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In October of 1972, I was seven years old and, if I even thought about the future, didn't know that Colorado, specifically Boulder (just down the road from where this album was recorded (Nederland, CO)), would also play a significant role in my life and development of my musical aesthetic.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a musician; I'm a writer, but I clearly have an aesthetic coursing through the strands of music I listen to. And Barnstorm clearly occupies a niche that is characterized by strong, articulate vocals delivered in a sort of dead-pan, not classically trained voice and fuzz-box guitar. It's a great sound, and the album is a great coherent listen through and through. I don't know if there was a single released from this gem, but my personal favorites are "One and One" and "Coming Down."

I'd never been much of a fan of Joe Walsh, but this is worth a listen and much more layered and intricate than "Life's Been Good" or his work with the Eagles. As I run down the whole catalog of late '60s to mid '70s Rock and Roll, I know I'll be jumping into the James Gang to see where he was coming from when he broke away with this gem, which should be cued up and played often.

July 4, 2024.

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Peregrinating the Albuquerque Bosque

The Map. Overview: Starting in the San Juans in Colorado, the Rio Grande "is the twenty-second longest river in the world and the fourth or fifth longest in North America" ( Texas State Historical Society ). While the river is characterized by the area it flows through, the river from Elephant Butte Dam to the south to Cochiti Dam in the north is called the Middle Rio Grande. And in the middle of the middle Rio Grande is the roughly 20 plus miles that flows through Albuquerque. From an airplane, the Rio Grande is a brown ribbon bordered a green ribbon. That green ribbon is the Bosque . I've always been fascinated really exploring an area, getting a sort of overview of an area then drilling down to really get it. It's led to me hiking the Sandias from end to end and then hiking outlying trails multiple times, biking all the trails in the Cedro Peak area because someone put them on a map, trying different routes to get to ...

Peregrinating the Albuquerque Bosque-the Autumnal Equinox edition

Overview: In June, around the Summer Solstice, my wife, my dog, and I set out to hike the Albuquerque Bosque from end to end over two days . It was well over a hundred degrees and after starting later than expected we didn't make it as far the first day as we hoped. But we did make it. Now, three months later, around the Autumnal Equinox, we set out to do it again. Our route was slightly different and, with the weather being a lot more pleasant, broke the day into a thirteen mile day and a five mile day: eighteen total miles from Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge to the Alameda Bridge right on the border between Albuquerque and Corrales. The things we wanted to do differently this time were pretty straightforward: 1) don't get lost at the south terminus and get into the bosque sooner, and 2) walk even more on the westside. So, the route was a follows: we'd walk on the east side from Valle de Oro to the Rio Bravo Bridge, cro...

Top 10 Jazz Albums

So, Mindy and I have been on a Jazz kick for the better part of 3 months now. At first, it was just listening to what we knew and then it moved into just kinda cherry picking, but finally, it was just too overwhelming, so I broke down and bought The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . So, after using the book and listening, I assigned a homework assignment. What are your Top 10 Jazz Albums of all time (so far)? As much as possible try and pick albums and avoid picking compilations or "best of" albums because they are more often than not just compilations of singles and not complete works of art on their own like a good album tries to be. So here's my list: 1. In a Special Way -Miles Davis. There really is no words to describe how awesome this album is. Though the critics define it as "Fusion," it really was "Fusion" before people knew what that was. And while it was recorded ensemble (unlike a lot recording whe...

Confessions of a Human Nerve Ending

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