my personal best music lps (part 2)

JETHRO TULL - AQUALUNG (1971)
the first one of ian anderson's great works. an absolute classic.

RARE BIRD - EPIC FOREST (1972)
a constantly high melodic level. those guys knew how to build an atmosphere.

BUDGIE - NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A FRIEND (1973)
my long-time favourite band from wales with a beautiful roger dean's blood-red budgerigar logo. i pondered heavily which of their records to praise and i made up my mind for this one, their third work. maybe because it was the first one i've ever listened to, who knows? (but no, the first song i got to know was the 'nude disintegrating parachutist woman' from their first record). anyway, the song titles are equally strong here and some young musicians thought decades later it would have been a good idea to cover some stuff from here ('breadfan' by metallica). a very impressive music on this lp, my all-time evergreen. try 'in the grip of the tyrefitter's hands' or 'you're the biggest thing since powdered milk' and of course 'parents'.

WISHBONE ASH - ARGUS (1973)
one of the double-lead-guitars bands, but the first one, where the dialogs between those two instruments really worked (no offense for bachman-turner-overdrive nor ufo). this one is the catching concept of the knights-tales music, their third record. the band was my one-time favourite back in the 80s.

PILOT - MORIN HEIGHTS (1976)
i could have named their next work ('two's a crowd', after drummer stuart tosh parted) also, but this one seems to be more fresh and joyous. 'running water' and 'too many hopes' make it worth trying. after pilot disbanded, they all played with alan parsons project and with kate bush on her first records.

MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND - THE ROARING SILENCE (1976)
the emotional decision has fallen for this one. 'singing the dolphin through' and 'questions' were the music i grew up with.

GENTLE GIANT - THE MISSING PIECE (1977)
very unique sound of shulman bros and co. i mean they've created many good records, but this one seems to have the highest constant level for me. i like 'for nobody' the best.

SUPERTRAMP - EVEN IN THE QUIETEST MOMENTS... (1977)
i like this one, beside the 'crime of the century', the best. the title song and the terrific 'fool's overture' stand for highlights here. another one is a minimalistic 'downstream' song, the vocals accompanied only by a piano.

METRO - METRO (1977)
an obscure band, featuring duncan browne and peter godwin on their only cooperative piece. a melodically beautiful, mysterious, smoky world of crime and passion. it's unbelievable how it went into oblivion so completely.

FISCHER-Z - RED SKIES OVER PARADISE (1981)
their absolutely best record with great melodic harmonies. john watts at his best. this guy has such an ease of creating catchy melodies like, say, bono vox or david byrne. almost each song is a jewel.

XTC - ENGLISH SETTLEMENT (1982)
their most powerful work. a pleasure to listen to. andy partridge's voice makes up this unique touch.

POLICE - SYNCHRONICITY (1983)
i guess it's my favourite police album, although slightly slick one a bit, maybe (like 'every breath you take'). but the opening 'synchronicity 1' is still powerful enough.

MARILLION - FUGAZI (1984)
could be 'script for a jester's tear' or 'misplaced childhood', too, but 'punch and judy' alone won the race for this lp (one of the greatest lyrics in the rock history). and the music and fish's vocals don't need any recommendation.

FUTURE BIBLE HEROES - MEMORIES OF LOVE (1997)
although the next oeuvre by fbh ('eternal youth') may be equally beautiful, but the very roots of their music lie here. 80s revival at it's best. this trio is a win for the contemporary music.

SODASTREAM - THE HILL FOR COMPANY (2001)
this work is simply beautiful music. those guys have melancholy and melody in their blood. 'mood in the bunker', 'devil on my shoulder', 'another trail', to name only a few. it reminded me of cowboy junkies records.

RIVERSIDE - OUT OF MYSELF (2003)
this is a polish band with a ripe and contemplative sound and a rocky touch (it bears a certain far similarity to archive and marillion, and the vocals is english). those guys know how to make good music. my favourite piece is 'curtain falls'. a sound for long lonely winter evenings.

