RECORD STORE DAY: 10 (More) Albums That Changed My Life, Part Three

10 (More) Albums That Changed My Life

Part Three

By Stephen SPAZ Schnee

     Music strikes a chord in me... pun only partially intended. No matter what my mood is, music is such an important part of my day to day activities.  From work to play and back again, music is always playing somewhere around me.  I can't escape it and I would not even try.  I don't care if it's something I love or despise, my day to day listening experience only enhances my knowledge and understanding of this truly amazing art form.

     Some of my favorite people erroneously say that I 'know everything' about music.  While I am humbled by that assertion, I don't believe that at all... because I am constantly learning something new with everything that is being played around me. I might hear something new in a song that I missed before, I might hear something that I know I never want to hear again and I might hear something that I can't live without.  But the important thing is that I'm listening, searching and being moved by the music  I will never 'know everything' because, once I think that I know it all, I will stop learning... and I certainly don't ever want that to happen!

     The albums that changed my life may not be the best albums in the respective bands' catalog, but they are albums that reached deep inside me and stayed there.  Whether I heard them being played in a record shop or read about them somewhere, I discovered these albums when they were first released and I've held them close ever since.  The albums listed here are no less important than the ones in my previous lists.  I've just decided to break the lists up to make it easier for readers to take them in and, hopefully, check them out.

     Here are 10 albums that never fail to take me back to a certain period in my life. They may not have sold millions of copies but they had an enormous impact on me. And they are albums I will cherish until my dying day….
     I’ve listed them in alphabetical order by band because, to be honest, I can never say that one of them had more of an impact on me than the other. They are all equally important. And I've refrained from explaining WHY they mean so much to me. Those reasons are ones that only I would understand... (and I'm sure that your choices are made based on similar situations and circumstances).

ANY TROUBLE/Where Are All The Nice Girls?

BUZZCOCKS/Singles Going Steady

FINGERPRINTZ/Distinguishing Marks

THE JAM/This Is The Modern World

THE LAMBRETTAS/Beat Boys In The Jet Age

NICK LOWE/Pure Pop For Now People (AKA Jesus Of Cool)

(This is an alternate version of the song that appears on the album)

MENTAL AS ANYTHING/If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?

THE PLIMSOULS/Zero Hour EP

SHOES/Tongue Twister

THE UNDERTONES/The Undertones

SPAZ: 10 Albums That Changed MY Life, PT. 1

10 Albums That Changed My Life
Pt. One

By Stephen SPAZ Schnee

For a music fan, listening to certain albums can unlock many memories that are usually hidden somewhere deep within the recesses of the brain.  Those memories could be good or bad, but the magic of the melodies bring those ragamuffin thoughts and emotions back up to the surface again.

     We all have favorite bands or albums that we listen to over and over again throughout our lives but there are always certain ones that really make an impact.  You may not consider these as the band’s best albums, but they are the ones that matter the most.  They are the key that opens those time capsules within us and allow us to relive the thrill (or sadness) of a certain time in our lives.

     Here are 10 albums that never fail to take me back to a certain period in my life.  They may not have sold millions of copies but they had an enormous impact on me. And they are albums I will cherish until my dying day….There are many more I’d like to list, but don’t want to bore you with too much at once.

     I’ve listed them in alphabetical order by band because, to be honest, I can never say that one of them had more of an impact on me than the other.  They are all equally important. And I've refrained from explaining WHY they mean so much to me.  Those reasons are ones that only I would understand... (and I'm sure that your choices are made based on similar situations and circumstances).

BRAM TCHAIKOVSKY/Strange Man Changed Man

THE JAM/Sound Affects

THE LAST/L.A. Explosion

MADNESS/Absolutely

THE RECORDS/Crashes

SHOES/Present Tense

SPLIT ENZ/Frenzy

SQUEEZE/Argybargy

XTC/Drums & Wires

YACHTS/S.O.S. (AKA Yachts in the UK)

THE JAM/The Gift: Info on the Deluxe Edition and the Super Deluxe Edition!

THE JAM

THE GIFT (DELUXE EDITION)

THE GIFT (SUPER DELUXE EDITION)

When The Jam announced their split in 1982, they were the most popular band in the UK.  The news shocked the music industry because the band had continued to go from strength to strength and were finally beginning to make waves in the U.S. ("Town Called Malice" received more radio play than any other track in their catalog). The trio had outlived Punk, Mod and New Wave and were more successful than any of their contemporaries apart from The Clash, who had successfully cracked the U.S. market.

