Record Stores... They Still Exist???

If you ask when was the last time I bought a physical CD in a record store, I'll have to concentrate for a few minutes and try to remember if it was even this year....

Even today, as I popped into the bookstore to buy a new notebook (I always carry one in my bag wherever I go - for both musical and journalistic purposes, you just never know!) I ended up next to the music department and remembered that one of my co-writer and producer Billy Stein's record had hit the stores nationwide today. Linda Eder's much anticipated "americana" release, "The Other Side of Me".

Ever since I first got to Manhattan/EMI and did my showcase this spring, they've all been talking about the album that was already done but because of internal political reasons (nothing to do with the actual product, sadly - this is the reality of the music industry today: it's not about the music) the label couldn't commit to a definite release date and deliver. Same old story....

Anyway, many months later, the album is now in stores through Verve. And it was worthwhile.

I was first introduced to Linda's work when I came to the US in 2000 to do the Alan and Marilyn Bergman tribute show. Back then she was quite well known if you liked that kind of music - Broadway standards.

But today, I heard the record that she should've considered making even earlier. (Actually, I did hear bits of it at Billy's studio a few months ago - so I was already familiar with the material more or less, but hush hush :-)

As I was unwrapping the CD, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic about the time when I, as a little girl, seized every opportunity to drive miles out of central Moscow with Dad to our favorite "Purple Legion" where they sold imported records from abroad...quite a luxury back then! A CD was 15.00 USD, but it was worth every penny - what a joy!

Nowadays, I barely even bother to walk into one of those mega record stores... Why? Because quite frankly, very few amazing albums are being made and released on regular basis these days - and it's no big deal if I just get a song or two off iTunes and ignore the artwork and credits included in the physical copy of the record....

It's just rarely worth the hassle and utter excitement like before.... Will it ever be the same again? Doubt it. But something else will surely come along - no doubt. That's the way it is...and always has been - a full circle!

YENTL

We, those who love music and have made it a significant part of our lives, more often than not tend to have an all-time favorite piece of music, and even more so, a soundtrack that becomes an life-long companion throughout the years. It can often take on a new meaning each time. However, in other cases, it becomes a time machine, a rare catalyst that carries intangible memories within itself that entice all sorts of recollections in the slightest, most trivial details and beyond.

My personal soundtrack that keeps bringing back so many long lost sensations and memories and creating new ones along the way will always be the one that moved me so deeply on the very day I heard it as a 12-year-old girl in Eastern Europe...And ironically, the film and its script where also based in the same part of the world... For those of you who haven't guessed - it's "Yentl".

The very first time I went into a professional recording studio to record my initial EP, which I refer to as my "first steps" nowadays, I recorded a version of "The Way He Makes Me Feel". It was shortly followed by "A Piece of Sky" - a song that meant the world to me from the start. As I was singing it in the vocal booth, I knew it would become a very special one for me. Having just lost my grandfather whom I absolutely adored, the song took a completely different, more profound meaning in my heart which ultimately transmitted itself on tape... And what you hear on this page is the same demo I made that same night.

Little did I know, that just over a year later, I would be rehearsing the same song with the original writer, Alan Bergman, for the upcoming tribute show in honor of his wife and songwriting partner - the amazing Marilyn Bergman.

(By clicking here you can read more about this incredible, unforgettable experience that I will always cherish very close to my heart. To watch the video of the rehearsal, please click on this link To see the performance at the tribute show, follow the highlight ...)

And as one of my new friends here in this online universe pointed out as a part of his status, "If YOU can conceive it, YOU can achieve it..." And it is so true.

May this power of one's dream never leave our hearts and minds.