I was recently thinking about my record collection when out of the blue a question popped into my head. I have a fairly sizable collection of both LP’s and CD’s accumulated over 50 odd years and the question was “Which of all these is my favorite album?” I had to think a bit, what did I mean by favorite etc? but it came down to which one had given me the most pleasure, which was the most played, which had affected me the most?
The answer came fairly quickly – “Graceland” of course, and I decided “Yep, that’s the one’.
But then suddenly another thought intruded, “What about Bob? Surely BMW has given me more pleasure and was more life changing than Graceland, That’s true, OK, then it must be “Catch a Fire”, and at exactly the same time in 1973 I also bought “The Harder they Come”,
the movie soundtrack, that one exposed me to many other reggae groups and both got major playing time and both started me off on a life changing path; the music of Jamaica.
And then there was another, Duke Ellington, what about Duke? Can’t have a favorites album without considering at least one by Duke. I have more albums by him than any other artist and “Ellington at Newport 1956” immediately sprang to mind, 
I did a post on that album here some time back and moviegoers will recognize it as the key piece of music in the current film American Hustle. I heard it live on shortwave on Voice of America lying in bed in Suffolk in 1956 and dozens of times on vinyl since then.
Suddenly more albums started flooding in and at this point I decided that there’s no way I can pick a single favorite from all those, maybe it has to be a list, but how many?
So lets change the rules, I arbitrarily decided on a dozen and went back to remembering the pleasures of essential LP’s.
Dylan was huge in the 60’s but nothing was bigger than “Highway 61”, ditto The Beatles with “Sgt. Pepper”, 
I clearly remember the excitement when those two were released, everyone was waiting for the new Beatles album and ditto the new Dylan in ways that just don’t happen anymore.
Whoops! what about Mahler? 
I’ve got ’em all so how about where it all started for me in about 1964, “Mahler’s 1st with Lenny Bernstein and the NY Phil”, I bought that LP at a yard sale on impulse and it rapidly became an endlessly played favorite that led to another lifetime obsession of collecting and playing. Now I regularly start the day with Mahler dvd’s on youtube.
And then there was the “Lionel Hampton All Stars at Pasadena Civic in 1947”, the all time greatest recording of Stardust and I’ve often been tempted to do a post here at the Spill on just that one tune.
I must include Louis. he started me off in the right direction back in 1947, my favorite Louis album is “Louis plays W C Handy” from about 1954 which is about when I saw him twice in London with this band, the high point of my adolescence.
Right from the start Count Basie has been very significant in my collection,
maybe second only to Duke numerically, it’s hard to pick only one but it would have to be “The Essential Count Basie vol 2 – 1939”. Goin’ to Chicago, the classic Basie blues with Jimmy Rushing.
We’re getting close, the last one could get tough, but it springs to mind quickly, it’s from 1955 “Sarah Vaughn – In the land of Hi Fi”, Sarah with a great jazz group with Cannonball Adderley soloing right behind her.
There you go, I can live with that list, they’re all memorable LP’s that have been played endlessly and have given enormous pleasure over the years. It would be very easy to play the RR guru and to continue with the B list, there’s so many deserving albums that didn’t make the A list, but that’s for another day.
But If I were to think about a B list there’s dozens of names that should be considered: Joni Mitchell, CSNY, Springfield, Astor Piazzolla, Dennis Brown, Toots, Christy Moore, Charlie Parker, Burning Spear. Dozens of African artists, Ella, Lester Young, Billie, Miles, Nina, Bechet, Ray Charles, Tommy! and many, many more.
So this could be the current version of the old EOTWQ, those rules look fairly simple and I know there’s many here who are as musically obsessive as I am, so have at it, your dozen all-time favorite albums with maybe a sentence with each and a favorite cut.
Here’s my list, in no particular order, if I had to choose one it could be any of these.
Graceland – Graceland.
Catch a Fire- No more trouble.
The Harder they come – Rivers of Babylon.
Ellington at Newport – Diminuendo & Crescendo in Blue.
Highway 61- Desolation Row.
Sgt. Pepper – A day in the life.
Mahler 1st – 3rd movement – the hunter’s funeral.
Hamp at Pasadena – Stardust.
Louis plays W C Handy – Yellow Dog Blues
Count Basie – Goin’ to Chicago.
Sarah Vaughn – How high the Moon.
The 'Spill 
Can I start with a question, GF, and then come back later when I’ve finished my RR column?
The question is: did you deliberately spread this dozen around the breadth of your musical taste, and do you want us to do the same?
I’ll probably have two very different lists depending on your answer.
Now, back to it …..