The band's final album, released the same year as their split, was The Gift, a release that ditched the sometimes cold and clammy production of longtime knob-twiddler Vic Coppersmith-Heaven and replaced it with the more focused and spacious sounds of producer Peter Wilson. The Gift went on to become one of the band's most popular albums.  It includes "Town Called Malice" as well as it's funky b-side "Precious" alongside "Happy Together", "Running On The Spot", "Ghosts" and other songs that are now considered Jam classics.

Paul Weller and The Gift 2012

December 2012 sees two expanded versions of the album hitting the shelves as The Gift celebrates it's 30th Anniversary...

The two CD DELUXE edition of The Gift (pictured at the top of this page) includes the remastered version of the album plus 10 bonus non-album A and B-sides on Disc One. The second disc is made up of 15 remastered demos and alternate tracks, 13 of which are previously unreleased.

The SUPER DELUXE box (pictured below) contains three CDs, a DVD, a hardback 72-page, full-color book including new interviews with Paul Weller, a new essay by John Harris and a forward by Paul Weller. a set of postcard prints and a replica 1982 tour program. Disc One and Two have the same content as the two CDs in the DELUXE edition. Disc Three contains Live At Wembley December 1982. The complete concert from the last ever Jam tour (previously unreleased), featuring 23 remastered tracks. The DVD includes promo clips ('Town Called Malice', 'Precious', 'The Bitterest Pill'), Trans-Global Unity Express tour  live tracks from Birmingham show, Danish TV special (DR) The Gift album live in small studio with audience and Top Of The Pops performances of 'Town Called Malice' and 'Precious'.

RECORD STORE MEMORIES Part ONE by Stephen SPAZ Schnee

As everyone now knows, I'm a music geek.  I live and breathe music.  Those who are brave (or stupid) enough to hang around me know more about music than your average listener because they have to put up with my constant chatter about the latest new sounds I've been grooving to, the latest reissues or my most recent re-discoveries.  You see, some 35 years after I started buying my own music, I still have that fever.  And I do all I can to pass that excitement on to anyone that I know... I even want to inspire or excite folks I don't know, although that seems to be more of a pipe dream than a reality.....

I grew up loving The Beatles, The Monkees, Neil Diamond, Glen Campbell (my first concert in 1970 or so), the Osmonds, The Jackson Five, Badfinger, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and whoever else suited my fancy.  My whole world changed in 1977 when I was introduced to Punk via THE JAM.  I thought it was totally cool that there was a Punk band that wore suits (like the Beatles), played Rickenbackers (like the Beatles) and had catchy tunes (like the Beatles).  Of course, The Jam sounded NOTHING like the Beatles back then, but that didn't matter: I was hooked...

So, where did I spend my early record shopping days?  Well, since I had no idea what a mom and pop indie record store was at the age of 14, I spent my hard earned allowance at......LICORICE PIZZA!  A truly great indie chain with one of the greatest logos ever....

While older guys may have thought the Licorice Pizza lady was fine, I did not care one bit.  I wanted to know what record she had just taken out of the oven!  Boy, it looked (and looks) delicious!

So, anyway, I started spending all of my allowance at Licorice Pizza.  I remember when they got their oldies 45 section and bought up every Beatles and solo Macca, Lennon, Harrison and Starr singles I could afford.  I remember getting Harrison's "Give Me Love" single the same day I bought my first pack of  the then-brand new Freshen Up gum ("the gum that goes squirt!"). Since then, every time I hear "Give Me Love", I can almost smell and taste mint! No joke! 

But once I discovered Punk and New Wave, my love for music turned into desire and passion...

Here are a few of those albums that I bought from Licorice Pizza that have made a difference in my life....

The Jam's This Is The Modern World was the album that really kicked me in the gut and made me realize that there was more to life than the radio!  While it may not be The Jam's finest, it is the album that changed my life...

So, while my other friends in junior high were listening to the latest Top 40 and FM hits, I was buying albums from The Jam, The Clash, XTC, The Fabulous Poodles and bands like that. Sometimes, my tastes would collide with those of my friends (such as The Cars) but that didn't occur to often...

Around this same time (1977), I also met my first girlfriend.  Yes, music geeks can have girlfriends, too!  And guess what?  She was wonderful. For those few years we were together, music came second.  Can you believe that?  A music geek putting a girl first?  Perhaps I'm not full blooded music geek after all?  Anyway, she was so patient and tolerant of my love of music, especially since she knew I put all the money I earned towards her and NOT the music....well, 90% of it anyway!  :)

It was great to share my latest purchases/gifts with her and my friends.  Oddly enough, my brother wouldn't give this stuff the time of day... at least for a few years.  Now, he is one of my favorite musicians and songwriters, but back then he was just my big brother who picked on me all the time and hated my music.  Boy, he would mock the albums I played incessantly! But you know what?  I hated CSN, Springsteen, Neil Young and all of the crap he loved.  But in time, we both came around and now I love to share my latest discoveries with him via a series of mix tapes I've been making him for years and years. And I do love CSN, Springsteen, Neil Young and all that crap now. Kinda.

