4. John MayallThe Turning Point
I’m no fan of live albums or even live shows, but this album somehow makes it different. I didn’t see the live show because I wasn’t born; it was recorded in New York in 69. But it’s an album for me that you listen to from the beginning to the end, and it does make a difference. All these albums that I’ve talked about, the same happens with each of them: you go from song one to, I dunno, song 10 or song 12. And you don’t just pick a song.
For me The Turning Point is always on at home. Yvan [Gainsbourg’s partner] made me discover this album and he sort of educated me in a different way. I met him when I was 19, so I wasn’t fully educated music wise. So he introduced me to Mazzy Star, to John Mayall, to Radiohead also. I don’t know why I respond so vividly to this album. I don’t know how to describe what it means to me really, it’s just one of those albums that accompany you through years and years. It was a different sound and a real discovery.Â