25 Most Influential Albums

My friend Austin tagged me in this Facebook meme. (For those of you reading in Facebook, click View Original Post to see the blog entry.)

The rules for the meme are:

• Think of 25 albums—which breaks my 10-item limit—that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it.

They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world.

• When you finish, tag 25 others, including me.

So here’s my list in alphabetical order by artist:

• Bach, Six Brandenburg Concertos

This was my introduction to classical music. It was laying around the band hall, and we played it sometimes in the mornings. My favorite was #5, but I like them all. If not for this album, I would never have bought both of Wendy Carlos’s Switched on Bach releases.

• Beatles, Hey, Jude

Hey, Jude was the next Beatles album I bought. I thought it was a real album at the time. Only later did I learn that it was pieced together out of “leftover” tracks from the British release. There were usually 12 or more songs on the British LPs but only 10 on the US releases of the same albums. Bean counters!

• Beatles, Abbey Road

What can I say? Anyone who wasn’t inspired by Abbey Road didn’t listen to music.

• George Benson, Breezin’

I loved the way GB sang his guitar solos. I later played in a band with a guy who played just as well as Benson and claimed to have arranged the Bobby Womac title track when he was Etta James’s music director.

• Guy Clark, Old No. 1


Guy Clark’s first album was completely different than anything I had ever heard, which is strange considering the appropriateness of its name. Many of the songs had already been taken to the top of the country charts by other artists. Clark is an excellent guitarist, but he is a superlative poet first. And Emmylou Harris, a good friend of Guy and his wife Suzanna, sings harmony.

• Dire Straits, Communiqué

While ’Sultans of Swing’ caught my ear, I didn’t buy the first album until much later. Instead, I started with the second one—the one that was so successful I’ve had to pull out my copy to prove it even exists—and fell in love with the band. Every track is good, but the most memorable is ‘Les Boys,”a cute little ditty about an S&M caberet.

• Dire Straits, Love over Gold

“Two men say they’re Jesus; one of them must be wrong…How come Jesus gets Industrial Disease?” And let’s not forget “Telegraph Road.” Brothers in Arms was something of a let down after this, great as it was.

• Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer

This was actually the second ELP album I bought, starting my tradition of buying the first album second. My most vivid memory of this album is listening to it while watching Halloween on HBO with the sound off. ELP was a better match to the timing and mood of the movie than the original soundtrack. But then, I never did like John Carpenter’s music. I always thought he was just to cheap to hire a real composer.


• Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Brain Salad Surgery

Complete with a cover by H.R. Giger, this was the most awe-inspiring music I had ever heard. My first ELP album and my first concert. I remember cupping my hands over my friend’s left ear and screaming at the top of my lungs, ’This really doesn’t sound that loud!”—only to have him turn to me and move his lips in a pattern that looked like, “Wha?” There was a little tempo instability in the live performance, but the album was perfect.

• Fanny, Fanny Hill

Fanny was the most underrated band in rock. I have two of their albums, but this is my favorite. To my knowledge, they were the first all-female hard rock band.

• Merl Haggard, Greatest Hits

I was making a living playing country music, and I realized most of the songs I really liked were written by Merl. So I picked up this album and played it to death. Like the song says, “I’ll fix your flat tire, Merl.”

• Emmylou Harris, Pieces of the Sky

“And I would walk all the way from Bolder to Birmingham if I thought I could see, I could see your face.” Emmylou has always downplayed her own songwriting, but the songs that moved me the most were her own. Anyone can cover a Beatles tune. I remember playing this album over and over.


• Emmylou Harris, Evangeline

Evangeline is one of my favorite Emmylou albums. I thought it was the most startlingly original work she had done since Pieces of the Sky. It even had hints of the future Trio albums with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt singing harmony on “Mr. Sandman.” Her cover of James Taylor’s “Millwork” made me cry the first time I heard it. Imagine how shocked I was to learn that it was pieced together from the outtakes of several other albums.

• Kris Kristofferson, Jesus Was a Capricorn

Kristofferson is my favorite American songwriter—slightly ahead of Jimmy Webb—and he’s on Colbert tonight. This was the first of his albums I bought, and soon bought everything else he had released. I loved the gravel of his voice, which seemed to mirror the acidity of his lyrics. He lost something when he took voice lessons and tried to sing. He should have left pitch to Rita Coolidge.

