Friday 29 March 2013

Duncan Disorderly?

You can always tell from people's lists whether you'd get on or not.
We're either kindred spirits or judgmental twats.
All of us who care about music are surely rendered precious snobs by the mysteries of its enchantment.
One man's Miles is another man's piles so to speak... 
Anyone who has Kate and Anna McGarrigle sandwiched between John Martyn and Jackie Leven only has to knock once. But, 'Rhythm of the Saints' as your Paul Simon?  And, I mean, 'Rattlesnakes' at 93?
And who is Yabby You when he's at home? Ah, 'Dub'...
This eclectic selection from my mate Jim's brother Duncan suggests we'd hit it off immediately but that the evening would eventually end badly after one too many glasses of Pinot Noir, with Dunc whispering 'feckin' philistine' and me telling Dunc to shove his stylus up his arse just before setting fire to his black polo neck jumper... but then he'd reach for 'Horsebreaker Star', we'd embrace, turn the lights down and snuggle up for a listen...
It's a thin thin line between love and mates...
I'm thinking that Duncan thinks he looks like this:



I'm thinking it's probably a bit more like this:




Duncan writes:
The Afterword website, to which I contribute, asked all its bloggers to submit a list of their 100 favourite albums of all time, in order. Now, how could I resist a challenge as pointless, time-consuming and nerdy as that?

Rules: only one album per artist.
No classical music (that will have to be another list).
No compilations.
Live albums are allowed.
I tried to consider all albums afresh: how much do I actually love them now?
I really did try to keep it down to 100, but there were 25 more outstanding classics that just insisted on tagging along at the end.

1. John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
2. Keith Jarrett – Live at the Blue Note: Complete
3. Elvis Costello & the Attractions – Imperial Bedroom
4. Congos – Heart of the Congos
5. Ketil Bjørnstad – The Rainbow Sessions
6. Stephen Stills – Manassas
7. Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck – Djam Leelii
8. The Beatles – Revolver
9. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs
10. The Kinks – Arthur, or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire
11. Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs
12. Joni Mitchell – Hejira
13. George Harrison – All Things Must Pass
14. Charles Mingus – The Great Concert of …
15. Yabby You – Jesus Dread
16. David Ackles – American Gothic
17. Nic Jones – Penguin Eggs
18. Nick Drake – Bryter Layter
19. Van Morrison – Veedon Fleece
20. Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
21. The Clash – Sandinista!
22. Misty in Roots – Live at the Counter Eurovision
23. Townes van Zandt – Live at the Old Quarter
24. Miles Davis – The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions
25. Marvin Gaye – Here, My Dear
26. Culture – Two Sevens Clash
27. Penguin Café Orchestra – Concert Program
28. Can – Future Days
29. Grateful Dead – Steppin’ Out: England ‘72
30. Vassilis Tsabropoulos & Anja Lechner – Chants, Hymns and Dances
31. Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
32. The Band – The Band
33. Tim Buckley – Dream Letter: Live In London
34. Knut Rössler & Johannes Vogt – Octagon: Between the Times
35. Joanna Newsom – Ys
36. Elliott Smith – XO
37. Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight – Once in a Blue Moon
38. Only Ones – Even Serpents Shine
39. Talking Heads – The Name of this Band is …
40. Holger Czukay – Movies
41. Jackie Leven – Fairy Tales for Hard Men
42. Kate and Anna McGarrigle – Kate and Anna McGarrigle
43. John Martyn – One World
44. Richard Skelton – Landings
45. Harold Budd – Avalon Sutra/As Long As I Can Hold My Breath
46. Karen Dalton – It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going to Love You the Best
47. Bill Evans – Waltz for Debby
48. David Bowie – Low
49. Leonard Cohen – Recent Songs
50. Judee Sill – Judee Sill
51. Orchestra Baobab – Pirates’ Choice
52. Matthew Halsall – Fletcher Moss Park
53. The Durutti Column – LC
54. Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
55. Todd Rundgren – Something/Anything
56. Bob Mould – Workbook
57. The Stars of the Lid – …And Their Refinement of the Decline
58. XTC – Apple Venus Vol. 1
59. Anouar Brahem – Le Voyage de Sahar
60. REM – Automatic for the People
61. Toumani Diabate & Ballaké Sissoko – New Ancient Strings
62. Spirit – The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
63. Lee Perry – Open the Gate
64. The Triffids – Born Sandy Devotional
65. Eleni Karaindrou – Elegy of the Uprooting
66. Gillian Welch – Time (the Revelator)
67. Brian Eno – Taking Tiger Mountain
68. The Oyster Band – Step Outside
69. Lloyd McNeill Quartet – Asha
70. Billy Bragg – Workers’ Playtime
71. Djelimady Tounkara – Sigui
72. Terry Reid – Seed of Memory
73. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Live at the Roxy
74. Love – Forever Changes
75. Jackson Browne – Late for the Sky
76. Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 1
77. Bert Jansch – Avocet
78. Eric Dolphy – Far Cry
79. Pete Atkin – Driving Through Mythical America
80. Dave Evans – The Words in Between
81. Albert Ayler – Stockholm, Berlin 1966
82. Linton Kwesi Johnson – Forces of Victory
83. Paul Simon – The Rhythm of the Saints
84. Jon Thorne & Danny Thompson – Watching the Well
85. Ron Sexsmith – Whereabouts
86. Joe Gibbs & Errol Thompson – African Dub All-Mighty, Chapter 3
87. The Unthanks – Here’s the Tender Coming
88. Fairport Convention – Liege and Lief
89. Andreas Utnem & Trygve Seim – Purcor
90. Alan Hull – Pipedream
91. Joe Strummer – Walker (OST)
92. Michael Smith – Mi C’yaan Believe It
93. Lloyd Cole & the Commotions – Rattlesnakes
94. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy – Live at Dreher
95. E.S.T. – Live in Hamburg
96. Ayub Ogada – En Mana Kuoyo
97. Tord Gustavsen Trio – The Ground
98. Randy Newman – Land of Dreams
99. John Surman & Howard Moody – Rain on the Window
100. Mary Lou Williams Trio – Free Spirits