Richard; The only rules that I applied to myself were to not sort through my albums and not to use my iTunes list, I did it purely from memory which resulted in my saying, damn, I should have included this and this and this etc when I did look at my vinyl shelves. The only question is what are your dozen favorites?.
Hi Goneforeign.
Lists, got to love a list whether it’s top vocalists, top guitarists, top groups or artists beginning with “B” a la saneshane’s post last week.
Immediate thoughts are all the “classics” plus some all time faves:
Led Zep – IV
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Genesis – Foxtrot
Bruce Springsteen – Born in the USA
Alter Bridge – One Day Remains
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
Boston – Boston
Yes – Tormato
Queen – News of the World
Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon
Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell
Snow Patrol – Eyes Open
I’ve no doubt forgotten lots of awesome albums but this is my response without thinking too hard, which is probably the best way.
I appreciate that the purists out there will consider this the “easy” option given the inclusion of several classics but haven’t chosen the obvious ones from some artists i.e. The River, Night at the Opera but if I looked on my most played albums these would figure though they might not be the ten most played but they would certainly be in the top 20 or. so regularly played.
I’ll pop back with a preferred track from each later on.
Another good idea for a post.
News Of The World remains my favourite Queen album, and Alter Bridge were very unlucky to miss out in my choices.
As with all lists they are subject to change 😉
Now to selecting a track from each of these:
Led Zep – IV – Misty Mountain Hop
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours – Secondhand News – that invitation to “lay me down in the tall grass”; love it.
Genesis – Foxtrot – has to be Supper’s ready
Bruce Springsteen – Born in the USA – I’m On Fire (though I did get fed up with Dancing in the Dark as this was forever played on a ‘video jukebox’ in a bar a frequented)
Alter Bridge – One Day Remains – all of them!
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not – when this came out in 2006 it was a breath of fresh air, raw, lyrically brilliant and was permanently played on the car CD. Favourite track would have to be When The Sun Goes Down
Boston – Boston – it makes me smile every time one of these tracks comes up on shuffle but if I had to pick one it would be Rock & Roll Band
Yes – Tormato – actually I’ve decided to eject this from my twelve and replace it with Jethro Tull – Broadsword and the Beast; Tull are mightly underrated (IMVHO) and this album is a fantastic collection of songs and I’ll suggest Seal Driver as one of my favourites, though Beastie and Flying Colours are contenders too.
Queen – News of the World – as DsD says the best Queen album and my choice is Spread Your Wings
Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon – I’ve said before that this album is why stereo was invented – favourite Us and Them
Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell – For Crying Out Loud; what an album!
Snow Patrol – Eyes Open – going to replace this with A Hundred Million Suns and Crack The Shutters, theough the 16 minute three part The Lightning Strike is equally fantastic.
I’m going to add a thirteenth if that’s alright. In the same way that Arctic Monkeys’ was never off the CD player when Hootie and the Blowfish released Cracked Rear View it was played incessently and still gets a frequent outing; so many fabulous tracks sung by the amazing Darius Rucker (who’s gone all country now – great) I’ll choose the opening track Hannah Jane.
AGREED! Impossible to break that album down into pieces.
And at the risk of inviting Shoey’s ridicule, I’ll stand with you on Cracked Rear View. I’d probably pick Let Her Cry if you forced me right down to one song.
A gut wrenching task GF, bere’s twelve that spring to mind although I guess I’m trying to imagine having to rescue 12 lps from a burning house and would very much fancy my chances of running back in to get another armful before the flames get to them!
Eels – Blinking Lights & Other Revelations
Kraftwerk – The Man Machine
Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden
LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver
Van Halen – I
Sparklehorse – It’s A Wonderful Life
Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street
Massive Attack – Mezzanine
The Who – Who’s Next
Radiohead – In Rainbows
Johnny Cash – American Recordings I
DJ Shadow – Entroducing
OK, taking yet another procrastination break from writing my RRSA Faces piece, my first thought dozen would be:
UFO – Strangers In the Night
Heavy rockers’ live album that just edges the previous year’s Obsession, which was the LP that gave birth to my lifelong musical taste.
Talk Talk – Spirit Of Eden
I know I often jokingly type “The Best Album Ever Recorded™”, but actually, I’m not joking; I think it really is TBAER.
Phil Campbell – Fresh New Life
I’m on my third or fourth copy of this. I play it so often I wear ’em out. And I’m talking CDs here, not tape or vinyl.
Sass Jordan – Rats
This album has the *BLAM!* factor, and it effin’ rocks. Out-of-character with the rest of her career output, very little of which I find listenable.
Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
Hard call between this and IV, but the extra content of this double gives it the nod.
Black – [1991 eponymous / untitled LP]
A perfect sophisticated pop record. As is The Sundays’ Static & Silence, which lost out here in a straight fight.
Cowboy Junkies – The Caution Horses
Is this really their “best”? Dunno, but it was the first I heard, and still just about the most-played.
Drive-By Truckers – The Dirty South
Finishes with Lookout Mountain and Goddamn Lonely Love, two of my Top5 DBT songs, and beautifully demonstrates the band’s range.
Dakota Suite – Navigator’s Yard
Although Chris Hooson’s LP with Emanuele Errante, The North Green Down is now pushing it hard.
Temple Of The Dog – Temple Of The Dog
Grunge / 90s heavy rock supergroup perfection. And my way of getting DsD fave individual musicians Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder and Stone Gossard in on one pick.
Sigur Rós – Agætis Byrjun
Individual songs from later in their career would get more plays in this iTunes age, but as an album, it has to be this.
Willard Grant Conspiracy – Let It Roll
Robert Fisher’s wonderful baritone voice, and a range of songs from lullaby waltzes to rock guitar wig-outs.
Interesting (to me) that Steve Earle’s El Corazón appears to have dropped out of my Top Ten for the first time.
Interesting zep choice and can kind of understand why but with Black Dog, Rock n Roll, The Battle of Evermore and Misty Mountain Hop, IV wins out in my humble opinion.
Absolutely agree that NoTW is the best Queen album, far better than NatO or DatR.
Love you choice of Temple of the Dog and your reasoning, sheer briliance.
I started with the idea that it was only albums I’d put on then get stuck in the moment until it finished:
wolfgang press – queer
mountain goats – tallahassee
dream syndicate – days of wine and roses
galaxie 500 – today
kate bush – Hounds of Love
pixies – come on pilgrim/surfer rosa
wedding present – george best
Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
the Cure – Kiss me Kiss me Kiss me
Bauhaus – the sky’s gone out
Buck 65 – talkin’ honkey blues
Bhundu Boys – shed sessions
withered hand – good news
–
once I’d started I just couldn’t stop:
3rd line butterfly – dream talk
i am kloot – i am kloot
whitey – the light at the end of the tunnel is a train
soulsavers – it’s not how far you fall, it’s the way you land
pulp – his n hers
postal service – give up
etc etc etc
and this is from someone who doesn’t really care for albums – I like songs – individual songs mixed together with someone else’s song to contrast and highlight the joy of each one … so albums or a whole output of an artist really has to catch my attention.
Soulsavers?! D’OH!!! Yeah, y’see, no Mark Lanegan in my dozen: how can that be?
And will you forgive me for not mentioning The Fable Sessions (which I prefer over the official HMS Fable release)?
Could have both Pixies and The Dream Syndicate in my 12. Time to put on the greatest riff ever … probably. “Yeah, you say it’s a waste…”
Ah didn’t put anything by The Bug, Burial, or Kode9 in my list … another oversight.
My braindump:
White Chalk – PJ Harvey
The Real Ramona – Throwing Muses
The Marble Index – Nico
Into The Purple Valley – Ry Cooder
Clear Spot – Captain Beefheart
Anthem Of The Sun – The Grateful Dead
Europe ‘72 (triple LP) – The Grateful Dead
Live/Dead – The Grateful Dead
American Beauty – The Grateful Dead
Wowee Zowee – Pavement
More Songs About Buildings And Food – Talking Heads
Piper At The Gates Of Dawn – Pink Floyd
So much left out…but that’s my Dead bare minumum.
I seem to have also secreted these under my coat as I fled the hypothetical burning building:
Miles Smiles – Miles Davis Quintet
John Adams’ Harmonielehre & others – Simon Rattle/Birmingham S.O.
Across A Crowded Room – Richard Thompson
White Light/White Heat – VU
Kite – Kirsty MacColl
I’ve got most of those too !
Some great choices.
That is a top list, Chris. I’ve got all but two of those, the Polly Harvey and Nico ones.
Thank you kindly, Ma’am. I like ’em. I need a few scary women for company…….
Argh! This will be difficult. I need to have a think about it.
I don’t get enough time to live with albums like I used to so I’ll just go with the instant emotional responses.
The Triffids – Born Sandy Devotional
Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On ( I know I’m meant to say What’s Going On? but … this is the one I play)
Husker Du – New Day Rising
Sonic Youth – Sister
The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street
The Temptations – Masterpiece
Big Black – Atomizer
Maria McKee – Maria McKee
Yona & Orkesteri Liikkuvat Pilvet – Vaikka tekee kipeää, ei haittaa
Mercury Rev – Deserter’s Songs
Anita Baker – Rapture
Saul Williams – Saul Williams
Blondie – Parallel Lines
Was very tempted to go for Deserter’s Songs as well – getting it down to 12 is no easy feat.
