The Non-Rolling Stones Side of My Record Collection (Part 3)

Oh hello there! It has been awhile since I put out a blog post. Here is one which takes a look into my record collection. In the near future have a look out on my blog for a concert review, a guitar review, and a look into The Rolling Stones records I have. 

1. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago

Bon Iver is an America indie folk band that was formed in 2007. Their band name derived from the french saying bon hiver, meaning good winter. For Emma, Forever Ago was released independently in 2007. Singer/songwriter, Justin Vernon (who founded the band), recorded a majority of this record in a cabin in Northwestern Wisconsin when he was staying there for three months. For Emma, Forever Ago was widely recognized and then later released on the record label, Jagjaguwar, in February 2008. I lay back, close my eyes, and spin this record and it always gets me to relax. My favorite song of this record is "Skinny Love." 

2. Train: Save Me San Francisco 

This record is the first record I bought myself. I was so excited when Train came out with this album because it was a few months after we got a record player in the house and I remember being happy that I could purchase a record from a band that I liked. This is the fifth album from the rock band and it was released on October 27,2009. Pat Monahan said "So our goal with this record was to get back to our San Francisco vibe that we had when we made our first album. I think we're happier tan we've ever been, we're more excited than we've been, and with that I think we're all feeling a lot more at home." On September 9, 2010 this record was certified gold by the Record Industry Association of America. "Hey Soul Sister" was the first single off of this record followed up by "If It's Love" and "Marry Me." My favorite songs off of this album is "Parachute" and "This Ain't Goodbye." 

3. The Beatles: Abbey Road 

Released on Apple Records The Beatles put out Abbey Road as their eleventh studio album. It was released in the UK on 26 September 1969 and in the US on 1 October 1969. The record sessions for this album was the last time that all four members of The Beatles participated in. Abbey Road had mixed reviews when it was released but now it is known as The Beatles' best selling album to date. The album art was taken out side of the studio on Abbey Road where the record was being recorded. This album art is the most imitated album art among Beatles and music fans around the world. My favorite songs on this album are "Octopus's Garden" and  the song George Harrison for this album, "Here Comes the Sun." 

It's Only The Rolling Stones...But I Like It! (Pt. 1)

This is the series of blog posts where I share my Rolling Stones record collection with you. Take the journey with me as I try and collect the whole Rolling Stones discography on vinyl. 

12X5 

Twelve songs done by five guys or as the Rolling Stones would like to call it 12X5. Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman recorded this record in 1964 and released it on 17 October of the same year. This was their second American record. 12X5 mostly comprised of covers of songs that the Rolling Stones liked around the time of recording the record. This was because the big phenomena of the Jagger/Richards writing team was still developing. Jerry Ragovoy's song "Time Is On My Side" was covered twice by the Rolling Stones, and the version on this record included an electric organ in the song instead of the electric guitar that everyone is used to hearing. 12X5 sold faster than the Rolling Stones first record, England's Newest Hit Makers. It reached #3 and went gold very fast. 12X5 was reissued in August 2002 including stereo versions of some of the tracks and extended version too. 

*My Favorite Songs on 12X5* 

"Time Is On My Side"

"Grown Up Wrong" 

"Around and Around" 

Between the Buttons

This is one of my top favorite Rolling Stones albums. Released on 20 January 1967 in the United Kingdom and 11 February 1967 in the United States, Between the Buttons, is the fifth United Kingdom and seventh American Album by these five lads. If you take the a listen to this record for the first time you will probably not recognize it as the Rolling Stones. (I know that happen to me) This is because of their sound being different from their popular albums like Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers. Between the Buttons was the Rolling Stones one of two of their albums in the psychedelia era in their career. On the American release of this record it included hits like "Ruby Tuesday" and "Let's Spend the Night Together". Rolling Stone magazine ranked Between the Buttons #355 on the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list in 2003. 

