There are certain events in human history that people remember where they were when they heard the news of the event. Many people remember the events of November 22, 1963, December 8th, 1980, June 5th 1968. Monday August 27th 1990, was a sad day for me and many of my music loving friends that they will always remember. That was the day blues rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan died.
The dates listed above are dates where a prominent figure was killed by an assailant. Stevie wasn't assassinated. He didn't die of a drug overdose. Stevie was killed in a helicopter accident after playing a gig with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Robert Cray in East Troy, Wisconsin. I had just seen Stevie Ray Vaughan and Joe Cocker at Fiddler's Green in Denver only a month and 11 days before. It was a great gig. Stevie played awesome and I was on a musical high.
I had been working at Dustys that summer and I was also doing an airshift at the college radio station on the Kearney State College (now UNK) campus. In fact, I had asked one of my fellow college DJs(Rufus) to cover my shift the day after the concert because I would be getting back late(or early the next morning). Rufus(on air name) and I graduated from college on the same day in early August 1990. But, we were still committed to our college radio station. In fact, we both volunteered to man the board when classes resumed in late August. I believe that this was the Monday morning that classes had resumed. I was running the board when Rufus walked in and asked me if I had heard about Stevie dying. I believe I looked at him and probably said, "Shut the fuck up!....don't joke about stuff like that!" or something along those lines. He was quick to inform that he wasn't joking and he was serious. He either showed me the Associated Press wire or I went and found it myself. Soon my music and blues loving buddies were calling me to see if I had found out.
I was scheduled to work at Dustys at noon that day. I quickly grabbed all of my SRV LP's and went to work just wanting to the play music that had given me so much joy. But, unfortunately, Dusty had decided that day to finally get rid of the turntable that we had for in-store play. He had decided to get a check/credit card reader....and since we had closed out LPs about a year before there was no use for LP's any more in the store. I hadn't made the change to CDs yet. So, what would I listen to all afternoon? Well, I think we had a copy of Stevie's final album In Step on CD for in-store play. My friend Matt had stopped in the store for a bit. He may have asked me if I had heard about SRV or something along those lines etc. He told me he would be on the college radio for the evening shift. So, I gave him my handful of Stevie Ray LPs to play for his evening air shift as a tribute show. I called Jayson at the Grand Island store to see how he was doing. Jayson and I had gone to Denver together to see Stevie and had bonded as friends after the event. As most of us who had grown up in the 80's would say...we were just "Bummed"!...
My friends Jake and Kevin invited me over to their place for a beer in honor of Stevie. Stevie had overcome drug and alcohol addiction a few years earlier. So, it did seem a little odd. But, Kevin is from Texas and he had brought back some Lone Star beer. So, it seemed okay with Texas beer. Later that night, we went to see the back to school concert with the band(our friends) the Untold. I think the band wanted (or was asked) to play a song in honor of Stevie. But, they really didn't know any of his songs. So, they may have played either Hendrix's Red House or Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb. Once again, an odd choice for an artist who had overcome addiction.
For me, Stevie had brought me a lot of joy through the grooving blues from Texas. I had grown in my drumming by playing SRV and Jimi Hendrix with Carl Hanson only a couple years earlier (see my blog on Jimi Hendrix). The fact that Stevie had been at the end of his rope through drugs and alcohol and had come back sober was an incredible accomplishment. The real tragedy was that he only recorded one album clean and sober.(1989's In Step) For me, I miss that there will never be any more "new" music from Stevie. If you've ever seen the Austin City Limits performances of SRV, It's obvious that with his sobriety, he gained a whole new confidence and performed so much better and I am sad that we won't see any more. Of course, there have been bluesy guitarist out of Texas that people have wanted to say "he's the next Stevie Ray Vaughan". But, he was one of a kind and they'll never be another.
