Listen to the Music

But only after you dig deep in the back room

Some might find me crazy; some might think I’m too privileged for words. Not everyone gets to spend a week in the Calgary-Banff region of Alberta with his family, seeing sites and sights, from mountains so high that even my fear of heights was humbled, to Black Bears to moose, elk aplenty, magpies, muledeer, and Big-Horned sheep. One bear was so close to us that I thought she was asking for a ride. My daughter named her Blaine.

So there we were together, some taking all-day hikes, or visiting bird sanctuaries, while I kept looking up record stores so that I could find what i can’t find anywhere else. And two that I have been looking for over the past few months actually showed up in the stacks of That Old Retro Store in Calgary, except that they we☺️re too scratched up for me to want to pay $5 Canadian for them. I won’t mention them now, because I’ll find them one day, perhaps when we take that Alaskan cruise everyone’s been after.

In full disclosure, other than the all-day hike (that altitude did a number on my stamina and breathing), I participated in all the other activities, including that😭 delicious Dim Sum meal in Chinatown. I’m only crying cause we left food on the table.

But with all the running up and down western Alberta that we did, I managed to hit one thrift store and three record stores, scoring some real gems. In the Banff thrift store—an old church’s basement—I found another copy of Tammy Wynette’s D-I-V-O-R-C-E, in very fine condition for only $3. I’m giving it to my daughter—the one with the turntable—so now she has that to match the Merle LP I gave her recently, and that copy of Ode to Billy Joe that I hope she’s cherishing.

The first true record store I found was Calgary’s Hot Wax, that was relatively short on Country (though I did find some which I’ll talk about next week), but long on Rock/Soul/Pop. As I try to build my Country and Country Rock collection, I dabble in the crossover bands who strike me as playing just what they want, genre, sub-genre, classification be damned. So first, as the title of this piece indicates, I found the debut LP of a band I actually quit liking once they embraced that Michael McDonald smooth as gold sound. No offense, but I appreciate the idea, just not the actual tone.

Somewhere in 1972 The Doobie Brothers burst onto the scene with a song that someone told me was Pop, someone else told me was Rock, and a third person described as part of some roots-ier movement. Of course, another person told me that their name was a reference to The “Do Be a Good Bee” slogan of some kids’ show, though anyone in the know understood the reference to deeper forms of recreation.

While I have two of their next few albums, I have never owned their second LP, Toulouse Street. Now I do—a Canadian pressing (Warner-BS 2364, $10—ALL PRICES CANADIAN!)) with gatefold from 1972. While the Doobies wrote most of the songs here, including “Listen to the Music.” Gospel singer Arthur Reynolds wrote the other hit “Jesus Is Just Alright,” but the band also covers bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Don’t Start Me to Talkin.’” I feel like my Doobies collection is complete enough. Whew.

What isn’t close to complete is my Steve Earle collection, but there in Hot Wax for only $5 was Guitar Town (MCA-5713, 1986). Hard to believe it’s been so long since my friend Les told me about Steve and that I should pay attention. I did, I have. I do.

As good as Hot Wax is, That Old Retro Store kept me browsing and digging and regretting not owning a metal case to haul these back home. I have learned how to pack, though, so while I kept thinking about weights and heat, I thumbed through stacks and stacks of LPs in the downstairs back room of this shop, and thanks to my son-in-law Taylor, I found some wonders.

I’ve been looking for some George and Tammy duo records, and while it’s not the one I truly want, I did find a very clean copy of their Greatest Hits LP (Epic 34716, 1977) for $5. Of course it features the problematic “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “(We’re Not) the Jet Set,” and “Let’s Build a World Together.”

For $10, though I think the clerk actually let me have it for $5, I found Merle Haggard’s debut album Strangers (Capitol ST-2373, 1965). This is a Canadian printing of that record featuring “(all of My Friends) Are Gonna Be Strangers,” and Merle’s cover of Ernest Tubb’s “Walking the Floor Over You.” A vintage find in excellent condition.

And finally for today, a record Taylor discovered first and something I had never heard of: Latin and Polka Solos Composed and Played by Buck Owens, The Guitar Player, accompanied by The Buckeroos (Capitol ST-2994, 1968). Taylor looked this one up on Discogs, where someone wanted $85 for his copy, and there was only one entry for it. The sticker of my copy said $15, but again, the clerk let me have it for $5, which is approximately $3 American. So, now I have Buck doing “Turkish Holiday,” “Mexican Polka,” “Country Polka,” “Buck’s Polka,” and “Tokyo Polka.” Oh, and “Things I Saw Happening at the Fountain on the Plaza When I Was Visiting Rome or Amore.”

You live long enough…

More digging soon.