Ben Jones...singer/songwriter The Lovedays

Ben Jones is from Maidstone....the sleepy little county town of Kent. He is frontman for extraordinaire art-rockers The Lovedays. A veteran of the South East Scene...at such a tender age. The Lovedays have a new album out NOW. Google it!

1. Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys

I bought this album when I was 14 and I dont think it came off of my record player for the rest of the year.
The songs are beautiful, sublime arrangements, Brian Wilson at his romantic best, forever reminds me of the loneliness of being a teenager and how less lonely it made me feel.

2. Paris 1919 - John Cale

A Baroque pop masterpiece. Looked upon as the most "accesible" of John Cales records, its not that that got me. They are just wonderful songs about a very dark subject.

3. Mule Variations - Tom Waits

I could wax lyrical all day on the great rewards one gets in being a Tom Waits fan. This record has it all for me...The sad ballads, the sonic experimentation....ahhh, so good!

4. Boulders - Roy Wood

Made at the same time Roy was making the last Move album and first ELO album, he played every instrument, sang every vocal on this ecclectic little collection of great pop songs. A true maverick artist.

5. Love and Theft - Bob Dylan

A late career high for Mr. D. I could list 15 of his albums that have had a great, profound effect on me in this list, but its this album I probably enjoy the most. Cool songs, great blues/country production, and a great live feel. Bob actually sounds like he's really enjoying himself.

6. On The Beach - Neil Young

Like with Dylan, I could list 15 Neil Young albums I adore, but this one gets it for me. It perfectly encapsulates a time period in pop music when the sweet had very definitely turned sour. Songs about Laurel Canyon murderers and insecurity in a time gone mad, Beatiful, probably for all the wrong reasons.

7. Who By Numbers - The Who

I unashamedly love all of The Whos albums, even "Face Dances". To me Pete Townshend is Englands greatest living songwriter, he can capture the mood of a generation, a time, a personality. Whether it be on deeply personal songs like "However Much I Booze", sentimental laments like "Blue Red and Grey" and "Imagine a Man", or nonsical whimsy like "Squeezebox", this album has something for every mood. Its perfect to me.

8. The Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks

Swiftly followed by Englands second greatest living songwriter. How Ray Davies could write songs of such deep experience about subjects of a seemingly bygone era will never cease to inspire me. He was, and is, a writer of first class calibre...People Take Pictures of Each Other, Village Green, Last of The Steam Powered Trains, Picture Book...fucking genius.

9. McCartney - Paul McCartney

Maccas first solo album - unashamedly raw, playing all the instruments himself, trying to find his own identity outside of the Beatles, a truly honest and brilliant album. Always a great inspiration.

10. Smile - Brian Wilson
This was one of those great things to get interested in for me as a teenager - The great lost Beach Boys album...all the stories behind its making and, ultimate, unmaking. Collecting bootlegs from wherever I could, it was a wonderful time in my life.... Brian Wilson then dumbfounded us all by not only finishing it, but it actually being fucking mindblowing 37 years after all the hype. And it came out the same time as I was making my first album, so it literally soundtracked the whole of the sessions for it.

11. Daybreaker - Beth Orton

A great mishmash of acoustic guitar and electronica, so laid back, so up and down, bit like my life was when it came out! The soundtrack to my early 20s.

12. Tapestry - Carole King

Literally stopped me in my tracks when I first heard her do "Will You Love Me Tommorow?" solo on the piano on a late night pop programme. If the 70s had been an album, this shouldve been it.


13. (Whats The Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis

Reminds me of when I was learning to play the guitar, and how Oasis helped rescur the british pop music scene, which was in danger of becoming Europop hell. Without a doubt, inspired a generation of teenagers to pick up a guitar, and for that, Like em or loathe em, we should always be grateful to Noel Gallagher.

14. The Globe Sessions - Sheryl Crow

The one where Sheryl went all experimental! Great acoustic album, with shades of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Band and The Rolling Stones all thrown in for good measure. And she produced it herself, after all the hits of the previous two records, to make a bold, exciting recorded statement, not about hits, but about art and emotion.

15. Robins Reign - Robin Gibb

A long out of print first solo album from Robin Gibb, when the Bee Gees went through a brief break up at the end of the 60s. Beautiful, Melancholic pop songs, with tender, orchestral arrangements. Truly a Baroque pop masterpiece, that if you had of slapped Scott Walkers name on would have got far more long term attention than it has. A maligned classic, long overdue its merits being recognised.
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Phil Dillon at 21:11 on 21 March
Tapestry was infused into my bloodstream from the day it came out, It's one of my earliest memories. I am old indeed.

It's interesting that we have two or three top albums in common, and wryly amusing that you selected McCartney where I selected Pepper. I can't actually disentangle McCartney from Ram in my memory, but I do know he never delivered like that again until Flaming Pie.

Youre on your own when you put Oasis in your top 10 though, old chap. Slade were original and better, with a fluffier and more articulate front man.... Read more

I'm off to look up Robin's Reign now...
Andy Fraser at 11:42 on 22 March
The Village Green Preservation Society....one of the most beautiful albums....I should've had it in my Top 15. I'm sure there are some you missed out, too.
Roy Wood...so shy....so great. I saw him live a few times.
I'm surprised at the Beth Orton bit....and, like Phil, will check out Robin's Reign. I actually like Robin Gibb....I find him intelligent, witty and level-headed.
I'm putting your top 15 on the blog (link following)
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Gary Robertson - Swinging Time

This is in alphabetical order so that there is no winner. I can't believe i've got it down to 15!

Belle And Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister. Everything that C86, Felt, Young Marble Giants promised according to NME write ups but never quite delivered, B&S have made 3 of the greatest albums of modern times. Clever, moving lyrics and great tunes. This one just shades it.

Kate Bush - The Dreaming. Never has someone so accurately portrayed my time as a troubled teenage girl! Considered commercial suicide at the time by cloth eared idiots. Suspended In Gaffa makes me die everytime she says she's 'Scared of the changes'


John Cale - Paris 1919. Better than anything by the Velvets or Lou Reed. Europe . It's better than nearly every other album. If you haven't heard this, hear it.


Chameleons - Script Of The Bridge. There we're a lot of serious young men with long coats and effects pedals in the early to mid eighties. I loved the blustering sounds of U2, The Alarm'Big Country etc, but The Chameleons had a small town desperation about them that rang truer with me than the more poetic emptiness pedalled by their rivals. They never really cracked it. My vinyl copy of this album is signed to me by singer Mark Burgess. I treasure.

Go Betweens - Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express. Twin Layers Of Lightning and The Wrong Road are two songs that I have played every month since this album came out. The rest of it is pretty damned good too. I believe the late Grant Mclennan once wore a Dentists T-Shirt on stage.


