Jackson Browne: Late For The Sky
This is an example of one of my many records where I came for the cover art, and stayed for the music. I had read about Jackson Browne in a music encyclopedia, and saw a picture of this album and thought it was a really interesting image. I ended up liking the tunes a lot too, especially the title track. Jackson Browne music is good for when you *want* to feel sad. He is a brilliant songwriter.

Jackson Browne: Running on Empty
I got this album for $1 at a second-hand store. I had heard "The Load Out/Stay" on the radio many times. Since this was in the days before internet music sharing, and I didn't feel like spending 17 bucks for one song, I bought the record. All the songs on this LP are recorded live, but all at different random places. Some are kind of boring, but it's still a nice album. Lots of good photos in the liner notes.

Chicago Transit Authority
CTA could also be called "Chicago I," since all ensuing releases from this group of musicians was issued with a Roman Numeral. The story goes that the "real" Chicago Transit Authority, aka the train system, made the band shorten their name to just Chicago. I first heard this record on a radio show where they played a different album, in its entirety, at 10 pm each weeknight. Keith and I heard this one while driving around on his birthday. We came in the middle of a jam section, and were transfixed, as in "What *is* this??" I was so amazed I got on eBay and bought it as soon as I could. My favorite track is "I'm a Man." I ended up buying Keith his own copy later since he borrowed mine for a long time . ;-)

Pete Fountain: Those Were The Days
I have been into Pete Fountain since I started playing the clarinet myself back in 5th grade. My mom played me some of his tapes and I was hooked. I bought this record since it was quite cheap, and it didn't have any overlap with my other PF recordings. I haven't listened to it that much yet though.

Genesis: Foxtrot
I got this record at the Antique Sale in the Pioneer Building at the Iowa State Fair. I think I paid about $4. The guy is there every year, and his stuff is kinda pricey, but if you find what you're looking for, it can be worth it. At the time, I only had heard "Nursery Cryme" of the Peter-Gabriel fronted Genesis. I really loved that record, so I decided to get this one too. The funny thing is, it took me a really long time to actually *listen* to it. During this school year I have played it many times and even made a CD of it so I could take it with me. Supper's Ready is just genius. Side one is good too, but SR is what really got me hooked. It's beautiful, melodic, and even scary at times.

The Official Live Gentle Giant
Another one that I haven't listened to that much. Purchased because I had heard a couple GG tracks, and I knew they were highly regarded as progressive rockers.

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: Going Places
Keith gave me this record since he knew I loved HA&TJB. It has lots of the same songs as on my CD, but it's still fun to hear on vinyl. It even has my favorite song "Tijuana Taxi." I like to play air-xylophone along with that one.

Heart: Dreamboat Annie
I bought this record after seeing the movie "The Virgin Suicides." There's an awesome scene with Josh Hartnett (all tricked-out as a 70s boy) walks down the hall in slow-motion to "Magic Man." And on the TVS website, they had a clickable image map, and one of the images was the cover of this album. I absolutely adore the Heart logo. The other tracks besides Magic Man are enjoyable as well. Chick rockers rule!

Steve Howe: Beginnings
I bought this record at the now-defunct Dharma records on Lincoln Way. I knew that the Yes-men all made their own solo albums, but I had never seen one in a store. Since I was so surprised to find this, and since Steve is my favorite, I picked it up. This record also featured a Roger Dean cover. The tunes are really nice too. I especially like "Australia." Steve has a unique voice and a beautiful guitar style that is instantly recognizable.

Jethro Tull: Songs from the Wood
I found this record at the Ankeny Goodwill (the best Goodwill I've ever been to). I think I must have been in my Tull phase, where I was listening to the first disc of "Classics" practically nonstop. Anyway, I haven't listened to this one that much, but the cover art is cool anyway. It has a treestump that looks like a record on a record player, with grooves and a handle and everything. Tull of this era always rocks, so I look forward to hearing this one more.

Journey: Infinity, Evolution, and Departure.
Released yearly from 1978 to 1980, these three albums mark what is in my mind the definitive Journey sound. Sure, they had the power ballads like Lights, Sweet and Simple, and Stay Awhile, but they still rocked hard on Wheel in the Sky and Anyway You Want It. It was a perfect balance that made for an insanely popular arena rock act. I purchased these out of order, Evolution first, then the other two. I got Evolution at Salvation Army, it was cheap, and I liked the cover art. Then when I got home from school for Christmas break, I slapped it on the turntable and was instantly hooked. I quickly bought four more Journey albums off eBay, but it turned out that I only really liked the one right before and the one right after Evolution. They just capture that 70s sound so perfectly for me. It's totally mainstream, but I do love it. And the cover art is still awesome.

