This is for you… Zack, Jock & Will. So get comfortable, sit back and relax… let’s talk some music.
It gives me such satisfaction that Zack loves music. To me, appreciating music… art… great food, wine… friendship… it’s what separates us from the lower primates & if you can’t see this, I don’t have time for you. That Zack loves different music is not as important as that he simply loves music. And in truth, his tastes are diverse… it encompasses not only music of this era; but also “my” era. If we can layer in some classics, a little Broadway stuff & some Sinatra, his resume will be fairly complete.
It was with great excitement that Zack phoned me with a copy of Rolling Stone in hand… an issue dedicated to putting into order the 500 best record albums. He quizzed me on a few things. I guessed correctly that The Beatles would take high honors… but I had the wrong #1. I thought it would be the “White Album”… or possibly “Revolver” or “Rubber Soul”… these titles I thought had great critical acclaim… and I knew that Jock thought that they were leagues above anything else. “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”? That caught me by surprise.
“Exile on Main Street” the best Stones’ record? Not in my book. And so it went.
Zack has undertaken the task of putting a list together of his top ten albums… and has written an essay on each one. Bravo for you Zack. Well done.
I put together a list of 15 albums (the number was totally arbitrary… I would have done more I just couldn’t think of any more at the time)… I have not made any amplifying remarks as Zack has done, and the listing will follow at the base of this note. I love each and everyone. And remember this… my music came from “vinyl” days & albums were often released with a couple of good tunes and then some filler. Our music was played on turntables… and navigating from one track to the next, skip over that, flip to side two, change the record & so on was more involved… so to find an album that you could enjoy start to finish was an ultimate joy. The CD world has changed all that… much too convenient in my book. My list, then is built around “wholeness”… the album had to hang together from start to finish… did they have the “best cuts” of that particular group or artist? Not necessarily so. Were they even “historic” groups? Again, not necessarily so. But I adore the Johnny Winter album… and as an aside, I don’t think I have ever heard a finer version of “It’s My Own Fault”.
To continue… I got a surprise package from Jock. It was a copy of the Rolling Stone issue with the 500 list. He mentioned that it would be a blast to sit down, go over the list, talk about the titles, sip a martini or two and revisit the music that we loved so much.
Yes… Jock and I loved music… I loved to kid him about how shitty The Beatles were, and he told me The Stones sucked. But Jock’s musical tastes went far deeper than mine… classics (which I would begin to enjoy while at Union, not only thru Jock; but courtesy of Hugh Allen Wilson and his harpsichord… it was the first time I heard Bach’s Brandenburg #5… and when he got to the Cadenza I couldn’t believe that fingers could move that fast… by the way, Bach’s Brandenburg CDs are immediately to my right as we speak, and a week doesn’t go by when I don’t listen to one of them at least once), jazz, Sinatra… everything was represented in Jock’s record collection. More than me, Jock knew & Understood music.
And for Will… he has to be included in this, too. We share so many of the same frames of reference… and I have mentioned this on numerous occasions… sports, cartoons, music, history, drinking, Union… and he has one of the quickest wits I know, killer sense of humor… what a joy to be able to pick any topic and “chew the fat”… even the “serious” talks are supremely satisfying, pages will turn… smiles will come, the laughs will follow. It can’t be better…
So… let’s rip apart the Rolling Stone 500. Remember this… “my music frame”, such that they would be candidates in the RS 500, comes from a very clearly defined period… just before Union to just after. Next, there is music that I have greatly enjoyed since… I just don’t know the merits of any album… but from my post Union days… I enjoy Dire Straits, Police, U2, Lynyrd Skynrd, Talking Heads & R.E.M. Of lesser note, there are individual songs that I adore from some contemporary stuff; but I have no desire to get albums… and in fact I am at a loss to clearly remember the names of the groups, or who plays what song… but I think the names are Matchbox 20, 3rd Eye Blind, Three Doors Down (the latter 2 have to be a name fuck-up), Blues Traveler & my guess is there are about six others… and if I heard the tune on the radio I would say. “hey, that’s really good”.
