Diary of a Workingman: Vinyl Albums

I was recently watching a program on BBC4 where Danny Baker discussed the qualities and joy of vinyl albums and it got me thinking back to the good old days where I'd journey into town and spend hours in various record and music shops (train into Glasgow, head to 23rd Precinct to get some albums, then to McCormicks and check out the guitars, then head downstairs to a wee record shop - the name escapes me - in a basement shop next door to have a look at the import LP's before heading off to Tower, HMV and Virgin. Pop into the Guitar Store to have a chat with the guys behind the counter and play some guitars I'd never be able to afford before heading to Wimpy for a cheeseburger before the train home). Ah, those were the days!

Anyway, the program got me thinking about some albums that I just couldn't do without. The rules are:

Five albums only

It had to be a record that I had on vinyl

No compilations or greatest hits

Were albums that I could listen from start to finish without skipping a track

One album per band

When I was buying vinyl I was big into rock so that makes up the majority of the list. While there are countless great albums which I listen to now and consider classics, they didn't make it in because I wasn't listening to them at the time!

So, here they are, in no particular order...

Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare

Although the list is in no particular order, if it were, this would be number one. An absolute masterpiece of a record that still sounds as fresh and interesting today as it did when I first heard it. Alice may be considered a rock artist but he's never been afraid to experiment with different genres and that was particularly true during the 70's. It was his first 'solo' album and what a statement to make! The whole album is full of dark themes and wraps them in a pop/rock/prog package. On side two there's a three song run (Years Ago, Steven, The Awakening) that's as close to perfection as songs get.

Recommended track: Steven

AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

There are so many AC/DC albums that I could list here but Dirty Deeds gets in because it's been with me for pretty much all of my life. My brother bought it for my dad's birthday when I was about three years old and I never stopped playing it. If there's a better song in the world than 'Ride On', I haven't heard it.

Recommended track: Ride On

Blackfoot – Marauder

This record always makes me smile and contains the song that I took the name of this blog from! I think it holds an extra place in my heart because the front cover of my copy was signed by the band and inside was a ticket stub from when they played the Glasgow Apollo in 1982. Sadly, I wasn't responsible for getting their signatures or the ticket as I bought it from a second hand record stall at The Barras. That didn't stop me from cherishing the album as if I did!

Recommended track: Diary of a Workingman

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Next

Every home should have a copy of this record. There’s just so much going on and every song is entirely different to the next. There’s absolutely no-one else that sounds like SAHB and they should have had far more recognition than they received. Subconsciously, this album formed the template for all of my recordings.

Recommended track: Next

Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman

There are two reasons why I took up the guitar. The first was because my older brother, Jamie, bought one because he wanted to be Angus Young and the second was because he also bought this album. From the very moment I heard Randy Rhoads blast the opening bar of Over the Mountain, I was hooked. There are a million and one amazing guitar players in the world but, in my opinion, Randy was on a level above them all and I don’t think it’s too great a claim to suggest that rock guitar was re-defined by his (and Eddie Van Halen’s) playing style. This album, more than any other, made me fall in love with music.

Recommended track: Tonight

So that was my top five vinyl albums, for what it’s worth. It was exceptionally hard to only have five and even now, I’m still debating whether some should be replaced but no, I’m sticking to that list and instead, here are some others that could have easily found a home there had the above choices not had such an impact on me.