Monday, March 29, 2010

Singer - Songwriters


03-29-10 Singer – Songwriters


The Japanese publication “Record Collectors Magazine” has done a list of their favorite Singer – Songwriters (also known as “SSW”). Not my favorite genre, but I am fully aware of it. Their list:


  1. Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde * (I own 4 versions)
  2. Leonard Cohen – Songs of Leonard Cohen * (I own 3 versions)
  3. Laura Nyro – More Than A New Discovery
  4. Tim Hardin – Tim Hardin 3: Live In Concert
  5. Fred Neil – Sessions
  6. Harry Nilsson – Harry * (I own 1 version)
  7. John Stewart – California Bloodlines * (I own 1 version)
  8. Leon Russell – Leon Russell * (I own 3 versions)
  9. James Taylor – Sweet Baby James
  10. Gene Clark – Gene Clark
  11. Steve Goodman – Steve Goodman
  12. Carole King – Tapestry * (I own 3 versions)
  13. Kris Kristofferson – The Silver Tongued Devil and I
  14. John Prine – John Prine
  15. Eric AndersenBlue River * (I own 1 version)
  16. Bobby Charles – Bobby Charles
  17. Townes Van Zant – The Late Great Townes Van Zant
  18. Jerry Jeff Walker – Jerry Jeff Walker
  19. Neil Young – Harvest * (I own 2 versions)
  20. Jim Croce – Life and Times


I have 8 of their Top 20 (*) – Which is followed by albums by Tom Waits, Jackson Browne, Bruce Cockburn, Donnie Fritts, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, John Sebastian, Guy Clark, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zevon, Jimmy Webb, Steve Forbert, Rickie Lee Jones etc. And I own some of those too.


Distinctly 2nd division stuff: Dino Valente, Tim Buckley, Mickey Newbury, Steve Young, Delaney & Bonnie, Tony Kosinec, Gordon Lightfoot, John Simon, Paul Williams, Jesse Winchester, Marc Benno, David Crosby, John Hartford, Kenny Loggins / Jim Messina, Barry Mann, Don McLean, Don Nix, Todd Rundgren, Judee Sill, Livingston Taylor, Roger Tillison…after which their list trails off into SSW obscurity.


Of the 8 that I own of the Top 20, I confess that I recently bought an LP of Eric Andersen’s “Blue River” because of how highly it placed in a Japanese magazine’s “Top 200” list – and I’d never even heard it!


And perhaps I have missed a designation that this list is US & Canadian artists only? For otherwise, I would think this list includes people like Richard Thompson and Roy Harper – folks that sometimes get claimed by the Folk Music or Progressive Rock camps.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

SSW. Not my favorite genre either. Not enough artifice to interest me.

Ron Kane said...

Not everybody's cup of tea, to be sure. I grew up with some of this stuff, but my tastes were mostly always leaning towards English musicians.

Brian Ware said...

Wow... I don't own any of the top 20.

The only SSW I do is Al Stewart. The odd thing is that most old school Al Stewart fans are also fans of the other artists on that list. Al seems to stand alone for me.

Ron Kane said...

I highly recommend #1 & #2 on this list.

Anonymous said...

Well, certainly Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen tower over the bulk of this genre! I certainly have titles by both. I did grow up with singer song-whiners* on the top 40 radio. Can't say I liked them even then!

* thank you, Kurt Loder (from his liner notes to Ryko's Bowie Sound + Vision box)

Anonymous said...

One Bod Dylan caveat: the only Bob Dylan song I everheard from the ages of 8-16 was the misbegotten "Lay Lady Lay." So for many years I just didn't get what the furor was about.

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