Human League - Travelogue I'd ideally like this as a double album with Reproduction as they are both astonishing records. Most synth wielding experimentalists of the new wave period made strange noises and couldn't write their way out of a paper bag. The 'League we're versed in classic songwriting, they just happened to use primitive keyboards as their medium. They were funny, moving, sci fi obsessed geniuses. Dare was good but these two albums we're great.


Manic Street Preachers - Generation Terrorists. In a rather bleak time for British music this was a bolt from the blue. They walked the walk, the talked the talk. It was produced by Wham's producer, it had Traci Lords on it, it had Stay Beautiful on it, it had Motorcycle Emptiness on it. I defended this album to the hilt at the time. They we're considered a bit of a joke by most people. Not by me they weren't!

Momus - Poisoned Boyfriend. I still remember hearing this for the first time a couple of years after it had come out and couldn't belive I had never heard him before. Smart arsed songs about religion and sexuality mostly. He moved between folky guitar picking and hi-energy disco in the space of 10 minutes and he had no shame. He was Justin from Del Amitris cousin. He comes in my shop sometime. He makes me nervous.


Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk. My main lyrical influence . They seem to have been written out of post punk history. The first 4 albums were great, even Mirror Moves. This has no bad tracks on it, it hasn't even got any average ones.


Rush - Moving Pictures. First heard while stacking sheves in the co-op in the mid eighties. This was the album along with Back In Black and the first Van Halen album that made me realise the smelly grebos at school might have been on to something.


Simple Minds - Sons and Fascination. When someone asked me to describe this album once I came up with 'Cold War Obsessed Progressive Disco Post Punk' When people say that Simple Minds are shit I just play them 'Theme For Great Cities', 'Love Song', '70 Cities As Love Brings The Fall' and then explain to them how wrong they are. They let themselves down later on but around this time they we're amazing.


Sisters Of Mercy - First And Last And Always. I liked goth, I liked goth girls, this was my favourite goth album. They had the best songs. I saw them at the Lyceum when this album came out. It's still inm my top three gigs of all time.


Soft Cell - The Art Of Falling Apart. I'd been a big fan of their first album but this was like the bit in the 'Wizard Of Oz' when it goes technicolour. Everything about it was bigger and better, the tunes, the themes,the hair! Marc signed my copy of Memorabilia, he is a lovely chap. People forget how good these songs are.


Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat. A close run thing between Y.O.T.C. and Modern Times but this just shades it. I know historical folk rock is not the coolest thing in the world but I have been playing this album every few weeks now for nearly 25 years. By the way doesn't Neil Tennant sound like Al.


Wire - 154. People at work who don't even like Wire know every track on this album. One of those albums that works as a whole. From the pop majesty of 'Map Reference' to the none more disturbing 'The Other Window' this album is bloody genius. One of my favourite moments in music is on '40 Versions' when they sing 'Niagra Falls' .



Apologies for my terrible English. Apologies to Jesus & Mary Chain, Nirvana, Peter Hammill, The Jam, The Hold Steady, Husker Du, Ride, Waterboys, Swervedriver, Magazine, Coil, Metallica, Killing Joke, Ultravox, Kinks, Scientists, MC5, Mission Of Burma, Blur & The Smiths. You were so

Bob Collins Top 15

These are the albums that had the biggest or longest lasting impact on me, not necessarily my favourite, not necessarily the best, nor even the most evocative of a time (that’s another list for another time). I struggled to get this under 30, let alone 15. Many of my favourite bands and artists are absent (Clash, Jam, Kinks) because I couldn’t pin them down to one album that ‘did it’. No glam rock, cos that was all about singles not albums, and no Medway music, as that was more about the live experience than the records. Nothing after 1995. I think the capacity for music to profoundly change your life diminishes with age, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. No apologies for including compilations. Those were the actual albums that did the business for me. You may also notice that this almost entirely white men with guitars. I have no explanation for that other than that I am one myself. It's not that I don't have a love and respect for techno, jazz, hip-hop and electronica but.......

1. The Marmalade – Best of The Marmalade
This was the first album I ever owned, when I was 4 or 5. It got forgotten quite soon, once Slade and the like came along, but I always came back to it and gave it a spin every so often. I still love the best tracks on here (but yes there are a couple of duffers) and they stand up next to any well-crafted pop of this or any other period.

2. The Beatles – 1962-66 (Red album)
I always have trouble picking the best Beatles album but this one was the first one I ever owned - in cassette format, at the age of 9 or 10. Although I loved the glam rock that was around at the time it was, in musical terms, mainly blues/rock based but I was always very excited by everything about The Beatles, by the unashamed pop melodies and harmonies of their early stuff that had virtually disappeared from music in the early 70s. ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand and ‘She Loves You’ still sound to me like the most thrilling music ever made.

3. Beach Boys - 20 Golden Greats
I bought this album in the summer of 76 and didn’t own another Beach Boys album for about 20 years. Again it was the harmonies that really hooked me in as being so different to anything you ever heard in the 70s (outside of adverts, which all used Beach Boys songs anyway).

4. The Buzzcocks – Another Music In a Different Kitchen
I didn’t like punk in 76 and 77. In fact I didn’t really know or understand it. I was still too into The Beatles and football. So 1978 was my year zero and The Buzzcocks were one of the first bands that won me over. They combined everything that was good about punk with the pop sensibility that appealed to me and cheeky intelligent lyrics. If you want to know where the inspiration behind the Ascoyne d’Ascoynes’ songs came from (and lets face it why should you?) look no further than this album.

5. C81 Rough Trade/NME Cassette
Forget C86. This was the first one, five years earlier, that no-one seems to remember. Recently, and not before time, there have been books and TV programmes celebrating the joys of the early indie/post-punk/John Peel era where people forgot the rules, even the rules of cool, and made the most diverse, quirky, original music. This was a tape that you had to save up tokens for from the NME and order by post. I still remember the day I ripped open the envelope and listened to it in my bedroom after school with the sun streaming in my bedroom to the sounds of the opening track “The Sweetest Girl” by Scritti Politti. Very little has ever sounded so good as that song, that day. Then there was Orange Juice, the Raincoats, Young Marble Giants, Josef K etc. etc. This collection really made me proud of ‘my era’ and said to me ‘you can do this’. And then there were even things like Lynx that brought home to me that modern dance music played by black people was not automatically to be dismissed as disco crap.

6. The Byrds – singles 1965 – 1967
The post-punk era so celebrated above didn’t last long. The C81 cassette, though I didn’t know it at the time, was probably at the tail end of that golden era. The no-rules, creative free for all gave way to a drawing of battle lines between glossy funk, new romanticism, proto-goth or anarcho-punk, all of which bored me to tears. The little money I had therefore went on the discovery of the past. I had never really stopped being intrigued and obsessed with the 60s, so with little current to excite me I went and rediscovered a lot of 60s bands. I knew all their famous songs from hearing them on the radio over the years. But buying the records was different. Listening to them on stereo headphones (as opposed to background medium wave radio) with a wannabe-musician’s ear was like seeing a wall-size colour print of something you’ve only ever seen as a tiny crumpled black and white photo. The day I got this record home and was blown away by the freshness and sweet jangly joy of Mr Tambourine Man, All I Really Want To Do and Feel a Whole Lot Better was the day I found ‘my sound’.

