The other influential Reed

There's just something about Jimmy Reed. It's that voice, haunting and full of soul. The 50's production with all that reverb compliments his voice perfectly. Mick Jagger was influenced a lot by Jimmy Reed, not only his singing but harmonica style. Not only did he Stones cover a lot of Reed, but songs like "The Spider and Fly" are direct descendents. He's not as revered or well known as the likes of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters or Howlin Wolf, but should be. I never get tired of listening to Jimmy Reed.

Take me anywhere

Tin Machine - Tin Machine
I love this record. All of the Tin Machine stuff I'm a fan of, but the first record is so good. My affinity for it has to do with timing as well. I was there when it happened, 17 years old and following Bowie for a couple of years already. It was so new, so loud, so cool, so brilliant. I was never a fan of the way the 80's sounded, especially then. Things were so drab, that's why I ended up digging back into music history. 
This is one of those records that just sounded good. It's a little reverb heavy, but nothing that drowns the music. And that music is so good, the fresh energy that inspired the project is in full effect. To me, this was the new Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, they were just called Tin Machine.

Keep your hands off!

Slade - Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply
"Run Runaway" and "My Oh My" are two fantastic songs! I've always loved those tunes since I first heard them back in 1984. For some reason though, I never owned the album. I went through a mini Slade phase a few months back and finally picked up the record. Unfortunately, it's not a great album, but those two songs more than make up for any slights on the rest of it. A pretty cool cover too, simple and to the point.

Hear the record, drink the wine!

We picked up some "Dark Side Of The Moon" wine the other day and there's no better way to enjoy than by listening to the record at the same time.

I like it, yes I do.

The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)

Although the title track of this album is a well known classic, the rest of it has been left behind as "album tracks". I always thought of it as a "murky" album, it has a mysterious, sludgy kind of vibe to it. Of course, being 1974, a lot of that probably had to do with drugs. Just check out the crazy Guy Peelaert painting on the cover.

It was also a transitional time for the band, Mick Taylor left during the recording and doesn't play on 3 of the tracks. Plus, it was the first Stones record to be produced by "The Glimmer Twins", Mick & Keith. Over time, the songs have been overtaken by the Stones myth and sheer cultural dominance of the title track. 

Of course, I really like the record! Tunes like "If You Can't Rock Me", "Luxury", "Time Waits For No One", "Short & Curlies", "Dance Little Sister", "Till The Next Goodbye" and their second Temptations cover, "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" are all fantastic! Then there's "Fingerprint File", my personal fave. It's dark, funky, weird and catchy as anything. Only the Stones could get away with a song like that.

"It's Only Rock and Roll" is a great album that you should listen to right now!

Mask is on

Bauhaus - Mask
A friend of mine recently went to New York City and came across a Peter Murphy concert. He bought me a T-shirt and that naturally sparked a desire to listen to some 'haus. This album has always been a favourite, with some great songs, "Kick In The Eye", "In Fear Of Fear", "Hollow Hills" and of course the title track with it's crazy video! It's also one of my favourite Bauhaus album covers, with the mysterious Daniel Ash drawing. I've always wondered if it's a band portrait as he saw them.

Don't Tell A Soul

Replacements - Don't Tell A Soul
Although there was another record released after this one, this is essentially the final Replacements album and the first one I heard way back in the day. "I'll Be You" is still one of their greatest songs and I always loved the "If I was from Canada" line. For years, I thought he sang "We'll get some picks" in "Talent Show" only to find out it was "We'll get thumb picks". Who uses thumb picks? ha ha Great album and a great introduction to the Replacements if you don't want to start with the crazy, drunk punk of the first few records.

Gorillaz in Paris.

I picked this up in Paris a few years ago. I've been a fan of the Gorillaz since the first album, but hadn't heard about this before I spotted it. All the info was in French too, so that didn't help. Turns out it was a limited edition pressing on vinyl, so I lucked out there. Even better, the record is fantastic! It's an album of travelling songs that was recorded on their previous tour. I listened to right when I got home and it's still the best travel record I've heard.

Gospel King.

Picked up this little treasure in Seattle over the weekend. It's the only B.B. King album/music I've ever heard that he doesn't play guitar on. It's all church organ, drums, bass and vocals, nary a guitar to be heard. I've always been more a fan of his voice anyway, makes it an even better score.

Aznavour, that's who.

