Emotional Attachment VS Appreciation

I see that there are a lot of incredibly knowledgeable prog fans here who really explored the genre - to the moon and back from what I've seen.

Edited by Walton Street - November 28 2014 at 13:03

I thought I had started it in general :P

For me it may be "Departure from the Northern Wasteland", a 1978 electronic album by Michael Hoenig. Life has its fair share of worries and stresses in the modern age, and I often yearn for the simpler times of childhood in the 70s. This album, without fail, transports me back to those days, and makes for instant comfort when I get depressed. It's just one of many records my dad played a lot in those days, but the cinematic, broad sound of this album is especially conducive to creating a mental picture. I never leave home without it.

Seems like there was a similar thread a while back, but it's a good question to ponder.

Hi,

I was lucky.

Father's collection of classical music was immense and stupendous and you pretty much heard a lot of different things over time, and eventually get attached to some of these pieces.

When we came to America we stayed in this house of folks that were very well to do, and they had a massive stereo and listening to "Blonde on Blonde" (the album du jour that year!!) was a huge experience for me. Also heard things like Al Kooper and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and in many ways, a different mind set started.

In the late 60's FM radio started having an influence in Madison, WI, but it could not over turn the likes of the big money AM stations. In 1971, we moved to Santa Barbara, CA and FM radio had already taken hold in Southern California ... and its really big thing in thsoe early days, was ... LONG CUTS ... something that normal radio would not do, and there was no other alternative other than the educational stations (college radio), most of which did not have a signal strong enough.

The sound was HUGE. NOT THE MUSIC ITSELF, mind you! Because there were just as many things that did not sound as "great" on the big system ... I never thought Mozart's quartets sounded any better on my big system!!!!! Or Chuck Berry for that matter!

In 1972 I went for broke and got me 2 ESS-AMT1 speakers and they have been re-coned twice since them and they still kick major ASSSSSSHHHH!!!!! At that point I knew there was more to "music" than I knew ... Tangerine Dream sounded miraculous in there. The Rolling Stones didn't.

End of story ... never looked back ... the speakers still work, and had to get another turntable as my trusty Pioneer finally had it after 25 years!

The sad thing, is that the majority of folks in this board have no idea what the fidelity and quality of some of these things are ... and all they know is based on mp3 and some CD quality that you can not get on a cheapie ear phone set! Even on a Sony $300 monitor earphones, most rock bands don't sound good off a CD! But if you want to hear the difference, just come over ... bring some red wine with you!

Edited by moshkito - November 28 2014 at 15:10

My love affair with prog did not really start until 1985, when I was 22. I had previously been aware of it, but not really aware of it.
           Two important things occurred in the spring of 1985, I heard for the first time a full album of what I considered to be full blown progressive rock, that being Triumvirat's record Illusions On A Double Dimple. I was, and still am, blown away by the sound this group created, and thought to myself, this is the real mccoy, and there is no way I am going to miss out on progressive rock any longer!
                Another thing occurred, and that was seeing the movie Amadeus about Mozart. Me and my Dad went to the local library the next day, and borrowed some classical records, and together heard for the first time on lp, the great masters. I remember my first  Berlioz, the Roman Carnival overture conducted by Charles Munch, like it was yesterday, and being so moved I couldn't do anything but be enraptured! And also my first Bruckner, the 9th Symphony with Zubin Mehta conducting-to this day these two composers are my guiding light in music, emotionally, spiritually, you name it.
                    It was not until years later that I came to know the tragic end of who would become my favorite musician, Triumvirat's Helmut Koellen, finding out painfully that he had died on May 3rd, 1977. It was around 2007 that I first heard his posthumous and obscured solo album, and it's special introspective story  has become very important to me, another "guidng light", musically and lyrically, and I feel I somehow "know" Helmut, even though I never met him.

So many.  Sometimes my life seems like it has an accompanying soundtrack.  Most are forgotten but a few continue to stand out.