The 2nd Five of my Top 25

The White Album - The Beatles
OK...I guess there's no "take backs" on lists such as these...but I chose it, so that's that. It has been in my adult head for many years that this is the Beatles album I would want on a desert island, but now, looking at the tracks, I guess there are about 5 other albums that could serve that purpose. Oh, well.... the sleeper here is the fantastic musical arrangement on Martha My Dear. Not sure if George Martin had a heavy hand in this, but it's brilliant

Ball - Iron Butterfly
I hate the phrase guilty pleasure. I love this album and play it all the time. It's strange and baroque and contains Soul Experience which is an all-time fave. It also contains Lonely Boy which is absolutely awful, but it's easy to skip. Is it better than Fragile by Yes? Hell No, but I play it more.




Songs For A Tailor - Jack Bruce
This is Jack at his very best. His writing has depth, adventure and musicality. His voice is at it's peak and it's one of the finest voices I've ever heard. The musicians he employs here are nothing to sneeze at either: Chris Spedding, Jon Hiseman, Felix Pappalardi and crazed sax-guy Dick Hecktall-Smith. George Harrison is listed as guitarist on the first cut - Never Tell Your Mother She's Out Of Tune, but for the life of me I cannot hear any guitar anywhere on this song! Stand out tracks are Theme From An Imaginary Western, Rope Ladder To The Moon and a very mash-up freaky cool song called Boston Ball Game.



The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren - Runt
This is an easy one for me. I think it's Todd's best album, combining deft musicianship and cracking good song writing. After this one, Todd started mixing brilliance with self-indulgence, which is ok as long as you still get the brilliance, but for me, this is pop perfection. Having the Sales Bros. on board doesn't hurt, either.



the Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars - David Bowie
An outright classic. I remember reading about this before I ever heard it, and the descriptions in the press were very intriguing. Once I heard it, I immediately fell in love with it, and Bowie. It was otherworldly and a bit frightening to me, but a top rate concept, just right for it's time. The songs rock (not a clunker on it), the band is fab and Bowie's voice is really...weird. Sounds like he's from Mars to me, and it all works perfectly. The whole gender-bending thing was fresh and exciting, but also strange and a bit creepy. A huge influence on me at the time, and I think it holds up just fine.