Hello dear reader and thanks for stopping by my rented space on the net. No politics, religion, or anything controversial today… Just music. Life is boring if we all liked the same things. What would we discuss? Conversation is the lost art, and I treasure the days of discussing art, food, music, sports, etc. with dear friends.

I’ve selected five recordings that fill my soul every time I listen to a song or the whole album. I wish my children understood the joy of listening to an entire album!!!

#5 Eliminator – ZZ Top

Alright go head and mock this choice, but when you are freshman in high school who hasn’t experience much in the way of Texas blues or even blues at all, this pop fusion of blues and new wave Eliminator is a great way to break the ice. The groove, the sound, and of course the videos helped market ZZ Top to a new audience. I was the new audience and thanks to Eliminator I became a life long fan as did many of my friends. A running joke between my best friend and I… “I didn’t know you liked ZZ Top?” “You didn’t?” “No way man” “Well, I do like ZZ Top!!” ….laughs abound at the expense of an ex-girlfriend that never looked at the record collection. Anyway, Gimme all Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, TV Dinners, and If I Could Only Flag Her Down are all sentimental favorites. I can and have listened to the album, tape, and cd countless times. Their live show was the most laid back set I have ever experienced. Billy Gibbons always makes me smile! RIP Dusty.

#4 Symphony #2 “Resurrection”-Gustav Mahler/Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Sir Georg Solti cond.

This is the only classical recording on the list. I have all of the Mahler symphonies in a box set by the CSO and Solti, but the “Resurrection” was the first Mahler symphony I experienced at the ripe old age of 19. I had the score in front of me as I listened to it. I must have listened to this symphony at least a dozen times in the music library at my alma mater during my sophomore year alone. I finally purchased the box set in my 40’s. I listen to the symphony at least once a year, usually around the Easter holiday. The brass playing in this recording is righteous, and the players are a who’s who in the musical arts. This is just one of many pieces that inspired me to pursue music education and conducting instead of musical performance for a degree. I have zero regrets.

#3 Before these Crowded Streets-Dave Matthews Band

When I first heard the Dave Matthews Band I was teaching in Central Illinois. It was 1994 and I was watching MTV and the video to What Would You Say came on… I was hooked by this odd combination of musicians. The 3rd album BTCS was released in 1998, and I am on my second copy of the CD and my wife got me the 25th anniversary clear vinyl 2-LP set for Christmas. It is my favorite album by this group. The song writing and the arrangements are far more complex. The weakest song for me is Halloween. The strongest is The Dreaming Tree in 7/4 time. Bela Fleck, The Kronos Quartet and Alanis Morissette appear on the record adding significant contributions to the artistic merit of the album. In 2019 I caught the band playing The Stone for the first time on that tour. It was truly righteous experience. With the exception of Halloween which I have to be in a particularly dark mood to appreciate each song brings me up musically. The counterpoint surrounding Dave Matthews’ guitar playing and Carter Beauford’s drumming just strikes me stupid. I don’t analyze the music, I just let myself experience it. There is something that resonates with us DMB fans that is hard to describe. It is a being or presence of sorts.

#2 Ten Summoner’s Tales – Sting

I never thought I would have a recording from Sting that topped The Police’s Synchronicity (#6) recording. Then this album came out in 1993. I’ve always been a fan of the lyrics Sting produces. I’m even more of a fan for the musical surprises he weaves into his arrangements. There isn’t a bad song on the recording. He too does a song in 7/4 time, but the punk like She’s too Good for Me always makes me smile. The ballads on the recording show the maturity of Stings voice, and this maybe some of his best vocals put to tape or digital interface. I’m also thankful to have seen him on that tour for this recording. During that show I got to witness the genius of Vinnie Colaiuta’s drumming. I’ve seen a few good drummers throughout my life, but Vinnie just knocked me out. His sense of feel and time really helped Sting tell the tales. Check out Love is Stronger than Justice(The Munificent Seven) and Seven Days.

#1 Kind of Blue – Miles Davis

I think this recording is on every recommended list known to mankind. I first experienced So What not from the recording but for a musical performance in college. One of my dear friends arranged this for us to play. I thought I played the bass part on tuba that Paul Chambers originally played well. I didn’t. When I first heard the actually recording some years later, I realized just how awful I was as a jazz tuba player, LOL. This record is not flashy. You won’t hear solos that have millions of notes and turns, flips, arpeggios, etc. The record’s whole vibe is economy of space. Each note and phrase feels planned organically. These five musicians on each chart all seem to function as a musical ecosystem. Imagine each note as a color or hue, and each musician as an artist applying their paint to the canvas in collaboration. What you get is a mood, a color field, something akin to a Mark Rothko painting but with fluid shapes rather than quadrilaterals. All Blues and Blue in Green are my go to tracks on the record. It is a heavenly experience as you go from grounded to floating during the listening experience.

Thanks for reading! If you dissent with my list, feel free to share yours in a comment. I’m always looking for something cool and new to listen to. …as it goes…