My recent obsession with recapturing what I considered to be “Landmark” records I had in my youth came to an end today when Grover Washinton's “Winelight” arrived in the mail. The very last one on my list. A list that was initially easily one-quarter of what it became throughout this endeavor.
I started out looking for maybe 20 or so key critical game-changers. Aja, Crime of the Century, Holst’s “The Planets”, George Benson, Dark Side of the Moon, of course. Along the way, I would recall other major landmarks as well as milestones between the landmarks. Landmarks were game changes. Hard rights. New roads. Chuck Mangione, Tom Waits, Joe Jackson, Pat Metheny, and Mark Isham all played a key role in opening new avenues, while others like Elvis Costello, Roxy Music, The Eagles, Steve Miller and Fleetwood Mac provided the groundwork between each major transition. (Fleetwood Mac covered both with TUSK).
My list grew, my search continued, and my weekends for the past 7 months or so were spent going to flea markets and scouring used record stores. I’ll admit that, in part, it’s been a coping skill and a way of avoiding facing other issues and demands that still need my time and attention. But even as an admitted diversion, it’s taken me back to a time and place of significantly valued memories.
I have been aggressively selective, too, rethinking and removing ones bought on impulse that didn’t really fit the firm criteria I set forth and not getting vinyl past when I started getting CDs instead. Therefore, favorites like Scarecrow, Listen Without Prejudice, Leap of Faith, August and Everything After… they’re not represented in this collection.
Today’s arrival was the last one. 125+ releases, maybe 130, total. Each had enough of an impact to have warranted this effort. I play them from time to time, and sometimes I stream the audio while taking the LP out to look through the liner notes and enjoy the concentrated experience once again.
I wonder what I’ll focus on next.