First off, I want to mention my latest listening experience from a vinyl LP given to me by a friend. People have been giving me boxes of their vinyl LP’s they do not care to use anymore. Most of the LP’s are cumbersome and take up to much physical space but it is worth going over and pulling out the gems.The name and sound of HANK WILLIAMS encompasses roots country music. This double LP was a refreshing listening experience. I have always loved his look and sound but have been out of touch with it for a while. Revisiting the 24 OF HANK WILLIAMS GREATEST HITS album on the MGM label was of value. Throughout this listening time, it became obvious that Rock’n Roll was heavily influenced by much of his music especially MOVE IT ON OVER from 1952 (similar to Rock Around The Clock), HONKY TONKIN’ from 1948, and MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS from 1949. The timbre of his voice (I’m also thinking Jimmy Rogers), the sound of the fiddle and pedal steel guitar captures that time. Many of the cuts also shift into a swing mode. As a point of reference, Hank Williams is from southern Alabama and died in 1953 at age of 29. He is known to have written songs on the fly on anything from napkins to beer cans. I would recommend watching videos of him on you tube.
Among other features in the music, I simply love the (antique) sound of the recordings. This is not an analogue vs. digital issue but rather captures the sound of the time it was recorded. It sounds oldish, authentic, and genuine as it is, and not contemporary in clarity and brightness. That’s fine with me because it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to a time machine. The same can be said with other recordings such as the NINO ROTA soundtracks from the 1950’s. I’ve heard very nice recreations of his music from that period by people covering it but the authenticity of the original lo-fi mono quality fidelity can’t be beat as the sound of that time and how people heard it. Hi-Def isn’t everything. Hi-Def is great for music that thrives on it.
– Tom Skelly
“The Sound of Pictures” (Sundays 7-10PM)