The 3rd Five Of My Top 25

Lark's Tongues In Aspic - King Crimson
Ok, now we can definitely talk influential. If there was ever a drummer that would influence me throughout my drumming, from my teenage years on, Bill Bruford would be the guy. First heard him with Yes and fell in love with his smart drumming and cracking snare drum sound. This was his debut with King Crimson and his playing is awesome. At this stage, Crimson was primarily a players band, improvising their way through tricky and dark material conjuring up the devil. It's frightening how good they are and I think this LP shows them at their very best. So good it's spooky.

Bookends - Simon and Garfunkel
My big brother had this record when I was a kid, and that is how I first heard it. Gorgeous and evocative songs displaying beautiful vocals, masterful songwriting and amazingly haunting production (check out Save The Life Of My Child). America isn't too shabby, either. Matter of fact, it's one of my favorite songs ever! (of course, being the prog-head that I am, I have to admit I was really disappointed in Yes' version!) Oh yeah, it would be crazy if I didn't mention that Art Garfunkel's voice is the voice of an angel. Just lovely.


Juliet Of The Spirits - Nino Rota
This is the soundtrack to my favorite film of all time - Fellini's Juliet Of The Spirits. I took an understanding Foreign Film class in college and this is the one that spoke to me. The soundtrack does the same thing. Wistful, playful, full of fantasy (some good, some terrifying), this is a perfect marriage of music and film. Performed by a relatively small ensemble, the music is rich and unique. Fortunately, Rota and Fellini worked many times together, producing magical works that really touch my soul. This is the music I want to take with me.





Repercussion - dB's
It was a toss-up for me - Stands for deciBels or this one...I went with this one being in a serendipitous mood. Stamey and Holsapple are an amazing one-two punch. Stamey's Happenstance had to have influenced Scott Miller with it's tuneful and adventurous...sneering whine, and Ask For Jill is just downright scary with a top notch arrangement handled effortlessly by the band. This song could easily have been on West Side Story. On the "yang" side of things, Peter Holsapple's Neverland is just flat out fab pop with another heady arrangement the guys handle with ease. (Damn that Will Rigby...have you ever tried to learn one of his parts? I had to learn Tearjerkin' on the last Loud Family tour and it humbled me very thoroughly - Jeezus Christ!). Nothing Is Wrong is just plain gorgeous. Heartbreaking. One of the most beautiful songs I've ever had the pleasure to listen to. "I'm just thinking about you..". Quite a feat for an American indie band to debut with the equivalent of Rubber Soul and Revolver. Really.


A Legend In My Time - Don Gibson
Even though I grew up in the South, I didn't become a fan of country music until the mid 80's, while living in California. My workplace exposed me to all sorts of music and this North Carolina singer/songwriter caught my ear in a big way. Gibson was a hit machine responsible for Oh Lonesome Me (I fell out of my tree when I realized this was the same song Neil Young covered!), I Can't Stop Loving You, and Sweet Dreams. Chet Atkins produced most of these, and while he may have taken some of the grit out of them, the writing and Don's rich, deep voice shine through. I highly recommend this - it's on Bear Family and they set the standard for quality reissues.