I first met Leslie West when I produced the first Crystal Palace garden Party in 1971. Mountain were the US guest band on the bill with Pink Floyd and The Faces. The group were fabulous and were well received.
Leslie West then returned as West Bruce and Laing in 1973 and I took them around Europe. The first concert was at the Chatelet in Paris. We duly arrived and as a treat to start the tour I booked the band into the Hotel Georges Cinq.

I explained before we all retired that all the trappings in the room were real so don’t trash them.

The next morning we left for Hamburg. Leslie had had a tough night drinking and was not in the best of moods.

We landed in Hamburg and as we got to the bottom of the steps two gentlemen in raincoats were waiting for us.

They asked me to introduce them to Leslie. “What for” I asked.

They said they were from Interpol and had a warrant for his arrest for stealing a Persian antique rug from the George Cinq.

We were taken to the customs desk and sure enough there was  the rug neatly rolled up in Leslie’s case.

After a lot of waffling and explanation and autographs, tickets and apologies we managed to get Leslie off.

He was terribly grumpy and said that they should not leave such expensive items in Hotel Rooms.

Such is the world of rock and roll.

Harvey Goldsmith

_____________________________________

Subject: Funny Hilton Valentine yarn

Hi Bob,

 

during the mid-90s I happened to be scouting an act in Connecticut and by chance I read in Goldmine that the Hartford record show was on. As I’m a huge vinyl collector I altered my plans and made a point of dropping by the venue. I found some good records including on one table a guy selling a number of English pressings from the late sixties/seventies and bought a few of near mint condition albums including Free’s debut ‘Tons Of Sobs’ on the original UK Pink ‘eye’ Island label. A snip at $20. We chatted and it turned out he was a British silver haired fox, like me. I thought nothing of it until I overheard someone on another table talking about Hilton Valentine selling his record collection. I thought little more about it but when I got back to my apartment that evening I started to examine the albums. I opened the gatefold sleeve of ‘Tons Of Sobs’ and noticed that one of the inner band pics had been autographed by Paul Kossoff, my all-time guitar hero. I wish I’d have engaged Hilton in deeper conversation but by then it was, of course, too late. 

 

Best,

 

Derek Oliver

_____________________________________

Subject: Re: Tesla/Volkswagen

Very astute. Few see the potential and you draw interesting parallels here. 

Tesla is a software, storage, and energy company being compared by the Wall Street nerds to automobile manufacturers who are still operating like it is 1960. Tesla’s lead in data collection – billions of miles per year now (EVERYTHING is captured) – and autonomous driving could be insurmountable. Storage innovation could end up being the biggest thing since the invention of the laser. SpaceX delivering the Starlink satellite network will allow autonomous driving to become a global reality. People in sunny places will get completely off the grid with a solar roof, battery pack and an EV. Climate change? Musk has that covered. 

Every time I see a car commercial on TV, I think to myself – they just don’t get it. Hell, Tesla doesn’t need to advertise. 

Dave Murphy

_____________________________________

From: Randall Wixen

Subject: RE: Tesla/Volkswagen

I know your article was really about music and the electric car thing was only an analogy, but I wanted to comment on the analogy itself. I was an early adopter of hybrid vehicles, and then electric ones. I’ve owned 6 EVs now: Volt, RAV4 EV, Bolt, Ioniq, eTron, and Model Y. I never wanted to have a Tesla, because to me, owning a Tesla said “I’m an asshole.” But the VW/Audi eTron I had was such a dysfunctional piece of crap that I had to get rid of it before I even had 2,000 miles on it. The Tesla Model Y (so far) seems to be light years ahead of any of my previous EVs so I’m just resigned to ignoring how I feel about what the nameplate might say about the driver and driving something that actually works. There are new and better technologies, and as much as it is tempting to resist them, we have to embrace them when they’re actually better.   

_____________________________________

Subject: Re: Tesla/Volkswagen

Amazon will never be able to compete with Barnes and Noble and Borders!!

I remember those days well.

Brian Lukow

_____________________________________

Subject: Re: Mailbag

Phil called me out of the blue one day when I was developing The Chrysalis Music Group USA.

I was extremely surprised and didn’t really know how to handle such a well known producer, but I ended the conversation abruptly when he started talking to me about guns.

I have used rifles for shooting cans, but am officially anti gun.

Phil was a legend and incredibly creative.

Sad that a mental disorder destroyed such a creative genius.

