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The 365-Day Album Challenge: Week 24
Thu., Oct. 22. 2020 1:19pm EDT
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Back in May, two friends asked me to share 10 albums that influenced me on Facebook. I narrowed it down to 365. I post the cover art for a different album every day with a brief explanation of how/why they influenced me. Fans have asked me to include them in the newsletter, too. Here are this week's entries:
162. Who Are You – The Who
I grew to appreciate this album over time. Everybody knows "Who Are You," and they played "Had Enough" on rock radio, too. My favorite track is the opener, "New Song," although I also liked "Sister Disco," "Guitar and Pen," "Music Must Change," and "Trick of the Light."
163. The Completion Backward Principle – The Tubes
I loved SCTV (Second City Television), even more than SNL. John Candy used to do a skit on that show called "Gil Fisher, the Fishin' Musician" where his character would take rock artists on fishing trips. One of those episodes featured The Tubes, who were promoting this album. At the time, they were all dressed in business suits — even on the fishing trip — and I thought the whole thing was hilarious. They sang "Sushi Girl," and that was all it took to hook me. Good old Michael Ranieri had the album and let me tape it. The Top 40 hit was a song you may not remember called "Don't Want to Wait Anymore," but if you listen to rock radio you've probably heard the awesome opening track, "Talk to Ya Later." Other standouts for me at the time were "Mr. Hate" and "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," but I thought all the tracks were totally tubular.
164. Freeze Frame – J. Geils Band
This album's first single, "Centerfold," was the song that got everybody's attention (#1 for six weeks), but, as with the previous Geils album, it was the second and third singles — "Freeze Frame" (#4) and "Angel in Blue" (#40) — that made me want the album. And the flip sides of the "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame" singles — "Rage in the Cage" and "Flamethrower" — may actually be better than the A-sides.
165. Soul Train: Don Cornelius Picks 22 Greatest Soul Hits Of All Time - Various Artists
I got found this in the cut-out bin. It really does live up to its title. Some (but not all) of my favorites were "It's Your Thing" (Isley Brothers), "Oh Happy Day" (Edwin Hawkins Singers), "Love is Strange" (Mickey & Sylvia), "Hold On I'm Comin'" (Sam & Dave), "Everyday People" (Sly & The Family Stone), and "Patches" (Clarence Carter).
166. The Kink Chronicles – The Kinks
This double album is a compilation of 28 Kinks songs from 1966-70, so it doesn't have songs like "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night," though it does have "Lola" and "Sunny Afternoon." I first saw it in my brother-in-law Bob's collection in the 1970's, and I taped a few songs off of it, but that was all I knew. I finally bought it as a discount eight-track in April 1982 — I know that because I had just asked a girl to go to the prom with me, and we had just started dating. Favorite tracks include "The Village Green Preservation Society," "Victoria," "Waterloo Sunset," "David Watts," "Days," "Susannah's Still Alive," and "She's Got Everything." But they're all great.
167. Quadrophenia – The Who
I bought the soundtrack to Quadrophenia (1979) as a discount eight-track in the spring of 1982 and liked it so much that I bought the original Quadrophenia (1973) that summer. I loved 'em both. I have many favorites from both albums, but it's hard to top "The Real Me," which is on both. The soundtrack also featured a number of oldies, including "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen. Furthermore, it had some Who songs I enjoyed that weren't on the original album — "Joker James" and "Four Faces" — plus "Zoot Suit," a pre-fame single released by The Who when they had briefly changed their name to The High Numbers.
168. Candy-O – The Cars
This cassette arrived in the mail from Columbia House Record Club the day of my senior prom in May 1982. I was already so excited for the big day, and Candy-O just made it that much sweeter. I had owned the "Let's Go" single back when it was a hit in 1979, but I'd never realized how good the rest of the album was. In fact, I think side one of Candy-O is every bit as good as side one of The Cars first album. I love "Since I Held You," "It's All I Can Do," "Shoo Be Do" and "Candy-O."
Note: The albums are not listed in order of preference or excellence, but in chronological order of when they influenced me. Also, just because the albums on my list influenced me back then doesn't mean I give them all a blanket endorsement now.
I started actively listening to music in the early 70's and didn't become a born-again Christian until early 1988, so it's going to be a while before we get to the Christian albums, but there will be many of those when the time comes (literally).
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