Discovery is one of my favourite things. To discover something I've never heard or heard of before is always one of my great joys. Since I started listening to opening my ears to music from all over the world, I've been doing a lot of discovering. 
Take Charles Aznavour, he's basically a french Sinatra who I'd never heard of. I discovered this record when in Brussels a couple of years ago. I call it "record cover shopping" when I'm in a foreign country, because that's what I'm doing. I don't know any of the music, so I'm just looking for cool covers. This one had it, some sort of collection, comes from the 60's, pics of Aznavour with Dean Martin and Liza Minelli. How could I go wrong? I didn't, it's a fantastic record, sixties swing done "francais". A great discovery!

If it were the 60's in Amsterdam.

Bought this in Amsterdam on a recommendation from the girl at the record store. Got a cool 60's vibe, the Monkees cover echos the sound of the album. Plus it came with the bonus CD, a great random pick. Always listen to the girl at the record store!

Ghost In The Machine

Truth be told, this is probably my least favourite Police album. It's got a sound that none of the other Police albums have. Hard to explain, but it sound more electronic, it's the "in-between" album which departed from the earlier records, but pointed towards what was to come (Sychronicity). Regardless, it's still a pretty darn good album. "Every Little Thing" is fantastic and "Invisible Sun" sounds like a prequel to "King Of Pain". It just sounds like they're going somewhere, but hadn't arrived yet.

From the vinyl dark ages...

Awhile back I got the notion that I would like to own a record printed in every year since 1950. Mainly because the oldest record I own is from 1950. For a lot of those years, it's quite easy to find vinyl. However, with the advent of CD's in the late 80's, finding records from the early 90's can be a little tough. Even I didn't buy any records from (roughly) 1989 to 2002 as they were just not around. Of those early 90's, the year 1990 proved to be the hardest. But then I found this, a copy of ZZ Top's "Recycler"! Featuring their contribution to the Back To The Future soundtrack, "Doubleback" plus one of their best songs, "My Head's In Mississippi" it is a stellar representation of 1990. Now, the only year I'm missing is 1952, the search continues.

Kate's World

I've had this album on CD since it first came out. Some years ago I came across the vinyl and couldn't resist picking it up. The track listing is in slightly different order from the CD so that "This Woman's Work" is the last song on the LP. A fantastic song to close out a fantastic record!

In the New York groove.

Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin'
Like any good music geek, I have a book of album covers. This one is in there and I loved it. Then I visited New York City and found it in a record shop. I'd never heard the music, but I loved the cover and being in New York it was just too good to pass up. It's since become a favourite listen whenever I'm in the mood for come cool jazz and naturally takes me back to NYC with every spin.

The real Johnny Cash

Forget about the silly 'live in prison' record, stay away from the deathbed albums, THIS is Johnny Cash. The greaser hair, the 50's sound, the young energy, the smooth face and the songs. Simply a finer collection of Americana you will not hear anywhere else. Bonus, "So Doggone Lonesome" is easily the best end of the night campfire song ever.

Killer album!

The Killers - Sam's Town
I kind of inadvertently discovered how good the Killers were. I had heard a couple of songs and then a friend took me to see them on their first big tour in 2004. They were amazing live and when this album came out they delivered on record! I loved it when I first heard it and still love it now. From start to finish, "Sam's Town" is as good as it gets. Not specifically a concept album, there is an underlying theme and the songs fit perfectly together. Definitely, one of my favourite records of the 00's. I just had the CD for years, then came across the picture disc and couldn't pass it up.

The other Black album

No question "99 Problems" is a great track. But this album is full of them, "Lucifer", "Dirt Off My Shoulder", "Encore", "Public Service Announcement". This is the Black album I listen to.

Nothing comes for Free!

Concrete Blonde - Free
The first time I heard "God Is A Bullet" on the radio I thought, "Finally, this is the music I've been waiting for!" It sounded so different and so good from everything else I heard in 1989. They became my new favourite band and I picked up "Free" on tape as soon as I could. To this day, easily one of my favourite albums. From start to finish, this is how you make a record.

AM

Arctic Monkeys - AM
I loved the Arctic Monkeys first album when it came out oh so long ago, but lost track of them soon after. I knew they were still putting out records, but just didn't hear much. Then a friend told me I should check out the video for "R U Mine" and my mind was effectively blown! Great video, great song and I would soon find out, a great album.

Whole lotta Love and Rockets.

Love and Rockets were a big band for me in the late 80's. They provided the perfect soundtrack for someone looking for something different, but not something crazy. This one is still my favourite record, although the first 3 are fantastic from start to finish. But "Express" has "Love Me", "All In My Mind", "American Dream" and "Yin and Yang and the Flower Pot Man". Plus, it came with a huge poster. I had the poster on my wall for many years, it's back in the album now.