Ann P Munday

_____________________________________

Subject: Re: Mailbag

Phil Spector

In the mid-90s, I received a call from Dave Marsh that Phil wanted to do some college lectures and would I be interested in having him come to the university.  Of course, he was just shy of three hours late and told me that he was late because he took a “Prozac Lite” and lost track of time.  From a stack of yellow legal pad pages he lectured for two hours on the great American songwriters, and recited tons of lyrics by Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter etc.  The words were just flowing out of him (and over the heads of most of the students).  His point was that these writers were great in their own time and if alive, their style would not be great today.  He was of course, referring to himself and made the point.  Not one word about the “wall of sound”!

He stayed late, signed album jackets for the students was all around gracious.

It’s a shame what happened to him…….. 

steve marcone

wayne, nj

_____________________________________

Subject: Re: Mailbag

My client said to me: “These digital sales are like being a hooker. You sell it, but you still got it.” Well, said. 

Willie Perkins

_____________________________________

From: Hennie Hugo

Subject: RE: More Quarantine

Covid19 is a real and killing virus. So many of my friends and family have been infected and died. About 10 members of our extended family contracted. Covid19 over Christmas having a huge gathering. They thought they were beyond the Covid19 gathering. It can easily happen to others. I am so pissed of with them. A family member checked himself out of hospital today and decided to receive oxygen at home. Thank God he can afford it.

Day by day people are dying from it. It is easy to compare it to HIV. But the problem of spreading the different diseases are so totally different.

Remember our esteemed leader, Thabo  Mbeki, actually denied AIDS/MIV. If there was something like it, it can be treated with garlic and beetroot. What a ficking moron

After Mbeki the plundering got an extra head of steam. It was all for nothing and everything for the total crooks. Difficult for me to say but Ramaphosa at the time when these terrible looting was taking place, was The Vice President of SA. How could he have not seen what was happening? Takes me to lines in “Tommy” Rock Opera by The Who. “Deaf and blind living in his quiet vibration land. Same as it seems his music isn’t quite so bad….”

Not being negative, I honestly believe my relative in hospital is not going to make it. Sad to say.

They had a huge party the day after Christmas with many many people attending with absolutely no social distancing or sanitizing.

Regards

Hennie

_____________________________________

Bob,

Maybe it isn’t about people not knowing Middlebury. In the ’70s, my family moved from Long Island to Essex Junction, Vermont, where I spent two years in high school. We then moved to NorCal, where I attended college, and where I stayed post-graduation.

Can’t tell you how many times people have since asked me “Which state is Vermont in?”

So maybe it’s about geography.

— Maxx

_____________________________________

Dear Bob,

 

You probably know this already, but Mountain’s manager at the time they played Woodstock was my father, the late Gary Kurfirst.  I’m not sure if Gary was “management” who opted the band out of being featured in the Woodstock film.  If he was, I am sure he had good reasons for declining the offer.  Probably was a bad deal for the band, or bad timing in terms of building the band’s brand (ie wasn’t considered a good look) or all of the above.

 

I can assure you the decision was not flippant. Everything Gary did as a manager was strategic and his intention was always to protect the artist and promote the long terms growth of the brand.

 

Maybe he got it wrong this time.

 

Maybe not.

 

I was told another story about Mountain’s experience at Woodstock.  As the story goes Mountain was to play an earlier slot on the Main Stage, but when Gary arrived (after navigating the endless traffic jam the artists and fans faced trying to reach the festival grounds) he noticed how disorganized the event was and that essentially the producers/stage manager were throwing any band out on the stage to perform that they spotted together backstage fully intact.

 

So Gary, always thinking strategy and impact, instructed the band members of Mountain to scatter, sending them to different areas of the festival grounds and told them not to be seen together until X time where they were to conveniently reconvene backstage in full view of the stage managers who were on the endless hunt to wrangle talent.  (I always visualized the band huddling up backstage like a football team listening to the QB (Gary) calling the next play… a Hail Mary to win the game.)

 

The plan worked. Mountain reconvened backstage and were “spotted” together just in time to play the coveted, primetime, 9pm slot on Saturday night. The crowd was estimated to be over 500,000 at this point, but no one really knows – the fences were pulled down on Friday and kids from all over the country were flooding the festival grounds and the rest is history….

 

Many attribute Mountain’s triumphant Woodstock set as their breakout moment, regardless of whether the film would have pushed them even higher up in the history books and who ultimately made that decision – they would not have even been in that position if not for the plan.

