Revisiting the ones that matter #2 with Indra Joyce.

Former American. Saw the light, now British.

A former rock radio promoter, and music researcher, who embarked on a career as a special education teacher before dividing her time between caring for her disabled son and maintaining a foothold in the music scene as a jack of all trades.

And if that wasn’t to be enough strings to her bow, she is currently an artist working in the medium of photo painting and glass.

A busy lady, but not busy too to give us ten(ish) albums that mean something to her.

#1 Nigel Kennedy’s Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Indra - I love classical music and a top 10 was always going to feature it.

 It came down to either The Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg or this. I’ve always loved this piece of work by Vivaldi. I think he captured the seasons beautifully. You really feel each one. If pushed I will say Winter is my favourite movement, but I really feel the whole symphony stands together.

When I first moved to the U.K, Nigel Kennedy was everyone’s darling. Never mind that he looked like celebrity chef Gary Rhodes. I saw him perform this at the Royal Albert Hall. Simply Sublime!

Res Droogs – Strangely enough Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was my introduction to classical music. That, and the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, were bought at the same time second hand from a local library. It wasn’t the Nigel Kennedy release, but to my untrained ears that wouldn’t matter.

#2 Heart - Little Queen

Heart are my all time favourite band. Their music got me through a dark time. Out of all their work, their 2nd album is my favourite. Kicking off with the hard rock Barracuda, the next three tracks of side one, are the tribeca of Heart tracks - Love Alive-Silvan Song-Dream of the Archer. I actually wrote a novella based on the three. Side 2 might be a bit uneven, but it doesn’t matter.

Res Droogs – Okay. I’m going to admit it. I’m a sucker for the hair metal years. Street cred lying bleeding in the gutter. I care not a jot. However "Barracuda". Now that's a tune.  

#3 Concrete Blonde - Recollection

I knew this band before they were famous. They all used to live together in a house down the road from me and I used to watch them jam before they were signed to a label. I had to go for a best of compilation as they just have so many excellent tracks that span across their albums. Seen them many times live and they were always brilliant! If you’ve never heard of them, start with the track Still in Hollywood. It is exactly what they are all about.

Res Droogs. No need to add anything to that other than if you don’t know who they are then shame on you.

#4 Sweeney Todd Demon Barber of Fleet Street Original Broadway Cast

Outside from rock and classical music I am also a huge musical theatre fan! Love it! Even Andrew Lloyd Webber who rips everyone off has some merit. But my favourite has to be Stephen Sondheim. He is just so macabre! I mean really, who else could concoct successful musicals out of Shakespeare (West Side Story) famous killers (Assassins) and fairy tales (Into the Woods) so effortlessly? His best however is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! Please ignore the wretched Tim Burton film where Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are woefully miscast. Mrs Lovett is always Angela Lansbury! I believe this was the first major production to break the third wall (Ballad of Sweeney Todd - “... what happens then, well that’s the play, and he wouldn’t want to give it away....” songs like Worst Pies In London, Pretty Women and A Little Priest are a masterclass in how to do musical theatre right.

Res Droogs – Not something I am overly familiar with.  Thought the movie was passable at best.

#5 Hazel O’Connor - Breaking Glass.

Trivia. This role was written for and meant for Toyah Wilcox. But she was just supposed to start a tour and backed out. Hazel stepped in and convinced Dodi Al-Fayed (yes, that one) who produced and financed the film to let her rewrite the music and songs. Definitely captured the London punk scene at the time. So many amazing tracks. I will frequently butcher Eighth Day and Will You at the karaoke. Amazing to think the album is nearly 40. I don’t think Hazel enjoyed the success she should have. Looking at the lyrics to Eighth Day it is eerie how prophetic is has been.

Res Droogs – Great film and plenty of little cameos for punk aficionados to look out for.

#6 Sorten Muld lll

Before my son arrived, I was a traveller. I would find a cheap flight and off I’d go. One thing I liked to do was to go into a local record store and buy a popular album by a band singing in their native language. This band came from Denmark. I really can’t offer much more than that, as well, they are a Danish band with little presence outside of Scandinavia, but that is a shame as these guys are fabulous. I actually taught myself a little Danish so I could understand the lyrics to some of the tracks. Stand out for me is Tor Af Hafsgaard

Res Droogs - Never heard of them, but that's not a  bad thing. 

