52nd Street (Billy Joel)

52nd Street
Billy Joel (1978)

Top Tracks: “Big Shot”, Zanzibar”, “Rosalinda’s Eyes”

This was still at a point where I was getting a lot of my musical exposure through my parents, and 52nd Street was an album that was on in my house a lot in 1978 and 1979. I probably got a big interest in songwriting based on this album’s influence, and I performed “Honesty” at my first guitar recital in December 1980. Note: the most popular track on this album, “My Life”, is probably my least favorite (May 2020).

After the Gold Rush (Neil Young)

After the Gold Rush
Neil Young (1970)

Top Tracks: “When You Dance I Can Really Love”, “Don’t Let It Bring You Down”, “Southern Man”

Neil’s an interesting guy. Some think of him as not being willing or able to make commitments, but to me, he’s a guy that wanted to try everything. I mean, who does this? He puts out a great solo album, then gets together with a band and does a remarkable album with them, and then immediately after mostly abandons them for the third album, which doesn’t sound much like the first two albums at all. And it’s all great. I felt like ATGR is an illustration of a man in transition, but that was kind of always the case with Neil, so it’s was just another step on a path (May 2020).

Court & Spark (Joni Mitchell)

Court & Spark
Joni Mitchell (1974))

Top Tracks: “Help Me”, ”Car on a Hill”, “Just Like This Train”

Ah, yes. Another of the best albums of all time. Picking three songs as my “top tracks” was actually laughable. Almost every song on Court & Spark ranks among my favorite of all time. Personal note: This album was on constantly in my house when I was a kid, and then I rediscovered it as an adult and found I loved it even more (June 2020).