Re-listening to the old stuff, and paying attention
Man I tell ya, one of the great things about getting old is that you get to refresh your views of stuff you listened to 20-30 years ago.
Early Rush: Hopelessly pretentious! Oh no, what were we thinking! 2112? Are you kidding me? By-Tor and the Snow Dog? WTF! Man it seemed really cool at the time... but by their mid-career things came together so well it still sounds modern and fresh.
Roxy Music, Avalon: Still, still, still one of the finest records ever.
The Doors: I can never figure out whether I love or hate their work, and the passage of time has not changed this opinion. Morrison: greatest frontman ever, or overrated drunken lounge singer? I tend towards the latter, and his sad performance on their last record documents it. Still, there was some sort of fire in a bottle captured there.
Paul Simon, Graceland: remains genius.
|