Echo Valley 2-6809

I used to call that number all the time. In a desperate bid to listen to something different this weekend, I popped in a minidisc I recorded several years ago (before CD burners were so cheap and easy to use) and rediscovered one of the great albums of all time: The Partridge Family’s “Sound Magazine.” This is not a joke. And while I still despise the fact that Rupert “Pina Colada Song” Holmes had anything to do with it, “Echo Valley 2-6809” is still a great song. And so is “I Woke Up in Love This Morning,” and just about everything else on the album. There’s a digitally remastered version on Razor & Tie that is calling my name.

Next up: The unknown masterpiece by Herman’s Hermits, “Blaze.” Still not kidding.