 

I felt inclined to respond here because Managers, who play such a pivotal role in the growth of artist/band, are often omitted from the history books.  Its no accident that great bands/artists more often than not have great managers.  Managers make the tough decisions. The great ones are able to see beyond in the instant glory (or money) and make decisions based on the long term growth of the brand.

 

Gary once infamously turned down the cover of Rolling Stone for one his clients (Talking Heads) telling the magazine it “was not the right time” for them to be on cover – that it would hurt their credibility with the underground (remember the Talking Heads first broke out of CBGB’s – they were considered a punk rock band and at the time, punk rock bands did not pose for the cover of Rolling Stone).  He seems to have gotten that one right.  The Talking Heads brand remains iconic, and they haven’t played a gig or released any new music since the mid-80’s (and eventually they were featured on the cover – timing is everything).

 

If you haven’t read Chris Frantz memoir - Remain in Love – you should do it, now.  It’s a great read. Chris (and his lovely wife, Tina Weymouth) recognized the importance of great management.  They loved Gary because he protected them and allowed them to be artists, and the feeling was mutual.

 

Gary took over managing the Ramones around 1978 and was their manager to the very end. One of their last gigs was the Lollapalooza Festival on Randalls Island in New York City in 1996 (other acts on the bill that day included Metallica, Soundgarden, Wu-Tang Clan).  There is no better example of a band whose brand has completely transcended their music, or the music business in general.  I see more young kids wearing Ramones T-shirts today than rock music legends like Led Zeppelin or the Beatles.  Ramones brand is badass.  Timeless. And forever will be the flag of punk.
Ironically, I’ve made my career in festivals.  My job as Global Head of Festivals for WME has me negotiating set times, artist fees, streaming rights, billing positions etc. etc., with the top festival promoters for some of the biggest artists on the planet.  I don’t know if it’s ‘in the blood’ as they say, but as I got older I realized that the music business was the only business where I fit and that music festivals were my calling.

 

I often think about the earlier pioneers of music festivals, like Gary, and what they endured to put on their events without all the modern technology we rely on to help produce them.  From simple tech like walkie talkies to sophisticated festival apps, scan-able wristbands and whatever tech will be needed post-pandemic to ensure the Artist and Fans have a great time and safe experience at festivals of the future.

 

But all of that was absent at original Woodstock – they didn’t even have set times!

 

Josh Kurfirst

Does this mean Trump really didn’t win the election?

Wallen was too stupid to know that when you’re a celebrity all eyes are upon you. That’s the price you pay. If you wanted to be a rock star and do rock star things you should have made it before smartphone cameras. Today your bad behavior is documented, and there are always people looking to take you down.

Wallen’s been caught twice. Used to be three strikes and you’re out. But that was before the cops killed George Floyd and Covid ravaged the country.

Meanwhile, we’ve got a huge sector of the public telling us to forgive and unite, wondering how we just can’t get along… THIS IS WHY!

Not that Wallen’s behavior would have been any better if it wasn’t documented, the point is he was brazen and ignorant, and for far too long that’s been the image of Nashville and country music.

“The news out of Nashville tonight does not represent country music…”

Kelsea Ballerini

“When I read comments saying ‘this is not who we are’ I laugh because this is exactly who country music is. I’ve witnessed it for 10 gd years. You guys should just read some of the vile comments hurled at me on a daily basis. It’s a cold hard truth to face but it is the truth.”

 

Mickey Guyton

Whew! Just because Charley Pride sucked it up and Hootie/Darius crossed over there’s this whitewashing that there’s no racism in Nashville anymore. Like everyone is supposed to be like Hank Aaron, never mind Jackie Robinson, and suck it up. Did you read Aaron’s obits? The white man did not want Hank to break the Babe’s record! Yes, Blacks are supposed to be quiet and subservient, obey their masters, not raise their voices and get out of hand, that’s not how subordinates behave. But you’ve got too many whites calling Black men boys. It’s only been a hundred and fifty years since slavery, we’ve got to give these white men a break, the wheels of progress turn slowly, you can’t hold them accountable, it’s just the way they grew up.

Meanwhile, the right keeps talking about the woke left, about the word police. About political correctness. Did you see Rupert Murdoch himself weigh in on this last week? The 89 year old who is now getting his hands dirty at Fox News once again?

And sure, it’s a spectrum. But not to the right, it’s always black and white, always clear, and they’re always on the correct side. After all, if you elect Democrats, the world as you know it will end. Grandma will die and you house will be taken away and if you don’t stand up and protect your rights now, it’ll be too late!

