Definitive Records asks interesting Vancouverites to scour their sonic-led memories to pull out the three albums anchoring their musical tastes.

In this edition, local musician Kate Yahn fills us in on her three most formative albums, ahead of the February 18th release of her own new single, a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”. This will be the final song in her three-part series that also includes Linda Ronstadt’s “Blue Bayou”, and Hall & Oates “Maneater”.

Trio (1987) | Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

This album is a loving ode to old country music. Longtime friends Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris were big fans of Dolly Parton, so when Emmylou called Linda saying, “Dolly Parton’s at my house, you have to come over”, one of the most cherished collaborative country albums of all time came to be. The more you dive into the creation of this record, the more you will fall in love with it – knowing that it took a decade of these women fighting to have it recorded and released (they were all with different record labels). There are a variety of songs on this album, from originals written by Parton Wildflowers, the Grammy-winning “Telling Me Lies”, and the traditional mountain music “Farther Along”. If you happen upon this album in the form of a vinyl record, make sure to pick it up as it hasn’t been re-issued.

Tapestry (1971) | Carole King

There’s a reason why Rolling Stone ranked this number 25 on the list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. I can guarantee that every vinyl collector or music lover has this on their shelf or in their queue. If it’s not in yours, do it now. This is the album I would bring with me if I was stranded on a desert island. A slowed down version of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” (originally a hit for The Shirelles in 1961), the reclamation of “It’s Too Late”, and the joyful “I Feel The Earth Move” are what make this album an all time favourite of mine.

Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021) | Taylor Swift

I would have to be living under a rock if I didn’t mention the wonderful and ever-so-inspiring Taylor Swift. I feel like we all have had that pivotal moment when we listened to her music and fell head-over-heels in love with her. Her release of Red (Taylor’s Version) just made the love stronger for me. Being able to relive this album [which was originally released in 2012 as Red] allowed me to remember tracks like “Treacherous” and the title track “Red”, along with new favourites like “Message In A Bottle (From The Vault)” and of course “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”.