#7 Tom Jones - Reload

Okay, I admit it, I am a closet Tom Jones fan. (And I butcher Delilah in the karaoke too). And I have been trying to see him live for the past 30 years but seem to be jinxed. But that is another story... this album revived his career. And he worked with everybody who is anybody on it. So many different styles. A bit uneven, but so much fun, and some real crackers. American reviewers panned the Iggy Pop track Lust for Life he did with the Pretenders but that is one of my favourites. Some fabulous tracks and collaborations Robbie Williams, The Cardigans, The Stereophonics, Barenaked Ladies, Cerys Matthews from Catatonia amongst others are all on here.

And Sexbomb. Sir Tom is the Voice.

Res Droogs – Don’t mind a bit of Tom. Hi recent output is along the style of Rubin and Cash. Seen him appearing at Glastonbury and sang myself hoarse to Green Green Grass of Home and Delilah. I have no shame.  

#8 Almost Famous Soundtrack Deluxe (Vinyl Edition.)

Yes, it has to be vinyl. Because the film is set in 1973. There was no digital music. Only vinyl, and vinyl just sounds so much better. Plus, this edition comes with a bonus CD that has all five tracks from the band Stillwater that are featured in the film. The normal soundtrack only has Fever Dog. The tracks were written by ex-Humble Pie Peter Frampton, and Heart’s Nancy Wilson who at the time was married to Film writer and director Cameron Crowe. It is an autobiographical account of Crowe’s life as a young rock reporter for Rolling Stone. Many excellent off album tracks. Everyone from Led Zep, (Robert Plant inspired the I am a Golden God rooftop scene) to the Beach Boys to Thunderclap Newton is on here. Superb!

Res Droogs - Quite possible the best semi autobiographical music movie made. Although The Rose gives it a run for its money. Only the names have been changed.   

#9 The Best of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac

So, growing up in the 70’s... Rumours... I was a Fleetwood Mac fan, even had a wee schoolgirl crush on Lindsey Buckingham for a short while. And when I get into a band, I REALLY got into them. So I bought their entire back catalogue and found out they had two completely different histories. Prior to Buck-Nicks was a jazzy-bluesy pop lead by Bob Welsh. His big solo hit, Sentimental Lady was a Fleetwood Mac track from Bare Trees. Hypnotised from Mystery To Me is an amazing song.... but, Fleetwood Mac started out as British Blues band. Both Mick Fleetwood and John McVie played with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Peter Green is a sublime blues guitarist. Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and Jimmy Page count him amongst their influences. BB King and Muddy Waters were fans and invited Green and the Mac to jam with them in Chicago.

And shame on you If you didn’t know that Black Magic Woman was their song. They were the 1st band to top the U.K. charts twice with the same instrumental in different years (Albatross) Rattlesnake Shake, Green Manalishi with the Two Pronged Crown, Oh Well, Man of the World. It really doesn’t get much better.

Res Droogs – Peter Green era for me and very little else.

#10 Alice in Chains - Facelift      

Closing with another band I knew before they were famous. Mike Starr’s (original bassist) girlfriend Amy was a good friend of mine and I heard demos in his flat. Jerry Cantrell is probably the nicest and most down to earth rock star you’ll ever meet. Facelift was their first album. Although major label, it was still raw. Layne deservedly had a reputation. There are very valid reasons he lay dead in his flat for about two weeks before authorities broke the door and found him dead of a heroin overdose, but he had a unique voice and style that is now often imitated. Rooster, off their 2nd full length album (they had a five track EP called SAP featuring Heart’s Ann Wilson on two tracks out after) is arguably their best song (about Cantrell’s military father’s time in Vietnam) but Facelift is their best album

Res Droogs – A band I liked at the time, but grew to appreciate more over the intervening years.

#10+1 Marlo Thomas and Friends – Free to be You and Me.

A cheeky addition, but if you are counting you are missing the point.

This one reminds me of childhood. It was my favourite album while growing up. I wore out two discs of this one. It’s all about positivity and, well being who you want to be!

Listen to Boy Meets Girl which in some ways addresses gender fluidity (early 70s sexual revolution in full force) other tracks address feminism, positive parenting, bullying, and showing emotion. It features a venerable who’s who of talent from the time. Way ahead of the game. If you get a chance... look out the video they made of it... a young and still black Michael Jackson features. It wouldn’t hurt to show it today actually. Makes me glad I grew up when I did.

Res Droogs - Another I had no idea existed. Very much of it's time in the song writing, but years in front in the lyrical content.