ConstruxBoy
Kate's Daddy
One might argue that Jimmy Page had a better body of riffs than Richards but he's certainly been prolific.
....also Chuck Berry's piano player, Johnnie Johnson.Obviously, everyone knows Keith Richards, the man who according to Rolling Stone created "rock's greatest single body of riffs.” The X-pensive Winos are a side project Keith formed in the late 1980’s. The lineup surrounding Keith is impressive and includes Steve Jordan (recommended as a drummer by Charlie Watts himself), Waddy Wachtel, and long-time Rolling Stones collaborator Bobby Keys.
One might argue that Jimmy Page had a better body of riffs than Richards but he's certainly been prolific.
It depends on what era you're listening to. Their first two albums are very much in the alt-country realm, similar to Jeff Tweedy's previous band Uncle Tupelo, though the second one (Being There) begins the diversification from that. The third (Summerteeth) suggests a rootsier Beach Boys. They got much sonically heavier, in mood as much as in playing, starting with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But each of the subsequent albums offers a different twist on things. Every song you listed is from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or its successor A Ghost Is Born. If you haven't already, check out Impossible Germany from AGIB's successor Sky Blue Sky; it has IMO the best guitar work the band ever laid down.I’m a little late to the game with Wilco. I only recently started listening to them after hearing people talk about them for a long time. I was surprised when I first heard them. I had expected much more of a country sound and hadn’t anticipated all of the synthesizers and sound effects.
Nick Drake had two songs taken in the British Isles countdown today, and will have more on the way (including from me).![]()
Nick Drake had two songs taken in the British Isles countdown today, and will have more on the way (including from me).![]()
Great to hear. Thanks for the update. I haven't been following your latest countdown because I worry it would get me too far in the weeds with those songs and I would never finish this project. I have it bookmarked to read as soon as I am done with this.
Re Parsons, you covered it well, so I’ll just add this: The alt-country movement that started in the 80s and blossomed into the Americana genre? None of that would have happened without Parsons.T-179. Gram Parsons (55 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.19
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Cry One More Time, live; Return of the Grievous Angel)
# of 4-point songs: 6 (Big Mouth Blues, live; Bony Moronie/Forty Days/Almost Grown, live; Love Hurts; Love Hurts, live; She; Six Days of the Road, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Bony Maronie/Forty Days/Almost Grown, live; In My Hour of Darkness; Return of the Grievous Angel; She
I don’t think I probably need to say a ton about Gram Parsons because I know he is well-loved by many on the board and has received a lot of props in various music threads. I’ll just say he is probably my favorite artist for whom I consider their primary genre to be country (obviously he incorporates lots of other styles as well). And “Return of the Grievous Angel” is probably my favorite country song ever.
Gram is amazing and Emmylou is as well. The only reason he isn’t ranked higher is because this entry is only for his solo work and doesn’t include anything from The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, or The Flying Burrito Brothers. It is kind of like the Neil Young situation, except in this case the volume of available solo work is a lot lower.
Maybe @Pip's Invitation or others will want to say more.
T-179. Hank Williams (55 points)
Total number of songs: 27
Average song score: 2.04
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry; You Win Again)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Hey, Good Lookin’; I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry; Lovesick Blues; Move It on Over; My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It; Your Cheatin’ Heart
I previously said that Jimmie Rodgers was one of the two most important country songwriters ever. The other is Hank Williams. Despite only living until he was 29 years old, Hank had 55 songs make the top 10 in the country charts. More important than the number of successful songs (other artists with greater longevity like George Jones have had more) is the long-term impact of his songs. Williams basically influenced every artist who followed him in both country and rock music.
Many of his songs have been covered by a whole host of artists in every genre imaginable, from Jeff Buckley on “Lost Highway” to James Brown on “Your Cheatin’ Heart”; from George Thorogood doing “Move It On Over” to Red Hot Chili Peppers covering “Why Don’t You Love Me.” Probably the best covers, however, are the many covers of “You Win Again.” Among the great versions of this song are those by Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, and my favorite, The Grateful Dead.