I actually went for Deserter’s Songs cos you already had Sparklehorse and Chris had Throwing Muses. I also thought of Mercury Rev before The Flaming Lips otherwise I might still be deliberating. Oh And Anita Baker’s Rapture was an album I played for years then stopped but I’ve been playing it on and off for the past couple of years. Magicman listing Whitney Houston had me revisiting it again this week. I much prefer Anita Baker.
Deserter’s Songs was on my longlist too! Haven’t listened to it in years though…
ahhh….an impossible task, but here goes! I used the same method as GF, just sat at my desk at work away from my record shelves and iTunes and scribbled down a quick longlist, then just ticked off the ones that felt right – I think I’ve gone a lot for albums that were pivotal in shaping my music tastes, rather than most played:
Nirvana – In Utero
Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Mogwai – Young Team
Guns’N’Roses – Appetite for Destruction
Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
White Stripes – White Blood Cells
Liars – Drums Not Dead
Guitar Wolf – Jet Generation
David Bowie – Hunkydory
Slint – Spiderland
Pocahaunted – Peyote Road
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
….now to check the shelves and kick myself for all the ones I’ve missed!
Pet Sounds just missed making my dozen.
Donds for 2,3 & 4.
OK, so I have had a thought about my essential albums, the ones I really couldn’t do without and, unsurprisingly, it hasn’t been easy.
I started off by thinking about artists and bands that really matter to me, and so far so good. There are people who I have grown up with and who, musically, are my best friends, people like Sandy Denny, the Fairports, Dylan, John Martyn, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, the Dead, Hendrix and Van Morrison. The problem is deciding which albums are the ones I’d want on my desert island and whether they are all going to be by my favourite artists. Some are simple;
Fairport Convention‘s album picks itself and it is Liege and Lief and the track I’d want is “Come All Ye”, which is a kind of essential distillation of the whole album.
For Pink Floyd the album is Meddle and the track is “Echoes”, a piece that I don’t think the band ever bettered.
“Like A Rolling Stone” is my favourite song of all time, but it isn’t on my favourite Dylan album, which is Blonde On Blonde, so the track from that has to be “Visions Of Johanna”.
OK, those are the three easy ones.
My next pick is a solo album by a member of one of my favourite bands, Ace by Bob Weir and the track is the wonderful “Playing In The Band”, a live set perennial for The Grateful Dead.
My fifth pick is another solo album by a band member, it is Sandy by Sandy Denny and the track is “It’ll Take a Long Time” and Ms Denny also gets the sixth album on my list. It is her first solo outing, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens and the track I’ve chosen is the title track.
Album number seven is by King Crimson and it is the magisterial Lark’s Tongues In Aspic. The track I’ve chosen here is “Exiles”, the last of Crimson’s epic mellotron-driven “ballads”.
Robert Fripp also features on my eighth pick, David Sylvian and Robert Fripp‘s The First Day and here I am going for “Darshan (The Road to Graceland)”.
Album number nine is by Yes and it is their live album Yessongs. The track I want here is “And You And I” because the live arrangement of the song is incredible, emotional and powerful.
So, down to the final three.
The tenth album is Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen and the opening track, “Thunder Road”is my choice, it is The Boss at his most unashamedly romantic. It is like a Peter Bogdanovich film set to music.
In the eleventh slot, Jimi Hendrix makes an appearance with Electric Ladyland, a sprawling masterpiece. So many great tracks to choose here, but I want “1983… A Merman I Should Turn To Be” because it has so much space and atmosphere, Hendrix at his most trippy.
Now it gets really tough. I’ve missed out so much music I love, no Zeppelin, no VDGG, no Joni Mitchell, no John Martyn, Carole King, Roy Harper or Pentangle. Tough ones to leave out. So what will it be?
It is this; Laura Nyro and Gonna Take A Miracle, an album she recorded with Labelle as her vocal partners. The track I am chossing from this is “Nowhere to Run”, the Holland-Dozier-Holland song best known as a hit for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.
I look forward to hearing all of these.
