MUSIC THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE


I bought a couple of remastered CD's this week that brought a flood of memories back to me and well I knew I wouldn't be alone in having pieces of music that shaped or echoed various era's of my life.
It's also the reason I got into this hobby....
At 13 I got seriously into music,me amd my friends who sit around for hours picking tracks and blasting out music,this was my intial golden era.
However some 8 years later in '85 I'd moved on a bit,I was semi-grown up,been made redundant from my first job,worked in retail for a while and was back studying at college.
My interest in music had diminished a little,the 80's seemed a little facile,a lot of the music raved about somehow didn't do it for me.
I was pretty broke too,staying at home and well a little down and self obsessed as a 21 year tends to be.
One day I came across a new record just released,I liked the cover,the titles of the songs and I'd seen the band on TV a few times.
It was This Is The Sea by The Waterboys.
I was blown away,a big rock sound,epic but not overblown,a great lyricist and songwriter in Mike Scott and the music became my beacon in a gloomy time.
I followed up the previous releases by them,the live tapes,all the stuff you do.
Now I wouldn't claim this record was the greatest ever made but I wore that vinyl out,even today I could probably write you down the lyric of every song on that record,I doubt I've ever listened to any record more than that one.
It might be saying too much that it saved my life but Mike Scott's music reflected the bleakness of Britain at that time but it also uplifted me.
That winter was tough but that record kept my spirits up.
It started too a search for those who had influenced him and opened up my mind to Dylan,Van Morrison and made me realise the importance of early Blues,Country and Gospel music.
Simply put it restarted my love affair for music.
So when I listened to the first two Waterboys albums this week I was transported back to that time and despite some of the music having dated the essence of Scott's positve message still seemed as powerful some 17 years later.
The subsequent releases by The Waterboys were never as strong to me but that record had such an important impact on my life that I'll never forget it nor the times it got me through.
That's part of my story,now tell me yours.............
ben_campbell
I would have to agree with cornfedboy that the Beatles dominated my listening particuraly Rubber Soul and Sgt.Peppers.Another album that I still listen to constantly is Dave Mason's Alone Together.And of course Fleetwood Macs Rumours.I still have 2 copies of Mason;s the tie dyed album.The Vinyl is still better than the MOFI cd.Some other greats.Iron Butterfly,Ten Years After,Humble Pie,The Who,Led Zeppelin,Sly and the family Stone,Steve Miller,Young Rascals,Simon and Garfunkel,Traffic,Police and so on.This is when it was music,with real musicians. What is out today is just crap.
My post should read:
MUSIC THAT SERVED AS MARKERS IN MY LIFE.

I hear certain songs and they BELONG to a specific moment. Listed in somewhat the order they occurred at a moment in my life that I cannot forget.

"Jailhouse Rock," Elvis
"Like a Rolling Stone," Bob Dylan
"Baby What You Want Me to Do," Jimmy Reed
"Take Five," Dave Brubeck
"I Want To Hold Your Hand," The Beatles
"Crystal Ship," The Doors
"Magic Carpet Ride," Steppinwolf
"Chelsea Morning," Joni Mitchell
"Here There and Everywhere," The Beatles
"Blue," Joni Mitchell
'Another Brick In The Wall," Pink Floyd
"Don't Get Me Wrong," The Pretenders
"Heart of Glass," Blondie
"Oh Superman," Laurie Anderson
"Siesta," Miles Davis
"The Sensual World," Kate Bush

Some are good memories, some bittersweet.
grateful dead...they were absolutely dedicated to getting the best sound possible at their shows..they succeeded most of the time

the live recordings I made with vintage microphones (tubes, of course) sound spectacular on the tube gear we are using currently
My older sisters were constantly listening to music when I was a kid in the early 60's - I didn't pay much attention until I Get Around by the Beach Boys dropped from the 45 spindle (stacked of course with many others) - It sent me searching and my first two Lp 's were Meet the Beatles and Dino, Desi and Billy 's I'm A Fool . It had a lot of great covers by the Stones and Dylan. I haven't stopped since - played in many bands and always still searching for the sounds and now through the years the means to reproduce them. It is still exciting to me and those two LP's that started it all still get played for they keep me focused on when it was fun and I didn't care about the record needle - just the songs coming from it and the 4 inch full range cone attached to the phonograph. Fmpnd - I think I was in a similar band as you were .
John Wesley Harding...Bob Dylan's traditional folk release is an album that I play over and over...it only gets better each time.

The line "...and if you see your neighbour carrying something, HELP HIM WITH HIS LOAD..." taught me to do just that whenever I could.

'Changed my life, Dylan did, as he did the lives of many of us.