Frederik's CD collection

Of course, that's a small selection of recommended records only. If I mention several records of the same group, the best are listed first.

Folk rock and Irish, Gaelic, or Celtic music
The Pogues	They sound a little too furious and drunk for me most of the time, but they did some really great pieces (my favourite is Young Ned of the Hill).
	The Rest of the Best, WEA 1992
Paddy Goes to Holyhead	This reveals that I lived in the SWF3 area (SWF3 is a German radio broadcaster) for some time, because they used to push PGtH. It's a German band, but they do Irish Folk quite good. Hooray, has a nice seafaring touch.
	Ready for Paddy, 1994; Hooray, 1998; Here's to the People, 1994; E. & O.E., WEA 1996
Runrig	This group, too, is well-known in Germany only through the SWF3 radio station. Their carreer was interrupted by one of the band members becoming a politician on the Isle of Skye a couple of years ago but as far as I know they're performing again. Many will know their adaption of the Scottish folk song "Loch Lomond" (that's a large lake 20 minutes to the north of Glasgow). I like the fast and rythmic songs more than the slow ones; some of them are in Gaelic.
	Once in a Lifetime, Chrysalis 1988; Amazing Things, Chrysalis 1993; Searchlight, Chrysalis 1989; Mara, Chrysalis 1995
Clannad	This folk band is a few years older than Runrig and they have made tons of records, many of them available at "nice price" now. The pieces are often slow and peaceful, with much use of voices, but also synthesized sounds. Some songs have a Gaelic touch. Many will know the title song of the "Robin Hood" TV series (Robin - the Hooded Man).
	Macalla, RCA 1985; Sirius, BMG 1987; Legend, RCA 1984; Banba, BMG 1993
Loreena McKennitt	A Canadian, but judging from her music, England seems to be her second home. Beautiful, slow music, sometimes very similar to Clannad. But Loreena McKennitt has a great voice, sometimes soft and sweet, sometimes strong and touching. She plays the harp and sometimes uses more exotic instruments to support her lyrics when she's telling stories of other places and times. Her music is ethereal; the right hing for dreaming.
	The Mask and Mirror, WEA 1994; The Visit, WEA 1991; The Book of Secrets, WEA 1997; Parallel Dreams, 1989
Steeleye Span	This English folk combo was in the charts long ago, with a Latin song ("Gaudete"). Sounds a bit medieval, not only because of the language. Reminds me of the early works of Sally Oldfield (before she called herself Natasha).
	Below the Salt, Chrysalis 1988
Rebecca Pidgeon	A very pleasant recent addition to my collection. I would never have found it if not for a friend of mine who is a HiFi freak and was recommended the disc for its (allegedly - I'm not the person to judge that) high recording quality. She sings beautiful old folk ballads with only little instrumentation, some pieces almost American style due to some Banjo-like instrument, but the accent is definitely not from Texas ;-)
	Four Marys, Chesky Records 1998
Hard(er) Rock
Billy Idol	I don't know much about the guy, I guess he's pretty much used up now. But when he still had power, he did quite a few good pieces...
	Vital Idol, Chrysalis 1985
Metallica	The "Black Album" is (apart from Mahler's 5th) my favourite record to play loud when my neighbours drill holes into the walls. (On other occasions, too.) What I like about Metallica is that, while preserving an aggressive style, they are more subtle than other hit'em metal rockers. I recently bought their double album, "Garage Inc.", and I particularly like their adaption of "Whiskey in the Jar". I heard that there's a various artists album called "Tribute to the Black Album", featuring cover versions of the B.A. - I'll have to geld hold of that.
	Metallica (the black album), 1991; Garage, Inc., 1998; ...And Justice For All, 1988
Whitesnake	With Whitesnake, it's the same as with Metallica; they are perhaps a little bit softer. Surely everybody has heard the song "Here I Go Again" from this record.
	1987, EMI 1987
Alice Cooper	This guy looks a bit weird, and some of his lyrics create the feeling that you wouldn't like to meet him personally (without your bodyguards, that is). But after all, most of these guys are really nice in real life and they just use make-up for the disc covers.
