Desert Island Discs – Songs
The concept of a “Desert Island Disc” is that if you were trapped on a desert island for the rest of your days, and could only listen to ten songs, what would they be. Interestingly, this list may not be the same as your “favorite songs” list. In considered listening to the same songs over and over again, you’ll want something that stands the test of time. For me that includes strong arrangements (both vocally & instrumentally), meaningful lyrics, and emotionally compelling performances. Ironically, only one of these songs appears on an album from my Desert Island Disc – Album List.
- Fire and Rain – James Taylor
- Homeward Bound – Simon & Garfunkel
- If You Could Read My Mind – Gordon Lightfoot
- Toulouse Street – Doobie Brothers
- So Far Away – Carole King
- Wichita Lineman – Glen Campbell
- Every Season – Nichole Nordeman
- Horse with No Name – America
- California Dreamin – The Mama’s and Papa’s
- Solsbury Hill – Peter Gabriel
Moondance – Van Morrison
In My Life – The Beatles
Your Song – Elton John
Annie’s Song – John Denver
Landslide – Fleetwood Mac
Desert Island Discs – Albums
The concept of a “Desert Island Disc” is that if you were trapped on a desert island for the rest of your days, and could only listen to ten albums, what would they be. Interestingly, this list may not be the same as your “favorite albums” list. In considered listening to the same albums over and over again, you need to look for content that is strong throughout, with few (if any) wasted tracks. You’ll also want something that stands the test of time, and that has some level of emotional depth. That narrows the competition significantly. Some of these are classic records, while others are simply personal favorites.
- Tapestry – Carole King
- Aja – Steely Dan
- Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
- Love Over Gold – Dire Straits
- Hotel California – The Eagles
- Sowing the Seeds of Love – Tears for Fears
- Boston – Boston
- Seal (1994) – Seal
- Crosby Stills & Nash (Debut)
- Life Beyond LA – Ambrosia
52nd Street – Billy Joel
Under a Blood Red Sky – U2
Bad Company (Debut)
Bjcorbin's Blog 
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2018)
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, tagged America, Bad Company, Black Sabbath, Blind Faith, Boston, Chaka Khan, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, Devo, Doobie Brothers, Foreigner, Janet Jackson, John Prine, Journey, MC5, Radiohead, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ronnie James Dio, Steve Winwood, Stevie Nicks, Styx, The Cure, The Guess Who, The Scorpions, The Zombies, Todd Rundgren, Traffic on October 11, 2018| 3 Comments »
OK, so I’m not losing sleep over who gets into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the latest batch of nominee’s reminded me of how haphazard this process can be. This year voters get to pick from a wide variety of artists, which includes overlooked bands like The Zombies and MC5, singer/songwriters like Todd Rundgren and John Prine, genre pioneers like Kraftwork, and Rage Against the Machine, 80’s phenoms like The Cure and Devo, dancefloor divas like Chaka Khan, and Janet Jackson, or popular favorites like LLCoolJ, Stevie Nicks and Def Leppard. It’s not that I have a big issue with any of these artists, it’s that there are so many other deserving candidates who seem to have been forgotten. USA Today ran an article in recent days naming what they considered to be artists that were “snubbed” (e.g. Blink-182, Bone Thugs N-Harmony, Jane’s Addiction?), and while they did name a few I hadn’t thought of (e.g. Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Snopp Dogg, Kate Bush), they left off what I considered to be the more obvious choices. Four groups that jump to my mind are the Doobie Brothers, Boston, America, and The Guess Who. Each one of those bands produced at least a half dozen classic songs that are still being played on the radio 40+ years later. Their credentials are far superior to many of the other artists who are already in the hall.
In many cases, members of popular bands are also enshrined for their individual careers (e.g. Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, John Lennon…). Along those lines, I believe that a singer like Paul Rodgers should be admitted for his work in bands like Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and Queen. Similarly, Sammy Hagar (Montrose, Van Halen, solo career), Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio) and Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith) should qualify for their stellar careers. With bands like Journey and Cheap Trick already recognized, it’s hard to understand the exclusion of bands like Foreigner and Styx. Similarly, if Deep Purple was worthy, so is Bad Company, and if Bon Jovi belongs, so do The Scorpions. I don’t mind newer acts like Radiohead being nominated, but I don’t want to see some of these classic acts forgotten. If you need further proof for the artists I mentioned, listen to the following:
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