The Highwaymen "Michael" (1961) (single)

Michael, 7'' single

release date: 1961

format: vinyl (67 007)

[single rate: 2 / 5] [2,16]

producer: Don Costa

label: United Artists - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) "Michael" - - B) "Santiano"

Single release by American folk quintet The Highwaymen is a recording of a traditional spiritual, which had already been recorded by several other artists but this version peaked at number #1 on the national Billboard Top 40 singles chart, as it repeated on the UK singles hit list - a triumph they were unable to repeat later on. The title song is also known as "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore".

This record was part of my parents' record collection, and it's single I never really took any pleasure from.

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This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Bill Haley and His Comets "Rock'N'Roll Stage Show Vol. 1" (1956) (ep)

Rock'N'Roll Stage Show Vol. 1, 7'' EP

release date: 1956

format: vinyl (BME 9278)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]

producer: Milt Gabler

label: Decca - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) 1. "Hook, Line and Sinker" - 2. "Rudy's Rock" - - B) 1. "Calling All Comets" - 2. "Rockin' Through the Rye"

EP by Bill Haley and His Comets with four tracks from the band's '56 album Rock'N'Roll Stage Show with which it shares same front cover.

This seven inch comes from my parents' record collection. It's an ep I used to play on a portable turntable when 6-8 years old, and already then, I found it strangely oldish, although, still quite party-like.

This is one of my very first music memories that wasn't purely children's songs.

👉 Another one from that earliest stage.

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This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Pink Floyd "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (1967)

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn [debut]
release date: Aug. 5, 1967
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Norman Smith
label: EMI Columbia - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Astronomy Domine" - 2. "Lucifer Sam" - 4. "Flaming" - 7. "Interstellar Overdrive" - 8. "The Gnome" - 10. "Scarecrow" - 11. "Bike"

Studio debut album by Pink Floyd released in the year when albums really flourished the pop / rock market. The band is formed by and consists of Syd Barrett on lead guitar & vocals, Roger Waters on bass & vocals, Richard Wright on organ, piano & vocals, and with Nick Mason on drums & percussion. 8 out of 11 tracks here are written and composed solely by Syd Barrett, which basically was the case at this early stage of the band and at a time when psychedelic rock was THE predominant style of the band. The remaining three tracks are credited the band and Waters (#6). The album is included on a long list of selected albums, which is regarded the best albums of the year, the decade or modern pop / rock music, and alongside the band's second album A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) this is lauded as being the first actual psychedelic rock albums where you hear Pink Floyd taking experimental rock to new territories. The US version of the album also included the band's first single success "See Emily Play", although, that track seems much out of sync with the rest of the compositions, perhaps except from "The Gnome". Today, the album is part of music history. I don't find it great nor very interesting but in a musical historical perspective, the album is outstandingly original and therefore also enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Needles say, the album has been reissued in a number of editions - most noteworthy, I reckon, is the "40th Anniversary Edition", which comes in a 2 and 3-disc version of the album with disc 1 containing the original mono mix and with disc 2 containing a stereo version of the original European edition of the album. The bonus disc edition (disc 3) also contains the band's first three singles alongside several outtakes. The album is a must have when speaking about psychedelic rock and then it's also very interesting in that it's the only album by the band with Syd Barrett. If you 'only' happen to be aquainted with later albums by Floyd, this is a different type of music as Barrett's own originality shines through in a way, you will only hear on this.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone Album Guide, Q Magazine 5 / 5, The Daily Telegraph 4 / 5 stars ]

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40th Anniversary Edition