5 CDs That Daylight Robbery Can’t Live Without

Tony Nicholl (Vocals)

1. Rainbow “Rising” – The first time I heard Dio and for me one of the albums that made me want to be a singer.
2. Dokken “Under Lock & Key” – Even though they hated each other, the one time for me that a vocalist and guitarist in the same band made such awesome music.
3. Queensryche “Operation Mindcrime” – The one concept album since Pink Floyd to question the machine, the shadow government and the hidden hand…just awesome!
4. The Doors “The Doors” – For me, one of the most original albums I have ever heard. Jim Morrison’s left of centre, out of the box lyrics still have me captivated …..
5. Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here” – Just the most inspiring album ever and there isn’t really that much to it, but I have played it to death and bought it on vinyl, CD and cassette. The track “Wish You Were Here” is a tribute to Syd Barrett that describes the man’s descent into madness…like nothing I’ve heard since.

Mark Carleton (Guitars)

1. Van Halen “Van Halen 1” – The songs, the production, the engineering, Eddie. The album that changed changed rock music forever.
2. Dream Theater “Black Clouds and Silver Linings” – I actually only picked this for the track ‘The Count of Tuscany’ which is one of my favourite tracks of all time. It’s 20 minutes long and the last four minutes are just the most beautiful music ever. The rest of the album is great as well…
3. James LaBrie “Static Impulse” – Any album that covers all points from AOR across to extreme metal just has to be good. James’ vocals and lyrics are great and Peter Wildoers drums with Marco Sfogli’s guitars are awesome.
4. Steve Vai “Alive in an Ultra World” – Steve Vai writing material on the road inspired by the countries he’s touring in. Some great playing and great musicians conveying some really emotional music.
5. Dire Straits “Alchemy Live” – My dad introduced me to this album, and Mark Knopfler’s songwriting and guitar playing just touched me. They were still a rock band at the time it was recorded and the whole atmosphere at Hammersmith is captured incredibly well.

Colin Murdoch (Bass)

1. Metallica “Metallica” ( or “The Black Album”) – All killer, no filler…the album that marked a new direction for the band and made metal cool again to the masses.
2. Led Zeppelin “Led Zeppelin 2” – Classic cover, classic songs, four legends at the top of their game, what’s not to like? Plus Plant and Bonzo are Brummies!
3. Bon Jovi “Slippery When Wet” – Great songs, great musicianship, great hair !
4. ACDC “If You Want Blood, You’ve Got It” – Best live album ever, with my fave singer of all time Ronald “Bon” Scott.
5. Iron Maiden “Number of the Beast” – Still gives me goosebumps ! Has it all from the classic Derek Riggs album artwork to Bruce Dickinson’s soaring vocals. And the bass player is pretty good too!

David Billingham (Keys)

1. ELO “Out of the Blue” – Their sound, a hybrid of classical orchestra music with a retro space-age sound was one of the great bands of the 70s and 80’s.
2. Tool “Lateralus” – The perfect fusion of hard and prog rock. Loud and aggressive music matched perfectly with ruminations on human-nature, reconciliation, hypocrisy, triumph and regret. easily the best hard-rock album of the last 15 years.
3. Van Halen “Van Halen” – Van Halen’s self-titled debut is definitely one of the greatest debut albums of all time. “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” are awesome rockers, while “Jamie’s Cryin'” offers some good sounds, “Eruption” takes Eddie Van Halen’s guitar shreds up to full blast. Amazing
4. Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon” – This album defines what these guys are all about! It’s not just the hits like “Time”, “Money” and “Us and Them”, but the entire album itself is a mind-blower!
5. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble “Greatest Hits” – Stevie was a master technician who was capable of tearing down the boundaries between rock and the blues with some ease. He was a charismatic performer who, at his best, could mesmerize audiences as he brought his guitar to life on stage. This album reinforces this lasting impression I have of this great artist who conquered his own demons of addiction to forever influence the future of rock and roll.

Chris Miller (Drums)

1. Van Halen “Fair Warning” – Dark and edgy, my favourite VH album. Songs like “Mean Streets” and “Unchained” have such a heavy groove, the band are just locked in and I still think its some of their best work.
2. Queens of the Stone Age “Songs for the Deaf” – Great band, and this album has my all time favourite drummer, Dave Grohl, manning the throne. Amazing and diverse album and possibly the best drum intro ever on “Song for the Dead”…it sounds so off the cuff and unique to him, just brilliant.
3. Beastie Boys “ILL Communication” – I got into this band when I was getting a bit tired of some of the Rock stuff coming out in the early/mid nineties and was searching for something new. I wasn’t that mad on hip hop until i heard this and just loved how they used real drums, bass and guitars throughout the album, it gave it a harder edge and I remember watching a bootleg of them live and Sabotage was just awesome, blew me away.
4. Kings X “Faith Hope Love” – A complete album for me and such an underrated band. There’s everything on here from flat out rock n roll to soaring ballad. Each member of the band takes lead vocals on different songs which gives such variation and the playing is superb. Brilliant three piece.
5. Crowded House “Together Alone” – Neil Finn is such a gifted song writer and this album is so atmospheric it has almost a haunted edge to it in places. The rhythmic influences from their home country of New Zealand give it such a unique sound with songs like Private Universe and Paul Hester’s (RIP) drumming is so tasteful, just a great record.