5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols

5 Albums I Can’t Live Without:

1

Every Picture Tells a Story, Rod Stewart

I can start with Every Picture Tells a Story by Rod Stewart. That was a big album for me growing up for many reasons. I remember buying it down Oxford Street at the HMV shop. I didn’t know who it was. I just liked the cover. Then I got it, and I loved Rod Stewart’s voice. I loved “Maggie May” and the song “Every Picture Tells a Story.” I was really proud of myself because after buying it, it became the No. 1 album in America, No. 1 album in the U.K., and then No. 1 single in America, and No. 1 Single in the U.K. with “Maggie May.” I thought, “Oh, I must know what I’m doing then.”

I was obsessed with Rod Stewart when I was a teenager. I liked his hair, the fashion, his voice, and the Faces as well, the band he was in with Ronnie Wood.

2

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, David Bowie

I know he had a few albums before that when he had curly hair and wearing dresses. I knew a couple of the songs, but that whole look, the glam look, I was sold hook, line, and sinker when that came out. I saw him a few times. I love Mick Ronson, Woody Woodmansey is a fantastic drummer, and Trevor Bolder. They were just a great band. I know it was basically David Bowie’s thing, and then he left them after two albums. Pretty much all of them anyway. Mick Ronson went on a bit longer to play with him on Pin Ups. That album was definitely one of my favorite albums. Very inspirational to me. Steered me in the direction. I loved all that glam, to be honest with you. T. Rex, Mott the Hoople. Good glam. There was a lot of cheesy glam, which I don’t mind now, but at the time, I was a bit particular. They had to look a certain way. Slade and The Sweet and bands like that, they seemed a bit more just manufactured and Top of the Pops friendly. I liked a bit more avant-garde with Bowie, and the next album, I’m going to say, as well. If you want me to still talk about the rise and fall, I will, or are we done now?

3

For Your Pleasure, Roxy Music

The third album then leads me to Roxy Music. Their second album, For Your Pleasure, was also produced by Chris Spedding, who produced Never Mind the Bollocks. That was one of the reasons why I was excited to use Chris Thomas as a producer because he did a few Roxy Music albums, actually. 

Again, I loved the fashion. I loved that when you actually bought an LP, you could open it up and there was an individual picture of each band member. It was very stylized, the way they looked. It was great. That was the last album they did with Eno. What he played, even though it was chaotic, on the synthesizers and all that, I thought it worked good. They’re brilliant songs, “Do the Strand,” “The Bogus Man,” “In Every Dream Home a Heartache.” Just a brilliant album. Again, it’s one of them albums for me as a 15, 16 year old, however old I was when that came out, I would just lie on the bed and close my eyes and just get all these images of it, of what was going on. That was a great thing back in the ’70s, you had to buy an album. Obviously, there was no CDs or even 8-tracks at that point, I don’t think. You had the big albums to look at. Some of them opened up and they had more pictures or information or in a sleeve.

4

50 Big Ones, The Beach Boys

It’s so great. I like all their big songs. I could just listen to that over and over again, just have it in the background. It’s so catchy. Some of their songs are just so catchy. I even like the ones where Carl sings, even when Brian Wilson dipped out a little bit. “I Can Hear Music” I think is with Carl singing. I think he’s got a great voice. It’s just unbelievably catchy, most of their songs. Obviously, I bet musicians pick Pet Sounds, probably. I loved the pop. I can’t get enough of catchy songs.

5

Anything by Steely Dan

They don’t really have a best song. That’s the thing. They have A Decade of Steely Dan, but it’s not a lot of songs. It’s only 10 or 12 songs. I would love to get an album with all of them. I make playlists. I’ve got all their albums on the playlist on Apple, so I’ll just let that play from the beginning to the end. Anything, just pick any album of Steely Dan.

They put so much work into making them albums. It’s basically the two guys who use different musicians on most of the albums. They stopped touring and they just wanted to record. It shows. You could really listen to the records, they’re perfect. Again, a pop sense, but in a subtle way.