
I was a fourth-grader in Frankfurt, Germany, when “Revolver” came out, so to say it sounded like nothing I’d heard before is a given. My alternate choices: Etta James, “Rocks the House” (1964) Joni Mitchell, “Court and Spark” (1974) Richard & Linda Thompson, “Shoot Out the Lights” (1982) Cassandra Wilson, “Blue Light ‘Til Dawn” (1995) Lucy Dacus, “Historian” (2018)
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And Armatrading held her own leading a crack band that - on this album and the triumphant tour that followed - featured guitar ace Jerry Donahue and drum wiz Dave Mattacks. She also showcased a gutsy acoustic guitar style that later inspired Ani DiFranco and Mary Chapin-Carpenter, among others. She matched it with smart, no-nonsense lyrics, including this sharp take-down of an especially unfaithful paramour: Tall in the saddle / One of these days you’re gonna have to dismount. Her songs were powerful, even those delivered in a kind of a hush, such as “Save Me” and “Love and Affection,” which boasts one of my all-time favorite opening lines: I am not in love / But I’m open to persuasion.ĭrawing from folk, rock, pop, country, soul, jazz and more, Armatrading created a welcoming if difdicult to classify blend. Her singing at times suggested a beguiling cross between Joni Mitchell, Odetta and Nina Simone, by way of Diana Ross, circa “Lady Sings the Blues.” Armatrading could sound sweet or husky, assertive or vulnerable, playful or poignant. Like few others, then or now, she addressed matters of the heart, race, social standing and feminism with skill, nuance and flashes of sly humor. Joan Armatrading, “Joan Armatrading” (1976, A&M Records)īorn in the West Indies and raised in Birmingham, England, Joan Armatrading had so-so solo recordings under her belt before her self-titled third album established her as a captivating singer, songwriter and band leader. An analogy would be tributaries of music flowing into a river of sound that leads to an ocean of aural wonderment, deeper and more expansive than anyone could ever hope to chart. The 10 albums I am writing about here were gateways for me, rather than final destinations. King, Ravi Shankar, the Rolling Stones, Cassandra Wilson, Tom Waits, Prince, Keith Jarrett, Gil Scott-Heron, Thelonious Monk, Rubén Blades, James Moody, Vijay Iyer, Public Enemy, Radiohead, Sun Ra, King Sunny Adé, Bjork, Henry Threadgill, Talking Heads, Randy Newman, Ella Fitzgerald King Crimson, Bonnie Raitt, Hermeto Pascoal, Roxy Music, the Ramones and numerous other favorites of mine.

That would be the case even if I included several albums apiece by Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Kendrick Lamar, Aretha Franklin, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Fela Kuti, B.B.

I could easily come up with a different daily list of equally worthy records every day for a month and still only scratch the surface.

But narrowing that list to just 10 for this article has been a major challenge. Citing the records that changed my life is easy.