T-179. Marshall Tucker Band (55 points)
Total number of songs: 15
Average song score: 3.13
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Ramblin’, live)
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Can’t You See; Can’t You See, live; Long Hard Ride, live; Never Trust a Stranger, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Fire on the Mountain, live; Ramblin’, live; Take the Highway, live; This Ol’ Cowboy
I think the perception of many people of The Marshall Tucker Band is of a straight southern rock band, kind of Lynyrd Skynyrd. That has always seemed a little strange to me for a band that incorporated a flute as one of its main instruments. In reality, The Marshall Tucker Band was a diverse band that had various influences and incorporated a lot of genres very well. I think of them as being closer to The Allman Brothers Band, though of course not quite on that level. But they were exceptionally good, and Toy Caldwell was an amazing guitarist. And they could jam. In fact, while their base point total is solid, they are one of the bands thus far in the countdown to benefit most from a jam bonus.
If I am remembering correctly as I have only been sort of following his thread, @timschochet called “Heard It in a Love Song” one of the greatest southern rock songs of all-time. Got to disagree there. No offense against Tim as I really appreciate the depth and breadth of his music knowledge, and no offense against the song as it is a fine tune. But I’m not sure it is even a top 10 Marshall Tucker song, let alone one of the best in the genre. These guys had a lot of great songs. Those above are some of my favorites.
T-179. Mountain (55 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.00
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Crossroader, live)
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Baby I’m Down, live; Mississippi Queen; Stormy Monday, live; Waiting to Take You Away, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Crossroader, live; For Yasgur’s Farm; Nantucket Sleighride, live; Theme From an Imaginary West
I’m sure everyone knows “Mississippi Queen.” I’m not sure how much of Mountain’s other stuff is widely known as I don’t think they have many songs that get a lot of radio play. Probably that is in part because these guys were pretty jammy and a lot of their stuff was probably too long to be radio friendly. Love that 32-minute version of “Nantucket Sleighride.”
Even more than for the great songs they recorded, I love Mountain for inspiring one of my other favorite bands, Gov’t Mule. When Warren Haynes and Allen Woody were talking about creating an Allman Brothers side project, they wanted to model it after the classic rock power trios they loved. Mountain was one of the bands that they were specifically thinking of, along with, certainly, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream (of course, both Mountain and Mule at times were often a 4-piece, but that’s beside the point). Of those artists, I always feel like Warren channels Leslie West more with his Gov’t Mule work, which tends to be a little heavier than his other stuff.
Another great Texas blues musician, Gary Clark, Jr. is probably one of the best guitarists around right now. Super soulful playing, and also incredibly creative. He isn’t ranked higher than this because most of his best songs are covers, and I don’t love his vocals. I know some people really appreciate his singing on songs like “Please Come Home,” but I’m not personally a fan. Still, he’s great and really crushes it live.
Agreed. He's thoroughly "modern"; not just aping 50s/60s sounds. "This Is My Land" is one of the most powerful songs I've heard in the last few years.Another great Texas blues musician, Gary Clark, Jr. is probably one of the best guitarists around right now. Super soulful playing, and also incredibly creative. He isn’t ranked higher than this because most of his best songs are covers, and I don’t love his vocals. I know some people really appreciate his singing on songs like “Please Come Home,” but I’m not personally a fan. Still, he’s great and really crushes it live.
I'm going to regret stumbling onto this thread. But I'll just say his creativity is what makes him so interesting as a blues artist now; he's by no means just a preservationist - he's pushing the envelope, and his most recent album is great. Deserves the plaudits.
Agreed. He's thoroughly "modern"; not just aping 50s/60s sounds. "This Is My Land" is one of the most powerful songs I've heard in the last few years.Another great Texas blues musician, Gary Clark, Jr. is probably one of the best guitarists around right now. Super soulful playing, and also incredibly creative. He isn’t ranked higher than this because most of his best songs are covers, and I don’t love his vocals. I know some people really appreciate his singing on songs like “Please Come Home,” but I’m not personally a fan. Still, he’s great and really crushes it live.
I'm going to regret stumbling onto this thread. But I'll just say his creativity is what makes him so interesting as a blues artist now; he's by no means just a preservationist - he's pushing the envelope, and his most recent album is great. Deserves the plaudits.
Agreed. He's thoroughly "modern"; not just aping 50s/60s sounds. "This Is My Land" is one of the most powerful songs I've heard in the last few years.Another great Texas blues musician, Gary Clark, Jr. is probably one of the best guitarists around right now. Super soulful playing, and also incredibly creative. He isn’t ranked higher than this because most of his best songs are covers, and I don’t love his vocals. I know some people really appreciate his singing on songs like “Please Come Home,” but I’m not personally a fan. Still, he’s great and really crushes it live.
I'm going to regret stumbling onto this thread. But I'll just say his creativity is what makes him so interesting as a blues artist now; he's by no means just a preservationist - he's pushing the envelope, and his most recent album is great. Deserves the plaudits.
