A tribute to the time when buying an album (and the liner notes inside) was an occasion not to be rushed, but to be savored.
You remember. You’d go downtown to pick up a new album at the record store. For me, it was the Record Bar. You’d browse through the racks of albums on display. You’d pick one up, check out the cover art and flip it over to read what was there on the back. We didn’t know at the time, nor did we imagine, that this store, this album, this art work and these liner notes inside would be gone in the blink of an eye.
Frampton Comes Alive, Peter Frampton 
1999, Prince 
Imperial Bedroom, Elvis Costello and the Attractions 
Big Bambu, Cheech and Chong (rolling papers included) 
The River, Bruce Springsteen 
Darkness On the Edge of Town, Bruce Springsteen
When we got home with our new record, we’d slit open the plastic film, trying not to get a paper cut as we opened the sleeve. Inside was the album or albums, of course, but also the liner notes. We’d put the album on the turntable and begin browsing. Often, you’d find the lyrics. Sometimes, there was a backstory, a letter or even a booklet. And probably other photographs of the band.
We’d listen to the whole album, both sides. And play every song, not just the one we downloaded or the one we heard on the Spotify playlist. It was a story told to us by the artist, a journey they wanted us to go on. With the lyrics in hand, we could sing along or read it like poetry and try to gleam an understanding of what they were trying to communicate with the song.
The experience of the liner notes began to wane in the 1980’s when cassettes and CD’s took over the market. Of course now, they have basically disappeared from popular culture altogether with the advent of digital. So, this is just a look back, a tribute to that time when buying an album was an occasion not to be rushed, but to be savored.
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