Albums which affected the course of your life:

[KarmaSutra]

I'm putting this in our MM forum for two reasons:

1. The younger man doesn't know what it is to appreciate vinyl.

2. With albums, we had to baby them to keep them in as pristine condition as we could. Unlike cd's and digital media, they have a short shelf life. You had to absolutely love your record, and appreciate every note, before the inevitable scratch or warp ruined the record.

Here are a few of mine and how they changed my life:

The Doors greatest hits - My aunt Linda blessed me with this double-sided LP in late 1981, as a sprite 8-year old bastard-in-training.

One word: Addicted. I didn't listen to another thing for over a year. Jim Morrison's words shaped my "fragile eggshell mind" and taught me the power of lyric.

Boston - Brad Delp should hold the moniker of "The Voice". Not to shat on Paul Rodgers and his contribution to music. But, he can't sing More than a feeling with the throttle wide open as Brad Delp did. Tom Sholz Killed it with those goddamned solo's and made me a life-long Boston fan.

Metallica - Ride the lightning - Fvcking raw. I'll swear to this day this album made my record player a tough motherfvcker. The needle went from limp d!ck to hard prick after I played this.

Guns n' Roses - Appetite for destruction - At 14, this record gave me an outlet for my youth-burdened angst. The first time I'd heard "Fvck" in a song as a definitive: "Why don't you just...FVCK OFF!" At last.

Metallica - Master of Puppets - Really? What is there to say except this record having more chord power than any other. Until...

Tool - Aenima - I had seen Tool during their Undertow tour at The Masquerade in Tampa and had become completely enthralled by Maynard, Adam, Danny, and Paul. It wasn't until Aenima came out that I devoted my life (to this day) as a devotee to the greatest band ever. Ride the lightning made my LP player a badass, Aenima made it legendary. The perfect record. Introspective, lyrically unbeatable. The drum licks and fills still put me in a deep meditative state. It's a journey of growth from the start of Stinkfist to the final, drifting beat of Third-Eye.

I'll add more later but these culminate the breadth of my formidable musical yearnings.

It's interesting what helped to shape our decisions, especially through the music we listen to.

 

[Warrior74]

New Forms - Roni Size oh yah, on vinyl. Raving it up hard mates. Boh! All junglist crew.

 

[Zunder]

The Clash
" LONDON CALLING"
Best album from the best band in the world, period.

 

[Victory Unlimited]

Yo Karma, great choices bro’.

Quite a few of them I can relate to on multiple levels.

Special “unsolicited” VU Commentary:

Karma, allow me to add a few more comments to some of the choices you’ve shared with us so far-------since this is a thread that is so unapologetically for us “grown folks”.

The Doors greatest hits – Dude, I knew about the Doors peripherally, true enough. Jim’s gift for turning poems into iconic songs is legendary and still not really matched today-----by most groups who TRY to be “deep”. I got “a little” into them in the mid-eighties. But I REALLY got into them later on in the nineties based on two events: Val Kilmer’s BRIILLIANT portrayal of Jim Morrison in the Doors movie, AND------the ever-growing realization that one of my FAVORITE “front men” was so obviously influenced by him. I’m talking about my boy Mike Huchence from INXS. I remember when that group first came out, he was a cross between Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. But as time went on-------the Jim Morrison influence won out in the end (thankfully).

The Doors were the prototype of MANY groups that followed them. I can easily see telltale signs of them in early Led Zeppelin, but I especially see a lot of Jim Morrison’s flair in “some” of INXS’s style. Anybody who will take the time to listen to “Break on through (to the other side) by the Doors” will SURELY see how heavily influenced Mike Hutchence and crew were by Jim and the boys.

In fact, so much so, that when I first heard “Break on through (to the other side), I could have sworn it was an INXS cut-----because I didn’t know any better. But how wrong I was. I later found out that without the Doors, there would be no Mike Huchence and subsequently, no INXS. One of my favorite songs by the Doors was The Unknown Soldier (what else???)lol So Much respect to the Doors!

