Your Five Most Influential c.d.s (Share Why, Stories, etc.)

Big Ears

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1. Trilogy - ELP. A friend of mine had an older brother, who had put a poster of this (the album cover) on his wall. I was intrigued and when I heard the title track it sounded like nothing else on Earth. Emerson, Lake and Palmer have been my favourite band ever since.
2. Fragile - Yes. I probably saw the Roger Dean artwork and photos of the band on stage, before I ever heard them. It might sound silly, but I liked Yes before I listened to their music. Roundabout was one of the first things I heard and the impenetrable nature of the lyrics, combined with Jon Anderson's yearning voice, along with the driving bass and keyboards had me hooked. It also has one of the best intros of all time.
3. In the Court of the Crimson King - The riff-based 21st Century Schizoid Man is so dramatic, that progressive rock became the most important thing in the world to me as a teenager. If it wasn't for this, I might have worked at school and made something of my life.
4. Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower. Literally the first album to make me want to play air guitar (instead of doing my homework).
5. Do You Like it Here Now, Are You Settling In? by Man. The second album to make me want to play air guitar.

On another day, I might choose a different selection.
 

Slip'nn2Darkness

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Black Sabbath~ Debut.. A work of perfection in my book.. Three talented musicians and one singer who might turn off some, but Ozzy's voice works so well with that band.. Plus.. Bill Ward's drumming has always been my favorite.
So now I play loads of Bill Ward so I can learn his style on my kit.

Bridge Of Sighs ~ Robin Trower.. first time I heard it I was entranced.. I had just moved to Provo Utah and a high school buddy lived not far so he took me out for some doobeige one snowy night and we sat in his VW smoking and listening to that tape.. Not a word was said.. just entranced in the sounds..
James Dewar is one of the Bassist that got me going playing bass.

I'll add more when I have time to reflect..
 

coltrane2

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Just to be clear, my interpretation of "influential" is not in any sense "favourite", it's the records that changed our tastes or perception of life at a given time or even our sense of fashion or friendships, yeah? With that in mind:

1. Ratt: Out Of The Cellar; I rarely even listen to this now and yes it's shallow, facile LA melodic hair metal. However, it's the album that really turned me onto rock. It didn't sell 4 million copies in the US for no good reason. Beau Hill expertly produced this into a set of mega catchy rock anthems. They just seemed so colourful to a 15 year old living 3,000 miles from LA in a drag North East England housing estate. True escapism. I remember thinking they must all live in a big mansion together and of course be doing endlessly cool rock star things. Sometimes the rainbow is better than the pot of gold, but it did open up my ears to the rock album format. Of course I eventually discovered that Aerosmith had done the same thing 1,000 times better about ten years before Ratt, but when you're 15, you listen to what's yours and what seems cool

2. Def Leppard: Hysteria; Now this one I do still listen to and can still appreciate. I maintain that this is the most well played and produced album in rock history. Thousands and thousands of hours boiled down into perfect performances. And they really did take some risks; Women is an incredibly spaced out opener, given that they're pigeon holed as nothing more than a band of commercial unit shifters.

Honestly, if you really listen to this album there are so many nuances to it. And along with Slippery When Wet, it set the tone for that late 80's stadium rock sound, which brings me to...

3. Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet; Has not dated at all well and now comes across as a second rate watered down Born To Run (without the integrity or the substance). However, in 1986/7 it sounded like a blast of technicolor rock perfection. Again the producer (the late great Bruce Fairbarin) played a huge part in this. You could blame Bon Jovi for all that hair metal shit that Nirvana later exploded via grunge. However, the truth is they kept hard rock on the airwaves, making it easier for your Metallicas, Guns N Roses and the return of Aerosmith.

4. R.E.M: Automatic For The People; hit me hard and was the album that STOPPED me listening to Ratt and Bon Jovi, exploding my musical tastes into all kinds of zones. As an album, it's an acknowledged classic, seeped in presence and that "Athens, Georgia" magic, like it was conceived on a warm fall night on some porch in the open air. Consistent and perfectly sequenced, it continues to be breath taking, even if the truth is that I spun it so much in the early 90's that it's now a little over familiar.