7. Pebbles Volume 8 – various
John Peel used to play the occasional track from the Pebbles series of obscure mid-60s garage bands. Other than that, the whole genre was one you never ever heard on the radio. You had to buy the records. So I did. Starting with this one. There were always some corking tracks, some less so, and it was a while before I saved up for the next purchase so all the tracks on this one got played to death. The guts and attack of this kind of music were absent from all the music of the present day and had a close kinship with the Medway bands that I was discovering around the same time.

8. The Doors – The Doors
Psychedelia excited me. I was really interested in the early psychedelia that has just evolved from beat groups and still had an edge, before getting too tie-dyed and pot-headed. Discovering the Doors and Love was like opening the door (scuse the pun) on some dusty forgotten relic. There was no industry of nostalgia or retro-cool in those days and even though this album had sold in millions less than 15 years before, The Doors seemed to have been completely forgotten. I got a rare chance to hear them on a half hour piece on Radio 1 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Jim’s death. I know they haven’t aged well and to some extent theer is a feeling that the Doors have been ‘found out’. But at the time I was totally sucked in by the swirling mystery of Light My Fire and The End.

9. Elvis Costello – Almost Blue
I never owned this album until relatively recently, and there may be 10 Costello albums that I prefer to this one, but that’s beside the point. There was a ‘making of’ documentary on TV when this album was released and the key thing for me was that here was Elvis saying ‘listen, country music is actually very good when done properly.’ I thought if Elvis says so there must be something in it. Opened the door to all sorts of music (both types in fact) that I might never have otherwise given house room to.

10. Velvet Underground - 1969 Live Vol 1
I love the banana album and have nothing against Warhol, or indeed Cale, but this is a fantastic document of a simply great band playing great songs (to no one!) on their own terms with no complications or trappings. I used to play this album over and over again. Lovely unpretentious songs and guitar playing that switches between beautifully delicate and frantically choppy (or is it choppily frantic).

11. The Smiths – The Smiths
After having almost given up on contemporary music during 1982 and 1983 the Smiths were like gift from Heaven. It seemed like this album defined the Spring of 1984. It seemed to dominate life, whether you loved it or hated it. It had the jangling guitar style that I loved, that no-one had played for years, and it’s interplay with the bass was genius and like nothing I’d heard before. Then there were some of the most exciting, audacious lyrics ever heard, about feelings and subjects hardly ever dealt with. I think that probably half the best lines ever written are on this album. The sheer beauty and depth of this album is never less than stunning. Despite regarding Morrissey as an utter cock on so many occasions since, I loved his arrogance at this time. It was not in the slightest bit misplaced. I remember teenage parties in the early hours, everyone pinching daffodils from gardens, sticking them in their back pockets and doing THAT one-footed dance. Hatful of Hollow is the near equal of this album but after that the Smiths plummeted in my esteem. It took a while for me to learn to appreciate some of their mid to late period stuff but I'm afraid I still just do not get The Queen Is Dead.

12. Scott Walker – Scott
In the early summer of 1985 I saw this album for 50p in a junk shop on Canterbury Street. I bought it on the strength of the way Julian Cope used to rave about Scott in interviews. I knew the Walker Brothers of course but this was a revelation. This quickly led to acquisitions of Scott 2 and Scott Sings Brel which, together, were the soundtrack of 85 for me. Live Aid may as well not have existed. Me and Ian Smith played the Scott Sings Brel album for the first time and our jaws dropped an inch with each new track. We had never heard anything remotely like this. Theatre, wit, passion, heartache, all delivered by the voice of the century.

13. The Wedding Present – George Best
Hearing My Favourite Dress in 1987 was the catalyst to realising that maybe there was some decent music around in the present day. This was the first contemporary sounding thing I’d liked in years and before long I was revelling in The Pixies, Dinosaur Jnr and the pre-baggy Soup Dragons. I don’t think this is a great album by any stretch, but it turned my head.

14. Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted
The phenomenon of grunge and Nirvana is well documented and it did have a massive impact but it’s always stupidly oversimplified. What is probably more significant is the post-grunge fall out, which led to an explosion of creativity in the US in the early 90s not unlike the post-punk period in the UK in 79-81 where all sorts of people were taking the attitude of grunge and creating music without preconceptions or a prevailing fashion. All of sudden Sonic Youth’s time had come. At the time the word ‘slacker’ was coined to describe this ramshackle non-movement and probably the most shining example was Pavement. They managed to sound loose and untogether and out of tune and yet everything fell into place perfectly. When I first heard Trigger Cut it was one of those moments where I thought this is just the perfect song and the perfect sound right here right now.

15. Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix
In many ways the Teenage Fanclub are my perfect band. Of course they are not groundbreaking or innovative and I can’t mount a convincing case that they are the best band ever but that’s not the point. They are the nearest thing to my home territory. They have all the ingredients I love, blended in just the right way, with album after album of quite cracking tunes, and they have rarely sounded anything less than fresh. This album is their pinnacle in my view. Reminds me of sunny days in 1995. A cracking year for albums anyway (Supergrass, Edwyn, Boos, SFAs) but this one is the tops.

Very near misses: Unknown Pleasures, Da Capo, Wilder, Modern Life Is Rubbish, Crocodiles, The Clash, The Undertones, The Go-Betweens 78-90, Revolver, Another Side of Bob Dylan, Doolittle.
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Ian Smith at 21:21 on 18 March
Fantastic - can I copy & paste this onto Pop Junkie - it would make a great post?

Have been thinking about my 15 - I hadn't forgotten, just wondering what the parameters would be - I think you've dovetailed it nicely.

I gave a big mention to the C81 cassette on PJ a couple of weeks ago and am planning to review it when I get round to it:
http://popjunkietv.com/2009/02/27/you-have-6-days-to-listen-again-to-vic-godard-pops-greatest-postman/
Gary Robertson at 21:47 on 18 March
Bob you git. You have once again raised the bar. I wish I could find the time to write about my choices in this way, having seen yours I guess I'll have to.
Andy Fraser at 22:04 on 18 March
I'll have a look at this Pop Junkie...thanks for the link, Ian.
This made wonderful reading, Bob. I can relate to a lot of the sentiment...and it brought back memories of a time when the world was, seemingly, a better place. I'll put it on the 15 Songs blog.
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Andy Harding Top 15

Okay, here's my insides spread out for everyone to see;-

One Step Beyond - Madness
Specials - The Specials
In Rock - Deep Purple
Steady The Buffs - The Buff Medways
The Gift - The Jam
Cafe Bleu - The Style Council
Never Mind The Bollocks - The Sex Pistols
My Generation - The Who
The Clash - The Clash
Lifes A Riot with Spy vs Spy - Billy Bragg
Rattus Norvegicus - The Strangler
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
Psycho Candy - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Porcupine - Echo and the Bunnymen
The Smiths - The Smiths

Probably not that many surprises there.

