Album-oriented
It's all about the sides
Hello and welcome to the latest issue of Fervent Curiosity. My name is Victor De Anda and this is my newsletter about writing, movies, music, and whatever else I’m obsessing about.
Can you remember the first time you listened to a full album from beginning to end?
Side 1 to Side 2? Before you call me an old-timer, I realize albums don’t really exist anymore, not for most people. Sure, vinyl’s hot again with Gen Z, just like DVDS and VHS tapes are. Everything comes back around. But even I’ve adjusted to listening to individual tracks on playlists that streaming music channels or radio provide. I rarely listen to entire albums anymore, but I’m changing that.
Not just with the physical albums that my wife and I listen to, but even with streaming music. I’m making a conscious effort to listen to my favorite albums from beginning to end. And not just concept albums, either. Full albums from my favorite bands that I haven’t heard before.
All of this got me thinking about the first time I heard some of these records. What follows are a list of a few of my album recollections, in no particular order.
1. Led Zeppelin: In Through The Out Door
I must’ve been in junior high when I went to the local public library and glimpsed this album cover in the record rack. Yes, back then you could not only check out books to read, you could borrow record albums. The cover intrigued me, and of course I’d heard Zeppelin on the radio before. “Stairway to Heaven,” anyone? Returning from the library, I put the record on my parents’ stereo system and was blown away. From the opening track, “In The Evening,” to the last song “I’m Gonna Crawl,” I was hooked. I listened to the album many more times before I had to return it to the library. I may have even accidentally scratched it.
2. Roxy Music: Avalon
By the time I was in college, I’d seen some of Roxy Music’s videos on MTV, like “More Than This,” “Avalon,” and “Angel Eyes.” I was living in the dorm when a fellow resident loaned me a cassette tape he had made of Avalon. He was a big Roxy Music fan and told me this album was a great entry point. I listened to it from beginning to end and was entranced by Bryan Ferry’s smooth vocals, the lush sounds of Phil Manzanera’s guitar work, and Andy Mackay’s saxophone and oboe. In addition to the title track, “Take a Chance with Me,” “More Than This,” and “Tara” are my favorites. The album still holds up and is a true classic in my mind.
3. Rush: 2112
Junior high again. My family was on summer vacation. We had gone to Kansas City, MO to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Two of my cousins were older boys who were into rock music. They told me I had to listen to this album by Rush. It was a concept album about a future time when music was outlawed. During our week and a half visit there, we must’ve listened to this full album at least ten times. I was already a Rush fan, but hearing tracks like “Overture,” “Temples of Syrinx,” and “Passage to Bangkok” made me a lifelong listener.
4. Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
I was in high school when I discovered Pink Floyd. At the time, The Wall had just been released and “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2” was getting heavy airplay on the radio. I wanted more, so I dug into Floyd’s back catalog. Sure, I’d heard “Money” on the radio, but not the rest of the album. WOW. The first time I listened to all of Dark Side, I was wearing headphones and the music washed over me like a warm wave. It’s probably my favorite Floyd album, with Animals coming in a close second. With killer tracks like “Time,” “The Great Gig in the Sky,” and “Breathe (In the Air),” this album is one I can listen to on endless repeat until the day I die.
5. The Smiths: Meat Is Murder
My first year away at college, I was listening to lots of music I hadn’t heard before. I was familiar with The Smiths, but this album put them on the map for me and many others. I was already a fan of “How Soon Is Now?,” which was released in the US as part of the compilation Hatful of Hollow. Can you believe “How Soon Is Now?” Was originally a B-side? Crazy. Anyways, Meat kicks off with Johnny Marr’s driving guitar and Mike Joyce’s punchy drums in “The Headmaster Ritual” and comes to a close with Morrissey’s vegetarian anthem, “Meat Is Murder.” Another great album I can listen to over and over. The US version of the album added “How Soon Is Now” as the first track on Side 2, which was a welcome addition, too.
So let’s raise a glass to the era of listening to albums from beginning to end. This isn’t a complete list of my favorite albums by any means, but it’s a start.
What are some of your favorite albums that you can listen to from beginning to end?
ICYMI:
The latest from me:
“Time Smudges” is part of the Time is a Dog’s Breakfast call over at Pistol Jim Press (Big thanks to Craig Terlson and Pistol Jim Press)
Pleased as punch to be part of THE SPECULATIVE DETECTIVE AGENCY, pubbed by Diversion Books and edited by Richie Narvaez and Matthew David Goodwin. The book drops on Oct. 6 this year, pre-order your copy today.
“Broke Down South of Dallas” is my crime fiction drabble for Mythic Picnic (Big thanks to Nathan Pettigrew for pubbing)
“Price is Right Rules” in Dark Yonder #11 (Big thanks to Katy Munger and Eryk Pruitt for pubbing)
What I’m Reading:
SILVER NITRATE by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I’m digging it so far!
What I’m Writing:
Working on my novel, and short stories when I stall on the novel. And this Substack.
What I’m Watching:
Recently I rewatched SORCERER, directed by William Friedkin. This was my third watch and it still holds up, WOW. What a film. Steeped in mood, atmosphere, and tense action sequences, like the one on the rickety bridge, am I right? Damn, what a classic.
That about does it. If you liked this post, please restack it, give it a mention, or share it on social media. You can find all my links here.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.
There are benefits of listening to an album with the songs in the order the artist chose. Progression, mood. Some albums I've listened to so many times that when an individual song comes up in streaming, my mind automatically goes to the next one. Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" does that for me. And big Roxy fan here! Avalon made me hunt all the previous ones, I treasure my vinyls, these gorgeous covers!
Looks like we’re close to the same age, with me a few years older. There’s no kind of listening experience than the kind you have as a young teenager, before one develops prejudices and those prejudices harden into an unwillingness to go beyond a narrowly drawn comfort zone.
Albums were huge for me too, and here are the ones I marinated in and still savor today:
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, DAMN THE TORPEDOES. I must have played “Louisiana Rain’ more than any non-Southern fourteen-year-old in the solar system.
Blondie, PARALLEL LINES. The non-hits like “11:59” linger longest for me.
Eagles, THE LONG RUN. “King of Hollywood” and “Teenage Jail” were the semi-sobby soundtracks to my social setbacks.
Modern English, AFTER THE SNOW. Echoey, chilly, somber. The soundtrack to many a long lonely night in boarding school. “Face of Wood” and “Dawn Chorus” to close Side One stick with me.
INXS, SHABOOH SHOOBAH. Like AFTER THE SNOW, full of dark breathability and chilled-to-perfection synths. “To Look At You” and “Soul Mistake” still ride shotgun to my occasional depressive spells.