Day 36: 10 – “Write about your top 10 favourite albums of all time.”
I thought I had escaped writing about music for a season. I just finished listening to 1080 over the past two years. Actually, I was complaining during the two years that some of my favourite albums were not even on the list. It is time for my revenge. I will write about 10 favourite albums of all time that were not listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. I am not sure this can be done. I will have to go to my whole life and choose only ten albums.
- As a young kid, I had the biggest crush on Olivia Newton-John. I had some of her albums and I had an older female friend who had some of her albums too. We used to listen to them all the time. One of my favourites was Totally Hot, but I liked many of her other albums. My other favourites are Don’t Stop Believin’, Physical, Olivia Newton-John’s Greatest Hits, Come On Over, Come On Over, and two soundtracks Xanadu and Grease. I think it is hard to choose which album I like the best.
- Missing Persons was one of my favourite bands of the 80s. I was deeply sad when they broke up. They only released three album before they disbanded. I like all three albums, but I believe my favourite is Rhyme & Reason. This was a hard choice because the first album was epic too. They were far ahead of their time.
- The Irish rock band U2 is definitely one of my top five bands ever. I liked all their albums until Pop. I might give it a listening again to see if time was kinder to it. My favourite album is probably The Unforgettable Fire, but Boy is a close second. I chose it because it takes me back to the first time I heard it. I always found it to be a dreamy album. I could drift away to a special place and everything was going to be okay.
- My other top five favourite band was the Aussie boys INXS. They had everything going for them. I was excited every time they released an album, but eventually they became too American sounding and lost some of their uniqueness. I had all of their albums, but it was their third album Shabooh Shoobah that was my favourite until they released The Swing in 1984. It was super sexy music.
- One band that I did not like or know much of until I went to a concert with my friends was Journey. I actually went to see the opening band Loverboy because they had a hit song “Turn Me Loose” that I liked a lot. Unfortunately for Loverboy, Steve Perry could sing live better than he sounded on the records. Perry’s voice gave me chills. I was hooked from that night on. It is really hard to choose one album from Journey, but I guess since it was my first one I will have to say that Escape. I do not usually like live albums, but Captured was excellent too. Perry’s note near the end of “The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love)” kills me.
- The Cars was another of my all-time favourite bands. I think the book listed only their debut album, but I like all their earlier albums before they broke up in the 80s. Heartbeat City and Candy-O are two of my favourites, but Heartbeat City was too mainstream and Candy-O went into another world.
- Tears for Fears made one of the most relatable albums ever: The Hurting. There is so much pain wrapped up in 41 minutes of vinyl that I imagines at least one person committed suicide while listening to it. This album spoke my lanuage.
- Stevie Nicks. How did she not make the list of 1001 Albums…? It was a crap list. Stevie was my second crush after Olivia. She was and still is incredible. I am having a hard time choosing an album because I could easily put two of her albums on this list. Bella Donna or The Wild Heart? They are so different from each other. I suppose I will go for the latter since, I really love the song “If Anyone Falls” so much.
- Talk Talk was one of the most creative bands. They changed the most over their short time together. It’s My Life was their album that I bought first, then I bought every album after it.
- How could you do a list of the best albums ever and not include Donna Summer? She was the “Queen of Disco”. I think Bad Girls is probably her best studio album, but if I was going to own one of her albums, then it would have to be On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II. Every song on it is incredible and they bleed into each other for your dancing pleasure.
Excerpt From: Scott Green. “397 Journal Writing Prompts & Ideas.” Apple Books.
Great selection you posted. Still enjoy them today!
Thank you!