Desert Island Pick #7
Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous - Mark
Ok it’s month seven of my musical sabbatical here on the island. To which I have christened...Jojo’s delight. I have surrendered back into my secret underground submarine lair before it is the super rainy season. And of course it’s raining... I’m reminded of the words of a great poet... ahem: “I feel the gloom of empty rooms on rainy afternoons” only for me it would be more like “I feel the gloom of richly appointed ancient artifact filled book stacked super comfy rooms on rainy afternoons”. Heck, I even have a tyrannosaurus skull mounted in the billiard room! I put a red-light bulb inside, it looks amazing.
This month’s selection is from a band near and dear to my heart. Thin Lizzy would be that band and their live double album Live and Dangerous is my selection. It is in my nature to gravitate towards live albums especially during the middle late 1970’s. I could have easily picked other live albums that are just as amazing As Live and Dangerous. I’ll name a few I love... How about Kiss Alive!, UFO Strangers in the Night, Rush All the World's a Stage, or Jethro Tull Busting Out. All of these are amazing, and are desert island worthy. I picked Thin Lizzy because it was the album I played guitar to the most in my formative years. Even now as I listen back it still gives me great joy. The joy of discovery. That exciting feeling that I can learn and play these amazing riffs on my own. I felt great pride in that. Not that I played them well or even correctly. It just made me feel just a little special. The physical album is built as all live albums should be with lots and lots of cool stage photos. That is a must! Rush’s All the World's a Stage is a double fold out chocked full of live pics as well. UFO’s Strangers in the Night is not a good example. There’s like one tiny live shot and that’s it...Hipgnosis art design group is to blame for that one. But the music is stellar. Kiss Alive! was great with the poster book and a kick ass live set. That’s how to package a live album! Well, it’s time for me to put this away. I bet Britney is at the back hatch wanting in from the cold. I got to figure out how to install a coconut crab size door so she can go and come as she pleases. There’s nothing worse than a crabby coconut crab let me tell ya. I don’t know where JoJo is. He borrowed the Sub this morning and hasn’t returned. That is not good.
Zac Brown - You Get What You Give - Kip
This one will be a bit of a surprise in comparison to my other choices. My sons discovered the Zach Brown band when they were in their middle school years and shared it with both my wife and me. My wife likes music, but is no way as big a geek as I am, but she was instantly smitten. She also spends a great deal of her time driving her conversion van (Marge) around the country and Zach Brown has been the soundtrack to a great deal of her travels. Consequently, I have probably listened to his second album You Get What You Give more than any other album, which is saying something. It was an absolute smash when it was released, having four singles that were # 1 Country hits, but it is perhaps the deepest CD (considering you get so many more songs on a cd) that I own. It is comfort food music for me but made by top line chefs, as his band includes some of the absolute best musicians alive and he has a smooth voice in the James Taylor vein. But it is also dear to me as Jeff and I have had numerous discussions about albums that had perfect and, conversely, atrocious song selection choice in terms of what song opens a side or follows a hit, etc. This album is a master class song order. Opening with the theme trio of “Let it Go,” “Knee Deep'” and “No Hurry,” Brown establishes the beach life, no cares attitude from the beginning. The listener then is gifted with just one feel good/life advice song after another, highlighted by “Colder Weather,” which I feel is one of the most perfectly written cinematic songs ever and a #1 hit. Hilariously, this cd is so deep that “Colder Weather” is track #8 and the even bigger hit, “As She's Walking Away” (a duet with Alan Jackson) is #10. And the album finishes with the lush “Martin” and the hilarious “Make This Day.” Between my connection with this album to time with my wife and the incredible high quality of the songs make this an indispensable addition to my desert island collection.
The Partridge Family - Sound Magazine - Jeff
This whole idea of choosing 10 albums to take with us to a deserted island was something Mark suggested a while back. What I liked about his approach was that the picks didn’t have to be limited to “classic rock essentials.” Instead, it was about the 10 albums we’d want with us, no matter the genre, no matter the decade. Just the music that means the most. That freedom really stuck with me, because while I appreciate classic rock like most anyone else, my musical tastes reach much further. If you’re looking for me to fill this list with nothing but rock staples, you’re probably going to be disappointed. My heart has always leaned toward pop music, and I’m not shy about it.
Part of that comes from when I grew up. Being raised in the ’60s and ’70s, pop music was everywhere, it poured out of the radio, the TV, and friend's record players. I absorbed all of it and loved it deeply. But another part of it is something I’ve noticed about myself that isn’t as common as I’d expect: I don’t let go of the music I loved as a kid. I know plenty of people who will say, “Oh, I liked that when I was little, but I’d never listen to it now.” For me, it doesn’t work that way. If a song struck me back then, it still does today. I still happily play the first two songs I ever loved: “The Mighty Mouse Theme” and “Puff the Magic Dragon.” I was only four years old when I had them on little yellow 78's, and even now, those songs still get played at least once or twice a year. So, it’s no surprise that my deserted island albums will include music from my childhood, songs I will never let go of, no matter how much time passes. That brings me to this month’s pick: Sound Magazine by The Partridge Family.
Like so many others, I first discovered The Partridge Family through the TV show. I remember sitting in front of the television, completely taken by the show's concept, and loved how each episode hosted a new song, “I Can Feel Your Heartbeat” was a powerful highlight of those moments. At the time, money was tight. I had a paper route, but most of what I earned went straight to comic books. Buying records wasn’t really in the budget. That’s why one Christmas stands out so vividly: under the tree, I unwrapped Sound Magazine, their third album. To this day, it still feels like one of the best gifts I ever received.
Listening to it now, I recognize just how well-crafted it really was. The album was perfectly produced and arranged by Wes Farrell, a highly rated songwriter of hits in the 1960’s, and wrote many of this album’s songs. Add to that an impressive lineup of other songwriters, including Paul Anka, Rupert Holmes, Tony Romeo, and Bobby Hart, and the result was pure pop magic. The musicians behind it weren’t just studio players, they were The Wrecking Crew, the legendary collective responsible for countless hits of the era. But the final, irreplaceable piece of the puzzle was David Cassidy. His voice was the perfect match for those teenage love songs, sincere, melodic, and full of feeling. To this day, I’d put him in my personal top 10 vocalists. His singing resonated with me then and still does now. Back in high school, any girl I dated ended up with a David Cassidy cassette, and not a single one of them ever complained. They all loved him too.
That’s what makes Sound Magazine so special for me. It’s not just an album; it’s a time capsule. Songs like “One Night Stand,” “Rainmaker,” and “Summer Days” take me straight back to being 11 years old, navigating crushes, first loves, and the highs and lows of growing up. When I hear those songs today, I feel the same rush of excitement I felt back then. The music hasn’t aged out of me; if anything, it has only grown more meaningful.
And here’s the truth: I’ve never cared whether my music was considered “cool” or not. That has never been a benchmark for me if a song is any good or not. The only thing that counts is whether the songs make me feel something and these songs always have. For me, Sound Magazine is early 70’s pop perfection. It’s youthful, heartfelt, and unashamedly joyful.
So, when I picture myself on that deserted island, this album is coming with me. Not just as a reminder of my youth, but as a reminder of the power of music to carry me through time. Every track brings me happiness, nostalgia, and the comfort of knowing that the songs that shaped me then, still shape me now.