Sports

Huey Lewis & The News - Sports
When I was first discovering music in the 80's, I heard "Heart and Soul" by Huey Lewis and it left a huge impression on me. I just loved that rocking guitar on the chorus and the song was as catchy as anything. My sister had a copy of "Sports" on cassette and I loved the whole album. But I never got my own copy and as the years moved on, I basically forgot about it. Several years later (over 10 years ago now) I finally picked up a copy of the record and every time I listen to it, it's like I'm 12 years old all over again. The hits are still the hits and the rest of the record is fantastic too, from "Walking On A Thin Line" to "Bad Is Bad". If only the rest of the 80's was this good.

Peter Gabriel - So

There are very few songs as good as "In Your Eyes". The rest of the album is pretty good too, still Peter's finest work and a must have for any music collection.

Live Stooges, the real one.

This is basically an authorized bootleg, the sound quality is pretty rough. But, listening to Iggy and the Stooges live in 1974 is an experience unlike no other. It's the only live album where you can actually hear a bottle thrown from the audience smash on the stage. It's not that they don't make em like this anymore. They just never made em like this!

Everybody plays the game.

One of my favourite Queen records and the one I remember most from when I was a young lad. I must have been 8 or 9 years old and I would love listening to this at my parents place. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites The Dust" were huge hits of course, but for me this album has always been about "Dragon Attack"! Without question, it's one of my favourite Queen tracks and a song I never get tired of listening to.

Greatest band of the 90's!

OK, maybe not they're not the greatest band of the 90's, but I loved the Tin Machine records. Essentially, they were an 80's band, this came out in 1989. But, they sure didn't sound like an 80's band. Being a Bowie fan, you get used to being challenged and this was one challenge that I was up for. A kick ass rock band fronted by Bowie, yes please!

Outkast

And then....there's Outkast. There's just not too many songs cooler than "B.O.B."

Great Canadian bands.

Bootsauce - The Brown Album
First of all, Bootsauce is probably one of the coolest band names, ever! These guys came out of Montreal in the late 80's and effectively funked everything up. The first time I saw the video for "Scratching The Whole" I knew I had to get "The Brown Album". The rest of the world had a bit of a hard time accepting the 'sauce, so naturally the one cover song on the album, "Everyone's A Winner" was the biggest single. But with songs like "Payment Time", "Catastrophe Seas" and "Masterstroke" this record became an instant classic for me.Their follow up record, "Bull" was a predictably watered down (ie. major label) attempt to make them big stars, but the band disappeared soon after.

On the beach and in the ditch.

Neil Young - On The Beach, one-third of his infamous "ditch trilogy". A masterpiece recorded on the tail end of a tough time. Very mellow, with some seriously tough lyrics, you get the impression that he had about had it by the time this was recorded. His was a heart of gold no more.

Little Stevie no more.

This one marked the beginning of a new era for Stevie Wonder. No longer the "12 year old genius", the title of the record gets straight to the point, you're hearing what Stevie's hearing. He would go on to release a string of iconic albums following this.

Live at the Regal

I talk about great live albums all the time and this one is definitely up there, top 5 on my list. Recorded at the Regal Theatre in 1966, this is B.B. in front of his real audience, not one of those silly 'live in prison' records. Real blues, real live, real good!

Naked at last

Talking Heads - Naked
A highly underrated Talking Heads album, my favourite Talking Heads album and sadly, the last Talking Heads album. But at least they did it right. They ended on a high note and haven't diluted their legacy with a reunion. Nice work Talking Heads, nice work.

Vitalogy

Hard to beat Pearl Jam on vinyl. This record was actually released in vinyl format before anything in else and this was in 1994. When everyone thought digital and CD's were the greatest thing, Pearl Jam knew what time it was. Honestly, I didn't get this on vinyl when it first came out, I was all about CD's ha ha This was given to me about 9 or 10 years ago, a fantastic gift to receive and even better to listen to.

NIN LP

Nine Inch Nails are awesome! "The Fragile" is an awesome album! Nine Inch Nails, "the Fragile" on vinyl is just a whole lot of awesome sauce!

Radiohead live

This one is definitely up there for one of my favourite live albums. Basically the best tracks from "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" performed live. The energy and intimacy of Radiohead live is captured in perfect form and the songs sound fresher and livelier than they ever did on the original albums. 
It also has the perfect ending to a live record, Thom York saying, "Thank you everybody".

Great Canadian bands

From Vancouver, Sons Of Freedom were a breath of fresh air when they appeared in the late 80's. They were a big forerunner of the 'grunge' sound that was soon to explode from the neighbouring pacific northwest in a few years. 

