It is now time for a personal story...
As I have often said, I grew up watching MTV non-stop in the 80s; I was born in 1973, so I was just at the right age where MTV was perfect for kids my age at the time it was great.
Fast forward to the summer of 1989, when I first worked with my older cousin cutting grass, that was my introduction to classic rock like Boston, The Who, The Doors, etc. Driving around with him from yard to yard, he always had classic rock going, and that was the most eye opening summer of my musical life.
Then 1990 rolled around and I got into the Moody Blues, Styx and Pink Floyd.
Then along came 1991 and it was the year I got into Rush.
Soon thereafter, more classic dominoes fell on me, like Led Zeppelin, ELP, Queen, Yes, etc.
Meanwhile, I got into Dream Theater in 1993 and Queensryche around the same time, and they quickly became two of my favorites (DT much moreso).
80s favorite that stuck with me were Van Halen and U2 (although to a much lesser degree in the 90s and most of the 00s, until my rediscovery of them in '09).
1994 was a great year for new music for me, as Pink Floyd, Yes and Dream Theater all had albums I loved to death and listened to non-stop.
1995 was the year I got into two more classic bands: Kansas and Blue Oyster Cult.
By the time 1996 rolled around, I had my favorites, mostly old (Rush, Floyd, Moodies, Styx, Yes, ELP, LZ, Sabbath, Kansas, BOC, U2, VH, Beatles, etc.) and a few new (DT and QR).
Which leads me to 1996 and most of 1997. With the exception of getting into Metallica in the spring of 1996, those two years were wastelands for me as far as getting into new bands. Remember that, for me, this was pre-internet, plus grunge and alt rock were never really my things, so they were years I listened to new CDs by my favorites a ton, which resulted in my deluding myself into thinking that those new CDs were far better than they were, because what else did I have the time? To wit:
Rush's Test for Echo - Released in
September 1996, I listened to this as much as any new CD in the 90s, because, hey, it was a new Rush CD, and that is what you do, right? I even enjoyed the hell out of it for quite a long time, a few songs notwithstanding. Looking back now, it's hard to believe. I literally never listen to this anymore, and of Rush's 19 studio albums, I consider if their least best.
Queensryche's Hear in the Now Frontier - Released in
March 1997, I listened to this like crazy as well. It's a weird one, because even at first, I could tell it wasn't quite up to par, after having my mind blown by Promised Land a couple years prior, but 'Ryche was one of my "new" favorites, so I had to listen to as much as possible. 20 years later, I consider most of this CD pretty forgettable and can't believe I ever liked it a lot.
U2's Pop - Similar to the previous entry in several regards (also released in
March 1997), I knew this wasn't up to par, but I still went through a spell where I listened to it like crazy because it was a new U2 and there was little else out there at the time grabbing me. I actually like this CD nowadays, even though its flaws are glaring. But I doubt it would have gotten much attention from me at the time of its release had it been released a year or two earlier or later.
Sammy Hagar's Marching to Mars - When Hagar left/was fired from Van Halen, I was definitely on his side when the feud went public, so when Marching to Mars hit the stands in
May 1997, I ate it up with a spoon despite not liking the first single a lot (Little White Lie). 20 years later, I cannot remember the last time I listened to this CD. It's still pretty good, I'm sure, but I cannot imagine going out of my way to hear it now.
Which, then, leads me to
Falling into Infinity, which came out in
September 1997. Here it was! A favorite finally releasing a great CD after 1996 and most of 1997 not living up to snuff (since quite a few of those albums from those years I now love I didn't hear till years later, like OK Computer). It was so crazy to me years later to read that a lot of DT fans were not wild about Falling into Infinity, when that album saved that 18-month stretch for me. Sure, I knew it wasn't as great as I&W or Awake, but I didn't care; it was a favorite releasing a record that I just knew was great. And I still love most of it to this day. And that began the ride of getting back on to a major DT kick, which led to LTE, which led to Scenes from a Memory, which led to me seeking out dt.net on the 'net, which ultimately led to me discovering more great bands online than I could shake a stick it. No longer would I have to scrounge and force myself to listen to blah CDs a lot just because they happen to be by existing favorites. And I can thank Falling into Infinity for that!!
Anyone else ever experience anything similar?
Topic: The mediocrity of 1996 and 1997 and how it was saved (Read 2579 times)
