What Was I Thinking? What Were You?

Aside from opera, every musical genre is amply reflected in my collection of recordings. To keep my ears and mind open, I've tried to avoid getting stuck listening repeatedly to my favorite artists or to music from a specific era. I've also tried to frequently expose myself to niche artists - like the Roches or the Indigo Girls - interesting hybrids (e.g. country rock, fusion, etc.), and with the help of my daughter and others from her cohort, to stay reasonably up to date, musically.

That said, a recent project to listen to some old recordings that have not made it to my turntable in a long time has had me asking more than once - What Was I Thinking? What recording most recently made you wince in embarrassment remembering how you once swooned over it and recommended it to others? Some excruciating moments from my listening project have persuaded me that …

* The words progressive and rock are mutually exclusive.
*  Except for jazz, live recordings are mostly best when avoided. Double live albums? Doubly so.
*  Some versions of Great American Songbook standards by recording artists of my generation are        worth listening to; Ella Fitzgerald's and Frank Sinatra's versions remain definitive. Right, again,        Mom & Dad.

The winner in my What Was I Thinking? sweepstakes: The eponymous debut album of Vanilla Fudge. I sincerely cannot believe that once upon a time my ears told me their turgid version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was actually worth listening to, never mind choosing it as a song for my college band. And, as bad as their cover of the Supremes song is, it is, by far, the best thing on the album. OMG!