But we’ve got one ace in our pocket, one corrective company, one entity that has consistently stood up for truth, justice and the American Way. I’m speaking, of course, of Cumulus Media. Yes, the company that told its on-air hosts that they had to stop saying Trump won the election. Where are the rest of the communication companies?

Well, iHeart got on board with Wallen. As well as CMT and Wallen’s own record label, and that’s good. But what about the cable companies and Fox? We have to marginalize hatred and bigotry.

Meanwhile, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said yesterday that NBA players should be inoculated first, because they’re role models for the Black community: https://nyti.ms/3cLarnY Some people can see through the morass, some people proffer solutions to problems, some people are taking action. Then again, if you’re Black it’s always an uphill battle.

I don’t think Morgan Wallen can recover from this. If Billy Squier was canceled in the eighties for wearing a pink shirt in a video… You see the music business does not need any specific star, it just needs some stars. And it can motor along quite well without Morgan Wallen.

But he’s a good ole boy in a mullet, can’t we cut him a break?

Yeah, just like Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio. The message is if you’re a prominent white and you cross the line your brethren will rescue you. They’re organized, it’s a club, and one thing is for sure, Blacks and immigrants are not members.

It’s good to see the establishment push back against heinous behavior. But we haven’t seen right wing media and Republican elected officials do so whatsoever.

The officials say they’re beholden to the populace, those who elected them. THESE PEOPLE, MORGAN WALLEN’S PEOPLE!

Meanwhile, Colin Kaepernick is banished from the NFL for taking a knee. A white person shoots someone and if they’re even arrested, they get bail and get off. They were overheated, they didn’t mean it.

“It actually IS representative of our town because this isn’t his first ‘scuffle’ and he just demolished a huge streaming record last month regardless. We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse.”

Maren Morris

And isn’t it interesting that women are standing up for truth and equality while the men mostly stay silent and…

Word has always been that you need to stay quiet, you don’t want to hurt your career. Politics do not belong on stage. Instead, we have a wink… Come on, to this day, have you heard some of these country lyrics?

But they’re just good ole boys, they didn’t mean it.

OF COURSE THEY MEANT IT!

The tail has to stop wagging the dog. Corporations and elected officials can’t keep saying their hands are tied.

Even worse is Facebook, the scourge of society. Sheryl Sandberg stands up and says it was not the driver of the January 6th riot and then it turned out it was. OF COURSE IT WAS! But that’s the world we now live in, where you can lie with impunity!

As for the surge on the Capitol… How many Blacks did you see there? They are the ones truly hurt by the government, getting the short end of the stick. The Supreme Court, THE SUPREME COURT, got rid of the Voting Rights Act because it said there was no racism anymore (just like Tucker Carlson!) Meanwhile, the right is now emboldened in its efforts to suppress voting while racism is not only rampant, it rears its ugly head on a national level on a regular basis and “there are good people on both sides.”

Broadcasting has a responsibility. And that’s got nothing to do with freedom of speech. Contrary to people’s beliefs, you can’t say anything anywhere.

Turns out the twenty first century is a reckoning on racism and democracy. Some want to isolate and return to an era where skin color was king and the rest of the world didn’t matter, not understanding, or even knowing, that back then so many were oppressed, women and people of color and immigrants and… The only way through this is by going forward.

Used to be artists were arbiters of truth, handing down engraved tablets to their listeners. Today they’re just money machines. Then again, they’ve still got power.

Morgan Wallen has been in the public eye for years. If we give this guy a pass, is there a line at all?

Meanwhile, this cancelation sends a message to Nashville and country music fans that this behavior will not be tolerated. And while we’re at it, get rid of the Confederate flags.

Change happens at the top. Trump tries to steal an election in plain sight and his party endorses the falsehood. To the point where seemingly half the country believes he’s the rightful President. Who is going to stand up for the truth? Not only do we need to shut up those uttering taboos, we need people to lead us out of the wilderness. It’s time for Nashville and country music to step up. This is just the beginning. NO EXCUSES!

Playlist: https://spoti.fi/3pVbwh7

1

It’s the best Bonnie Raitt song you’ve never heard.

With fewer places to go, fewer obligations to meet, I’ve been allowed to web surf and let my mind drift. You know how it is, you look up people from your past life, arcane subjects only you are interested in, and let the music play in the background. And if you go down the rabbit hole long enough, marinating in the tunes, your identity reveals itself to you, you remember your entire life, the songs make entire eras come alive in color.

