A few years ago, on Facebook, my friend Andy Power gave me a challenge: to choose 10 albums that greatly influenced my taste in music. One album per day for ten consecutive days. This little exercise got my writing chops going for the first time in years. I thoroughly enjoyed reflecting on the albums that changed my life. Here are the albums I explored.
Day 1 of 10 – The Chirping Crickets – Buddy Holly And The Crickets
The Crickets, featuring Buddy Holly, released this album in 1957, which became the model for my favourite bands. John Lennon modelled himself on Holly, and The Beatles was inspired by The Crickets. The band consisted of drums, bass, guitar, and a frontman who wrote his own songs. In just two years, before his tragic death in a plane crash, Buddy Holly accomplished so much. Born 10 years after his death, his music resonated with me as a teenager in the 1980s. Songs like “Oh Boy,” “Not Fade Away,” “Maybe Baby,” “An Empty Cup (And Broken Date),” “It’s Too Late,” and “That’ll Be The Day” inspired me. Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran were essential to my musical development. The quality recordings of The Crickets from a small studio in Clovis, New Mexico, by Norman Petty are stunning. The Chirping Crickets is one of my all-time favourite albums and a great start to this reflective study.
Day 2 Album 2
The Beatles – The White Album
This album holds a special place in my heart because it gave me a glimpse into the creative process of The Beatles. The White Album is a treasure trove of Beatles song sketches, many of which could have been released as singles. ‘Dear Prudence’ is a standout, along with ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, ‘Martha My Dear’, ‘Back In The USSR’, ‘Blackbird’, and ‘Julia’. ‘Revolution’ and ‘Savoy Truffle’ are also amazing.
Did ‘Helter Skelter’ really start the heavy metal genre? I’m a huge Beatles fan, and all their incredible music has inspired me over the years. But this is the one with all the variety in style that I really look for in a band or artist. Genre hopping and experimental stuff at its best.
It’s great to see McCartney at his most whimsical in his lyrics. ‘Her name was McGill, and she called herself Lil, But everyone knew her as Nancy’.
Out of all the albums I’ve chosen over the past 10 days, this one stands out the most for its songwriting. But I don’t think any of them are as eclectic as this gem when it comes to style. The cover is a bit plain, though…or is it?
Day 3 Album 3
Scritti Polliti – Cupid And Psyche 85
This Scritti Politi album came out during my last year of school, and I was blown away by how clear and beautiful the music was. The synths were so unique and futuristic! I’d never heard sounds like them before. The crystal-clear modern reverbs, the Linn Drums, the DX7s, the Fairlight, and the Jupiter 8s – it was like the future of sound had arrived. Green Gartside’s voice and his weird lyrics really sealed the deal for me.
From the reggae-infused ‘The Word Girl’ to ‘Absolute’, I was totally mesmerised. The Fairlight sample of Gartside’s voice on ‘Absolute’ is one of my favourite moments of 80’s pop. It really set the tone for a decade finding its feet. The production was groundbreaking, but we had already been spoiled with this quality during the 80’s thanks to Trevor Horn and his crew raising the bar with every release. The delicious ‘A Little Knowledge’ is like a prelude to ‘Oh Patti’ (featuring one of my trumpet-playing heroes, Miles Davis) on the weaker sequel album ‘Provision’. Every artist/band has one incredible masterpiece album, and in Cupid And Psyche 85, Scritti Polliti definitely found ‘The Perfect Way’.
Day 4 Album 4
Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left
Thanks to Ian McIlroy and Bob Bruce, I discovered this incredible album by Nick Drake. Five Leaves Left is a real enigma that’s hard to solve. This mysterious musician, who sadly passed away way too young in 1974, was a master of alternative guitar tuning and cryptic lyrics. ‘The River Man’ with its 5/4 time signature hypnotized me. Robert Kirby’s string arrangements on this album are simply magical. The songs’ classical structures provide a perfect backdrop for the deeply thought-provoking (or maybe just stoned) lyrics. After all, the title refers to the little piece of paper that informs Rizzler users that only five pieces of paper remain in their packet. Eeesh!
