In which we spin a few

A couple of thoughts on music. 

Not long ago I had to explain to a younger friend the concept of a Side Two Album. Back in the day when there was vinyl, period, albums had two sides. While 45s also had two sides, these were clearly an A side and a B side, a concept which has slipped into the general language to a small degree. But an album, once we got past the era of an artist’s hit plus filler, was meant to be a whole thing. For example, when the Stones first started recording, they just dumped every song they knew onto tape and a bunch of albums resulted. But by the time they got to, say, “Exile on Main Street,” the songs were cut specifically for that album. That was the way recording changed over time (although it isn’t as though rockers invented the idea: cf. Sinatra’s Capital albums in the 50s). To the point at hand, when you bought a record, you played side one, and then you turned it over and you played side two. As you played a record multiple times, there were some where you pretty much only played one side, or at least heavily tended toward one side. “Abbey Road” is probably the best example of this, a Side Two album if there ever was one. But there were plenty of others. And, of course, this is now meaningless. The digitization of music has all but eliminated the concept of an album, or at least the concept of a concept album. I’m not immune to this: I listen probably half the time to single takes rather than albums (although by the same token, I do listen half the time to albums over single cuts). Life goes on. Before long-playing records, everything was singles. Hell, Beethhoven’s Ninth, recorded, was a bunch of 78 rpm singles. Then again, when Luddy wrote it, it was meant to be heard all at once (although, TBH, in a theoretical set of 4 singles AKA movements). 

There’s no point to my bringing this up other than it’s one of those things I just happened to think of recently. 

My other thought is actually reportage. I have a monthly poker game, and during the game, there is background music. If the background music is random cuts from the past, the game stops with every new cut as people first try to identify it, and then report on what they were doing when they first heard it 60 years ago, and who replaced the second drummer. Five Card Draw becomes Name That Tune. However, when you put on a full album, once people identify it (which is usually pretty easy for my generation when you play something from 60 years ago) then you can get on with dealing the cards and trying to figure out whose bet it is. Come to thing of it, in my geriatric game, figuring out whose bet it is may be our number one business. I have tried to suggest over the years simple improvements to the game like, say, betting in turn, but have been regularly voted down as being too tight-assed. When every hand begins with the phrase “Whose deal is it?” and a game that used to last until about 11:00 now starts breaking up at 7:30 to keep in line with half the players’ bedtimes, you know you’ve ventured into a game of retirees. So, a warning: if you actually want to play poker, steer as far away from my game as humanly possible. 

Music (audit division): An update on what’s been playing in the audit queue in the mornings.

• Larry Williams — Never heard of him, but he wrote (and performed originally) “Slow Down” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” so obviously John Lennon was a fan. “Here’s Larry Williams” is an extremely enjoyable album, containing “Bony Moronie”, which was his big hit that I knew. Thrown immediately back into the rotation: I want to hear this one more than once. 
• Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol III — (Who knows why that E is in Poneys.) This is apparently their first album; if there’s a I and II I couldn’t find it. It starts out very folky, then you see glimmers of a rocking Ronstadt in some of the later tracks. I was never a big fan of Ronstadt, although I liked some of the hits and she unquestionably has a spectacular voice. The “Trio” album has to be a GOAT for a lot of people. (And while doing the research for this I discovered that there was a Trio II, which went straight into the queue.) Listening to this also moved me to listen to "Pirates of Penzance," but D’Oyly Carte, not Ronstadt’s version. I definitely went through a Savoyard period back in the day, and even saw John Reed do Pinafore on Broadway! (You will either find this devilishly enviable or totally meaningless.) I spent most of the ensuing week muttering under my breath that when a felon’s not engaged in his employment…
• The Hollies, “Write On” — More of the Hollie-ish same. I only listen to their albums to catch one of their occasional enjoyable rockers. Surprisingly enough, the Hollies ranked close to the top of the artists I listened to in my 2025 wrap-up. Go figure. It’s probably based on the fact that I have audited a lot of their work, and they have, themselves, a lot of work. 1962-present, according to Wikipedia. 64 years is way above the average rock band lifespan.
• Warren Zevon, Wanted Dead or Alive — Early Zevon. Not quite there yet, but in hindsight you can see it coming.
• “All Things Must Pass” with all the extras — I mean, who doesn’t like this album? It’s certainly one of my GOATs. But……..did I need 1001 extras? Having just listened to the original album at my most recent poker game (see above) without extras, I wasn’t ready to hear it again a couple of days later with them. Maybe some day, when I’m in the retirement home and if I have a decent set of headphones and I haven’t gone totally deaf…
• “John Wesley Harding” — Nobody knew what to expect when this album came out. How would Dylan reinvent himself, or for that matter, would he reinvent himself? I bought it, played it a few times, went on to other things. In my generation there are Dylanites and non-Dylanites. We latter don’t hate him, we just don’t revere him. It was nice to hear a few of these songs again, though.
• The Bonzo Dog Band — Their name comes up a lot in discussions of 60s music. I was expecting something rock-oriented, but what I got was British Music Hall. I do like their rendition of “Alley Oop” though. 
• Dillard and Clark — A pot pourri of their country music, and another venture into the work of an ex-Byrd. Listenable.