I’ve turned it into a list using YouTube. All originals, apart from the Dylan, which is a live version;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id-uy–H8tQ&list=PLTP8seBVqbN5kGh61GH0gyb3uiTNgg_Km
way back in the summer of my o-levels I got a job at Kemp Biscuit factory with huge glass windows in a heatwave with a conveyor of very salty crackerwheat wafers rolling past .. eat whatever you like but wait 2 hours for a 5 minute drink break
the piddling wage of 9 quids needed a quid for the canteen and the rest on vinyl
Yessongs, Made in Japan, Zep IV, Sabs I, Split all bought in the first three weeks – would still make my list and leaves little room for owt else
Topographic Oceans, Olias & Fish out of Water .. with heartbreak over not including Relayer
reminders of gigs in Liverpool and then London .. i’d have Ocean Rain & Bend Sinister
and actual live ablums Hillage’s Live Herald and Oldfield’s Exposure
12 is hardly any
I can give you a dozen dear-to-me albums off the top of my head, but I’m going to have to pass on singling out tracks. I will confess to not having listened (closely) to several of these of late, because they just don’t sound right on CD and I no longer have my LPs. TheBoyWonder got a record player for his 18th, and I am delighted to report that he’s buying vinyl whenever he can!
Steve Reich – Tehillim
Kate & Anna McGarrigle – Dancer With Bruised Knees
Joni Mitchell – Ladies of the Canyon
Paul Desmond – Desmond Blue
Richard & Linda Thompson – Pour Down Like Silver
Fairport Convention – Liege And Lief
Pentangle – the Pentangle
Cream – Disraeli Gears
the Beatles – Revolver
Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara
Renaissance – Scheherezade and Other Stories
Zaz – Zaz
and if I’m allowed a baker’s dozen, I’ll add the Bear Family compilation ‘Songs of the Depression’
That’s funny, Ubuette , also 18, has started buying vinyls ( as she hates me calling them) too.
She just had 3 albums delivered from the States today !
Debby: Great list that I’m going to enjoy playing on Spotty. thanks.
Impossible task and a list that would , probably, change ever day but….well the first 2 are easy
Love – Forever Changes
Syd Barrett – Madcap Laughs
Velvet Underground – Loaded
Jun Togawa – Suki Suki Daisuki
The Smiths – The Queen is dead
Beach Boys – Surf’s Up
Jefferson Airplane – Volunteers
The Ramones – Leave Home
X-Ray Spex – Germ Free Adolescents
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers – Rockin’ and Romance
Joyside- Drunk is Beautiful
Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy.
i suppose i can pick same as some of the choices above 😀
a bit of an indie eighties background to me so, not in any order, and no surprises:
1. chameleons – script of the bridge (second skin)
2. wire – pink flag (lowdown)
3. sisters of mercy – first and last and always (nine while nine) so underrated
4. dead can dance – spleen and ideal (avatar)
5. the triffids – born sandy devotional (tender is the night)
6. pixies – surfer rosa (bone machine)
7. slint – spiderland (good morning, captain)
8. trail of dead – source, tags and codes (heart in the hand of the matter)
9. hope of the states – the lost riots (66 sleepers to summer)
10. interpol – turn on the bright lights (leif erikson)
11. unwound – leaves turn inside you (scarlette)
12. gene clark – no other (some misunderstanding)
i could second a fair few above, deserters songs, sister, atomizer, aeroplane over the sea amongst them. great stuff.
if I was doing a smash and grab of other people’s records I’d half inch this lot to go with my choices:
Soundtrack – The Harder they Come
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
DJ Shadow – Entroducing
Cowboy Junkies – The Caution Horses (I’d change it for trinity sessions though)
Throwing Muses – The Real Ramona
Pavement – Wowee Zowee
Saul Williams – Saul Williams
Blondie – Parallel Lines
Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
The Smiths – The Queen is dead
Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy.
sisters of mercy – first and last and always
trail of dead – source, tags and codes
What a collection, and how revealing. I had some idea of most of your musical tastes but this clarifies it considerably, I looked forward to them all but but Chris and Carole particularly and I wasn’t disappointed.
You’ve made me realize some flaws in my list, they relate to ‘most enjoyment vs ‘most significant’. Graceland stands.
But I can’t ignore Bob Marley, but I also can’t just choose his first album as an all-time favorite, he produced a dozen and I’d hate to have to pick any one over the others so I took the easy way out, I picked the one that led to all the others; the most significant one. The Harder they come was somewhat similar, it wasn’t the value of the individual cuts, it was what they led to. With Highway 61 I was thinking ‘What’s my all-time favorite Bob song, easy, Desolation Row, so I picked the album it came from but if the question was what’s my favorite Dylan album, it’d have to be Blonde on Blonde. So difficult to choose a Beatles album, I think that there I became immersed in the memories of just how popular they were in LA and the furore of a new Beatles album in the 1960’s. There were radio stations that played a new album endlessly on repeat ALL DAY!