Stuart Turner Top 15 Albums

For what its worth, here are my life changers. Not necessarily my all time favourites, just the ones that changed the way I viewed things...

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
Bizarro - The Wedding Present
Dry - PJ Harvey
Generation Terrorists - The Manic Street Preachers
Bo Didleys Beach Party - Bo Didley
King of The Delta Blues Singers Vol 1 - Robert Johnson
Head on The Door - The Cure
Mule Variations - Tom Waits
Licence To Ill - The Beastie Boys
God Fodder - Neds Atomic Dustbin
De Stijl - The White Stipes
Eight Track Stomp - The Chickasaw Mudpuppies
Live After Death - Iron Maiden
Liege and Leaf- Fairport Convention

(Also of note -- Steady The Buffs - The Buff Medways



Sea Monsters - The Wedding Present



Ocean Rain - Echo and the Bunnymen



Pablo Honey - Radiohead)

S x

Steve Piper Top 15

1. Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols- Sex Pistols
After hearing this album, I started playing In bands. I had no Intention of doing so previous to that.Just simply the most Important piece of musical history that I have ever witnessed, totally changed my direction In life.
2.Real Life - Magazine
Wonderfully weird album (at the time) Definitive Gaze Is a terrific tune.
3.Low - David Bowie
Loved his stuff around this period.
4. Live And Direct - Aswad
Fantastic Live Reggae album recorded at the Notting Hill Carnival
5. Sandinista - The Clash
36 track work of Genius.
6. Another Music In A Different Kitchen - Buzzcocks
Adreniline fueled burst of pure energy.
7. The Scream - Siouxsie & The Banshees
Dark and sinister journey through a glorious Non Rock n' Roll hell.
8. London Calling - The Clash
Iconic article, a forboding or War, the Clash were an Unbelievable Band that I had the good fortune to see many times, Joe Strummer you are so badly missed.
9. Machine Gun Etiquette - The Damned
I Love this album, just a completely wild and vibrant piece of art, delivered at a rapid pace.
The Damned always have that element of fun about them.
10. Sgt. Pepper's lonely heart's club band - The Beatles
How can anybody not like the Beatles? I think they define the art of songwriting genius, a fantastic memory of my childhood, an open door Into a new world.
11. What Does Anything Mean? Basically - The Chameleons
Excellent band, sincere, heart, passion, and all that old Bollocks, love them.
12. Stone Roses - Stone Roses
What a relief after all that Shite through the 80's
13. Definitely Maybe - Oasis
What a relief after all that Shite through the 80's 2 (The Sequel)
14. X & Y - Coldplay
Strangely, my favourite Coldplay LP, not the predeictable "Parachutes"
Speed of Sound! The Bollocks!
15. Germ Free Adolescents - X-Ray Spex
Poly Styrene (Trained Opera Singer) Bawling her head off at full tilt,like some kind of demented form of Lulu, at the same time, describing a distorted consumer art hellish world of marketing exploitation bullshit, Invented being green before It was Invented! All this backed up by a tight & energetic band.
Totally original, played the album til I could see though It!

These Lp's, barring the Pistols, could be In any order, changing with my mood, I've probably got a top 150 but could never be Arsed with the typing

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Andy Fraser at 00:09 on 14 March
Great stuff there, Steve. I'll try to do mine later...15 is a lot though.
Andy Fraser at 01:18 on 14 March
Done it anyway :)
Nobby Snide at 08:40 on 14 March
I thought 15 was a lot til I tried to list them on another forum...15 wasnt enough!
Rio Fraser at 00:01 on 15 March
I had to buy a Pukka pad to write mine out...15 albums is a tragedy, yet writing 25 things about myself was torture. I guess once you add the music it changes everything!
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Pizt Top 15 Albums Part 2

Fifteen Albums just weren't enough for me - so stealing Rio's idea, here is my part 2.

1. Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Hair , Rock, Future Goodness

2. Moby - Animal Rights - Moby mixes classical with thrash and also covers one of the finest songs of all time - "That's When I Reach For My Revolver"

3. The Saints - (I'm) Stranded - Australian punk goodness, feel the rush - this album kicks arse.

4. Wreckless Eric - Wreckless Eric - contains one of the greatest punk ballads ever from the mighty Stiff label.

5. Suicide - Suicide - probably the single greatest album ever released by anyone - if you have a heart it will be torn apart by this album - "Frankie Teardrop" still scares shit out of me and i've heard it about 200 times.

6. Velvet Underground and Nico, The Velvet Underground - It's Lou Reed and it's the perfect album for the era.

7. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin - who is this woman? she sings so nicely :D

8. Run-DMC - Raising Hell - just listen to it - you'll understand.

9. The Replacements - Tim - It's beautiful, The Replacements aren't recognised enough for their Greatness.

10. Ministry - Psalm 69 ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ - Jesus built Al's hotrod and he hates George Bush, that's enough motivwation to listen to this monster of an album.

11. Einstürzende Neubauten - Silence Is Sexy - Industrial at it's finest and most beautiful.

12. IAMX - The Alternative - This album is brilliant and I have heard nothing by Chris Corner that I do not like.

13. Dog's D'Amour - Straight (Errol Flynn) - A band with the right idea - go into a recording studio, get drunk, plug in - record.

14. Terence Trent D'Arby - Introducing The Hard Line According To.. - This album is one of the most perfect albums ever made by anyone - sadly Terence loved himself more than everyone else did.

15. The Vines - Highly Evolved - fronted by the Asperger's syndrome suffering genius Craig Nicholls, this album packs am ighty wallop and has a soft side too, one of a long line of brilliant albums from Mr. Nicholls.

Pizt Top 15 Albums Nigel Leitch

1. Placebo - Placebo: Nothing more to say really - just a great introduction to a great band - and I've seen them live.

2. Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Leonard Cohen - A beautiful album - I've seen him live

3. Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska - A poignant album whilst Springsteen was allegedly suffering from depression - it is stark and beautiful.

4. Turbonegro - Party Animals - The worlds greatest Rock 'n' Roll band, if anyone wants to know what attitude is, look no further, they are fun, nuts and simply just pure awesomeness, I've seen them live.

5. The Cult - Electric - All the songs explode out of this album, it's everything that was good about Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Doors all rolled into one pummeling piece of love.

6. Pulp - Different Class - When everyone realised the true genius of Jarvis Cocker just an album packed with great songs.

7. Tom Waits - Raindogs - This album cost me about two dollars in the bargain bin, it is brilliantly written and Wait's voice is superb.

8. The Darkness - Permission To Land - Anyone that isn't scared to wear a catsuit is a friend of mine
just a superb album - don't believe the hype.

