Skip to main content

Why Buy Albums

In this episode - Why Buy Vinyl Albums . . .

Do you consider yourself a music lover? During my high school and college days (1970-1979), music was about what it took to recreate the concert experience. Pulse-pounding bass and drums, hypnotic electric guitar leads, remarkable rhythm, and distinctive vocals. 

How, you ask? High-fidelity recordings could only be reproduced for consumers from vinyl LP record albums. And, of course, BIG speakers. (The first digital compact disc (CD) was released in 1982 in Japan). In my dorm at Western Illinois University, college was contesting who owned the "best" speakers and quality hi-fi amplifier. To name a few from that era, Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood, Marantz, and Harman Kardon, among many others.

Another essential component was the turntable. Audio-Technica, Denon, Technics, Marantz, Onkyo, and Pioneer have made a big comeback in recent years.

I remember my roommates' "Rig," a Marantz 1070 amplifier, Technics turntable, and BIC Formula Four speakers. My tiny Pioneer integrated system didn't stand a chance.

However, the question remains, have you ever experienced music reproduction from a quality stereo system with a turntable and LP record?

You may be thinking, "Why bother? We have the convenience of modern digital devices that integrate with home, personal, and car audio systems?"

During a Saturday visit to our local record store - Standards in Vista, CA. I became giddy about a find. I dictated a text to Lori, "You'll never believe what album I found for six dollars."

With her iPhone in hand, which contains our entire music collection (BTW), her response, "I say, why buy albums?"

My first thought was, what, are you kidding? "An LP album is a multi-sensory experience." Allow me to rationalize.

While flipping through bins of "old" records, I discovered a used copy of Madman Across the Water by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. You've probably heard many of the hits; Tiny Dancer, Levon, and Madman Across the Water. Of course, we own a digital copy, one of my favorites not in my record collection from the 1970s.

As I opened the bi-fold album, I was surprised to find an intact original booklet of lyrics and photos included with the layered artwork—the cover replicated the authentic look and feel of blue jeans and had a familiar fragrant aroma.

At the height of record production, artists were hired to work with musicians to carefully craft masterful artwork that became the album cover, stunning 12 1/2 inch square pressed artwork, the liner notes, lyrics sheets, and sleeve design.

Today when you purchase (or should we say rent), a digital version included is a miniature of the album cover artwork on your phone; I'm sorry, that's just not the same.

My listening friends, the full sensory experience of a rich concert re-creation involves; slide the record from its sleeve, place it on the turntable, turn it on, check the playback speed, clean the disc, place the tonearm, and enjoy!

A rich, deep, resonant, full melodic bass sound fills the room: harmony, rhythm, and the perfect articulation of sound reproduction. So go ahead, live a little, turn up the volume, sit back, close your eyes, and relive that concert experience all over again.

Come on; you still need to ask, "Why buy an Album?"

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

Back to School (Without the Triple Lindy)

I hadn’t set foot inside a public library in over thirty years. Last Saturday, when I walked through the sliding doors of the modern County of San Diego branch on Eucalyptus Avenue in Vista, my eyes instinctively scanned the floor for the familiar, comforting sight of varnished oak cabinets and brass pull-handles. Nothing . No card catalog. No little wooden drawers. No rows of index cards typed by someone who presumably had beautiful penmanship and a pension. I walked up to the front desk, looked the librarian dead in the eye, and asked with complete earnestness: "Where’s the card catalog?" She didn’t laugh, though she had every right to. Instead, she offered a warm, dry smile: "We magically had the computer digest it." And just like that, I was enrolled. Not the Rodney Dangerfield kind of back-to-school. No diving board, no loud blazer, no campus party, and thankfully, no need to convince anyone I belonged there. Just an overdue reminder that while I was busy with ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholē , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...
4 comments
Read more

Doc Welch - The Country Doctor

In this episode, Doc Welch . . . Many authors have characterized life in rural Illinois over the years. Among the more notables are Edgar Lee Masters, who wrote Spoon River Anthology, Carl Sandburg for his poetry and biography of Abraham Lincoln, and little known to me until recently, my first doctor, whom everyone in town always called Doc Welch - James K. Welch, M.D.  (Feb. 7, 1915, to May 5, 1998) While exploring the microfilm of the Cuba Journal (published from 1884 to 1992), I consistently kept running across articles entitled The Country Doctor. This intrigued me. Doc Welch was a third-generation practicing Country Doctor in Cuba for over 40 years. His father, James William Welch, M.D., practiced medicine in Cuba for more than five decades. His grandfather, James Knox Welch, M.D., settled in Cuba after the Civil War. Cuba, Illinois, is a small, rural farming community in west-central Illinois, where I grew up. Like many small towns, it boasts a central square with a ban...
4 comments
Read more

Vintage Vinyl

In this episode - Vintage Vinyl . . . Turntables are making a big comeback; why? Listening to music should be a multi-sensory experience. Harmony, rhythm, and the deep expression of emotion. Like a warm, gentle rain in the springtime cascading around you the room is filled with a resonant, rich, melodic sound. My emotions welled up, and tears come to my eyes. Ok, I get it, we need to step back to get some perspective here. Recently a visit to Lou's Records in Encinitas, California, inspired me to dig out my Vintage vinyl LP record collection. I selected the Carpenters Singles 1969- 1973 . This musical duo reigned from 1969-to 1982 with the rich, full melodic voice of Karen Carpenter. They were one of the biggest-selling groups of the 1970s. "No fewer than ten of their singles went on to become million-sellers, and by 2005 combined worldwide sales of albums and singles well exceeded 100 million units." The tactile sensory experience of music begins with the album cover it...
4 comments
Read more