It’s Turntable Tuesday…because life is too short not to listen to great music! Turn that TV OFF! Crank up your local speaker with some of your favorite music or even better crank up some vinyl! In the news this week I hear vinyl sales just passed CD sales which are in a decline due to streaming. I am going to talk about streaming in an upcoming article and podcast but in the meantime I need to tell you all about this album and how the virtual Farm Aid broadcast is barely two weeks away on September 26th!
If you want to listen in to the companion podcast after the blog visit please subscribe at spotify, Apple, Google, or Podbean by searching “Andrew Talbert” or download a copy! You can also listen here.
“Comes a Time” was released in October of 1978. I can remember what I was doing during this time and how I endlessly listened to this album. As usual I had made a copy of the vinyl on a high grade Japanese metal tape for my car to save the album for playback later in life. I was in Starkville, Mississippi in the fall of 1978 chasing several things in my life at the time. One was a girl I was crazy about and another was more work on my college resume which included this stint at Mississippi State University. The album came out and I instantly bought it at a local shop. Right at this same time I also bought Nicolette Larson’s album “Nicolette.” I was into many artists at this time and many of them were interconnected through the recordings of this period. More on that later. I do remember this music playing on the 3 watt FM transmitter from WMSU and if you go back and look at the “yearbook” from that year you can see me in the photo with the radio crew. I have that book in a closet somewhere and yes I had a third class FCC license back then as a basic requirement while trying to play first class music.
Before I get into the main story…Don’t forget Neil Young and many others will be in the virtual Farm Aid broadcast on September 26. I wish we could all be there but here we are. I am raising money for Farm Aid as a long time supporter. YOU can help too! Please send even a small donation to my page! I am trying to put together some money for them this year and I need your help. I have a separate blog post from last week you can check out with the podcast. Think about it like taking care of your neighbor, think about helping the family who is working all day to make sure we all can eat this winter. There are those who have had a tough time this year and Farm Aid can help! All they need is even a small donation to my page to make a difference. $5 or anything is help because it takes a few good people to help another hard working American out sometimes. Here is the link to my page. Take a minute and send even a small donation to Farm Aid. It is very easy and you can even donate anonymously. https://give.farmaid.org/fundraiser/2873149
“Comes A Time.” Without playing back all the reference material on this album I just want to talk about why I picked this album for this week. I wanted to feature a Neil Young album and this is probably the most special of all of the ones I have which is the whole catalog. I have most everything that is out there including a CSNY Pono player and most all of the digital recordings from Neil. I like the whole evolution of his music from the Buffalo Springfield music to now. I remember hearing “After the Gold Rush” when I was young and to this day I still listen to that album all the time. “Comes A Time” marks a time when I made some major changes in my life and I remember as I departed Mississippi the month of December 1978 I had that cassette I had recorded from the vinyl in my car stereo listening to it as I moved back to North Carolina. I left behind friends, the education track I was on, my college radio gig, a girlfriend, and headed towards a new time in a different place. I can remember the hours on the interstate traveling through the southeast towards my destination in North Carolina and hearing all those tracks. I know this album track by track and word for word. These days I can play most of it on guitar. It was a good album for the time. “Goin’ Back” is side one track one. Yeah I was going back. I was the only person in my extended family left in Mississippi at that time. “Comes A Time” was track two. The time was now as my relationship with my then girlfriend had ended and I needed to find a new direction in a new place. “Look Out For My Love” is track three and I was looking for another situation. “Lotta Love” comes up next on side one and this song is a standout on this album. Almost on the same day Nicolette Larson released her version of this song that Neil gave her. I still love her album to this day and I remember playing it as I got back to North Carolina over and over. I still have that album as I also have my original press of “Comes A Time.” I’ll stretch out on that story on my pod cast. I am pretty sure I could write a book on the late Nicolette Larson. She was one of my favorites from this era of music.
The song ‘Peace of Mind” ends side one. Side Two starts with “Human Highway” which was written years before this album was released and recorded for this collection of music. I can still remember singing that song going north on I-85 through Atlanta in 1978. “Already One” is a great song. It is track two of side two. I remember learning the guitar chords to this song in 1980. I still strum that song at times just thinking about it. “Motorcycle Mama” is next and I can hear the electric guitar licks as I right this. “Four Strong Winds” winds this side down. It has the lyrics that match the time I am recalling now and even the mood I was in at the time. It was almost like this album was written to describe the era I was living through. This album has some incredible tracks and musicians contributing to it. It totally stands the test of time and will for a very long time.
One of the more interesting stories about this record is the legend of Neil buying an estimated 200,000 copies of this album back after the initial release at a cost of over $200,000 because the high frequency tracks were missing from the initial press that was shipped out to Japan and Italy. You can go read about the details online but you have to respect an artist that wants high quality audio on the market. I know I do. I still want verification of what really happened to all of those records. Legend has it that Neil shingled a barn with them while another story has him shooting the vinyl defects with a rifle on his ranch. Maybe all of that is true only a few people likely know the real story. My understanding is the second pressing of the vinyl did have a slight change in the tack sequence of “Lotta Love” and “Peace of Mind.”
Well that is most of what I want to say about “Comes A Time.” There are many amazing artists on this record and I will talk about them on the podcast. Don’t forget to support live music and real artist music media. Support your local vinyl shops and record store day!
Also don’t forget to buy local produce and farm products from your area farmers. They all need your support! One more time…I am trying to raise some money for Farm Aid. If you want to give even a few dollars to Farm Aid send them a donation on my fund raising page and let’s reach the goal I set. You don’t even have to give your name if you don’t want but you will be helping someone that helps feed us all and is in need.
Until next time I’ll see you, down the road.
“Comes A Time”
Comes a time
when you’re driftin’
Comes a time
when you settle down
Comes a light
feelin’s liftin’
Lift that baby
right up off the ground.
Oh, this old world
keeps spinning round
It’s a wonder tall trees
ain’t layin’ down
There comes a time.
You and I we were captured
We took our souls
and we flew away
We were right
we were giving
That’s how we kept
what we gave away.
Oh, this old world
keeps spinning round
It’s a wonder tall trees
ain’t layin’ down
There comes a time.