TOSH: One More For The Road - The First Compact Disc

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

The first Compact Disc was demonstrated in front of an audience, mostly press and music nerds, in 1979.  The excitement must have been intense because this provided a new avenue of profit for the music record companies.  Few people know this, but the original Compact Disc was my first (and only) solo album, “One More For The Road, ” with this specific disc played for journalists and music industry people.

I wasn’t there, but of course, I was honored that they chose my album as a demonstration to expose the whole dynamics of the CD format.  “One For The Road” was very much a conceptual album.   Originally it was a double vinyl set, but I think the CD medium is ideal for my album.   The music is one track, and it lasts for 80 minutes, which is the correct amount of music for the CD.  My label at the time, Philips, arranged for me to obtain a full orchestra and a Rumba band from Cuba to back me up.  I played guitar, baritone sax, and electric organ on the album.

The album's concept is a narrative where I tell my girlfriend at the time that I want to make love to her for the last time.  What I told her was “one more for the road, ” which at that moment and time I decided was a perfect title for a song and album.  The first ten minutes of the record are actual love-making noise and sounds - and then eventually you hear me start up the car, and I go off on a road trip.   It has been commented that the German band Kraftwerk either ripped me off or, as an homage, recorded what many consider their classic album “Autobahn. ”

I was never upset and was honored that the German Fab Four recorded this album.   Sadly my record was never a success, and both the vinyl and CD version of the album is very rare.   The last time I looked at Discogs, no one seemed to want or buy the album.  This is a pity because now, I am forced to do what I was born to do - and that is to write.   I started off being a publisher of obscure French literature translated into English, but alas, like my recording career, very little interest in my books or work.   So, after working at a bookstore, I decided to throw caution against the wind (which, on a windy day, often hits me right in the face) and focus on writing.   But I must say with great pride that my album, one can say, changed the entire music industry - for that one brief moment on March 8 in Amsterdam.