Rudy’s Desert Island Discs

Every music lover has a list of essential discs that they’d take with them on the proverbial rubber raft out to some deserted island. While most deserted islands have more palm trees, coconuts and sandy beaches than audio equipment (where’s the Professor from Gilligan’s Island when we need ‘im?), we’ll overlook that fact and present a list of recordings that Rudy has played and enjoyed throughout the years. We won’t limit this to any specific number, just to keep the options open.

This is a work in progress, so watch this page often for updates.  As we look through our collection, there are bound to be a few more Desert Island Discs, along with some honorable mentions.  Where possible, we’ll drop a link to the item on Amazon, where you can purchase it as a CD, LP, or as DRM-free downloadable MP3s.

What qualifies a disc as a Desert Island Disc?  We don’t have any complicated scoring mechanism, no secret ballot process…none of that.  Too scientific.  Instead, we base this on gut instinct.  Did we play the disc dozens of times when we first bought it, and are still able to play it today without “burnout”?  Is it musically noteworthy (in other words, does it have a lot of “meat” to it, and do we hear something new even after hearing it dozens of times)?  Does it move us on an emotional level, or just give us a “feelin’ good all over” type of warm fuzziness?  Then, it’s eligible!  Basically, these are core, favorite discs, and one could paint a musical portrait of a person just by listening to these recordings.

So without further ado, we present a series of pages devoted to our Desert Island Discs.  Read on, enjoy, and be sure to pop over to A&M Corner if you want to discuss any of these selections at length.  We’d be tickled to hear from you!