My Record Collection by Steven Wilson

In My Record Collection, we dig down to the bottom of musicians' souls to find out what the most treasured parts of their record collection are. This week it's the turn of prog-rocker Steven Wilson...

The first record I ever bought with my own money was…

"It was Carly Simon's single, 'Nobody Does it Better', the theme to the Bond movie 'The Spy Who Loved Me'"

The record that made me want to make music was…

"Electric Light Orchestra's 'Out of the Blue'. I didn't even know what it meant, but after I read the sleeve credits I knew I wanted to be a record producer."

The record I've played more than any other is…

"Tangerine Dream's 'Zeit', for me the original and greatest ambient record, I never tire of it."

The record that always make me feel good is…

"Rajput and the Seepoy Mutiny 'Flower Power Sitar' from 1968. The person playing the sitar obviously had never played one before and spends most of the recording trying to figure out how to tune it up. I originally heard the cover version of Jimmy Webb's 'Up Up and Away' as part of a compilation called 'Incredibly Strange Music' and laughed so much it hurt."

The record I turn to when I'm feeling down is…

"Max Richter's 'Sleep'"

The record I think is the most underrated of all time is…

"Kevin Godley/Lol Creme 'Consequences'. A triple album with dialogue written and performed by Peter Cook. Total masterpiece."

The record with my favourite cover art is…

"Black Sabbath's debut album, or Pink Floyd's 'Atom Heart Mother' (maximum cow!)"

The record with my favourite title is…

"I tried to choose between Miles Davis's 'Dark Magus', Sun Ra's 'Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy', Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks', Throbbing Gristle's 'Heathen Earth', and Virginia Astley's 'From Gardens Where We Feel Secure', and couldn't, so there's all of them."

The record I can't understand why everybody loves is…

"Nearly everything that ends up near the top of all time best album lists, especially 'Sgt. Pepper', 'Blonde on Blonde', 'Stone Roses', and 'Nevermind'. Not saying they aren't very good records mind!"

The record I'm most looking forward to hearing in 2017 is…

"Prince's 'Purple Rain' deluxe edition reissue"

The greatest record of all time is…

"I really don't think there is any such thing, music means different things to different people, there are only personal favourites."

The rarest LP I own is…

"I have a couple of original pressings that sell for around the thousand pound mark. Locomotive's 'We Are Everything You See', and Don Rendell's/Ian Carr's 'Dusk Fire', both on the Parlophone label."

The strangest LP I own is...

"Probably Jonty Semper's 'Kenotaphion'. Archival recordings of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday 2 minute silences recorded at The Cenotaph, London between 1929-2000. Basically an album comprising of people trying to be silent!"

The last LP I bought was…

"Gas's 'Narkopop' and the new Slowdive album."

Steven Wilson's new album, To The Bone, is out on 18th August, you can pre-order it here