Mahler’s another mistake, an identical one to BMW, I chose the first one I bought not my all-time favorite which would be the Second symphony by Gilbert Kaplan, I’ve played that dozens of times and the First, not that many.
Duke, Louis, Hamp, Basie and Sarah can stand as favorites, I discovered jazz early on but if I were to redo the list your comments have brought back a lot of memories that would/should be included. Like:
Fairport Convention, though mine would be Meet on the Edge, I’ve long wanted Liege but Spotty has to satisfy that one. Dark Side, of course, how did I miss that one, Rumours also, similarly Ladyland and more similarly The Who, separate from Tommy, and of course Forever Changes and also Music for 18 musicians, the only way would be to make it a top 20 rather than a dozen; impossible task. There are some names, Bowie, Gaye, Cooder, all of which I have but I’d be hard put to pick an album, picking a track would be easy.
As always your lists are a mix of ‘well knowns’ and ‘names I’ve only heard of’ but never heard their music, I’m going to try and rectify that with some of your selections, god bless Spotty!
And remember, this started off with my trying to pick “The #1” Did any of you succeed in doing that, I know I didn’t.
The #1
Pixies – Come on Pilgrim
I remember what you and Chris think of the drumming but this is the epitome of pure bliss for my taste.
Before it’s release I was dragged (very happily by some of my London friends) into this gig by the Throwing Muses… WE PAID ON THE DOOR.
Support band was this mass of energy called the Pixies playing what I was told was their first English gig: Bob the Builder (who didn’t exist then) stood by the mic and screeched to announce his presence – the bass player – who later turned into the most ‘off her tits’ school mam you ever met; was just wonderful – inane grin and simple peanut flicking bass lines – who needed more when these were so good.
the guitarist over on the left (as I looked) was brilliant (to me) enough to satisfy a USP in a band and the drummer – the drummer just complimented them all, because he looked so normal – a perfect dysfunctional band – in a prime idiosyncratic performance.
It wasn’t right – but it was mine.
There a hundred stories that developed from this chance encounter.
from bootlegging the Purple tape (£8 profit – I nearly retired) … supplied by work experience girl in a Boston recording studio – to me who just happened to be the only student in my college town with a photocopy machine in my dank flat (long story)…
to missing my interview to work at Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine… (long story)
to meeting like minded friends…
and surprisingly not dying… (long story)
startling my mum and dad.. short story – (but involves the perfect stop/start in Nimrod’s Son)
taking over an auditorium to discuss fine art photography as a 17 year old and bringing it around to 4AD cover art… (and getting a standing ovation for my efforts – started by the art historian who started the talk) … basis of my dissertation eventually (considering my dyslexia and inability to read Simon Larbalestier’s name let alone say it – this was some achievement)… (even longer story)
etc etc etc
but yep:
The #1
Pixies – Come on Pilgrim –
(you know you want to).
I know our tastes don’t overlap very often GF, but if you do manage to listen to any of my choices, I recommend either the Mogwai or the Spritualized….!
Yes, number 1 for me is Forever Changes. Not a duff track on it and hard to see how any improvements could be made.
Such a hard task with the rest though, a lot of artists have great albums but maybe let down by 1 track, my list is missing any reggae, African and Rai because of this trait. I would have loved to have put a Culture album there or Mahlathini but everyone has a weak track ( at least I think so).
Lovely to have the opportunity to waste some time making lists though.
A song from each nomination? OK …
From UFO – Strangers In the Night
Love To Love.
From Talk Talk – Spirit Of Eden
I Believe In You.
From Phil Campbell – Fresh New Life
Evangeline
[audio src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/550863/Phil%20Campbell%20-%20Evangaline.mp3" /]
From Sass Jordan – Rats
High Road Easy
(because Ugly isn’t on YT, and I’ve just posted a Grooveshark link to Ugly over on RR)
From Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
In My Time Of Dying
(because it would be too easy to say Kashmir)
From Black – [1991 eponymous / untitled LP]
Feel Like Change
From Cowboy Junkies – The Caution Horses
(and with apologies to Carole)
Powderfinger
From Drive-By Truckers – The Dirty South
Goddamn Lonely Love
From Dakota Suite – Navigator’s Yard
When I Think Of Myself Dead
From Temple Of The Dog – Temple Of The Dog
Hunger Strike
From Sigur Rós – Agætis Byrjun
Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása
(Yes, the first two minutes or so are barely there. Try it with headphones)
From Willard Grant Conspiracy – Let It Roll
Dance With Me
OOPS! Sorry, forgot it would do that.
