Albums In The Day: The Records Of My Life - Pt. 14

Toadies - Rubberneck (1994)

For the majority of junior year of high school a bunch of my buddies in band class decided that they really wanted to form a band. They jammed around, played around looking for just the right bass player, even tried me out as their singer. (Oi, that was a disaster...) They usually futzed around with Led Zeppelin covers and various other classic rock bands, but they started playing quite a few Toadies songs when the guitar player's girlfriend lent him Rubberneck. Their drummer Max (who I am still good friends with today) had been a fan of the Toadies ever since they first came out, so he was wholly excited by the change in material (one can only play "Immigrant Song" so many times after all). I had been a middling admirer of "Possum Kingdom" since it had come out, but it wasn't until I caught the video for "Tyler" (the ONLY time 120 Minutes played it) as well as the guys playing their songs that picked up the album. Now and again I'll catch myself singing "Backslider", "Quitter", "I Come From The Water", "Mister Love" or "I Burn". Now if only "Possum Kingdom" wasn't so boring to play in Guitar Hero...

Give It A Try:
"Backslider"
"Possum Kingdom"
"I Come From The Water"
"Tyler"
"I Burn"

Albums In The Day: The Records Of My Life - Pt. 15

The Who - Who's Next (1971)

Ah, the Who. One of the three bands my Dad holds in the highest regard (the others being Taste and Cream). My exposure to the Who came as it does for most people who grew up with classic-rock-radio-listening Dads like mine: that damn "Who Are You" song that eventually became the them to CBS' CSI. I didn't really get an appreciation for them until I managed to sneak a few listens of Quadrophenia, which my Dad still had on vinyl. (I have other stories to tell with that LP, but that'll come later...) After that album opened my ears a bit more I noticed other Who tracks on the radio and in movies more as well. "Won't Get Fooled Again" hit me at just the right time in relation to all the other music I was getting into at the time (i.e. me teenage boy, need "screw you all!" theme songs). Snagged a copy of Who's Next on the cheap and used at the local head shop in Stoughton (yeah, we actually had one for awhile), and that was it. I was done... "I don't need to fight / To prove I'm right / I don't need to be forgiven yeah yeah yeah yeaah!" It's not often you'll find an album that is strong from start to finish, but Who's Next fits that bill. If one were to pick a weak track it could possibly be the Pete Townshend number "Going Mobile", but the other eight tracks bookended by "Baba" and "Won't Get Fooled Again"... It's still awe-inspiring. Definitely required listening for any rock music n00b.

Give It A Try:
"Baba O'Riley"
"Bargain"
"Gettin' In Tune"
"Behind Blue Eyes"
"Won't Get Fooled Again"