By Jonathan Mitchell
We decided to ask some of your favorite professors and staff members to go “on the record” and discuss their favorite albums.
“Infinity” by Journey (1978)
Why you chose it: “It was my first Journey Album, so even though ‘Escape’ came along three years later with some huge Journey hits, ‘Infinity’ has sentimental value to me as a go-to album during my college years. Steve Perry’s vocals, the band’s harmonies, the song-writing, and the signature Journey rhythms all came together to launch them into a place among rock legends.”
Recommended track(s): “‘Wheel in the Sky’ and ‘Feeling That Way’ still give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, but the entire album is great.”
“In the Court of the Crimson King” by King Crimson (1969) & “Birds of Fire” by Mahavishnu Orchestra (1973)
Why you chose them: “Two albums that I remember as being significant to my musical development are ‘In the Court of the Crimson King’ by King Crimson and ‘Birds of Fire’ by Mahavishnu Orchestra. I heard both of these albums for the first time in my early High School years (c. 1973). They both had the effect of opening my vistas in the fields of rock and jazz. I started young as a classically trained musician (clarinet, saxophone and piano) although I was improvising and playing pop music and jazz by about my Junior High School years. The sheer inventiveness (in rhythm, melody, harmony, structure and sound) of these two albums (and many similar ones) made me feel that there was a lot to listen for in these types of music. They also made me more excited about playing, composing and improvising in these styles. Finally, these two albums and others by Weather Report, Chick Corea, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes and Gentle Giant have also been an influence on my classical compositions as well.”
Recommended track(s): “In the Court of the Crimson King”: “In the Court of the Crimson King,” “21st Century Schizoid Man,” “Epitaph”, “Birds of Fire”: “Birds of Fire,” “Miles Beyond,” “Thousand Island Park,” “Hope,” “Open Country Joy”