Though it's been a while since I last posted about new music acquisitions, I have been getting the odd thing here and there, and saving them for an occasion like this, when I can talk about them all together.
In that same mail order, I got The Best of B.T.O. (So Far). Though I starting out thinking I'd like a studio album by this legendary Canadian hard rock band, as I listened to their stuff, I found that the lesser known tunes were lesser known for a reason. Not all that memorable. Oh, some of the deeper tracks were pretty good, but the more I ruminated on this, the less I liked the idea. And then nostalgia kicked in and I thought "why not get that greatest hits I had when I was a kid?" So that's what I did. And as I listened to the practically mint condition (but previously owned) Bachman Turner Overdrive record, I was transported back in time, to when I was a young teenager buying my first albums, and spinning them on my bargain basement stereo (in the actual basement of my parents' house, where I'd relocated my bedroom as a lad).
Every song on that BTO collection means something to me. Though it was impossible to decipher some of the gravelly shrieked lyrics, I still recalled every note of every track on there. From opening rocker Roll On Down the Highway to the jazzy Lookin' Out For #1 and the nasty Gimme Your Money Please, it's all primo Canadiana. Very pleased I finally added that to my collection, perfect for trips down memory lane.
Then.... I got to pondering my odd feelings about The Eagles. I love some of their songs, like some others, and kinda hate others (not too many). Very few of their tunes really impress me, as I find a lot of their stuff middle-of-the-road, which I guess is how a lot of people classify the band. Yet I have all of their original six classic albums on CD, a couple of them also on vinyl record. And I rarely listen to them.
Then I think back to my early days with The Eagles, owning only their first Greatest Hits (1971-1975) on cassette tape during the 80's, and the same again on CD through the 90's and a bit of the 2000's. That compilation saw lots of action, mainly because the tracks therein had been carefully culled from the inordinate amount of middle-of-the-road music by the band. Every song seemed to be a successful choice - all were significant radio hits, and happened to be faves, so I just let that thing play straight through every time. And it never occurred to me to buy anything else by the Eagles. Oh, except for The Long Run on CD in the late 80's, which I then proceeded to ignore on its shelf.
But when I had the notion to pick up the individual studio releases, I noticed cool songs that I'd never heard before, especially on their debut album, On The Border, and One of These Nights. I'd say those are my fave Eagles albums, despite the fact they are more country and less rock than what came later. And though Desperado, their sophomore release, was considered a classic, I wasn't very taken with the overabundance of bluegrass fiddling around. Its title track was about all I could abide.
Anyway, all that to say that I recently bought that '71-'75 greatest hits... again... on CD. I'd given away my original CD when I got all the studio albums. Here I go again. I debated about getting this hits package on vinyl, but in the end, decided I didn't want to spend thirty or more dollars for something I'd already owned a couple of times and had foolishly disposed of. What a dummy. So a cheap and cheerful re-buy for less than ten bucks didn't hurt one bit. And I know I'll play this plenty, since it's packed with their biggest hits, which happen to be among my favourite songs. Good background music.
Even more recently, I got myself a very nice vinyl copy of Blue Oyster Cult's 1981 gem, Fire of Unknown Origin - again courtesy of the Discogs online service. Never even heard the whole album before, other than on my Youtube test drive while assessing my options for a purchase, which revealed a host of fine tracks for my listening pleasure. The only tunes I knew at all prior to that were Burnin' For You, a cool, catchy and huge radio staple ever since the album's release, and Veteran of the Psychic Wars, which appeared in the animated fantasy film Heavy Metal (which I saw several times back in the day), and on its music soundtrack, which I owned on tape in the 80's and later on CD. Psychic Wars is among my favourite BOC songs. Slow, somber, hypnotic, and atmospheric.
I'm still exploring the music on this new oldie, but am so far impressed with tracks like Joan Crawford and Vengeance (The Pact). I'll bet a lot of these songs will grow on me, since they are of the same high quality songwriting and sophisticated otherworldly rock that we've come to expect from BOC. I've always liked what little of their music I was familiar with, which wasn't much. Since the 80's I've had Cultosaurus Erectus in one format or another, an excellent showcase for the imaginative talents of the band, and somewhere along the way I got a tidy little compilation of their hits on CD. And just a couple of years ago I picked up Agents of Fortune on vinyl... that's the one I'd recommend to a new listener; it's got the rock classic Don't Fear the Reaper, plus E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) and a whole slew of excellent tracks I'd never heard before. Chockablock full of awesome, smart yet fun rock'n'roll.
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