I saw this advertised in Stereo Review back in '87. I wasn't familiar with Mr. Erskine, nor was I particularly into jazz at the time, so when I sought it out and bought it, it was for obvious reasons. What? You've never bought an album for the cover art?
Well, I got it home and popped it in the CD player and—as I said before, not yet being into jazz—I was aghast that I spent $17 on this disk. Even my boyfriend at the time hated it, so I couldn't trade it in at Streetlight Records* fast enough.
I don't remember what prompted this memory, but now that I'm fully into jazz—and especially Japanese jazz—I thought I'd look him up on Spotify and give it a second chance. And you know what? With the exception of only one track that's still a little too out there for my taste, I absolutely adored it and decided to add it back to my collection.
Have any of you revisited an album you absolutely loathed in your youth and discovered that with age and wisdom you love it now? And along those same lines, any albums you loved when you were younger and absolutely can't stand now?
*Sadly, another San Francisco institution from my time there that no longer exists in The City.