Guest Playlist: Reid Collier

Good music has always been integral to the Ledbury crew - rumor has it one of our founders hosted a radio show in college - and swapping Spotify playlists and sharing new records is a common occurrence around the office. Our in-house art director Reid Collier is truly one-of-kind. He wears vintage menswear better than the rest, sips Bulleit 10-Year like a king, and is the unofficial in-house music expert, making him the perfect person to put together a hygge-inspired playlist for us. If you're a fan of Fleetwood Mac and 70's rock, this one's for you. In the wise words of Reid: “This playlist should feel like a pair of moleskin pants. You better get those 10 blankets ready and the whiskey on tap. When you listen to this you’re gonna want to get that feather in your cap.” (See? He even speaks in a lyrical style.) Happy Listening. “Music is Love” David Crosby - It is, and it’s also a great place to start. When you’re David Crosby, you have a boat called Avalon, and you write and record this song. Neil Young bounces in for a couple of verses around the one minute mark. “Fair Play” Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece is a great Van Morrison album and "Fair Play" is a fantastic song. Two Irish Wolfhounds and a castle on the cover. You know it’s going to be special. Geronimo. “When Your Parents Go To Sleep” Kevin Ayers - Ayers’ bass player Archie Legget sings lead vocal on this track, and brother, I could listen to this song forever, which is good, because that's how long the horns go for. It’s awesome. “Fine Time” Robert Palmer - Most folks' first exposure to Robert Palmer was "Addicted To Love". Fair enough. But they are shocked when they hear him counting in some straight-up soul funk. "Fine Time" is one of the best regardless of the season. It’s multi-seasonal. Little Feat and The Muscle Shoals Horn Section back him up. Good grief. “I’d Rather Go Blind” Christine McVie - Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie brings this Etta James classic on home. It’s mournful and proud in all the right ways. “Black-Throated Wind” Bob Weir - Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir’s 1972 debut solo album about cards, the road, and general salty living. The Dead pretty much act as the backing band here. Personally, I think that they should have always had a full horn section. Sounds right. It’s fun to hear a live band get in the studio. “Willin” Little Feat - Speaking of salty, "Willin'" might be the saltiest song of all time. It’s definitely top three. Considered one of the best double live albums out there, Little Feat’s Waiting For Columbus should never be more than a few feet away from your person at all times. This version of "Willin’" is a particularly strong tip of the brim to life on the road. “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” The Band - This song will take you back. Way back. The Band tells a powerful story and pulls you in quickly. For some odd reason, I really dig the the warm up into a false start on this version. “Honky Cat” Elton John - You’ll probably want to grab the nearest tambourine and a spot to shake it for this one. “These Days” Gregg Allman - If you got up just now to shake it, pivot back to the fire and quick. Greg Allman brings a new layer to this Jackson Browne song. It’s part Los Angeles and a whole lot of Macon, and it’s going to make you think about things. Just stare into the fire for a moment... "Bougainvillea" Dickey Betts, Great Southern - Seated and introspective? Good. It’s always good to take a few moments to consider everything. But you’re going to want to put those thoughts on pause for a hot minute and preemptively apologize to your neighbors for the hot licks that they’re about to witness. Dickey Betts gets real nice on the guitar here, and you are too. "Help Me" Joni Mitchell - Joni and The Band are going to make it OK. Everything is going to be OK. "I Just Want To Be Loved By You" The Meters - When they’re not getting funky as the backing band on a Robert Palmer track, The Meters are making you think about getting up from that fire again. "Lee Shore" Crosby & Nash - David Crosby and Graham Nash host an enthusiastic crowd and sing songs about life on a boat. It’s a gentle reminder that there are warmer days ahead. "That’s All For Everyone" Fleetwood Mac - There’s a very good chance that Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac wrote and recorded many key parts of this song in the bathroom. Buckingham had rigged his entire house to capture sound. You have to appreciate the dedication and final result. "Unbroken Chain" Grateful Dead - Rumor has it that Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead wrote this song while stopping one day at a 7-11 to buy some sunflower seeds in Monterey. Some folks also think that he wrote it about the greater natural forces of the universe and how they connect us all. We may never know which one is accurate. (User note: I usually have to turn it down a bit here because the space chimes hurt my hound dog’s ears. No hound dogs or small children in the room? Turn it up. Those space chimes are great.) "I’d Swear There Was Somebody Here" David Crosby - The auteur director Stanley Kubrick was prolific in matching visuals to music in his films. So it wasn’t surprising that he was interested in using this haunting, wordless coda in his space epic 2001 Space Odyssey. Unfortunately, Crosby was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on his boat Avalon and couldn’t be reached. The rest is history.