album challenge day 1: ducks deluxe

Someone nominated me for one of those Facebook challenges that I can't resist. The text is as follows:

Day X of 10. In no particular order - 10 all-time favourite albums that really made an impact and are still on your rotation list, even if only now and then. Post the cover, no need to explain and nominate a person each day to do the same.Album: <album>Nominated by: <person who nominated you>I now nominate <person you want to nominate>

For the first day I picked Don't Mind Rockin' Tonite by Ducks Deluxe.

Why?

The Ducks are a bit obscure. But they were hugely influential in my musical taste.

First, some of the history. The Ducks were a British pub rock band in the early 1970's. During their life, they put out two albums and an EP before breaking up in 1975. The members went on to various projects, with varying levels of success, but none became a household name. DMRT is a compilation of tracks from the group's brief life. Before I go on, here's a video of them, during their heyday, at their sweaty best, performing live:

Anyhoo...Back when I was in high school I would spend some time every Sunday afternoon browsing at a small record store me. Specifically, the used bins. At the time, I was just getting into music. I liked the Monkees and some early Beatles. But my biggest interest at that point was the folk rock of the 1960s. Simon and Garfunkel, Donovan, The Incredible String Band...

So, this one Sunday, I was browsing the bins and over the PA came something new that I hadn't heard before. It was loud and gritty. And rough. And exciting. It was Ducks Deluxe. They had a used copy of Don't Mind Rockin' Tonite. Something about it just struck a chord. I had to buy it. There are some things like music where, if they hit you at just the right point of your life, they burn themselves into your brain. And that was the case with this album. For the remainder of my high school years, and into college, this was my favorite band.

But that's not the entirety of why I chose this album, and purposely made it my first pick. The back of the record had pictures of the band members (and of Dave Edmunds who had produced one of their albums, and whom I mistook for a member of the group). I started buying albums by other groups that the guys were in, as well as Dave Edmunds' solo albums. And then albums by members of those groups, or by other groups those guys were in. And so on and so on. Ducks Deluxe essentially became my rock and roll ground zero.

This isn't my favorite record anymore. And the Ducks aren't my favorite band. And there are plenty of bands that I have since gotten into through paths that didn't involve the Ducks Deluxe extended family tree. But many of my favorites came to my attention through them -- either directly or indirectly. No less a luminary than Johnny Cash came to my attention through Ducks Deluxe. So, for the enormous effect it had on my taste, I had to pick this record first.