March
19, 2018
Greetings from
the spiral,
I have a room
I will visit on special occasions. There
is phonograph player there, sitting on a pedestal table that was made just for
this purpose. I have a small collection
of record albums on the shelf, lined up in narrow ribbons of color, the names
of each in tiny script on the spines.
I can see this
room in my mind; the leather chair, the small table for my coffee, the speakers
on the shelf like guardians, silent now but willing at a moment’s notice to
change the sound of the room. When it is
the right day, like this past Saturday, I will close the door behind me in this
room and go to the shelf and select the five albums I love.
Each time I
see them I am a little surprised. There
are new colors, new album art. Sometimes
a logo has changed, or a new photo of some distant place has been added. Once in a while another artist sits in on a
cut. Some things have been worn off the
shiny cardboard, other places I can see where new shapes are appearing. The corners are rubbed white from use, but there
is so many good years of music to come.
I slide the LP
from the paper sleeve, carful to keep my fingers on the edges, and turn it in
my hands to side one. I place the disc
on the padded turntable and move the tone arm to start the 33 1/3 rotation. Lower the stylus to the first track, get the
satisfying gentle ‘pop’ through the speakers.
Then a moment of faint hiss, the kind introduction to every song, and
then music begins.
I sit in that
chair and let the music wash over me, holding the album cover in my hands. I open the gatefold cover and read the lyrics
on the inside. Some of them are
inspirational, some are an expression of the every day. There is poetry and there is comedy, there
are stories of love and of the promise of more.
All four are collections
of the greatest hits of the artist but they are not titled that way. Sometimes a track is added, sometimes I
notice one has been replaced entirely.
Things change, challenges come, heartbreak and joy are pressed into the
same vinyl.
Here is what Katherine
has released. It is a collection of
compassion and patience and kindness. Some pieces that she treasures were
written long ago, but she has more music being made today. It holds her adventures, her friendships, her
dreams. One of the songs I play a lot is
the story of how Tim came into her life, and the passion she feels for their
future. It’s easy to get swept up in
that song, not just because of his love for her, but because he is an artist of
such depth himself. I love their duet.
Carson’s album
is a study in contrasts. The titles are organized
alphabetically but the subjects are so varied you might not guess they were
from the same performer. There are
horns, a sitar, some Negro Spiritual influence, a broad mosaic of culture.
There a few songs that involve many different faiths. I read on the album label that the most
recent cut was recorded live in Colombia.
(The country, not the record company.)
The lyrics express his purpose, his desire to find what brings people together,
what heals division.
Harrison is on
the back cover of his album cover, smiling at the camera, wearing his signature
Hawaiian print shirt. The music is surprising,
the lyrics filled with hidden messages, which you have to read in their entirety
to really appreciate. The lead track on side one tells the story of deep
creativity, of broad intellect and sharp observational comments. I know his music will challenge me to look at
my own creative potential. And somewhere
in one of the songs he will make me laugh so hard I won’t be able to hear the
score. Of course it is on an Indie label.
While not
every song feels this way at first, the music that Sawyer has put down is an expression
of his passion. You know after each song
exactly what he was thinking and feeling in that moment. There are scratches on the record, but those
somehow add to the experience. There are
driving rock pieces and once in a while a surprising ballad that holds a deeper
element that some might miss if they are not listening closely.
Alexander’s
album I do not play so much as experience.
Everything on the cover, on the label, are added from my dreams, from what
I expected for him. It changes from each
visit, usually influenced by his brothers in some way. His record is smooth. There are no lines to guide the stylus, no press
of his expression into the black surface.
I can see my fingerprints clearly there but I don’t wipe them off.
This week held
the birthday he shared with his three brothers, and it was reason enough for me
to steal away to this room and raise the lid on the turntable. I know his music only because I have his
siblings to listen to. It is an ensemble
I am grateful for.
They are my
children, but they have all long since stopped being a child. They have been influenced by others, you can
hear that in the undertones, but each have their own sound, their own true
expression.
These artists have
inspired me, given me endless hours of pleasure, and many times pushed me to
make my own music more alive. I am thankful
for each note they create, better because of their sound.
You might want
to ask to borrow the albums sometime, but really I recommend you see them
live. It is awesome.
Hope
this finds you listening,
David
Copyright
© 2018 David Smith
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