Well, dear Old Cheeser has tagged me for a Top 10 albums blog. I hope you are all scared right now, you should be! I am terribly erratic with my music. The Stud is always complaining about that but as we have just clocked up 13 years together, I figure his opinion can't really be trusted!!
Anyway, I guess I have to start and these are not really in any particular order. I had such a hard job narrowing the albums which have shaped my life thusfar down to 10, I figured I would pick the ones that have really done the job.
My all time favourite would have to be THE LAST WALTZ by The Band. I love Rick Danko to bits, shame he got sick and bloated and he's shuffled off his mortal coil/suffed it/popped his clogs/el morto... but he sure had fun before he went (that's Rick in the white tee shirt) and while inThe Band he was shaggingly-great! His vocals on "Twilight" would bring me to my knees even today (and not just cos he's dead!); this group have a never ending appeal. Even my kids like them. Honestly.
Then, a dart up to the 80's...ERASURE. I just love "Oh L'amour" just love the way the intro starts....and "Sometimes".. ( just love that Dobro guitar intro..and the poppy beat)I think they are on 2 different albums (Circus and Ersaure) but they are so bouncy and happy, dancefloor fillers without doubt. Plus my ex hated them, good enough for me to play them any chance I got! Even now I just love the happy-clappy feel I get from them. Anyone know where they are now?
Next, anything by QUEEN. Their Fat Bottom Girls is a treat as is Those are the Days of Our Lives...go Freddy. Such a flambouyant and loveable chap.
Now, MY FRIEND THE CHOCOLATE CAKE (yes, quite a mouthful as the actress said to the bishop)...their version of Danny Boy is soulful and I love their Midlife's Tale. An underated Australian band (if I say so myself).
Kirsty MacColl gets the next nod for TROPICAL RAINSTORM...just adore that "In these Shoes"..watch Kinky Boots for the song in action.
ZZ TOP - One foot in the Blues is fantastic boot stompin' butt twitchin' stuff. Its not on this album, but the first song of theirs I recall hearing was La Grange...I was in a bar in Hokitika and..no, sorry, that's another blog altogether...that was my um..biker era.
Dan Fogelberg - what can I say that would honour this guy as much as he deserves...he died only just recently but his Captured Angel album was the first I had even heard and used to put onto "repeat" on my stereo and fall asleep to for at least a year! He, of course, went on to other fantastic hits..Same Auld Lang Syne...The Leader of the Band...The Reach...
I have no idea how famous of otherwise this lady is, VAN ORLY, but she should be known from here to Mars and back. I have had the devils own job even trying to get her albums here, have had to resort to a relative getting them sent from Holland and we have made "back up" copies. She is such a strong singer/songwriter. In fact, even YOUTUBE had nothing! There, go and buy her stuff and make her even more famous so at least we get a clip on YouTube!!! However, tracks to watch for "Walking through this Fire" and "Somebody Hold me"....she is FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC.
Now moving right along, TOM WAITS...yeah I know, he sounds like Oscar the grouch 9according to my 10 year old) anyway, I love him. Heart Attack and Vine....The Heart Of Saturday Night...great stuff for late night whatever. When you're too drunk to move. And too stoned to care.
And, because I can only do 10...have chosen Herbie Mann and Cissy Houston (yup, Whitney's mama) "WATERBED/SURPRISES" as the lucky last. The version of CAJUN MOON (on the clip, you will have to forward it about half way to get this particular song)outdoes any other version on this planet. The EASTER RISING is equally stirring but you will have to track down the album cos YouTube ain't got this either!! By the way, if any of you want me to I can send copies of any of the above...email me. If they sang in church here like that I would be there everyday.
I know, I have missed out The Boss and The Eagles...Pink Floyd....and heaps of others who have shaped my life and given me memories that on some days I could do without. Without music however, there is little joy...I love the stuff. We have over 20,000 tracks in our home library...
My next mission is to finally work out how to put video clips on my blog - then you will all have every reason to be afraid.
I would be unstoppable if I could only just get started....
13 comments:
Great list and I especially agree with you about The Last Waltz. I love anything and everything about The Band.
As I've already said to you - ZZ Top are well cool. Sharp Dressed Man and Legs are MTV classics but I always retain a soft spot for Rough Boy. See - they can be sensitive under those tough red-neck beards! Queen: another classic. My mother was a huge fan so I grew up with A Day At The Races and a host of others as a kid. We even went to se Flash Gordon at the cinema on the strength of the Queen soundtrack. That and the fact Peter Duncan gets his hands chewed by a horrible monster thing in a tree stump.
