Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Desert Island Albums?


Stub Mandrel

Recommended Posts

OK, here we go but culling them down to 10(ish) was hard!  In no particular order;

A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles.  My favourite fab four album.

The Collection - ABBA.  There has to be an Abba compilation in there.

Like To Get To Know You - Spanky & Our Gang.  A musical extravaganza from a unique band.

Fotheringay - Fotheringay.  Nothing more to say.

The Song Remembers When - Trisha Yearwood.  Superb modern country singer and the title track is a beautifully crafted song.

Best Of Burt Bacharach Live - Trijntje Oosterhuis.  Dutch singer who does the Bacharach catalogue proud - find the concert on YouTube.

Just The Right Sound - The Association.  I was a teenager in the sixties and The Association were one of my top groups.  Ahh, nostalgia ain't what it used to be!

Prayers of the Saints Live - Sovereign Grace.  A Christian songfest with some great lyrics and vocal performances - especially from the girls.

Sojourner's Song - Buddy Greene.  Another Christian album by a great singer songwriter.

If there's room, and I'm cheating here;  A Carpenters box set and the Reader's Digest 6 CD set of 25 years of Motown.

Please sir, can I have some more!!!!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As with everyone I'm sure, my list will be different if you ask me on a different day, but these are albums I keep coming back to time and time again. 

A few of them being 'best of's' as I like the range in time rather than the snapshot if an album for some bands. 

Joy Division - Substance 

New Order - Substance

The Cure - Standing on a Beach (the b sides are bliss) 

Alice in Chains - MTV Unplugged. Raw, beautiful and painful. 

New Model Army - Raw Melody Men (a favourite live album) 

Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes

The Specials - The Specials. 

Gang of Four - Entertainment 

Hard-fi - Stars of CCTV

The Who - Quadrophenia (so I can play the film in my head while it's playing) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, LeftyP said:

 

Yep, both of them are absolutely stellar. Hope you enjoyed the gig!

Did they play Banks of the Nile or Who Knows Where The Time Goes? That would have been me done. Could have died happy. 😉

Actually, that’s just reminded me that I never saw ABBA live either, and the same applies. In fact I think my head would have exploded seeing ABBA live, so maybe it’s a good thing. 😂

Edited by 4000
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In no particular order but here's my top 10 :-

Genesis - Seconds Out

Floyd - DSOTM

Rush - Moving Pictures

Camel -  A Live Record

Arjen Luccassen - Lost in the New Real

Sound of Contact - Dimensionaut

Greg Allman - I'm No Angel

Chris Cross - Christopher Cross

Rainbow - Rising

Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards

Dave

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have all my albums ripped and usually listen via some miniature electronic trickery but, last year, I built a unit for the sitting room in which I could shelve the best 298 of my CDs, freeing them from their cardboard prison in the attic. I struggled to get below 500 and with utter ruthlessness and much bloodshed got to just below 400. At this point I compromised and used the floor under the unit to store the additional CDs, a move not intended in my designs. Picking just 10? Absolute barbarism.

But let's try.

I recognise there's a definite late 80's/early 90's bias to these but I think this period is when I enjoyed music as thoroughly and purely as I have at any time of my life. There were times when I could listen to a single album for months on end without tiring of it, so I've tried to include those ones, rather than the ones I listen to the most right now or try to concoct a list which shows how enlightened I am. So, in order of release date...

Masters of Reality - s/t 220px-Mastersofreality_cover_mastersofre

I had a C90 with this on one side and Trouble's s/t on the other which didn't leave my walkman for a long, long time. This was blues and rock mixed in an energetic and sleazy way I had never heard before. Which brings me on to...

Trouble - s/t 220px-Trouble_-_Trouble.jpg

The decision to omit Black Sabbath was a tough and probably illegal one, but this is the best Sabbath album not released by Sabbath. This album is perfect. Every second of every song is just right, the pacing of the track order, the way there are no gaps between the songs, it's just perfect.

Obituary - Cause of Death 220px-Obituary-Cause_of_death.jpg

The birth and evolution of Death Metal was incredible to live through and I could have picked Leprosy or Spiritual Healing or Blessed are the Sick or Slowly We Rot but I've gone with this sublime mix of brutality and Murphy's melodic lead playing which elevates Obituary's music in a way they never did before or since.

Megadeth - Rust in Peace 220px-Megadeth-RustInPeace.jpg

Megadeth & Sanctuary in 1988 was my first gig and the one which inspired me to play bass, so this was a very special album in my lifetime, another one which made for daily listening for an extended period. There still isn't anything else which quite sounds like this. Incredibly inspired and inspiring.

Coroner - Mental Vortex 220px-Mental_Vortex.PNG

Coroner showed how a thrash band could move to a more considered and melodic version of their former selves with taste and class. This album is clinical and passionate in equal measure and still gives me enough joy that I'm going to Switzerland to see them play in a few weeks.