9. The Rolling Stones - Their Satanic Majesties Request - It could have been any album from this era, but the Stones are the ultimate rock band, just look at Keith Richards, enough said really.

10. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - people can say whatever they like about Rap, if they are dissing it - thay have never heard this album.

11. The Ramones - It's Alive - A burst of pure and raw energy, guaranteed to make you dance and smash shit.

12. Sex Pistols - Never mind The Bollocks - Raw Power and Attitude, one of the greatest albums of all time.

13. MC5 - Kick Out The Jams - Just for the title song alone, this has to be one of the most profound albums.

14. Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon COllie and The Infinite Sadness - It's a double album and it's dangerous and beautiful all the way through, and Billy Corgan is a c*nt.

15. The Jesus And Mary Chain - Psychocandy - the most underrated band in the world - I've seen them live and to me it was a religious experience

15. (yes I have two 15's) Brainiac - Smack Bunny Baby - If the lead singer had not died, Brainiac would have become the biggest band ever, their output was staggering and because of a tree, their career ended, I love this band.

.
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Reavsey Reavey at 14:39 on 14 March
Aha just stumbled accross your choice....Nice one....
Nigel Leitch at 14:41 on 14 March
thanks :D

Please note that i mentioned all the bands i had seen live :D

Cept Turbonegro of course
I was just gonna put albums by bands i had seen live
Just to brag :D
David Vernon at 15:20 on 14 March
Good list Nige. I shall concoct my own very soon.
Nigel Leitch at 15:24 on 14 March
i hope so :D
Nicola Johnson at 15:59 on 14 March
good choices :)
Reavsey Reavey at 23:50 on 14 March
Nice eclectic mix...No Marcus MIT C?...I thought you were also into Ass big time or was that big Ass's ;o)
Rio Fraser at 02:04 on 15 March
MC5-nice shout! I feel a bit less then. I blame it on sleep deprivation. I can add them to my ever growing list of forgotten albums
Andy Fraser at 18:08 on 15 March
Nice choices....I didn't realise you rated Jarvis. Great album though.
I bet your fingers were wavering over the N-I-C-K-E-L-B-A-C-K keys...but you resisted
Phil Dillon at 22:44 on 15 March
Good call on the Public Enemy front. It was real then. Now that genre requires a nation of millions to hold its coat.

And Stumbeleine is a special thing indeed.

Will mail meerkat.
Andy Fraser at 11:50 on 16 March
I wonder if there is a band called The Stumbles???
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Andy Export Top 15 Albums

1. Never Mind The Bollocks by The Sex Pistols- It's the first one to spring to mind because it really did change my life. Bought the album...cut my hair...started to write songs instead of poetry. I was 15 years old...a good impressionable age, I guess.
2. New Boots and Panties by Ian Dury and the Blockheads- I was astonished that such a raggedy bunch of misfits could produce such a beautiful sound. Every track a winner.
3. Tanx- T.Rex- I always loved Bolan...and although most people who know me would expect me to go for Electric Warrior or Futuristic Dragon...I'm plumping for Tanx. Such charm.
4. Kimono My House by Sparks- This album definitely shook me out of my slumber. Amazing vocals...wicked lyrics...stunning harmonies...it had the lot. If this band didn't exist...I'd have to invent them
5. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths- My favourite Smiths album. Dark...but sarcastic. Extremely well produced...with just the right shade and light.
6. The Holy Bible by The Manic Street Preachers- The last album with Richie before he disappeared(still missing after 15 years) and for my money...their best...by a country mile. Uncomfortable listening for non-Manic fans...that's why I love it.
7. Dirk Wears White Sox by Adam and the Ants- Just a wonderful album of delicious little dark ditties
8. Black and White by the Stranglers- The men in black at their ballsy best...in my opinion. I'm such a fan of every element...bass/vocals/drums/keys/guitar...each part unique
9.Diamond Dogs by David Bowie- The title track alones justifies this inclusion. Bowie on top form
10. The Human Menagerie by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel- Some of the vocal inflection on this album is incredible. Great, dark, swirling masterpiece
11. Tubeway Army by Tubeway Army- I know it's not the greatest produced album in the world but there are some nice songs..from which I took a great deal of inspiration. Fascinating, for me, cos I'd heard a load of Numan demos...with guitars...and this highlights his transtition to synths and shit....playing with the same melodies.
12. Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd- Syd Barrett had the most beautiful way with construction and delivery. Effortless...dreamy....but manic at the same time. Tragic
13. The White Album by The Beatles- I could go for Sgt Peppers but my over-riding sense and appreciation of chaos wins the day. Messy...chaotic...spikey...mishy-mashy....genius.
14. London Calling by The Clash- The energy in this had me jumping up and down for ages. If albums grew legs this one would walk to China...with a Fridge-Freezer strapped to it's back.
15. Fegmania by Robyn Hitchcock- I could have chosen any of a clutch of RH albums. I'm constantly inspired by his collection of work. Brilliance...with huge dollops of wit.

That's my lot. I've already realised that I've missed The Kinks...and The Buzzcocks...and Elvis Presley...and I'll no doubt think of tons more once I've posted this. Sorry...got to have another.

15 and a half (what a cheat) Even Serpents Shine by The Only Ones- One of my favourite ever albums. Listening to The Only Ones is like injecting a lorry-load of misery into your bloodstream...but fkn rocks.
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Rio Fraser at 08:20 on 14 March
nice job Andles. I am working on mine. Not an easy list. I have to extract some real favourites and even add some horrors!
xx
Sean Lowndes at 09:10 on 14 March
random.........
the bends -radio head
r.a.t.m -r.a.t.m.
never mind the bollox heres the sex pistols- sex pistols
joshua tree -u2
the wall pink floyd
ok computor - radio head
wish you were here- pink floyd
only by the night- kings of leon
led zepllin 4- led zepllin
sabbath bloody sabbath- black sabbath
back in black - ac/dc
stranger than fiction - bad religion
system of a down - system of a down
imflamible materiel - stiff little fingers
in the flatfiel - bauhaus

so many more albums but can not seperate verve - urban hyms not enough choices andy.
Jeremy Rowling at 09:34 on 14 March
see, by the time i've figured mine out this post will be lost in the void of new facebook!
Sean Lowndes at 15:09 on 14 March
not even put ten by pearl jam.....god this is hard
Rio Fraser at 02:07 on 15 March
I like how you have manged to get the blame for this "note" ;-p
who sent it to you?
Jeremy Rowling at 14:55 on 15 March
The Specials, The Specials
You and me both, Yazoo
Slave to the grind, Skid Row
The Circus, Erasure
Holywood, Marilyn Manson
Little Earthquakes, Tori Amos
Slippery When Wet, Bon Jovi
Ten, Pearl Jam
Drops of Jupiter, Train
Stoosh, Skunk Anansie
Singles, Alison Moyet,
Jagged little pill, Alanis morrisette
August and everything after, Counting Crows
Let your dim light shine, Soul Asylum
Appetite for Destruction, Guns 'n' Roses

i have no idea how to cut/paste/send to others though
Andy Fraser at 18:18 on 15 March
I'll do it later lol
You got some varied taste there...lots of warbly girl singers...including Andy Bell
Jeremy Rowling at 09:30 on 16 March
well, i wouldnt still listen to all of them, its the affect they had on me at the time that is important, can i do another 15 now as i feel i missed so many out.
Andy Fraser at 12:00 on 16 March
Of course you can .Go to your "notes" Copy and paste the intro only(think of 15 albums" etc)..or type it out manually. List your choices....then tag 15 friends...and press "publish"
No Girls Aloud though...that's the only rule
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Reavsey Top 15 Albums

Very very hard..you could have made it a top 20 mate at least ;o)..Great idea though...

