Machine Messiah

Music has been filling my life for so many years. I think since 1978 when I started to listen to my parents’ cassettes and vinyls, and my eldest sister’s music. But it was 1979 when I started to listened to Elshinta and Prambors radio stations in Jakarta. In 1980 I started to collected my own cassettes and vinyls. The genres I loved spread throughout the borders. I began to loved Beatles, Chicago, Carpenters, Michael Jackson, Crosby Stills & Nash, Kool & The Gang, Earth Wind & Fire, Heatwave, Donny Osmond, Barbra Streisand, Nite Flyte, Kenny Nolan, Dionne Warwick, T Connection, Al Jarreau and many more.

In the early 1982 I explored Level 42, Genesis, ELP, Air Supply, Shakatak, Tatsuro Yamashita,  Queen, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Kayak, etc. But it was in 1983 when I discovered Yes, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, ELO, Beach Boys, Supertramp, and so on.

I’ve been collecting cassettes until recently I sold many of them. I haven’t been listening to cassettes for some years now. I’ve been collecting CDs since 1991 and still do. Most of my CDs replaced the cassettes. I’ve been hunting all over the world, thanks to the internet, to find the CD versions of the artists and songs I loved. I can tell you that it’s been an endless expedition and adventure. Many of them were very hard and very expensive. Some are still nowhere to be found, since it was never got released in CD format. The search will never end.

These are the CDs I found during the quest, which were very hard to find or very expensive (when I got them). Some were not avail anymore, and I guess I was very lucky to have them on hand.

ANDERSON, BRUFORD, WAKEMAN, HOWE-s/t
This title is not hard to find. It’s not even expensive. But this title was the CD that made me started my hunt. Before this CD, I have some collections from Beatles, Chicago and Toto. But it was ABWH that made me started the journey.

CRANBERRIES-Live Acoustic
This was one of the three bootlegs I bought in 1996. The sound quality was remarkable. There was no official release. Not even today.

KOOL & THE GANG-State of Affairs
JT Taylor collaborated with Kool & The Gang to released this album in 1995. I bought it a year later without any references. I was glad to follow my instinct as it was a very good album. Too bad people overlooked it. It’s already hard to find now.

OMPS: STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (special edition)
I bought this CD, among several others, from my first trip to Singapore in 1997. Its released commemorated the special edition movie releases. The CD was packed inside a very beautiful digibook, with extensive linear notes. The 2 CDs itself was shaped after the Death Star. I didn’t thought about completing the other 2 titles until 2001. I almost returned empty handed searching The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi special edition CDs.

RUSH-Different Stages Live
This was the first time I bought CDs from internet in 1999, along with Steve Howe’s Quantum guitar.

UK-Concert Classics vol 4
This CD was an almost unffocial bootleg from the band U.K. Why almost unofficial? Because only months after I bought this, Eddie Jobson (the violinist) claimed its illegality and demanded to withdraw from market.

CHICAGO-Group Portrait 4 disc
It was very cheap when I got this from internet. The tracklists were very comprehensive for Chicago dummies. This title went out of print ever since

YES-‘Round The World In 80 Dates
This bootleg CD was among my first collection of Yes bootlegs. Got it from trade with new friends in Europe and USA

ESPERANTO-Last Tango
When first I got the 3 albums from Esperanto in 1999, it was transferred from vinyl with remarkable result. Thanks to my friends in Europe. My friends here copied it numerously until in 2002 the three albums got released in mini vinyl replicas format.

ANGLAGARD-Epilog
Got the copied version in 1999 and it didn’t take much time to make this band from Sweden my favourite. The original release was already out of print. In 2003 the album was reprinted and soon got oop again. I’m glad to held a copy before it went oop.

AFTER CRYING-Almost Pure Instrumental
This was a compilation album from the Hungarian band. I got the copied CD in 1999 and finally bought the original in 2002.