5. Oasis: (What's The Story) Morning Glory; This will resonate with anyone who was young and living in England during the mid 1990's. They were our Beatles (figuratively and sonically given the influence of the Fab Four on their sound). Just supreme songwriting and a casual sense of "who gives a f*ck, just go for it". The essence of the punk ethic, mashed together with the obvious songwriting talent of Noel Gallagher.

Revisionists will tell you that Definitely Maybe was the one, but it's Don't Look Back In Anger, Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova that will resonate forever, if they're honest with themselves.
 
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JerseyGirl

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Hard to try and limit it to 5, but this is what I came up with. They are in random order except for the first one.

Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
220px-Borntorun.jpg

Undeniably my favorite album of all time. For me, there is not one bad song on it. I first heard this album because my sister was a Springsteen fan. She also had the two earlier albums which I also heard, but when she first started playing Born To Run, I was hooked. Something about 'the sound' that really cannot be duplicated and never will...it's only Bruce's.

Boston - Boston
BostonBoston.jpg
This is probably the first album I discovered on my own...not something I heard from someone else or something that was suggested to me or that my older sister's listened to. Again, another great album with not one bad song.

Foreigner - Foreigner
foreigner-cd-cover-art.jpg

Foreigner has gone on to be one of my favorite bands of all time. This debut album had the great hits on it...Feels Like The First Time, Cold As Ice. And then there was Fool For You Anyway, The Damage Is Done, etc. Lou Gramm to me has the best voice in rock n roll.

Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
fleetwoodmac.jpg
I first heard this album from a friend of mine that was a huge Fleetwood Mac fan. We played this album over and over and over again and never got tired of it. It was during the summer when I first heard it, so the songs have a summertime feel to them for me. Lots of great memories attached to this album.

I Love Rock n Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
I_love_rock_n'_roll_-_joan_jett_(album_cover).jpg
Joan Jett showed me that girls can rock just as well as the boys. She was tough, gritty and beautiful. I liked her with the Runaways, but when she went on her own she captured the spotlight like she always should have. Joan Jett will always be considered a true rocker chick. I even had my hair cut like hers from this album cover. :D
 

coltrane2

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Nice choice Jersey Girl Given that I rate the first four pretty highly, I'd better see if there's more to Joan Jett than I Love Rock N Roll!
 

JerseyGirl

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Nice choice Jersey Girl Given that I rate the first four pretty highly, I'd better see if there's more to Joan Jett than I Love Rock N Roll!

Thank you! :) There are a couple of albums on your list as well that are definitely in my top 10...Hysteria and Slippery When Wet. :grinthumb
 

coltrane2

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Thank you! :) There are a couple of albums on your list as well that are definitely in my top 10...Hysteria and Slippery When Wet. :grinthumb

Excited about Wrecking Ball then or is that a silly question? We Take Care Of Our Own sounds promising. I still struggle with Working On A Dream, but this sounds more like it.
 

JerseyGirl

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Excited about Wrecking Ball then or is that a silly question? We Take Care Of Our Own sounds promising. I still struggle with Working On A Dream, but this sounds more like it.

Definitely! So silly question. ;) When I first heard WTCOOO, I liked it a lot. Then I played it a few more times and now I love it. It's definitely catchy. I agree, WOAD was not the best. But I am really looking forward to this one and to hearing it on tour.
 

McFly

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1. Duran Duran - Arena, but i didn't know it better then. But there was some electric guitar sounds on it!
2. Kiss - Rock and roll over, I didn't know anything about the band, but I loved the cover. That LP got me into Hard'n Heavy.
3. Deep Purple - Made in Japan, I had just the tape copied from a friend. Since that day I love Deep Purple.
4. Kiss - Alive I loved the feedback from Ace's guitar and I wondered how he did that.
5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave, again a copy from this friend. I think I have to thank him a very lot!!!
 

coltrane2

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1. Duran Duran - Arena, but i didn't know it better then. But there was some electric guitar sounds on it!
2. Kiss - Rock and roll over, I didn't know anything about the band, but I loved the cover. That LP got me into Hard'n Heavy.
3. Deep Purple - Made in Japan, I had just the tape copied from a friend. Since that day I love Deep Purple.
4. Kiss - Alive I loved the feedback from Ace's guitar and I wondered how he did that.
5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave, again a copy from this friend. I think I have to thank him a very lot!!!

That's a cooler top five than mine I have to say, with the exception of Duran Duran of course, but hey they were never as bad as they were painted.
 

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