First song to "Blow You Away"...

For so many reasons. First pop song to be recorded in a modular style. The song was recorded in five different recording studios taking more than 6 weeks to complete.....bouncing from 4 track to 8 track machines...try to hear that on the final recording. Brian Wilson somehow got the same sound from all 5 studios. Any recording engineers here will realize the difficulty of doing that in 2006, but in 1966??? The tempo changes so many times in a 3.5 minute span it's amazing. The song starts in the key G flat major (six flats) and starts with the verse descending from the relative minor: E flat minor. It was probably played in the key of F (one flat) with the verse starting on the chord of D minor and sped up at the mixdown stage. The song uses a solo cello and a theremin to build the rhythm section for one section, and in another section doubles a honky-tonk piano with a jaw's harp (this, at a time when typical pop songs used bass guitar, electric guitar, sometimes piano and drums) The instrumentation changes radically from section to section; the bass plays in some parts but not in others, drums and vocals drop in and out, and the voices sometimes accompany fully developed backing tracks (such as in the chorus) and are in parts almost a cappella. The beat, although the standard four-to-the bar, has a triplet feel, a three's over fours type thing. The second eight bars have a broken drum pattern, and the 16-bar chorus was edited into the multitrack master tape at some point during the construction of the track. When my ears first heard this Brian Wilson masterpiece in 1966, they took notice. This song forever changed not only my musical direction, but also changed the way music was recorded. Still quite an accoplishment even by todays standards. Great song, amazing production.

"Surealistic Pillow" by Jefferson Airplane back in 1967 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin at around 10:00pm in the dark with earphones on at the Spook House (the name of our place at college). It was the first time I believed that perhaps levitation was possible.

I see some of you other geezers had to dig through a deep pile w/ feeble tools for this one. Seems like there were quite a few light bulbs, fire crackers, earthquakes, quasars and omeletes. Can't be sure what did it first... Donovan/ Sunshine Superman, Stones/ Jumpin' Jack Flash, Hendrix/ Puple Haze, Them/ Gloria. If you're cruising at a Pink Floyd elevation you can get shelled by Crimson, Can or Mahavisnu Orch. after that you're toast.

The first song "tbma" was my first record purchase.-- Les Paul and Mary Ford's The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise.--(Even tho How High The Moon came out first.)
This was a 78 rpm--played on our windup player. I must have played it so many times the needle cut thru to the other side.(Stylus force must have been 3 lbs.) Altho I must have a million favs---The cd I've listened to the most has to be Roger Waters' Amused To Death. I would come home; put this on repeat and this went on for 2/3 months---Without listening to anything else. This confession may explain somethings about me??

Avguygeorge, perhaps you were like Bill Hubbard, out there in "no man's land" and dripping with sweat.

An amazing piece of music. I have two copies on LP, one to play and one for backup in case something happens to the first. Too important a piece of art to ever be without.