I am taking the 500 in reverse order… these are albums that I owned, and I have also included a couple of titles that Jock had, or some albums that in some way I wanted to comment on, & I have noted those albums with an *.
Have some fun… see you on the other side.
499 Born Under a Bad Sign. Albert King. Great Album cover. I forgot that Booker T was the session band.
476* The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Jock’s album, not mine. Jock appreciated Mike Bloomfield more than me. I should probably get this CD and get into it.
474 Live in Europe. Otis Redding. If you went to Union you had to have Otis Redding. Every band that played at Fraternity parties did Otis. If I recall, this album had his cover of “Satisfaction”.
468 Elton John. Elton John. This is my favorite Elton John album and it made my list of best albums. His voice has never sounded better, and his playing showed both force and restraint. Needless to say, I think that this merits a much higher ranking. What were they thinking?
463 Tumbleweed Connection. Elton John. This was a good album; but it ranks behind his first in my book. But still well ahead of the glitzy and commercial stuff that followed. What a shame.
437 All Things Must Pass. George Harrison. I don’t remember this as a great album. Although I am sure that with Clapton in the recording session that it caught my eye. I thought that Harrison was a great melody writer, better than either Lennon or McCartney.
409 461 Ocean Boulevard. Eric Clapton. I don’t remember this as a particularly great album. But back in those days I picked up anything Clapton made. If he made an album of Christmas tunes I probably would have picked it up.
407 Strange Days. The Doors. Yes, a better album than the first. My favorite Doors album by far. Tremendous cover, too. It’s something that Magritte would think up.
392 Willy and the Poor Boys. Creedence Clearwater Revival. I think I picked up all the early CCR albums. I loved #2; but all the others had pleasing qualities.
383 Happy Jack (A Quick One). The Who. This is the first Who album that I bought. I believe Peter Max was responsible for the album cover art (or maybe just its inspiration). The title tune, “A Quick One While He’s Away”, was a Townsend romp thru a half dozen musical shifts — a mini operetta — that probably served as his creative warm up to “Tommy”. I saw the Who perform this in the pre-Tommy days at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford. John Pendelton was there with a date, and I took Kim Edleglass — one of three non-Ellen dates I had before getting married.
362 L.A Woman. The Doors. No Big Deal.
355 Between the Buttons. The Rolling Stones. Yes, I loved the album. How could you not? “Let’s Spend the Night Together” became an anthem for Ellen and me.
353 Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds. The Yardbirds. Jeff Beck had replaced Eric Clapton; but if I recall, Clapton’s guitar is heard on the legendary “Heart Full of Soul”.
352 52nd Street. Billy Joel. I don’t recall the tunes; but I loved all of Billy Joel’s early stuff.
338 Cheap Thrills. Big Brother and the Holding Company. Yes, this was a terrific album; but interestingly enough, my favorite Big Brother album was made after Janis Joplin left the group. Nick Gravanites (Electric Flag fame?) was added for vocals and that album had an amazing sound… I can’t even remember the name of it (“Be a Brother”?); but I would certainly include it in my best album list… and whenever I am in a music store I still look for it.
325 Slowhand. Eric Clapton. Yep, another Clapton. Makes no difference, I would have picked it up and savoured a couple of cuts.
269 Some Girls. The Rolling Stones. Real good album. Probably my 3rd favorite. “Miss You” is just terrific. I think “She’s So Cold” is on this album… and that is my second favorite Stones’ tune. I love listening to the crispness of Watts’ beat. I also agree that “Before They Make Me Run” is Richards’ best number.
264* Child is Father to the Man. Blood, Sweat and Tears. Another album that Jock had, and that I should have had, too. I believe this was before David Clayton Thomas joined the band, and before they took off and became a commercial success.
259 Crosby, Stills and Nash. Crosby, Stills and Nash. No, Neil Young was not there yet; but man, was this a great album. Nice to look at the album cover again and remember Stills and Crosby from their thinner and youthful days.
