Just a Second (meaning, 2nd)
For the first time in a while, I’ve got quite a bit of a creative streak going. A good half dozen songs and some form of development, but I’m not really sure what to do with them. As always, I beg your indulgence as it is hard to find time to be able to sit down and concentrate to get recording done. Also, the recording situation has changed over the past year or so, so finding time to do vocals is particularly challenging. Still…
After this next round of recording, going to have some hard decisions to make – specifically about which songs to include in this next album, and specifically what to call it. I’m attaching a little sound clip here with some samples from the various things. It’s a mashup of all of the things that are in the works. Sorry for the choppy nature
of it, but I wanted to give you an idea of the scope of possibilities.
*****
#2 – Greatest Hits (Steve Miller Band, 1978)
As much as The Cars’ first album made me want to pick up a guitar, Steve Miller’s Greatest Hits 1974-78 – which I first heard just before I heard The Cars – was the album that made me really pay attention to music and also think playing music would be pretty cool.
Let me set the scene for you: Jeff D, Don H, Chris C and I upstairs in my room back in Harrington Park. It’s about this time of year and there’s a family barbecue happening in the backyard. And there we are, upstairs, playing this album, singing and “playing” along to “Jungle Love,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” and “The Joker.” By “playing” I mean that Jeff was singing lead, someone was pretending to play drums on pillows and whatnot, and another of us traded off playing guitar and bass on an old Harmony acoustic guitar. It was a blast. And over the course of the afternoon, we dreamed about becoming rock stars, making albums, and going on world tours.
Fast forward about ten years, and Chris C, Don H, and I were doing covers of “Jet Airliner” in front of party crowds in the first iterations of Tunnel 18.
The album itself is a wonderful slice in time, showcasing some great pop/rock songs from the mid-70s, and the songwriting provides excellent examples of how pop didn’t (and doesn’t) have to be shallow to be accepted by a wide audience.
One more album to go, and then I have a special mention to add to the list.