Complete Collection Countdown

 Hallmark Records, 1969 Category: Crooner, jazz standard pop Another jazz standards pull... I need to start mixing up what bag I'm pulling from as I put things away! This may be the first record to fall victim to the purge. I'm a bit on the fence, because Sinatra is such a standard, but the recording quality on this LP isn't great and I have another compilation with more of my preferred songs. I'll have to give than one a listen and then make my decision.

 Pablo Records, 1978\ Category: Jazz By a funny coincidence, I pulled out my only other album that features Joe Pass, and it's another great one.  I thought myself pretty well informed when it came to jazz growing up; thus, it was a surprise when I got my hands on this album (not sure where) and realized that Sarah Vaughan and her incredible voice existed. Somehow, up to that point, she had slipped by me. Wowee. If you like vocal jazz, this is worth a listen. Also, great backing band!

Pablo Live, 1981 Category: Jazz This is a great record. It's chill enough to be good listening for dinner or hangouts, but also very mentally engaging and stimulation for more intensive listening. Joe Pass has elements of Django Reinhardt, but also a style all his own. Listening to him improvise is a genuine pleasure.  I picked this record up at the ReFound shop on Thistle Street, and was very excited to find it. I used to have a burned cd of some solo recordings of his, and that was great, but hearing him with the trio is a real treat. You can tell he is really exploring and having fun. No regrets on this purchase!

 Animal Records, Chrysalis, 1984  Category: Dark American Country Folk Rock? Very difficult to categorize At one time, I would have described the Gun Club as my favourite band. It it still up there and no mistake, I just find it hard to choose "my favourite". This genre probably isn't for everyone, but something in it speaks to me. It's dark, impassioned, imperfect, and feels like it's telling timeless stories. I had a really hard time finding copies of these records, so I was pumped when Sympathy for the Record Industry re-released them on coloured vinyl. This one came in green, which happens to be my favourite colour, which was a nice bonus. Look at how pretty it is! I am going to stop writing now and just enjoy listening to side two.

 Island Records, 1974 Category: Folk, folk rock I LOVE this record. It was recorded live in London, and its vibes remind me of being at Fundy Folk when I was a kid growing up on the land cooperative. Traditional tunes with and electric edge, with some blues/country thrown in here or there for good measure. There is some awesome fiddle playing as well, which I always appreciate, being a fiddle player myself.  I am pretty sure I picked this record up at Plan B on Gottingen Street. I had come across one of their tunes years before when doing some exploring via Soulseek, and liked it, so I nabbed this. It far exceeded my expectations. I thought they were going to be more folky like Simon and Garfunkel meets The Mamas and the Papas, and was very stoked to be thrown into some solid jigs and reels. I highly recommend if traditional Irish / Scots folk is your jam. 

 Polydor, 1980 Category: Mod Rock I have a special "affection" for The Jam (See what I did there?). I came to them in a rather roundabout way. I acquired a mislabeled mix tape, with a song that I liked which was attributed to them. It turned out later it was 54-40 (a story for another day), but not before I had expressed interest in the band to one of my coworkers, Laura, who was a few years older than me and had great musical taste. She made me a mix cd that was actually The Jam, and I have been a fan ever since!  This album has some great tracks on it, and a fun 80's era record sleeve. I wouldn't say that every song is a banger, but it's definitely a keeper.

 RCA Victor, 1973  Category: Art Rock What a weird emotional journey this album is. There are parts that are delightful, and others that are grating. I actually had to turn it off halfway through the second side because it was making my partner depressed! That said, it's a Lou Reed album through and through, and one I will keep. I'll just listen to it when my partner's not around ;) I have a fondness for Lou Reed thanks to discovering the Velvet Underground at just the right stage of high school. My friends and I were not very conventional, and related to the weirdness and the raw expression of feelings or ways of being that were taboo in rural Nova Scotia in the 90s. This album is one I picked up later, so it's not one I have a huge connection with, but it's staying all the same.

