Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 at
3:59 pm
“Ooh, see the fire is sweepin’
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way…”
The late sixties and early seventies were, by most standards, the golden era of the Rolling stones. They had really honed their craft by that point, transforming from a British Invasion mod group to a full-out blues-rock powerhouse. The 1969 album Let It Bleed was one of their best outings from that era.
The above lyrics are from the first track, “Gimme Shelter”. The song moves over you, leaving you feeling like you’re sitting in a greasy little bar on the outskirts of town.
Following “Shelter” is a somewhat twangy acoustic blues tune called “Love In Vain”. This one was written by blues legend Robert Johnson back in the 1930′s. Search for Johnson’s version on YouTube, for a greater appreciation in the Stones’ re-working of this song.
Read the full article…
Friday, March 9th, 2012 at
7:11 pm
“Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don’t need to fight
To prove I’m right
I don’t need to be forgiven…”
** Guest post by Jon Banks **
Like the introduction to some inspirational film, “Baba O’ Riley” announces itself urgently as one of classic rock’s greatest openers. The inaugural synthesizer notes to “O’ Riley” alone should’ve signaled to the Who’s fans that something large was on the horizon. For the rest of us, it probably took until the track’s brilliant, “Irish-jig” climax (and its infamous violin solo) to really start getting excited. Either way, nobody could’ve predicted the total power of Who’s Next, arguably the band’s most consistently pleasing album ever. Read the full article…
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 at
11:42 pm
“He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day
When the New York Times said, ‘God is dead’
And the war’s begun,
Alvin Tostig has a son today…”
Those memorable lyrics are from “Levon”, one of my personal favorite Elton John songs. Madman Across The Water was released in November 1971. It was his fourth studio album, and the second released that year. Remember, at that point in time, John was far from a superstar, and was probably mainly known for “Your Song,” which had been a Top 10 hit the previous year.
The album begins with one of Elton John’s most iconic songs, “Tiny Dancer.” I seem to remember a TV commercial from a while back, showing a montage of various “everyday folks” singing this song. And why not? It’s always been a great song, mellow, pretty, and at the same time, stirring. Read the full article…
Friday, January 13th, 2012 at
1:21 am
“I want to live, I want to give
I’ve been a miner for a heart of gold
It’s these expressions I never give
That keep me searching for a heart of gold
And I’m getting old…”
Forty years ago, in February of 1972, Neil Young’s fourth album, Harvest, was released. His previous outing, After The Gold Rush, had made it into the Top Ten on Billboard’s album charts, so many were eager to see what Young had in store for them. Ever ecelctic, he did not disappoint.
The album starts with “Out On The Weekend”. If you had never heard the song, you could probably safely guess it was on this album, given the guitar style, the harmonica, the tone, the beat, and the laid back country feel of it in general. It’s almost “Heart Of Gold” – Read the full article…
Monday, December 19th, 2011 at
12:05 pm
(And by “Top Ten”, I mean my personal favorites, in no particular order…)
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By the way… in case you’re wondering why I left out Billy Squier’s Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You… I stuck to songs that were downloadable as MP3′s, since you may not want to buy an entire album to get one song, especially a Christmas song. So, Chuck Berry stepped up to take Billy’s place!
To view disclosure statement, click here.
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at
1:51 am
“It was twenty years ago today
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
They’ve been going in and out of style
But they’re guaranteed to raise a smile…”
Actually, it was forty-four years and a few months ago that Paul McCartney sang those words, kicking off what might arguably be the most iconic rock album of all time, by the most iconic rock group of all. It’s been issued on vinyl, on 8-track, on cassette, on compact disc, and most recently, a remastered version was released on CD as well. Chances are, if you never owned it yourself (and you’re over 30 years old), then you probably know someone who did. All these years later, this collection of songs still stands out as unique.
Read the full article…
Saturday, December 10th, 2011 at
12:43 am
In the beginning…
… it was just plain ol’ rock & roll. It was raw, it was hyper, it was the love child of the blues and hillbilly music, and it raged out of AM radios everywhere. That was back in the 1950′s, and life was good.
In the late 60′s, however, things began to change. The music began to get deeper, in many ways more intense. Around the same time, fans of rock & roll began to learn that the fidelity of FM radio was galaxies beyond that of AM. These two events combined to form what was originally called alternative rock or underground music; in a few years, these terms would give way to the phrase album-oriented rock, or AOR. Read the full article…