I was listening to Paul Simon solo tracks. In “Herrens Veje” the two brothers sang “Still Crazy After All These Years” and it resonated, whereas it never had previously, I could see the old lovers meeting in the street, and it made me go to “Rhymin’ Simon,” which is my favorite, and I was astounded how good they sounded, as in sound. No one spends the time, which costs money, to get pristine sound anymore. But that was the goal back then, to nail the essence, to make it true to life such that if you had a good enough stereo you could feel like you were right in the studio. But that was back before the era of boom boxes, back before headphones with boosted bass, back when accuracy was king and people cared about it. It’s funny, today most people listen to music on systems barely better than the speaker in the dash of the old AM radios in Oldsmobiles and Fords, never mind Chevys. How far we’ve devolved.

And then I went back to Simon’s first solo after Simon & Garfunkel, the hits were the reggae inflected numbers that opened each side, but they were not the best. “Duncan” was haunting. “Everything Put Together Falls Apart” insightful. “Peace Like a River”…was a drift down a lazy river in the winter, when the album came out. But the absolute best cut was “Armistice Day.” 

“On Armistice Day

The Philharmonic play

But the songs that we sing

Will be sad”

And maybe that’s why Simon’s first solo has disappeared from consciousness. It was oftentimes sad. And it was so personal. But, the playing on “Armistice Day” is positively ASTOUNDING! Jerry Hahn plays the guitar like a master. You remember him and his Brotherhood, right? No, probably not, but this was back when there were only a couple of thousand albums released a year, and the ones you did not buy you saw in the bins, you were familiar with.

But Hahn is not the only legend on “Paul Simon.” There’s Hal Blaine, Ron Carter, Stéphane Grappelli, Larry Knechtel, Fed Lipsius, Airto Moreira, Joe Osborn, David Spinozza, even Cissy Houston! Back when we knew the players, back when you could make a living as a studio musician making pop records.

And it’s all embodied on a pristine recording by Roy Halee, and on one cut Phil Ramone, who ultimately became Paul’s main man.

And to tell you the truth, I’m listening to “Armistice Day” right now and I can’t take it off, it’s so damn good, I’m listening to Amazon Music HD via the Genelecs and…”Paul Simon” is encoded in Ultra HD so it’s like the old days, feeling like a fly on the wall in the studio.

So, on a Simon sound kick, I decided to listen to his and Artie’s most beautiful song ever, “For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her,” and it too was in Ultra HD, but it was not quite as present. So then I went to “Bookends,” but it didn’t sound as good either, even though “America” brought me back to a different era when road trips were king and we were all on a journey of personal development.

So then I’m sitting in front of the computer contemplating the best engineered, best sounding records, and I think of Bonnie Raitt’s “Luck of the Draw.” It’s her best album, even though critics never acknowledge this. All the attention went to her breakthrough “Nick of Time,” which came before. “Luck of the Draw” got accolades, but people seem to only remember it for its opening cut, “Something to Talk About,” but that’s nothing compared to what comes thereafter.

And my old friend Ed Cherney cut “Luck of the Draw,” I always used to tell him how great it sounded. He’s no longer with us. I remember hanging in Rio three years ago, what a great guy. Tears come to my eyes as I write this.

And for a long time my favorite track on “Luck of the Draw” was “One Part Be My Lover.” But I felt it would bring me down, so I played my present favorite, the title cut.

“These things we do to keep the flame burnin’

And write our fire in the sky

Another day to see the wheel turnin’

Another avenue to try”

“Luck of the Draw” is the best song I know about the process of making it as a writer in Hollywood. When you’ve moved to the city and are working a day job to pay the bills while you keep trying and trying…people have no idea how hard it is to make it.

“Luck of the Draw” was written by Paul Brady. He wrote a lot of Bonnie’s classics. And listening to the song I got a hankering to hear “Trick or Treat.”

2

Paul McGuinness was flush with the success of U2. He decided to make Ireland’s native son, songwriter Paul Brady, known in his country but far from everywhere, into a star. Paul pushed the button, he got Gary Katz to produce Brady’s 1991 album “Trick or Treat.”

Now subsequent to loving the LP I had to go deep into Brady’s catalog, the songs were there, but not the sound, the legendary Steely Dan producer elevated Brady into the stratosphere, forget that nobody paid attention.

Katz called the A-list.

Jeff Porcaro played drums.