 Scepter Records, 1968 Category: Soul This is a wicked compilation that I picked up somewhere odd---I THINK in a box by the side of the road, but it could have been the old $1 record shop on Almon Street (R.I.P.). I love this record both because the music is great, but also because it features some tunes and artists that are not necessarily as well known to my generation as perhaps they should be. Of course, a lot of the big names are there as well. Bonus: The album art is on point.

 Warner Brothers, 1963 Category: American Folk This is an album that is in my collection mostly due to its spirit and place in history. Peter Paul and Mary are rarely the thing I would choose to put on, but I appreciate it and generally enjoy it when it plays. Also, the positive intent and celebration of peaceful change is something I can get behind.

 Columbia Records, 1966. Category - American folk rock Not a lot needs to be said about this album. It's a classic that stands the test of time. This record really harnesses the emotional tumult of early 20s subculture existence. Even though it was written in a different time and place, it still rang true for me, living my broke student life, going to shows and weird art loft parties. It's a little nostalgic for me for that reason, and always a good listen.

 Released 1976, Columbia Records. Category: Cape Breton Folk, Country, Canadiana   This was the 3rd random pull, and I'm grateful, because this album perfectly reflects why I am doing this complete collection countdown. It's not a record I was super familiar with---it was given to me by my Dad as a Canadian classic. Of course John Allan Cameron is a household name in much of Nova Scotia, but I'm not sure if I've ever sat down and listened to the whole thing before. Of the two records, I liked the second better, as it was a little more traditional and I like that vibe. That said, the first was also very good, in more of a 70s folk / country way. There are some songs I will definitely be humming to myself later.  Perhaps the nicest discovery of this album? John Allan Cameron signed the records, autographing one for my father and my mother. It was a sweet little surprise!

 1964, Impulse! Records, with McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), and Elvin Jones (drums). Category: Jazz - Modal I know, I know. The sleeve for this record is VERY hard up. However, the album itself still sounds amazing. This is one of my favourite jazz records, and one of the first I ever acquired. Pretty sure I bought it used off a friend for ten bucks in my early years of university, and it was ten bucks well spent. I fell in love with jazz while in high school, but all of my listening had been on tape or cd. To get my hands on some Coltrane vinyl was a very exciting moment. I have some more great jazz stuff now, but this was the first piece. I'm sure a thousand people have offered their thoughts on A Love Supreme before me, so I'll keep it brief. The album features intense, intimate jazz that runs the gamut from frantic to trance-inducing to soothing. Well, maybe someone's definition of soothing. It has great drums, bass, piano, and of course, sax. It's th...

Conducted by Antal Dorati, recorded 1953. Music premiered in 1924. Category: Classical - Tone Poem This was the first record I pulled to test the stereo, and it's a great one! The Pines of Rome starts pretty light, and slowly builds to an epic crescendo and deep, thunderous bass. I don't love the beginning, but I sure do love the final section, "Pines of the Appian Way"; that final build is epic. I have a soft spot for this piece because we played it in high school band. Or rather, we attempted, and had a lot of fun doing so. It's always grabbed my imagination, conjuring images of Roman legions marching through the hills in all of their grandeur. The music swells as Rome rises and conquers vast territories to become an empire.  As a history enthusiast, my view of Imperialism is much less romantic now than that of my teenage self, but the music still takes me there just the same.

Welcome to the #completecollectioncountdown! What, you may ask, is that? Well, I'll tell you.  In 2017, I was moving, and realized I had a LOT of records. As I hauled them, I promised myself that once I was settled in my new place, I would challenge myself to listed to every single one of them, and purge where appropriate. I did okay with the listening (less well with the purging), but life is busy, and before long, I'd lost track of where I was in the process.  I have just moved again and have a great listening space, so it seems like the perfect chance to begin anew. I am going to chronicle the experience, with the following goals: 1.To share my love of music, and explore my crazy, eclectic collection. Seriously, I am excited for any discussions this could inspire.   2. To keep me accountable. I must listen to them all! 3. To act as a catalogue. I should probably have some record of my records.  So here's the deal:     - Records will be drawn ra...