 |
I recall lying on my living-room carpet in 1978 playing this album on a
National Panasonic music centre, just bought (via my brother) from
one of his pals across the road. Another older neighbour was in speaking
to my father, and expressed surprise to him that someone of my age (19)
was into this kind of music. Images copyright relevant owners |
Over the years, whenever a CD was released of a vinyl LP I already had, I more often than not bought it. However, I didn't jettison the LPs just because I now had a more convenient format to listen to; no, I stored them in the loft when some work was being done in my house, and I only brought them down two or three years back. I was concerned that the climactic conditions of my attic might eventually warp or otherwise damage the LPs (even though they were wrapped in plastic), so I bought a few aluminium LP cases from HMV in which to put the records, and they're now discreetly positioned around my living-room for easy access.
Anyway, the last couple of nights, I've been listening to vinyl albums that haven't been played in anything from 35-45 years, and it's a strange feeling to realise that my father and various friends who are now departed were present when quite a number of them were last played, in either the living-room or my bedroom. I found my mind drifting back 3 or 4, even close to 5 decades as their musical notes permeated the room and, as I've said many a time before, it's like a form of time travel which offers a certain measure of comfort and solace, with all the warm memories and associations they summon as I enter the winter of my years.
To save me a bit of time, I've lifted these images from the Internet rather than photograph my own albums. Also, they're not displayed in the order I bought them, but they were all obtained in the '70s, with 12 Songs Of Christmas being the first Jim Reeves album I bought, followed by Arcade Records' 40 Golden Greats (not pictured). Any Crivs still got their old vinyl albums and, if so, what memories do they conjure up for you?
The I Love You Because LP was bought from the CO-OP store in my local Town Centre, as
was Songs Of Love, though I'd also seen both of them in the record department of Boots
The Chemist at some stage (either before or/and after purchase)
The International Jim Reeves was bought in the 23rd Precinct store in Glasgow when I was
in with my late pal Joe Beattie sometime in the late '70s. The Christmas LP was bought in my
local Woolworths, though my first one (I had a few) was obtained in Boots around '76 or '77
