Recently, I was going through my record collection to make sure that my index cards were all up-to-date, and I found so many exciting things, I just don't know where to begin.
Why don't I start with the heart and soul of Cream? What? No, I am not starting with the letter C! Why would you even ask? Jack Bruce's last name starts with a B! So, I was flipping through the B section, and following my Jack Bruce policy, I stopped and lingered over Songs For A Tailor. I have two other Jack Bruce solo records, Harmony Row and Things We Like (with John McLaughlin, Jon Hiseman, and Dick Heckstall-Smith) but I love Songs For A Tailor best of all.
Whenever I come across Songs For A Tailor, I like to pull it out of the collection and smile. First I enjoy the front cover photo of Jack Bruce's fabulous freckled face, and then I flip it over to check out the back cover. I look over the track listing and think about how Theme For An Imaginary Western is quite possibly the greatest song title ever. I love that album so much. One time, when I was the vinyl dictator, a copy of it came into the store, so I overpriced it at $8.75, slapped a handwritten sticker on the protective plastic sleeve that said BEST ALBUM EVER, and waited. It sold that day. I can only assume it sold to someone who needed it, but deep down I like to think that my sticker is what sold the album.
Anyway, after the thrill of Jack Bruce, I was sorting through the letter C, and I saw my Charo album! My Charo album is great for three reasons. First, it pressed on a hideous pink vinyl. It is not a pink that occurs in nature, but it is a pink that sums up the 1970s. Second, the last track is Charo's version of the Love Boat Theme. (If memory serves, it is a disco-flamenco version. Fabulous!) I assume that I don't need to remind you that Charo is an accomplished flamenco guitarist and that she is more than just a Special Guest Star on The Love Boat. Don't pigeonhole Charo! She is an entertainer!
Third, and possibly the best of all, is the special memory of the fact that I bought my Charo record the same day I got Songs For A Tailor. And I paid more for the Charo record! Some crazy person had priced Jack Bruce at $1.98 and Charo at $3.98. The price tags are still on both of them, which is how I know the exact amounts, but I can always remember that Jack Bruce was priced lower. That amuses me. It just seemed odd that Charo could fetch more than Jack Bruce. (Although both records were bargains, to be sure.)
In the C section, I also stopped to enjoy my Shaun Cassidy albums. My very favorite album, content-wise, is his self-titled debut effort, but as far as album titles go, my favorite is That's Rock And Roll. The full title is Shaun Cassidy Live/That's Rock And Roll. Hee! Because if I needed to sum up rock and roll, the first album I would turn to would be the Shaun Cassidy live album. I wouldn't choose Chuck Berry, or the Rolling Stones, or Cheap Trick. I would play the Shaun Cassidy album and then tell the listener, that's rock and roll. (No, I really wouldn't. I can see why you would be tempted to believe me, but I would probably choose to play the Rolling Stones.)
But I just can't laugh at that album title as much as I would like. I give Mr. Cassidy the benefit of the doubt for two reasons. First, track one on the second side is called That's Rock And Roll. The album is just named after a song! Second, I have a book from 1978 called The Shaun Cassidy Scrapbook. It's "An illustrated biography of the Reigning Teen Idol!" That's what the back cover says. The book contains pictures of Shaun Cassidy, pre-Hardy Boys, when he was in a hard rock band. He is shirtless, wearing suspenders and tight pants and a bow tie, and he looks to be doing his best Iggy Pop impersonation. Therefore, Shaun Cassidy is a-ok with me because he made an attempt to rock before he was sanitized for our protection. Okay, you got me. I love marketed-as-harmless-boy-next-door Shaun Cassidy too. I wouldn't have four of his records if I didn't.