*My Favorite Songs on Between the Buttons* 

"Yesterday Papers" 

"Cool, Calm, and Collected" 

"Something Happen To Me Yesterday" 

Beggar's Banquet 

After releasing two album in their psychedelic era in their career the Rolling Stones returned to the sound of rock 'n roll with Beggar's Banquet. This album was the seventh United Kingdom and ninth American album released on 6 December 1968. The album release date was delayed for months because of the first version of the album art that the Rolling Stones wanted to release. It is said that the Rolling Stones were on tour and they took a picture of this toilet in a rest stop that was gratified (they added to it of course!) and decided to use it as the album art. That was until it was rejected by their record label. The album art that was released depicted an invitation to a banquet. (I know fitting for the album name right?)

When the album was open it showed a picture of Mick, Keith, Charlie, Brian, and Bill dressed in their best banquet attire. During the recording sessions for Beggar's Banquet Mick, Keith, Charlie, and Bill would all show up and be ready and gearing to go to record the album. Brian was the only one that was missing most of the time. Brian would show up whenever he felt like, and when he was in the mood to play music. Mick and Keith would just give Brian parts to record just to keep him busy and they would never use them on the album. On Beggar's Banquet Brian Jones' influence with the band started to dwindle because of the lack of being in the the studio and getting too caught up in drugs. Beggar's Banquet would be the last album Brian Jones would be apart of before his passing on 3 July 1969. In the Rolling Stones documentary titled Crossfire Hurricane Mick Jagger said "You certainly didn't know if he was going to turn up and what state he was going to be in, and then what was he going to be able to do in that state. What job could you give him? And then one time when we sat around on the floor we played in a circle playing "No Expectations", and he picked up the guitar and played very pretty lines on it which you can hear on the record. And that was the last thing I remember him doing that was Brian or the Brian that could contribute something very pretty and sensitive and it made the record sound wonderful." 

*My Favorite Songs on Beggar's Banquet* 
"Sympathy for the Devil"
"No Expectations" 
"Salt of the Earth" 



Stay tuned to my blog for more looks into the Rolling Stones records I have in my collection.

The Non-Rolling Stones Side of My Record Collection (Part 2)

Hello there! You want to take a look into my record collection again? You are in luck! Here are five  records in my collection that you haven't seen in any other of my blog posts. Enjoy reading a little about each record and what my favorite songs are off that record! 

1. Simon and Garfunkel: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

Who doesn't love a record that is named after the common herbs used in the kitchen? I discovered Simon and Garfunkel's music through my Mom, and the first song I heard from them was Mrs. Robinson, which was released two years after this album. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme was the third studio album by this American music duo. It was released on October 10,1966 on the Columbia Record Label. My favorite song this album is Homeward Bound. 

2. The Who: TOMMY 

"Listen to TOMMY with a candle burning and you will see your entire future." The 2000 film Almost Famous says. Does this work? I do not know. Why won't you have a go a tell me what happens. I knew of The Who but did not give any of their music a listen until my brother gave me this record because he had two and a half copies in his collection. The Who was a British band that started around the same time as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and The Faces. I like to call this the "The" era because it seemed like every Rock and Roll band tagged "The" in front of their band name. TOMMY was the fourth studio album released by The Who on May 23, 1969 on the record label called Track. My favorite songs off of this album are Amazing Journey and Welcome.  

3. James Taylor: JT 

JT is James Taylor eighth studio album, which was released in June 1977. James Taylor did a cover of "Handy Man" by Jimmy Jones, which charted number six on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in the 1978 Grammy Awards. This record was nominated for Album of the Year but fell short to Fleatwood Mac's Rumours. JT is James Taylor's biggest selling record in his career. My favorite songs off this album are Your Smiling Face and Terra Nova.  

4. Ed Sheeran: + 

Released on September 9, 2011 was the debut studio album for this British singer-songwriter. Before + was released Ed Sheeran independently released five EP's that he would sell out of his rucksack while he was sleeping on friend's couches looking for gigs to play after he dropped out of school at the age of 16. It sold over 42,000 copies within the first week of being release in the United States, which is the highest for a debut album by a British artist since Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream in 2009. The A Team is the well known single that came off of this album. I have a weakness for colored vinyl and clear vinyl so with + being a orange clear vinyl made me very satisfied when I got this record! It is one of my favorite features of this record. My favorite songs on + are You Need Me, I Don't Need You and Give Me Love. Also the hidden track after Give Me Love called Parting Glass, which is a Scottish and Irish traditional song covered by Ed Sheeran. 