About 11 years ago, I came across the "official Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble" website. One of the things that was listed on the website was "an open letter from Martha Vaughan". It was a note that Stevie's mom wrote about his struggles with addiction and how his Christian faith was instrumental in his recovery. I was moved by the note. There was an email address to email her. So, I did and she actually replied to it. I was down on myself at the time. She basically told me to keep faith. I sent her a thank you and wished her a Merry Christmas (1999) and she replied with
Dave, Thank you for the beautiful card and the words! I really appreciate knowing that my letter touched your life! That is an answer to my prayers! And I know that Stevie is smiling that big smile knowing his life has touched another person, for I know that was his goal in life! Have a Happy and Prosperous and Blessed New Year and Millennium! Sincerely,
Two of the blogs I've written in the past couple months have been about bands that are definite fan favorites but(in my non conformist nature) I refused to admit that I actually liked. I have written about the Stones and AC/DC. These are two bands that I really didn't get into on a regular basis. In the past year, I've come to appreciate (and love) another band. This band was named after an east coast city known for TV shows like Cheers and the home of prestigious colleges like Harvard and Yale and (for musicians) Berklee College of Music. The album and music of this band was the masterwork of a guitarist named Tom Scholz. Obviously, I'm talking the band Boston.
If you've ever been in a car with me and the radio is on, first that's rare because I hardly listen to classic rock radio. When I am listening to music, that's something I want to control. I want to listen to what I want to hear and I don't want the radio to "dictate" what I'll be listening to. Classic Rock radio is full of acts and artists that we can get tired of. Some may get sick of Zeppelin or Aerosmith or Van Halen. There are two acts that I've grown sick of hearing on classic FM radio is Bob Seger and Boston. For years, I've heard bits and pieces of it on radio, from my peers and everywhere in between.
The self-titled album by the band Boston has long been a classic rock radio staple. I still remember some of my fellow classmates talking about this album way back in my sixth grade class in 1979. As I have researched the history of this band, the original album was released in August 1976. This was an album that 11-12 year old boys knew about. It was something we could like that wasn't as "dangerous" looking to our parents like KISS was. Then, we grew into older kids and had new favorite bands. But, for many, Boston (especially the 1st album) was still a classic album.
I first discovered Dustys Records in my junior year of high school on a trip to Kearney State College for District Music contest, I had no idea how much that store would mean to me and would definitely "loom large in my legend". Many weekends of my senior year were spent on the road driving to Hastings from North Platte to see my parents who had moved there early in the school year. I would always find a way to detour into Kearney and stop at Dustys on my drive to Hastings to buy a new music for the trip(usually on cassette). When I started my college years in the fall of 1985, I was there constantly. I had auditioned for the KSC Jazz-Rock Ensemble and didn't make the group. But, many of my friends had. So, after Marching Band rehearsal, they would go to Jazz-Rock rehearsal and I would spend about an hour or so at Dustys and then back to campus to eat supper at the college cafeteria. In fact, any time I was bored (no matter the reason), I would probably find a reason to go to Dustys.
One night, I jokingly said to the guys on third floor Mantor Hall, "Hey, I'm heading down to Dustys! I feel like buying something. What should I get?" One of the guys said, "Ted Nugent Double Live Gonzos" and another said "YOU GOTTA HAVE BOSTON!".........wait a minute. I "gotta have" Boston? I realize it's only an expression. But, I don't like people telling me I "gotta have" anything. Especially when it comes to the music I'm listening to. From there, I was resistant to Boston and the greatness that my group of peers had bestowed on this album from 1976.
Looking back, I was somewhat interested in the band. In 1984, Between albums, guitarist Barry Goodreau formed a band called Orion the Hunter. The band actually featured future Boston vocalist Fran Cosmo on lead vocals and original vocalist Brad Delp on backing vocals. Of course, the reason I bought it was because of the drummer who was longtime Heart drummer Michael DeRosier keeping time for this "just another band outta Boston". This album is still a long time favorite and a guilty pleasure from the 80's. The production (especially the "drum sound") is very 80's sounding.
In the fall of 1986, there was a big hubbub about Boston's third album finally being released. It was called Third Stage. It was released on MCA records where the first two had been on CBS Records. Looking back, the time between albums is not such a big deal. But, the band's second album Don't Look Back had been released in 1978. That means it had been 8 years before the band had released any new music. Which means the grade school kids that loved Boston were now college aged kids and this legendary band was releasing new music. I was dating a girl at the time and she owned a cassette copy of that album. Let's just say we did a lot of making out to that album. I kept telling myself I wanted to own Third Stage. But, after awhile, the songs were constantly on the radio and my tastes in music were getting heavier and heavier. It just didn't seem like a must -have music purchase. Also, the relationship with that girlfriend didn't last and the music was a reminder of a relationship gone by.
After college, I was working at the Dustys Records store in Grand Island NE. I had rented a small house on a local farmer's land south of town. So, I usually had about a 15 minute commute into GI. So, I would usually have some music to listen to. One night, as I drove home(listening to the radio), I caught a bit of a song that really sounded cool...very prog rock sounding. At first, I thought, "is this Rush...No wait...Yes?....I have all the Rush and a good portion of Yes albums...who is this!" I talked to my girlfriend at the time and my coworker-Jayson and they said it was Boston! It was the intro part of Long Time known as Foreplay. Sure enough, it's listed on the CD cover as Foreplay/Long Time. I had heard Long Time. But, I don't think I had ever heard the amazing intro known as Foreplay in its entirety. So...the seeds of interest started. It was something I liked and might possibly get into. But, it still wasn't enough to get me to own the albums. My mindset at the time was "it's on classic rock radio in constant rotation. I can turn on the radio anytime and hear this stuff."
I kept that mentality for years. In the early/mid 90s, Vocalist Brad Delp and Barry Goodreau joined forces again in a band called RTZ. From all reports that I heard....well it sounds like Boston. Which, to me, was the ultimate in blandness. In June of 1994, I moved back to Kearney and was back working for Dusty again. One of the big new releases that came out that summer was the new Boston album called Walk On. I wasn't that interested. But there was definite customer interest and from all reports there was new singer that sounded a lot like Brad Delp. I have recently found out it was Fran Cosmo that I had enjoyed from Orion the Hunter. I still had resisted the original self-titled album. I was still cussing at classic rock radio because I wanted to anything but Boston. Then, in 2007, the news came that singer Brad Delp had died of a suicide. I was listening to a podcast by music insider Bob Lefsetz and he was talking about how he had tried resisting the music of Boston and the vocals of Brad Delp. Now it became obvious, I had to stop trying to "not" liking it and give it a listen. No doubt, this music had some great guitar licks, riffs and hooks. Also at this time, bands like Journey were trying to find singers to replace their former singers with vocalists that imitate their longtime singer for the "classic" or "legacy" sound. A news statement was released that vocalist Michael Sweet of the 80's Christian band Stryper had decided to become a member of Boston and sing the Brad Delp parts. They also found a vocalist via the internet and youtube singing songs a la Brad Delp. For years, I had heard the critics refer to Boston as a part of "corporate rock" along with bands like Styx, Foreigner, Reo Speedwagon and Journey like it was a bad thing. I actually spent my early teen years as a fan of most of these bands. Then I read an interview with mastermind Tom Scholz on classicrockrevisited.com. He was upset with the label of "corporate rock" that he had been burdened with. After all, he had basically produced the first album by himself in his basement. He had also sued CBS records between the second album and the Third Stage album. That seems like someone rising up AGAINST the corporation. Hmmmm....maybe it's time to have a listen.
About a year ago, my old friend Cory helped me secure a job with the Ashley Furniture homestore in Grand Island. Cory and I had met through a mutual friend named Marty G. Marty and I had been in a couple of bands that never made it past the garage jamming stage and a couple of local battle of the bands. In fact, Cory had actually sang for us in one of those bands. Cory had his laptop computer one day and he basically said if there were any albums on his laptop that I didn't have I could copy them to my MP3 player. Lo and behold, there was the first Boston album and I figured "might as well...I might actually like it". Well, I did and I really like it. I knew every song and they all sound great. The vocal harmonies are incredibly chilling(especially at the right volume levels) and Scholz's guitar layering is absolutely outstanding. I still find it hard to look at the artists on my mp3 player and think "I wanna hear Boston!" But, when I do, the smile on my face appears and I think what a music snob I was. As Trey from South Park says in the Rush documentary "then you're just being an old dickhead". Obviously, he's referring to Rush. But, I've learned that goes for a lot of bands that have been deemed unhip by critics and the "accepted" music press.
