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Desert Island Albums?

edited April 2021 in Related

There is of course the excellent British radio show "Desert Island Discs", but choices are limited to songs or single pieces of music, which I find too limiting, not to mention impossible to choose.

I prefer the concept of 'Desert Island Albums', which could include sets which used to be 2 or 3 LPs, like Blonde on Blonde, but not box sets such as the complete Beethoven Symphonies. And I could only have one selection per artist or composer.

With these constraints in mind, I would choose:

  • Electric Ladyland, Jimi Hendrix Experience
  • Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan
  • Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
  • Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (Arthur Grumiaux or Julia Fischer)
  • The Concert for George (Harrison)
  • The Beatles (aka White Album)
  • The Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd
  • Dusty in Memphis, Dusty Springfield
  • Rock of Ages The Band (or maybe the 1971 Albert Hall concert, just released)
  • Goon Show Classics: Tales of Montmartre/Ill Met By Moonlight/Tales of Mens Shirts/The Whistling Spy Enigma (or really, any four would do, there are over 30 double CD sets)

Predictable for someone my age, but this would give me enough variety and quality of material to work out how to get off the island.
I would also give myself five 'honourable mentions' :

The Isle of View, Pretenders
The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East
Bryan Ferry Live in Lyons
Sarah McLachlan Closer
Kate Bush Hounds of Love

Your ideas/comments welcome!

Geoff

Billet

Comments

  • I could be happy with the Jayhawks and Queen discographies. Very happy.

    I have a signature.
  • Gowa
    I'm not deaf, I'm just not listening.
  • edited April 2021

    Top 10 that I never get tired of -

    Live recordings
    7 Worlds Collide (Neil Finn & Friends) - Live at the St. James
    Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live
    Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus

    Studio -
    REM - Document
    Talking Heads - Remain in Light
    Guster - Keep it Together
    U2 - The Joshua Tree
    Toad The Wet Sprocket - Dulcinea
    Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company
    Minnesota Orchestra - Showcase

    Honorable mentions, if I could grab 4 more -
    Rodney Crowell - Life is Messy
    The Smithereens - 11
    The Tragically Hip - World Container
    Mary Chapin Carpenter - Come On Come On

  • @Tom_S said:
    Top 10 that I never get tired of -

    Live recordings
    7 Worlds Collide (Neil Finn & Friends) - Live at the St. James
    Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live
    Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus

    Waiting for Columbus is indeed excellent, but I haven't heard the other two, will check them out. I guess the idea behind this is to discover some great stuff which I haven't heard!

    Haven't heard much Jayhawks, but what I have, I like.

    Geoff

  • I like these kind of threads too. There are a few on your list I've never heard, so I'll be checking them out in the next few nights.

  • Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live
    Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus
    Eric Clapton - Live at Royal Albert Hall
    Tom Petty - Live Anthology
    Crossroads - Any of them
    Bruce Springsteen - Live 75'-85'
    Van Morrison - Astral Weeks Live
    SRV - Live Alive
    Standing in the Shadows of Motown - sound track

  • I know I violated the rules, but I figure if I am given a choice prior to being stranded on a desert island I might as well negotiate terms.

    Mikeg
    I have a signature.
  • While I commend the excellent choices listed so far, I'd opt for several extensive "box sets" so I could DIY a raft to get back to some electricity. YMMV.

    jr@macGeoffMillar
  • If obligated to choose ten albums from different artists, I would maybe (today, right now - it may be different after lunch) go with (alternatives in parentheses):

    1. The Jayhawks - Backroads and Abandoned Motels (Rainy Day Music)
    2. Van Morrison - Moondance (Astral Weeks)
    3. Passenger - All The Little Lights (Lumineers - Lumineers)
    4. Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman (Harold and Maude soundtrack)
    5. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (Nirvana Unplugged)
    6. Smashing Pumpkins - Melloncollie and the Infinite Sadness (Siamese Dream)
    7. Queen - News of the World (Innuendo)
    8. Springsteen - The River (Nebraska)
    9. Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See (Johnny Cash - American IV)
    10. Mark Knopfler - Privateering (Tragically Hip - Phantom Power)

    Oh so many more to choose from.

    Note: Obviously I am somewhat more mainstream oriented, but I am not opposed to classical music or classic rock or any genre not represented here or more obscure stuff (but I do possess several hundred albums from obscure bands - I just find many of them to lack the polish I enjoy to listen on repeat forever until I die alone of thirst or starvation on a desert island - do we get a generator and the electronics/speakers of our choice?).

    Good times, great thread.

    JasonP
    I have a signature.
  • Haven't given this much thought!
    Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Damn the Torpedoes
    Prince: Musicology
    Steely Dan: Two Against Nature
    Clash: London Calling
    Bootsy Collins: Ahh...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!
    Funkadelic: Mothership Connection
    Santana: Supernatural
    Mozart Requiem: Hogwood
    Miles Davis: Live-Evil
    Trio II: Dolly Parton, Linda Rondstadt, Emmy Lou Harris
    MC Yogi: Elephant Power
    Jai Uttal: Dial M for Mantra
    Mahavishnu Orchestra: Inner Mounting Flame

    But Chahly - Stahkist don't want speakers that look good, Stahkist wants speakers that sound good!
  • Damn the Torpedoes always takes me right back to my freshman college dorm room even tough it was released two years prior.

  • Tom states on Sound City that Refugee was played over 100x before getting it right all the way through.

  • edited April 2021

    Great picks so far, I'll try this: There may be a few repeats!

    1. Miles Davis - Kinda Blue
    2. Willie Nelson - Stardust
    3. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
    4. Neil Young - Unplugged
    5. Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus
    6. Merle Haggard - Serving 190 Proof
    7. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
    8. Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy
    9. Elton John - Caribou
    10. Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same

    That'll do for a while...

    I could make another list just for Classical music!

  • I could also do lists just for jazz and classical music but that would change the rule from 10 to 30 albums...

    Perhaps only CDs should be allowed, as they could be used to signal a passing ship to let you escape?

    For those who haven't heard of it, The Goon Show was a 1950s/early 60s British radio comedy show with Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers. Brilliant stuff, although some of the material would not be allowed by the thought police these days.

    "My girlfriend doesn't love me any longer"; retort: "If you were longer, she'd love you more"; "I'm a poor, old painter" - "So I see by your poor, old paintings".

    You would need something to cheer you up while awaiting rescue!

    Thank you for all your ideas, I can see a few evenings' listening is called for.

    Geoff

  • @Billet said:
    Great picks so far, I'll try this: There may be a few repeats!

    That'll do for a while...

    I could make another list just for Classical music!

    Here are mine, I've cheated and included compilations:

    • Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending (Iona Brown)
    • Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Violin (Grumiaux or Fischer)
    • Mozart Clarinet Concerto (Jack Brymer)
    • Bach Brandenburg Concertos 1-6 (Harry Newstone)
    • Elgar Cello Concerto (Du Pre, of course)
    • Strauss: Four Last Songs etc (Renee Fleming)
    • Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne (Victoria de los Angeles or Netania Devrath)
    • Maria Callas: almost any collection depending on what's in print
    • Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Sings Operetta
    • The Very Best of Lucia Popp (great EMI compilation), even though it doesn't have Mozart's "Rune Sanft"

    Honourable mentions:

    Gorecki Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (Dawn Upshaw)
    Verdi La Traviata (Anna Moffo)
    Brahms Violin Concerto (Anne-Sophie Mutter and Kurt Masur)
    Bach : Goldberg Variations for Violin and Piano (Zoe Black and Joe Chindamo)*
    Ravel Piano Concerto in G (Yuja Wang)

    *This one's a bit odd, but I really like the fresh take on this work. If I got sick of it I'd swap it for Glenn Gould's second version.

    Geoff

  • The rules seem kind of unclear, as to hard limits, so I'll pick 10 (some multi-disc).

    1. Smashing Pumpkins - Melloncollie and the Infinite Sadness.
    2. Freddie Mercury - Barcelona (3 disc set, its amazing!)
    3. Pink Floyd - Delicate Sound of Thunder (2 disc, live)
    4. Steve Winwood - Back in the HIgh Life
    5. Metallica - And Justice For All
    6. Paul Simon - Graceland
    7. Daft Punk - Discovery
    8. Trespassers William - Anchor
    9. Lords of Acid - Voodoo-U
    10. James Taylor - That's Why I'm Here
    = Howard Stark: "This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out."
  • @JasonP said:
    The rules seem kind of unclear, as to hard limits, so I'll pick 10 (some multi-disc).

    1. Smashing Pumpkins - Melloncollie and the Infinite Sadness.
    2. Freddie Mercury - Barcelona (3 disc set, its amazing!)
    3. Pink Floyd - Delicate Sound of Thunder (2 disc, live)
    4. Steve Winwood - Back in the HIgh Life
    5. Metallica - And Justice For All
    6. Paul Simon - Graceland
    7. Daft Punk - Discovery
    8. Trespassers William - Anchor
    9. Lords of Acid - Voodoo-U
    10. James Taylor - That's Why I'm Here

    Interesting selection, thank you: Steve Winwood has prodigious talent: at 17 he sounded like Ray Charles, he plays on Hendrix' Electric Ladyland, formed Traffic, etc etc., one of my favourite artists. I haven't heard of the Freddie Mercury set, will check it out!

    Geoff

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