258 American Beauty. Grateful Dead. This was one of two Dead albums I owned. And I think I bought them because I felt “compelled” to. I mean you love Clapton, Hendrix, B.B. King… how can you not have some Jerry Garcia? I never became a big fan; but Jerry Garcia’s “Touch of Gray” (not on this album) is a top 20 tune for me… it’s refrain “I will get by…” became emblematic for me during a not-so-good period in my life.
233 Bookends. Simon and Garfunkel. Not my favorite album of theirs; but I adored the cut “Hazy Shade of Winter”. Really an atypical number for them… it had a rock edge to it. The Bangles covered it a few years ago and handled it marvelously. I still love the tune.
208 Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. Neil Young with Crazy Horse. This made my best album list. I play it at least once a week. I like to close my eyes during Young’s solo on “Down By the River”. I just want to get lost in the music.
203 Wheels of Fire. Cream. Not only did I have this as an album; but also in, the now Neolithic 8 track for my Camaro! I used to fly thru the Mass Pike on the stretch from Springfield to Stockbridge burning this album. Great “Spoonful”… but, oh my, how I loved “Crossroads”. It remains my favorite Clapton piece, it is in my top 20 list of songs & I don’t think that there has ever been a better bass line than Jack Bruce on that cut. Unreal.
201 Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Simon and Garfunkel. A soothing album that got a boost from the commercial success of the film “The Graduate”.
195 Blues Breakers. John Mayall with Eric Clapton. I found John Mayall because of this album. Mayall’s bands were a well spring of talent. An ever changing group of extremely talented musicians who would go on to huge careers elsewhere. In addition to Clapton, this band featured John McVie on bass, who would leave the Blues Breakers with drummer Mick Fleetwood (although Hughie Flint was the drummer on this particular album) to form the, now legendary, Fleetwood Mac. This was not, in spite of Clapton’s appearance, my favorite Blues Breakers album; but I forget which one is.
178 Greatest Hits. The Byrds. Not a big fan; but there were too many good tunes to ignore this terrific anthology.
n.b. “Greatest Hits” Albums… I thought that this was a “cheap” way to acquire a group’s music… an artificial thing. Nevertheless, I had 3, off the top of my head, that I did love… The Animals, The Kinks and The Rolling Stones “High Tide and Green Grass”… the latter album title, by the way, I have used on any number of occasions in my personal writing to describe the more positive times in my life… but poetically I reverse the order of the words… when the tide was high, and the grass green… I love the image.
172 Every Picture Tells a Story. Rod Stewart. Wonderful music and easily in my best album list. I have long enjoyed the raspiness of Stewart’s voice (check him out in Jeff Beck’s Truth — that disc also a Best Album entry — exquisite on the “Morning Dew” track). I also think that his phrasing, which is always on stage for his ballads, is under appreciated. His new American Songbook albums really are wonderful excursions back to a time when men and women dressed better, when men held a chair for their ladies, escorted them to the dance floor, kissed them lightly and said thank you for the dance.
170 Live at Leeds. The Who. I loved the economy of the album. It also proved that their sound was not diminished when they stepped outside of the recording studio.
150 Santana. Santana. For me this was good; but not great. I never got on to their music in a big way.
148 Deja Vu. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The great Neil Young was added to the band. I still preferred the first album. “Teach Your Children” is till a great cut, still meaningful message there… and what a treat: catch Jerry Garcia playing pedal steel.
146* Surrealistic Pillow. Jefferson Airplane. I think this was Jock’s. I had the “precursor” group: The Great Society. That band was led by Grace Slick and her husband Darby. The original recordings of “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love” were on their live album that I owned. I only began to fully appreciate how good Marty Balin was when he left the Airplane. Grace Slick had the “flash”; but it was Balin’s tenor that filled the vocal gaps and made the melodies soar.
