Oh, and another thing...

I suppose that we all have strong associations with certain albums and that emotion comes rushing back with the first notes of a song.
I'm talking about something different than straight nostalgia... listening to Chuck Berry while washing your car and remembering the first time that you heared Maybelline. It's more the remembernace of a mood, or a time in your life where everything was opening up, or you were feeling lost... whatever the emotion, it has become a part of the music.

For example, I remember the album Something Cool from my early 20's when I felt totally lost. It seemed like everyone else had their act together and I was just faking it. I didn't know who I was or where I was going in those days and it was hard trying to pass for a confident young man. At night, when I put a few special albums on like Something Cool, or a Gerry Mulligan record and turned off the lights I could somehow just be myself and feel good about it. Life is never "figured out," and that's alright. The album transports me back to that state, and I am thankful for how my life has unfolded.
Life has turned out to be alright.

Jerry