MY ‘DESERT ISLAND ALBUM’ – Kevin O’Neill (THE BAINES)
A DESERT ISLAND. With nobody but myself. I’m guessing no luxury items, either. Not even a cheap can of deodorant. Harsh.
So, I have one item to bring. And it has to be an album.
For one, this decision is virtually impossible given that our moods, on any particular day, usually influence what we choose to listen to.
But then again, now I think about it, how great might it be to listen to your favourite tunes with nobody around? I’m no Jagger or Cocker. Far from it. But hey, what the hell? I might even throw a few shapes in such isolation (more likely mishapes).
So, having scanned through all my music, who is in contention? My go-to’s are usually Oasis, The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, The Institutes, The Pistols, DMAs, Liam Gallagher, Ian Brown etc. You get the general vibe, then?
Out of all these, I’m going to pick the least expected, I guess, and an album I could be pummeled for choosing.
Oh yes, it’s the much maligned ‘Be Here Now‘, the third studio album from Oasis. The reasons, however, are quite personal. it’s just how I roll. Be honest. Be true to yourself. And to those you love.
You see, when I first sat down to listen to ‘Be Here Now’, which I personally believe is criminally underrated anyway, it was with one of my closest friends. We went through it for hours, and he constantly said, “Come on Kev, put that ‘Stand By Me’ song on again”.
Tragically, we lost our mate long after when he sadly passed away having been struck by a car. There’s no words, really, to describe that loss…neither for our circle of friends but, more so, his loving family.
And so, that’s the main reason I regularly check-in with, ‘Be Here Now’. For me, it’s his album and will always remain so. It takes me back to a beautiful place: our teens when we basked in music and felt nothing could touch us.
It also takes me right back to the place I belong to and grew up in, a football and music obsessed estate in the middle of Ireland called Willow Park; a place that moulded me and my friends.
And these feelings, that sense of comfort, home and true friendship, is why ‘Be Here Now’ means so much to me. That feeling will never go away. And it would see me just right on a desert island, or anywhere else on earth.
For Derek Turley…Rest In Peace Forever and Stand By Me Pal xxx
THE BAINES (@thebaines8) / Twitter