	Trash, CBS 1989
Gary Moore	I don't have to write much about him, everybody knows Gary Moore. He has become a blues musician lately, a fact I regret, because I liked his old pieces much better - the ballads ("Empty Rooms") as well as the harder pieces ("Out in the Fields", "Over the Hills and Far away").
	Wild Frontier, 1987; Run for Cover, 1985
Project Pitchfork	I always hava a hard time identifying Genres - this is probably something like "Industrial Rock". It is what happens when you take Hard Rock and replace the instruments by synthesizers. A German band, but the lyrics are English (mostly), and often contain some version of "we'll all perish in an eco-catastrophe". But a little bit of doom fits perfectly with the sometimes rather dark music; while some pieces are quite melodic, most are ideal for listening at loud volume.
	Eon:Eon, eastwest 1998
Electronic sounds
Mike Oldfield	Mike Oldfield is a really versatile musician, and (after some bad experiences with his sister in the folk duo "Sallyangie") he always finds good singers to work with him. He made a lot of instrumental records, but also some with pop songs ("Moonlight Shadow" was a top hit in Germany). I have all his records and it's not easy to select some for a recommendation. The disc named below may be a good introductory work because it contains some nice pop songs as well as a typical instrumental work.
	Discovery, Virgin 1984
Jean-Michel Jarre	This man is a showmaster - anyone who has seen or attended one of his giant concerts with him playing the laser harp will know that. But the music isn't bad either; long, instrumental pieces that sometimes become quite fast, even (in his later works) dancefloor-like.
	Oxygene, Polydor 1976; Jarre Live, Polydor 1989
Women with great voices
Sinead O'Connor	I usually listen to msuic "in the background" and do something else at the same time. But this is really hard with many songs by Sinead O'Connor because they are often so direct, drawing your attention to the song, the message (if there ist one - in real life, Sinead O'Connor seems to be a rather crazy person). Often, there's a switch from a subtle, almost begging, to a very aggressive voice within the same song. Really interesting, and melancholy reigns in many of her pieces.
	The Lion And The Cobra, Ensign 1987; Universal Mother, Ensign 1994
Tanita Tikaram	Many - at least people of my age - will remember her hit "Twist In My Sobriety". The album mentioned first contains this song and a whole bunch of other nice, relaxed, sometimes almost jazzy pieces; not always "happy", but good. In between she released one or two less successful discs, but the new "Capuccino Songs" is quite good again, almost happier and even more laid-back than the older album.
	Great Expectations, WEA 1989; The Capuccino Songs, Mother Records 1998
Suzanne Vega	Suzanne Vega's hits are even older than those of Tanita Tikaram; I remember that hers were among the first LPs I bought when I reached "that age". Her later albums, especially the 99.9°, grew away from her old "me and my guitar" style and have almost a touch of rock, but she does both equally well. She's probably the Alanis Morissette of "my time", although of course Suzanne's style is much softer, less agressive, and with lyrics which leave some puzzles unsolved.
	Suzanne Vega, A&M 1985; Solitude Standing, A&M 1987; 99.9°F, A&M 1992
Kate Bush	Speaking of riddles - I've never been able to make a lot of sense of Kate Bush. But I like her music - it's more "art" than simple "pop". I believe Kate Bush is someone who doesn't write songs - she writes whole albums, there's an individual concept and character to most of her records. And still, many will contain at least one or two pieces that you've heard before.
	Never For Ever, Original Sound Recordings, 1980; Hounds Of Love, 1985
Tori Amos	We're still within the section "musicians who are not always easy to understand". Tori Amos is top modern compared to the ones I mentioned before. She, too, likes recording with few instruments - sometimes only a grand piano - and she also possesses the gift of being able to change from a soft, fond voice to one full with anger within the same song - sometimes taking a small deviation to include "madness" as well. I find the effect quite fascinating, especially on the album mentioned first.
	From The Choirgirl Hotel, eastwest 1998; Under The Pink, eastwest 1994; Little Earthquakes, eastwest 1992