Top 10 Coming of Age Albums (Part 1 of 10)

Pt 1

Ok, so in my last blog I talked about the songs that take me back to my teenage, or what I consider my "coming of age" years. I had mentioned that some of those particular songs weren't favorites of mine, they really didn't do much to shape me as a musician or as a person in general. Although they hold a special place in my heart, the songs that I had mentioned were and are, with some exceptions, pure nostalgia.

After writing the blog I got to thinking, "What were the songs, scratch that, albums that shaped me not only as a musician but as a person?" Which albums released during my coming of age period most greatly affected me? Which ones had the biggest impact on the way I approached writing, playing, and listening to music? Which ones influenced all aspects of my life big and small from my attitude towards the world around me to the way I dressed and wore my hair?

This is a top 10. I could probably do top 20. I could definitely do top 30 if I include albums of the past 10 years as well. But, I'll keep it a top 10 between the years of 1991 to 1999. Here we go:

1. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Blood Sugar Sex Magik"

BSSM came out in 1991 when I was 11 years old. At the time of the album's release I was completely unaware of the band. I think I owned 3 CD's at the time: A "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince" album (don't ask me which one), Michael Jackson's "Dangerous," and an obscure, and bizarre reggae/rap album by an artist named "Papa San". Anyone remember Papa San? Didn't think so. Needless to say, my taste in music was pretty bad in retrospect. It didn't go much past kitsch and novelty. But hey, I was a little kid! What were you listening to when you were 11?

My first encounter with the "Chili Peppers" came a when I was about 12 years old. I was riding in the car with my oldest brother, Jared. I can't remember where we were off to but, I remember our exact location when I first heard "Under the Bridge". From the first six notes of John Frusciante's opening guitar riff, I was immediately captivated. It sounded so raw and real. It was as if he was playing in the back seat of Jared's brown Celebrity Station Wagon. All of the rock music that I had experienced prior to the Chili Peppers to me was slick, overproduced Hollywood BS. Layers upon layers of guitars, big boomy drums and singers singing from their dicks instead of their hearts and souls. I felt no connection to that music whatsoever and was completely uninterested.

"Under the Bridge" felt to me like all of the 60's soul, British Invasion and Garage Rock songs that my Dad listened to and played on guitar. It sounded personal and it moved me. It was apparent that Anthony Kiedis wasn't a great singer right from the beginning. But I listened to every lyric that he sang and I loved the sound of his voice. It was a heartfelt ballad about the pain of life as a drug addict with an undertone of straight up funk and Kiedis projected pure emotion in his vocal delivery. I fell in love with that song after just one listen. I remember asking Jared, "Who is this?" In which he replied, "The Red Hot Chili Peppers". "The what?!" I asked. I thought he was kidding.

A year would pass before I would own the Blood Sugar Sex Magik CD. But once it was in my hands, it was all over for me. I was a rabid fan, listening to all 17 tracks of the CD over and over again on a daily basis. That album alone turned me on to artists like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Clash, and Sly and the Family Stone just to name a few. BSSM pretty much single handedly gave me the inspiration to pick up the guitar and still inspires my music today. It would be impossible to overestimate the influence that the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blood Sugar Sex Magik have had on me over the years.

What is your numero uno? Please share!

Jace

Note: Please forgive my grammatical errors, my editor is out of town!