Life-changing albums?

[David Bagdade]

OK..it seems like this group has become simply a gig-posting area, and I'm the biggest offender, so as penance, I will offer up the following discussion.

Since we are all musicians here, and are thus influenced by other musicians, we probably have albums (I'm showing my age by using that term) which influenced us above all others. What would these be for you? Here are a few of mine:

The Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East -- I first heard this when I was 14 and trying to learn the guitar, and it convinced me that most of what I had been listening to was crap. I used to put my guitar on and play along for hours at a time...or try to, anyway. My playing still contains things I learned from listening to this album.

JD Crowe & The New South -- A bit obscure for non-bluegrass fans, but this one, which I got when I was 16, showed me what real bluegrass was supposed to sound like, and led me to embark on a journey which I am still on to this day.

David Grisman, Hot Dawg -- Also when I was 16. This groundbreaking mandolin player combined bluegrass, jazz, gypsy music and heaven knows what else. This was the first record I ever heard which really showed me what a mandolin could sound like, and I got my first one a few months later...another lifetime journey thus initiated.

All right...who else?

[Marc Diebold]

For me...

All Things Must Pass - George Harrison (and many cool friends)

Abraxas - Santana (OK these first two were the first two albums I bought so there)

Who's Next - The Who

Anything Beatles

[Cissi Sherlock]

Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace
Anything by Earth, Wind and Fire - I expound their philosophies on a daily basis
Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
The Delfonics which I was fortunate enough to acquire recently and wore the CD out!
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

[James Harris]

Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago II

Chase; Blood Sweat and Tears; Simon & Garfunkle; Alan Parsons Project

[Tom Davis]

Something New - The Beatles
I wonder how many of us first picked up a guitar (or any other instrument) and started writing songs because of The Beatles, if not directly, then under the influence of someone else who started because of them. I picked this album because it was the first album I ever bought.

Will the Circle Be Unbroken - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
The first time I listened to it, I cried when it was over. Opened up the world of acoustic music, both bluegrass and other.

John Michael Talbot - John Michael Talbot
Before he got all mellow, he came out with a Christian album with great acoustic guitar playing and a strong rhythm.

Uncle Meat - Frank Zappa(The Mothers of Invention)
I have no idea what the words mean, but Dog Breath ranks as one of my top 5 songs of all time and Zappa opened up a whole new world of music, including jazz.

Medieval and Renaissance Music for the Irish and Medieval Harps - Elena Polonska
Somehow this record struck me as sounding like a clear, cold, sub-zero winter night, perhaps because the harp is so clear and stark. Chosen partly because it seems to represent an entry into listening to classical music.

I could go on and on with favorites, but these are at least representative of what I could call Life Changing.

[David Bagdade]

I certainly find common cause with you on three of these.

You wrote: "I wonder how many of us first picked up a guitar (or any other instrument) and started writing songs because of The Beatles.." Well, I certainly did. I was a little late to the party, but the first full-length album I bought with my own money was "Rock & Roll Music," a 1976 double-album repackaging of old tracks. I wore it out, and that led me to go back and get all the other Beatles Capitol albums. When I started playing guitar a year later, they were a big, big reason.

"Uncle Meat" was the first Zappa record I ever bought. I was about 13. I had no idea what he was on about, but some of the tunes were cool. I now have just about every Zappa album it's possible to own.

"Circle" was a big record for me too. I was already into bluegrass when I first heard it, but it clued me into some people I needed to hear. I haven't heard the record in about 20 years now, but I can still hear bits of it in my head.

Thanks for your contribution!

[Cissi Sherlock]

Prince- Purple Rain!