Bob & Doug McKenzie: Great White North
Another purchase from Dharma. I had the CD already, and loved it, but I was so psyched to see it on vinyl that I had to have it. It's cool because some of the jokes are funnier on this format, like them talking fast to trick you into believing you had selected the wrong speed, or the backward section where you can find clues to "what really happened." And of course them yelling at you for having the wrong side on, doesn't really work for a CD either ;-). Plus with the record, you can actually read the copy of "The Hoser," aka the stuff in the liner notes.

Another Monty Python Record
I was in Jerome, Arizona, at a store that sold souveniers and random things, when I came upon a box of records. I was torn between Duran Duran's Rio, and this one. The cover is pretty funny in and of itself; it's made to look like a classical recording with some crayon markings crossing out what was originally printed, and the words "Another Monty Python Record" hand-written in. I haven't listened to it that much, because I don't think it was *that* funny. Plus I might have gotten a little burned-out on MP in general, you know how that can happen.

Stevie Nicks: Bella Donna and The Wild Heart
So I've been into the Stevie Nicks obsession since my Senior year of high school, when I got hooked on Landslide. Mostly I just liked Stevie as a person, her look, her fashions, her character, etc. I wasn't as much into her music. But I was at Half-Price Books and I couldn't resist getting these records. I was going to cut them apart and hang them on my wall as posters, but after I listened to each one, i do not think I will be doing that. The music is really good. Sometime mellow chick-rock is just what you need. My favorite song is probably "After the Glitter Fades." Stevie is so gifted with her words, and the music is lovely too. I would reccomend these records if you had liked Stevie but got tired of the songs of hers they play on the radio. The album cuts are great.

Ramones Mania
A nice two-disc anthology of Ramones tunes. Sure, I'd rather have their actual albums as opposed to some dumb compilation, but I'm guessing those are super super rare. So we take what we can get. Good punk rock from the boys who started it all.

Renaissance: Scheherazade and Other Stories
More amazing progressive rock from our friends accross the pond. Side one is enjoyable, but the epic "Song of Scheherazade" on side two is a masterpiece. Annie Haslam rocks the mic and the band weaves beautiful tapestries of melodies. The only bummer thing about Renaissance is that since they're the most famous prog band with a female lead singer, *any* other ones that come along invariably get compared with them! But we know Annie was the original and best

Rush: A Farewell To Kings
I got this because, at the time, AFTK was my favorite Rush album. (Now, it goes back and forth between AFTK, Signals, and PeW). It was in amazing condition, and I thought it would be cool to hear the majesty of Xanadu on vinyl. To sum up, it's another one of those quintessentially 70's albums, that you must hear in the original format.

Rush: Moving Pictures
This album definitely has great songs, but I mostly bought it for the cover art. In the summer of 2000, my mom and dad and I went to Toronto for vacation. One thing I insisted upon doing was taking many many pictures of the Ontario Parliament Building, aka, the building on the cover of Moving Pictures! So after I had been there in person, the small CD cover was not enough. It's weird to look at the guys on the steps and think that I've been there too. Of note: cool Canadians Kids In the Hall also used this building in one of their sketches, "Cyril, the Escapist."

Rush: Signals
I figured out that the little map of a subdivision was pretty cool and contained funny inside jokes. Therefore, I wanted to get it on the record so I could see it as it was intended. When I received the record from eBay, I was amazed to see that it still had the original plastic. And for some reason it smelled like Band-Aids. I ended up totally falling in love with Signals, all because of the vinyl version. It's a rare and fine thing, an 80's album that doesn't sound terribly dated. Side one is definitely better; those four songs are just perfection.

Rush: Presto
I like fuzzy bunnies! I remember when I was a freshman, I saw that Mr. Lukens, our band director, had a cassette tape with pictures of rabbits on it. I think I knew who Rush was at the time, but of course I didn't recognize any of the songs on Presto. Looking back, I think those bunnies were definitely a factor in my continuing Rush obsession. I got the CD, of course, but always wished I could see the cover full-size. I was pleased as punch to get it off eBay. Sadly, it has these lame stamps on it since it was a promotional record for radio stations. But it's still a great album. The one that marked the switch away from the synth-driven stuff of the 80s and back into more straight-ahead rock. I particularly like "The Pass."

