5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Jesse Ahern

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5 Albums I Can’t Live Without:

1

The Harder They Come (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Jimmy Cliff

I was a teenager digesting music on the daily when I heard this album. It was my introduction to Jamaican music, I was fascinated by it.  “Harder They Come” and “Sitting In Limbo” were some of the first songs I covered back in my days of busking and playing barrooms. I still listen to it from start to finish and it always reminds of how mind blowing and impactful it was to discover new music

2

If I Should Fall from Grace with God, The Pogues

“I could have been someone

Well so could anyone

You took my dreams from me

When I first found you

I kept them with me babe

I put them with my own

Can’t make it all alone

I’ve built my dreams around you”

Need I say more?

3

Check Your Head, Beastie Boys

The versatility of this album made me stop questioning what you can do with music. There’s nothing conventional about it. Punk, rock, hip-hop and instrumentals infused on one album – I love it! Every time I hear “So What’cha Want” I drift back to the days of MTV. They made the best videos. My favorite song of the album is “Gratitude.” I never get bored of that distorted bass line.

4

Streetcore, Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros 

Streetcore gives a lot of insight to where Joe was heading musically. “I was thinking about love and the acid test” says it all for me. First time I heard that line I remember being like “hell ya“ and the lyrics to “Silver and Gold” go straight to my heart. Such a fitting song to end the last album recorded  by the mighty Joe Strummer

He was a well rounded human being……. From a hippie nicknamed Woody to the Punk Rock Warlord – both personas plus everything in between shine  through on Streetcore

5

A Long Time Coming, Sierra Ferrell 

I was playing a show in Nashville in 2021 and was lucky enough to catch Sierra at AMERICANAFEST. Her presence floored me She’s the real deal and I suspect she’s lived a lot of life. A Long Time Coming was on heavy rotation for a long time. “Silver Dollar” is the track that sucked me in. There’s a mystery in her voice and songwriting that makes me want to listen to this album all the way through.