Then there is ‘Fruit Tree’. I would defy anybody to dive into this song and not surface without some emotion stirred. It is a delicious piece of music: a fine wine: a perfect single malt. Taste it and savour it. Nick Drake stunned me even further with Bryter Lyter and Pink Moon but this first offering opened the gates to a deeper thinking me. It introduced me to similar artists who held Nick Drake’s torch high when he could no longer hold it.
Day 5 – Album 5 – Smile:Brian Wilson / Smile Sessions The Beach Boys
What would the 60’s have been like if Mike Love had not been the negative influence that pulled The Beach Boys away from releasing a Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks masterpiece? Smile was deprived from me for far too long. When I heard it in its entirety it physically made me cry. I understood the concept of this collection of songs; I understood the pain that inhibited its realisation. The album is a piece of perfection. Brian Wilson is quite simply the 1960’s most unique composer. Often cast aside as a surf music pulp pop hack, this harmonic genius can only be unravelled when you play his songs on a piano. The unusual slash chords he used in all his songs takes my breath away. This album was intended to be a concept album that followed the journey of a ride across the USA. Had it been released correctly, it would have left Sgt Pepper and everything else in the shade. This is an important album in every way. From the angelic ‘Our Prayer’ to ‘Heroes And Villains’ I am left paralysed in musical wonderment. ‘Child Is The Father Of The Man’ ‘Surfs Up’ and ‘Wind Chimes’ are brilliant. It’s great to hear Carl Wilson and all the youthful Beach Boys voices on the Sessions version but I love the Wilson release and applaud the people who helped him to put it together. And then we conclude with ‘Good Vibrations’ need I say any more. Phil Spector dismissed it as a good edit but not a real song. What does he know? This is musical art and a genius using the studio and superb songwriting skills as his paints and brushes. Brian Wilson you deserve the title of musical genius and you really made me smile.
Day 6 – Album 6 – Tribute by Dougie Maclean
My maternal grandmother, ‘Nanna’ was a Grant and her Dad was of Scottish stock. The Mackin’s are from Northern Ireland (Mullaghbawn) and flourished at the foot of Slieve Gullion and it’s Neolithic history. My Celtic spirit is easily stirred with and traditional Celtic music and Dougie
Maclean really hit the spot for me with this stunner.
My Hermitage Suite album is based on a piece of paradise near Dunkeld where Maclean was born and raised…well Butterstone which is a stone throw away. Scotland has had the greatest poets and songwriters. Robert Burns, Dougie Maclean, Gerry Rafferty, Neil Gow….and Robert Burns again….so good I will list him twice. We sing ‘Auld Lan Syne’ every New Year and rightly so. ‘Ca’ The Yowes’ on this album has the most beautiful addition of harmonica and piano within its arrangement that it brings tears to my eyes. Dougie taught me fingerpicking and arpeggios that fuel a passion in my Celtic spirit that took me to a different musical route. “Are You Sleeping Maggie?’ and ‘Neil Gow’s Lament’ take me to that perfect place. ‘Scots Wha Hae’ makes me want to fight the English and raise the flag for Scottish Independence even though I was born in England and raised here all my life. Any song that can raise those ancient emotions is a very good song indeed.
I have spent my most perfect holidays with my family in this part of Scotland. Swimming in Loch Skiach, gazing at the salmon jumping up the Braan Falls and sipping Aberfeldy Whisky. Dougie Maclean captured all this emotion in this amazing album. He went on to make it even more special with his albums ‘Pethshire Amber’ and ‘Riof’. This is the man who wrote ‘Calidonia’. Check him out.
Day 7 Album 7 Was Not Was – What Up Dog
The worldwide image of the USA is not a good one. Even today, it hasn’t fixed itself. A President surrounded by rumours and scandal and now a convicted criminal. In the 1980s, a group from Detroit shouted loud about another idiot at the White House: one Ronald Reagan. Was (Not Was) are my favourite band of all time….full stop. A group of whacky soul and funk maestros who write the happiest sounding but darkest flavoured songs in the history of music. This album has absolutely everything. Production to the highest level. Don Was, now the main man at legendary jazz label Blue Note takes care of things in that department to a stunning level. David Was reads the papers and translates the many bizarre lifestyles and stories of Americans into his lyrics. Sir Harry Bowens, the former OJ’s singer, adds the sweetness and Sweet Pea Atkinson provides the growl to the vocals. They heavily influenced George Michael who featured a stunning cover of ‘Where Did Your Heart Go’ on Wham The Final. Their albums have all featured a famous quest vocalist. Mel Torme, Leonard Cohen, Ozzy Osbourne, Kim Bassinger and Kris Kristofferson. They had hoped to get Sammy Davis Jnr for this one but settled for…well I’ll mention that in a moment.