127 If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. The Mamas and Papas. “The Beach Boys for folkies…” Good line. But boy did they play wonderful music. Their tunes gave you the feeling of wearing soft and comfortable clothes.
122 Pearl. Janis Joplin. Too bad she died so young. It would have been interesting to see how she would have evolved. She had that raspy quality that I so much enjoy, and I imagine that she would have handled the “classic ballads” with great skill and emotion. This album was just OK in my book. “Me and Bobby McGee” is still getting airplay some 35 years later.
118* Stand. Sly and the Family Stone. Jock, did you have this album? Popular when we were at Union; but I was never really impressed.
115 Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Derek and the Dominos. I have this as a CD in my car as we speak. I adore their cover of Big Bill Bronzey’s “Keys to the Highway” (and how about this… I recently heard B.B. King cover it live at a concert in Stamford, CT). I loved the album; but somehow felt cheated for not knowing who was playing lead where — was it Eric Clapton, or Duane Allman?
113 The Who Sell Out. The Who. What can I say? I loved the Who and I think I bought the album because of the absolutely hysterical album cover… Roger Daltrey sitting in a bathtub filled with Heinz baked beans — baked beans dripping from his mouth and on to his shirt. Perfect.
112 Disraeli Gears. Cream. I loved the band, I loved the music; but somehow I would not mark it as a great album. That not withstanding, “Sunshine of Your Love” is a Top 20 Tune… and it took me a long time to realize that Clapton also did vocals on it… I had thought that Jack Bruce had done both vocal parts — double tracking himself.
108 Aftermath. The Rolling Stones. I think I could listen to “Paint it Black” and “Under My Thumb” back to back forever.
103 Sweet Baby James. James Taylor. This is a Top Album entry. The silkiness of his voice I find to be a joy. There is an ease to his songs… sweet and then, sometimes sad. The title track has always been a comfort to me… nice pedal steel there, too (Pete Drake?).
101 Fresh Cream. Cream. I had the English recording of this album which included an additional cut: a studio version of Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful”. This was my favorite Cream album.
96 Tommy. The Who. This was some Townsend tour de force. Yes, it was real special. The instrumental pieces simply rocketed above everything else. The story line? A bit kitsch for me.
95 Green River. Creedence Clearwater Revival. Yes, this was a good CCR effort, too. But it was the previous one “Born on the Bayou”, their second album, that made my top album list.
81 Graceland. Paul Simon. Not my favorite Simon effort; but I can’t imagine him turning out anything ordinary. There is a line from the title track that I love: “Losing love is like a window in your heart — everyone knows you’re blown apart, everyone sees the wind blow.” By the way, I didn’t own this as a record album — just as a cassette.
67 The Stranger. Billy Joel. Natch. Really good Billy Joel stuff. “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” is on my Top 20 Tunes List; but for sentimental reasons, for the appropriateness of the lyric, his “Lullaby” (not on this album) is a song that has great meaning to me — Shaina and I danced to it at her Bat Mitzvah. Zack gave me this CD as gift.
63 Sticky Fingers. The Rolling Stones. One of my two favorite Stones’ albums and certainly on my Top List. Bobby Keys’ sax on “Brown Sugar” makes the song. It drove the point about the similarity of the sound that a guitar and sax could have. I can remember Eric Clapton saying that he tried to make his guitar sound like King Curtis’ sax.
57 Beggars Banquet. The Rolling Stones. Not one of my favorites; but the “Sympathy for the Devil” is a splendid cut. This album followed “Their Satanic Majesties Request”… also not one of my favorites; but it was the first gift Ellen ever gave me — we didn’t have a stereo in my home on Alston Ave, just a “Hi Fi” — I went next door to David Kimberly’s to listen to it.
54 Electric Ladyland. Jimi Hendrix. He was just beyond my appreciation for his extended solos. But I will tell you one thing… everyone talks about his guitar work, I thought he had a great voice: rich, supple & sensuous. And thank you Bob Dylan for giving us another great song that someone else can cover in superior fashion. “All Along the Watchtower” was masterful.
