The Road

Almost there. Already, during the quiet time in the morning on my deck, words start flowing in sequence; bits and pieces of the story. I’m feeling on the verge of stepping off “into the great wide open”, as Tom Petty sang. Words and lyrics keep floating by my mind’s eye and I clutch at them, wanting to find where they fit into the story of my mother.

Music has always been a powerful presence in my life. I have vivid memories of lying on my bed, opening up a new album for the first time; admiring the artwork, flipping the album over to examine the back cover, and carefully reaching inside that as of yet uncreased, incredibly thin, cardboard opening for the liner notes, which I read every single word of. I put the needle on the record, heard the hiss and pop, and leapt onto my bed with a running start to read along with the lyrics as the music blasted in my room, drowning out my reality beyond the bedroom door. I always loved listening to the entire album that first time, from start to finish; a complete story.

With iTunes and mp3 downloads, listening to music has become an entirely different experience. Songs are purchased and listened to individually, not as part of a whole album. While on the road, I am so looking forward to listening to albums in their entirety again, with the changing landscape rushing by my windows.

I need your help! I have 3,000 miles to cover on my road trip from here to there and back again, and I am looking for albums that you love or loved listening to, from start to finish. Maybe the album spoke to you at a crucial moment in your life, maybe you just really dig the music, maybe you listened to it over and over simply because it was one of the few you owned. I want to hear them! I want to listen to them from start to finish. You can share the album in the comments section with an explanation of why it is important to you, or just list albums, either way I so appreciate you sharing some music with me for this journey.

I request no particular musical genre. My taste is incredibly varied, from classic rock to latin hiphop, John Denver to The Fugees. I will put myself out there for musical scrutiny and list some albums that I have really enjoyed in order, from first song to last, for one reason or another, at some point in my life…
Peter Gabriel-US
Pearl Jam-Ten
John Denver’s Greatest Hits
Meatloaf-Bat Out of Hell
Joni Mitchell-Ladies of the Canyon
Ben Harper and the Relentless 7-White Lies for Dark Times
Rush-2112
Maroon 5-Songs About Jane
Dave Mathews Band-Crash
Foo Fighters- One By One
The Civil Wars-Barton Hollow

“Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand…”-Stevie Wonder

me on music