Desert Island Discs (DIDs) (1 Viewer)

[Angelo.M]

Does Billboard magazine still run their "Desert Island Discs" column? That was always a fun read.
Anyway...
1. Born to Run: Springsteen's very best, when he still believed in complex song structures and winding narrative, before he began to streamline things with Darkness on the Edge of Town. Classic.
2. Fables of the Reconstruction: Perhaps not R.E.M.'s best album, but my personal favorite. It includes their very best song--"Fall on Me"--and some of the best straight-ahead rock they've ever done. I never get tired of this album.
3. Wrecking Ball: Emmylou Harris and Daniel Lanois were destined to work together, I just know it. He gives her a few great original songs and the covers, including Hendrix's "May This Be Love", ain't so bad either.
4. Abbey Road: Tough, because I really want this and Sgt. Pepper. I just love Side 2 of this record so much that I can't leave it behind.
5. IV: Led Zeppelin. Obligatory.
6. Time Out: I'm tempted to bring Coltrane or Miles, but I spin Dave Brubeck more. Will definitely need some jazz for those starry island nights.
7. American Beauty: The remastered version. The only Dead I'll need, ever.
8. Turandot: The one from the '70s, with Sutherland, Pavarotti, et al and Zubin Mehta. This version of the opera has never been bettered on record.
9. Music from Big Pink: Fanny, Crazy Chester, Carmen and the devil are all coming to the island, courtesy of the Band.
10. Buena Vista Social Club: Naturally. Will be played at all island parties.

 

[Ken Stuart]

7. American Beauty: The remastered version. The only Dead I'll need, ever.

Angelo - do you mean a remastered CD, or do you mean Mickey Hart's 5.1 mix on DVD-Audio?

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"Warhol should've said: 'in the future, everyone will repeat the phrase 'fifteen minutes of fame' '..." - D.J. Toell

 

[Matt Butler]

Matts Desert Island discs in no order:

1 Disturbed- Sickness

2 Pink Floyd- The Wall

3 Sarah Mclachlan- Surfacing (It is her most commercial cd but I have a soft spot for it because of Full of Grace and its the first cd I ever heard of hers and Ive been hooked since.)

4 Queensryche- Operation Mindcrime

5 Who- Tommy

6 Deftones- White Pony

7 Tool- Lateralus

8 Dirty Vegas

9 Queens of the Stone Age- Songs for the Deaf

10 Iron Maiden- Number of the Beast (This was a close tie with Brave new World but Childern of the Damned and Hallowed be thy Name locked this one.

Mentions

Alanis Morrisette- Under Rug Swept

Moody Blues- Days of Future Passed

STP- Core

Iron Maiden- Rock N Rio

AC/DC Back in Black

Tool- Aneima

Beatles- Any of em

 

[Jim Garbern]

Phil,
I hope you also remembered the power generator for the desert Isle
Re: bass players, don't overlook Victor Wooten, and Edgar Meyer (granted probably not the type of bass player you're thinking of).
In case not mentioned:
Eva Cassidy: Eva by heart, Live at Blues Alley
Fleck,Meyer,& Marshall: Uncommon ritual
The Flecktones: Live Art
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, pretty much all of his last piano concerti
Bach: Well-tempered klavier (Andras Schiff)
Emmy Lou Harris: Red dirt girl; Wrecking ball

 

[Carl Miller]

1. Beatles: Revolver

2. Beatles: Rubber Soul

3. Grateful Dead: Workingmans Dead

4. Tool: Aenima

5. Pearl Jam: Vs.

6. Soundgarden: Superunknown

7. Steely Dan: Aja

8. Miles Davis: Agharta

9. Van Morrison: It's Too Late to Stop Now

10. Stevie Ray Vaughn: Texas Flood

8 Dirty Vegas

Matt, I remember a song by them that I really liked which was briefly semi-popular on an alternative radio station maybe 5-6 years ago? I think there was a video for it too but I have no idea what it was called, or what album it was on. Any idea?

 

[Angelo.M]

Ken:

I meant the remastered edition of American Beauty, the one with the bonus tracks. I believe it was released last year.

 

[Matt Butler]

Carl,

ASAIK this is their first album which is out now. Their popular song off the current cd is Days go By. They used the song in a car commercial and you hear ity in clubs often.

I got this cd as a promo and listened to it never hearing of them. Its a great cd and I spin it frequently.

