I decided to do a part two to the list of albums for the deserted Island, 10 just wasn't enough. Listed here are some more of my favorite albums of all time and some of the stories behind why. This was from May 2009.
Well, Bobby... here's part 2...
1. Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Soul to Soul"... When I was a kid, probably 7 or 8 or 9 I was building forts out of the couch cushions and my dad came home. He brought with him, on cassette tape (because it was still the 80's) SRV's "Soul to Soul" and "Texas Flood". They're both amazing and I listened to them both over and over that day. And, then I did so many times after. Our long time family friend Kathleen came over that day and said, "Wow! Stevie Ray, good choice Jason". I of course tried to play it off legit as a kid, thinking "oh yeah, I know" and kept building forts. But, I knew my father was introducing me to something great. And now, more than 20 years later, that music still endures.
2. Alice in Chains "Unplugged"... Alice in Chains will always remind me of high school rides in Puck's green Taurus. Those days are unforgettable. However, we never did listen to the Unplugged album. I heard later that Layne Staley was so messed up during the show that they had to keep starting songs over and that many were surprised he made it all the way through. Well, I think sometimes perhaps musicians (or other artisits) have to give something up in order to be amazing. It's a kind of sacrifice. These are the best versions of these songs.
3. Nirvana "Unplugged"... I couldn't listen to Nirvana until after I loved this album. They are among the best to come from my generation, yet not impressive song writers or technical musicians. Yet, their performance, song writing, and passion for the music was plenty impressive. I like this album also because when I was learning to play guitar, I could play many of these songs (albeit not quite like Kurt). I never listened to much Nirvana until right around when Kurt passed on, I don't know if that matters much in the long run, but it seemed significant at the time.
4. Eagles "Hell Freezes Over"... Yeah, it was the first CD my family ever owned. My dad and I used to make special trips to the back room of our house to play it on our old 486. The harmonies are damn good, the guitar work and song writing are unmatched, and the title is clever. The Eagles somehow turned themselves into an all-star band. All of them (for the most part) could sing, song write, and play an instrument. And, they could (and probably still can) play together perfectly.
5. Tom Waits "Heat Attack and Vine"... When I first moved to MA in 1999 I got some homesickness that I'd never felt before. For some reason I went out and bought this album. I think that Jersey Girl was the only Waits song I really knew at the time, but the burned out looking mug shot of Tom on the front cover seemed to display exactly how I felt. So, I bought it and listened to it many many many times. Matt can vouch for the long Tom Waits sessions that occurred in that room in the Winter and Spring of 99. And, perhaps Erik can too. Erik and I learned a few of these and used to sit on the floors in other people's rooms and try to play them, trying to rasp up our voices.
6. Bob Seagar "Beautiful Loser"... It's really only the first half of this album that is really really good, but it's worth hearing all the way through. It's really designed for road trips across the west (in my opinion at least) so to fully enjoy it, take it to Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wyoming, or some other similar huge and remote state... then drive. This is especially effective if you have a black Isuzu Trooper with a broken air conditioner that burns through a quart of oil every 120 miles. I bought a cassette tape of "Beautiful Loser" in some gas station out there somewhere, it got plenty of playing time on plenty of trips.
7. Neil Diamond "Hot August Night"... Neil was feelin' it this night. I happen to enjoy most, if not all, of his music, however I also fully understand why many others do not. Nobody has ever understood the magic of Neil quite as well as Plouffe, and we've spent plenty of hours appreciating him together. However, this album (especially if you can hear it on vinyl) is by far his best. It's got classic songs, some less common ones, Neil playing guitar, and is all performed live in a very raw and stripped down way. Neil was physically at his prime and you could tell he had practiced these songs til he could do them perfectly. And, he hadn't quite yet become the Neil Diamond we now know and appreciate, he was less polished and ready to rock... awesome.
8. Bob Dylan "Blood on the Tracks"... I discovered for myself this album also during that 99 year. And, I also tried to play a bunch of these songs with Erik. We had plenty of fun doing that, but could never quite make them as interesting as Bob does. He's a great song writer and this is my favorite stuff. It's heart felt and poetic and a bit dark. I'm always surprised how many people I've mentioned this album to and they tell me that it's also a favorite.
9. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band... The first album for John after the Beatles broke up. I read once that these songs were John's response to the changes that occurred at the end of the 60s. And, that could be. To me it also sounds like he had been bottling these songs up because for whatever reason they didn't fit with the band scene. And, then he released them! And, it was some sort of big relief for him! They're so honest and cool and I imagine them to be the most personal for John. I think it took him from being a rock super star to being a real dude... and that's always appreciated.
10. Mark Knopfler "Golden Heart"... Of course I first thought Mark Knopfler was cool when he was rockin' Money for Nothin' and I rented the Dire Straits music video collection from Flics'n'Pics (R.I.P.), but nothing compares to this stuff. I'm not sure how true it is, but I was told that he traveled across Europe and Asia before recording this. The album feels big and it's diverse. The guitar playing is crisp and smooth. The songs are well written and go from rockin' to blues to folk to heart felt. Dad have listened to this a ton. One time I was leaving to go back to MA at some point and he told me I better take along Golden Heart. He was right.
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