June 10 2008: New York City
WB and I walking along in the Upper East Side of manhattan, mid-afternoon, wondering if anyone was across town at Tower (the closest brick-and-mortar music store still open by that point) looking at CM in the racks, maybe picking one up...feeling good...
...approaching an intersection of 72nd and Madison -- a car pulls up to the light, windows rolled down, someone waving something from inside the car - we look over, it's a young couple waving their copy of CM, apparently just purchased an hour before. Big grins and thumbs up exchanged all around as the light changed....
what are the odds of that, honey?
He was so proud of CM -- he was especially grateful for Larry, and especially especially grateful for "his" musicians, who "played their little hearts out" for him on this album, all of them so engaged and invested and, we've heard since, proud of their work on this little beauty.
It was a happy day....
So glad I have a place to say this:
Although I'd really liked 11 Tracks when it came out, when I first read about Circus Money, it just didn't sound like my thing. To be honest, it sounded a bit like a recipe for disaster: aging white rock star makes a reggae record with a producer whose work I wasn't all that fond of...I couldn't bear to even check it out. Yes, I know - stupid and closed-minded. What a mistake...
Five or so years pass and I get curious enough to stream it. And holy shit. Fell in love with this brilliant record from the first spin. The songs, the playing, the incredible production, and that singing - I just wasn't prepared for how much this record spoke to me. I'm not so much of a lyric person and yet so many of these songs moved me deeply.
However many years after that, I'm still spinning it regularly: at home, while I'm walking through the East Village, when I'm on a flight. Simply put, it's a record that makes me feel great, reminds me of why I love music. It's one maybe a half dozen records from my life that remains fresh, that speaks to my love of melody and rhythm.
And while I can't thank Walter Becker, thanks to anybody here who had anything to do with creating this masterpiece. It brings me peace.