Concentrating on albums that influenced me as opposed to what I liked the best...

In no particular order...

1 Never mind the Bollocks - Sex Pistols

Life changing. You had to be there drowned in wall to wall Rod Steward and Genesis
this was what I had been waiting for all my life.

2 Kimono My House - Sparks

While my mates listened to Genesis and Led Zep I listenened to this subversive
little masterpiece. Opened my mind and ears to something really different.

3 Human Menagerie - Cockney Rebel

My mate said you must hear this band they sound just like Bowie. Once I saw the
cover I had had to have it immediately. Again a strange quirky album that took my mind to even stranger places. Saw them many times...

4 The Clash - The Clash

I could have written these songs (Figuratively speaking) The lyrics I was writing
and my "bravado" at the time were along these lines but I was never sure how to articulate them and this band was what I was waiting for. They epitomised everything
I felt and the sound I wanted to hear. They inspired me to write and play more than any other band. They showed that you didnt need to know 1000 chords to be able to write a song..in fact 3 chords were
more than adequate. Again you really needed to be there to appreciate what a breath of fresh air this album was.

5 Electric Warrior - Trex

Always loved Trex. This album marked the transition from acoustic to the more familiar electric sound associated with Trex. The production blew me away via Mr Visconti. Headphones on lights out...maybe a candle or two and some weed...the backing vocals soared and split between the left and right hand side of the headphones. This sort of panning technique was mind
blowing at the time..you may have had to have been there LOL. Great fantastically crafted songs just a very special album on
many levels.

6 Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie

Blew me away ...changed my life. At this time there was nothing like it every song strong enough to be a single. Swathed in the mystical world of The Spiders got right inside my tiny teenage mind.

7 Berlin - Lou Reed

I didnt realise songs could be written about this sort of thing it opened my eyes and influenced my own writing. So very very dark and cold.., The songs very epic and stark very catchy also...time for the lights and headphones etc on many many occasions. Filed my impressionable young mind with dark thoughts.

8 Transformer - Lou Reed

Brilliant songs..I though the wild side must be like this...New York City here I come. Bowies hand was all over this album. Lou really did mean it man.

9 Killer - Alice Cooper

Dark and eerie again with some great hard rocking numbers. From the dramatic haloof flies to dead babies...Cooper was very underrated IMO in respect of influencing Punk.

10 The Ramones - The Ramones

Fantastic wall of sound..I swear I wore my first copy out..I kept playing it over
and over as I couldnt believe what I was hearing. It sounds so tame now but back then there was nothing to touch its raw power.

11 Hat Full Of Hollow - The Smiths

simply because it had more tracks on than the first album. My fave is actually
The Queen is dead but I think this may have had more influence on me.

12 Bona Drag - Mozza

Mozza's best although a sort of compilation still a great assortment of songs that
were a big influence on me. Best real mozza album for me is prob "Arsenal"

13 Seperation Sunday - The Hold Steady

Renewed my faith ion songwriting again. Finn is probably one of the best if not
the best lyric writter ever. Great epic songs with stories.

14 Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

Helped me through the 80's such a great album great songwriter...lovely pop tunes
with intelect

15 The Velvet Underground feraturing Nico

Heard this in school. We had a subject called broadcasting arts and teachers had
brought albums in so we could practice making radio shows. This was amongst them...the original verve recording...it went straight inside my jacket and came home with me LOL. Scratched to buggery but just brilliant. When I hear those songs now I still subconsciously hear them with scratches ;o)..I still have it somewhere!

15 and a half...

Because if you cheat I can to LOL

Suede - Suede

Made council estates and "Peckham Life" glamorous LOL...sadly they only had the
one album in them for me....Animal Nitrate and Metal Micky along with Drowners were very influential on a particular phase or writing I did aroud the early 1990's sparked my enthusiasm again.

That was very hard..sorry The Only Ones ...Mott The Hoople, The Psychadelic Furs,The New York Dolls,Iggy. Roxy etc....

I think in retrospect, I may have spent to much time in my room with headphones on in the dark smoking weed maybe? .....It does explain a lot though.
What no Hunky Dory!
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Nigel Leitch at 14:22 on 14 March
you can't tag me. ive already done it :D

i so wanted to put Bowie in mine and Wreckless Eric, buggering stupid 15

:)
Nigel Leitch at 14:22 on 14 March
oh shit i forgot Suicide - Suicide - the greatest album ever :(
Nigel Leitch at 14:23 on 14 March
who are Trex?
they some new abnd :D
Nigel Leitch at 14:23 on 14 March
*band
Reavsey Reavey at 14:29 on 14 March
T Rex..Marc Bolan...thanks for the Pistols in Trondheim BTW ;o)
Nigel Leitch at 14:33 on 14 March
no probs
I know it was T-Rex ;d
i love teh pistols
Reavsey Reavey at 14:36 on 14 March
I dont get all this tagging business LOL so I have probably sent it to all the others who have just been added LOL....what am I like..Yes pistols were seminal...thats seminal not semenable of course...although I did have a bit of a crush on syd... ;o)
Reavsey Reavey at 14:37 on 14 March
Its to hard just naming 15 anyway...torture..sheer mental torture..I could be cracking LOL
Nigel Leitch at 14:37 on 14 March
I have a crush on Johnny
Yeah Andy is to blame he sent it to me
15 is neither here nor there
Ten is ok
20 is ok
30 is ok
but 15, I mean what were you thinking ANDY!
Nigel Leitch at 14:39 on 14 March
I've cracked already and Andy is to blame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reavsey Reavey at 14:41 on 14 March
Make him name his 5 all time singles..that'll teach him ;o)
Nigel Leitch at 14:42 on 14 March
no he will name 3
and we will call them the Myspace 3!
Reavsey Reavey at 14:43 on 14 March
Steady..he may never recover
Nigel Leitch at 14:44 on 14 March
Ah but that is his punishment
Andy Fraser at 23:12 on 14 March
You guys just kill me. A few common albums there, Reavsey (kimono,menagerie,bollocks)
I dumped Ziggy for Diamond Dogs, E.Warrior for Tanx and The Clash for London Calling.....or there could've been more.
We could've met on queen is dead too....and I did consider LloydCole
Andy Fraser at 23:13 on 14 March
Oh...my top 5 singles...difficult....but obviously The Wombles would be in there.
Andy Fraser at 23:14 on 14 March
Pizt should make The Human Menagerie his next challenge :)
Reavsey Reavey at 23:37 on 14 March
LOL yes you may have to have been there to appreciate it of course although I was surprised at his "Catholic" taste LOL..Yes we did meet on a few and probably if we had a top 30 there would be more...You are one of the few people I am still in touch with who shares my taste in music..so that makes about 5 of us worldwide then ;o)
Rio Fraser at 00:11 on 15 March
I am working on it. "These things take time"
Rio Fraser at 02:05 on 15 March
Andy: you and Reavsey sound as if you are trading stock on wall Street :)
Reavsey Reavey at 14:50 on 15 March
LOL Yes I was the same in my first list I put London Calling in but subsequently changed about 5 options from the original after I lost the first lot due to technical difficulties...i.e Facebook screwing them up and losing them!..Its a very hard one...can we have a top 40 please!
Andy Fraser at 18:16 on 15 March
We'll come up with something ;)
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Rio Fraser. Top 15