51 Bridge Over Troubled Water. Simon and Garfunkel. The title track had “healing power”; but it was “The Boxer” that makes my Top 20 Tunes List with it’s stirring melody, powerful lyrics And haunting refrain: “by the li, by the li, li, li, li, li…”
45 The Band. The Band. A real special album. Although I never became a big fan of the group. I know that Zack loves the album as well. Will liked it, too (but I think he liked it because one of the Band’s members was named “Garth”). “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” is marvelous; but I love Joan Baez’ cover of it even better.
42 The Doors. The Doors. The Doors had to be the most disappointing live concert I have ever seen. Ellen and I caught them at the Kennedy Stadium (I think it has since been torn down… but not for anything that Jim Morrison did on stage) in Bridgeport. Still this was a big album and “Light My Fire” seemed to set the stage for extended instrumental breaks for “Top 40” songs. And radio stations made their mark on whether they played the trimmed down commercial cut, or the full length album cut.
32 Let It Bleed. The Rolling Stones. The other of my two favorite Stones’ discs and also on my Top Album List. The cut “Gimme Shelter” is my favorite Stones’ song and easily makes my 20 Best Tunes list. I loved that song so much that I bought Merry Clayton’s solo album which featured her cover of the track. Clayton had been one of Joe Cocker’s vocal back-ups in Mad Dogs and Englishmen, and she was second vocal on the “Gimme Shelter” track for the Stones.
29 Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin. Perhaps the ultimate hard rock band of the 70s. I had the album; it never wowed me to the level of the true Zep lover, or to a Jimmy Page freak. “Stairway to Heaven”, not on the album, is one of my 20 Best Tunes; but still I only infrequently took out this album to listen to.
28 Who’s Next. The Who. One of the best albums ever. There was an amazing flow from one track to the next. “Behind Blue Eyes” is my favorite Who song. Townsend’s supporting vocal to Daltrey’s lead adds extra force and depth to the cut. Townsend was not a good “second vocalist” — he was a great second vocalist. The CD is great… it has additional tracks on it (maybe a second version of “Behind Blue Eyes”). Zachary “borrowed” my copy of it… and I believe it now inhabits the jungle of his CD collection.
25* Rumours. Fleetwood Mac. One of the best “Pop” albums that I have never owned; but should have.
15 Are You Experienced. Jimi Hendrix Experience. I had the English version of this album. This was my favorite Hendrix, and I thought that Mitch Mitchell’s drums on “Fire” was the best beat since “Wipe Out”… it raised the standard.
14 Abbey Road. The Beatles. This is one of two Beatles’ albums that I owned… the other being Yesterday and Tomorrow (I may have really screwed up the title… sorry Beatles’ fans). Hard to believe that I lived thru that era without more Beatles’ music; but in truth I didn’t love the band… so there you are. This album, however, I greatly enjoyed. “Here Comes the Sun” has always been a song that I have used to lift my spirits… and perhaps over the years I have listened to it with that purpose in mind more times than I care to admit to.
7 Exile on Main Street. The Rolling Stones. Wow! This wouldn’t even make the Top 10 Stones’ albums in my book. Give me a break.
Well… that’s it kids. It was a nice stroll thru some memories… and I wish I could say something more profound than “keep the music alive”… but there you go… it may even be a plagiarized line; but I think it fits.
As promised below please find my Top 15 Albums… don’t pay attention to the order, because I surely didn’t.
Love & Kisses to you all.
Jimbo
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The Who Who’s Next
Johnny Winter And Live
B.B. King Live Completely Well
Rod Stewart Every Picture Tells a Story
Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers
Moody Blues Days of Future Passed
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
Elton John Elton John
Creedence Clearwater Revival Born on the Bayou
Joe Cocker Little Help From My Friends
James Taylor Sweet Baby James
Rolling Stones Let It Bleed
Traffic John Barleycorn
Jeff Beck Truth
Hot Tuna Hot Tuna