This man’s top ten albums (of all time)

In no particular order:


Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs Spy (On Spotify )

Billy Bragg (1983)

I was a terrible keyboard player and I’ve always joked that the band I played with until 1984 hired me for my cheekbones. We gigged around the Midland’s pub and college circuit for a few years and in 1983 we supported a young Billy Bragg on his first tour, at a miners’ strike benefit in Corby. I liked Billy and we spent a little time hanging out before the gig. I felt embarrassed asking him to autograph my backstage pass, but I did and I’ve kept it ever since. That same pass got Alex and I backstage in Liverpool a few years ago and it was wonderful for Alex, who’s a big Bragg fan too, to meet Billy all those years later.

My stand-out track: The Milkman Of Human Kindness

Lexicon Of Love (On Spotify )

ABC (1982)

1982 was my final year of sixth form and I was on my way to art school, so I doubt that ‘Lexicon Of Love’ was the coolest album to love. Still, I loved its slapping base-lines, often ridiculously rhyming lyrics – “axis” with “fascist” anyone? — to Trevor Horn’s (over-) production. Maybe it’s the album’s almost kitschiness that’s helped it stand the test of time for me? And where did those last thirty years go?

My stand-out track: All Of My Heart

Catch A Fire (On Spotify )

The Wailers (1973)

Reggae passed me by when I was growing up. I know I heard songs like ‘No Woman, No Cry,’ ‘Is This Love,’ and ‘Three Little Birds,’ but unlike ska, reggae didn’t take hold of me. Not long ago I watched a Sky Arts documentary on the making of ‘Catch A Fire,’ how Chris Blackwell of Island Records took the raw rhythms that The Wailers had recorded in Jamaica and, with Bob Marley, over-dubbed them into a sound more approachable to Western ears. If you can find it, listen to a version of ‘Catch A Fire’ that includes both the original album and the Jamaican versions of every song.

My stand-out track: Concrete Jungle.

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust (On Spotify )

David Bowie (1972)

A year or so ago I listened to every one of Bowie’s albums, in order, from the beginning. Although I’m sure that my #bowiethon annoyed the hell out of my Twitter followers, it was fascinating to hear how Bowie’s music changed over the years. There were periods, like the years around Ziggy Stardust, that I love. I like the less fashionable, eighties ‘Let’s Dance’ period too and I saw Bowie live in Milton Keynes on his ‘Serious Moonlight’ tour. Then there are periods I find difficult or impossible to listen to. Much of Bowie’s later work is inaccessible, even after a bowiethon. I suppose I need to listen again, although maybe not this time from the beginning.

My stand-out track: Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide.

Out of the Blue (On Spotify )

Electric Light Orchestra (1977)

In 1977 I bought ELO’s ‘Out of the Blue’ double album on blue vinyl. I’ve lent, lost and left behind many albums across the years but I still have ‘Out of the Blue.’ Although I have a digital copy of the album now, sometimes I dust off my vinyl copy and play that, just to remember what it was like to hear how the first and last songs on each side could define an album. That’s something I miss, something Alex has never known, something we’ve all lost. I think that losing two sides has diminished the experience of listening to an album.

My stand-out track: Across The Border. (End of disc one, side one.)

Iron Maiden (On Spotify )

Iron Maiden (1980)

I saw Iron Maiden live in 1980 at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester while Paul DiAnno was still the vocalist you can hear on this self-titled first album. That concert opened my mind and my ears to metal and sometimes, in the middle of the day, when there’s no-one home and no neighbours within earshot, I drop this album on the turntable and turn up the amp as high as it will go. Bruce Dickenson replaced DiAnno and the band made some incredible later albums, but none of them can test the limits of my speakers like this one.

My stand-out track: Iron Maiden.

Bat Out Of Hell (On Spotify )

Meatloaf (1977)

I think anyone between thirty and fifty has been genetically programmed to know every word of ‘Bat Out Of Hell.’ It’s another album that’s been diminished by playing what used to be sides one and two continuously. None of the sequels can compare to the first ‘Bat Out Of Hell,’ even ‘Dead Ringer’ which I own on a 12" vinyl picture disc.

My stand-out track: Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad.

Back In Black (On iTunes )

AC/DC (1980)

I’d wanted to see AC/DC since ‘If You Want Blood You Got It.’ One day, my mother’s husband (at the time,) told me Bon Scott had died and I gave up hope of ever seeing them live. Then Brian Johnson joined the band and I did get my chance to see them, again in Leicester, on their ‘Back In Black’ tour. I’ll never forget the opening ring of that big Hell’s Bell. I’ve not seen them live since. I really should do something about that.

My stand-out track: You Shook Me All Night Long.

(What’s The Story) Morning Glory (On Spotify )

Oasis (1995)

The nineties weren’t good for me and I lost my way in more ways than one. Musically, the nineties were a barren period and although I can remember one of my brothers listening to Oasis from the beginning, it wasn’t until 1997 and the ‘Be Here Now’ album that I started to pay attention. I was working at a small agency south of London and the designers in the studio played ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’ almost continuously.

My stand-out track: Don’t Look Back in Anger.


And my favourite album of all time, if I had to choose just one?

If You Want Blood You Got It (On iTunes)

AC/DC (1978)

No explanation, no commentary, just listen to this album now, as loud as you can and I know you’ll love it every bit as much as I do.

My stand-out track: Problem Child.

A few things that stand out from looking at this eclectic list:

  • I’ve carried on buying albums — I pre-ordered two on iTunes just last week — but nothing I bought since 1995 ((What’s The Story) Morning Glory) made it onto this list.
  • I have a list of my top ten favourite songs too. Interestingly none of the top five songs are from these top ten albums.
  • A large percentage of the albums I’ve bought in the last five years have been country albums, but none of them made it to this list (although ‘Hell On Heels’ by the Pistol Annies came close.
  • I think that many of these artists made better albums before and after, but I don’t have an emotional attachment to them as I do these ten.

 
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