Two albums not on the list, but close
by George Taniwaki
My friend Carol tagged me on Facebook asking me to post 10 albums that influenced my musical taste and upbringing. One per day over the next 10 days, no explanation, and to tag one of my friends each day. Being a curmudgeon, I refuse to do it her way. But what are those 10 albums? Let me recall them.
Them Changes, Buddy Miles, 1970
It’s the first album I ever bought with my own money. I got it because my best friend in middle school suggested it. His middle name is Miles and he played the drums. Well, it’s a reason. And I still have the album.
There’s a Riot Goin’ On, Sly & the Family Stone, 1971
I never owned this album and until today had never listened to it all the way through. (Aren’t streaming music services great?) It makes the list because the first concert I ever went to was Family Stone in 1972. I went with my best friend, the drummer mentioned above. The concert started two hours late. I later learned this was a common occurrence because Sylvester Stuart was in a constant drug induced haze.
Paranoid, Black Sabbath, 1971
Politically incorrect lyrics from a band who’s lead singer is now more famous for being the doddering patriarch of a reality TV clan. Another album suggested by my best friend.
We saw Black Sabbath in concert on Halloween 1976. Prior to the start of the concert there was a costume contest. One of the judges was Pat Schroeder, who had recently been elected as the House representative for the 1st District. One of the contestants was dressed as a giant dildo and hopped around the stage. I’m sure Ms Schroeder regretted participating. There were two opening acts; newly popular bands from the east and west coasts, Boston and Heart (see covers at top of post). Great concert.
The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get, Joe Walsh, 1973
As a child, I joined the Columbia Record Club. You got 10 albums for a dollar, then promised to buy 4 more at an inflated price. Still cheaper than buying at a store as long as you remembered to cancel your membership immediately after fulfilling your agreement. One of my dollar albums is this gem.
Before he was a guitarist for the Eagles, Joe Walsh had a solo career. Of course, growing up in Denver, our favorite song on the album was Rocky Mountain Way.
Quadrophenia, The Who, 1973
One of the best albums of all time, by one of the greatest bands of all time. Enough said.
Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin, 1975
I was introduced to math, physics, Led Zeppelin, and mass consumption of drugs (not in that order) by my classmates at Caltech.
Nearly 20 years later, before I knew what it was about, I immediately knew I would like Richard Linklater’s nostalgic movie, Dazed and Confused, just from its title.
Van Halen, Van Halen, 1978
Another band popular while I was at Caltech. Van Halen was a local band from Pasadena but I never had a chance to see them.
The Wall, Pink Floyd, 1979
If Quadrophenia was great, The Wall was even greater. Apparently, I have an affinity for double albums.
Boy, U2, 1980
A band from Dublin that I call the anti-Beatles. The Beatles started out playing pop music and became more experimental as their success grew. U2’s album Boy is very experimental. But the band’s music became more conventional as they became more popular.
I saw U2 perform songs from this album at the Rainbow Music Hall in Denver.
She’s So Unusual, Cyndi Lauper, 1983
There weren’t very many female composers that I considered favorites in my formative years. Hard rock and alternative are sexist. As an adult, my musical tastes became more balanced.
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Final thoughts
The popularity of albums is an odd thing. A collection of 8 to 10 songs produced as a unit of recording didn’t exist until the invention of the 33-1/3 rpm vinyl record in 1948. Prior to that, records could only hold a few minutes of music on each side and so people listened to live music as a set but recorded music a single song at a time. Eventually cassette tapes and then CDs replaced vinyl albums and could hold more music, though they usually did not. With the advent of downloadable music and streaming services most people no longer buy and listen to albums. We are back to listening to songs as singles again.
While I was growing up, I listened to my albums over and over. As I listened to an album, as one song was ending, I knew exactly which song was next. Yet I didn’t know the order of the songs on an album. I could only recall them as I was hearing them.
When my wife Sue and I got married, we each had record collections with over 100 albums. We combined our collections and gave away our duplicates. Our taste in music were so different that we only gave away 7 records total, that included the Beatles’ Let it Be and Led Zeppelin III, a time that marks the end of her collection and the beginning of mine.
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[Update: Edited the post to make it clear my best friend was not a drummer of any of the bands mentioned.]
Real Numeracy 
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