Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of David Crosby Available Now
I discovered If Only I Could Remember My Name sometime in the 90s, probably from reading about it in The Absolute Sound. When I was in my twenties and buying records regularly, the album was already out of print; I know because I went looking for it an nobody seemed to stock it.
The (awful sounding) Super Saver came out in 1975 and probably was deleted before long due to a lack of demand.
Once I had heard the record, it quickly became a go-to Test and Demo Disc, mostly for the song Traction in the Rain. The autoharp on that track is one of the most amazing things I have ever heard, on any album. The exceptional resolution and harmonic coherency of the multiple electrostatic arrays I was using for the mids and highs of my speaker system were perfectly suited to reproduce that instrument, as well as the complete track with Crosby’s delicate, breathy vocal being another key element to the sound.
I listened intently for the notes that got louder and softer as the autoharp was strummed. The more different each note sounded, the more micro-dynamics I knew I was reproducing. I tweaked and tested my system for months, even years with this track. (Nowadays I might put it on the list of records that sound so good they’re not actually ideal for testing, but that’s another story for another day.)
I didn’t know enough to buy other copies and compare them to mine. I just knew it was a great sounding record that I could blow people’s minds with as a big speaker demo disc.
I credit the album with making me a more critical listener and also with helping me make progress in audio.
Over the last twenty years I can recall a number of tweaking sessions in which I tried to get If Only I Could Remember My Name to sound better, knowing that the better it sounded, the better all my other good records would sound.
The second, third and fourth tracks on side one are excellernt for this purpose, as is the second track on side two.
On big speakers at loud levels, this album is a thrill.
Further Reading
I really loved this, Tom. I know that feeling, of wanting to get one specific song, one specific sound, to be just right. Back when I listened to CDs through headphones (because somebody told me music couldn’t get any better than that, and I had no means of testing, and no reason to question, their claim), I was obsessed with the Tokyo String Quartet’s recordings of the Beethoven quartets. In particular, Op 59 No. 3, movement 2. I just wanted to get THAT to sound as good as possible. I took for granted that anybody could relate to my obsession, but actually few people could relate. Wanting to get it to sound right comes from a different place from simply loving music. I think that for anybody who can relate to the drive to get a specific piece of music to sound its absolute best, this blog and your business, are exactly what they need.
Aaron,
I think you hit the nail right on the head with your comment about mistakenly thinking that others would naturally share your obsessions.
The proof that only a very few audiophiles are obsessed with either music or sound is everywhere you look, but you can only see the evidence of it once you stop assuming audiophiles are obsessed about music OR sound.
When we assume something we have little evidence to support, we are blind to the reality all around us, namely that few individuals take this hobby as seriously as it must be taken to be any good at it.
Only those who get into it deeply can possibly understand how difficult it is.
Just to take one example: Is anyone other than us trying to prove themselves wrong at every turn?
Yet that is the only way to make progress.
Others try to prove themselves right so they can avoid all the hard work that finding out you are wrong entails.
If you’re already right, why change anything?
The skeptics of the world recognize this way of being for what it is — pure laziness, in thought and action.
Anyone can do better, but few can be bothered to actually make the effort.
We go the extra mile because the extra mile is where the thrills are. It’s the only one that really counts.
Thanks for writing,
TP