My First CD

[e c0li]

Mine was II by Boyz II Men. I actually had it on tape first, but my tape player ate it, and so my parents decided it was time to join the digital age and get this totally crappy stereo system complete with CD player.

And for the record, I still love "Water Runs Dry."

[Sunnyhorse]

The first Mr. Sunnyhorse and I bought an Onkyo stereo with a CD player, and the first two CDs we bought to go in it were Yes' 90125 and Boston's Boston. We followed those up pretty quickly with Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms and Little Feat's Let It Roll.

[Deleted]

The first CDs were classics. I wanted to hear them in their pristine, remastered glory.

The first one I got was Endless Summer by the Beach Boys, a large collection of their hits. Then I started buying Beatles.

Listening with headphones, I was amazed at the details that showed up -- little glitches that the engineers let go because they figured that the rumble and hiss of a needle on vinyl would mask them.

In Strawberry Fields, you can hear John Lennon counting out a measure in a whisper before the chorus. At the beginning of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, you can hear the click and whir of a Leslie speaker spinning up to speed (Eric Clapton ran his guitar through it for a throbbing effect on his guest lead solo).

On a Mamas and Papas song, you can hear Cass Elliot and John Phillips talking in hushed tones through the instrumental intro before they start to sing.

[Deleted]

Great topic. My first one was Neil Young's After the Gold Rush. I have tons of stuff on cassette including this one (it was copied on a lousy cassette). Ironic, b/c Neil is staunchly against this format. (Or at least he was, you know how Neil changes his mind.)

[Deleted]

Jun 2, 2008 14:29:27 GMT -4 @shubugs said:

Great topic. My first one was Neil Young's After the Gold Rush. I have tons of stuff on cassette including this one (it was copied on a lousy cassette). Ironic, b/c Neil is staunchly against this format. (Or at least he was, you know how Neil changes his mind.)

Here's a great Neil Young story from Graham Nash.

Nash went to visit Young at his farm. Young had just finished recording an album in his home studio. Nash expected to be led to the studio to hear the new album. Instead, Young took Nash outdoors and led him a long distance away to the middle of a cornfield where two folding chairs had been placed facing the house and barn.

As they sat down, Young pointed to large banks of speakers that had been set up in the windows of his house and in the door and loft openings in the barn. The house acted as the left channel and the barn as the right channel.

Young waved his arm in the air and the music started. Nash sat back and laughed at the spectacle. At that moment an engineer poked his head out the doorway of the barn with a quizzical look on his face.

Young stood up and yelled, "MORE BARN!"

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Jun 2, 2008 15:01:47 GMT -4 @pianoforte said:

Jun 2, 2008 14:29:27 GMT -4 @shubugs said:

Nash went to visit Young at his farm. ;

The More Barn Story. An oldie but goodie. I'm going home and pulling out this CD tonight. Shamefully, I didn't start building my CD collection until about 1996 or so. (Lots of stuff on albums and cassette.)

[carrier76]

Billboard Top Hits, 1983. Yes kids, that is the first CD I bought.

Then shortly thereafter, I replaced my "Classic Queen" tape, which I had worn out in record time.

[Deleted]

Jun 2, 2008 17:36:15 GMT -4 carrier76 said:

Then shortly thereafter, I replaced my "Classic Queen" tape, which I had worn out in record time.

That's the good thing about CDs: they never wear out. Except that it looks like that medium is on the way out. So many people are buying music online that CD sales have plummeted.

It won't be long before downloading direct to cel phone or iPod will be common.

[Sunbaby]

My first CD was Madonna's "The Immaculate Collection", purchased back in either 1994 or 1995. Can't remember the year but I remember how expensive the CD was. Not that it matters, because it still rocks my socks. "Lucky Star" is still my jam.

[PearlySweetcake]

Great thread!

My first cd purchase (at a Tower Records en route to my novelty music radio show) was the soundtrack to UHF and Big Daddy's reworking of Sgt. Pepper's.

Other format firsts - First cassette: John Denver's Rocky Mountain High. First 45: "Light my Fire" by the Doors. First LP: Movin' with Nancy by Nancy Sinatra. I was two or three years old. Played that vinyl to death.

My old music store co-workers are reporting that some ipod owners are coming back in to buy cds because their devices have died, taking their entire music collection down with them. People - always have an analog back-up!