Classic Rock Bottom

I’ve seen and read a bunch of articles lately that give a forum to rock stars to talk about their Top 10 most influential albums, so I thought that sounded like a fun topic to think about. So here’s a two part post of reflections on my 10 most influential albums. Please don’t read this as an all-time top ten post, it’s not, though it does contain albums that make that list for me. Rather this first post is more of a chronological journey for me, and was a very cool reflection time for me to pull together.


My order may be off a bit too, but one thing I’m sure if this first album is truly my first recollection of music that totally engaged me… And so it will go from there…


Enjoy!


PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/sgabbert/a1un2iii


Tommy James and the Shondells…
(First heard: 1972-ish)

1 - Crimson and Clover

My oldest brother owned this greatest hits package and I’m pretty sure it was Crimson and Clover that totally drew me in. But as it turns out there were so many great songs on it that I practically ruined his vinyl copy because of my overplay and mishandling of the album at the time. But hey, whadda ya do! It truly was the first captivating music I recall getting thoroughly into. Think about the music on here, Crimson and Clover, Mony Mony, I Think Were Alone Now (which was cool until Tiffany got a hold of it!), Crystal Blue Persuasion, Sweet Cherry Wine, Sugar On Sunday, and so many more. Everything had a catchy hook and the psychedelic’s of the times were represented as well. Probably still owe my brother a copy of this but I don’t think this specific package is available anymore.

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac
(First Heard: 1975-ish)

2 - I'm So Afraid

Ah I remember it well, walked up the hill to my friend’s house and his older brother-in-law was there. They had just bought a new stereo system. You know, a fancy one with several components and large speakers in the corners. He was showing it off, and he threw on a couple different albums, one of which was this album. As soon as the needle hit Monday Morning entranced me! Ya it was like that. Never heard anything like that before and very rarely has music hit me so squarely. But it just got better from there, Warm Ways, Blue Letter, and others really shot out of the speakers and into me. Still love hearing this album today as much as I did back then.

Rush 2112
(First Heard: 1976)

3 - Lessons

I suppose I could’ve have listed Caress of Steel from 1975 as the influencing album because my brother owned it and I Think I’m Going Bald was hilarious to me, but it didn’t start my prog journey, like 2112 did. In these days 45’s were released and I stumbled upon a 45 of The Temples of Syrinx and given my vast knowledge of Caress of Steel, I bought (man I wish I could find it, may be worth some money today!) Anyway, it was cool! And then friends started playing the album version of 2112 and in context, it just got cooler. So 2112 started me on a prog journey that continues to this day.

KISS – Destroyer
(First Heard 1976)

4 - Flaming Youth

OK, so I’ve told this story as well, but so what! I had some friends in 6th grade that came to school one day with a KISS Army sticker on their lunch pale and I asked them what that was. After school we went to their house and they had a copy of The Originals which was a package of the band’s first three albums. Their room was filled with posters of the band, the infamous Empire State Building poster captivated me, but they played Destroyer on their stereo and so I was hooked in to the image and music quite easily but because I liked it so much I gladly took the ridicule that came with it.

AC/DC – Let There Be Rock
(First Heard: 1977)

5 - Dog Eat Dog

I’ve told this story before but what the heck, here it goes again. I had just started Junior High School and met a new group of friends. One day for lunch hour we walked over to a friend’s house who lived close by the school. Once we got there he threw on this album and queued it up to the second track of side one, the song was Dog Eat Dog. He thought we’d all get a kick out of the lyrics, which we did. But it wasn’t Dog Eat Dog that reeled me in it was the riffs on most every other song, plus it was so different from everything I’d heard ever before that it peaked my interest. Though it’s not my favorite ACDC album it is the most influential ACDC album for me.

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I was going to tell ya about my influences these songs and/or artists had on me, but with that nasty remark about Tiffany, I will not do so.

Well, Kiss didn't have any influence on me either, except as the butt of many, many jokes. So many jokes, they still keep coming TO THIS VERY DAY! Wow. Maybe that IS an influence.

Two of these really bring back strong memories, that being the first song and the third album and fifth group. However, as stated above,  I will not expound on that. That's right, I used the word "expound". 

I will tell you that I get a warm fuzzy feeling listening to the Grease soundtrack, because I got it as a present and it was an 8-Track. You betcha.

That guy on the FM cover really isn't that short.

I'm bored with this SHT now.  

Bored?  BORED???  Thats one word that never ever ever never ever been used to describe my forum.  NEVER EVER!

It has now, Tiffany hater.

Tommy James and whatever - Never heard about this.

Fleetwood Mac - Well, I didn't hear this album until I got spotify. I did off course hear Rumours, or the wellknown songs from that album, on the radio in 1977. It had absolutely no influence on me. "My sisters music"!!

RUSH 2112 - I've said many times, that my first RUSH-album was "Hold Your fire", bought in 1987. 2112 I heard at a friends house in 1989, and I was blown away. I could hear where Iron Maiden and Queensryche had taken some of their sound from. I bought the album the next day, and since that day,  it was always my favorite RUSH-album.

Destroyer - My first album - ever. I got it in april 1977, so it was a year or so "old". I didn't really know about KISS until January 1977, when I saw them in a "year-book" about pop-music from 1976. The pictures I saw where from a KISS-concert in Denmark in the spring of 1976. My sisters husbond attended that concert, lucky him.

AC/DC - I don't think I heard this album until around 1981 or so?! But I did hear High Voltage and Dirty Deeds in mid-1977. I was no fan back then, but I heard the albums many times, and later also Powerage. Then BIB was released and I became a fan. Weird to dis-like BS back then, since now it's the other way around. A fan of BS, not so much BJ.

I was "influenced" by Sweet's album "Fanny Adams" from 1974 and Queens "A Night At The Opera", which I heard the first time in 1976. But also BTO's "Not Fragile", all albums my two sisters played. 

Fleetwood Mac is real mans music!

I like all of the music you've played here.  Out of these five albums, only one would make my "most influential" list.  Can you guess which one that is?

Okay, I'll tell you, it's Destroyer.  But seriously, you knew that.  I think it was my second album.  But I'm wondering if my memory is just foggy.  I thought I bought VH II first, then Destroyer, but if that's correct, it would have been at least 1979, which would make me 13 at the time.  That may be correct.  Anyway, I loved everything about it, the music, the image and the album cover.

I'll name 9 more albums (in no particular order) that I remember being influenced by:

Bachman-Turner Overdrive II (my sister's album)

Bad Company - Run With The Pack (my sister's album)

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gold & Platinum (my sister's husband's album)

The Oak Ridge Boys - Have Arrived (no misprint, I truly love this album and I spent a lot of time listening to it)

Meatloaf - Bat Out of Hell (simply amazing)

Van Halen - Van Halen, Van Halen II or Fair Warning (you choose)

Jefferson Starship - Modern Times

Andy Taylor - Thunder

Rick Springfield - Living In Oz or Tao (You choose)

BTOs first 4 to 5 are really very strong!  

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