**excluding the first these are in no particular order. this list could easily be longer. I tried to keep this to levels of significance not exactly favourites though most are. Key word is MOST
I could not live without music though there is certainly music I can live without.
Here we go:

1. The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars.
David Bowie
Dating myself dramatically by saying so, This is the very first album I ever owned [okay, so it was an 8 track. Must that be pointed out?]
Though admittedly at the time I certainly never appreciated the full beauty of this gem It is fair to say this remains to date one of my favourites, if not my favourite album of all time and that is one hell of a difficult thing to conclude.

2. End of The Century- The Ramones

Not a common favourite amongst Ramones fans. To be hip and sauve I reckon I should have came out with "Rocket to Russia." However, The Ramones have always been a big part of my life as well as music itself. This album reaches a status that difers from any of the earlier Ramones albums and truly defines their rock and roll roots [more than likely the Spector effect]
This album alone is what introduced me to Trex and many great 60's and 70's rock and roll acts. I should mention it fair that the T-rex influence comes from "Rock and Roll Radio" and at Joey's mention became a love affair that continues to this day...next

3.The Cure - The Head On The Door
these are not in order...are these in order? No. I think I already said that. This cassette actualy got me a physiatric consultation fresh with a visit to the head masters office and a phone in to the parents [that of course was useless, but details are not important]
with songs like "screw" "six Different Ways" "Let's Go To Bed" "close To Me" this was not only consodered contraband and unacceptable, but allegations concerning possible sexual abuse were at hand. Oh how times have changed, eh? Not a very fond memory, but still a great album

4.Rio - Duran Duran I suppose this one is obvious. It may be under the same lines as being named Claudine, Roxanne, or if your parents really did not like you, Lucinda [not really, but I had to find a way to get "oh Lucinda" in here as it is favourite song, but unfortunately the album it is from does not qualify in this subject matter- though still fantastic....so there] moving on...this album has haunted me throughout my life mainly from the title track alone. If I had a pound or even a dollar for every time this song has been sang to me I could retire to a remote island full of poppies and tropical fruit as well as own a yacht for the sole purpose of beating out Simon Le Bon in a boat race without near drowning to torment him in the same way I have had to suffer from holding back the urge to slap anyone who sings this bloody song every time I mention my name as it has nothing at all to do with this damn album/song. Why can't they just sing "Virginia Plain" instead? Still nothing to do with Roxy Music -but a better song indeed. This album may be hazardus, but The Chauffer is still kind of classy

5. New Boots and Panties-
Ian Dury and The Blockheads I think perhaps this album should rank higher given my absolute adoration for Ian Dury. Though I am a random kind of gal.
There will never be an album written and orchestrated to the poetic beauty and feel good humour that this one gives off. Backed by the most outstanding of backing bands possible this album has affected me in so many ways i would be here all morning just listing them. As quoted in a note from whom I was tagged "every track a winner"

6. Unplugged-Alice In Chains album/DVD release The last official release and recorded performance of a very special dear and departed friend. Though To this day I still own it, I find it very difficult to listen to and/or view

.Love and Rockets-Love And Rockets The release of this album literally made me cry. Before this traumatic event it was only common to stand in front of the record shoppe for hours waiting for them to open on the day they were released to have the much anticipated first listen. This album changed that and not in a good way. Being a long time Bauhaus and all bands that adhere fan-Love and Rockets at the time were a huge love of mine. From their first three releases how could they possibly let me down? This album is the worst piece of crap I almost hate to admit I ever owned it. I believe there may be one or two of you that were with me to witness the horror of the day I put this on and was simply speechless. So alive? Motorcycle? Why oh why?! [actually, I think it is only one of you, but you will be tagged] Nice album art though.

.Black Celebration-Depeche Mode
this one is kind of personal. However, it had a massive impact on my life. One I choose not to make public on the internet. Had those involved still been alive, perhaps I may go into detail if they would let me. I seriously doubt they would have.

. The Velvet Underground and Nico-The Velvet Underground I believe an explanation would be redundant. Listen to the album and figure it out.

.The Velvet Underground- Live at Max's Kansas City-The Velvet Underground Perhaps not the most brilliant album for sound. However, being fortunate enough to have attended this show itself makes the album a significant gem

.Loserville-Unlucky Fried Kitten This may come off as bias to some and argue enough i may agree. However, had i not heard some of the songs on this album then never would I have realised the writng genius [amongst other gifts] that come natural to the frontman, Andy Export aka Andy Fraser aka, my husband. Had I not heard this album would we ever have spoke in depth as we did and would we now be married and would I etc...I find it safe to say this is a very significant album in my life-even though the first song I actually heard was Suzie Pendulum-Swing, not from this album. However, everyone else is breaking the rules, why can't i?

.Muswell Hilllbillies-The Kinks Though several Kinks albums may make this list, an album just isn't an album without "Alcohol" [or its' "Sister Morphine" however we have already covered this topic and I am afraid I can find no albm by The Rolling Stones to fit this bill]

.Louder Than Bombs-The Smiths I do not feel there is a track on this album that at one point in my life I could not relate to. An endless classic and to this date the only thing I could tolerate with that much orange.

