Since moving to Asbury Park a little over a year ago, I have amassed quite a large record collection, and so I've decided to go through my stacks of wax and discuss some of the items in my collection - the good, the bad and the weird included. This is Alex's Record Collection.So, do you remember how in my last "Alex's Record Collection" post I went on a long, scholarly, biographical and opinionated tangent about the career of the Doors and only really talked about "Other Voices" as an album for about a paragraph and a half? I'm not doing that this time.
As many folks who know me can testify, I am an avid collector of knowledge. It's usually not enough for me to like a song, I need to know everything I possibly can about the music and the people behind it. And yes, this ultimately does, for better or worse, inform my perception of the work. Don't know if that's a good thing or not, but that's the way it is.
Except, it's different with Erik Satie. I don't know why. I know pretty much noting at all about this composer. Until about five minutes ago, I didn't know what time period he lived in. I don't know what nationality he was. I'm not sure where his work falls in the grand scheme of European(?) art music. And you know what? I don't need to. His work tells me absolutely everything I need to know.
Aldo Ciccolini's 1968 stereo recording known as "Piano Music of Erik Satie, Vol. 1" is perfect. The collection is hypnotic, tender, mellow, intriguing and gives me something new to discover and love on every wordless listen. I adore the scratchy, quiet copy I found for $1 at HoldFast a few months ago (I bought it in the same transaction as Harry Nilsson's "Son of Dracula" soundtrack, by the way. The less said about that "album," the better, I'm afraid.)
Although my own copy of "Vol. 1" came into my hands a few months ago, this is an album I have loved for years. On mellow evenings, my best friend and former roommate Dave would put his copy on the turntable, and I was sold. The record gives me much more of a peaceful, easy feeling than any goddamn Eagles song of the same name.
I really don't have all that much to say about this record except that if you come across a copy, buy it. Then take it home, light a candle, pour a glass of wine and fall in love with a mystery.