‘Somewhere In America There Is A Street Named After My Dad’ is a perfect song about the “American Dream” that so many never find.
‘Woodwork Squeeks/Out Come The Freaks’ has characters that you wouldn’t dare to go nowhere near.
‘Boys Got Crazy’ is the story of a teenager about to do something very foolish.
‘Shadow And Jimmy’ is a detailed examination of loneliness.
Everybody has tried ‘Walk The Dinosaur’ (which is darker than you think if you look at the lyrics) but getting Frank Sinatra Jnr to sing ‘Wedding Vows in Vegas’ and Sweet Pea to inspire me to be a ‘Spy In The House Of Love’ became a major influence to my Murder In The Rain Album.
Was Not Was have defined my songwriting. This album made me realise that I can write about anything and, with great melody and superb arrangements, anything can get into the mainstream. There are very dark things discussed here and, because they are so sweetly packed, nobody notices.
As a live band (I got to see these amazing people at Gateshead Stadium) there is nothing like them. A trumpet player playing two trumpets at once. A guitarist doing somersaults. Funk, Jazz and Soul. This is the greatest band in the world and I still sit and pray that one more album might come through to conclude Boo!
Was Not Was, thank you for everything you have given me. ‘Anything Can Happen’ thanks to you.
Day 8 – Album 8: Vin Garbutt – Plugged.
“This song I learned at my mother’s knee. She had several ballads tattooed on her legs but this one was just about her knee”.
“He hammered on her front door with a bunch of flowers. At first, she couldn’t hear him because, as you know, flowers don’t make a very loud noise. And it was a very thick door, it failed the Eleven Plus! So he decided to fling the flowers as, by this time, they were rather useless as a bouquet. He decided to use his knuckles on the door as he realised that they were more appropriate for attracting someone’s attention although not so attractive as a gift.”
The Late And Very Great Vin Garbutt’s ‘patter’ is the most amazing thing I have ever seen on any stage. This album captures, perfectly, a craftsman at work, making an audience laugh and cry. The funny patter and incredible emotion within his songs made Vin the finest performer of the folk genre. I loved the shows and I love this mans songs. We lost Vin far too early and he had so much more to offer. He was an observer. Everything he observed made it into his songs and, along with his unique humour, he is the most perfect of curators. This album holds the gold. ‘Wings’ is a stunning cover of Brian Bedford’s song on the advice of how to handle love and children. ‘ Welcome Home Howard Green’ is one of Vin’s finest compositions. A haunting melody and real gritty subject matter of life in Northern Ireland and the squaddies showing a naivety in fighting possible family members in Ulster. ‘Fell Off The Back Of A Boat’ about a container ship spilling its load on Skinningrove Beach….Super Mario Underpants…in a Whiskey Galore setting.
Vin was an amazing guitarist and songwriter. I have learned so much from watching this perfect craftsman at work. I am so proud that he not only came from South Bank in Middlesbrough but also attended my school St. Peter’s where I recently taught. I told all of my students about him and let them know that he was the greatest folk guitarist and songwriter of them all. If you want to discover a controversial, intelligent and perfect singer/songwriter…..Vin Garbutt will tick all of your boxes.
Day 9 – Album 9
Crowded House -Together Alone
I come from Middlesbrough and one of our finest sons, Captain James Cook, stumbled across New Zealand in 1769…200 years before I was born. When I was there myself in 1995, I totally absorbed the Māori Culture. The spiritual quality of these amazing people really struck a chord with me. I went to a local festival in Rotorua where I heard Māori music and enjoyed the food that had been cooked in thermal heat of this stunning volcanic land. It was mouthwateringly tasty.