 

[Evan S]

This is very hard to do, especially from work without being able to glance at my collection but here goes...
1) Shawn Colvin - Fat City Sometimes I just sit in a darkened room and listen to "Monopoly" and think of past loves lost and other times I spin "Round of Blues" and immediately get in a good mood. Not many albums can do that to you.
2) Robert Cray - Strong Persuader Mentioned earlier and deserves repeating. Sometimes I get more in the mood for his stuff with the Memphis Horns, but of all his albums this is the most consistently good from start to finish.
3) Dave Brubeck - Time Out My favorite Jazz recording. I can listen to this for hours and not get tired of it.
4) Queensryche - Empire Tough to pick this one over "Operation Mindcrime" but the music on this disc is more diverse and lends itself to more of an extended listening session IMO.
5) Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble - Texas Flood His first and IMO still his best album from start to finish. Not as energized as "Couldn't Stand the Weather" but this is a brooding masterpiece.
6) Dada - American Highway Flower Most people, if they have even heard of this band, know them for the hit "Dizz Knee Land" off their debut "Puzzle". However, I think this album is the best of the band's 4 releases with the best guitar work and an ecclectic mix of songwriting.
7) Kiss - Alive II I know greatest hits and compliations are taboo in this poll, but I cannot be without the live versions of all of Kiss' early material through the "Rock and Roll Over" album.
I'm sure there are more I am missing, but like I said, without seeing my collection in front of me, this is real hard to do.

 

[Carl Miller]

ASAIK this is their first album which is out now. Their popular song off the current cd is Days go By. They used the song in a car commercial and you hear ity in clubs often.

Thanks Matt! I just realized this morning that I was thinking of a song by Death in Vegas, not Dirty Vegas.

...But I'm gonna check out Dirty Vegas anyway, I really need something new to listen to.

 

[ShawnFr]

Tough:

No certain order, just what pops in my head first:

1)David Gray-White Ladder

2)Ryan Adams-Gold

3)Nick Drake-Pink Moon

4)Eels-Electro Shock Therapy

5)Rubber Soul

6)Between the Buttons

7)Beck-Mutations

8)Who-My Generation (recent remaster)

9)Nuggets II Box set(cheating...)

10)DJ Shadow-Endtroducing...

And I would sneak these on the island by hiding them in body cavities if need be

Radiohead-The Bends

Otis Redding-Otis Blue

Weezer-blue album

Zurdok-Hombre Sintetizador

Man, was that hard!!!!

 

[Ryan_TD]

Wow it's been a while since i've chosen ten d.i.d.s

This is tough and constantly changes depending on what music i'm listening to at that particular time.

Well here goes nothing.............................

1) RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - Blood Sugar Sex Magik

2) PINK FLOYD - Animals

3) LED ZEPPELIN - III

4) ROLLING STONES - Beggar's Banquet

5) NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE - Zuma

6) PETER GABRIEL - Security

7) SLAYER - Reign In Blood

8) SOUNDGARDEN - Superunknown

9) BEATLES - Magical Mystery Tour

10) MILES DAVIS - Nefertiti

This should be changed to Desert Island Jukeboxes so we can pick 50 albums - it would still be tough - but a lot easier

 

[Mitty]