... and here are the unlucky ones that just lost out - 25 more little gems that I recommend unreservedly:

101. Gonzalez – Solo Piano
102. The Undertones – The Positive Touch
103. Ben Folds – Songs for Silverman
104. Teenage Fanclub – Songs from Northern Britain
105. John Stewart – California Bloodlines
106. Horace Tapscott – The Dark Tree, Vols 1 & 2
107. John Prine – John Prine
108. Grant McLennan – Horsebreaker Star
109. Graham Parker and the Rumour – Squeezing Out Sparks
110. Ali Farka Touré – Talking Timbuktu
111. Loudon Wainwright III – High, Wide & Handsome
112. Joe Higgs – Life of Contradiction
113. Sara Isaksson & Rebecka Törnqvist – Fire in the Hole
114. Mike Oldfield – Hergest Ridge
115. Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans
116. Ablaye Cissoko & Volker Goetze – Amanké Dionti
117. Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Ghèbrou – Piano Solo
118. Miracle Legion – Me and Mr Ray
119. Rico – Roots to the Bone
120. The Bee Gees – Odessa
121. Marcin Wasilewski Trio – Faithful
122. Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts – Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts
123. Virginia Astley – From Gardens Where we Feel Secure
124. Waterson Carthy – Waterson Carthy
125. Jim Ford – Sounds of Our Time 

6 comments:

  1. This is a cracking list, but no Dylan? Hits some of my blind spots, some corners I've never visited but hits a fair few of my favourites, including some I haven't found a place for in my own list.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Reluctantly agree Seamus. It's got me playing 'Waltz for Debbie' and wondering how I can include it by making it a joint choice with Dylan.
    There's got to be a link somewhere...
    Got it:
    The Last Waltz.
    Genius!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, Rattlesnakes at 93... How could that happen?

    ReplyDelete
  4. So is that DD or TT?
    I had 'Rattlesnakes' in the early 100s; what do I know?

    ReplyDelete
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