My first encounter with Do-It-Yourself recording was
an album by Don Agrati, one of the "My Three
Sons." I hated that TV show. (Fred MacMurray, who
played the sons' father, is an amazing actor. I'll bet
it's a charmer today.)
DJs on WNEWFM played some tracks off this Don
Agrati album. They are beautiful. The album was called
Homegrown, I think, filled with wonderful songs,
evocatively recorded at HOME!
(The way Bacharach's Lost Horizon, with reordered
tracks, provides the soundtrack for The Eleventh Hour
ghost story, Mr. Agrati's album, provides the
soundtrack for a story about the Patty Hearst
Kidnapping, let's call it "A Sunday Afternoon
with Heather Ann")
Well, Steve Espinola digitally reissued his early
albums (1982-93), many of their tracks recorded with
Dwight Peterson, and their being homegrown is no
longer the issue.
The vocals, the piano, the songs, and the recording
artistry are superlative. Angelfish, Stuck, and Shards
of Love are essential albums, jaw-droppingly
inspiring, and simply, OFF THE CHARTS GREAT. Thank
you, digital age, and as they used to always say on
British Airways, Enjoy.