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
- If Only I Could Remember My Name helped us dramatically improve our playback
- For audiophiles just getting started, beware of LPs that are likely to inhibit your progress
- Record collecting for the sake of having a wall full of records you rarely if ever play? No thank you