Whats Your Favourite Instrumental Album?

Art Van Damme "Martini Time"

 

Chris Poland - Return To Metalopolis
Jeff Loomis - Zero Order Phase
Steve Vai - Passion & Warfare
Joe Satriani - Flying In A Blue Dream (even though there's one vocal track)

 

Mingus: Blues and Roots.

 

Richard Thompson - Strict Tempo (a vastly underrated album)
Fairport Convention - Expletive Delighted.

Best Wishes,
David

 

Howard Roberts' "Antelope Freeway".


For trippiness, it beats Jerry Cole's various projects.

 

Not strictly 'jazz'...

Jean Luc Ponty - Cosmic Messenger
Jeff Golub - Out of the Blue
Acoustic Alchemy - Arcanum

These end up on my rotation list.

 

Naming any sort of western classical music would be too easy. But aside from that anything Ravi/Anoushka Shankar does or the band ROVO from Japan. Consistently excellent instrumental stuff.

 

Actually, any album by the Ventures:

 

I've already declared What If by Dixie Dregs as my favorite, but this one is pretty high on my list too. Gryphon - Red Queen To Gryphon Three. Of all their five albums released in the 70's, this was the only fully instrumental one, and was the only one to be released in the US - on the Bell label, no less. It's quite English Folk sounding mixed with a dash of prog. Fans of Mike Oldfield would be wise to check this out.

 

One vocal track...on several songs.

 

I only own one...

Michael Nesmith - The Wichita Train Whistle Sings

...so I guess it's my favorite (and least favorite)

 

Great post! Thank you for showing some titles that I will definitely investigate (Guthrie, Piano One).
Plus I totally agree with your summation of Lovely Thunder. May I recommend the two Robin Guthrie/Harold Budd releases from about 5 years ago " After The Night Falls" and "Before The Day Breaks".

 

Almost pure instrumental:
Al Di Meola Project - Soaring Through A Dream
Grobschnitt - Solar Music Live
Al Di Meola World Sinfonia - Heart Of The Immigrants
National Health - Of Queues and Cures
Solaris - Marsbeli Kronikak
Happy The Man - Crafty Hands

Pure instrumental:
Chick Corea - My Spanish Heart
Gotic - Escenes
Carpe Diem - En Regardant Passer Le Temps
Brand X - Unorthodox Behavior
Anglagard - Epilog
Tako - U Vreci Za Spavanje
Univers Zero - Uzed

There are so many great ones... I don't want want to start with ECM artists.

 

Possibly cheating but don't care: Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks soundtrack album would easily be at the top of my list. Followed by...
Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas
Dave Brubeck, Time Out
Rodrigo y Gabriela's s/t album or their last, 9 Dead Or Alive
Stewart Copeland's Rumble Fish soundtrack (ignoring the Stan Ridgeway track if I must)

 

Koyaanisqatsi -soundtrack. It's not for everyone, but it is certainly for me !

 

Thrillington

 

Throbbing Gristle: CD1

or any of the Throbbing Gristle instrumental albums.

 

Bruford - One of a Kind

 

Guilty pleasure from my childhood

 

Pretty much everything by Los Straitjackets. But I'll settle for this one here



A side project of Danny Amis (of Los Straitjackets fame)

 

Far too many to pick just one. My favorite instrumental band is Weather Report.

On the soundtrack side, I would go with Peter Gabriel's "Passion" (music from The Last Temptation of Christ).

 

Top 3
Ask the Ages - Sonny Sharrock
In a Silent Way - Miles Davis
Coltrane's Sound

 

I dig these two, among many others by the same artists:

 

Booker T & the MGs - Soul Dressing