• Kris Kristofferson, Border Lord

It was really hard to choose between Border Lord and Spooky Lady’s Sideshow. And while I dearly love both, I listed the earlier work here because of a gaff I made. Without presceening, I played “Rescue Mission” on the radio the day I bought the album. I’ll never forget hearing, “‘And here’s to my old friend,’ he said and kiss his ass goodbye.” Then came, “The captain’s wife was aging, and the first mate heard her scream when Tommy slipped tobasco in the captain’s Vaseline.”

• Lobo, Introducing Lobo

My introduction to soft rock. I learned to play every song on it, but I doubt I could remember a single one today. Well, maybe “Me and You and a Dog Named Boo.” Let’s not find out.

• Linda Ronstadt, Heart Like a Wheel

I fell in love with Linda Ronsadt when I heard her sing “Long, Long Time” on The Tonight Show in her bare feet. Hear Like a Wheel was the first time I knew who she was. What a wonderful album.

• Linda Ronstadt, Prisoner in Disguise

With two songs by John David Souther, this is one of the best albums of all time.

• Steeleye Span, Below the Salt

I bought this album because a good review by Bob Claypool. It became one of my favorites. Who else could have a top10 hit (in Brittain, not here) with “Gaudete.”


• Steeleye Span, Parcel of Rogues

This one ranks up there with Prisoner in Disguise. The title track is done very darkly, seven voices and a bass drum, until the instruments kick in to end it. Not a bad song on it, but my favorite has to be “Cam Ye O’re Frae Fance.”

• Al Stewart, Past, Present, and Future

I heard this album on one of those radio shows where they played the whole album, but missed the artist and title. It blew me away. Two years later, I walked in on one of my friends listening to it. I bought it the next day. It has never “left me here with the Post World War II Blues.”

• Al Stewart, Year of the Cat

Not his best album, but definitely his most successful. My favorites from this one: “If It Doesn’t Come Naturally,” “On the Border,” and “Flying Sorcery.”

• Rick Wakeman, Journey to the Center of the Earth

This tremendous album set the stage for Wakeman’s career writing the music for soft porn movies like China Blue. Davi almost ruined this on for me, tho. To this day, I can’t hear that large choir sing, “Praise God,” without hearing “Frisbee!”


• Who, Odds and Sodds

“’Cause I’m a farmer…”

• Triumvirat, Spartacus

Triumvirat is a German ELP knock-0ff, but Spartacus was an awesome album nonetheless.

Food for Thought #3

This chicken and broccoli casserole is called Chicken Divine. It looks divine, and I think I’ll try it some time.

Photo source: recipetips.com

Appetizer:What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Honestly, I haven’t had a song get stuck in my head that I didn’t consciously put there in a while, so I’m having trouble answering my own stupid question. (Why did I pick this one when I wrote these a couple of weeks ago?) I’m going to go with Kris Kristofferson’s “ Who’s to Bless and Who’s to Blame?” It’s the last one I picked up a guitar and started singing for no apparent reason.

Soup:What does that song make you think of?

I think it’s about a man wrestling with belief versus disbelief, something I do constantly. If there is a God, why does the world suck? Or how much worse would it be without one? I want to play this song together with Greg Lake’s “ Closer to Believing.” If I can find or write a couple more, I’ll have a spiritual journey in music.

Salad:What is your favorite song in a language other than your native tongue?

That would be “ Lo Siento Mi Vida” by Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Edwards, and Gilbert Ronstadt. It was the first song I ever heard Linda sing in Spanish, and I keep it close to my heart after all these years.

Entré:If video killed the radio star, will the Internet kill Literature?

I believe it will certainly change the predominate forms of literature. Shorter forms will previal: poetry and short shorts. Short stories and novels may become rarities.

Another thing is that the predomince of video on the Internet seems to be part of a change in brain wiring. We seem to be shifting back to a more visual, less linear form of thought. For more on this, see The Alphabet versus the Goddess: The conflict between word and image.

Dessert:What was the last thing you read for the pleasure of reading?

I’m currently reading a compilation called Vampires, Wine, and Roses: Chilling tales of immortal pleasure, among other things. I thought it would be cheesy, but it’s turning out to have some really thoughtful selections. Who realized that Shakespeareused the language of vampirism to make the separation of Romeo and Juliet more poignant? I certainly didn’t recognize it until JR Stephenspointed it out.

