Stranded on a desert island with, fortuitously, a wind-up gramophone, which ten albums couldn't you be without? Some pretty hard choices are going to have to be made. Here's the desert island albums as chosen by RPMers, March 2022....
The RPMer’s Desert Island Albums Selection
Alan -
"What sort of world would it be without Elvis, Little Richard, Holly, Bob Dylan, Tim's Harding and Buckley, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Howling Wolf, Velvet Underground, the Airplane, Dead, Love, Ronettes, Shangri Las, Crystals, Byrds, CS&N, Polly Harvey, Radiohead and many others? A bloody wasteland is what it would be!! But, if I had to choose just ten albums, these are the ones I would struggle to be without."
Please Please Me by The Beatles
The Rolling Stones by The Rolling Stones
The Small Faces by The Small Faces (Decca album)
My Generation by The Who
Otis Blue by Otis Redding
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 by Various Artists
The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other by Van Der Graaf Generator
Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Live at the Sheffield Black Swan by Brinsley Schwarz
Dave –
“Here’s my desert island picks.”
Highway To Hell by AC/DC
Levelling the Land by The Levellers
Dolittle by Pixies
Moondance by Van Morrison
Velvet Underground by Velvet Underground
Dubnobasswithmyheadman by Underworld
Madvillainy by Madvillain
Sound of the Suburbs by Various Artists
Joshua tree by U2
Nevermind by Nirvana
Jackie –
Liege and Lief by Fairport Convention
Greatest Hits by Sam Cooke
The River by Bruce Springsteen
Fisherman’s Blues by The Waterboys
Songs of Leonard Cohen
Guitar Town by Steve Earle
Levelling The Land by The Levellers
The Catacombs, Wolverhampton 1968 -1974 Club Soul Vol3 by Various Artists
Acoustic Classics Vol 1 by Richard Thompson
Purple Rain by Prince
Jean -
"Here it is! I knew 3 for sure, but then I could have picked another 10 very easily. The rest of RPM members won’t be surprised at my choices as I’ve played them all sometime at our meetings. You all know that I like singers whose lyrics can be understood and who live the song. The list is not in any particular order and they all evoke happy times and memories for me so will pass many hours of solitude on my island.
As an aside :- I’d like to just have the cover of Hot August Night on the island too. I’ve never seen Neil Diamond look so HOT!
This has been an enjoyable interlude."
Rumours by Fleetwood Mac *
"I love every track . Great songs, singers and musicians. A Classic."
Redemption by Joe Bonamassa **
"My newest favourite performer who I only discovered in the last few years. He is the best guitarist, singer, songwriter, performer and I’m thrilled to be seeing him live on 23rd April. Another album that I loved from first hearing."
Otis Blue by Otis Redding
"This is a Classic. My first foray into Soul music as a young adult. Wonderful voice."
Nights Are Forever Without You by England Dan and John Ford Coley *
"Saw these in Toronto 1976. Bought all their albums. Great voices and song writing. Wide range of music styles from Folk to Rock."
Three Weeks at Carnegie Hall by Liza Minnelli *
"She was the ultimate Diva and was at her peak on this double album. I was hooked on her style and acting in Cabaret. She was a fabulous dancer too. She had many ‘strange’ lyrics in songs written just for her but that made her the ultimate performer on stage."
Hall of Fame by Moody Blues *
"This is a live recording of Royal Albert Hall concert that I went to. Have gradually bought their albums over the last 5 years. The highlight will always be Justin Hayward ‘s voice and his lyrics on Nights in White Satin - it tears at the heart strings."
Crossroad by Bon Jovi *
"My favourite rock band. This has most of their best numbers and I’ll never get tired of it. They never age."
Bread Winners by Jack Jones *
"A truly marvellous singer. Puts all the emotion needed into every performance. His rendition of the best songs written for the band Bread is beautiful particularly the track 'If. "
One More Dream by Gerry Rafferty
"Had to include this as it has ‘Baker Street’ on it. One of the best songs ever and the saxophone breaks are incredible. Love Gerry’s voice and lyrics."
Let It Be by The Beatles *
"I had to have one Beatles album to remind me of my first Band crush as a teenager. It may seem strange to pick the last one produced but I think they played tunes they obviously enjoyed and seemed to sing and play with that old rawness that they had at the beginning of their fame. I think they were still friends."
Seen in concert *
Seeing in April **
John -
“A tricky beast and that's for sure..... I've taken the 'couldn't be without' angle as there may be days on the Desert Island when I fancy a bit of classical or ambient music (or even a bit of Hancock's Half Hour) and it's here that we hit another minefield. So..... These ten are, at the time of writing, my favourite albums.”