Boston – I bought this album AFTER I heard Third Stage by the same group. I don’t think any group/vocalist in the classic rock era managed to marry modern rock with Beach Boys’ style harmony and a slightly southern sounding flavor quite the same way as Boston did. Brad Delp was a stellar vocalist. I remember being disappointed with the albums after Third Stage because Brad was featured less and less on them. Also Karma, just in case there’s a slight chance that you haven’t gave them a shot----go get those two RTZ albums that Brad made with one of the former members of Boston in the late eighties (I think). It’s good stuff. Especially the 1st album. Rest in peace to the legendary Brad Delp.

Guns n' Roses - Appetite for destruction – I liked this album too. It was in your face, balls to the wall hard rock. Without this album coming first, there would be no subsequent “Use Your Illusion, etc.”. But here’s something I’d like to bring up: In my mind, GNR represented the LAST of the great classic hard rock bands. They were the perfect medium between the increasingly, “caricaturish” glam rock that had took over and the coming of Grunge (which some people love, but I personally hated).

I feel that when grunge came, the Guitar hero died, the showmanship in rock “stopped” showing up, and the bombastic, anthemic melodies went to hell (just my opinion, of course). But I believe if GNR would have stayed the course we could have had the best of both worlds----great guitar hero, larger than life music AND grunge. But alas, they broke up, grunge took over, and GNR and a host of “hair bands” went the way of the dinosaur. Long live Guns n’ Roses. And a special thanks to Slash for helping to keep the artistry of the guitar solo alive for the younger generation as long as he did. RESPECT.

Hell, I meant to list some of my own favorites, but now I’ve run out of time, so I’ll have to do it another time.

Good thread, karma.

VU

 

[Bible_Belt]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomicjeep/32913680/

I had a kid's album player and listened to 'The Muppet Show' until I wore it out.

 

[satelliteparties]

Boston's first album is a masterpiece from start to finish. Not a song on the album that isn't a great and still isn't played on rock radio.

However, my favorite song by them...and a good song to work out to, pre-game to, is Don't Look Back. Everything about it pumps me up...the harmonies in the chorus are nasty.

Didn't have it on record, but Diary Of A Madman by Ozzy is also great from start to finish.

An opposite side of the spectrum...but End Of The Innocence by Don Henley...the song and the album.

 

[Julius_Seizeher]

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits- This is an album I have owned, in both cassette and CD form, from nearly as far back as I can remember.

Bad Company Man, Bad Co. kicks ass. Ten From Six, Straight Shooter, so many badass albums, takes me back to cruising that old vette in high school.

Rolling Stones- Sticky Fingers, Exile on Mainstreet

Pink Floyd- DSOTM, The Wall, and WYWH are their seminal studio works; Meddle and Division Bell are also favorites. Live at Pompeii remains the greatest live recording I've seen of any band, that early post-Barrett science fiction stuff was unadulterated genius. Look up Echoes, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, Careful with that axe Eugene, One of These Days I'm Going to Cut You Into Little Pieces, and the epic Saucerful of Secrets. The Pompeii performances. I am yet to find a more innovative yet melodic band as PF; most bands have to sacrifice innovation to melody and many bands considered innovative have no melody.

U2- The old stuff. Like anything from 1978-Achtung Baby. With the "Pop" album they went to ****. But their early 80's stuff is so good.

Steve Miller Band- The Greatest Hits album with the horses head should be standard issue gear.

 

[KarmaSutra]

And later on - Metallica "Garage Days".

Totally.

Last Caress is one of their best re-makes, right behind Whiskey in the Jar and Breadfan.

However, my favorite song by them...and a good song to work out to, pre-game to, is Don't Look Back. Everything about it pumps me up...the harmonies in the chorus are nasty.

Absolutely. My favorite Boston tune, by far, is Don't look back. If this song doesn't make you feel good about living, nothing will.

Didn't have it on record, but Diary Of A Madman by Ozzy is also great from start to finish.

I did. Bought it before Blizzard of Ozz simply because I thought it would piss off my strict Catholic Parents. You can't kill rock and roll is in my top five songs of all time.

Bad Company Man, Bad Co. kicks ass. Ten From Six, Straight Shooter, so many badass albums, takes me back to cruising that old vette in high school.

"The Voice" is one of these timeless singers who can do no wrong.

