Records that made you reassess your music beliefs
I have just stopped listening to Tony Williams Lifetime's Emergency and was as intrigued and absorbed by the music as the first time I heard this record. This was one record that truly changed my conception of what music was supposed to be. Just curious, what records altered your state of mind (in their own right, that is, without, er... "help") We're not talking about your five best or the ones you'd take with you to a deserted island. Indeed, some of them you may not have liked right away or still find awkward, but they may have broken seals, opened gates,... you get the gist. Try to limit it to, say, a half dozen to single out the real mind-benders (any style or category).
To me, they were - more or less in historical order:
Ten Years After, "Watt": my first TYA, indeed, one of my very first records. I always found it had "something" more than any TYA before or thereafter. Until that time, rock had meant Purple, Sabbath, Earring etc. From that time on I belonged to not even a handful of guys with different tastes than the rest of class.
Yes, "Fragile": now this is one I would take to the island with me even today. So different, yet one I loved instantly. Made me ready for Crimson, Floyd, the Canterbury lot and beyond.
Weather Report, "Sweetnighter": a serendipitous discovery, I taped this inadvertedly and was fascinated from the first notes. The advent of jazz to me. Sure, I'd heard big band stuff on the radio before, but that had never remotely inspired me. With this, I had really left my class mates' orbit.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, "Pictures at an Exhibition": I didn't know what to make of this first. Were these the guys that had done "Lucky Man"? Purists may abstain, but in the end this record led the way to classical music (and wouldn't you know it, still with Russian bias). Later, I had the opportunity to witness ELP's spectacular virtuosity live (together with Zappa, one of the best two concerts ever).
Tony Williams Lifetime, "Emergency": fascinating though not my favourite from the start. It took getting used to but this one pushed my "jazz-limit" considerably. Another electric one, but without this, I would not have made it to jazz in all its shapes and colors from bop to contemporary.
Captain Beefheart, "Trout Mask Replica": wasn't prepared for this shocking experience. I had heard the Captain with Zappa with great pleasure, this however was startling! To be honest, I hated the record. What it said, though, was: just let it in, you're never finished there is more to dicover. Lots of more or less bizarre stuff afterwards, but this was the eye-opener.
Don't we have the best of all hobbies!
