Albums I Have Known and Loved

My pal LA did this meme - it originated with her friend Dawn - and she challenged all and sundry to hop on the bandwagon. So here you go!

1. Waiting for Columbus (Expanded Edition) - Little Feat
   If I were stranded on a desert island, this is the album I'd want to have with me. I was at one of the concerts where Little Feat recorded this live album; it was the. best. rock. concert. that I have ever attended. It has all of my favorite Feat songs, from Fat Man in the Bathtub to Willin' to Rock and Roll Doctor to... well, all of 'em.
2. Sweet Baby James - James Taylor
   I have a real soft spot for this album. It makes me smile. Way back in the day, we'd play this album to ease ourselves down from... well, never mind. It's just wonderfully mellow and soothing.
3. Nick of Time - Bonnie Raitt
   Bonnie won three Grammy awards for this album, and no wonder. It was released in 1989 and the title song spoke strongly to me. It's a nice mix of ballads, blues, and sass. Because of this album, I got turned on to John Hiatt, one of my favorite blues/country artists.
4. Rubber Soul - The Beatles
   Well, of course I had to have a Beatles album on this list. This is my favorite - yes, I like it more than Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I was 13 when it was released in 1965. Now that I'm 66, some of the songs - especially In My Life - have acquired more meaning, others are still just plain fun. Well, except for Run for Your Life, which is misogynistic and scary.
5. Let It Bleed - The Rolling Stones
   I didn't get into this one - or any Stones, really - until I was in college, and then, hoo boy! I realized what I had been missing. This album has two of my favorite Stones songs: Gimme Shelter and You Can't Always Get What You Want.
6. Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan
   Again, I didn't really listen to Bob Dylan's music until I was in college. (I was really fortunate to have good friends who had a lot of great music!) This album has my favorite Dylan tune, Subterranean Homesick Blues. It narrowly won out over Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde.
7. The Water Music Suite - George Frideric Handel
   I confess. I love Baroque music. I first heard pieces of the Water Music when I was attending an acting camp in Williamsburg, Virginia, right after I graduated from high school. The outdoor extravaganza we were part of used it during a big scene and I was captivated. I still am.
8. I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus - The Firesign Theater
   My favorite of the Firesign Theater albums, naturally - it's where I get my online handle (Bozoette, for those that have forgotten the long lost online journal days). It's so funny and sly and silly. In fact, I knew Joe was a keeper when he could quote lines from it!
9. The Best of Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan
   I picked this album up one day back in the 90s when I was browsing around a record store and I am so glad I did. Louis Jordan is the King of the Jump Blues and I dare you not to move when you hear one of his songs. Let the Good Times Roll, Saturday Night Fish Fry, and Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens are all wonderfully fun, but my favorite is the sexy, oozy Knock Me a Kiss.
10. American Beauty - The Grateful Dead
    I used to sing Ripple to SonnyeBoy when he was a baby. It's my favorite Grateful Dead song.

So, as I was coming up with this list, I realized I had done a similar post a while back. Whaddya know - I listed four of the same albums there as I did here! Imagine that.