BLACKFIELD - BLACKFIELD (2005)
well, two guys with highly developed melodical senses, coming from different worlds. wilson and geffen created a mysterious oeuvre of ravishing beauty. and it's not so easy to make an outstanding record nowadays, when so much new stuff appears every day.

my personal best music lps (part 1)

BEATLES - PLEASE PLEASE ME (1963)
BEATLES - WITH THE BEATLES (1963)
BEATLES - BEATLES FOR SALE (1964)
BEATLES - A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964)
all in all, the beatles at their best. the freshest, the most twinkle-toed two third of a sixpack by them.

PINK FLOYD - A PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN (1967)
the melodic lines of syd barrett are really ghastly and seductive here. they remind me of a similar feeling while listening to the lonely guitar riff in the middle of tool's 'schism' song. it's a pity syd is not mentally with us these days. it's more or less the only remaining sign of his genius.

PINK FLOYD - A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS (1968)
syd's spirit's still in this one. he contributed to some tracks, too. delightfully psychedelic, this oeuvre is.

KING CRIMSON - ISLANDS (1971)
this is a strange story: i listened to this lp for the first time and i got disappointed. after the second time i got interested, after the third one really curious. after i heard this work for the fifth time i was already fascinated, after the seventh time i was enthusiastic. never before and never after any similar experience happened to me... every one here is great and the minimalistic 'island' evolves like ravel's 'bolero' or, better still, like some dervish dance to a great finale.

MIKE OLDFIELD - HERGEST RIDGE (1974)
emotionally, my personal number one. accompanied my most precious feelings ever. the melodic harmonies and the depth are heartbreaking here.

ERIC CLAPTON - 461 OCEAN BLVD (1974)
a very diverse piece by eric. reggae mixes with rock and with ballads. charles boyer's 'please be with me' sways gently around.

CITY BOY - DINNER AT THE RITZ (1976)
lol mason's vocals is one of the most passionate in the whole rock history. it can be only compared with those of robert plant, meat loaf, tom verlaine and fish. melodically, 'the violin' song is a stroke of genius. noone else coupled the violin and the rock drums so convincingly.

AL STEWART - YEAR OF THE CAT (1976)
this guy is my favourite singer. you can formally see a golden girl in her middle 20s spending the late holidays with him, or a lonely ghost ship, sailing away from her own british fleet and from the mighty spanish main. al's telling his stories with music and images. and his acoustic guitar playing is masterly. a real aristocrate of pop.

TELEVISION - MARQUEE MOON (1977)
well, well, well... tom verlaine at his best. 'venus', 'marquee moon' and 'elevation' songs are the way punk could gladly evolve into.

KATE BUSH - THE KICK INSIDE (1978)
my female singer number one (well, recently challenged by anneke van giersbergen). 'wuthering heights' haunts not only charlotte bronte's heathcliff, but me too, for decades already. not a single weak spot on the whole debut lp, composed, arranged, piano played and sung by the then 20 year-old london dancer beauty (actually born in kentshire).

CLASH - LONDON CALLING (1979)
doesn't need any explanation. the freshest, the cutiest, the most powerful and the best london music ever.

SKIDS - JOY (1981)
an lp pulled to pieces by the critics. i don't give a damn, though. mesmerising, it is. 'blood and soil' and 'men of the fall', let alone the great 'waltzing mathilda' sung a capella by richie jobson are real masterpieces. if there has to be a soul out there, you can feel it here.

THIS MORTAL COIL - IT'LL END IN TEARS (1984)
you could lie down and weep constantly, listening to this one. a great work. liz fraser's vocals on roy harper's 'another day' is unmatchable in the whole rock history.

PETE TOWNSHEND - WHITE CITY (1986)
pete, old pal, what have you drunk or inhaled here? anyway, keep it like this. a mighty piece of rock. a great melodic work, too, particularly 'white city fighting'.

LOU REED & JOHN CALE - SONGS FOR DRELLA (1990)
a very personal tribute to a close friend by those two velvet underground vets. but go for the video of this work. you will see how two virtuosos build a sensitive space, filled with sounds and visuals.

NIRVANA - NEVERMIND (1991)
such clean, minimalistic and pure melodic lines, nonchalantly sung and played on a cheap guitar with a mighty rhythm section - a true classic already.