Bring Me Some Water – Melissa Etheridge – 1988

Every song on Melissa Etheridge’s self-titled album from 1988 is a winner, and the collection was certainly one of the best mainstream musical debuts of the eighties. Bring Me Some Water was her hard-hitting hello to the world and helped to put her on the map, with its crisp vocals, stripped back sound, and infectious chorus. It’s rock music without the bells and whistles often associated with it – the way rock music is meant to be.

When I got my hands on Melissa Etheridge (the album, not the woman – I don’t think I’m her type) I was still living in a pre-CD world, and I played the cassette so much that eventually the tape warped, which is of course the ultimate retro-compliment.

Traditionally, rock music is seen as male, which is at least part of the reason that she has been criminally underrated and overlooked throughout the duration of her career, but you don’t even hear Melissa Etheridge’s name mentioned often when there’s a discussion about female rock icons and their influence on the industry, but she should definitely be in that converation.

Songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, Melissa Etheridge is one of the most consistent rock stars – male or female – of the last thirty years.