Lynyrd Skynyrd Band - Gold & Platinum

This was the only album I ever bought by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It had it all, and all I needed. I played this pretty much to death back in the day, and I have to admit, rather sheepishly, I never thought "Freebird" was that great. It was too long, too meandering, and by the time the guitars let loose it was too little too late and it was too much. Of course over the years I have softened and have even brought into my musical fold The Outlaws "Green Grass and High Tides" and "Highway Song" by Blackfoot. There are a few honourable mentions like "Edge of Sundown" by Danny Joe Brown. They all made their sacrifice to the rock gods at the altar of the Skynyrd. However, this is all unrelated and at the time when I had this double album of rock and roll goodness, they were songs I didn't even know existed.

Now, when I found this copy for under ten bucks I was pretty stoked, and then a little disappointed when the liner notes for each album that listed the credits to each song were missing. It was part of my original experience as I would sit and listen to the album and read the lyrics and see who played what on which track. Names like Ed King on guitars, and Artimus Pyle on drums were ingrained in my brain. Ed mainly for his work on "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Saturday Night Special" then there were Allen Collins and Gary Rossington who were stalwarts, and later when Steve Gaines joined (I would learn this later, but I knew his name from the credits) his impact was immediate and the song "I Know a Little" with his guitar fret wizardry was one of my favourites as a kid. Of course all of this was wrapped around Ronnie Van Zant's impeccable vocals. The man laid down the blueprint that everyone else seemed to follow.

I am getting ahead of myself.

Each album had a gold and platinum side, although I suspect there was no rhyme or reason to the song placement as to whether it was gold or platinum, and frankly not every song here was a hit. There were a few live songs thrown in to add a little colour and mix things up a bit. This was particularly noticeable on "Freebird" where the song took on an added dimension, and it is this live version that is the definitive version. Period.

The pacing on each record is excellent. I will forever lean into the first record because the first side contained "Saturday Night Special" and "Sweet Home Alabama" as well as "Freebird" even though back in the day it wasn't my favourite song, it got a lot of play regardless. There was no shortage of other excellent songs.

The second album to me was the one that really grew on me. Songs like "That Smell" and"Simple Man" were so good, and then there was the the odd duck "I Know a Little" that was so different than anything else on the two records, and a song that blew my young mind, and still to this day will put a goofy lopsided grin on my face. They're all just so good. Count how many times I say good, you know I mean it.

There was something special here, and to me this is the definitive collection of Skynyrd's finest moments. Of course, for those who grew up with the albums will no doubt miss many of their favourite deep cuts, of which I'm sure there are many.

Gold & Platinum still hits me right in the feels, and even after all these years is still all I need. Of course, if I happen to stumble upon any of their old releases I'm not going to say no ... I may not need them, but want, is another story all together.

Garfield - Strange Streets

I'd seen this before in the bin, but kept flipping through the stacks. I'd see it a few more times, each time stopping to look at it a little more. There was something kind of cool about the cover where the stylized Celtic knot had the dotted yellow line - it was a strange street for sure. I pulled the record out of the jacket and I was struck by the centre image. There was the familiar Mercury label, the same one I'd seen a thousand times on BTOs Head On album. Well, I'd bought things based on odd associations before - like when I had to buy anything that Solid Rock Records released (this was generally a good thing) who knows maybe this was a hidden gem. There weren't any real scratches or rash, just a lot of dirt and dust - it seemed to clean up okay, but we'll see how it goes. The album opens with the title track, and this wasn't straight ahead pop, or rock. It was leaning to the progressive, but with a pop bent. Oddly enough the vocals reminded me of Mi...

Hoodoo Gurus - Mars Needs Guitars!

The first time I got this album it was a gift from my old roommate Otto. For a goofy little nebbish he would occasionally surprise me with some left of field musical treasures. Although, I still think he was reaching a little when he brought home the new "Led Zeppelin" album by Kingdom Come and forced me to listen to "Get it On" over and over again. I'd not listened to Mars Needs Guitars in a long, long, long time. The first thing that I jumped out at me was how David Faulkner's vocals reminded me of his fellow countryman Peter Garrett from Midnight Oil. I think the reason this never occurred to me was at the time I didn't have any Midnight Oil until Diesel and Dust in 1987. I'm not saying it was all the time, but there were a couple of songs where it stood out. Not a bad thing, just a thing. Even at the time this felt slightly out of step with what was going on in 1985. It seemed like everyone was using drum machines and synthesizers and having t...

Saturday Night Fever - The Original Movie Soundtrack

It was going to happen sooner or later. Nostalgia is a cruel Mistress...she can dull the sharpest edges and over time can even soften the hardest of opinions. I found this in the dollar bin, and frankly at a dollar I was worried about what this would cost me. Not only from a monetary perspective, but my time, and more important my credibility. Fourteen year old me was screaming "Don't you dare. DON'T DO IT! Put it down. Walk away!" Then there was grey bearded me holding it and looking at it, thinking, "How bad could it be? I actually kind of like "Staying Alive" and me buying this record won't bring disco back, and no one will have to know I bought this." I pulled the album out of the bin, and carefully took out the records. They'd seen better days, and there were a couple of decent scratches that would no doubt make their presence known later. The jacket was in decent condition, and both of the albums had the original sleeves. I dusted the...

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