Years ago, when I had some control over a newspaper page, I was looking for a fun way to get readers involved.
I came up with a once-a-week concept called “Give Me Five.” The idea was that readers would tell us about their five favorite songs. It seemed like an easy thing to do, no matter your age or style.
Start if you like with Andy Williams’ “Moon River” or Nat King Cole’s “Our Love Is Here to Stay.” Maybe Tennessee Ernie Ford’s version of “The Old Rugged Cross” or Debbie Boone’s “You Light Up My Life.” Television’s “Marquee Moon” or The Band’s “Chest Fever.” Tell me what and tell me why.
“Give Me Five” was a zone where no one could pass judgment. It’s your five, not my five. We had a few volunteers share, but mainly I found that I had to solicit lists from area musicians, radio deejays or record shop owners. After a few months, the returns were diminishing. I had to admit it was an idea that didn’t catch on.
I am not a musician or an expert on any music form. Still, over the years, I’ve collected about a thousand stereo LPs and probably 750 CDs. They are not investment-grade items. I pick up a disc at an antique store or a record shop. I take it home and listen to it two or three times. Usually, then, it ends up stored in my basement, alphabetized by the artist’s name.
From my talks with other collectors in my age group, I know that many albums are in every basement – Carole King’s “Tapestry” (25 million sold) is one and Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” (19.6 million) is another. There are the Beatles albums and Simon & Garfunkel and Linda Ronstadt and Fleetwood Mac.
We become interesting only where we diverge. I surprise myself with the sheer number of Dave Clark 5, Roger Miller, Jerry Jeff Walker and Van Morrison albums I own. You might, without blame, own none of them.
It is in this spirit that I revive “Give Me Five” as a one-time offer, an album version. These are albums that you may not have heard of, but they are among the first I will rescue the next time my basement floods.
Hoyt Axton’s “Road Songs” – I picked this up for 49 cents from a deep discount bin at an Ayr-Way about 40 years ago. It took several trips around the turntable before I declared it my favorite obscure album. Axton likely is better known as an actor (the dad in “Gremlins”) or as a songwriter (“The Pusher” for Steppenwolf and “Joy to the World” for Three Dog Night). There are few better yearning songs than “Lion In the Winter,” which he sings as a duet with Linda Ronstadt on this album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35zU44R_L5s
“The Big Red Ball,” from Warner Bros. Records – In the Woodstock era, Warner Bros. offered compilation LPs to introduce emerging bands and solo artists. If my memory is correct, you would order these by cutting a coupon off the inner sleeve of another album and sending a dollar to Warner Bros. Some of the album cuts here are genuine hits, like James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and Van Morrison’s “Caravan.” Others are miraculous tidbits, like “Flying” by Small Faces and “Ella Guru” by Captain Beefheart. You know. It’s like a box of chocolates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_nnu8NHhjA
Elton John’s “Tumbleweed Connection” – This one actually might be in your collection, too. It was Elton’s third album, back when he cared more about his music than he did about his superstardom. I first heard it as a college freshman, blaring through the walls of my dorm room. To this day, if I’m in a record shop and find a “Tumbleweed” copy without a scratch on the “Where To Now St. Peter” track, I buy it. That rule is in the preamble to my personal constitution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HskPT1xLtzQ
Joni Mitchell’s “Miles of Aisles” – On my first and only college road trip, we ended up in a Holiday Inn bar in Key Largo. Because she asked, we gave the barmaid a small stack of quarters for the jukebox. She used all eight quarters for consecutive playings of Mitchell’s “You Turn Me On (I’m a Radio).” As soon as I got home, I bought this live album, which has amazing versions of “Rainy Night House,” “Cactus Tree,” and “A Case of You,” as well as the song that sent me to the store in the first place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV37oltZA1w
Neil Diamond’s “Stones” – I almost put Gordon Lightfoot here because of his song, “Your Love’s Return,” but I can’t sacrifice this 1971 Neil Diamond album. It’s solid from beginning to end with two songs he wrote plus covers of Randy Newman, Leonard Cohen and Tom Paxton, among others. The title song would have been the best he ever wrote, but that spot is taken by “I’m a Believer,” which he wrote for the Monkees.