The Velvet Underground - V.U. - yes, the album that languished in the vaults for 15 odd years before being released is my fave from the great group. Listen to the playful, joyous guitar on "She's My Best Friend" with headphones sometime and then try to excise it from your head. Go on, I dare ya.
The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night - What can I say, it's their happiest album, to my ears. I supposed I've married the music to images from the movie, but it's still my favourite Beatles album, yes, even over "Sgt. Peppers." "If I Fell" is one of the sweetest songs they ever crafted.
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - the rare album that is both a group's best and my personal fave. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is still my favourite BB song ever. I absolutely love "Hang on to Your Ego" which technically isn't part of the album, but has been included as a bonus track on the past few issues.
Lou Reed - Transformer - The sweetness of "Satellite" and the catchiest bass line in pop/rock music in "Wild Side" and you've got yourself a hell of an album even if the other songs weren't any good. By the way...they are. (FYI, a few of this song's best tracks, beautifully recorded live were recently released on "American Poet" along with some great VU era stuff)
Miles Davis - Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet - the first side (ie. the first 4 tracks) are so lush and romantic, it's become my favourite Miles album. That, plus the fact that I was ever stuck on a desert island, no point in taking "Some Kind of Blue" with me, since I could play it in my head from memory. 2nd choice, Miles-wise would be his debut solo recording, "Birth of the Cool."
The Rolling Stones - 12 X 5 - half covers, half original Jagger/Richards recording, this album, the second from the stones is one of my favourites. The opening number, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Around and Around" is one of their great seldom heard songs.
Bruce Springsteen - Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. - probably the last Springsteen album I ever bought, I'm constantly amazed at how musically and lyrically inventive it is. I would love to see Springsteen on a tour where he played nothing but material from his first two records, stuff he never plays live anymore. The post-Born to Run fans would riot, but hey, it is just a pipe dream after all. This is great stuff.
Sam Cooke - Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964 - alright, it's probably cheating to use a compilations disc in your top 10 DIDs, but this is one I gotta include. It's brand new as well, an SACD/CD hybrid from ABKCO (the same people who did the Stone's hybrid discs). You guys should really check it out.
Stan Getz/João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto - I defy anyone to find a more beautiful 30+ minutes of music. One of those rare times when the record-buying public made a massive hit out of something that actually deserved to be so.
David Bowie - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust - before I even knew what "glam" was I knew that my 3 or 4 favourite Bowie songs were on this seminal album. Since it's a DID though, I'd prefer that double disc version with all of the bonus tracks though...thanks.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - Neil Young & Crazy Horse
The original Neil & Horse album. A hypnotic electric and acoustic masterpiece of musical simplicity and mysterious lyrics, EKTIN is perhaps the greatest country-folk-rock album ever made - and in 2 weeks at that!
Best bit: The first solo on 'Cowgirl In The Sand'.
Highway 61 Revisted - Bob Dylan
Dylan was out-doing everyone in the Sixties, but on this one, he out-did himself. It's an amazing collection.
Best bit: The howled, "HOW DOES IT FEEEEL?!" on 'Like A Rolling Stone'.
The Notorious Byrd Brothers - The Byrds
The best segues in all of Rock. Beautful renditions of Goffin-King's 'Goin' Back' and 'Wasn't Born To Follow' sit alongside the powerful Crosby-Hillman-McGuinn anti-war anthem, 'Draft Morning' and their out-there ocean/space cuts, 'Dolphin's Smile' and ''Space Odyssey'.
Best bit: Clarence White's picking during the phasing on 'Wasn't Born To Follow'.
Trans Europe Express - Kraftwerk
Autobahn is great, but this album from the Kings Of Kraut Electronica is a fully-formed whole, overflowing with imagination and verve.
Best bit: The title track.
Peer Gynt (Sir Thomas Beecham & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 1957) - Edvard Grieg
Beecham's legendary 1957 recording remains the definitive version - just like his original recording of The Tales Of Hoffman. Grieg vividly brought Henrik Ibsen's drama to life and Beecham and the RPO excellened themselves in this stunning performance.
Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
This is pop music - and taken to it's greatest heights by Brother Brian. An extraordinary accomplishment by anyone's standards and filled with equally joyous and heartbreaking beauty, it will always remains a masterpiece of modern music.
Best bit: The French horns at the start of 'God Only Knows'.
Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
By 1973, Rock & Roll had gone through many changes and many of them can be found right here, but mixed with a Classical approach and delivery. It really startled me when I first heard it, and I still find it an amazing piece of instrumental music.
Best bit: The Spanish guitar and paino in Part 1 after the first cresendo.
Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band
Ah, the great Captain! Here's one for all you Teenyboppers out there! Just buy it today, and remember: A squid eating dough in a polyethelene bag is fast 'n' boulbous, got me?!
Best bit: "His excited eyes water in appreciation of his thoughful preperation" - 'Old Fart At Play'.
Music For Strings, Percussion and Celesta - Bela Bartok
Bartok is not a household name, but he was a master musician like no other of his time (1905-1940) and with Music For Strings, Percussion and Celesta, he created, in my mind, one of the 20th Century's most ahead-of-its-time pieces of modern music. Sir Georg Solti conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Decca in 1990 is a great recording.
Lawrence Of Arabia score - Maurice Jarre
I must chose a film score and although it is difficult, Jarre's score to Sir David Lean's 1962 classic is a once in a lifetime masterwork. It was as if strings had never been used in a film score before.
Gordy