A Boney Gig and Feast

The Dung Daisy (Gerbera fecisuu) is one of the most tepid examples of the fictional daisy family.

Trey Bone has another gig!

OK, this one doesn’t count. It’s a short set at the piano player’s birthday party. But there will be real musicians there, and maybe I can get some work out of it. Let’s hope.

Friday’s Feast

Appetizer: Invent a new flower; give it a name and describe it.

The Dung Daisy (Gerbera fecisuu) is a forlorn flower that grows only on well fertilized fields where it is likely to be trampled by herds of muck buffalo on whose bovine byproducts it thrives. The sordid brown flower sits atop a tepid stem that generally sprouts a lone languid leaf. It is pollinated by blowflies, who are attracted to is odoriferous out gassing, for which it is named.

Soup: Name someone whom you think has a wonderful voice.

1. Linda Ronstadt—I’ve been a fan since I can remember. She continues to grow her capabilities instead of resting on her laurels.
2. Suna—I love to hear her burst into random song. I wish I could do as well.

Salad: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how clean do you keep your car?

4. It rains, doesn’t it? And it seems like every time I clean the inside, it gets piled up again before I know it. But I have been thinking about vacuuming it out again. The bike is much easier to keep clean.

Main Course: How do you feel about poetry?

It all depends upon. Some is good, some isn’t. I love Dickinson. I despise ee cummings. I like metered, rhymed poetry that doesn’t necessarily read like it. I despise blank verse. There was already a name for arrhythmic, unrhymed literature: prose.

Dessert: What was the last person/place/thing you took a picture of?

I honestly don’t remember. Probably something on our trip to the farm this past weekend, possibly my dad.

The Feast

A pretty Lilly in the front bed

I bought this Asiatic Lilly when I stopped into the home center several days ago. I bought it because it was such a pretty shade of red, and I thought it would go nicely in the front beds.

When I was putting it in the ground yesterday, I noticed that its name is “Orange Pixie.” The tag didn’t list the Latin name. We’ll just have to see if it turns more orange as it matures. Right now, it looks pretty damned red to me.

Suna posted another view to her Flickr account.

Friday’s Feast

Appetizer: Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

No question about it—I would much prefer to live in the country. Ideally, I wouldn’t be able to see my nearest neighbors—just acres and acres of ranchland or trees.

Soup: Who is the cutest kid you know?

That is an unfair question, but I would have to say Beccano because he smiles rather than scowls.

Salad: Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

…the latest Linda Ronstadt album— Adieu False Heart, the one she did with Ann Savoy. I am used to hearing Ronstadt sing in Spanish; French is something else entirely. And they sing so well together!

Main Course: If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

The Fender Jazz Bass. I bought mine new in 1972. It has such a wide range of possible sounds and an easy action!

Dessert: What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

Stresstabs and Osteo Biflex. I sometimes take Centrum Silver as a substitute or supplement to the Stresstabs. The Osteo Biflex keeps my fingers from aching.

Karn Evil 9

When I showed Beccano this ELP cover, he thought it looked like a painting by the artist who designed Alien. Of course, he knew the guy’s name.

Photo source: Amazon.com

Welcome back, my friend, to the show that never ends

We’re so glad you could attend

Step inside

Step inside

—Emmerson, Lake, Sinfield

I am such a scofflaw. Suna tagged me for another meme! She also tagged all the people I know who blog. So rather than getting hung in and endless loop, the buck stops here. If you have not already been tagged by someone else, consider yourself tagged for this one.

Rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Random Facts

1. Ever since I discovered them, I have preferred Rotosound roundwound bass strings.
2. When I was twenty, my favorite singers were Linda Ronstadt, Greg Lake, and Maddy Prior.
3. I have always hated my hair. It is so curly and fine that given the slightest excuse it ties itself into knife knots.
4. I once stood 5’ 11.75” tall. Now I stand 5’ 11” even.
5. My best friend ordered my jazz bass but couldn’t pay for it when it came in. He kept asking me when I would sell it back to him until he died. I will never sell that guitar.
6. I still think ELP are the best musicians ever, even though they have gotten old and boring.
7. Dogs like me, even if people don’t. That’s OK. I generally like dogs better than most people, too.

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27 June 2008 Update: Of course Beccano was correct in his assertion that the cover of Brain Salad Surger was done by HR Geiger.