DsD: Thank you for that lot, I really look forward to ’em and I always wear headphones, even in bed!
Hi GF – would you be able to edit this post for us – you don’t have to take anything out – but because it is image heavy it is causing the spill to load slowly.
What you need to do is click ‘Edit’ you’ll find that at the bottom of your post – just after the number count for how many comments.
So it’ll say 44 comments – then EDIT.
then where your words are – put the curser in after the first image and paragraph (after you’ve typed ‘“Which of all these is my favorite album?” would be a good place)
and click on the rectangle that says MORE (between CODE/CLOSE TAGS) just above the box that you write in.
there’s then a blue box lower down that says: UPDATE – click on that.
This will keep the first image and sentence for everyone to see and add a little bit that says
Continue reading →
then the blog isn’t trying to load every image each time it’s opened – thanks.
Or if that’s a bit much, GF, just delete my YT links. Anyone who wants them can find them.
Sorry again.
DsD – that would help once you open GF’s article – but not for the speed of loading the spill as a whole.
Rich – if you want to sort it out so they become links when you get some time:
go to ‘the spill at the top left
hover over it – to dashboard (click on that)
there’s an at a glance bit (click on ‘75,000ish’ comments – they are just yours)
near the top will be your youtube excess – heehee – click on ‘edit’ below.
CUT the link – click on the link box (for each one) and you should have it sorted… as you would normally.
Bloody Hell!
Seventy-five THOUSANDish?!?!?!
* note to self: get a life! *
I made a mistake; the 75,000ish is all of us, not just you!
.
.
panic over – I hope.
Following Shane, here’s my smash’n’grab of other peoples choices:
Paul Simon – Graceland
Mercury Rev – Deserter’s Songs
Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
Arctic Monkeys – Whatever…
Sigor Ros – Agaetis Byrjun
…Trail of Dead – Source Tags…
Interpol – Turn on…
Blondie – Parallel Lines
Pixies – Come on..
Bob Marley – Catch a Fire
Big Black – Atomizer
Velvet Underground – Loaded
…a great list in itself!
Shane: I’ve just spent the better part of the last hour trying to follow your directions, to no avail. I know we have the same computers but I’m not seeing what you’re describing, not seeing any of this “click on the rectangle that says MORE (between CODE/CLOSE TAGS) just above the box that you write in.”
But before I invest any more time with this let me comment that I haven’t seen any evidence of the loading slowing down that you mention, with or without my pictures, and as I just said I know we both have iMacs so I wonder what’s the difference and the most obvious thing is the ISP’s. If you’re experiencing slowdown, check there.
Next, my pictures are each 500 pixels square or less, I just measured them and they average less than 200kb, I also checked your Elastic band illustration, that’s 2MB! Plus any song on a playable playlist averages 1MB per minute! A 5 minute song = 5MB! so with a playlist with 10 songs, you’re looking at 50MB. If you think that my photos slow the blog down, how do you feel about all that?
GF – I feel fine about selfishly doing unique artwork for the spill –
and my computer works wonderfully – I have a huge amount of things open at once and it’s all perfect; because my mac does these things.
When I said FOR US – I was passing on a request in another comment section.
The request was in Blimpy’s post – for people to add the Continue reading →
This is what Chris had to say:
Chris | February 25, 2014 at 12:36 pm
Blimpy: as nominal Oberführer of this space, does it seem worth reminding folks that they can tuck away most of their posts beyond the Continue Reading tag? The Spill can take quite some time to scroll down these days….. (must be a real pain on one of those new-fangled little tablet thingies).
I was just trying to make you aware that this had been mentioned…. and I was trying to give instructions to help. Because I wanted to help – I try my best – I sometimes fail.
I don’t give a flying flamingo about it to be honest – but if you do NOT add the Continue reading → (created by clicking MORE above where you write out your article***) – then your post takes up all the room on a SHARED platform and because it is ALL there on the front page AND HAS LOTS OF IMAGES NOT JUST ONE – then it is slow loading FOR SOME PEOPLE…. or people trying to scroll past it on their phones or iTRAYs.
I’m sure my spill art is too big too – if any one is having problems I’ll reduce the single image – but it’s OPTIMISED for web – so hopefully isn’t too bad for most people.
***So if you Click on EDIT
the box you write in is probably on visual if you can’t see the MORE square.
at the top right there is two tabs: Visual and text
click on text and see if the MORE rectangle is now obvious.
or hover over the bits in visual – click the one that comes up: Insert more tag (alt+shift+T)
sorry, if I didn’t do all the finding out for you and wasted your time – but I didn’t know the MORE tab didn’t come up in visual mode. Because I don’t use it.
