No, my shelves are now cluttered with mid-'60s to late-'70s country records featuring a bevy of old guard Nashville stars holding their credibility and stardom in a death grip and a few newcomers that, while not pushing any boundaries, settle into the modes and mores of their chosen profession like a broken in pair of boots.
The situation here at the house just got a little more interesting as my father-in-law just brought over a box of about 150 - 200 albums handed over to the (as he refers to me) "family music archivist." I pulled out about half of the records for keeping, as the rest are well worn easy listening classics, collections of showtunes and a ridiculous number of Christmas albums. Simply put: your basic mid-to-late 20th century working class home's record collection.
Also not surprising considering the original owner - an electrician by trade who loved casinos, fishing and traveling the countryside in his RV - there were a great deal of country records stuffed into this box that was dropped on my kitchen table.
I'm thinking as I listen to this Ferlin Husky album with the frightening, frightening cover art of using this opportunity to reintroduce the idea of reviewing these records one by one. Something akin to the A.V. Club's "Box of Paperbacks" blog entries. It will not only force me to listen to each one of them and argue for or against it, but it will keep me updating here on a hopefully regular basis.
I'm going to try to do it on a weekly schedule and tackle a couple at a time, but please don't hold me to that, my two regular readers. I am merely one man with a full-time job, a host of freelance work and a one-year-old son. Time is of a premium here, but I will do my best.
Expect my first report soon, though.