While I had been buying import 7" singles from labels like Stiff, I never really understood the concept of an 'indie' label.  I always thought that bands who released albums on indie labels weren't good enough for major labels!  But then, I saw an album by THE LAST called L.A. Explosion on Bomp Records.  On a whim, I bought it based on the album cover alone (and that all the lyrics were printed on the back).  This album changed the way I looked at indie labels and remains one of my top 25 albums of all time.  From Power Pop to Punk to New Wave to '60s influenced Rock, The Last were (and are) the most under-rated band of the late '70s and early '80s.  And they still rock today!

My girlfriend surprised me in 1979 by buying me THE RECORDS' self-titled debut album for my 16th birthday.  I was so excited.  She was so awesome.  Like I said, she wasn't a music geek like me: she was cool, calm, collected and she stole my heart.  And she was beautiful as the sunset...

That Records album kicked ass, to be honest.  It was Power Pop.  It was New Wave.  It was amazing.  It was known as Shades In Bed in the UK and can now be purchased on CD in its entirety (including tracks from both the UK and U.S. versions).

Unfortunately, after a great 2 and 1/2 year relationship, she and I parted ways.  It broke my heart.  To pieces.  After awhile, it was music that began to help me through the sorrow I felt.  One album in particular really SPOKE to me: SHOES' Present Tense.  This was an album about love (mostly love lost and breaking up) and it felt like my life being put to music.  Corny as it sounds, this album helped me through those first few months.  

But you know what?  Life moves in strange and mysterious ways. And often times, those ways are magical and magnificent.  The long and winding road, indeed....

STAY TUNED FOR MORE RECORD STORE MEMORIES FROM SPAZ AND CO-HORTS!

PURPLE HEARTS/the Mod Singles Collection reveiw

PURPLE HEARTS were one of the most popular of the Mod bands that hit the British music scene in 1979 and 1980. The excellent Captain Mod label (an offshoot of Captain Oi) has just issued a collection of all the band's singles (A and B-sides) entitled The Mod Singles Collection.  This is what I had to say about it on All Music Guide.

"The Mod scene briefly took hold of the British (and, to a lesser extent, U.S.) music scene in 1979 in the wake of The Jam’s enormous success. When Weller and Co. released their third album, All Mod Cons, in 1978, it not only sent them straight up the charts, it also freed them from the Punk shackles that had weighed them down since the release of their debut album.
Because of the success of the album and the resurgence of Mod culture, labels began snapping up ‘60s-influenced acts like The Lambrettas, The Chords, The Jolt, Secret Affair, Squire and Purple Hearts. Of these main players, Purple Hearts were the least likely to succeed but it certainly wasn’t from lack of talent or ambition. With a Punk attitude and ‘60s Garage Rock influences, the band’s songs were less chart-friendly than their contemporaries and didn’t quite connect with the fickle public.
Signing to Fiction Records, the band released a handful of singles and one album in 1980 (Beat That!) before fading into the ether. They resurfaced briefly in ’82 and again in 1986 but fame and fortune proved to be elusive.
While not a great ‘album’ band, the Hearts sounded far more exciting on their singles, all of which are collected on this compilation (A and B-sides). The singles are joined here by three excellent 1981 demo recordings lifted from The Beat Generation & The Angry Young Men compilation.
Though Who and Kinks influences abound, the real meat of their sound is snotty Garage Rock, which really comes to the fore on tracks like “Frustration”, “Just To Please You”, “Plane Crash” and “Head On Collision Time”. On the other hand, the band’s pop smarts shine brightly on “Jimmy”, “My Life’s A Jigsaw” and “Friends Again” and all three of the bonus compilation tracks (‘I’ll Make You Mine”, “Concrete Mixer” and “Hazy Darkness”).
This 17 track collection showcases all of the band’s strengths, although I must admit that their version of “Scooby Doo” is the only obvious mis-step here. Released on Captain Oi’s excellent offshoot label, Captain Mod, the booklet contains informative liner notes, release information and reproductions of the picture sleeves.
Needless to say, The Mod Singles Collection is the best place to start your Purple Hearts collection."




Head On Spaz Time,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee