In the Listening Room

I haven't found much time for proper music listening lately. I might pop on a CD while I cook dinner or something, but to actually sit down and pay attention to what I'm listening to, well, that hasn't happened much in a while. But I'm working at carving out an hour or two on weekends to spin some of my records. Those things I've been working at collecting for the past four years.

A young suave Roy Orbison, shades intact, pluckin' his geetar

This weekend has been pretty good for tunes. I dusted off a couple of records that were given to me about a year ago. They were in a stack of albums, most of which were of great interest. I cleaned up and dedicated some time to those immediately cool ones, but set aside a couple that I was doubtful about. But lo and behold... that old, very rough around the edges copy of The Roy Orbison Collection (on Jukebox Records) plays very nicely and introduced me to some great music. Of course, I knew the biggies on there, like Crying, Oh Pretty Woman, and Only the Lonely, but all those unknowns impressed me, too. My knowledge of Roy's history is pretty much non-existent, but I sort of gather that he was operating in the same era as Elvis on the rock'n'roll timeline, right? And I can hear parallels in Orbison's music. The production, the arrangements, the strings and vocal accompaniments... not unlike Elvis' material. Great songwriting that stands the test of time.

Then I had a hankering for some Styx on vinyl, so I chose Cornerstone (1979), a really strong set of songs that range from the ballad Babe to sleek pop-rocker Lights to the folk-rock of Boat on the River. This was Styx's first Top 5 album in the States, thanks mainly to Babe, which went to #1 on Billboard and was everywhere during my early high school days. It's glossy ear-candy for rockers, and even though I wasn't really a fan back then, I can appreciate it a lot now. Great musicianship and songwriting... stuff that holds up amazingly well today.

I also popped my vinyl copy of the new Voivod album, Synchro Anarchy, on the turntable. While this isn't bowling me over immediately the way their previous recording (The Wake) did, repeated listenings reveal fascinating aspects of the band's creativity. Voivod have morphed themselves several times during their career, from the punk thrash of the first two albums to the technical sci-fi metal of the late 80's, on to stripped down progressive, then a lighter almost radio-friendly sound, then veering back toward their heavier prog-thrash style. The Wake was a true return to form, in my opinion, and Synchro sort of branches off from that, with not quite as big a sound, but amping up the complexity. Loads of apocalyptic sci-fi lyrical meanderings, most of which I can't make head nor tale out of, yet it's engaging and somehow works. That's what Voivod succeeds at.... making their brand of chaos seem perfectly natural. It's not for everyone, but I dig it.

I have Elvis' first album (1956) playing on Youtube as I write this. I'm giving it a couple of test listens to see if this is something I'd like to add to my record collection. While I do enjoy that early roots rock'n'roll vibe and sound, there aren't enough songs that really grab me. Blue Suede Shoes is a given, with a handful of other neat ones. For now, I'll stick with my three vinyl compilations and about five more on CD. At least there's a lot of coverage of his hits plus some slightly lesser known tracks. All timeless classics that I never tire of. All hail The King.