Best Records In Your Parents Collection

[Dirty Boy]

Fairly self-explanatory really.What did your folks have that you liked as a kid, or that maybe went some way to shape your future interest in a certain kind of music?

I wouldn't say i had particularly 'cool' parents, but they did have some great records, namely a nice stack of punk rock vinyl, mostly singles.Just the usual suspects really Undertones, Buzzcocks, Pistols, some Clash and Damned stuff and er....Jilted John alongside stuff by the likes of Sabbath, Queen and Motorhead and even some Elvis and Roy Oribison.My favourites were...

Stranglers-Nice And Sleazey
Pistols-Friggin' In The Riggin' :-D and Holidays In The Sun
Queen-Sheer Heart Attack and Under Pressure (i used to laugh my adolescent nips off at the stupid vocal noises)
The Clash-Tommy Gun
The Jam-Down In The Tube Station
The Only Ones-Another Girl Another Planet

...and no doubt loads more i can't remember.Time to dig around in  the upstairs cupboard again

[non capisco]

I've inherited all my Mum's old Motown and Atlantic soul 45s. Some of the best music in the world in that lot, my favourite a song called 'First I Look At The Purse' by The Contours.

[Jemble Fred]

It's odd how Jim Reeves seems better with every year that passes.

[woollyback]

I do a bit of DJing every now and again and I have been known to pilfer the odd LP from my mum's collection - I've nicked a Shirley Bassey LP which has a brilliant proto-trip hop version of Light My Fire.  Plus I've also acquired the Saturday Night Fever album - not for the Bee Gees, but for a brilliant funk/disco track called 'K Jee' by MFSB.

Plus, my mum has become very keen on collecting the free CDs that come with the Sunday tabloids.  Having first thought they were shite I've noticed they have every tune that sound brilliant when you're drunk (sounds like an idea for another thread), so I'll think I'll having those if I ever get any wedding gigs.

[fanny splendid]

I've nicked a Shirley Bassey LP which has a brilliant proto-trip hop version of Light My Fire.

I have that track on my iPod, I'll upload it if anyone wants to here it, but proto trip-hop?

Are you sure?

So I'm listening to it again, right now, and you're bloody right! I can definitely see what you mean.

Heh!

Edit: On the same playlist, I am now listening to Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love given the disco-funk treatment by Ike & Tina Turner.

[Ambient Sheep]

Cleo Laine & John Williams - "Best Friends".  I know it's not fashionable to like Cleo these days but they do lovely versions of "Eleanor Rigby" and "Killing Me Softly With His Song".

[woollyback]

Nothing wrong with a bit of scat - erm, singing I mean...

[NattyDread]

I became a massive Beatles fan at 9 years old after sitting through some documentary about them with the folks. After that, I pilfered the 3 albums they had, and still have them now. They're big thick original pressings of:
Rubber Soul, Please Please Me and Something New (A Capitol album with 8 tracks from A Hard Days NIght and the rest from e.ps).
They're among the best sounding records I own, even after years of playing them through shitey wee kids bedroom record players.

Nabbed a couple of Troggs albums too.
All their other records were shite.

[Gazeuse]

My Dad was into The Ventures and The Beach Boys and my Mum always had Radio Caroline or Radio Luxembourg on around the house.

They were trendy swingin' sixties types!!!

[Spiteface]

My mum has the following Tom Waits stuff

[Ambient Sheep]

Nothing wrong with a bit of scat - erm, singing I mean...

Perhaps it's because she doesn't do much of that on that album?  It's the only Cleo Laine I've ever really heard.

[Rats]

Prefab Sprout - Swoon
Martin Stephenson & The Dainties - Boat To Bolivia
Deacon Blue - Fellow Hoodlums

Curse my bastard father for my love of the slippers

[Jemble Fred]

Crikey – half of you sound like your parents are in their early thirties! My Mum's the same age as Paul McCartney, my Dad's the same age as John Lennon (would be), but their interest in new music stopped the day Buddy Holly died. Their record collection is all Jim Reeves, Slim Whitman and, in a nod towards the funky new pop scene, Foster & Allen and Daniel O'Donnell.

