Hey there. I’d like to share five albums that made me fall in love with music again and again. Five albums that I can listen to over and over and still feel the joy I had when I first heard them. Five albums that represent different times in my life. Join me in this look at the albums that explain my love of music.
- The Beatles – For Sale (1964): Growing up we had a lot of music in my house and this album stands out to me as one that we played many times over the years. I can still remember when my dad bought the compact disc at Great American Music in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
About once or twice every couple of months as we were running errands, my family would go to Great American Music and look at all the cassettes and compact discs available. We grew up about 20 miles outside the city, so it was a big deal to get out to where the stores were and shop. That day my dad bought two CDs. The Beatles For Sale and The Beatles Rubber Soul. Both albums got a lot of play from that day forward, but For Sale is the one I remember playing the most. From the opening chords of “No Reply” to the ending jam “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby”, I was in love with this album. Songs that particularly resonated include “No Reply”, “I’m A Loser”, “Baby’s In Black”, “I’ll Follow The Sun”, “Eight Days A Week”, “I Don’t Want to Spoil The Party”, and “Every Little Thing”. This album, along with Let It Be and Rubber Soul turned me into a lifelong Beatles fan. - Michael Jackson – Bad (1987): This is a big one for me. I can’t remember when I became so enthralled with Michael Jackson, but I do remember this album made a big impression on me. I remember my mom having a Jackson Five album (which I still own to this day) that I would listen to, but it was when I saw the Motown 25 special on TV and Michael sang “Billie Jean” that I started getting into his music.
Then this album came out. It was on one of those trips to Great American Music with the family that I purchased the cassette tape of Bad. That summer, it was all I listened to. I was so into it that my dad, who did not like Michael Jackson’s music, bought me tickets to see his concert for my tenth birthday. After that experience, and it was an amazing one, I was a die hard Michael fan. Bad has always been my album of choice. I would sit in my room and transcribe the lyrics to my favorite songs on the album. I would do my best to dress up like Michael and dance in my room to the entire album. I rented the Moonwalker VHS from the local video store every chance I got so I can watch it over and over. I must have drove my dad nuts blasting Bad over and over again. Songs that resonated with me as a kid and to this day are “Man In the Mirror”, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Speed Demon”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, and “Dirty Diana”. - AC/DC – The Razors Edge (1990): I still remember it to this day… It was the summer between my sixth and seventh grade years when I met up with my buddies Nate and Mark to hang out at the community park and play some hoops.
One of them brought a boombox and a couple of cassette tapes that would change my musical perspective forever. One of those tapes was AC/DC’s The Razors Edge and the other we will get to shortly. To start, I had never heard anything like it before. Up to that point, I was a top 40 pop music listener. But that guitar and Brian Johnson’s unique and strange voice captivated me right away. The music hit me square in the face like nothing had before and I was instantly wanting more. Luckily for me, my buddy Nate made me a copy of The Razors Edge and Back In Black shortly after so I could listen whenever I wanted. Just imagine how my mind was blown when I learned about Bon Scott and the albums with him as the lead singer. To this day, AC/DC is my all time favorite band and I have my buddies to thank for that. Songs that resonate with me are “Moneytalks”, “Thunderstruck”, “Are You Ready”, “Mistress For Christmas”, “Got You By The Balls”, and “The Razors Edge”. - Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever (1989): Ah yes, “Free Fallin'”… Another album that played constantly growing up is Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty.
Considered his first solo album, Full Moon Fever was my introduction to Tom Petty and it made a pretty big impression on me. We gave my dad this album for Christmas in 1989, and it spent many hours in the CD player over the next several days and months ahead. One vivid memory is his cover of The Byrds hit “Feel A Whole Lot Better”. Growing up, my dad used to play this song on his guitar whenever we had company over, so hearing it sung by Tom Petty was pretty darn cool as a kid. This album still gets a lot of play as an adult. Songs that resonate with me are “Free Fallin'”, “Feel A Whole Lot Better”, “I Won’t Back Down”, “Running Down A Dream”, “A Face In The Crowd”, and “Yer So Bad”. - Poison – Flesh & Blood (1990): This is the other album that was brought that fine summer day between sixth and seventh grade. I believe my buddy Mark brought this one with him. I remember how much we all giggled at the curse words in “Come Hell or High Water”.
I mean we were twelve and that was pretty taboo for us at that age. “Unskinny Bop” was the first song to catch my attention on this one. I loved the guitars and Brett’s vocals throughout the album. I got a copy of the album and played it constantly. Songs like “Something to Believe In” and “Let It Play” sounded more like those top 40 pop songs I was into at the time, but it was “Ride the Wind” and “Come Hell or High Water” that captivated my attention. It was around this time that I started playing guitar again, and bands like Poison, AC/DC and more would highly influence how I would write and play in the future. Songs that resonate with me are “Something to Believe In” , “Ride the Wind”, “Unskinny Bop”, “Let It Play”, and “Come Hell or High Water”.
So there you go. Five albums that explain my love of music. There are so many more that we will explore in the future, but this is a good start as they are part of my formative years growing up and discovering the joy music brings. What are some of the albums that define you as a music fan? Let me know and look for the second installment of this series down the line. Until then, keep calm and spin some vinyl.