Buffy Sainte-Marie – It’s My Way (1964)

For most of her life Buffy believed she was of Canadian Native American Indian heritage and was adopted at birth and brought up in America; it later transpired that she was born in America.  But her legacy is what is important; she absorbed folk and country music but encouraged and wrote many songs about the awful treatment of Native Americans.  I first heard this album, probably in ’66 or ’67.  One of the older boys in the Lower Sixth brought a copy to school, and I loved it, her strangely warbling voice and mouth harp and remember being struck by the songs ‘Now That The Buffalo’s Gone’ and ‘Universal Soldier’ which was later covered by Donovan.  Of course Buffy went on to have quite a few hits, especially in the mid-Seventies.  Many of her songs have been recorded and were hits by others including Sinatra (Until It’s Time For You To Go) and Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker (Up Where We Belong).  She was also a presenter for a while on Sesame Street.  She made a string of albums before retiring in the early 90’s but had a short comeback in this Century.  I am a great fan of hers and couldn’t give a fuck if she was red Indian, American or Canadian – to me she will always be Buffy, the singer and fighter for Indian rights.

Leon Russell – Leon Russell (1970)

I had heard of Leon as part of the Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour in in 1970.  A deep Southern singer and pianist who had a brilliant voice and almost invented that blend of swamp-blues rock.  He had been a session player for a few years, even playing on a couple of Beach Boys hits.  He was joined on this eponymous album by Eric Clapton, Ringo and George amongst others and it became an instant classic with great songs like ‘A Song For You’ which inspired Elton and Bernie to write ‘Your Song’, and ‘Roll Away The Stone’ and the fabulous ‘Delta Lady’.

His follow-up ‘And The Shelter People’ was even better.  He also famously joined George on ‘The Concert For Bangla-Desh’ – a forerunner to Live Aid.  He continued making music and records and touring until his death in 2016 at age 74, a great loss for one of the all-time greats.

The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones (1964)

The group formed in ’62 and after a couple of changes settled on Mick, Keith, Brian, Bill and Charlie.  They were basically a blues band, rehashing old American blues numbers for an increasingly ecstatic audience in London and the Southeast, especially with their residence at Eel Pie Island.  The Beatles had exploded on the scene in ’63 and smart new entrepreneurial young guys were looking for bands to make records.  Andrew Loog Oldham became the boys manager and helped them get a record contract with Decca, who had famously rejected the Fabs.  This first album with it’s moody cover was the result; mostly blues covers from their live act with only one Jagger/Richards composition – the quite poppy ‘Tell Me’.  Still they have a raw and exciting sound.  I first heard this record as a thirteen year old at Haughley Youth Club and this was the first time I heard numbers like ‘Route 66’ and ‘Walking The Dog’ though I had heard ‘Carol’ as sung by The Beatles.  This was a really feel-good record and still brings a smile to my face, even though I didn’t get round to buying a copy until the mid-Seventies.  Strangely it has an almost timeless quality, as most of the songs are classics anyway.  The boys were almost instantly popular and soon developed their sound into a more pop-rock sound.  They were of course, and still remain almost an institution.  But a pretty good debut album too.

Robbie Robertson – Robbie Robertson (1987)

Long after the furore of backing Dylan in his first Electric Rebellion as lead guitarist in The Band, and quite a while after that group officially ended in ’78 he ventured on a solo career.  And this resulting self-titled album is quite stunning; a completely different sound than the folk-rock of The Band.  No surprise that the main producer was Daniel Lanois, whose signature wash of background hum is all over the record.  But as usual, it is actually the songs which make the record so good.  A couple of tracks are half spoken but Robbie’s voice is subtle and raging in parts, a lovely mix of moods.  Best songs are ’Broken Arrow’, ‘Somewhere Down The Crazy River’ and ‘Fallen Angel.’  Robbie released a handful of solo albums and took a profound interest in Native American music.  He sadly died in 2023. 

Roxy Music – Roxy Music (1972)

Roxy were a strange mix and on this debut certainly eclectic enough.  The hit single, pure rock and roll of ‘Virginia Plain’ seemed to present them as traditional rockers with a ‘glam’ touch but they were actually far more adventurous.  The instantly recognisable louche vocals of Brian Ferry, the jazzy brass of Andy Mackay and the synth keyboards of Brian Eno created a weird mix, which was very appealing.  This was ’72, the year of Ziggy Stardust and T Rex and Roxy seemed part of this new wave of innovative rock and roll.  This debut however was quite a mixed bag with a few memorable songs and a couple of almost duds.  Still, at the time it seemed new – and with the glamorous sexy model on the cover (first in a series of glamorous album sleeves) it portrayed something both old and new.  The band went on to worldwide success and a slew of hit singles as they veered more and more into a mainstream sound.  I also like ‘Ladytron’ and ‘Sea Breezes’ on this debut – but playing it again after all this time apart from ‘Virgina Plain’ it sounds quite dated.

Rock Follies – Rock Follies (1976)

Well; it was a short-lived (just 2) Television series about a ‘put- together’ girl singing band and their ‘adventures’ in the Pop business.  The girls were all actresses; ‘Charlotte Cornwell, Rula Lenska’ and the wonderful ‘Julie Covington.’  It was first and foremost a serious drama with songs to alleviate and illustrate the issues.   But it was incredibly popular, especially with younger people and women.  The music was written by Andy Mackay (Roxy Music) and lyrics by the screenwriter Howard Schuman.  The album was probably an afterthought or an obvious response to the success of the first series and amazingly it went to number 1 in the charts.  It is naïve, charming and dated – but the songs are good, the lyrics sharp and the singing really rather good.  At the time I loved it.  The second series and songs were a bit of a disappointment. 

Eddi Reader – Eddi Reader (1992)

This is her second album but her first real solo recording.  After leaving the highly successful but short-lived ‘Fairground Attraction’ (recently reformed and one of my fave groups) she appeared in a television musical serial about the country and western scene in Glasgow, the brilliant ‘Your Cheating Heart’, which maybe because of English stubbornness regarding Glasgow accents flopped – although I do love the subsequent album.  Eddi is unashamedly Scottish and has even recorded a whole album of songs of Robbie Burns.  This eponymous album is rather lovely; the singing of course superb and expressive but the sings are well-crafted and occasionally witty too; some tracks a bit jazz-inflected.  Best are ‘The Patience of Angels’, ‘Dear John’ and ‘Joke (I’m Laughing)’.  She has released quite a few albums though I only have the first three or four…must get some more.

Terry Reid – Bang Bang You’re Terry Reid (1968)

Terry has always been a Musician’s Musician – fronting Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers, he was a vital part of the London sixties scene before decamping to America in the early Seventies.  He famously turned down the singers role when Led Zeppelin were forming, recommending his friend Robert Plant for the job, preferring to concentrate on his solo jazzy album ‘River’ which while a classic and loved by the critics failed to set the public on fire.  Which has been the pattern ever since; occasional albums but no real success.  Still he has managed to carve out a career in the States as a session guitarist and singer.  This album has some great songs on it – ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down’, ‘Season Of The Witch’ and ‘Without Expression’ amongst them.  Nobody had really heard of him, myself included until my first night with Joy, when she played me ‘River’ and I played ‘Red Rose Speedway’ for her….then we should close the blinds on that night