I will now take a chill Pill and see if I can play the P game.
good luck.
Shane; I didn’t say anything about being in visual mode, and I wasn’t and am still not, I’m in text mode and your clues still don’t show.
But that’s not the issue, I still want to know how my 200kb pics are slowing the Spill, if you want to cast blame why aren’t you talking about playlists?
gf, shane: don’t get bogged down.
Please let me sort it out with Tony via email in the morning. 🙂
#1 Alter Bridge without question.
Pilfering other spillers noms would include:
Graceland
Temple of the Dog
Born to Run
Parallel Lines
White Blood Cells
American Recordings I
Hounds of Love
Yessongs
Physical Graffiti
Europe ’72
Catch A Fire
and I’ll relieve Chris of Miles Smiles from under his coat as well 😉
Late as ever but just to join in – here’s my list and playlist. We did something similar to this on Facebook but of course these things change from day to day so this one is slightly different.
Patti Smith – Horses
Richard and Linda Thompson – I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight
Culture – Two Sevens Clash
T-Rex – T-Rex
Bhundu Boys – Shabini
Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
Katzenjammer – A Kiss Before You Go
Siouxsie and the Banshees – The Scream
Joni Mitchell Blue
Ella Fitzgerald – Incomparable Ella
David Bowie – Hunky Dory
Mary Coughlan – Tired and Emotional
This is the Youtube playlist.
Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this website.
It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s tough
to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and visual appearance.
I must say that you’ve done a very good job with this.
In addition, the blog loads super fast for me on Firefox.
Exceptional Blog!
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There are three or 4 of these on my favourites list as well. I remember when Sgt. Pepper came out , a classmate had bought it and a bunch of us made our way to his house to hear it.. We heard it on an old Dansette record player as his parents wouldn’t allow ‘ that rubbish’ to be played on their gramophone, which was a peice of furniture half the size of the Titanic..As you say, an album release was an event.Gracelands release coincided with the birth of my beautiful daughter and I listened to the tape in hospital.I have all the Mahlers as well, but not conducted by Bernstein. Thanks for sharing your list :))
Not a definitive all time favourites , just 12 that stand out , helped by the fact that I did something similar on Facebook a couple of months ago. In no particular order
Dexys Midnight Runners – Too-Rye-Ay
My favourite album since the age of 13, usually dismissed in favour of their other 2 albums, but I still think this is the best. Of course I liked the pop hits first, but after repeated listens the slow, “boring” songs became my favourites – an important lesson.
Echo & The Bunnymen – Porcupine
Wintry, angst ridden music for wearing long coats to. Better than Ocean Rain, no matter what anyone tells you.
The Clash – Combat Rock
The first Clash album I got into. A long way from punk here, and quite experimental in places. Possibly better than London Calling, no matter what anyone says
Wire – 154
People will tell you that Pink Flag is the classic, but for me it’s this. Do you see a theme developing here?
Killing Joke – What’s This For…?
Yes I prefer it to the first album – only just though. Intense and relentless , at least for 3/4 of it’s length
The Dark – Chemical Warfare
The only album released by this band, punk with a tinge of goth, the album that The Damned should have done but never quite managed.
English Dogs – Mad Punx & English Dogs
One problem picking albums for me is that I think an EP is the optimum length for most punk bands. So I’m cheating by including this 6 track 12″ mega EP thingy. But it’s the best punk 6 track 12″ mega EP thingy of the 80s , if not ever.
The Disrupters – Playing With Fire
I used this 80s punk obscurity as the basis of a Spill feature once. Disrupters singer Steve was moved to come on and comment that he though this album sucked! Hardly anybody like it. Gloomy, sneery, misanthropic – what’s not to like?
Schwartzeneggar – The Way Things Are and Other Stories
Steve Ignorant’s under-appreciated post-Crass band, possibly because they actually wrote some great, varied tunes and more personal lyrics and sounded like The Clash meets The Stranglers in his words.
The Templars – Omne Datum Optimum
Influential 90s Oi band from New York who mixed a lot of different influences to create their own take on the genre
Bottlejob – Take It On The Chin
Obscure London Oi band who disappeared soon after this album came out in 2011. Very rough vocals mixed with melodic lead guitar, and songs about the rough end of London life and attacking racism , austerity and the war on terror.
Paranoid Visions – Cryptic Cross Words
My favourite band during the last 10 years managed to release their best album so far in 2015
So there you have it as it stands today. I’ll post a playlist next
Or maybe I won’t as youtube says “this functionality is not available at the moment”
For your listening pleasure. Warning: Disrupters track contains language that some may find offensive.