[RHX]

Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell. I used to listen to that album every day when I was ten, just used to go upstairs with the record, start it from wherever I put the needle, and just sing along with the enclosed lyric sheet.

[Ghost of Troubled Joe]

Mostly 50s rock and roll, or 60s pop (Beatles, Motown). My dad likes some Dylan and is a fan of Hendrix and the Who (he was a big hippy). Neil Young also features prominently in their collection.

[Rats]

Yeah, I used to listen to bat out of hell all the time too, it's great. I haven't heard it for years.

[poison popcorn]

christ, bat out of hell, the scourge of pub jukeboxes everyehere...

my dad's got some great records, canned heat, kinks, stones, zappa, beefheart, hendrix, bert jansh, john martyn. he goes through bouts of reviving his love of certain artists on a rotation basis every few months. he's currently on an incredible string band trip, previous ones have included johnny winter, bob dylan, stones, steve miller band, cptn beefheart...

he's just stuck in the 60's really.

[Jemble Fred]

I've always been rather glad that my parents never had much taste in music – if The Beatles had been played round the house when I was a sprog, I'd possibly have had a problem with them now, associating them (wrongly) with, well, old people. However, my parents hate The Beatles and any new music since 1960, so I was able to rebel by listening to tunes that were 40 years old.

If they'd loved stuff like The Beatles and The Kinks I'd probably have grown into the kind of person who can listen to two minutes of this modern dance music rubbish without vomiting.

[Joy Nktonga]

I found my folks' record collection a bit shitty even when I was little, but it did have a few gems, like a bunch of T-Rex LPs and a couple of Hendrix, although nothing resembling  recognised studio releases of his. Thinking back, there's a couple of Kris Kristofferson that I'd like to hear now I've growed up a bit.

When I was a propper nipper I was in love with their Barron Knights album (Night Gallery I think), and spent many hours in the living room with the world's biggest headphones on singing along. A little later and I nabbed their copy of Hancock's Blood Doner/Radio Ham LP.

The real treat came when I was presented with my Dad's 45s, which hadn't seen the light of day in many, many years. Jesus, his taste was ecclectic when he was younger. Adam Faith, Bassey, Stones, and every single Beatles 7". It's already written into the will that I get all his A/V including records, CDs and the like when the sad day eventually comes. He keeps teasing me by telling me I can take all the vinyl away whenever I want, although somehow it never happens when I visit. Funnily enough my Grandad's handed all of his vinyl, shellac, wax etc, to my Dad for me to pick up whenever I want. God only knows what I'll find in that lot!

@Fanny - if it's not to impertinent, I'd love it if you would make that Bassey Light My Fire available. I'm a huge Doors fan (absolutely no thanks to my Dad's influence; I had to discover them for myself), but have never heard of this before. Many, many thanks if you do upload it.

[Clinton Morgan]

I lived out in the sticks in Hawkhurst, Kent and was therefore nowhere near any shops let alone record stores or Woolies to buy singles or LPs. I had no pocket money because what was the point? The nearest village which was ten miles away was just newsagents, Happy Shopper, fish and chips and an estate agent with a Union Jack the size of four beach towels sewn together. I had my comics bought for me anyway. Sort of like the bank buying the groceries for you.  In short because I lived out in the sticks the only music I had ( apart from the Top 40 on Radio 1 and Top of The Pops plus any musical guest that appeared on comedy and Saturday morning children's shows) were my parent's records and tapes and also my brother's.

My brother's collection was straight forward. 2 Tone, Ska and Reggae. I liked 'The Selecter' by The Selecter 'Do Rocksteady' by The Bodysnatchers and 'The Undersea Adventures of Ivor The Engine'  by Bad Manners. I liked Bob Marley and have always wanted to hear the studio version of 'No Woman No Cry'. There must be a studio version because when the backing vocalists sing "Wooo-ooooh" during the introduction the concert audience cheer as if they recognise a well known song. I also liked Sly and Robbie and Clint Eastwood and General Saint.

