25 Albums that Explain a Bit About Me - musically, at least

I'm home sick with a fever and a screaming sore throat, and I will allow myself to waste a bit of time. Here they are - and not in order, per se. (I stole this idea from Chris Cooke.)

1. Chicago: Chicago 5 - This is the first record I ever bought with my own money for my own awful record player. It had horns, which I could relate to because I grew up listening to jazz. It also had one of the world's most under-appreciated guitarists in Terry Kath. Most significantly though, let me remind everyone that before Peter Cetera was a huge milque-toast pop star, he was an amazingly melodic and inventive bass player. I learned how to play bass from old Chicago albums full of catchy tunes and astonishingly adventurous arrangements. Whenever I see this album cover, I'm transported back to a cold, gray fall day and the anticipation of getting my new record home from K-mart. My mom couldn't have possibly driven fast enough.

2. Eagles: Hotel California - Pretty near perfect - too much so for some folks - but for me it was another step into rock music. In addition to jazz, I also heard a lot of country growing up, and the Eagles bridged the gap for me. My favorite moments are the ballad "Wasted Time" and the guitar solo in "Try and Love Again", but there's no way I'll change the radio station if "Victim of Love" or the guitar solo section of "Hotel California" is on.

3. Rush: Hemispheres - When I started playing in bands, all the older, discriminating musicians (who were, ironically, 16 or 17 years old) held Rush in highest esteem. It took me a while to get used to Geddy's voice, but WOW! - the bass and drums! Amazing! The lyrical material was ambitious, and the musical arrangements were heavy-yet-quirky in the best possible way. Hemispheres is my favorite, because it bridges the territory from "old Rush" to "Moving Pictures era" Rush quite perfectly. When I hear "La Villa Strangiata" I'm transported back to many awful basement jam sessions.

4. Kansas: Leftoverture - Again, this was pretty heady and progressive music, so I was drawn to it after Chicago and Rush. The lyrics were obviously written by someone on a spiritual quest, and that resonated with me. Every aspect of the musicianship was top notch. Steve Walsh may have been at his peak as a vocalist, and I don't think there is anyone who has topped him.

5. Charlie Peacock: The Secret of Time - And now for something completely different... I like to think of this as progressive pop R&B. A perfect synthesis of pop hooks, deep and meaningfully Christian lyrics, and a few unorthodox arrangements keep this one sounding fresh 21 years later. Nobody - NOBODY - has made a better album than this one, with a possible exception...

6. Whiteheart: Freedom - The best "Christian Rock" album ever made. They were never as good before or after, but the synergy on Freedom is amazing. Free from hokeyness and studio over-indulgence, the band and the songs speak for themselves.

7. The Beatles: Abbey Road - My local FM station used to play the closing medley ("You Never Give Me Your Money" through "The End) late at night. I was enthralled by the songs - meaningless ditties though they were. Catchy, well-crafted and a great balance of "real" vs. perfect. This album covers a lot of territory musically, and it's all memorable.

8. Boston: Boston - The sonic standard for all hard rock and pop metal for decades to come. I tried for years to duplicate the layers of guitars and still leave space for the bass and drums, but Tom Scholz's standards are unattainable - even by himself. He never got it any better than this one.

9. Bryan Adams: Cuts Like a Knife - One the few albums I own on record, cassette and CD. Is it pop? Yeah, but it's got a rough edge to it. Did the girls like it? You betcha. Did I try to sing like him and write songs like him? Yep. Did I have ulterior motives? Sorta - but I would've loved this album regardless of whether or not chicks dug Bryan Adams.

10. U2: The Joshua Tree - Predictable you say? Maybe, but it's the first U2 album I fell in love with. My favorite U2 song will probably always be "In God's Country" - even though I didn't really figure out what it was about until a few months ago. Epic anthems and pensive, introspective ballads full of angst, hope, desperation and truth. Lofty words are appropriate to describe this one.

11. Vigilantes of Love: Blister Soul - This one changed my life musically. Folk-rock with Dylan quality lyrics (sorry to offend you Dylan fans). I discovered that it was more important to write good songs and play them how you wanted rather than trying to find what someone else thought was right. The production is under par a few times, but the songwriting is unparalleled. If Bill Mallonee had only written "Skin" he make it near the top of my list of greatest living songwriters.

12. Vigilantes of Love: Audible Sigh - Because I really can't decide which is my favorite. I was first captured by Blister Soul, but Audible Sigh is probably a better album. The songs are just as brilliant, but the production and musicianship are far better. There are always bittersweet moments on a Bill Mallonee album, but this one is heart-wrenching in mostly good ways. Unfortunately, he had to change some lines in "Nothing Like a Train" after his divorce - and I'm likely to cry when the last verse of that one comes around.

13. Rich Mullins: A Legacy, a Liturgy, and a Ragamuffin Band - No secret that I'm a Rich Mullins fan. This is Rich at his most authentic, showing us that there's more to being God's musician than trying to wrap some cheapened "gospel" message in a crappy 3 minute pop song. It's challenging, yet reassuring. Lofty, yet earthy. Just like Rich. Just like Jesus and his Church. "Peace" is a perfect song, and my favorite musical embodiment of what happens when we meet around the Table of the Lord.

14. Andrew Peterson: Behold the Lamb of God (The True Tall Tale of the Coming of the Christ) - I heard from my friend Mark about Andrew's "Christmas thing", so the next year we went to an old theater and experienced the greatest musical retelling of the Incarnation that I have ever heard. Musical and lyrical genius. Whimsy, irony, longing, celebration, and worship. Just beautiful. "Labor of Love" stands out on an album of amazing songs thanks in part to Jill Phillips vocals, but "Deliver Us" and "Behold the Lamb of God" are equally wonderful.

15. Danny Wilde: The Boyfriend - This one was kinda like "Cuts Like a Knife, vol. 2". Danny's vocals are a bit thinner, and there are a few alt-country overtones, but this is a great bunch of pop-rock songs for the hopelessly romantic 20-something singer/guitarist in the late 80s. I wore out 2 cassettes, and found a record of it which I've yet to open. It has the distinction of being the last major label release that DIDN"T come out on CD. Too bad, because it's just as good as any Brian Adams album.

16. Bad Company: Bad Company - I never tire of Paul Rodgers' singing. This will always be my standard for a great all-around rock album.

17. Del Amitri: Change Everything - A Scottish band that is just simply not as well-known as they should be. Another PERFECT album - hook after hook, but no fluff. AND they rock, too. One of my saddest moments is when my tape got accidentally thrown away while I was moving to Nashville in '93. Don't worry - I've since gotten the CD.

18. Extreme: Three Sides to Every Story - Another casualty of the move - I've got the CD, but the cassette actually has an additional song that fills in a missing part of the story. These guys really rose above the rest of the pop metal crowd, but this was something different entirely. There was jazz and hip-hop - and even some very Eagles-meet-Pet Sounds era-Beach Boys stuff. But it mostly ROCKS. As to the story, there are three parts: Yours (politically and socially conscious songs), Mine (romantic and introspective songs) and the Truth (overtly Biblical songs). It doesn’t flow perfectly, but it’s ambitious and has a frightening amount of high points.

19. Derek Webb: She Must and Shall Go Free - From the first mandolin pick-up notes, I knew I was going to establish a long-term relationship with this album. It may be my absolute favorite album of all time, because it resonates with me on so many different levels - particularly the musical style and the theme of God’s faithful love for his Church. Two of my three favorite songs on it (“Take to the World” and “Awake My Soul”) aren’t even written by Webb, but his versions are more inspired and heart-felt than the others. It’s bold, sobering, yet not without a sense of humor. Please try to make another one like this, Derek.

20. Let's Active: Big Plans for Everybody - Lots of people are REM fans. Not going to malign them for that, but I wonder if they’ve ever heard Let’s Active. This was my favorite band for a couple years in the late 80s. Mitch Easter (the only permanent member) produced early REM albums, but really shines on his own compositions. The vocals aren’t magic like the Stipe/Mills combination, but everything else is more musically compelling than most of REM’s catalog. This album is a sprawling ‘80s college rock masterpiece. Take that, Violent Femmes and Hüsker Dü.

21. Styx: Pieces of Eight - I almost chose the Grand Illusion. Maybe even Crystal Ball. What I liked about Styx was similar to what I liked about Chicago - there were multiple lead vocalists and songwriters. Personally, I wanted to be Tommy Shaw - his songs went from folk to rock. I learned all his parts - acoustic and electric. “Blue Collar Man”? ‘Nuff said.

22. Triumph: Thunder Seven - Another one of several “concept albums” that I’ve listed. Like Tommy Shaw, Rik Emmett was a master guitarist. I preferred Tommy’s feel and tone, but I couldn’t ignore Rik’s absolute skill and versatility. Thunder Seven is the most even of Triumph’s albums, and I won’t say it doesn’t have a low point, but the way it wrestled philosophically with the concept of time was very profound to me in my pre-christian worldview.

23. Kim Hill: Talk About Life - When I heard the first song, “Inside of You”, I thought it was a new Whiteheart song. Indeed, it had 3 of Whiteheart’s musicians playing on it, but - if anything - Kim’s dusky alto was richer and more mysterious than Ric Florian’s wailing tenor, and the band was playing in a really cool, atmospheric style. I started to take female singers very seriously at this point. Check out “Snakes in the Grass” - amazing song! Two of the songs were written by a then unknown guy named Wes King, and I became a huge fan of his, too.

24. Susan Ashton: Wakened by the Wind - Hats off to Wayne Kirkpatrick (who also produced Kim Hill). This is a masterpiece of perfect folky/rocky pop songs. MASTERPIECE. The usual suspects are in the band, but they change their style on this one a bit. Susan’s voice is what I call the “girl next door” voice. There’s only a little distinctive character to it, but it’s so good you don’t care.

25. John Kilzer: Memory in the Making - My final entry, and another dark horse. This guy has an amazing gritty, soulful voice and he’s a fine tunesmith. This album was produced in a late 80s pop-rock vein, but there’s enough rough edges on it to make it quite urgent sounding. Probably better than Bryan Adams and Danny Wilde put together.

Ones that didn’t make the cut, and probably because I didn’t think about it long enough: Tonic: Lemon Parade and Sugar, Led Zeppelin I through IV, Sandra McCracken: The Builder and the Architect, Stone Temple Pilots: Purple, Jill Phillips: Nobody’s God it All Together, Brooke Fraser: Albertine, and probably dozens of others...