Kurt’s my man

This week I am handing over the column to David Vick, who has contributed what I regard as the best (so far) of all the Top Tens I have received. Sound in judgment and admirably wide-ranging, Vick has in particular introduced me to Kurt Elling, an amazing jazz vocalist, still only in his early forties, of whom I had never previously heard. Having checked Elling out on Spotify, it’s clear that he is a superb artist, and I have now ordered several of his CDs. Trust me, trust David Vick. This guy is sensational and I cannot understand why he is so little known. Now, over to you, Mr Vick.

Charles Spencer

First up must be, of course, Dylan. He and I have been, in the words of his latest album title, together through life. The man is, quite simply, the greatest genius of our generation. I have 783 Bob Dylan tracks on my iPod, which pretty much conveys the enormity of his contribution to music and to my life. If I have to choose just one of his albums to represent his life’s achievement, it will have to be:

1. Blonde on Blonde, Bob Dylan (1966)

The two other greatest rock albums of all time, both of which completely blew me away the first time I heard them (I can still remember the hairs on my neck standing up when I first listened to Astral Weeks, in the Rainbow Records shop in West Drayton, and realised that I was in the presence of something quite extraordinary), still sound just as good over 40 years later. They are:

2. Astral Weeks, Van Morrison (1968)

3. Forever Changes, Love (1967)

These days, I listen mainly to jazz, which I first got into while still at school in the 1960s, and I have no doubt whatsoever that the two most seminal figures are Miles Davis and John Coltrane, in all of their various incarnations.