Atheist - Unquestionable Presence 220px-Unquestionablepresence.jpg

I bought this, unheard at the time, on the strength of the Cynic connection, using the logic that if these Cynic guys were good enough to play on Human and Testimony of the Ancients then this would be worth hearing. I wasn't wrong and this remains an astonishing achievement in making ridiculously technical music and making it memorable and musical and considerably changed my perspective of what was possible in music. Honourable mentions to Human, Focus, Control and Resistance, Testimony... etc.

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head 220px-Beastieboys_checkyourhead.jpg

At their peak here, they could take practically any style of music and make it sound like them. I love when a band explores beyond their primary genre and tries something new and this album could have been an exercise in commercial suicide but it's just too good. With their commercial renaissance still a couple of years into the future, I was lucky enough to see them play to about 700 people in Dublin where they played hip-hop, punk, rock and their jazzy noodlings with equal aplomb, during a great period for a great band.

Kreator - Renewal 220px-Renewal.jpg

Again, the sound of a band abandoning their comfort zone and taking an artistic chance which didn't pay off commercially. Like every thrash band at the time, they had to find something new to do or face extinction and Kreator chose the dark and cold. It's another unique exploration and something which resonated loudly with me for a long, long time, if barely anyone else.

Living Colour - Stain 220px-Living_Colour_Stain.jpg

I loved Vivid, wasn't mad on Time's Up,  but when Stain came out it really worked for me. It's a harder sound which, finally, really suited their lyrical subject matter. Like Kreator, it didn't work for most of their existing fanbase but it has stood the test of time for me.

E.S.T. - Symphony R-9444425-1480701521-4034.jpeg.jpg

I was fortunate enough to see E.S.T. twice and missed them greatly. When this came out, I was a little apprehensive about picking it up. I need not have worried, this re-imagining of E.S.T.'s music does for me now what many of the above did for me as a young man. It's compelling listening and pulls me back to listen again and again.

 

 

Edited by Doctor J
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

hard to put any pecking order on these but 10 albums i would choose today would be.

Romantic warrior - return to forever

Burnin - the wailers

natty dread - bob marley and the wailers

Blackheart Man - Bunny Wailer

Equal Rights - Peter Tosh

Edge - Lenny White

Don't be afraid of the Dark - Robert Cray

Moving Pictures - Rush

Kismet - Martha Szebestian

Moonflower - Santana

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damn, not an easy list to compile  :) 

Blood Sugar Sex Magik - RHCP

Burnin’ - The Wailers

Protection - Massive Attack

Souvlaki - Slowdive

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

Ill Communication - Beastie Boys

A mellow selection from Mozart

Electric Ladyland - Hendrix

Purple - Stone Temple Pilots

Tonights the Night - Neil Young 

Edited by Chiliwailer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, AngelDeVille said:

and my entire Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass catalogue .

 

 

You too eh?

I have a STEREO pressing of Going Places that I can't find listed anywhere - it has a different catalogue number than the stereo UK pressing listed on discogs

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Difficult choices so the first 6 will be the ones I've had in the Car CD changer for the past 12 months. In no particular order..

Kathryn Tickell.  The kathryn Tickell Band - One of her early albums jam packed with awe inspiring northumbrian small pipery.

Dream Theater. Systematic Chaos.  love the dark feel to this one

Bonnie Raitt. Dig in Deep. has a great cover of Need you tonight - Hutch keeps the songs driving with his beautifully understated bass

James Taylor. Hourglass.  Jimmy Johnson holding it together

Kate Rusby. Underneath the stars.  hauntingly beautful voice and some fun songs.

Miles Davis. Kind of Blue.  includes so what and all blues - what more do you need

then I'm going to add

Deep Purple. Made in japan.  Arguably the best live album ever made (and I saw this tour in Newcastle when I was 11)

Yes. Relayer.  As discussed on the favourite Yes album Thread. Squire at his best.

Mozart's clarinet concerto in A major. Not sure of the performer - it came free with the BBC classical music mag 20 odd years ago. 

Kate Bush - Some career wide greatest hits album. 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My list would probably look something like this;

  • Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley

  • Sticky Fingers – The Rolling Stones

  • Schools Out – Alice Cooper

  • Young Americans – David Bowie

  • New York Dolls – New York Dolls

  • Give ‘em Enough Rope – The Clash

  • Self-Destruction Blues – Hanoi Rocks

  • In the Dynamite Jet Saloon – The Dogs D’Amour

  • The Fine Art of Self Destruction – Jesse Malin

  • American IV: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 28/09/2019 at 19:22, ahpook said:

Nobody's reading this far down, so I'm going to make some up :)

Peavish Pete - I can't work out where you're coming from so I'm going to leave and come in the same way.
Good Gawd and the Gods - Custard+Custard = Medusa.
Bowel II - Bowel
Bowel - Bowel II
Kurstii & Fil - Kurstii & Fil's Nu-Klezmer Party Vol III
Philosophy of Whey - Market Garden
Sarah Waddington - Lowland Surprise
orchard of sins - trepandemonium

I've still got a cassette of Bowel II's second Peel Session - their live version of "Evacuate" gives me the shivers even today. 🥴

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...