The thing that hit me like a ton of bricks is the opening lyric to More Than a Feeling that resonates with music fans of all ages:
I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away
It's more than a feeling
When I hear that old song they used to play
(More than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (More than a feeling)
'Til I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away
When I'm tired and thinking cold
I hide in my music, forget the day
And dream of a girl I used to know
I closed my eyes and she slipped away
She slipped away
For me, the simple thought of starting your day with music is part of the smile I start the day with. It's the frustration I spend trying to find something to lift me up. It's the constant battle to find the rhythm and groove that makes life(and traffic) move smoother, faster and makes the universe feel just right! It's the end of the day solution for decompression from a stressful day!....and I slipped away!!
Last night I found out that Little Feat drummer – Richie Hayward lost his battle with liver cancer. Richie was truly one of the unsung drumming greats of the past 35-40 years. I saw the amazing talent of Richie in the fall of 1994 at the Nebraska State Fair. I wish I could play as well as this man could.
I don’t remember how I first found out about Little Feat. But, it seems like it was an artist I saw a lot of in my teen years as I would constantly peruse the record bins of local record stores, department stores and bookstores looking for more stuff on Rock bands. Yes…I’ve been obsessed with music for a long time. In my years of working music retail, people would ask me, “Have you heard _______?” My response usually (if I hadn’t) was, “No but I’ve heard OF them”. For years, Little Feat was one of those bands for me. I had heard of them. But, I hadn’t really given them a decent listen. I do know that in my early college years (when I really started to begin my obsession with Led Zeppelin) that I started coming across references to Little Feat. In 1985, Robert Plant employed drummer Richie Hayward to play on his 3rd solo album called Shaken and Stirred. For the longest time, I thought that Phil Collins had played drums on the first single Little by Little only because Phil was ubiquitous in 1985 and he had played on Plant’s 1983 album Principle of Moments. I found out it was a drummer named Richie Hayward who (at the time) was the former drummer for the band Little Feat. I think I had read an interview at the time that Plant talked about how he and Jimmy Page really enjoyed listening to Little Feat music. Time (and college) went on. I’ve often written about all kinds of different music I discovered in college and while working at Dustys Records while attending college. Once again, I kept seeing the name of the band Little Feat. Modern Drummer magazine did an article on Richie Hayward in 1988 because the band had decided to reform and recorded an album called Let it Roll. I had heard pieces of it. I do recall some of the “older” clientele of Dustys coming in and raving about this album. Also at this time, I was a DJ at the college radio station on the UNK(then KSC) campus. One fellow DJ (and longtime friend) Scooter would play the Let it Roll album on his shift. In the summer of 1988, Van Halen with Singer Sammy Hagar released their album OU812. On the CD version of the album, the last cut was a bluesy song called A Apolitical Blues. Is this a Van Halen song? No, it’s a song by Little Feat. Aha…so now more interest builds. By 1989, my tastes in music begins to mature. MTV has started a sister station aimed at an older demographic called VH1. At first, it seemed like it was mostly videos by Michael Bolton and Melissa Etheridge. They even had a Sunday morning Jazz program. But, I remember seeing a song called Mighty Rad Gumbo. Hmmm…very jazzy and different from what I had been listening to. I soon came to realize this was the infectious sounds of New Orleans. I’m sure at that time there was a vinyl copy of Little Feat’s Waiting for Columbus somewhere at Dustys. Eric B probably owned it and played it in the store. Somehow, I knew a song called Dixie Chicken. But, it would be a few years later that I would fully realize how cool it was. Fast forward to 1993, Garth Brooks was the number one selling artist in America… and his fourth studio was released called The Chase. At the store I was working, we used to jokingly call it “the Chase for the Almighty dollar” or “Ropin in the Bucks!” Anyway, the first song on side two of the in-store cassette we would play in the store was Garth’s cover of Dixie Chicken. I would listen to that tape over and over as I would open the store on a daily