I grew up on Detroit Rock Radio. Raised on WRIF, WLLZ and WCSX Rock, which included classic metal as well. Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Rush, Frank Zappa, Ted Nugent (more with the Amboy Dukes, less solo), and Deep Purple, were considered standard listening when I was in the car with my dad.
I clearly remember singing/yelling the heavy parts of Aqualung at the age of seven, and to me this seemed normal. (I still don't understand why more people don't listen to Jethro Tull.)Fly By Night was an anthem to my young mind. (Luckily there's a band that's finally getting the recogonition they deserve.) When all the other kids were blasting Money For Nothing and We're Not Going To Take It, I was asking my dad to crank In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
But in those early days of development there was other music too. My mom listened to country, and she demanded the radio be on those type of stations when she was in the car. I still affectionately sing Elvira to this day because of that. Giddy up. However, one artist that didn't fall into either rock or country that both my parents listened to was Chris De Burgh, mostly known in North America for Lady In Red, but I grew up on the album The Spanish Train and Other Stories. It is a fantastic album.
When I got my first CD player (Christmas 1992), I started branching off into other bands besides Alice Cooper and The Beach Boys. I had just turned 14 and was seriously getting into music. Appetite For Destruction (Gun's N' Roses), Razor's Edge (AC/DC), and Permanent Vacation (Aerosmith) were among my first ten CDs. Sadly, at this point I never bought another Beach Boy's album. I didn't like the teasing I got for listening to them, and caved under pressure hiding my love for their music. Almost every cent I got for birthdays and Christmas' went to CDs. All other money during the rest of the year was split between cigarettes and CDs, until I moved out on my own and was only able to afford to smoke. By that point my CD collection numbered well over 300, which I thought was small, but insurance companies thought extensive and a bit excessive for someone my age. I had to document every disc I owned for them.
I still add an average of 12 CDs to my collection every year, but mainly because of lack of exposure to new music worth buying, and I have a lot of old stuff already. There are very few CDs in my collection I won't listen to, and those are just for "Fan" purposes.
I've been writing extensive music reviews since I was in College for Journalism, and it's something I've done off and on for years. Most of the time I usually write the typical three or four paragraph review, but I prefer the in depth reviews more. Recently I found myself sitting down and writing reviews for older albums as if they were brand new, but still reflecting on them, and the times in which I bought them. I decided shortly after that that I would try and write a review for every CD I had at that point, New and Old.
Why? Simply put, because I can. The more lengthy answer would be, I also want people to read these reviews and discover some excellent albums, or re-discover in other cases. Also I can't stress enough that these articles are going to be about the albums, not just songs. (Except in the case of Jethro Tull's Thick As A Brick.) Sure, I'll write about the songs, they make up the album, but it's the album that matters most, since that's what I bought.
Just one last final thought before you start reading the reviews. Some of the most recent CDs bought in my house were Blunderbuss (Jack White), Little Hell (City and Colour), Beyond Magnetic (Metallica), 21 (Adele), End of An Era (NIghtwish) and Here and Now (Nickelback).
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