Tower Records Documentary

Seeing as how many of us starting out with vinyl, I thought there might be some interest in Colin Hanks’ movie “All Things Must Pass”. It chronicles the founding, growth, and eventual demise of Tower Records. I really didn’t know much about Tower’s history, so I was surprised to learn that its flagship started in Sacramento, and the store in North Beach San Francisco was the first move into a major city. By the time I moved to the Bay Area in 1971, there were a few other locations. In those days my roomie and I built quite a collection since everything was $2.99 everyday price, with sales going for $1.99. I still have an imported Miles Davis/Michel Legrand collaboration with the price tag still on it.

Not to get too nostalgic, but that stuff sounded great on the first real system I ever owned:  Marantz integrated, Advent utility speakers, and Phillips turntable … no high-end interconnects or special speaker cable, just basic clear sleeved twisted copper. Maybe it was the non-prescribed “un”-medical sound enhancement material I was using at the time; but I’d swear that system might give my current rig a run for it. At any rate, check out that movie if you get a chance. IMHO, it's worth the 90 minutes or so.