basis. So, I really began to love the Little Feat cover. Years later, when someone would ask me what I was listening to and I would answer “Little Feat”, I would get looks of bewilderment. I would usually say “Dixie Chicken” figuring they would have heard the song from Garth Brooks. No such luck. I eventually found a used CD copy of the album Dixie Chickenat the Used CD Warehouse in Omaha. Oh boy, I think I had found one of my new favorite bands. This had the earthy bluesy groove that I was into in the spring of 1994. Wow, this was so good and a great discovery. I soon lapped up as many used copies of Feat CD’s I could find. Then, in June of 1994, Dusty called me in Omaha and offered me a full time job back in Kearney at the store. It really felt like going home again. Then, the 1994 Nebraska State Fair announced one of the concerts that year was the BB King Blues tour which featured a Muddy Waters tribute band (with former members of Muddy’s band), Dr. John, Little Feat and BB King. I was excited to see a blues legend like BB King. But, it was Little Feat that blew me away. If you’ve ever seen an act at the Bob Devaney center in Lincoln, NE, they usually have a stage in the center of the arena and you can watch all aspects of the band. That night I was mesmerized by the drumming of Mr Richie Hayward. For every song, every limb on his body kept moving and moving and yet he kept…..grooving. It was amazing to behold. I just remember thinking “this is the best band ever and Hayward is the most awesome drummer ever!” I even drove home from Lincoln to Kearney that night and pulled out my 1988 issue of Modern Drummer to read up on the article with Richie Hayward. It’s funny looking back that I was probably up till 3am in the morning reading this article after seeing him live. In 1995, Little Feat released their first album with female singer Shaun Murphy called Ain’t Had Enough Fun. I was over the top excited to hear the album simply because a bunch of us from Dustys had seen the lineup at the State Fair and were very impressed with her vocal abilities. Unfortunately, my college friend Scooter was not. He did not like the “chick” singer in Little Feat. But, the album, the band and (of course) Richie Hayward did not disappoint. Modern Drummer magazine even did a feature cover story in the October 1995 issue on Richie Hayward and the new album. The article even featured a sidebar article called “Stars on Richie” where drummers such as the Dixie Dregs’ Rod Morgenstein, Jim Keltner, the Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and Vinnie Colaiuta all raved about Richie’s playing. I was so revved up about the article that I wrote a letter(not an email) to the “Readers Platform” at Modern Drummer about the cover story on the great Richie Hayward. I was then surprised when they published my letter in the February 1996 issue.
I think I gushed on a little more in my letter. So, they obviously did a little bit of editing. The band continued to release more albums that were really good. But, I think I may have overdone it a bit and kind of burnt myself out on Little Feat. But, I was still interested in stuff that Richie recorded. He was on Eric Clapton’s From the Cradle blues album. I think Buddy Guy may have used him on practically all of his studio albums in the 90’s and even more recent albums too. He was also on Johnny Lang’s album Wander the World. In 2008, Little Feat decided to record an all-star album with guest vocalists including Brooks and Dunn, Emmylou Harris, Dave Matthews, Chris Robinson, Jimmy Buffett and Lowell George’s daughter Inora George. My friend (and coworker) Claire quickly ordered the CD and we were soon listening to the album on a daily basis at work and loving it all. I had read recently that he was suffering from Liver Cancer and was without insurance. So, the band was having fundraisers to come up with funds to help deal with the medical bills. But, sadly he passed away this past week and the drumming and music world are without another great one. Thanks Richie! You will be missed!
At my current job, it’s a furniture store that is supplied with satellite fed music videos and they feature songs from all kinds of music from different eras. From the Motown hits of the 60's to Bon Jovi of the 80's to current pop and country hits. One of the videos that was on last week, I noticed a scene of people in an old record store. Anyone remember those? The kind where you could flip through endless copies of 12"X12" cardboard filled musical joys on round vinyl. For a brief moment, it left me feeling nostalgic for a different time. One of those times, included a record store I experienced in Austin TX in the spring of 1990.
