Welcome back to another of our weekly looks into the psyche of a musician to find out what made them tick in their youth. This week’s Tracks Of My Teens features one of our Alphabet family, Mr Jack Robert Hardman himself. Have a read and find out what three tracks had a profound effect on him growing up and tickled his guitar playing fancy, so to speak. It’s worth noting too, that these are tracks that Jack heard as a teen, he’s not actually in his 50’s. He was just born out of his time.
The Troggs – “Wild Thing”
This song is deeply engrained in my musical upbringing. It’s not a track I particularly love, and is certainly not one that sees regular action on my iPod. However, it’s the first song I ‘mastered’ on guitar, so I can’t help but include it on my list. Having grown up with a musician for a father, I was lucky enough to receive a brand new electric guitar for my 11th birthday. Sadly, my dad was less helpful when it came to actually teaching me, and left me slightly unprepared. Armed with the only three chords I had been taught, I practised relentlessly trying to learn this song. Like all beginners, the first few months were a sonic abomination, not to mention a painful experience for my young fingers. Thankfully after wasting most of (all of) my teenage years practising, I can now at least claim to play ‘Wild Thing’ properly.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Little Wing”
This is another track associated with the difficult life of a teenage guitar player. I’d been playing the instrument for a few years when I first heard this song, and had started to let my musical ‘ability’ go to my head. Believe it or not, knowing a handful of AC/DC songs seems like a pretty big deal when you’re 13. Discovering this track proved to be the biggest reality check I’ve ever had. I can still remember listening to it on repeat, wondering how any human-being could possibly play like that. He uses the guitar in a way I’d never heard before, it’s so inventive. It’s lead and rhythm playing at once, it’s a beautiful progression of chords vented through a raw, almost painful sounding instrument. It blew my mind, and taught me that I’d never stop learning.
The Kinks – “A Well Respected Man”
The Kinks played a big part in my later teenage years. I began writing songs properly when I was about 15, and my focus naturally moved towards the classic songwriters. I’ve always looked up to Ray Davies as a writer, and really admire how tongue in cheek his lyrics can be. His songs all create an interesting story, and they always have a unique English quality running through them. I enjoy the melancholic feel to this track, and I like how short and simple it is. I learnt to write songs by listening to Davies, trying my best to imitate his form and feel. This is the song that made me want to explore The Kinks’ back catalogue.
Jack’s debut album, Jack Robert Hardman is out now on iTunes. Click below for a free download of his latest release, “Plymouth”.
Alphabet Bands 
oh yes some great tracks there