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My first and foremost message to those interested in the inspirational process is that from an early age, I have always tried to listen to, appreciate, and hopefully enjoy as many different kinds of music as I possibly can.

One thing that I feel was a contributing factor to my varied listening tastes was the television themes and music of my generation. In the mid to late 60's, we were hearing quite an eclectic blend of styles and sounds on the tube, everything from the earthy country twang of “The Beverly Hillbillies”, to slick instrumental arrangements like “Mission Impossible”. This era of both television music and themes as well as film music has remained very dear to me, namely the works of Jerry Goldsmith (“Planet of the Apes”, “Tora! Tora! Tora!”), Leonard Rosenman (“Fantastic Voyage”), and Lalo Schifrin have had a tremendous impact on me.

Outside of The Beatles and The Monkees, the first rock music I was exposed to was all the different artists appearing in the Woodstock movie, again providing me with a very eclectic cross-cut and broad definition of what rock music can encompass. Because my perception of rock music has always embodied this sense of freedom and openness to variations, I have remained a loyal “rock” musician, defining it for myself with precisely those traits.

Here is a list of particularly inspiring music, by no means comprehensive as I keep periodically adding to the master list (expect updates in future versions of the site).

• Allman Brothers
  "Hot 'Lanta" from Live at the Fillmore
• Jeff Beck
  "Where Were You" from Guitar Shop
• The B-52s
  "Revolution Earth" from Good Stuff
• Cream
  "Sweet Wine" from Fresh Cream
  "Sunshine of Your Love" from Disraeli Gears
• Deep Purple
  "Highway Star" from Made in Japan
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer
  "Eruption" from Tarkus
  All of Trilogy
  "Toccata" from Brain Salad Surgery
• Peter Gabriel
  "The Rhythm of the Heat"
  "San Jacinto"
• Jimi Hendrix
  "Spanish Castle Magic" from Axis: Bold as Love
  "The Star Spangled Banner" from Woodstock
• Allan Holdsworth
  "Devil Take the Hindmost" from Metal Fatigue
• The James Gang
  Live in Concert
• Jethro Tull
  "Song For Jeffery" from This Was
  All of Benefit
  "Dharma For One" from Living in the Past
  "Nothing is Easy" and "With You There to Help Me" from Disk 2 of the 25th Anniversary Box Set, live at Carnegie Hall, 1970.
• Eric Johnson
  "Righteous" from Ah Via Musicom
• Led Zeppelin
  "Dazed and Confuzed" and "Communication Breakdown" from Led Zeppelin I
  "Whole Lotta Love" from Led Zeppelin II
  "Heartbreaker" from Led Zeppelin II
• Mahavishnu Orchestra
  "The Noonward Race" from Mar Y Sol
• Midnight Oil
  The intro to "Scream in Blue" from 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
  "Best of Both Worlds" from Red Sails in the Sunset
• Mountain
  "Blood of the Sun" from Woodstock II
• John McLaughlin & Carlos Santana
  "A Love Supreme" from Love, Devotion, Surrender
• The Police
  "Reggatta de Blanc" and "Walking On the Moon" from Regatta de Blanc
  "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "Driven to Tears" from Zenyatta Mondatta
  "Secret Journey" from Ghost in the Machine
• Stray Dog
  "Tramp", "Crazy", "Speak of the Devil, and "Slave" from Stray Dog
• Pete Townshend
  "Give Blood" from White City
• Joe Walsh
  "Wolf" from The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get
  The entire So What album
• The Who
  Every note of Live at Leeds
  "Sparks" from The Kids are Alright (Woodstock)
  "The Real Me" from Quadrophenia (soundtrack)
  "New Song" from Who Are You
• Edgar Winter's White Trash
  "Tobacco Road" from Roadwork
• ZZ Top
  "Arrested For Driving While Blind" and "Enjoy and Get It On" from Tejas
  "Heaven, Hell, or Houston" from El Loco

© 2001 Doug Manring