Finally, vinyl...
I had been travelling and working, working and travelling a lot last year which left little time to listen to music. However, a few months ago, I discovered a trove of records that had been stored temporarily - almost permanently - in Roscommon. Well-dusted, they stood side-by-side in an old cardboard box in a little-used attic. I was excited to listen to them again and promptly loaded them into the car and took them home, eager to air them and spin them. Of course spinning records is impossible without a turntable and the last turntable I had stayed behind in Kinvara after the divorce.
More recently, doing a clear-out of stuff we had in storage, Maeve also discovered a long-lost vinyl trove. It's now back with us. Interestingly, there is some but not a lot of overlap. It's her David Gray and David Bowie up against my David Crosby.
Would I bother getting a new turntable when so much music resides at my fingertips for €19.99 each month? Yes, I would! Vinyl has been making a comeback and, having chatted to Barry Connaire, I decided that the pleasure was worth it. I went back to - in my opinion - the best online audio store (knowledgeable pre-sales, excellent customer service, brilliant post-sales), Richer Sounds, in Belfast. I asked some questions, and forked out £446.58 (Sterling!) - that's €529.00 in real money - for an Argon Audio TT3 Plus Turntable (in beautiful warm walnut, no less!). That's it, pictured above.
By way of contrast, after I got my first job in Galway in 1979, I saved up to buy a hi-fi separates system. I took a wad of notes - 300 Irish pounds - into O'Connor's on Shop Street, met Richard, the salesman, and bought a Pioneer amplifier, a Sony turntable, and a pair of lovely Wharfedale speakers. After that, I was in audio heaven.
My first vinyl purchase in over 40 years was the one you can see on the turntable, Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon". It cost over €40; the last one I bought, in Powell's The Four Corners in Galway, was about a fiver in old money! I never owned this LP before - I was more middle-of-the-road than cutting-edge-cool - but I had borrowed it as friends continually swapped albums back in those days. I was intrigued then by the stereo effects, particularly on the track "Money". And who can forget the soaring vocals of Clare Corry on "The Great Gig in the Sky"? Re-mastered, it sounds as brilliant today as it did then.
As for the LPs in my treasure trove, some sound dated - Peter Frampton, really? Others are just as good as ever - Cat Stevens, The Eagles - even with the inevitable scratches. All invoke memories.
Most important, I'm back in audio heaven...
[Author's Note: I started writing this about a year ago but got waylaid.]
