My Favourites- Albums

To get things rolling I believe I'll briefly list my personal favourite songs,books and films. These won't be the only ones I'm going to look at in detail in the future, but I won't go in to great depth at this point.

Firstly, my favourite of the three media is most certainly music. I'm a musician myself, so it's the medium I most understand how to express myself and understand how others do too. It can be the most abstract and arbitrary of all art in that in the absence of lyrics, and sometimes even with lyrics, there is no visual imagery conveyed save what the individual listener might perceive. Where cinema can quite literally place you in a scene with images, music must convey essences of moments, the periphery of feelings. The same goes for literature, a skilled writer being able to place you convincingly wherever they wish. That's not to say music doesn't do this well; the well known 'Moonlight Sonata' and 'Raindrop Prelude' were not named so by their composers, but such was the strength of imagery, through music alone, that through years of use the names have stuck.

      Abstract as it can be, in my mind music is the purest of arts, perhaps because of that. At the risk of sounding like I believe myself to be the first person ever to ask this, what makes a chord sad,happy,weary,bitter etc ad infinitum? Who cares when there are songs as joyous as 'Diamonds On the Soles Of Her Shoes'?

As heartbreaking as Jeff Buckley's version of 'Hallelujah'?

As awe inspiring as 'Kashmir'?

As spiritedly angry as 'Livin For the City'?

Anyway the point is, I love music. At some point I'll talk about why I love cinema and books too, but for now (because it's too hard to rank ten) my top five albums:

#5
Astral Weeks- Van Morrison

A confession: I'm primarily a folk musician, so there are more folk albums to come! But firstly, this album is amazing by any standards. The passion and talent and emotion are perfectly matched to the barest of production jobs, resulting in a desperately beautiful, lyrically majestic and altogether wonderful album of wonderful songs which run together into one wonderful folky stream of conscious.

#4
Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes

It came as no surprise to me that Robin Pecknold, of Fleet Foxes, was heavily influenced by Astral Weeks in the making of this album. While the overall tone of the songs and style may be rather different, the same earnest, honest spirit is here at the heart of the music. Helplessness Blues is one of my favourites because of the richness and sense of adventure in the songs; they manage to sound both experimental yet confidently assured of themselves. 'Sim Sala Bim' and 'The Shrine/An Argument' are my choice picks.

#3
What's Going On- Marvin Gaye

I am definitely going to look at this one in more detail in the future, but briefly: What's Going On is the one album everybody should own regardless of other musical tastes. It breathes with passion and life and anger and hope in every bar, Marvin's vision channeled perfectly through each musician in the extremely talented band.

#2
Graceland- Paul Simon

An absolute fucking classic and a masterpiece. Putting aside the social context for a moment, just listen to the songs on Graceland, they are unreservedly amazing and I come back to this album time after time. Paul Simon is one of the greatest songwriters of all time and he has never expressed himself better than on this album nor found his music so fully realised by his fellow musicians. From beginning to end, it is a joy to behold. Very recently deposed, this used to be my #1.

#1
Once I Was An Eagle- Laura Marling

I'm more reserved about my affection for this than Graceland, but also much more in awe of it. As a friend of mine said, quite simply, 'it's art'. Some people seem alienated by the structure of this album, I think because they've become attuned to music nowadays not taking the time to slowly expand on its themes and motifs, never fully engrossing a listener in the way classical music does. Not that ...Eagle is in any way classical, but it shares some sensibilities. But i for one, was fully mesmerised by this incredible achievement of Laura Marling's. It could have come straight from the '60s, being the closest thing to a cohesive album that has been released in the last 50 years (save some Zeppelin perhaps, who's albums I have saved for another day, along with the Beatles). That's all I'll say for now, as I will look at this more closely in the future. The full album isnn't available on youtube so I've picked my favourite, 'Little Love Caster'.

Thank you very much for reading, any thoughts please let me know!