Pink Floyd- Agreed. Dark side of the moon is a seminal masterpiece unmatched to this day. I'm a Gilmour guy, not a Roger Waters guy. Put some heavy headphones on, turn the lights off and fall into Dark side. That's what music should do. Take you to a transcendental place.

U2- The old stuff. Like anything from 1978-Achtung Baby. With the "Pop" album they went to ****. But their early 80's stuff is so good.

Never was I a fan of U2. I listened to Joshua Tree and it wasn't too bad.


Here are a couple more of my favorite records:

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue - Jesus listens to this record to chill. This record was my Dad's and introduced me to what real Jazz music is. It's as melodic and temporal as any record ever produced. Flamenco Sketches will change your religious beliefs. You can find it in FLAC format which resembles as closely to vinyl as possible. You can hear the taps of Miles' fingers as he hits his notes.

.38 Special - Special Forces / Tour de Force / Strength in Numbers - Pure Southern rock. Like no other night is another in my top five songs. I just went and watched .38 Special in March and they still kick ass. I remember borrowing these records from my friend Andy. Yeah, he never got them back...

 

[Julius_Seizeher]

Second the .38 Special, people like to call them a Skynyrd ripoff but they had good songs.

Second the Gilmour nod as well, Roger Waters is a prick, and not in a way that is cool or endearing. Though he was necessary; he was the intellectual mastermind of everything they did. I don't really see the whole cult fascination with Syd Barrett, they think he was a prophet but he was just fvcked up on drugs and bottom line: his music was crap. But Gilmour was a prolific writer and, obviously, his Stratocaster sits in the upper pantheon of rock and roll.

In the metal arena, I'll see your Ozzy Ozzbourne and raise you a Ronnie James Dio. Ozzy and RJD were the archetypes of heavy metal, both when they were with Sabbath and solo. Great White was another great studio band of that time, but they got drunk at every show and their performances were legendary...for being awful.

Check out "Can't you hear me knocking" by the Stones, you've got Keith Richards channeling Chuck Berry on the intro and rhythm guitars, and you've got Mick Taylor (another short-lived, unfortunate Stones guitarist) almost bringing out some Carlos Santana on the guitar solo. By far my favorite Stones song.

 

[Zunder]

Roger Waters was fvcking brilliant.
Aminals is Floyds best Album - & pigs on the wing pts 1&2 is the sh1t.
Gilmour is good, but not a patch on Waters
Just my opinion.

 

[Lexington]

I'm 26, so a lot of the records that affected me profoundly were made before I was born or when I was really young, and I didn't have them on vinyl, but on tape or CD.

Some great picks, fellas!

Master of Puppets is absolutely epic. Hands down Metallica's best work IMHO. This is the record that really made me want to pickup a guitar and rock out.

I'm a HUGE fan of Pink Floyd and all of their work. Dark Side of the Moon is like a gospel....it's an album that musically explores the human condition. An absolute masterpiece along with Wish You Were Here.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band- what can be said about this album that hasn't been said already? It's just a beautiful work of art.

 

[Lexington]

Guns n' Roses - Appetite for destruction - At 14, this record gave me an outlet for my youth-burdened angst. The first time I'd heard "Fvck" in a song as a definitive: "Why don't you just...FVCK OFF!" At last.

So easy is an awesome song and one that is certainly applicable to many people that I've met in my life:

I see you standing,
You think you're so cool,
Why don't you just....

FVCK OFF!!!!

*cue rocking solo*

BTW nice thread!

 

[Julius_Seizeher]

In Columbus, OH in the mid-70's, my dad, my uncle and some other guys walked into a bar on High Street, Ohio State's central hub.

A band was playing on the stage. "Who are these guys?"

"I guess they're called Boston."

"Never heard of 'em."

They hit the next bar. Later that summer, More Than a Feeling hit the airwaves, and they have kicked themselves ever since for walking away from seeing Boston in a tiny college bar.

 

[KarmaSutra]

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band- what can be said about this album that hasn't been said already? It's just a beautiful work of art.

I've never listened to the record but I own the album, strictly for the cover art.

Aleister Crowley is featured prominently on the top row.

My hero.