One of my guitar students asked me for recommendations of albums on vinyl so I dashed off this list. Many of them I’ve had for a long time and some for less, but one thing that they almost all have in common is that it’s pretty easy to listen all the way through. Yeah, you got to flip ‘em. Also, these records have a story behind them. There are many great artists that I’m totally devoted to who are not on the list. That’s not a value judgement in any way. Most of the newer music that I listen to is on CD. Also, I listen to jazz and classical all the time but mostly on CD. There is a certain inspiration and serendipity to the list, as you will see.
Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul – I listened to this one a lot when I first got my latest turntable. I bought it at Mercer St. Books and it sounds amazing. I know this because The Lady Migdalia said one time when we were dining chez moi, “Chris! This sounds so incredible!” It’s deep, delicious, colorful and it has an edge to it, as well. It’s a pretty old pressing. They often sound like that.
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here. This is one of my all-time favorite albums and my favorite Pink Floyd record. I’ve got the official PF pressing, somewhat recently released. It sounds warm and intimate, with lower compression than the CD that I’ve listened to a million times, one of the first CDs that I ever bought. The official release also came with a digital download that I’ve got on my phone. But I also have the first copy I bought, when I was around fourteen. I was in some kid’s basement – yeah, I know who it was – and I’ll never forget the sound of David Gilmour’s guitar with the MXR Phase 90 on “Welcome to the Machine,” tripped out as all hell right from the attack of the first note. I was hooked for life. And that beat up pressing still sounds great.
Something Else By The Kinks – I always listen to this when I’m cooking. I bought it for $2 back when I worked at a record store. It’s a “cut-out” copy, meaning it was sold as a bargain to the store by the record company with a little slice taken out of the cover so the consumer knows it’s been discounted. It’s incredible all the way through with a couple of really killer highlights. The great Nicky Hopkins guests on Hammond organ on the song, “Situations Vacant.” There’s nothing like it.
James Taylor – Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. My Uncle worked in the music industry and he gave me a copy on cassette when I was thirteen. And then I found a beautiful vinyl copy on the street about ten years ago. Just recently, I found a CD copy in the park. It follows me around. It’s sad and haunting and whiney and fantastic and uplifting with great musicianship and it sounds beautiful on vinyl.
Traffic – Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys. I once saw this described as “too easy to listen to.” It’s phenomenal. I don’t know where my copy came from. I don’t remember buying it. There’s an extended version of one of the songs that you can buy on iTunes for $1.29 that is a real gem. It’s called “Rock and Roll Stew.” Steve Winwood at his best but with the rest of the gang in full flight.
Albert Collins – Trash Talkin’. The Iceman is a great blues guitarist and he eventually achieved some national and international renown. But on this album, he’s really laid back, playing a bit in the style of late ‘60s soul – stripped down, tight and great sound. Minimalist. Plus, he plays at least three of my favorite blues songs on the album. You’ve got to love the name of the album! A stone killer! I bought it on Discogs.
Fleetwood Mac – Bare Trees. This is a transitional Fleetwood Mac album, where they were going from the popular mid-tier blues revivalists to top tier pop rockers. Bob Welch is on lead vocals. It’s pre-Stevie but it has Christine McVie and you can hear the future direction in her two wonderful songs. It is very easy to listen to. The late Danny Kirwan plays a very Clapton inspired lead guitar but a lot of people did at that time and I love Clapton. I also love the album cover, an early ‘70s, moody, atmospheric kind of vibe, which was lensed by bassist John McVie.
Joe Cocker – Stingray. I bought this at Academy for $8. It is loaded with genius guitar players, including EC himself, Cornell Dupree and Eric Gale (not the newer guitar slinger of today, Eric Gales). Super mellow and fantastic sound. They recorded it in Jamaica and it sounds like it. No expense spared, top session people. Just brilliant with Cocker at the beginning of his “comeback.”
Brahms – Piano Quintet Opus 34 with Andre Previn on Piano. I’ve had this album for over 30 years and it still sounds perfect, which is to say, dynamite. I took it to In Living Stereo recently, a super high end stereo store, probably the last of its kind in NYC, where I have a friend, and I listened to it on a $40,000 or way more stereo system. It held up beautifully. Intense and inevitable. If you’re in the mood for something classical, this is one of Brahms’ best and most famous chamber works. The top of the heap where classical music is concerned.
Blue Oyster Cult – Tyranny and Mutation. I don’t know why I have two copies of this album. But a few years ago I got into a thing where I was playing it all the time, until a wacky neighbor moved in below me before she moved above me, to escape the sound of albums like this. Says it all. Guitar-O-Rama! A New York hard rock band, recording in Columbia Studios. A rarity. It’s no surprise they became as big as they did. And no, it doesn’t need more cowbell.
Jimi Hendrix – Axis Bold As Love. It doesn’t have all the hits that Are You Experienced? has, but it’s more intimate, with stunning sound and guitar playing. It sounds like Jimi is sitting next to you, and that’s a good place to be. In my top five or top three, even though I don’t listen to it all the time. The music is burned into my DNA.
