The Cure: Everyone likes the
Cure, at least one album or one song.
Standing on a Beach: the lazy
man's essential Cure album, all their singles (A-sides) before
Disintegration. I think if you just get this then you'll lose
a lot of the Cure's best songs which aren't on singles as well
as a sense of the solidity of their work. However, it is, for
once, worthwhile getting it on tape as the entire B-sides are,
well, the actually B-sides of the singles - many being unreleased
otherwise. I think it's worth buying just because of a track
called "A Few Hours After This", short sweet and one
of the most beautiful songs the Cure have ever written. I'm just
hanging for a MiniDisc so I can transfer it and play it over
and over...
Three Imaginary Boys or
Boys Don't Cry: these two are
half the same.
Seventeen Seconds: just because
it has A Forest on it.
Disintegration: Perhaps their
best album.
The Velvet Underground:
The Banana Album: if only for
Venus in Furs
The Best Of The VU: this is
the best version of Sweet Jane
Tori Amos:
Little Earthquakes: brilliant
song writing. Sure she may be a slightly pissed off female, but
this album puts her way out of the reaches of any "Angry
Women Singers" (thank you Clueless) she is the only one
I think who transcends that definition and makes it look petty.
In the Pink: less introverted
than the former and I suppose more fun and boppy.
Leonard Cohen:
Best Of: heaps of these around,
I like mine the best but that's just favouritism.
The Death of a Ladies' Man: 70s sleaze
but oh so classily done.
I'm Your Man: Kenneth Koch and
other American poets with style. "I want you, I want you,
I want you, on a chair with a dead magazine" Take this Waltz
- poetical sleeze. Also contains Everybody Knows - the coolest
Leonard Cohen song.
The Future: tough political
metropolis sleeze.
The Smiths:
Hatful of Hollow: How Soon is
Now? Reel around the fountain. What difference does it make?
- Some of their best songs.
Strangeways Here We Come: tres
poppy, start with this if you think the Smiths are unbearable.
The Queen is Dead: It has one
of my favourites - There's a Light That Never Goes Out - but
many more (also quite poppy).
Rank: Live and brilliant, shows
off a bit of Morrissey's character.
Louder Than Bombs: Double album
compilation, lots of depressing stuff, but great for raw gritty
Smiths.
Meat is Murder: very popular
with vegetarians.
RIDE: Not recommended for people
who hate Happy Valley early 90s esoteric brit pop.
Chelsea Girl EP (on Taste?
compilation now) The EP was the prettiest ever, candy pink filled
with a bed of red roses, and with Chealsea Girl playing you could
experience something that I think was not possible after the
early 90s.
RIDE: The first album and perhaps
only noticeable for Vapour Trail, and perhaps that wasn't so
noticeable.
Going Blank Again: Pretty ok
album, they stopped looking into their fringes for a while. Not
so whiney.
Duran Duran:Rio: I forget the name of the
guy who did the style of art on the cover, but its airbrush poparty
beauty was what 80s female insecurity was made of.
Culture Club: Not recommended
for people who hate Happy Valley early 90s esoteric brit pop.Their first album (or was it
their only album). Who cares? Karma Cameleon (oh I know that's
spelt wrong) and Do you really want to hurt me? was enough to
ensure cultural immortality.
Aha:Take on Me: You might think
they're an earlier version of Bros, but apart from being much
better looking, Take on Me the album (just not the title song)
is a really damn fine album in general. The lyrics are quite
ok too.
The Beatles:Please Please Me: I love early
Beatles.
A Hard Day's Night: Cool movie,
great soundtrack. Not so smultzy as their earlier albums and
not as souly as their later ones. Perfectly cool 60s British
pop like everything else that was so perfectly cool at the time.Rubber Soul: Norwegian Wood
is the sexiest song in the world and that alone justifies buying
this album.
Bob Dylan:Nashville Skyline
Another Bob Dylan
Blonde on Blonde
one with Tangled up in Blue on
itJoan Baez:Queen of Hearts An album that
brings tears to your eyes her voice is so pure
Diamonds and Rust: I guess it
does sound a bit like the title, but it's very cool (in a 70s
half folky way).
Donovan:Best Of
Sly and the Family Stone:one with Que Sera Sera on it
Jazz - Mulitple Artists:Autumn Leaves: To my mind the
definitive version. This has everyone - Cannonball Adderley with
Miles Davies, Hank Jones, Sam Jones and Art Blakey.
Cannonball Aderley:The album my father wakes me up
to every morning
Blossom Dearie:Best Of : Verve Masters Series
Ella Fitzgerald:Best Of Songbooks : Verve Masters
Series
Best Of Gerswhin Songbooks
The Cole Porter Songbooks etc
Gershwin:Best Of Songbooks : Verve Masters
Series
Cole Porter:Best Of Songbooks: Verve
Early MusicNaxos: On the Way to Bethlehem:
this proves that there must be a god, songs from the time of
the Crusades, mainly Eastern European and a couple of middle
east and pure sex for the ears.
Pakistan
Nusrat Fateh Ala Khan
Iran
Sima Bina
India
The Villian (Khal Nyak): I found
this at an Indian supermarket, so if you don't have any near
you it might be hard to get. The CD code is : (conveniently mislaid
just when I need it, typical!). If you've seen the movie and
you're desperate to get the music and you live in Ulan Bator
then drop me a line and I'll see if my local still stocks it
(likely, it's very popular).
Home
Record
Collection The
Magical Musical Tour Cathy's
Cool Tapes Mail
Me (please)