It's called Limelight: Rush in the 80's, by author Martin Popoff. This is book two of a trilogy of really nice hardcover tomes detailing the albums, writing, recording, touring and lives of the legendary Canadian prog-rock trio. So I've dug back into the archives for some satisfying re-discovery of Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows.

Then last night, after finishing a movie, I cracked open another beer and started flipping through my reasonable-ish-sized record collection (200 at last count), popping on album sides at random.

Several music formats: CDs, cassette tape, 8-track tape, vinyl LP records

My first thought was to crank up my latest acquisition, the vinyl LP of Too Many Gods, by English band Cats in Space. This group came to my attention not too many weeks ago, and then I was all over their Youtube videos. Certain that I wanted some Cats for my collection, I ordered the Infinity Edition of Too Many Gods. I actually wanted the original pressing on black vinyl, single disc, nothing fancy. But those were in very short supply, and expensive - worldwide! - so I opted for the later special edition pressing of it, which was very reasonably priced. So I've got the original album PLUS a second record of additional studio and live tracks. I'm not fussy about the live recordings but the extra studio stuff is very cool. Excellent album overall... I highly recommend it to fans of 70's-early 80's rock along the lines of Boston, Styx, Journey, ELO, Supertramp, and so on. These guys (a modern band, I should add) successfully blend elements of those classic sounds into something all their own. Well, here and there they really do sound like Boston or Styx, but that's not so bad,  is it?

Anyway.... all that to say that I did NOT play the Cats in Space album. It is just too damned catchy, and having already suffered (well, in a good way) from serious earworms from previous song and full album listens, I wisely avoided that issue. Nothing like a tune that won't go away as you're trying to drift off to la-la land.

Therefore, aware of my susceptibility to musical earworms, I chose music that wasn't super catchy and that I wasn't all that familiar with. Since I wanted a bit of variety in my last waking hour or so of listening, I decided on playing just one side per album... and so I chose the side with the songs I was most interested in at the time.

First up, I put on side 2 of The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees. Great late 60's pop-rock, by the TV band who were eventually allowed to play their instruments and write some of their own songs. And this LP is testament to their success in those creative departments! Fave tunes here are I'll Be Back Up On My Feet, Valleri, and Zor and Zam. Though a long-time Monkees fan, it wasn't until later in life that I finally bought and got to hear these "later" albums and songs. I only knew two songs off this disc, thanks to a greatest hits I owned many many years ago. Yep, you know the other one - Daydream Believer. Anyway, having heard this stuff very little, it's still fresh to my ears.

Then I went with the Elvis 1973 double-album hits collection. The one I bought on 8-track tape when I was a kid (still got it), and now own on vinyl. I opted for side two with gems like Stuck On You, Good Luck Charm, and Return to Sender (a favourite Elvis song of mine). This went down easy since I haven't over-played the album since I was probably thirteen years old.

Next up, I put on side one of 1979's critically-acclaimed Broken English LP, by Marianne Faithfull. This was a freebie that a local record seller gave me for being a loyal customer. Knowing nothing at all about Faithfull, other than that she had been with a Mr. Mick Jagger years before, I was unsure about what I was getting, but the guy assured me it was worth a listen. And boy, was he right. This is low-key, moody, late evening music. Sort of dark, pop-ish rock (early New Wave, perhaps?) with a hypnotic electronic component to it. Intriguing arrangements and sound treatment. I like it, not to listen to repeatedly, but to save for the odd appropriate occasion.

I think that was it for the night. Good but fairly laid-back music to calm me down for a solid sleep, which I got, thankfully.