Back in the day when Facebook was fun, when I was still living in Southern California, I was challenged to do a list of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on me they changed my life. Dug into my soul. Music that brought me to life when I heard it.
This was where my head was in 2009, with occasional italicized comments updating what I think about them now.
1. “The Pretender,” Jackson Browne — Before the abuse allegations, before he became obsessed with politics, there was this great 1977 album. Lots of terrific songs — “Linda Paloma,” “Daddy’s Song,” “Sleep’s Dark and Silent Gate” — but it’s the title song that still speaks to me 32 years later. “I’m gonna be a happy idiot, and struggle for the legal tender …”
The title song means more and more to me as each year passes.
2. “Buffalo Springfield,” Buffalo Springfield — This 1967 album was the earliest incarnation of guys who would later go on to be some of the biggest stars in rock ‘n’ roll, foremost Stephen Stills and Neil Young. Others from the group would go on to form Poco, and Jim Messina, who wasn’t on this album, would be half of Loggins & Messina. Everybody remembers “For What It’s Worth,” but other haunting songs like “Mr. Soul” spoke to the angst of the late ’60s. The group only did three albums, but their work still sounds fresh.
3. “Abbey Road,” the Beatles — A tough call for the greatest of them all, but this final Beatles collaboration, released in the fall of ’69, really did have everything. “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
There are some songs on this album I don’t like at all, but I don’t know if the Beatles ever did a better song than “Here Comes the Sun,” one that wasn’t even written by Lennon and McCartney.
4. “The River,” Bruce Springsteen — Another tough call, because Springsteen has done so many wonderful albums, but this 1982 effort — coming in the middle of a major recession — said so much about the disappearing American Dream and the folks who got left out of it.
Of all the albums on the list, this is the one that brings back the most specific memories. It was the spring of 1982 and I was involved in a short-lived but intense physical relationship. This was the album we played the most when we were together.
5. “Music From Big Pink,” the Band — They started as Dylan’s backup band, but became major stars — and major influences — all by themselves. It’s impossible to listen to this album and not be moved.
6. “Pleasures of the Harbor,” Phil Ochs — He started as a protest singer and was always sort of the poor man’s Bob Dylan, but this lovely 1968 (?) album showed that in addition to writing angry songs, he could also deliver some beautiful music. It still makes me sad to listen to it, knowing that Ochs committed suicide in the mid ’70s because he felt he could no longer write.
So many people whose music I loved died far too young. Ochs died in 1976 at age 35, younger than either of my children are now.
7. “Blonde on Blonde,” Bob Dylan — 1965, I think, although it might have been ’66. Dylan’s double album, with some of his finest work. “Just Like a Woman” remains a wonderful song, but I still get a kick out of listening to those Dylanesque lyrics in songs like “Stuck Inside of Mobile With Those Memphis Blues Again.”
8. “Hotel California,” the Eagles — Their next-to-last album before breaking up for 20 years, this 1978 effort was without question the peak effort for the most popular band of the 1970s. “You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave.”
9. “Shooting Straight in the Dark,” Mary-Chapin Carpenter — A wonderful singer who is a real person, not some media creation. She started in the clubs of Washington, D.C., and has been successful both in country and folk genres. This album makes the cut mostly for the wonderful “Down at the Twist and Shout.”
I have never seen Carpenter in concert, which is incredibly frustrating when you figure I have bought tickets to see her four times in the last 10 years. Twice the concerts were cancelled and twice I couldn’t make it for one reason or another.
10. “Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers,” Firesign Theatre — Not music, but a 1971 album nonetheless, maybe the funniest, most complex comedy album ever made. It’s so layered that I swear I was still hearing new stuff the 20th time I listened to it. “And there’s hamburger all over the highway in Mystic, Connecticut.” Nearly 40 years and no one has matched it, let alone surpassed it.
I still listen from time to time.
11. “Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads,” Jimmy Buffett — I’ve tried to stay away from greatest hits collections, but Buffett’s box set is one of the best. So many amazing, wonderful songs, including many that were simply forgotten album cuts like “California Promises.” The guy has made a damn good living as a cult figure and probably has had a better life than if he had been playing stadiums.
Sad to see Jimmy die last year, but we’ll always have the music.
12. “All Summer Long,” the Beach Boys — Of course “Pet Sounds” was a better album, but the one that really affected me the most was this 1964 collection that told the world just how wonderful it was to be young in the California summertime. And I don’t know that there was ever a more serendipitous song placement in a movie than the title track over the credits of “American Graffiti.”
Sad to learn just the other day that Brian Wilson has dementia. Glad I got the chance to see him in concert in 2015.
13. “Stax: the Singles Collection, 1959-68,” various artists — The Motown bands with their slick sound made a lot more money, but it was the Memphis sound of Stax that was rawer and more soulful. This 1989 collection had it all, from Carla Thomas to Otis Redding, and it was wonderful to see the remaining Stax artists do a 50th anniversary show at the Hollywood Bowl two years ago. I still love “Private Number,” and William Bell sounded great.
14. “In Search of the Lost Chord,” the Moody Blues — This 1968 album took rock to a new place, a place filled with beauty and mystical songs. “Timothy Leary’s dead …” A wonderful album that could never be recreated on stage.
Been a long time since I’ve listened to this one.
15.”Sticky Fingers,” 1971 — My favorite Stones album, not just for the zipper on the album cover (too bad, CD owners), but for wonderful songs like “Dead Flowers” and “Moonlight Mile,” not to mention of course the happy, bouncy “Brown Sugar.” Jagger at his best.