Fifteen Fantasy Island Favorites

           Abandoned for a lifetime with only fifteen favorite albums to listen to, I had a huge decision.  Out of the thousands of albums that I own and the millions that exist, which 15 make the grade?   The following list is based on the genres that primarily fit into the categories of rock and pop.  I did not want to get overly esoteric or snobby in my picks, but I wanted to stay in the realms that I felt would be more closely related to more generally popular tastes.  These albums are all albums that I continue to listen to on a more regular basis than most of my other albums.  I have listed these in the order that I discovered them in my life.

                So here they are for your review, my FIFTEEN FANTASY ISLAND FAVORITES:

 Rubber Soul (1965) by the Beatles
        This was the first rock album I really got into. Prior its release the Beatles were the teenybopper domain of my younger sister.  At first I was the musical snob when it came to rock and roll, but the British invasion began to catch my attention with groups like the Zombies, Manfred Mann, and Dave Clark Five. But the "mop top Fab Four", belonged to screaming female fans.  And yet I was listening to their catchy sound.  I watched their appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and went to see their movies Hard Day's Night and Help! and I began to like the guys.  When Rubber Soul came out it was such a departure from what came before and was more like the music I preferred.  My sister began to lose interest and the Beatles were now mine.  I think Rubber Soul has the consistently best selection of Beatles songs of any of their albums and is the one that I would pick over any of their others.

Music From Big Pink (1968) by The Band     
        I was familiar with Bob Dylan and knew about his back-up band which went by the name The Band.  I had a greatest hits album by Dylan and was familiar with Dylan's work primarily through the many cover versions other artists had recorded.  I was not a huge Dylan fan and was not particularly anxious to obtain the Band's album. However, when I saw the cover on the record rack I was so intrigued by the pink house and the simple album title in big letters.  I got it because of the way the cover looked, but when I listened to the music I was hooked.  This is rootsy, bluesy rock that is the heart of Americana.  It's like New Orleans meets Appalachia meets Canada and records in a pink house in upstate New York.  The music is at times mournful, apprehensive, joyous, and dreamlike.  It's one of my all time favorite albums that I go back to repeatedly.

                                     

 Easter Everywhere (1967) by 13th Floor Elevators -- I had already been exposed to a good bit of psychedelic music when I discovered this classic in 1969.  My copy was an 8-track tape version that eventually became unplayable and I couldn't find another copy anywhere.  I searched for years.  Then around 1990 a Roky Erikson tribute album called Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye was released.  Roky had been the front man for the Elevators.  There was a resurgence of interest in the group and CDs of their albums became available.  Easter Everywhere was every bit as good as I remembered it.   This is some of the earliest music from the psychedelic scene and influenced much music that followed.  The songs are skillfully structured and the lyrics are some of the most intelligent and interesting in rock, often dealing with themes of Christian mysticism and esoteric philosophy.  I searched for this recording for nearly 20 years and now 20 years later I still enjoy listening to it.  And who can resist a band that has an electric jug player?

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (1968)  The Incredible String Band --  In 1969 I was first attracted to this because of all the different musical instruments that the band members played.  But when I listened to the album I did not like it very much.   It sounded so weird, so alien from anything I had ever listened to before.  Then I listened to it again, and then again, and then again and again, and I began to really fall in love with the intricate music and magical lyrics.  The music weaves elements of old English and Irish traditional styles with Indian and other ethnic styles with a rock and blues sensibility.  I'd take any one of ISB's albums, but this one is my favorite.  This is music that is spell-binding and I never have gotten tired of listening to it.

After Bathing At Baxter's (1967) by Jefferson Airplane--- Did I mention that psychedelic music is one of my favorite styles of rock?  And overall "Baxter's" is one of the best of the psychedelic crop.  The songs and arrangements are very engaging and are very well ordered on the album.  Grace Slick's vocals are some of her best.  Jorma Kaukonen's guitar playing is as always flawless.  The band is so together on this album and the time and sound shifts in the jams effectively recreate an aural equivalent of a psychedelic experience that makes the music transfixing and mesmerizing.  This is another album of which I never tire.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) Neil Young & Crazy Horse.   Neil Young is one of my all time favorite artists and his musical style has been a huge influence in much of the music I like to listen to.   Nowhere is the first album of his that caught my attention.  Much like the music of the Band, Neil Young captures the rugged heart and soul of North America with a sound that is raw rock and roll with an occasional touch of country.  Neil Young has many fine albums, but Nowhere has the beautiful song "Round and Round" and that makes this album the one for me.  I listen to Neil Young's albums frequently, but Nowhere is the one I listen to the most.

Puzzle (1970) Mandrake Memorial ---How does one describe this album?   I guess it is considered a sort of mellow relaxing psychedelic music that incorporates classical and avant-garde rock influences.  It is early prog rock with a dreamy ethereal quality.  The instrumentation is laid back and sometimes infused with lush orchestration.   It is a cerebral sound that is highly conducive for daydreaming and meditation except for a passage of minorly jolting tribal-like chanting to orchestral sounds, but even that is mild by typical rock and roll standards.  This is another album that I lost in the early 70's, tried to find for literal decades, and finally it was rereleased fairly recently.  I probably need to buy another copy or burn a copy of the one I have because I think I'm about to wear this one out.  This album to me is simply amazing.

           What's Going On (1971) by Marvin Gaye ---This is an amazing concept album that merges soul, rhythm and blues, and jazz into such a palatable listening package that while listening to it I wonder why would I ever need to listen to anything else but this. Sure it is politicized but that's okay because the music is so damn good that I can hardly stand it.  Marvin Gaye was in the genius zone when he put this album together.   I especially like to listen to this album late at night when I just want to relax and groove to the music.

Physical Graffiti (1975)  Led Zeppelin----I have to have something by Zeppelin on my list, not just because the music by this band is such a part of my musical history, but mainly because I still listen to their albums often and enjoy them.  The band's music is played often on Classic Rock radio stations and if I'm listening when one of the songs comes on, the volume usually goes up--way up.  Do I really have to describe the music?  Is there anyone who is not familiar with Led Zeppelin?  Just in case, Zep is plain old blues based rock and roll--one of the best of all rock and roll bands.   When I want to rock out, often the music of choice will be Led Zeppelin.   Physical Grafftii is one of my favorite albums by the band because it has a lot of great songs and then of course there  is the song "Kashmir"--I don't care what anyone else has to say cause that's all I have to say about that.

Circles in the Stream (1977) by Bruce Cockburn   ----I haven't included any artists of the usual Contemporary Christian genre on my list because I feel much of the music of these groups is pretty derivative of mainstream popular groups.  One of the earliest Christian artists was Bruce Cockburn.  In the mid-80's his music began taking more of a political tone, although it is still good --- this Bruce is one of my favorite artists.   He writes excellent songs that range from folkish soft rock to jazzy to sophisticated rock and reggae.  Circles is a concert album--one of the best concert albums I have heard.   This concert captures some of Cockburn's finest Christian related songs as well as other compositions.  The band is excellent, the arrangements are superb, and the crowd noise is minimal.  This album has some of the best early music by Bruce Cockburn and has some of my favorite songs by him.       

Poetic Champions Compose (1987)  Van Morrison -- I had always somewhat ignored Van Morrison.  I liked Them's version of "Brown-eyed Girl" when it came out in the 60's, but when Van Morrison went solo I really didn't care for "Moondance" and "Tupelo Honey" and whatever else he did.  I didn't really care for his voice or his style of music.  But then again, I never really listened to him either.  Then in 1987, I got a copy of Poetic Champions Compose and realized how really great Van Morrison is.  His music is jazzy soulful music with often spiritual lyrics that reflect his Christian beliefs.  He has a smoky melodic voice and uses top quality musicians on his albums.  Most any of his albums are definitely worth owning, but Poetic Champions is a real favorite with me and probably the one I listen to most regularly.

