“Record Store Days”

by Beverly Paterson in Reviews

“Record Store Days” by Gary Calamar and Phil Gallo (Sterling Publishing)

For better or worse, the digital revolution has certainly altered the way people listen to and purchase music. While there’s no denying modern tricks make music immediately accessible, the business, on a financial level and, depending on your personal point of view, artistically, has suffered greatly. Musicians no longer need to rely on labels to package and promote their wares. As time marches on, actual recordings are quickly becoming a thing of the past. A mere click of the mouse on the computer allows one to download any song or album they desire. Such practices, which once could have only occurred in a science fiction novel, are clearly responsible for the demise of countless labels and record stores.

A fun and fascinating read, “Record Store Days” charts the entire history, growth and changes of an industry born over a hundred years ago. Be it cramped quarters peddling jazz, blues and swing records to huge department stores to incense-infested head shops to chains like Tower, Virgin and The Wherehouse to indie operations to quirky boutiques, every kind of store is covered. Comprehensive, thoroughly researched, well written and stuffed with eye-popping photographs, “Record Store Days” features loads of interesting and insightful quotes, observations and remembrances from musicians, shop clerks and distributors. And how wonderful it is to see Princeton Record Exchange mentioned and praised here. Rhino, Oar Folkjokeopus, Music Millennium, Amoeba, Village Music, Bleeker Bob’s Records, Music Coop, Wallichs Music City, Times Square Records, Boo Boo Records and Waterloo Records are just some of the other shops profiles are provided on.

Having developed a serious vinyl addiction as a teen in the seventies, which has been deemed the heyday of the record store, I can definitely relate to this book. “Record Store Days” perfectly captures the thrill and excitement of shopping for discs. Generations weaned in cyberspace probably can’t imagine what an adventure it was to go record shopping. You never knew what treasures you would find in the bins, particularly in the used record stores. Imported albums were exotic and bootlegs were illegal. I can still recall the smell of select record stores and how they each had a distinct personality. Record stores were, and still are, a good gathering place for music connoisseurs. Shopping for records and simply being in a store is an experience in itself. Although the record store, per se, may not be as popular or thrive economically as before, by no means will they ever be extinct. There will always be a love and appreciation for real records, and there will always be folks devoted enough to the music to run their own shops. A joyous celebration of its subject matter, “Record Store Days” combines the past, present and future into a single neat package. Recommended reading for music buffs no matter where your tastes may lie.