Mazzy Star – She Hangs Brightly. Bought at a record store, full price, when it came out. I read about it in Spin! Magazine. I loved it then and I still play it. Great from start to finish with inventive, emotional but simple and direct guitar work by David Roback and the Girl From Sandoz I mean Hope Sandoval’s beautiful and influential voice.
The Replacements – Pleased To Meet Me. Ferocious and brilliant. I bought it when it came out and I still have my pristine copy. I love the Replacements and I consider this to be their best album and if that pisses you off then you know which ones are the other two. Great songs and a crispy, highly present sound. Actually recorded digitally, must have been an early example (1987). Smokin’!
kd Lang – Shadowland. I got this as a promo when I was working at J&R Music World. Fantastic torch songs, sophisticated strings, every embellishment and all the heartbreaking crooning you could ever want. The sound is beyond belief. Her voice is everything. Produced by Owen Bradley, who has a statue in Nashville. He also produced Patsy Cline’s hits back in the ‘50s. He was genius. Goes down easy, ie over in a flash and you have to put something else on, but there’s almost no way to follow it up. I still have my original copy and it sounds really rich. Would stand up to Sinatra’s best. OK, maybe a little lighter than that, but that’s a good thing.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer – Tarkus. I had to include this because I play it all the time, especially when I cook, which is quality time for me. But I usually only play side one. It has awesome album cover art, the sound and performances are cutting edge, and Greg Lake’s voice is something to behold. I read a biography of his recently, and he said this was his favorite ELP album. I wasn’t surprised at all.
John Coltrane – Plays The Blues. Just a great Coltrane album, I got it when I was in my teens and still have my original copy which sounds clear and deep. I once saw the piano player McCoy Tyner from a few feet away at a club in the Village. We were all 17 years old and they would serve us alcohol! The music is in the “hard bop” style – ha ha! I’m laughing because it took me so long to figure out what that meant. Yes, it is worth discussing but easy as hell to listen to. An essential jazz album. You probably wouldn’t mistake it for blues. But then again, maybe you would hear it that way. It does use the form.
Never Mind The Bullocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols. I have a copy of this that I bought probably when I was working at J&R. I’ve played it hundreds of times and it still sounds as abrasive, exhilarating and perfectly calibrated to incite a riot as it did when they made it. It was the centerpiece of a paper I wrote about punk when I was in grad school. The course was called, Music and Indoctrination. Get it?
Mott The Hoople Live. I guess we’re down to the punk/glam part of the list. This album is a favorite of mine. Really loud, melodic guitar playing and a raucous live band kicking it out on Broadway in the New York City of the mid-‘70s. When I was 14 years old, I bought it just for the cover. It endures, and then some. I used to only listen to side one but about ten years ago I discovered the glories of side two. A double album import version of this exists and die-hards swear that it’s vastly superior. I own both but I think the original, single album version is perfect.
Led Zeppelin II. On my fourteenth birthday, I went over to my Grandparents’ house to visit them. My Aunt Betty had left me a present. It was a copy of Led Zeppelin II. I was overjoyed. She had read my mind. How did she know? She was cooler than anything, that’s how. Many years later, I found a bunch of lovingly cared for albums laid out on a stoop on the Upper East Side (I used to go there all the time to teach guitar lessons). Among them was a copy of Led Zeppelin II, which I carried home with me. I later found out that it’s considered to be one of the top American pressings of the album and all you’ve got to do is listen to it to know why. It is really crunchy! Aunt Betty’s copy is in the closet. As Jimmy Page said, “It sounds like playing all the time.”
Joni Mitchell – Blue. This pressing doesn’t sound that great or perhaps it’s just a slightly weird sounding album, a little bit of hard mids or something like that. But it’s so moving, melodic and strong on the songs that it doesn’t matter at all, I always play it all the way through. I read that Jimmy Page had a crush on her but he was too shy to do anything about it. I guess Joni could be a little intimidating. Superb, inventive guitar playing and Joni’s voice is heaven sent. It must have been mostly live. No autotune, folks. No digital comping. She said she was always bursting into tears during the recording sessions. Inspired.
This list really reflects your diverse tastes! What a great idea, music to help us get through an unpleasant period. And on LP makes it really sweet (not that I'm anti-CD and you discuss that here). What's even more fun is how you discuss how you came upon these records. That's the joy of music listening and collecting
Posted by: Jim Hannigan | 06/28/2020 at 07:54 PM
Thanks, Jim! It was easier to narrow it down to LPs, and then stuff that I've mainly been listening to currently. There's a story behind almost every great record, if you think about it, especially if you've been listening to them for a long, long time. Like when I went by In Living Stereo to hang out and listen to some stuff, I had to bring that Brahms record. It really came to life on that outrageous system, like it was a living, breathing creature. That record has been with me for years. It kind of has a life of its own. Like the time the old lady underneath me in Sunnyside banged on the floor while I was listening to it. She only banged like twice. The other time, it was for EPMD! That I could understand... -Chris
Posted by: On Practicing Guitar | 07/01/2020 at 07:04 PM