5. Muddy Waters: Folk Singer 

I discovered Muddy Waters and started listening to him because of The Rolling Stones. It was when Keith Richards said he saw Mick Jagger carrying Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records at the train station and that is what started The Rolling Stones. So I thought "hmm maybe I should take a listen to Muddy" and this was the first record I bought of his. This is the fourth studio album released by this amazing Blues artist in April 1964,and is the only all-acoustic album released by Muddy. This album did not chart in any country but was praised by listeners for the high sound quality. However, in 2003 this Muddy Waters album was ranked number 280 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. My favorite songs off of this album are Long Distance and Cold Weather Blues. 

The Non-Rolling Stones Side of My Record Collection (Part 1)

This series of blog post will let you have a look inside of my record collection...That is the non-Rolling Stones records that are in my collection. [Keep a look out for blog posts about the Rolling Stones records that are in my collection at a later date!] Every week I will pick out five records from my collection and write a little about them, provide pictures of them, and tell you what I like about each record that I have selected. 

1: Boys & Girls by Alabama Shakes 

Don't mistake this white album as The Beatles. The Alabama Shakes are an American rock band from Alabama...Would have never guessed that right! The members are Zac Cockrell, Heath Fogg, Brittany Howard, and Steve Johnson. This album titled Boys & Girls is the debut studio album from the Alabama Shakes and was released on April 9, 2012. The album reached number six on the US 200 Billboard charts and number three on the UK Album Chart. It was also #34 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 albums of 2012. The album is very blues-rock influenced and has a soulful vocals by Brittany Howard. Her vocals are one of the main reasons I like listening to the Alabama Shakes. 

I started listening to the Alabama Shakes on recommendation from my brother. I picked up this record after their second album was released. Even though I like the whole album my three favorite songs are "Hang Loose", "I Ain't the Same", and "On Your Way". 

2: Whispers by Passenger 

Whispers is the fifth studio album released by Passenger (AKA Mike Rosenberg). It was released in June 2014. This album's geners is a little of pop but mostly folk. I love how Mike writes songs that are stories of someone he met on tour, his own life, or someone he already knew like the songs "Bullets" and "Riding to New York", which are two of my favorite songs on the album. However, my favorite song on this album is "Hearts of Fire" especially the version he did with Ed Sheeran in an empty arena two years before the album was released.(linked below) Mike said that "Hearts on Fire" is the oldest song that he wrote on this album. 

Aside from the songs on Whispers lets talk about the album art. Within the record sleeve there is a beautiful water color piece that I fell in love with when I first received it, and to this day when I open it to listen to it on my record player I still find myself in awe of how beautiful it is. This is by far my favorite thing about the Whispers record.

3: The London Chuck Berry Sessions 

Side one of this record consists of songs that were recorded at a studio in London, England while on side two are songs that were recorded at the Lanchester Arts Festival in Conventry, England. On the studio recordings it featured Ian McLagan and Kenny Jones of The Faces.This record was released in October 1972 on Chess Records. "Johnny B. Good" from the the festival recording is my favorite song on this record. I love how the crowd interacts with Chuck Berry during the performance. This album was the only album of Chuck Berry's to certified by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA). With over 1,000,000 record sells in less then a month of its release making it certified a gold record. 

4: Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits 

This is Bob Dylan's best selling album in the United States. It is certified five times platinum by RIAA. It was released on March 27, 1967 and is the first compilation album released by Dylan. It is a collection of every Top 40 single that Bob Dylan released in 1967. What drew me to listen to Bob Dylan is his folk sound and his use of the harmonica in his songs. This influenced me to try and learn to play the harmonica myself, which I am still working to this day. My two favorite songs off this album is "Blowing in the Wind" and "Like a Rolling Stone". 

5: The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions 

This was the first record I have ever owned and it was a gift from my brother for one of my birthdays. This compilation album was released in 1985 and is the first of many that is released by Elvis Costello. Costello is an English singer-songwriter, and The Attractions was his back up band from 1978-1986 and 1994-1996. Elvis Costello genre is described as pub rock, punk rock, new wave, and power pop. "Alison" and "Radio, Radio" are my favorite songs off of this album. Another song that I like by Elvis Costello is "(I Don't Want To Go) Chelsea". (linked below)