Well, yes, I'm afraid it is. I was over at suburban blight earlier, and she listed her personal top ten records. Now, we've done" records you should listen to before you die" and "artists who should've died before they made that record"...I wonder how this one shakes out in comparison to the former? Break it up however you want timeline wise, but limit it to ten if you can.
Mine is divided by two...high school and post high school...5 each
High School :
1. ZZ Top : Rio Grande Mud...It's got "Just got paid" on it, probably the most inspiring guitar hook I ever heard.
2. Mountain : Nantucket Sleighride...Another guitar monster of the 70's, plus the album was a gatefold, came in handy for rolling joints :), It also came with a booklet of hand printed lyrics and hippified drawings by Felix Pappalardi's girlfriend who ended up killing him in the 80's...so much for peace and love, huh? Amazing drums too.And 8x10 B&W promo pictures of the band. I still have it...somewhere.
3. Deep Purple : Machine Head...Music for potheads..."pictures of home" is still a favorite.
4. Uriah Heep : Demons and Wizards and Live (tie)...More music for potheads..."The Wizard" lyrics cemented my hippy peace and love attitude.
5. Black Sabbath : The whole catalog up to and including "Technical Ecstasy"...Man,I loved that band! But if I had to choose one, it would be Vol. 4...
What made these records so special was that it was what we (being my circle of friends) were all listening to and how it defined our view of the world and drew us together back in those days. In my senior year ('77), I discovered punk...Ramones first, then the Pistols and then...wow... which brings us to post high school....
1. Subhumans : From the cradle to the grave...side one is a collection of my anger and dissatisfaction, nicely served in short bursts of crazy melody and spot on lyrics...side two is a punk opera ( don't be fooled into thinking green day's "american idiot" is a first) about the birth, life and death of a working class brit...and it's genius.
2. Black Flag : Damaged...the original cover says it all...powerful stuff.
3. Gang of Four : Solid Gold...More politics and social commentary that resonated.
4. Neil Young : Decade...He should be on both halves of this list really, but decade took me back and forth to colorado more than once..."waiting to fly" is one of my all time favorite songs.
5. Squeeze : Argy Bargy...It was a happy time, and it reminds of that.
And that's before I was 30! I've got 14 years left to sift through...and there's alot of sifting to be done. If I sat down to do this again in a week, I assure you this list would change. But there you have it...for now, my 10 favorite records.
[Listening to: No Dark Things - Echo & the Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here (4:27)]
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