Top Ten Albums

I have been nominated to do my top ten albums. Instead of doing a post every single day across all my social media platforms, I thought I’d put them all on my blog instead, with a little explanation underneath.

So this is my collection! Some of them have had a big effect on my life and some of them are just albums that bring back great memories  I know they’ll change  by the time I get to the end, I’ll probably remember another great band or whatever, but I’ll stick to my guns for today, I’ll try not to feel too guilty if I miss certain bands out!

CLASH ON BROADWAY

A three CD collection of just some of the greatest songs by The Clash. I don’t have a favourite CD. When Joe Strummer died and I started discovering The Clash properly I didn’t have a vinyl record player in my bedroom. We have all albums by The Clash but mainly on vinyl, so I could never play them upstairs in my bedroom. I did however have a CD player, so thats why I played this all the time. I know the track listing without looking at the back as I’ve heard it so many times. It annoys me when people say The Clash were just a singles band. I love the little booklet inside too. I go on and on about The Clash all the time, you all know how much they mean to me. This CD collection was what I would listen to all the time and what started my love of The Clash.

Music to Watch the Girls Go By

There are two different volumes of MTWTGGB and this is Volume 2. I absolutely love this, particularly CD 2. I used to listen to Swinging Safari every day, I was so gutted when they used it on a bank advert! The CD case is completely broken and it skips during ‘Love Letters in the Sand’ but I can’t part with it. Volume 1 is good but this ones got Dean Martin on it so obviously that makes it better. My favourite track on this is ‘Move Over Darling’ by Doris Day.

He’s a Rebel: Girl Groups of the 60’s

I bought this from the stall in Ladbroke Grove Market by the Acklam Village Hall. Again there’s 3 CD’s in each boxset and my favourite CD is CD 1. Although CD 2 has got the original version of ‘Chains’ on it which in my opinion is much better than The Beatles version! I used to have this in my car when I had a car with a CD player in it. So many great songs on there by bands with such cool band names The Cookies for example and The Blossoms, not the Salford band. Its annoying when people don’t google if band names have all ready been used! My favourite track on this album is ‘Don’t Hang Up’ by The Orlons.

The people who make these CD compilation also have a doo-wap one which is equally as good.

Galore - Kirsty MaColl

We used to have a proper 90’s music station. It had vinyl on the top with a lid, 2 cassette players, a little mixing doc and a bit where you could insert 6 CDs!! I loved it. It was behind the sofa in my mum and dads house and while my whole family would watch football on the telly I would sit behind the sofa and listen to this album on the music centre. I love Kirsty and there are so many great albums and compilation of her. This is my favourite cause its got My Affair on it. I want to write a song with me speaking Spanish but I think that might be extremely optimistic of me! Hahaha!

Young, Gifted and Black - Reggae Compilation

We got this when we went on a family holiday somewhere in England. It rained most of that week but we played this constantly. I loved it. Millie Smalls is on it, Prince Buster, Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Decker… This was a great way to get in to Ska and Reggae. I knew a lot of the songs already as they’d been covered or sampled so it was cool to hear the originals. CD 2 is better than CD 1 purely cause its got Police and Thieves on it.

The Mystery Jets - Twenty One

This is the first album that isn’t a compilation or a best of! Hahahaha! I bought this from the money of one of my very first pay cheques. I based a lot of Bonanza on their track Two Doors Down. There was a lot of great music around at this time; Arctic Monkeys, Jamie T, Jack Penate, The Rev, The Wombats, Little Man Tate… I would go and see live bands all the time. I love the lyrics on this album, it blows my mind that they didn’t get Mercury nominated for it ATLEAST! They’ve got Laura Marling on it too which is fantastic. One of my friends had a ‘smartie party’ (a party where everyone had to come dressed up as a different colour smartie .. don’t ask) and I played this album over and over that night until some dickhead took it off and put Lil Wayne on. I remember being really pissed off and walking home dressed as a green smartie and getting in and watching Jamie T do If You've Got The Money on Johnathon Ross. What a great time!

Combat Frock - Emily Capell

My guitarist did this list a few weeks ago and he included his solo album so I’m putting mine in. I don’t listen to it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. I don’t think I’ve listened to it since we had to listen to the test pressing to check it all sounded like how we wanted. I never thought I’d do an album and I’m so pleased we have! I don’t feel ashamed of anything on this and I will defend it forever and ever! I love the tracks, the cover photo, the title, the fact that I dedicated it to Princess Diana, everything about it! Well done all of us!!

Grease Soundtrack / Saturday Night Fever soundtrack

I used to have these albums on constantly. My mum wouldn’t let me watch SNF cause I was about 9 when I was really in to this album. Now I’ve seen the film I’m so glad she didn’t let me. Saturday Night Fever is NOT the same as Grease. When the girls came to sing the backing parts on Combat Frock I told them to listen to these two albums to get in the right headspace. My love for these is proof that I would have been a rubbish punk rocker cause I’d have probably snuck home and listened to these after a night out at the Roxy as they were released at a similar time to Punk. I just love happy songs with great harmonies and call and response parts, I mean who doesn’t love a disco bass line?! My mum doesn’t like music by people who vote tory and the Bee Gees apparently did, so sorry for putting these in mum.

The Best Of Wham!

Unless you haven’t noticed I bloody love 80’s pop, particularly George Michael. I used to watch music television all the time and I’d skip through all the different music channels for hours. I have a weird talent that I can guess what a music video is in about 000.1 seconds, simply because I used to spend hours watching them. Music tv was where I discovered Wham! and so many others! I bought this in Sell and Buys in Eastcote, its probably not the best Wham compilation but its my favourite. I know all the words to Wham rap. I was gutted when George died, absolutely devastated. I remember hearing my brother telling my mum that I would get picked on at school because of my obsession with Wham... I remember thinking I was going to give a wham, give a bam but not give a damn cause the benefit gang are gunna pay!!!!…...Obviously I did get picked on.

My mums 40TH Birthday CD that my dad made

My mum had a 40th birthday party at our house and my dad made this. Mark Capell nailed it with this one. Its starts off with Fat Boy Slim - Praise you and then just gets better. I’ve got to admit that I don’t know where this CD is anymore (we've been looking for it since I've been talking about it) but I can make up the playlist as best as I can remember. After the party we still played this all the time. There’s Northern Soul on there, The Small Faces, Sleeper, Divine Comedy, Pulp, Cornershop, Madonna, The Beach Boys, Big Audio Dynamite, Kirsty Macoll, Johnny Cash,The Pretenders, The Housemartins, Madness, Millie Smalls, Prince Buster… It’s unreal. My mums and dads first dance at their wedding was The Jam doing a version of Get Yourself Together, so they’ve got quite cool music taste. it’s important here to say that they like new music too, they aren’t stuck in the past.

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to put this in here but I am anyway, who’s going to stop me?

*****A few very near misses

Frank Sinatra - Songs For Swingin Lovers

101ers - Elgin Avenue Breakdown

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am, Thats What I’m not

Kayne West - College Dropout

Jamie T - Panic Prevention

Beastie Boys - Lisence to Ill

The Libertines - Up The Bracket

Gene - Olympian

The Streets - A Grand Don’t Come for Free

James - Millionaires

The Jam - Snap

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

Billy Bragg - Must I paint you a picture Compilation

Eminem - The Marshal Mathers LP

Mcfly - Room on the Third Floor

Stormzy - The Crown

Dave - Physcodrama

Mac Demarco - 2

James Hunter - The Hard way

Beyonce - Lemonade

Johnny Cash - Live at Folsom Prison