However my parents did not fit the phrase " My mum and dad would have CLASSIC ALBUM by CLASSIC ARTIST in their collection." What they had was a lot of stuff on the Music For Pleasure label (the label on the vinyl was a red oval on a black background), one on K Tel and a few tapes scattered about for use in the car. The only ALBUM by ARTISTs they had were  'Red Pump Special' by Rab Noakes and a ten incher by The Kinks. Rab Noakes was a Cat Stevens-ish vocalist who is quite good, my favourite being 'He's Only As Big As His Size'.

The other vinyl LPs were:

Hot Hits 12: Compiling 'Seaside Shuffle', '10685 Overture', 'Schools Out', 'Silver Machine', 'Samson and Delilah' etc....The cover was a blonde woman dressed in white running down a stadium track. There was a little advert for BEA at the back and only the songs were listed. No artist's names were given.

another compilation by K Tel that I have forgotten the title of. This time it did list both artist and songs. It included 'Son of My Father' Chickory Tip, 'A Little Thing Called Love' Johnny Cash and 'Get It On (Bang A Gong)' by T Rex. The only T Rex we had in the house until my brother got a tape and that was only when he was in his twenties.

Great Suspense Themes: Featuring music from The Godfather, The Third Man, Diamonds Are Forever and many more played by somebody else.

Strings For Pleasure Play Bacharach: Ohhhhh. My favourite. My introduction to Burt Bacharach. You get to hear the music with out the words. It sounds like a sickly idea but it works divine.

A themes from Westerns album. Ennio Morricone stuff.

Reggae Party: Bought for a house party they once had. Probably only played the once. The cover had three young black women in close up. I never heard it.

Some Motown album that I can't remember the title of but it is on re-release on CD. The cover is blue and silver square frames disappearing into each other.

You get the general idea. Even their one Beatles album bought for them by the eldest son of all people was a compilation jobby on the Music For Pleasure label. It was called 'Rock and Roll Hits Volume 1' and I hated it. "They're just screaming, The Beatles are rubbish!"

They did have ALBUMS by ARTISTS in their tape-for-the-car collection and they were Elkie Brooks, Johhny Mathis ( the child is not Jesus, he's been born the child on the song has yet to be born, that's the whole point!), Cat Stevens 'Teaser and The Firecat', Simon and Garfunkel 'Greatest Hits' and Bee Gees 'One Million Years'.  When my dad first forked out on a CD player the first discs he got were Bryan Ferry 'Tunnel of Love', Gloria Gaynor 'The Power', Elton John 'Greatest Hits II' (with my first exposure to 'Lucy In The Sky' I was unaware it was a Beatles song and since then have always preferred Elton's version) and music from 'Evita'.

When Joe Strummer died my parents and their friends reaction was unanimous. "Well I've never heard of him."

Conversation between my mum and my aunt (her sister-in-law)

MY AUNT: I always listen to The Doors with my sons. Its the thing that bonds us.

MY MUM: Who are The Doors?

MY AUNT: "Who are The Doors?"!!! They're from our generation of music....

When I moved to Oxfordshire in 1987 and later went to school I met a chap who was a Pink Floyd fan. Afterwards I also decided to find out more about Frank Zappa after seeing a copy of '200 Motels' in a Warner Brothers Home Video magazine. The rest is history.

[The Plaque Goblin]

The White Album.

[Ben Ordinary]

For every great record in my Dad's collection (Police, Bowie, Madness, Blondie, Stones, Russ Abbott), he seems to have three awful ones (ZZ Top, Darts, Matchbox, Mud, Portishead)

Still, you cant whack Jim Diamond's "Hi Ho Silver Lining" on a friday night before you go out on the drink. Right lads? Eh?

Im staying in tonight.

[falafel]

You dissing Portishead? Or being sub-post-ironic?

[Borboski]

My mum has the following Tom Waits stuff

Uhhhh... i think i... fancy your mum?

[sproggy]

'Softly whispering I love you' - The Congregation

Loads of Bert Kampfert, Mantovani, Burt Bacharach, Mozart & Moody Blues

[MrManson]

Uhm, nothing spectacularly good;

Dad--

Queen, Stranglers, The Police, Talking Heads, Human League

Mum--

Sex Pistols, Prince, Meatloaf

[Ciarán2]

My parents don't have record collections!

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica.