Reports in the papers today that David Cameron's favourite album of all time is "Dark Side of the Moon". Not a bad shout, if a little predictable, but what's yours ?
Just to start, my vote goes to Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series Volumes 1 - 3. Released in 1991, the quality of those 50 odd previously unreleased tracks was simply stunning. In those pre-internet days, it was the first time I had heard tracks as jaw-dropping as "Farewell Angelina", "She's Your Lover Now" and "Blind Willie McTell" ( to single out just 3) and 20 years later, it is still my favourite album of all time.
Excluding compilations, my vote goes to "Blonde on Blonde", for the sheer variety, originality and quality of the songs.
Comments
Bollox
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd. to think that I'm almost a politician. I like Animals as well.
Trying to think if I have any other albums that I pull out and play all the time. can't think off hand.
OK Computer - Radiohead, although I too love Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.
I also really like wish you were here. Which was why I used Crazy Diamond as my name when I first signed up (until I realised there was another Crazy Diamond on here and it got a bit confusing). Dunno if it's my favourite album ever. I think I'd need a short list of at least 10.
Anglelina and Blind Willie Mctell were on a great bootleg, "Outfidels" before the official release.
Steely Dan can't buy a thrill, or Bob Marley Live at the Lyceum.
Genesis - Selling England by the Pound. Came out in 1973 when Phil Collins had a beard and sat behind a drum kit, although he did do a very nice lead vocal on it as well. Grew up listening to this and it still sounds incredible.
Also a big fan of WYWH and DSOTM, which got nearly as much playing time as early Genesis in my brothers' bedrooms. I wonder if David Cameron is familiar with the reggae cover album, Dub Side of the Moon? Tis rather good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozryRgYp5iQ
Irie.
Dear Mr Cameron
Please keep your musical tastes to yourself. It just encourages other 40 somethings to start going on about early Genesis.
Remember what trouble you got into over saying you liked The Jams "Eton Rifles"?
Yes just a lot of unpleasantness best avoided.
Thanks
PS
Dont ever say you like a bit of Grime or DnB. That would just get you a smack and probably start a riot.
PPS
No not a riot like the one in that Kaiser Chiefs song, a proper one!
I've thought about this many times and never really come up with a satisfactory answer as it seems to depend on my mood. But the few that regularly feature include:
Garlands - Cocteau Twins
Red Skies Over Paradise - Fischer Z
Thokozile - Mahlathini & The Mahotella Queens
Programmed To Love - Bent
Debut - Bjork
Bamnan & Silvercork - Midlake
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
Gracelands - Paul Simon
Hypnotized - The Undertones
The Milk-Eyed Mender - Joanna Newsome.
If I had to pick one to go to a desert island right now - Mahlathini & The Mahotella Queens, but I'll tell you something else tomorrow.
Tapestry by Carole King - every track is a classic.
Anyways, I like a lot of Beware Of The Fish's list, in particularl Neutral Milk Hotel. My favourite albums are probably Fear Of Music by Talking Heads and Snivilisation by Orbital. Other albums have meant more to me over a short period of time, but for some reason although I've heard these 2 records so many times over so many years I come back to them again and again.
I've never heard of BOTF's list. Am I an uncultured clod?
Might check them out a little later today when I have time.
Oi! I'm 39!
BOTF - Big fan of NMH even if Jeff Mangum's voice can be a bit whiny for my tastes. The music's ace though. And a big for Joanna Newsom. Saw her at the Royal Festival Hall and she was incredible.
Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos
Modern Life is Rubbish - Blur
Def Maybe - Oasis
Very typical of a nearly 40 year ols britpop lad I suppose
Latest ones - You see colours - Delays, English riviera - Metronomy
Saw this and started thinking. And still thinking. And will be for evermore. Like others I would be hard pressed in a you'll-have-to-get-the-knife-out-to-cut-off-my-arm-before-I-make-a-decision type way to come up with just one.
All Mod Cons - Jam
We're the League - Anti Nowhere League
Inflammable Material - Stiff Little Fingers
Back in Black - AC/DC
Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden
Pretty much anything by Pink Floyd
Early Levellers
Colourbox - Colourbox
Gotta back to work, loads more though!
Anyone fancy a guess at my age
And yes, those are the ones that get played regularly.
"what's your favourite album Dave" Dave gets passed a piece of paper by one of his media consultants-Dark Side of The Moon. Good answer. No controversy there. The kind of everyman answer that shows that Dave is just an ordinary guy.
Why do we not believe that he actually likes that album? Because he's posh he must only listen to chamber music? That view makes the owner of it the bigger snob IMO. This is one of the biggest selling albums of all time and consequently must be owned by good and bad, cultured and philistine, appreciative and tone deaf alike.
For me, it's tough to pick one out. But if pushed it would have to be either Prince Purple Rain or Stone Roses Stone Roses.
Doesn't get much posher than private school boys in early Genesis ! I'd have thought the posh boy/Genesis correlation was very strong.
Clearly this is a thinly veiled excuse for us to wheel out our most obscure references !
Yep, the original members of Genesis went to a posh public school and all came from Surrey, and speak posh. I won't hold that against them. They made bloody good music. Not sure what that's got to do with David Cameron though.
I suppose amongst the most obscure references on this thread are some of the lesser-known artists listed by BOTF, but I've got no reason to believe that he doesn't genuinely feel they're all his favourites.
Possibly but, as I said, it is one of the biggest selling albums of all time. He's bound to have it. I'd have bigger doubts over Gordon Brown having a copy.
Must admit that apart from the Paul Simon and Undertones albums, I haven't heard any of BOTF's selections, although I will check some of the others out.
I think with more recent albums, the really strong ones aren't always obvious at the time. For instance, back in '77 I would never have imagined that the one punk album that would really stand the test of time and still be worth listening to 30 odd years later would be Wire's "Pink Flag".
Now if David Cameron had chosen "Ummagumma"....
Me too !
Slightly off-topic, the worst album I've ever listened to (and certainly bought) has to be "Metal Machine Music" by Lou Reed.
I was going through a Velvet Underground phase at the time and had bought (and really enjoyed) "Transformer" a couple of months earlier.
Expecting something similar, I got "MMM" home, listened to the whole of the first side and then could stand no more. It never got played again.
Astral Weeks, debut solo album by Van Morrison. Although being well into my 40s I do of course like a bit of early Genesis - Lamb is the best I'd say. If you think it's pretentious...
This is such a hard question actually.. not sure that I could pick just one album, as there are so many great ones... being a massive early Genesis fan, I would choose a few of those but there are so many... perhaps a 'Top 10 albums in no particular order' might be an easier question to answer. I'll think about that....