top ten albums - no. 1

Dear Sheddists,

one of my friends has issued a challenge, via Facebook, to post the top ten albums that have influenced me most.  I thought I would post my replies here as well so I can go back to them at a later date and see if my tastes change with the passing years.

First up, I find it very difficult to choose just ten albums!  I've been exploring music for over forty five years, during which time a significant part of my children's inheritance has been invested prudently in the accumulation of sundry records, cassettes (remember them!) and CDs.  No MP3s here, thank you very much!

So where to start?  Should it be a hard-hitting collection of popular top-ranked albums or a more gentle meander down a path less traveled?  I've sought to take a middle-line between the two in the hope you may encounter something unfamiliar in these ten postings you might want to explore further yourself.

Let's kick things off with the self-titled debut from The Doors, one of my favourite bands of all time. I first became aware of them from the film, 'Apocalypse Now!' The soundtrack featured 'The End', the legendary tour de force which brings their extraordinary debut album to a tumultuous climax. If you're unfamiliar with the song it's an acid-tinged exploration of the Oedipus myth.

Censored for its initial release, catch the unexpurgated version in more recent remasterings to hear Jim Morrison in all his majestic foul-mouthed pomp!

The band created six very different studio albums during their brief existence, each of which has something to offer. They had it all - blistering blues, funky jazz chops, existential poetry and, in Jim Morrison, a front man who on a good night could take the music anywhere he wanted. A plethora of live albums have been released since his sad, premature death. Some are badly recorded cash-ins, but the best match anything the band did in the studio.

The Doors played an important part in the soundtrack to my wife and I falling in love as teenagers. The regular DJ at the University discos we attended was a huge fan of their music and winding back the years I still have very, very fond memories of embracing on the dance-floor to classics like, 'Light my Fire', 'Roadhouse Blues', 'LA Woman' and 'Riders on the Storm'.

So let me close my eyes for one moment and let the music carry me back ..



 'There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors'.

James Douglas Morrison