. London Calling - The Clash simply put this album blew my mind. The easiest thing for me to do would be to copy and paste all the others who have put this in their list, but I am knackered

Something/anything-Marc Almond Well...I just love Marc Almond. That was easy

it seems cheating has become acceptable behaviour for this list. so my last will be Special mention and honours going to The only Ones-Even serpents Shine, The damned-The Light at the end of the tunnel [so what if it is a best of/singles collection], and The Jam-All Mod Cons


Thank You, and Good nite

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Reavsey Reavey at 14:14 on 15 March
Nice one...Max's was a nice touch as actually I probably played that more than any other album at one time...I will almost forgive you Duran Duran due to mitigating circumstances ;o)
Andy Fraser at 18:02 on 15 March
Some interesting observations there. I would've thought The Legendary Pink Dots might creep in. X
Nigel Leitch at 05:35 on 16 March
Love And Rockets ooh yeah

seen Duran Duran live - just thought I'd throw that in :D
Andy Fraser at 11:52 on 16 March
Supported Duran Duran at Macclesfield Labour Hall. They didn't play Rio ;)
Andy Fraser at 11:54 on 16 March
Love and Rockets....quite like the album you picked...but agree that it is like a sell-out compared to Earth, Sun, Moon or Express
Rio Fraser at 12:00 on 16 March
oops. By all rights The Legendary Pink Dots should have been in there as well as about 43 others but definitely them. Perhaps I will have a part deux, or use the ol' handy 'Edit' button
Andy Fraser at 12:03 on 16 March
No...no editing...we can all have a part 2. Perhaps a favourite rather tha a life-affirming....then a worst. Then I'll blog the whole frigging lot
Rio Fraser at 12:07 on 16 March
The L&R album would be fine if it was a diferent band and I never heard it.
I agree Express/ESM is outstanding. I am also fond of" Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven." In fact all the prior works. Hence, why I cried upon hearing this particular release
Rio Fraser at 12:10 on 16 March
Nigel, did you by any chance at all slap Simon Le Bon? Though questioningly, did He even pen that song? I haven't a clue
Rio Fraser at 12:16 on 16 March
Thank You, Reavsey. Many VU fans do not care for Max's due to its posthumous release. However, that also goes under life changing concerts/shows as well which I reckon will inevitably be done as well.
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Phil Dillon

1 - The Kinks: The Village Green Preservation Society

I rediscovered this album after seeing Ray live in 2007 and hearing him sing Village Green. It's about internal and external change, mortality, love, life, phenomenal cats and, crucially, loss. It's about a world that is passing from memory to history in our lifetimes. I don't think I got all that when I first heard it in my youth.


2 - The Beatles: Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

If you're a musician you're supposed to plump for Revolver, but this is it for me. An album so good, by a band so good that they could leave Strawberry Fields off it. The blueprint for studio recording thereafter and the pivotal album for popular music. 1967 was the year pop peaked, grew up and left home. there's a lot to be said for childhood memory here too. This is the first music that really stayed in my head.


3 - Lambchop: Nixon

It should be alt country but it's not. It's more like Philadelphia soul with a big fat vintage Gibson sat in the nest like a cuckoo. i had no idea waht was going on when I first played this, and now I can't put it down.


4 - Joni Mitchell: Blue

Songs are like tattoos.


5 - Radiohead: OK Computer

A good thing indeed that this came out at a time in my life when I was finally truly happy. There's a wanky word that gets overused by journalists - zeitgeist - but it applies here. And I can't get through "Let Down" with dry eyes. This music is beautiful.


6 - The Smiths: Hatful of Hollow

Yes, TQID is a masterpiece, but it's the rough edges on this album that changed my life. I was about fourteen when this came out, so I thought Morrissey was talking to me personally. Got me into John Peel too, bless him.


7 - Robyn Hitchcock: Eye

If I was on my knees you'd have a good view of my skull, and I happen to know you're carrying a chisel.


8 - Paul Weller: Wild Wood

This was like having a big brother put his arms around me at the time. Thanks Paul. You kept me up there.


9 - Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde

This has got "Visions of Johanna" on it, which, I think you'll find, is the pinnacle of human artistic achievement. Mona Lisa may well have the highway blues, but she doesn't have the ghost of electricity howling through the bones of her face now, does she?


10 - The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Paul McCartney allegedly buys this for friends' kids as part of their musical education.


11- Guided By Voices: Do The Collapse

I was given a promo of this and told that I'd like it by someone who knows my musical tastes as well as I do. Hooks, harmonies, guitars and jawdropping songwriting.


12 - Cat Power: The Greatest

Languid and lovely. But enough about Cat. Love and Communication sounds like an out take from Broken English brought up to date. That's an accolade, that is.


13 - Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Ragged Glory

Older guys can play loud better than younger guys. End of.


14 - Talk Talk: Laughing Stock

Eighties pop band? Think again. This is jazz-rock or something. It sound like catharsis in a sparse white room. Good drummer.


15 - Ben Jones: Echobox

Not out yet, but I'm privileged to have a copy. A proper solo album. All done by one man, so no compromise needed.



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Andy Fraser at 18:13 on 15 March
You have a great way with words, Phil. I mean.....
"It's more like Philadelphia soul with a big fat vintage Gibson sat in the nest like a cuckoo."
That's the best I've heard yet.
Lovely choices
Stuart Turner at 18:23 on 15 March
For what its worth, here are my life changers. Not necessarily my all time favourites, just the ones that changed the way I viewed things...

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
Bizarro - The Wedding Present
Dry - PJ Harvey
Generation Terrorists - The Manic Street Preachers
Bo Didleys Beach Party - Bo Didley
King of The Delta Blues Singers Vol 1 - Robert Johnson
Head on The Door - The Cure
Mule Variations - Tom Waits
Licence To Ill - The Beastie Boys
God Fodder - Neds Atomic Dustbin
De Stijl - The White Stipes
Eight Track Stomp - The Chickasaw Mudpuppies
Live After Death - Iron Maiden
Liege and Leaf- Fairport Convention

(Also of note -- Steady The Buffs - The Buff Medways



Sea Monsters - The Wedding Present



Ocean Rain - Echo and the Bunnymen



Pablo Honey - Radiohead)

S x
Bob Collins at 19:22 on 15 March
Totally with you on Nixon and, like Andy, your description of it. That album never fails to astound.

Funny thing with Dylan re-listening to him recently (for obvious reasons) I think Blonde on Blonde, although I do like it, is possibly my least favourite of his.
Andy Fraser at 11:43 on 16 March
Great choices....Stuart...I mean....nice to see Generation Terrorists get a mention (though I would always gho for the rougher edge of The Holy Bible) Once this has spread around a bit I'll blog a top 10 of parallell choices.
Andy Fraser at 11:44 on 16 March
Top 15, rather
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Top 15 Albums

OK...so here's the blog for your top 15 albums....not necessarily a list of your favourite albums....more succintly the most life-changing ones.
I'll post all of your choices on here and send a link. Invite anyone to put their choices on here....every now and again I'll make a consumate top 15....which at the moment would have Never Mind The Bollocks at #1 and london Calling at #2.
I'll upload some of the album covers too. Enjoy yourself. We'll have a "worst 15" soon ;)

Think of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world. When you finish, tag 15 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you're it!