The Greatest Cut-out of All Time

Welcome to thatwasrockandroll.

Back in the day, record companies sold overstocks and under-performing albums at a cut rate.  They were called "cut-outs" because typically there was a punch mark in the album sleeve, or a hole drilled in the CD jewel case.  This identified the record as something of a "bargain basement" sort of thing, often by artists you've never heard of or artists you have heard of making terrible music.

I perused the cut-out racks religiously because sometimes you can find something in it that's worth investing (at the time) $2.99 or so.  Often times it was a pure crapshoot, with no idea whether you will get something worth your time and money, or if you get zonked.  It was sorta like Let's Make A Deal for music lovers.

Anyway, I came across a CD one day and I knew nothing about the band--nothing was familiar except for the producer of the record--Gary Katz.  Some of you may know that Gary Katz was the producer for all of the Steely Dan albums from the beginning up to and including Gaucho and had a reputation of creating unique sound from the artists he worked with.

So, I plunked down my 3 bucks solely on the strength of Gary Katz' reputation.   Certainly he wouldn't work with a crappy band, right?  At least SOMETHING on this CD would justify my faith.  And so I bought A Strange Kind of Love by a Scottish band called Love and Money.  To this day it remains the single greatest "cut-out" I ever bought.  It had whispers of Steely Dan, plus a strong vocalist telling stories about love and loss.

Today's selection from the Time Machine is the title track to that fabulous diamond in the rough.  The production is pristine, building from a single drumbeat to a more involved arrangement of guitars and keyboards.  You can almost hear Steely Dan if you listen close enough.  The band never attained the level of sales of this record either in Europe or here in the States.  But for a minute, with Gary Katz' help, they caught lightning in a bottle.  Experience "A Strange Kind of Love" for yourself...

Heading home from the IMA Summit in Orlando.  See you tomorrow...


Pete