This is their first album from 1988 and has a raw energy to it that punches you in the face, in a good way. Very much a soundtrack for what was coming out of the Vancouver underground at the time, Jim Newton's voice just has a little something to it that stands out. He's not rough, he's not depressed and he's not trying to sell you anything. He's just got a haunting howl that tells you stories about a world you knew existed, but were too afraid to ask about. Even the instrumental, "Super Cool Wagon", which has the best song title ever, tells you more than most songs with lyrics.

"The Criminal" was featured on Much Music and it looked like this band was on their way to much bigger and better things. The next album "Gump", released in 1991, is even better and debuted ahead of Nirvana's "Nevermind" on Canadian campus radio when it came out. 
The band broke up in 1992 and disappeared until a brief 1995 reunion tour for the rarities collection, "Tex".

One of the best records of the 70's you've never heard.

Slade - Nobody's Fools
 
If you ask 100 people what the best record of the 70's was, you'll get 100 different answers. This is one record that none of those 100 would name, but they should. I went through a bit of a Slade phase recently. Having only knowing their 80's material, it was a treat to discover the early 70's material and then I stumbled onto this gem. 

Slade moved to U.S. in 1975/76 to take a shot at making it in America. This is considered their 'American-ized' album and it certainly is, to an extent. It still sounds very Slade, "In For A Penny" is a classic Slade sound. But the song writing is much more developed from a few years earlier. The title track is an instant classic and the album closer, "All The World Is A Stage" is as good a stadium anthem you'll ever hear. In between Slade managed to create a stellar record that deserves another shot to be considered a classic! 

The Kills

Love the Kills! This is their first album, "Keep On Your Mean Side" and it's fantastic. All of their albums are actually, they are incapable of making a bad record. I own them all and play them all regularly. The edge that they bring and the songs they write are second to none. The fact that you never know if they'll make another record adds to the mystique and if you look up cool in the dictionary, there will be a picture of Jamie and Alison.

Elvis live at home

That's right, Elvis live in Memphis! Recorded in 1974 and largely ignored because "Aloha From Hawaii" was such a huge success. This is from my mom's collection and is rare because it has a picture of Graceland on the cover. Most 70's Elvis records have pictures of him on the cover, especially the live ones. My wife and I visited Graceland and it was a thrill to finally see this album cover in person.

Pebble To A Pearl

If you've never heard of even 'heard of' Nikka Costa, do yourself a favour and look her up. This is from 2008 and is a fantastic album. Even better, it was released independently on her own, "Go Funk Yourself Records" label. Gotta love Nikka!

Not Faking It

Michael Monroe's solo album from 1989, a killer album! This guy had the best rock voice out there, with a better growl than Jagger. If the Stones were a hair band, they would've made this record.

Give me a glazed donut and a bottle of anything....to go!

The whole Van Halen situation can be a little too much to digest sometimes. But, when Dave split back in the 80's, he managed to put together a classic album. Having Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan in the band didn't hurt things either. "Tobacco Road", "Yankee Rose", "Ladies Night In Buffalo", "Going Crazy", "Elephant Gun", etc. Start to finish a fantastic album! 
It's hard to do comparisons, but I'd have to say this one holds up better for me than "5150" At least, between the two, I'd put this one on first.

Kiss this

Going through a Kiss phase lately and there's never a bad time to get "Dressed To Kill" on the turntable. "Room Service" is an underrated classic! Easily one of my favourite Kiss album covers too.

Live Bootleg

A fantastic live album and great document of Aerosmith at their most wasted, during the late 70's.

Elvis

This is Elvis' second album, which came out in 1956. I prefer it to the first, it's much more cohesive and sounds fantastic. This was one of my mom's old records that I still love to spin. Mom had great taste!

My favourite live album!

Jacques Higelin - a Mogador

I listen to more french music than most french people. This one kick started it. Given to me by my friend Pierre on our visit to France in 2011. I listened to the record so much I bought the CD off ebay so I wouldn't wear the vinyl out.

Hands down, my favourite live album.

I would recommend everyone find a copy of this one. 

American gospel in Belgium?

I picked this up at a little book/record store in Brussels, Belgium. Of the cities I've had the chance to visit and record shop, none of them have more record stores than Brussels!

Record number 1,000!

This is record number 1,000 in my collection! Australian funk from the Bamboos, a stellar album start to finish. I found out about these guys after hearing their cover of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", which is fantastic!

Tyler the Creator

Still haven't heard a better hip-hop song than "Yonkers". This record is not one to listen to during a quiet evening at home with the wife. But, great for putting on and getting stuff done!

Charley Pride

The Pride of America, a little Charlie in the morning! "Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town" is one of my favourites!