My daughter’s fiance Jack is a cool kid, as well as a very talented musician and singer. So when he challenged me to blog my Top 10 most influential albums, I had to answer the call.
Some records have influenced the world, and some of influenced me as an individual. The latter is what this post is about — the ten most personally influential albums. So, without further ado, not ranked by rating but rather in the order in which I heard them, are My Top 10 Most Influential Albums…
Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin IV (1971). It was summertime, probably 1974, and the next-door neighbor was working on his ’65 Galaxie 500 with the radio on. I was taking out the trash when Black Dog came on. It was the first hard rock song I ever heard and the cat was out of the bag forever. Eventually I got the album and listened to it about a million times.
The Beatles — Abbey Road (1969). I was sitting on the floor with my two uncles, Jim and Tom, listening to the Beatles for the first time, and I knew my head would never be the same. By the end of the day I had heard several hours of their stuff. It was too much for one brain to hold.
Jerry Lee Lewis — The Session (1973). Dad liked country and Mom liked a little bit of everything — but her favorite artist was Jerry Lee. This record changed me. Jerry Lee infuses tunes of every genre with his unique redneck flair. Guests include include Albert Lee, Alvin Lee, Mick Jones, and Peter Frampton.
Blue Öyster Cult — Some Enchanted Evening (1978). The Öyster Boys are my favorite band, and this was the record that opened Pandora’s box. Listen with caution lest you get pulled into the orbit of this Saturnian ensemble — sucked into a swirling kaleidoscope of biker rock, occult musings, and stun guitar. On the other hand, maybe you shouldn’t fear the reaper after all…
Cashmere Jungle Lords — Oodjie-Boodjie Night-Night (1987). How do describe the Lords? Southern Fried Surfabilly? Western Surf Jungle Rock? Neo-primitive Twang-a-Dang? I don’t know, but it’s great fun. This record didn’t come out until ’87 but I was hearing the songs in the early 80s because the lead singer, Dominic Carpin, was a college roommate of mine, and he taught me a lot about music — about how hard and painful it is to make, and what’s good, and what’s bad. They’re still going strong. Go see e’m. Tell Dominic, Mitch sent you. And yes, like the Beatles, their name is misspelled on purpose.
The Police — Synchronicity (1983). I was basically still a kid, but I was married with a kid when this record hit the radio and sliced it in half like a batarang. I was trying to figure out what what being an adult meant and how to do it. This record is forever tangled up in my tangled-up 80’s head and it’ll never come out.
Ratt — Out of the Cellar (1984). Go ahead, be a hater. I don’t care what you say, Ratt is the best of the 80s hair metal bands, and this record bangs from cut to cut. There’s a reason why they got a Geico commercial. Kiss, eat your heart out.
Kyuss — Blues for the Red Sun (1992). This was part of the rotation when I got my 5 hour chest tattoo done by a wall-eyed Pall Mall smoking maniac with an IQ of 160 named Maxx. These songs are slow even when fast, are brutal even when soft. I know that makes no sense. You just have to listen to it. And by the way, Josh Homme should’ve kept doing this instead of moving on to Queens of the Stone Age (there, I said it).
The Sword — Age of Winters (2006). Another record from the Maxx rotation. Long before GOT became an HBO phenomenon, these heavy metal rock geeks gave GRRM a nod with this album title. In an alternate reality time warp, Age of Winters was a groundbreaking 1974 album that went platinum. Somehow it manages to sound old and new at the same time. Best played on 11 while driving to work like I did for about a year after I bought it.
Steve Earle – I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (2011). I was really disappointed when I heard that Steve was going to put out a book and record combo. I thought he was selling out, that it was some kind of creepy media deal. But I bought them both anyway, and soon realized that Steve Earle is one of the most talented people in the history of the planet. The book I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive is one of the best novels I have ever read — pure hayseed Dostoevsky — and the record is devastating. Yes, Steve Earle is that good.
Robert Mitchell Jr. 