The albums that shaped my listening would be, in somewhat chronological order (at least for when I heard them)
John Travolta - Sandy - the first album I ever owned. Pretty embarrassing now but I was about 8.
ABBA - The Album. I loved this album, and a Eagle is one of my favourite songs even now. That Swedish sound would resonate a few years later.
Meat Loaf - Dead Ringer. I heard this Meat album first, and loved it. I have a huge soft spot for Meat Loaf. Still one of the best gigs I ever went to on the 10th Anniversary of Bat Out of Hell. I ended up going on my own as the girl I was taking for her birthday had to cancel when her boyfriend surprised her by coming home from the navy that day. I quite literally had to escape out of a window!
KISS - Alive 2. My first rock album, and we’re off. The cover attracted me first. I was aMarvel comics fan and I used to see the ads for the solo albums and was just entranced by the pictures. I’d take this over the first Alive just because of how energetic it sounded. The new songs were cool too.
Axe Attack + various artists. A K rel special, with a great selection of metal bands. I got into most of these bands through this album.
Saxon + Strong Arm of the Law.
AC/DC - Highway To Hell. A few years later I lost my virginity to the first side of this album!
Rainbow - Rising. That guitar, playing scales I’d not really heard before. And that voice. Blackmore is single handedly responsible for my love of exotic scales and that Arabian sound.
Ozzy Osbourne- Diary Of A Madman. The guitar sound on this just called to me. I knew the guitarist was something special even though I had no idea why. I just knew I liked it.
UFO + Strangers In The Night. Greatest live album ever. I love this band. Schenker was gone by the time I heard them but it didn’t matter. First gig I went to too, on the Wild, Willing And Innoc3nt tour.
Rush - A Farewell To Kings. One of my rocker mates had older brothers who were bikers. I used to talk music with one of them and he played this album for me. well, I’d heard nothing like it and I became a huge fan.
Iron Maiden- Killers. The storytelling in the lyrics inspired me to write my own stories, including one based on Murders In The Rue Morgue. And they would be on prime time tv in the UK. Unheard of for this type of music at the time.
Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force. This took everything I loved in Blackmore and ramped it up. Now I wanted to play guitar. This kickstarted m6 love of the 80s shredders and guitar instrumental music.
Marillion - Script For A Jesters Tear. I was starting to like more complicated music.
Gary Moore - Victims Of The Future. Guitars again. I just love them. Gary was the 3rd gig I went to. Gary kickstarted my love of the blues a few years later.
Gillan - Glory Road. I played the hell out of this one, and Gillan was the second live gig I went to.
Y&T - Earthshaker. I was going to see several bands at the 84 Monsters of Rock so I did my homework and found these, Motley Crue and Accept. I became a huge Y&T fan. Gary Moore, Ozzy, Van Zhalen and AC/DC completed the lineup. Best gig ever.
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet. Where hair metal started for me. I had the curly perm and blonde highlights back when I had hair at this time.
Queensryche- Operation Mindcrime. Joint greatest album of all time. I’d been a fan since hearing Queen Of The Reich on the Friday Rock Show a few years earlier. They took over from Rush (Who just weren’t the force they had been) as my favourite band with this album.
Dream Theater - Images and Words. I had the debut on import on release but this album was just the greatest thing I’d ever heard, much like when I’d heard Rush for the first time. Joint greatest album ever. As Queensryche started to wane, they became my favourite band and have been there ever since.
And really since then my taste has been set since then. I can’t think of any major kick up the arse since then.
Topic: Top 20 Albums That Shaped My Taste In Music (Read 2640 times)
