I, Knute Reinhardt Rimkus must confess. I am forever fond of 1970’s music. I don’t know if it’s the lengthier tracks, the thematic albums, the colorful artwork, and vintage lyrical phrases like, “spend all your bread”. Honestly, no one uses the term “bread” for money anymore, unless of course you are Robert Downey Jr. in an interview trying to sound relevant to his kid’s generation. But surely, I digress.
Having lived through the seventies, I thought I had heard every hipster eclectic Rock/Jazz music sound. Yet there I was yesterday, picking up vintage music for my 20 year old vintage race car’s only audio source- Yes, the cassette tape. Lou’s Records in Encinitas is mostly a stronghold of hipster vinyl, but they had a few vintage cassettes. Besides, I was there to find music more for my vintage car than my ears. I remember hearing about Johnny Winter’s guitar playing skills years ago, but for some reason I had missed his brother Edgar Winters’ ground breaking “Entrance” album. This album confirmed the superiority of 60′-70’s music, and it confirmed that finding new music from any time period should always be a priority.
I had a chance to fully listen to the entire Entrance album during my 100 mile drive on the Pacific Coast highway today. On a sunny, 70 degree weather day, and a clear view of blue water & Catalina Island on my left, and vintage cars with hipster breakfast spots on my right, the Edgar Winter “Entrance” album unfolded itself and brought me right back into the Jazz / Rock music scene that Hollywood is always trying to recreate. The fact that Hollywood is continually attempting to pull in baby boomers with lame recreations of the 60-70’s reminds me why digital technology has taken over, which will ultimately bury old school Hollywood thinking, but that’s better saved for a future discussion.
Back to this morning’s coastal ride, and more importantly, Edgar Winter’s masterpiece “Entrance” album. The song and theme represented by the Entrance track is heard throughout the album, which will make you stop and stamp your feet, even in a vintage race car could easily take you off a cliff when too much acceleration is provided. Yes, this themed album is just so good, but one track stood out today- “Fire and Ice.” The song starts out with a fast tempo that will stay with you forever, then it builds up, then slows down, and just as with the entire album will bring you back to a musical pure sense of timing and theme. If you don’t enjoy this song, then I, Knute Reinhardt Rimkus will never discuss musical musing with you again, as you are surely not worthy of my time.