Mike, they're great aren't they? It is one of discs that we always seem to end up playing regularly! I read Levon Helm's book This Wheels On Fire - gave a good deal of insight into the whole shebang.
Steve, I have never seen Flas Gordon (but I worked with a guy we knicknamed Flash..."a long story...")
After I had done the post there were heaps of others which just seemed wrong to have missed out...but it has been really good to read other blogs on the subject.
I nearly posted Those are the days on my blog the other week but I can't listen to that without feeling maudlin so I didn't but it is a fave of mine too!!
Erasure - wow hadn't thought of them in ages. Funny how you forget things - well funny how i forget things I mean, I'm sure you don't!!!
The Band - yes, cool. Not that my children would agree!!
Wasn't it a tough thing to do - I really enjoyed putting my list together but like Steve, now I keep thinking of all the albums I had completely forgotten about which perhaps should have been on there.
Embedding videos is easy, honest. If it weren't I wouldn't be able to do it. Email me if you want easy-peasy step by step instructions.
Great list. I wonder what my adult children would choose. I first loved Queen when our kids were teenagers.
So much music, so little time!
Love Erasure and Queen!
Think I have a secret camp side
(though I also love the sheer showmanship and poisitive energy, not to mention sublime talent of Freddie M). They say he helped a lot of people with his music.
Excellent list!
Oh, Tom Waits is so perfect for those moments that seem to come up more often than one expects!
...and, I was just listening to the first Queen LP this morning!
RB - very tough call on who to put in and after posted decided I could have done better! And yes, have emailed you about those instructions. I will now sit on my Inbox (ooh, that sounds a bit rude...) chardonnay in hand and await your instructions!
Meggie - I know, I think it was very mean of Old Cheeser to limit me to 10...I am only amazed I actually followed the instructions!
Poet - ah a fellow closet camp! I agree, I have several albums which would probably fall into that category but I just love them. I have a Pet Shop Boys album that I am only allowed to listen to when The Stud is in another city.
Matthew - welcome (unless you're really Matty from SF in which case, hello again)...yes, Old Tom and I go waaaay back ( actually, Old Tom is a brand of gin I think so I don't mean THAT old Tom...)
Ooops don't check my blog email account very often. Will do so now. Sorry!!! Not drunk, honest, Guv!
I will post a proper comment soon, Amanda, sowwie....I think I oughta seeing as I was the one to tag you in the first place! Just been busy....
Amanda!! Yes it's meeeeeeeeeee!! Gosh I am so sorry to be the last to post a comment after having tagged you...I've been somewhat busy here (for a change) and blogging has had to take a back seat...
But thank you kindly for responding to my tag.
And...an interesting and diverse mix of artistes, methinks!
I can see there is a definite vein running through your musical tastes...lots of "guitar-based stuff" (soft as opposed to hard rock?) Some of the people on your list I've never heard of...but then I assume some are NZers?
And you also seem to be into some quite "off the wall" people like Tom Waits, he of the gravelly voice (did you ever hear the soundtrack he did of "One From The Heart" with Crystal Gale? Loved it!)
And then there's the camp, poppy stuff! Never would have had you down for an Erasure fan but hey - good to know! I used to have a copy of "The Circus" and loved most of the tracks, including "Sometimes"! "Oh L'amour" is a pretty track too, later covered by fluffy blonde girl n' boy pop duo Dollar (who I'm not sure you will have heard of...perhaps fortunately...)
"In These Shoes" is a fab track and "Tropical Brainstorm" a great album. I love the Latin influences ("Us Amazonians" is another storming track). Kirsty M's passing was an absolute tragedy. She was always a gifted songwriter and singer - I loved her witty and observant lyrics.
And...whatever happened to ZZ Top??
Thanks for posting such an eclectic list m'dear....and 20,000 tracks!! I thought I was a music obsessive!!
OC xx
OC, gidday there! Thanks for your comments. It was a hard post to do because we do have such a vaste collection. Actually, when the Stud and I got together 14 years ago we had about 250 Cds between us and only 3 the same!!
You're welcome. 250 is a lot so I can see your collection has burgeoned considerably now...what a....big one!!
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