In The book of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, there are at least 3 albums by Queen listed in the book. But, the one that hooked me was an album that I had known but took about 15 years to reel me in. Of Course, I'm talking about the classic A Night at the Opera.
Released in 1975, the band had a huge hit in the 70's and then again in the early 90's with their highly unusual hit Bohemian Rhapsody.
For me, I remember (in 1977) when Queen had a big radio hit with We Will Rock You and We are the Champions. My sister Kathy had the live album Live Killers. I remember sneaking a listen to the album because there was a picture of topless women in the inner sleeve. Oh well, it wasn't until my 9th grade freshman English class that I was really drawn into the artistic expression of Queen. We were doing a section on poetry and my teacher used two examples (through music) in albums by the Beatles and Queen. The Beatles example was the story that Lennon and McCartney told in Eleanor Rigby from the album Revolver. The other example was Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Yes, I found out about Bohemian Rhapsody in my freshman English class. I'm sure there was a piece of paper with lyrics printed on it. We listened to the songs and followed along with the lyrics.
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see, I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy, Because I'm easy come, easy go, Little high, little low, Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me Mama I just killed a man, Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead Mama, life had just begun, But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Whoa....some guy killed a man and now he's telling his mom about it....this is crazy! Better yet, the education system used this as a learning tool..LOVE IT! This would have happened (probably) the spring of 1982. As time went on, Queen fell prey to the technology of music making of the 80's. In 1980-81, I was still excited about the music they were making with their album - The Game which featured Another One Bites the Dust and Crazy Little Thing Called Love. I also think I was the only one of my peers that actually enjoyed the Flash Gordon movie primarily because of the Queen soundtrack. But, then came songs like Body Language, Under Pressure, Radio Ga-Ga and I Want to Break Free. Radio Ga-ga just seemed like the silliest title ever. Body Language seemed more dance oriented with more electronic instrumentation and I Want to Break Free had a video which featured the band in drag. For a teenage boy, you didn’t want your rockers to seem….well….gay! Well, now we know that Freddie Mercury was bisexual and had partners of both sexes. But, in the early 80’s, I didn’t want to know that and I sure didn’t want to support a band that did. Looking back, I was either in a serious Beatles, Who or Van Halen kick at the time. So, I didn’t have time for a band like Queen that had resorted to using Synthesizers. But, the thing that kept me going and interested in Queen was wondrous layered vocal harmonies and the sound of Brian May’s guitar. Many musicians are blessed to have a signature sound when they play. Ringo Starr has a signature way of playing drums (example: Ticket to Ride, Tomorrow Never Knows and Revolution). Eddie Van Halen has a distinct signature style of playing. Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Stewart Copeland, Geddy Lee, and many others all have signature styles on their respected instruments. But, Brian May’s guitar sound is what astonishes me and brings me back to the music of Queen. In 1984, I bought an EP cassette of Brian May’s Starfleet Project. I found out that on this “Project” was a celebrity lineup of musicians that included Eddie Van Halen and Brian May on guitars, Phil Chen (formerly of Rod Stewart’s band) on bass and REO Speedwagon’s Alan Gratzer on drums. I loved it and the simple guitar jamming that was featured on this. To put it simply, Brian May’s guitar sound is very similar to the band’s name. Queen’s guitar sound is “Majestic”
After my family moved to Hastings in 1984, I joined them after graduation in 1985. I worked for my Dad at the Gibson's store he was managing at the time. While I was employed there, I made a friend in John G. That summer of 85, we would spend so much time talking about music. I still remember both of us stocking groceries on the afternoon of July 13th, 1985. We would keep running to the backroom to listen to the live broadcast of the original Live Aid. John was a huge Queen fan.....still is. So with his palpable love for the band, my interest was automatically heightened. He introduced me to a lot of Queen's earlier albums. Subsequently, any time I think of Queen, my memory of John is usually included. The band released A Kind of Magic in 1986 and then The Miracle in 1989. By now, I knew what I liked. I thought A Kind of Magic was great. They had music from the movies Highlander and Iron Eagle and it featured a lot of Brian’s guitar sound. The Miracle was good too. But, I only feel like I enjoyed the first half and not so much the second half.