Good Rats ...Live at Last  (1980)  by the Good Rats----The Rats are one of the best American rock and roll bands ever.  Why they have been so largely ignored is a mystery-- must have something to do with marketing I guess.   This is real rocking rock and roll with a frontman who can scream out lyrics very tastefully and a band that is as tight as can be.  My favorite studio album by the Rats is Ratcity in Blue which includes some really wild songs including two about Adolf Hitler (and not putting him in a good light at all).  But I would choose the Live at Last album because it not only captures the best songs from several albums, but it captures them performed in concert where you can hear extended versions of the songs and experience the amazing musicianship of this band.  Even as I write this I become somewhat angry at the injustice that the Good Rats are not far more well known than they are.

Jordan: The Comeback (1990) by Prefab Sprout---Another great group that never received the recognition in the U.S. that they should have, Prefab Sprout has several excellent albums I could have chosen from.  The band hails from England where they achieved a fair degree of popularity.  Their music to me is "perfect pop".  Any of their songs would sound right at home on pop radio except that you would start listening to it and realize it was lyrically excellent and musically ingenious--the songs are about as perfect as pop rock songs can be.  The Jordan album is produced by Thomas Dolby, who in his own right is a masterful producer and artist.  I like this album so much that when I'm not listening to anything at all, often this album is playing in my head.  It is that great.

 

Ingenue (1992)  k.d.lang ---- This is another one of those albums of what I'd call "perfect pop'.   The vocals must be the singing of angels they are so beautiful to listen to.   The musicians are some of the best anywhere.  The production quality is some of the best I've heard.  There is not a bad song to my ears on this album.  Every song has the sound of a classic.   Though lang started out doing country music, there is no country sound here.  This is all pure, perfect pop and I can listen to this one all day.  Is this due to my getting older and more mellow?  Maybe a little, but I can guarantee you I would have liked this just as well when I was in my 20's.  It's as good as anything Janis Ian, Judy Collins, or Carol King ever did and maybe better.

 

Revés/Yo Soy (1999) by Cafe Tacuba----- I started listening to a lot of Rock En Espanol in the latter 90s.  One of the groups that I especially appreciate is the amazing Cafe Tacuba.   The band's music is rooted in traditional Mexican music with influences coming from punk, electronica, metal, and classical.  Some of their songs have a sound related to the Beatles or Pink Floyd.  The album I've chosen is a tour de force that comes in two discs.  One disc is instrumental music, some which make reference to songs on the vocal disc.  The instrumental disc has some very fine electronic music, folkish music played on traditional Mexican instruments, and classically influenced music.  The vocal disc has a similar mix of styles with all songs in Spanish--something that I easily overlook because the songs are so listenable.   One of the last live concerts that I saw was Cafe Tacuba, in which they performed much of the Revés/Yo Soy album and totally blew me away.  I love listening to this album.

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            Now in all fairness, as I have stated in previous posts, my overall preference for listening these days is Classical.  I listen to the above albums and others frequently, but more often than not Classical is the genre of my preference.  I did not want to get overly obscure by naming my favorite classical pieces, but I will be doing this in an upcoming post.  Are you a fan of classical?  If so and you'd like to join me in listing your favorites, let me know and we can set a date to do a classical list.  We could also do lists for jazz, country, Christian, Rock en Espanol, or any number of other genres.  I don't want to run this into the ground, but I am planning on doing a lot of music posts in the upcoming weeks and I certainly open for some joint ventures like we did today.  Let me know if any of this interests you.

            Tomorrow I will be posting on 15 of the albums that didn't make the final list.  

             Any comments on my final list?  Any questions?   Make sure you go to the other sites on the Linky list to see what other albums are listed as favorites.