More Albums

       I took last week off, partly because I was so busy, but mostly because spring has arrived, turning my thoughts to my yard and gardens.  I just couldn't tear my self away and come indoors to write.  So, I hope you'll bear with me while I adjust to the nicer weather and figure out how to continue this writing while being called outside.
      I started telling you about the albums that have influenced me and why.  I started with Tarkio Road by Brewer and Shipley.  The next one is Revolver by The Beatles.  This album came out in 1966.  I was 13 years-old and totally in love with The Beatles, though I was not a screaming fan like so many others.  Of course, Paul was the heart throb, and he certainly was nice to look at.  John was definitely a songwriting hero, but George was the one I had a crush on.  I was a card-carrying member of the Beatles Fan Club and wore a velour olive green Beatles hat.  I wore that hat everywhere and argued with my girlfriends about who was the better Beatle.  I had a "Help" soundtrack songbook for piano and learned all of the songs from that movie.  And, I had seen the movie over and over again at our neighborhood theater, where I could pay $1 and see the same movie all day long. 
        When Revolver came out, I was already starting to question my parents' values.  Taxman and Eleanor Rigby had a profound effect on me.  And, the music had suddenly changed.  It was with this album that they introduced the use of studio effects to color the music.  It opened my eyes in more ways than one.  I loved everyone of their albums and loved hearing them grow as musicians.  As a young teen, I already had a very eclectic taste in music, due to my father's influence, but The Beatles were teaching me that even within a specific genre of music, I could continue to evolve.  There have been other musicians who were successful in that way too, such as Joni Mitchell, but The Beatles were the first for me.  Diversity has continued to be a very important part of my music and my songwriting.
          In the Facebook game, I was limited to 10 albums.  It was so hard to pick.  I'm not going to go into great detail for every one , but the rest of them are "Innervisions" - Stevie Wonder, "Overnight Sensation" - Frank Zappa, "Aoxomoxa" - Grateful Dead, "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys" - Traffic, "Give it Up" - Bonnie Raitt, "4-Way Street" - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, "Tapestry" - Carole King and "Billie Holiday Sings" - Billie Holiday.  Some of the ones that didn't make the list are Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, American Beauty by The Grateful Dead, Dreamboat Annie by Heart, Between the Lines by Janis Ian, Never Letting Go by Phoebe Snow, the self titled Rickie Lee Jones.  The list could go on and on.  I haven't even touched on the folk albums, Motown or the jazz and blues albums.  It was almost impossible to choose only 10.  And, tomorrow I might pick completely different ones.  I've always said that I don't do favorites very well.  It's ever-changing.

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