My kind of music homework.....set by Tim

So here is my first ever blog ...and it takes the form of homework handed up to me (is it handed up if you are older?) by my girlfriends brother Tim .The suggestion for my first blog was to list the ten records  that have been important to me growing up and I must say that I think that is a pretty good call....so here goes....in no particular order and peppered with poor grammar.

 

Feelings - Various Artists - circa 74

This slushy mid seventies compilation of love songs was bought for me by my Mum (x) as a stocking filler in order that my main present ; a Sanyo portable cassette player ,  had something to go in it,and for at least 6 months was the only cassette that I owned ...consequently each of the 24 tracks were slowly but surely written into my 9 year old DNA never to be erased. Even now as soon as one of the tracks comes on the radio I will just instantly blurt out "feelings" within half a chord of the intro regardless of where I am or who I am with as a form of salute to the part this collection of songs played in my musical heritage .Needless to say that the legacy of the stocking filler lives on long after the main 'Big Present' was committed to landfill ...Thanks Mum.

 

Big Terror Movie Themes - Geoff Loves Orchestra

As a child I loved Horror Movies and Music...so this record neatly ticked both boxes with themes from Jaws , Psycho, The Exorcist etc .....note to self: must see if this can be found on Ebay.

My Dad's Singles - various Glam Rock.

Sweet , Sparks, Slade , Suzi Quatro, Nazareth , Mud , Queen , Gary Glitter (booooooo)

Ok not a record or album as such but I loved my Dads pile of singles and I think I systematically

trashed them all  over a two year period ..sorry Dad.

 

Grease

Ok not cool but for me the soundtrack to the summer of 78 just as the innocence  of youth was being kicked aside by Punk and New Wave . The ' chorus ' laden guitar intro to Grease is the Word still has time travel qualities for me ....I am in the back room ..crossed legged on the floor next to the stereo gram reading the sleeve notes for the hundredth time .

The Specials  - The Specials 1979 - Two Tone Records

I can remember pushing my way through a crowd in Woolworths in Dartford that were there to see Chas and Dave who were signing records to buy this album. I remember contrasting the coolness of my purchase with the uncoolness of Chas and Dave and feeling a lot cooler than I actually was. I was in awe of everything about this band ..the cool Iconic Two Tone Artwork,the rejection of the racism of the seventies, and energetic driving punk/ska sound that galvanised a youth movement into the concert halls to dance their white socks off. Check out Dance Craze for a flavour of a time where the concert hall crowds ,waists literally bent over the front of the stage , danced and sweated as  one organism before often joining the bands on stage for a meltdown finale.For two short years this band

were absolutely untouchable before they eventually collapsed in on themselves exhausted by Record Company tour schedules,drugs, and power struggles within the band.

I still recall literally stopping dead in my tracks as I trudged along on my paper round face stuck in a borrowed copy of NME; the headline plain and simple 'Specials Split'. Difficult for my 14 year old brain to comprehend why a band that was so cool would not want to stay a part of that forever. naively thinking that bands actually lived out their lives all living in the same house like The Monkees  just revelling in their collective awesomeness, bickering over who's turn it is to wash up and rocking concert halls to within an inch of their lives every night, I mean for fucks sake the No 1

masterpiece - 'Ghost Town'  had barely dropped out of the charts?

I was such a fan of this band that they had become a part of my identity and three thoughts prevailed

as I completed my round:

1. The realisation that I would not get to experience them play live.(or so I thought?!)
2. The certain knowledge that the school day would be difficult with no small amount of gloating from peer groups.
3. But an overriding sense of feeling properly let down, let down by grown ups , let down by the band that championed the unity of youth and race, but when it came to the push  - just could not get along.

Mod Mayday 79 - Various artists  - live

This rough diamond of a album was recorded live at The Bridge House in Canning Town a pub no bigger than The Orange Tree on Mayday 1979 ...bands such as Beggar , Squire  , The Mods , Secret Affair and other bands that had nailed their colours to the Mod Revival  providing the soundtrack to the bank holiday crowd ... The beauty of this collection is the mix of bands .. some virtually have a go heroes to the then charting Secret Affair. A set of truly raw , edgy and sometimes amateur live

performances that capture the mood of a scene that was riding on the crest of its short lived wave.

Yesshows (Yes Live 1973)

A double live album  showcasing an extraordinary band at the absolute top of their game.

Put simply Yes Music makes me happy ; If I am in a bad mood it makes me appreciate life for what it
 is  .. and if in a good mood it just enhances that state of mind.

Many people have tried to unravel John Andersons non sensical lyrics ..... however by his own admission they are often just the words that felt right and seemed to fit the phrasing whilst conveying an overall theme or mood .  I have often reflected on a Yes track ' I have no idea what he just said ... but I know exactly what he was trying to say ' - Steve Howes sublime guitar phrasing underpins the lyrics at every turn again communicating the themes without saying a single word.

The songs are long , complex and unconventional in structure but they reward the persistent ear in spades.Sometimes you can think you have bled a song dry only for another passage or theme to reveal itself ..it gives and gives and keeps on giving ; 5 immaculate musicians that have no right to find themselves all in the same band.

The twenty minute live performance of Close To The Edge on this album  is a breathtaking rendition of an absolute masterpiece.

I quite like Yes.

Radiohead  ... OK Computer

(if you made me choose one with a gun to my head)

I trained for 3 marathons listening to Radiohead Albums .When  running 15 miles in the dark on a wet winters night the music you are listening to becomes the absolute centre of your universe and as such you may as we'll listen to something  that has the power to engage and stimulate ...the 'Head' are just perfect to listen to in such an intimate setting . My running buddies Radiohead.

Rush .. The Spirit of Radio

This song rocks plain and simple....there are clips on YouTube of this 3 piece ( yes 3 piece!!) absolutely ripping this song apart  live . If I had to enter a band into the battle of the bands for the whole Universe I would submit Rush performing this song live  to represent this planet......be loud and proud : this is how we Rock on planet Earth.