Styx II
I got this record because of The Simpsons. Really. In the episode where Homer joins the rock festival "Hullaballooza," there is a scene where he goes into the record store and is shocked to learn that all his favorite music has now been designated "oldies." He picks up a copy of this album, and remarks "Styx?? I just heard them on King Biscuit Flower Hour!" The other cool thing about this record is that it has their breakout hit of "Lady." Although my bastard copy has a skip on that track. Hate Crime. Another great quote from that same Simpsons episode is, "Why do we need *new* bands? Rock music attained perfection in 1974, it's a scientific fact."

Supertramp: Breakfast In America
Another gift from Keith. I had been a Supertramp fan for some time, and I was absolutely captivated by this cover art. The whole scene just works so perfectly together. Of course the title track rocks, as well as the other "radio songs," but the album cuts sound great too. This is what I talk about when I talk about "Album Rock." I hesitate to call it a concept album, but it definitely makes a coherent statement as a whole.

Yes: The Yes Album
So there's no Roger Dean painting, just a doofy looking photo of the Yesmen. But I just knew I needed to hear Yours is No Disgrace and Starship Troopers on the warm meaty medium that is vinyl. Purchased as nearly all my Yes albums were, in Berkeley. Oh yeah, and there is that cool floating head on the back.

Yes: Fragile
This was one of the records that Bob "Mayor of Gilbert" Jaquis let me borrow when I was first getting into Yes. And now I have my very own copy. Roundabout even sounds fresh on vinyl, even if we've all heard it millions of times by now on FM radio. But the other big songs like Heart of the Sunrise and Southside of the Sky are amazing too, plus its just a perfect sit in your basement with headphones on kind of record.

Yes: Close to the Edge
I now actually have two copies of CttE. I got the second one at the place in Burlington, because it was an earlier release, made of a different sort of cardboard. I would like to get a third, so that I can cut it apart and hang it on my wall. The gatefold painting is so amazing. I also love the black to green gradient. When I first got my paint program I made a lot of those! And of course I cannot say enough about the music. It's probably the pinnacle of what Yes was capable of.

Yessongs
My first LP purchase. I bought it at a store in campustown called "Aftermath," which later became Dharma records, which later closed. When I first started buying vinyl I guess I was under the impression that it was kinda rare, so I didn't think much of shelling out 11 bucks for this release. *Then* I found out how prevalent it was, so I felt ripped off. I think I might have even seen it at someplace like Ameoba for much cheaper. But then after I started learning more about Yes and classic rock in general, I stumbled upon the concept of "Japanese pressings" or "imports." I had noticed that all the other copies of Yessongs I saw folded out, as opposed to the book format mine was. I took a close look, and sure enough it was made in Japan. So now I feel pretty cool for having that, especially since it's kinda rare.

Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans
I am actually on my second copy of TFTO. The first one was not in very good condition, but I bought it anyway, in a flurry of Yes album buying whilst in California. Then later I saw a better copy, so I cut up the old one. I hung the cover on my wall, and cut the records themselves down to just the small label. They look pretty cool. Anyway I just love this cover painting. It's probably my favorite Roger Dean work. The fish are funny. A good thing about the record is that you get to truly experience the "side-long song" idea. And you can pick only the song you want to hear and don't ahve to worry about another one coming along afters.

Yes: Drama
Ah, the kitties. I love these little cats. Or "Panthers." (On the alt.music.yes newsgroup, defenders of the Drama album take the title of Panther ;-) I have to admit I like this album a lot too. Comes with being a Steve Howe fan, I would imagine. The only bad thing is you are stuck with the slightly disturbing gatefold photo of the band members' ugly mugs (and, in some cases, bods).

Yesshows
Basically bought this one for the cover art. It's so tranquil. Also it's interesting to note where they chose to split Ritual. Of course, on the CD, it's a separate track, but you don't notice it at all.

Yes: Classic Yes
I picked up this record not too long ago at half-price books. I had been on the lookout for it for some time. Classic was the first Yes recording I ever purchased, and so for that reason it is very special to me. But I had also heard that the live portions of this album, namely Roundabout and Your Move, were contained on their own little record, and I wanted me a piece of that. My copy is in very good condition, the only annoying thing is that it doesn't have a big poster of the green trees, like how the CD had a tiny poster of the green trees.

Yes: 9012LIVE, the Solos
I bought this recording not because I like 90125-era Yes (quite to the contrary) but because it is no longer available on CD. And I wanted my Yes collection to be complete, so there you are. I think I've only listened to it about once. The cover art is kinda cool, with the trippy world map.

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