In March of 1990, my friend Kevin had a fantastic idea of going back to his hometown of Leander Texas (just outside of Austin) for Spring break. Well, Austin Texas was where Stevie Ray Vaughan started his musical career and that was cool enough for me and the South by Southwest festival was just wrapping up the weekend we would arrive. So, we saw a ton of live music on 6th street. We went to a bunch of record stores. When I say “record stores”, they were honest to God record stores. They were used record stores where you could take the LP up to a counter top filled with turntables and a set of headphones and have a listen. But, the store I remember and probably have a store poster somewhere was called “the Inner Sanctum”. That was the way I felt when I was deep in listening mode….I would be in my own “inner sanctum”. That was the coolest store outside the state of Nebraska I had ever been to. I know I bought about a few LP’s that day. I don’t remember what they all were. But, I do remember that the main purchase was the album I had heard all those years ago in my 9th grade English class. We got back to Kevin’s house and we were lucky enough that his folks were off at work for the day. They didn’t seem to be big rock fans. So, It was a fantastic time to listen to my new purchase on the family stereo. What hit me from the beginning was the undeniable harmonies and outstanding production of this album by Roy Thomas Baker.
So, I sat there in Kevin’s family’s living room with my album cover open as I read through all the album credits and let the music play over me. The continuity of the music goes from the foreboding piano and guitar of Death on Two Legs then to the mock victrola sound and megaphone sound of Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon. Then, drummer Roger Taylor takes at turn at lead vocals with I’m in Love with my Car. I always admired drummers who also sing lead and backing vocals.
You’re My Best Friend is next and just a great affirming message for anyone who wants to express what friendship means to them. I myself made a mix tape for my friend Bob for his first marriage that included this. I believe I made a “love letter” CD for my former wife that included this song because I considered her a friend first and foremost…still do. I always thought that Roger Taylor’s drum fills on this are very cool. Listen closely, he is playing the fill starting from his floor tom and going up the rack toms. Which, is very unusual because drummers traditionally start higher and end on the floor tom. Then, the albums segues into Brian May’s science fiction folk of ‘39, followed by Sweet Lady, and Seaside Rendezvous. Side Two opens with the soaring harmonies of the Prophet’s Song. From there, the album just flows together with Love of My Life and into Good Company. Love of My Life is definitely a showcase of the power of Freddie Mercury’s voice. I have turned up the volume of this song in the car and attempted to sing along….I reiterate…”attempted”. As a former vocal music student, I tip my hat to the vocal power of Freddie Mercury. We often speak fondly of Rock Stars and celebrities after they pass away. Sometimes, they are a little far fetched. For me, Freddie is at the top of a fraternity of great rock frontmen. When Freddie was honored with a giant concert in 1992, only then did it become obvious as a handful of musicians and vocalists undertook the task to sing Queen songs with Freddie Mercury vocals. Many did passable jobs. The others were probably wondering about the future of their careers. Back to the album…after Good Company, We venture into a song that is part rocker, part opera and part folk song. It’s been parodied by the Muppets. It even reached legendary status as a piece of comedy history in the SNL spinoff movie-Wayne’s World. It became so big, that even my nephew (who was born in 1985) knew nothing about Queen or Wayne’s World in 1992 expect that guys drive along banging their heads and singing “Galileo Galileo!” It’s even a rather popular tune at Karaoke nights..Just ask my ex-wife. In the book-1001 Albums, Bohemian Rhapsody is described as:
Since their 1973 debut, Queen’s ambitious template had included bombastic classical references, falsetto freak-outs and pagan mysticism. But, it was on album number four that they melded all these into the epic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody'.
The album wraps up with Brian May playing his signature guitar arrangement of God Save the Queen which us kids in America would sing as My Country Tis of Thee or just plain America. This is truly an album created and born in Britain but is loved worldwide. It’s an album that’s become so engrained in my life it’s almost like a part of my genetic makeup. I remember after I originally bought that album and transferred it to tape that I would wake up early in the mornings with the melodies of some of the lesser known songs ringing through my brain. Now, that’s an album with a definite imprint (and impact) in my life.