The Stranglers - Rattus Norvegicus
The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Live At The Lyceum
Spirogyra - St.Radiguns
Andy Roberts - Nina And The Dream Tree
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Ragged Glory
Cocteau Twins - The Pink Opaque*
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Misty In Roots - Chronicles*
Otis Redding - Otis Blue
*These two albums are compilations; it would have been too difficult to pick one particular album from either of these acts.
Philip –
“I used to be indecisive but now I'm not so sure. Even so, here's a list of 10 albums in order of date of release, showing original record label.”
Boz Scaggs (Atlantic 1969).
Cosmo's Factory, by Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy 1970).
After The Goldrush, by Neil Young (Reprise, 1970).
Live At Fillmore East, by The Allman Brothers Band. (Capricorn, 1971).
The Harder They Come, Original Soundtrack featuring Jimmy Cliff, etc. (Island, 1972).
Dixie Chicken, by Little Feat (Warner Bros, 1973).
Call Me, by Al Green (Hi, 1973).
Pretzel Logic, by Steely Dan. (ABC, 1974).
Blood On The Tracks, by Bob Dylan (Columbia, 1975).
Old No. 1, by Guy Clark (RCA, 1975).
Please sir, can I have another ten?
Tim –
“Just too hard! I’ve gone with having my favourite albums spanning a range of styles. That meant room for only one male songwriter, for instance. So, Springsteen elbowed out Bob Dylan (I know!!!!), Steve Earle and Tom Petty. Some metal? Iron Maiden and Motorhead got left behind. So here’s the 10 I could happily listen to over and over again. (Btw, Obviously hoping to get marooned with Jackie….I can then listen to her 10 albums as well.)”
Levelling The Land by The Levellers
Liege and Lief by Fairport Convention
X In Search of Space by Hawkwind
Are You Experienced by Jimi Hendrix
Selected Jigs, Reels and Songs by De Dannan
Acoustic Classics (Vol 1) by Richard Thompson
Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
Jurasic Shift by Ozric Tentacles
Wheels of Steel by Saxon
On A Storyteller’s Night by Magnum
Tony –
“Here are my 10 desert island disks. Ten is nowhere near enough!!! I reluctantly had to leave out Ray Charles, Genesis, The Strawbs, The Band, James Taylor, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Donald Fagen, Traveling Wilburys, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young, Don Henley, Johnny Cash, Elton John, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Brook Benton, Paul Simon, Gretchen Peters, Little Willie John, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Stevie Wonder.”
Hell Freezes Over by The Eagles
“This is one of two live album choices I've made. It includes songs from a good spread of studio albums as well as new stuff. A reminder to me of seeing this fantastic band twice.”
For The Roses by Joni Mitchell
“I had to include an album by Joni and difficult to choose between several including Blue and Night Ride Home but I go back to this one the most.”
Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
“I could easily have picked 'Greatest Hits (1971 so that Peter Green got a nod) but I can still remember what a huge impact Rumours had on release - everybody I knew had a copy and the tracks still never bore even though they have been heard so many times. Seen 'em twice, front row seats for one of those - awesome!”
Abbey Road by The Beatles
“I was in HMS Ganges when they first caught the nation’s attention and my stay in the navy outlived the fab four by over 4 years. I can remember buying Beatles For Sale in the Philippines, Revolver in Canada and the White Album in Scotland. It was a toss-up between Sgt Pepper, The White album and this but I always thought that this one had the least fat. I don't even mind Ringo's Octopus's Garden which reminds me of my naval service 'under the sea' for 8 years.”
The Royal Scam by Steely Dan
“Another band where it's hard to decide which one but this remains a fave. Got a standing ticket at the back of the circle of the Hammersmith Apollo in crippling heat to see them live but well worth the discomfort.”
Aerial Pandemonium Ballet by Harry Nilsson
“I assumed that box sets aren't allowed for this exercise otherwise I would have picked my cd set of all the RCA releases. This is the one that got the nod but several others I would have been equally happy with: Nilsson Schmilsson, A Little Touch of Schmillson in the Night, Harry. Harry re-recorded a mixture of tracks from Aerial Ballet and Pandemonium Shadow Show to make it.”
So What by Joe Walsh
“This is really an album by Barnstorm but it has his name on the cover. I bought two expensive tickets to see The Strat Pack celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster because Joe was included in the stellar lineup. Could have chosen "The Smoker You Drink the Player You Get" but this one easily edged it.”
Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty
“When I first heard this album, it blew me away (and still does). Contributions from the Heartbreakers but what a super debut solo album.”
Famous Blue Raincoat by Jennifer Warnes
“Two for one here with the sublime voice of Jennifer Warnes interpreting the lyrics of Leonard Cohen.”
Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads
“I love Talking Heads and to complete my 10 I've chosen this one which includes many of my favourites ,and, listening to it, I would be able to remember the superb live show that was filmed to create the album and play that back in my head while listening.”