Influential Albums - Day 3

This is an update from a post from June 20, 2018 

The Influential Album Challenge is circulating on Social Media platforms again. I have been asked to participate and am revisiting my picks from 2018. 

In March, 1980, I traveled by Greyhound bus to London, Ontario, to spend March Break with my dad who had secured a new job in advance of our family joining. It was my first opportunity to explore my future hometown.

London, Ontario (2012)

I had $30, earmarked for my favourite stuff -- video games, National Lampoon magazines and junk food. However, I knew I wanted to buy a Rush album. The villiage of Kingsville where I lived for five years only had one location that sold records, a small Five & Dime/pharmacy where the selection was limited. A rack near the counter had an assortment of current releases from which to choose. Although, it was mainly K-Tel compilations and Donna Summer's latest offering, a disco record that was ubiquitous that year. Certainly nothing as eclectic as Rush could be found in Kingsville.

K-Tel record from1980 - a mix of rock and disco

I had become fascinated with Rush's music after hearing the song Cinderella Man during a school dance. Anyone familiar with the song knows that this is not a dance track. However, 80s teen culture had embraced the “Disco Sucks!” movement, complete with T-shirts, so I suspect it had been requested by a student at the dance. 

A popular shirt worn by many high school students at the time.

My week in London was marvelous. Each morning, my dad and I would drive into downtown where he worked. Wandering the busy sidewalks was both overwhelming and liberating: video game arcades, bookstores, a half-dozen record sellers and a library (with more than one floor!) At fourteen, I was at the perfect age for this experience -- old enough to be independent and young enough to be untethered from responsibility.

I spent two days debating my record purchase, diligently comparing prices at Sam the Record Man, Mister Sound and the music section at both Eaton's & Simpsons' department stores. In a pre-internet age, it was a crash course in popular music. I absorbed all the available details as I flipped through hundreds of records, carefully examining cover art, track listings and dates.

Eventually, I settled on the live album All the World’s a Stage because, as a double album, it was the best value for the buck. After making my purchase, I went to the Central branch of the London Public Library and convinced the librarian to let me borrow headphones and use the record booth, despite having no library card or any form of identification. 

This is where I would spend much of the next three days. Plugged into a library turntable listening to both discs over and over again. As the band's first live release, it covered songs from their four initial albums. Consequently, it was a journey through the evolution of their music - from their 1974 debut to the 1976 release 2112. There were no lyrics in the liner, so I painstakingly tried to decipher each verse. Songs had names such as Bastille Day and Soliloquy ... clearly, there was some heady stuff going on here. 

I  loved the inner gatefold - it was amazing for a kid who had never seen a concert.

It was the beginning of a lifelong relationship with Rush. Eventually, I owned their entire catalogue on vinyl and I would see them perform many times -- including their final Toronto concert in June, 2015, on the R40 tour. 

The lyrics, the musicianship, the Canadianity of it all resonated with me. This record immediately transports me to a simpler, carefree time: shoving quarters into an arcade game, slugging a can of soda and walking to the library with my Rush record under my arm.