This Record Changed My Life VI

Kasey Chambers | Artist

Matthew Ryan – May Day

When I was seventeen, I took my first trip to Nashville. I had just landed in the country music capital of the world and I was extremely jetlagged and tired, and it was very late at night, but there was no way I was going to sleep – I had to see live music.  So my brother Nash, my best mate Worm and I wandered down to the closest bar where a singer/songwriter; Matthew Ryan was opening up a show.  I had never heard of him but within two songs I started realising that his lyrics, melodies and ‘fuck you’ attitude was a long way from what I was lead to believe represented Nashville. He continued to play all the songs from his then upcoming album May Day. I was mesmorised from start to finish. My life was changed that night by the kinship I felt by finding someone of my generation who could recklessly put their heart on their sleeve through these moving sounds, like I’d never heard before.  Up until this point all my music influences had been older than me and all closer to my Dad’s age. May Day remains one of my favourite albums of all time and reinforces the fact that sometimes the best artists are hidden in the smallest bar, not the biggest stadiums.

Taylor Hanson | Artist
Otis Redding – The Dock Of The Bay

It’s just an incredible song and it’s so much about his performance and the emotional connection he makes when he sings that song. I was probably ten or eleven when I first heard it. Otis Redding is one of the great vocalists and songwriters of his generation and he had such a short window of time where he made music; I think that also shines a great light on the music he had made. He died when he was 26 in a plane crash and the music that he made, especially in the last two years –  I mean his songs are still covered, his records are still influencing music, so I think it’s that aspect of his inspiration on the Earth, for me. It’s about writing music that lasts, writing songs that are repeated down the line, and that’s what we’re trying to do.

Adam Lambert | Artist
Michael Jackson – Beat It

I grew up with the pop music of the time, and listening to Michael Jackson was obviously what everyone growing up did, I mean, he’s been so iconic. I remember listening to Beat It when I was a kid and dancing in my living room with a flashlight. I thought that was my microphone, and my strobe light, at the same time, and I remember stealing my mother’s shoulder-pads and putting them in my jacket. Michel Jackson was kind of the shit. He was the reason I wanted to be a pop star. I wanted to be Michael Jackson. I think of a lot of kids felt that way. He was just so cool. He was magic, for sure…

Shane Nicholson | Artist
You Am I – Hourly Daily

Having spent most of my teens and early 20s writing sulky songs in minor keys, it was a revelation to discover Hourly Daily and the magic and hidden power of the major chord. It changed me. A bit like swallowing an Ed Kuepper/Paul Kelly/Iggy Pop/ Posies/Kinks salad roll and vomiting it up on CD, it was clever and thoughtful, yet brash and reckless all at the same time. Everyone always says they love Hi-Fi Way, but Hourly… is the record for me. As a songwriter, everything shifted for me as a result of this album, and it continues to shape me to this day. I love a good major chord. Plus, Tim is cool as fuck. We all know that. He once told me he would like to have my cheekbones. I’d happily make some sort of trade. He’s got plenty that I want.

Ronan Keating | Artist
Cat Stevens – Tea For The Tillerman

Father and Son the song has had a remarkable effect on my life and my career. It’s been with me for my whole career. I sang it at the audition for Boyzone, I recorded it with Boyzone and then I recorded it with Cat himself. It’s been with me my whole life and I think that albumTea For The Tillerman was something I sang to a lot as a kid, I definitely think it’s had a major effect on me. I was probably in a car with my brother [when I first heard it], I remember because it was on cassette, I remember the cover of the cassette, I was only eight, nine or ten.