Old Ghosts: Records & Tapes from My Childhood

A few obscure gems I grew up with -- maybe you did too?

Howdy folks. For no other reason than documenting some old school artifacts of cultural importance, here’s a post that cements in time some rare obscurities of things which would be lost to my memory if not for inter-webbish time capsules that others have resurrected. Maybe some of my subscribers will have these same memories — or if not, will discover something new and weird, which is the whole purpose behind this Substack-ish pastime.

In the photo above is me at age 4, marveling over my new copy of THE MUPPET MOVIE Soundtrack on Christmas morning 1979, while my brother Jonathan (age 1) points at the rainbow and advent candles watch from the distance. This record had a huge impact on my psyche which continues to this day — and I could write volumes about it — but in this post imma gonna dive even deeper into things you can’t buy on iTunes or find commercially anywhere other than YouTube or other dark corners of the collective inter-web consciousness.

The Best of Disney, Vol. One

I grew up with a collection of Disney book-and-records (where Tinkerbell’s chimes told you when to turn the page) but I also had this 1978 release from Disneyland Records on a cassette tape — and had it memorized after constant play. My most-formative years were basically molded by Disney, Muppets and Star Wars (and now Disney owns them all, which is ironic). What I liked about this album was that the tracks were mostly lifted directly from the films themselves, with all the extra dialogue and sound effects intact. This was rather unusual, as most soundtracks will have a separate or alternative mix than the one you hear in the actual movie.

The Story of STAR WARS

I had this on a much-played cassette tape within the same era, and long before VHS or DVD, this is how I memorized bits of dialogue from the film and embedded the story & visuals into my consciousness. Certain bits of audio from this album are actually from the alternate mono print of the film.

The Legend of the Gnomes

This album is a complete mystery to me. Apparently it was recorded in 1976 in the UK and the same characters were used for a small picture book around the same time. I can’t find any information on the people who made this thing, but somehow I had a copy of it on vinyl as a kid and obsessed over it a few times. I also remember there being an epic poem inside the jacket cover — perhaps this had something to do with me writing poetry about gnomes several decades later?

In any case, someone uploaded it and it’s really strange. I’m always on the hunt for another copy on vinyl with the poem intact — for I can’t find it anywhere.

Gee, Our 1st Album - The Rock-afire Explosion

I was obsessed with the animatronic animal band at Showbiz Pizza Place from 1983-1984, and in their gift shop they sold little 45rpm records, plus their first (and only) full-length LP. Simultaneously creepy and endearing, I loved this thing and it was my introduction to Hamlet, plus a few of the songs it covers. A very strange artifact of its time and something hard to describe unless you were there.

Monty Python’s Flying Circus

I’ll conclude this post with what was decidedly one of the most influential records I ever purchased — and it’s the only one I still have in my possession.

When I was 13, a trusted lifelong friend and neighbor of mine told me rather casually, in a front porch conversation about comedy records, "You should listen to Monty Python. They are funny." And so, sometime afterwards on a bike ride to Harmony House on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe, I spent some of my allowance on a Monty Python record. I knew absolutely nothing of its contents. All I knew was that "I should listen to them. They are funny."

After listening to the record myself, I was soon playing it for some other close friends of mine who I hung out with nearly every weekend. Soon afterwards, we were playing with a tape recorder in our basements and backyards, improvising and recording full comedy albums of our own with silly voices and British accents. We were then renting "And Now for Something Completely Different", "Holy Grail" and anything else we could find from the video store and making our own comedy videos. This was how we spent most of our time, and there was a lot of laughter. Much of the same sense of humor in what I write, draw, listen to and watch today has the same feeling of surrealism and cleverness.

A simple recommendation from a friend can go a long way.

Which albums shaped you as a kid?