I took the album ‘Together Alone’ with me and it became the soundtrack to my visit. Neil Finn is the finest songwriter of my generation. He is prolific and unstoppable. Merging a Māori Choir and a Yorkshire Brass Band on the title song of this album raises every hair on my neck….(alas I have none on my head!). I find it stunning.
Youth’s production on this album and his approach to getting the band into the right vibe to record is also groundbreaking. Burying stones into Karekare Beach and thinking about the spiritual element of the songs, certainly plants this album into the heart of New Zealand’s rich culture.
Songs as perfect as ‘Private Universe’, ‘Pineapple Head’, ‘Fingers Of Love’, ‘Nails In My Feet’, ‘Catherine Wheels’ and ‘In My Command’ still take my breath away to this day.
This album was a crossroad point of my life in many ways and I often revisit it to stir emotions when the world leaves me feeling a bit numb.
Day 10 Album 10 – Gerry Rafferty – North And South
My beloved Dad got me into Gerry Rafferty when we bought him ‘City To City’ on the buzz of ‘Baker Street’ in 1978. I thought the album was fantastic and, I eventually bought all of Rafferty’s other albums myself when my Saturday job at Asda gave me the funds to do so.
Less than 11 years later, I lost my Dad to cancer and my world was devastated. Four months after this terrible event, Gerry Rafferty released ‘North And South’. It was both a comfort and an inspiration in one perfectly crafted album. I was 19. Gerry Rafferty proved to me that he was the most significant songwriter of my lifetime because he ticked every box for me. I mentioned in my earlier posts that I seek that special artist and band that can cross the genres and provide intelligent songwriting. In Gerry Rafferty, I discovered an artist who could do exactly that; a man who could embrace many genres, write intelligent and thought-provoking songs and produce music that was sophisticated, featured some stunning musicians and displayed the highest production values. He was certainly somebody I took notice of!
Before Reservoir Dogs regurgitated ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ and the Simpson’s popularised ‘Baker Street’, Gerry was part of The Humblebums with Billy Connolly where they recorded ‘Her Father Doesn’t Like Me Anyway’, ‘Rick Rack’, ‘Keep It To Yourself’ and ‘Look Over The Hill And Far Away’. On his first solo album, he combined the styles of the day to make songs that would make even The Beatles envious, such as ‘Mr Universe and ‘To Each and Everyone’.
North And South was a painful album for Gerry Rafferty. He had split with his wife and the album journaled that terrible time of his life. ‘Moonlight and Gold’ is the most perfect love song I have ever heard. Holding your beloved in the light of the moon and watching that light evolve into the glow of an emerging sun is conveyed in the most detailed of Celtic flavours and a ticking clock. The title track is a wonderful mix of syncopated detail “Well I was for a poor man’s sun, flowing tradition. When I came of age I took the road and followed blind ambition.” ‘Tired Of Talking’ is a sound wall of sheer Celtic power whilst ‘Hearts Run Dry’ is a true heart cracker.
‘North And South’ features River Dance famed Davey Spillane on Uilleann pipes which really tickled my Celtic spirit. This, for me, is the perfect album. Every emotion is moved and it helped me move towards healing a huge loss in my life. A spiritual preparation from my Dad to provide the comfort that it gave to me. Music has that ability and power to help and heal all wounds. ‘North And South’ really helped me to reflect and come to terms with very difficult subjects over the years. It is still my ‘go-to album’ whenever I need it.
This exercise of looking at 10 significant albums that Andy Power nominated me for has been brilliant. I could have easily done more. It was hard to miss out ‘Sowing The Seeds Of Love’ by Tears For Fears, ‘Nilsson Schmilsson’ by Harry Nilsson, ‘Welcome To The Pleasuredome’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, ‘Solid Air’ by John Martyn, ‘You Broke My Heart In 17 Places’ by Tracy Ullman, ‘Actually’ by The Pet Shop Boys, ‘War Of The Worlds’ by Jeff Wayne, ’Listen Without Prejudice’ by George Michael, Chet Baker Sings’ by Chet Baker, ‘Moon Safari’ by Air and ‘Kind of Blue’ by Miles Davis but, the ones selected have really had an impact on me as a musician and a human so it is a fair choice. If you get nominated for something like this, embrace it as I am sure that you will enjoy the journey. Cheers, Andy Power. I have thoroughly enjoyed this.
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