Desert ‘Isolation’ Discs

The current crisis has brought about a flurry of playlists on Spotify from people creating a playlist to share with their friends setting out the songs that they love and why they’ve been selected. We thought we ought to ask resident music buff Nick Forsyth who sets our “on hold” music, what he would be playing if he was in isolation. Here’s what he thought;

My iPod has most of my collection on it so wherever I am I have access to over 14,000 songs. Despite this I’m not a single track person, granted in early teenage years I was interested in what was in the Top 40 but after discovering different types of music I turned into an album person and stick with this maxim in general. I can therefore give you some albums that I would listen to and have continued to listen to.  In essence most of them will be old. I don’t have time to get into albums like I used to and these days I know the songs but wouldn’t necessarily what the song titles are. CDs also are smaller booklets and therefore I can’t read them like you used to read the album covers so I’m not as up on guest musicians, who produced, record labels etc.

So, first choice?

There has to be a Beatles album in there somewhere. I’ve got 3 Abbey Roads, vinyl in the loft, a CD and the recent 50th anniversary copy. It’s not Paul’s greatest but side 2 is fantastic beginning with George’s Here Comes The Sun and the medley is just sensational. I would have to have this think just over Revolver and Sgt Pepper.

Sound start – what’s next?

If pushed I would say Yes are my favourite band. They’ve just cancelled – until 2021 – a tour at which they would have played the whole of Relayer. This is a great album but it would be between The Yes Album and Going for the One. I would have to pick Going for the One as it hasn’t a bad track on it and the weakest is Wonderous Stories which is the one song readers might know about. There are 5 tracks and Awaken, the longest at around 14 minutes, is my favourite Yes track.

Those knowing you well would be surprised if you hadn’t picked one by Yes.

I said if pushed because I really love Rush as well. It’s difficult to pick a Rush album – as we will see for others later – and so I’m going to cheat. I think my favourite is Permanent Waves  (40th anniversary copy doe April 20) but that would mean ignoring Xanadu from A Farewell to Kings, La Villa Strangiato from Hemispheres or anything from Moving Pictures so if I pick Exit Stage Left I can pick up a number of bonus songs including those set out above!

Sneaky – so lets have a straight choice again

Ok let’s go Steely Dan who have a number of great albums but it has to be Aja for the title track alone not forgetting Peg or Josie.

Then let’s turn to Elton John from whom I would take Goodbye Yellow Brick Road even though it has Bennie and the Jets on which I have never understood. I last saw Elton at Colchester United and he played a lot from the album. Funeral for a Friend is a wonderful introduction and the whole album is quality.

We haven’t had a heavy one yet so I have to take a Bon Scott AC/DC album with me and it has to be Powerage though the remainder are all worthwhile. Now AC/DC albums are strange things. There are different tracks on the earlier albums and Powerage is no different. The vinyl version we had started with Gimme a Bullet and had Cold Hearted Man on side 2. It’s not that one I want as there was an import with all those songs on but beginning with Rock n Roll Damnation which my mate Rat lent me to tape for the car. Down Payment Blues is a great track!

No Eagles yet so it’s a rather obvious choice in Hotel California. I’ve tickets to see it played with an orchestra if it goes ahead and when we saw the Hell Freezes Over tour in 1996 the first 5 tracks were from this album. I had a tape of if quite soon after it had come out with Lyin’ Eyes and Desperado taped on the end to use up the spare tape – remember doing this? I thought Desperado was a Carpenters song until that point!

You said you were going to cheat again?

Yes I love Supertramp – or to be clear the Roger Hodgson songs more than Rick Davies and choosing one of their albums would be difficult so it falls to probably one of the best live albums that exists Paris recorded on the Breakfast on America tour and including most of their best songs on it. And when you check out on Setlist what they didn’t include it’s crazy.

Paris must be a great place to record live albums because I haven’t chosen a Genesis album yet and Seconds Out is what I am going to go for. My favourite Genesis studio album is Selling England by the Pound just over Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering so Seconds Out includes a cross section from these plus Suppers Ready Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show. Great cover too. Steve Hackett is playing this album in full later in the year Coronavirus permitting!

One more to make up the 10?

There’s so many to choose from, Quadrophenia by the Who, Let it Bleed or Beggars Banquet from the Stones but one I put on quite often is Out of the Blue by ELO. I really like side 3 Concerto for a Rainy Day which concludes with Mr Blue Sky and the remainder has so many good songs Turn to Stone, Sweet Talkin Woman, Believe Me Now, Steppin’ Out.

Amazingly I haven’t put a Pink Floyd album in and there could be so many. I love The Wall particularly side 3 finishing with Comfortably Numb. I was lucky enough to see the first night of the Wall shows at Earls Court in 1981 and Dave Gilmour playing from the top of the wall with a searchlight behind him was fantastic.

So you end up with 11 – apologies. With no sport for the foreseeable I might just start making my way through these again! If you have a streaming service like Spotify give some of them a chance – you never know you might like some of them.        

We would love to hear your top 10 (or 11) get involved on the socials using #DesertIsolationDiscs or email us and we’ll share!