RAH BAND-Greatest Hits
Got the CD in 2000 as I’ve been searching for so long. It’s already oop now. I think the label company doesn’t exist anymore

THE POLICE-Message In A Box (4cd)
I got it on a usedstore in 2000 and I was quite funny. I was with Luky when the owner sold it to the store. We were there, so we knew the intial price. When we bought the CDs, the store was ashamed to get higher price. So we got it quite cheap.

THE FLOWER KINGS-Fan Club CD 2000
This CD was a complimentary from the Flower Kings fanzine. It has the cover versions of Across The Universe and Cinema Show. This was a limited release and never got avail commercially.

PATRICK MORAZ & BILL BRUFORD-Music For Piano and Drums
Today people can get this release from UK. But it was years only avail in Japan and went oop very soon. I got it used in Majestic at a very cheap price in 2000. I remember how my friends were deeply envy knowing I have this CD.

T-CONNETION- Everything’s Cool….the Best
Again used from Majestic. It contained many favourite songs and never got released in CD anywhere.

KAYAK-The Last Encore
Back then this title was long oop and a friend in Netherlands helped me got one. Now you can get it easily.

ALAN WHITE-Ramshackled
Now it is available everywhere. Back then this album was avail only as Japanese release. I was lucky to get it used.

JONATHAN ELIAS-Requiem For The Americas
It’s been my favourite for years in cassette. Jon Anderson, Michael Bolton, Nick Rhodes, Tommy Shaw, Simon le Bon, etc. But I never thought to find the CD format. When I searched, it was already long out of print. I’ve looked for years until in 2000 I found it at a used store in internet. It was quite cheap.

EARTH, WIND & FIRE-Faces
Hard to say about this CD. Sometimes it was difficult to find. Sometimes you can find it everywhere. But in 2000 it was hard to get a copy.

MIKE RUTHERFORD-Smallcreep’s Day
It’s already out of print now

NITE FLYTE-Nite Flyte II
This was only avail as Japanese release. It was the first time I bought from HMV Japan in 2001.

PORCUPINE TREE-Staircase Infinities
It was already out of print when I bought this album in 2001. Found it accidently at a usedstore in Bandung. The material was released again recently as a bonus disc at Porcupine Tree’s rereleased albums.

YES-Going For The One (mini vinyl replica CD)
When I bought this and Drama album in mid-2001, I wasn’t planning to get the whole set. But after got both in my hands, I decided to buy the whole set. As you guess, it cost me a fortune.

LEVEL 42 (24-bit remastered series)
As usual, I only bought 4 titles at first. But when I realized that this rereleases were very good, I decided to buy the whole 9 albums in 2001.

TON SCHERPENZEEL-Heart of the Universe
If you want to buy this album, you must contact Ton Scherpenzeel as he released it privately. That was what I do in 2001.

OMPS: TWO OF A KIND
Most people forgot the movie, but the soundtrack was awesome. I think it is already out of print now. It has Olivia Newton John, David Foster, Patti Austin, etc.

BARBRA STREISAND-A Happening in Central Park
Years before I got the laserdisc at a usedstore. I was very excited to find the CD version. It is still avail in internet. But not on your regular CD store here.

SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTOR-Take Me Home singles
Soon after the album, I bought her single which had videoclip. Then I bought the remaining Murder On The Dance Floor and Get Over You singles. Again with bonus tracks and videoclips. In 2002 I brought them altogether and got Sophie’s signature during her promo show at Trans TV Jakarta.

CASIOPEA-Mint Jams
This album was among the many Casiopea’s DSD Mastering Series I got. In Mint Jams case, it was the mini vinyl replica packaging

TATSURO YAMASHITA-For You
This japanese release I bought purely for the Your Eyes and Sparkle tracks.

SHEILA MAJID-Legenda
Got this as a Japanese release in 2002. My most favourite album from the Malaysian diva.

PINK FLOYD-Dark Side Of The Moon
Got this as a Japanese release in 2002. My most favourite album from Pink Floyd

End of part 1

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