Ten Albums You Should Own

I think I'm going to have to suck in my proverbial gut and start looking for a house soon. I'm starting to think of things I'd like to do that I just have trouble doing in my current apartment. For instance, it'd be nice to own a canoe and be able to paddle around on the lakes and surrounding watery bodies in the area, but I have no place to store such a thing.

And, of course, I'm running out of space for bookcases. I have a plan to build some custom shelves for paperbacks which will basically double my current space, but the real problem is that my two bookcases of comics are full, and there's not a lot I can do about that here.

1. Bryan Ferry, The Bride Stripped Bare (1978): Ferry, the voice of Roxy Music, had an eclectic, but unpopular, solo career in the 1970s (and a popular, but somewhat more bland, one in the 80s and 90s). This album, recorded after his breakup with Jerry Hall, is a heart-wrenching collection of melancholy love songs. The throwaway pop vehicle "Sign of the Times" is pretty good, but the standouts are the powerful "Can't Let Go" and "When She Walks In The Room". Ferry also does a nice cover of the old standard, "Take Me To The River".
2. Howard Jones, Dream Into Action (1984): In high school, I was a fan of Howard Jones, The Thompson Twins, Duran Duran, The Go-Gos, and various other pop groups of the time. This album, which was popular in its day, is the best released by any of that lot. The upbeat "Things Can Only Get Better" is a worthy single, but Jones' strong suit is the quiet, lyrically powerful tune, of which "No One Is To Blame" is perhaps his best. He also does lots of poppy synth stuff, such as "Assault And Battery" and (a personal favorite) "Specialty". A nice mix of fluff and serious material.
3. King Crimson, Islands (1971): The forgotten KC album, with one of rock's great guitar solos, by Robert Fripp on the instrumental "Sailor's Tale". "Ladies of the Road" is a goofy throwaway piece, but the classically-tinged "Prelude: Song of the Gulls" is pleasant, and the title track has a lovely, haunting horn closing it out. It's almost hard to classify this as rock (and even harder to believe that the bassist/vocalist went on to become a member of Bad Company), but it is good stuff.
4. Marillion, Clutching At Straws (1987): Often regarded as a throwback to the days of '70s progressive rock, Marillion tended to show more lyrical sensibilities than their forebears, and after their first two albums reined in their impulse to stretch out songs to ten and fifteen minutes. This was their fourth album, and their last with their intense vocalist/lyricist Fish, and it focuses on some seamier sides of life, with various characters with substance abuse problems (especially alcohol). The lengthy "Hotel Hobbies/Warm Wet Circles/That Time Of The Night" is an outstanding medley, and "Slainte Mhath" has a compelling rolling quality to its pace.
5. Men Without Hats, Pop Goes The World (1987): Okay, MWH is one of my favorite groups, period, and this is their best album. Ivan Doroschuk has one of the best voices in rock history, and on this album they broke through from the light synth-pop of their first two albums to more intricate, serious arrangements. "On Tuesday" features flute melodies by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson. "O Sole Mio" and "In The Name of Angels" are strong, up-tempo songs, while "Bright Side Of The Sun" and "Lose My Way" are more delicate tunes. Sadly, the band broke up after their fifth album, 1991's Sideways.
6. October Project, Falling Further In (1995): Another defunct band, October Project released two of the best albums of the mid-90s. This was their second, and is highlighted by Mary Fahl's outstanding, deep vocals and Marina Belica's harmonies. The band was largely keyboard-driven, with a strong folk flavor. "Deep As You Go" and "Falling Further In" are the standouts (the latter actually benefits from being a straightforward song in 4/4 time, as most of the album is not), but the whole set is very good.
7. Willy Porter, The Trees Have Soul (1991): Porter is a Wisconsin artist, and I don't know how well-known he is outside the region. He's a singer-songwriter, and this, his first album, is all acoustic guitar with percussion. "Cool Water" is his signature tone, and is very strong here (it's watered down somewhat by a full-band arrangement on his second album, Dog Eared Dream). Much of the album is instrumental, showing off his considerable talent. The title track is also very good, as Porter shows he's a good vocalist, too.
8. Joe Satriani, The Extremist (1991): In between his other, high-airplay albums, this instrumental one tends to get lost, but it's his best. He does away with all the endless guitar-hero solos and focuses on tight songwriting and compelling arrangements. Each track's name fits its sound perfectly, such as the inaugural one, "Friends". He dabbles a bit in blues and high-octane rockers, too.
9. Sonia Dada, A Day At The Beach (1995): Probably my favorite active group, Sonia Dada is an eight-piece band with three vocalists who used to be a gospel trio. So you can guess that the vocals and harmonies are very strong, but the rest of the band is excellent as well, as the tasty guitar riff on "Sail Away" demonstrates. "Screaming John" and "Lester's Methodone Clinic" have gotten airplay, though "Lay My Body Down" and "Planes and Satellites" are every bit as good. They're also an outstanding live act, and I urge you to see them if you get the chance. This album, their second, is a quantum leap above their (also quite good) first disc; I can't wait to hear what their next album is like!
10. The Sundays, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (1990): A Brit quartet who write nice, understated pop tunes that are by no means fluffy, and which are fronted by Harriet Wheeler and her terrific vocals. "Here's Where The Story Ends" and "My Finest Hour" are their best and best-known songs, but the whole album - which is of-a-piece - is just as good. I thought they'd long-since broken up, but it turns out their third album (RWaA was their first) will be out later this year. I can't wait!

Michael Rawdon (Contact)