https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMpB7r7oE3E
Steely Dan: Aja
The quintessential musician’s album! This was the gateway to me learning about all these great studio artists that were so behind the scenes. It’s also one of the first LP’s I remember listening along and reading the track listing/lyrics to. The chords, the production, the lyric content was all so far above my head at that time and some of it still is to this day.
Toto: IV 
A very similar experience as with Steely Dan Aja. I remember my parents giving me the cassette when they forgot to send back the pick of the month card from Columbia House. I was enamored by Steve Lukather’s guitar tones, Bobby Kimball’s singing and couldn’t believe the songwriting. The music around our house growing up was either Classic Rock or Blues so this was so refreshingly different
Steve Vai: Passion & Warfare
Being part of the Guitar magazine generation Steve Vai’s Passion & Warfare ads were everywhere in those days. It felt like it was the first music I discovered for myself. It wasn’t handed down to me or introduced to me it was something I went for purely based on the look of it in a magazine and boy was I in for a surprise! To this day it’s one of the CD’s that I can listen to from start to finish, never skipping a song and always discovering something new.
Pat Metheny: The Way Up
Recent love affair! I listened to quite a few or Pat’s early ECM records in high school and I liked them a lot, but knew it was over my head. It was relaxing and inspiration music that was just beyond my abilities, but I could just enjoy it as an intrigued listener. Then I discovered The Way Up and my opinions changed and I was immediately captivated by what I had missed out on. I can only wish that one day I can dedicate myself to that much to my music and art.
Jeff Beck: Blow by Blow
From the throbbing of the Rhodes piano, the funkiness of the clavinet, the precision of Jeff’s playing to the approach of the drums I was left reeling in amazement. I was so young when I first heard it and inexperienced with the recording process that I actually thought the recording was live because of the way songs went into each other. Wired is a close 2nd to Blow by Blow but it will forever be locked in my memories as a game changer.
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