Name 15 record albums that have most affected your life?
This game looked like fun when I saw it on Facebook some years back. Here‘s my contribution. Each selection has its own story…
1. “High Tides and Green Grass (Greatest Hits),” the Rolling Stones — From 1965, the first album I ever owned, great early Stones. Listen to “Play With Fire” and “Time is On My Side.” One of the few bands I saw twice in concert, in 1972 and in 1981.
2. “After the Gold Rush,” Neil Young — An amazing album that still resonates down through the years. “Look at Mother Nature on the run in the 1970s …”
3. “Don’t Crush that Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers,” Firesign Theatre — Comedy at its funniest and most intellectual. So densely layered that I was still hearing new stuff on the 15th listening.
4. “The River,” Bruce Springsteen — This was where Springsteen started to become a true working-class hero. If I had to pick only one album to listen to for the rest of my life, this would be the one.
5. “Pleasures of the Harbor,” Phil Ochs — Protest singer mellowing out a little? Not so much. Still tough and biting.
6. “Abbey Road,” the Beatles — If we had known it would all end so quickly, would we have appreciated it more?
7. “The Pretender,” Jackson Browne — Yeah, he’s a jerk and yeah, he beat up Darryl Hannah (and her brothers Larry and Darryl), but damn, can that man write songs.
8. “Hotel California,” the Eagles — THE American band of the 1970s.
9. “Building the Perfect Beast,” Don Henley — From one of the two major talents in the Eagles, “my love will still be strong after the boys of summer have gone.”
10. “Sixteen Greatest Hits,” George Jones — I discovered the Possum late in life (mine and his), but there aren’t many singers who can work a song better than George.
11. “Blonde on Blonde,” Bob Dylan — Maybe the greatest musical talent of the entire rock ‘n’ roll era. Some awesome songs in this collection.
12. “Beaches Bars Boats and Ballads,” Jimmy Buffett — The anthology of the first 15 years or so. Nobody can make me feel so damn good with his music as Jimmy. I’ve seen him twice and I’d love to see him again.
13. “Made in California,” Beach Boys –– Cheating again with the box set, but it’s impossible to pick just one album here. The soundtrack of my high school years.
14. “Warren Zevon,” Warren Zevon — The first album, with all sorts of goodies. “She tells him she thinks she needs to be free, he tells her he doesn’t understand …”
15. “John Prine,” John Prine — The first album of a 50-year career from one of the greatest songwriters ever.