Freddie Washington and Jimmy Johnson played bass.

There were a slew of keyboard players, from David Paitch to Betsy Cook to Paul Griffin.

And the guitars were played by Elliott Randall and Michael Landau.

AND IT SOUNDS LIKE IT!

And the push single, the focus was on the title track.

As far as the rest of the LP, you got into it after devouring the single. You got deep into the other cuts. And “Nobody Knows” is great, but “Can’t Stop Wanting You” is stellar, SUPERIOR! And unlike Brady compositions like “Steel Claw,” made famous by Tina Turner, there’s never been a breakthrough cover of “Can’t Stop Wanting You.”

It’s the heat of the summer, and you’ve had a few too many drinks, you’re not quite loaded, but the emotions are flowing, and you start to argue but you can’t stop loving each other, you know there was makeup sex when the song was over.

But the emphasis was on “Trick or Treat.”

There was a pregnant intro, that birthed an immediate groove, with Elliott Randall’s guitar zooming all over the track, like a falling star with a SpaceX engine attached. And then…

“Sometimes the things that you say

Can hurt me so bad

You know that it’s true

Sometimes your love lifts me up

So high I could cry

Can’t live without you”

The duality. That’s the nature of love, there are highs and lows, otherwise you’re not doing it right, someone’s holding back, you’re too busy trying to get along to truly bond.

“Like a knock on the door

Open it up

What do you see

Could be a trick or a treat

Bitter or sweet

Which one you gonna be”

You’ve got to play to get the rewards. Unfortunately, the lows come along with the highs. But that’s the nature of love. Don’t be afraid, partake, it’s the most important game you will play, it’s the essence of life.

And Paul Brady sings the first verse. He and Bonnie Raitt the second. And then Bonnie takes over the third.

“Sometimes I fill up your cup

So your river flows

You know that it’s true

Sometimes my love makes you pay

Though baby I swear I’m not wanting to”

Bonnie Raitt built a whole career on this. On being present. Being real. Being willing to play. Not a passive romantic like too many Top Forty pop singers, but a real person. And it’s true, you don’t intentionally try to hurt the other person, but that’s what happens.

And then it’s a duet, Paul then Bonnie and then Paul and then both together, like Sonny & Cher, but better.

“Look at what this love can do

Send us out into a world that’s new

You no compass baby me no map

No one to show us where they laid the trap

Trick or treat baby that’s the game

One day passion one day pain

You can try to change the rules but

Trick or treat make you the fool”

Just to hear Bonnie sing “compass,” WHEW! Love is an adventure, brand new, and the key is to stay the course to experience the highs, the rewards and the pitfalls.

“Sometimes a moment of bliss

That starts with a kiss

Can end up so blue

‘Cause I might say something wrong

And then comes along

A whole different you”

And now you know why Paul Brady is a legendary songwriter. We all say something wrong sometimes, and then our significant other’s facial expression changes and the situation becomes completely different!

But even back in 1991, there was no place on the radio for this magic. “Trick or Treat” was not hard enough for AOR, not soft enough for AC, and this is not what Top Forty was ever looking for. “Trick or Treat” is just music, great music, before it became solely about money and this was enough. This is what listeners listened for!

3

Now to tell you the truth as I was grooving on the “Trick or Treat” album, switching to the big rig to truly make the room reverberate, my emotions started to sink. You see I realized that was thirty years ago. When I played this album incessantly. I can remember what I was thinking when I was doing so. The music put me in a good mood, but back then my life was a mess. And continued to be for quite sometime.

And now I’m on the back nine. When you’ve got to fight to make headway, when you can choose to rest on your laurels, retire and give up, or continue to try and break new ground.

But even if you plow deep grooves, people still might not pay attention, especially in today’s cacophonous online society.

And too much of today’s music is not good enough. Either it’s rote. Or the elements are substandard…a great band can never supersede a mediocre singer, and a great band can’t make a mediocre song a classic. Then again, back then it was about getting it exactly right, that last 1%. You spent a fortune to nail it, to get to the zenith, to resonate with the listening public.

You’d read about a record. There’d be a buzz. Something in the scuttlebutt resonated. And you’d decided to wade in and take a chance.

But you never knew exactly what you’d get. You’d drop the needle and might end up smiling or wincing, angry you blew your dough.

That’s life. You’ve got to take the risks to get the rewards. But your efforts do not always pay off.

Trick or treat indeed!

Tune in today, February 2nd, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive