Randy Newman
No hesitation, although it might take some of your rock music readers back a little, Wagner's Gotterdammerung. The best goddam records ever made.
Randy Newman's latest album: Good Old Boys (Reprise K54022 - £2.29)

Mick Jagger
Welt, I'd buy When The Eagle Flies by Traffic (Island ILPS 9273 -£2.45), because I really think it's the best I've heard from Stevie Winwood and Traffic.
Rolling Stones latest album: It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (COC 59103 - £2.45)

David Essex
It's a decision between John Lennon's Walls And Bridges and Paul McCartney's Red Rose Speedway (EMI PCTC 251 - £2.95), and I'd choose Red Rose Speedway because I think McCartney is a great songwriter. Also he's been very pleasant to me recently. No, that's not the reason. He is a great songwriter.
David Essex's latest album: David Essex (CBS 69088 - £2.79)

Ringo Starr
Definitely John Lennon's Walls And Bridges (EMI PCTC 253 - £2.95). It's the finest album made by anyone in the past five years - and that's not just because it's John and
he's my pal and that. The emotion he put into it is amazing. It's better than Imagine for me.
Ringo's latest album: Goodnight Vienna (Apple PCS 7168 - £2.50)

Roger Waters (Pink Floyd)
I went out and bought this one myself: Roy Harper's album Valentine (Harvest SHSP4027 - £2.50), because it's a bloody good album. He's got some great material, and I find it very moving.
Pink Floyd's latest album: The Dark Side Of The Moon' (Harvest SHVL 804 - £2.75)

Peter Gabriel (Genesis)
Being a vegetarian myself, which leads to many difficulties on tours of America, I'd choose John Martyn's Bless The Weather, Island ILPS 9167 - £2.45). He's a very good guitarist and he plays simple music the way I like it. I'd say it was the record for all hungry vegetarian consumers.
Genesis latest album (double): The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (Charisma CGS 101 - £4.49)

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sitenotes:
This mini-survey in the run-up to Christmas was published in The Observer of Sunday 8 December 1974. For some reason they gave Island TOPS catalogue numbers but these don't exist.