Jose - you're clearly a blues guitar, and just overall guitar music driven guy ...
I just tripped into this today - you ever heard of this guy???
wow![]()
If you took Mellencamp out, those #171s would be an amazing group of artists.
Not even a mention of Hot For Teacher?
Not even a mention of Hot For Teacher?
Eh, like I said my goal is not really to list every good song a band does. Sometimes the songs are chosen to give a spectrum of an artist's output, sometimes it is random.
I will say I have always found "Hot for Teacher" to be a little overrated. The drumming is awesome and the intro guitar solo is nice, though far from Eddie's best work. The main riff actually bores me a little and the melody is super lame. I kind of feel like if it weren't for the music video, people wouldn't care as much about this song. Maybe that's just me, though. It is probably still my second favorite song on 1984, but I don't like that album nearly as much as either of the first two albums.
Not even a mention of Hot For Teacher?
Eh, like I said my goal is not really to list every good song a band does. Sometimes the songs are chosen to give a spectrum of an artist's output, sometimes it is random.
I will say I have always found "Hot for Teacher" to be a little overrated. The drumming is awesome and the intro guitar solo is nice, though far from Eddie's best work. The main riff actually bores me a little and the melody is super lame. I kind of feel like if it weren't for the music video, people wouldn't care as much about this song. Maybe that's just me, though. It is probably still my second favorite song on 1984, but I don't like that album nearly as much as either of the first two albums.
It’s probably the only song I like by them
I have no idea who this person is or what this movie is.T-158. Dana Fuchs (63 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 3.01
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Helter Skelter; Oh! Darling; So Hard to Move, live; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: So Hard to Move; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live; Vagabond Wind, live
I anticipate I will get some criticism for this pick and maybe that’s deserved. When I ran the numbers, this was probably one of the two or three most surprising rankings to me. There have certainly been much better artists that have already appeared. So I am happy to take some of the criticism.
That being said, I do still really like Dana Fuchs, and not just because of the movie. That’s of course how I discovered her and in my opinion, she is by far the best part of that movie. The vast majority of the songs in my library, however, are her original songs and there is some really good stuff there. In terms of stuff from the movie soundtrack, I still think a lot of it is quite good. Is her performance on “Oh! Darling” Paul’s performance on the song? No, but that is an impossible bar. I still like her version.
People have frequently compared her to Janis Joplin and in my opinion one can do worse than being the subject of those comparisons.
T-158. Brothers of a Feather (63 points)
Total number of songs: 14
Average song score: 3.64
# of 5-point songs: 4 (Over the Hill, live; Roll um Easy, live; Someday Past the Sunset, live; Thorn in My Pride, live)
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Cursed Diamond, live; Polly, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Driving Wheel, live; Over the Hill, live; Polly, live; Someday Past the Sunset, live; Thorn in My Pride, live
Brothers of a Feather is the name Chris and Rich Robinson go by when they play without the rest of The Black Crowes. In 2007 they released a great album with this name, featuring a number of Crowes songs, some stuff from Chris and Rich’s solo careers, and some outstanding covers. So this is another entry where all the songs come from a single album, but it’s a great one and definitely worth checking out.
Among the entries here, there are some songs that have already been featured in the countdown and some that will come up later. I have discussed “Polly” both in the Gene Clark entry and the Robert Plant/Allison Krauss entry. As good as those are, this is my favorite version. “Over the Hill” is a great song by Scottish musician John Martyn who also was featured earlier in the countdown.
This version of “Driving Wheel” is also excellent. It used to be a 4-point song. I’m not sure what happened but I think I knocked it down a level some time ago when I added a version by the full Black Crowes to the library. I’m thinking that was a mistake and I need to bump it back up. “Roll Um Easy” will be spotlighted later and I’ll wait until that post to say more. “Thorn in My Pride” is one of the most popular Black Crowes songs, and Rich’s guitar playing on this version is amazing.
Chris and Rich will both get personnel bonuses for the Black Crowes but since this entry is just for a single album, they didn’t get the bonus here. But again, it’s a great album, so check it out if you get a chance.
T-158. Dana Fuchs (63 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 3.01
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Helter Skelter; Oh! Darling; So Hard to Move, live; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: So Hard to Move; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live; Vagabond Wind, live
I anticipate I will get some criticism for this pick and maybe that’s deserved. When I ran the numbers, this was probably one of the two or three most surprising rankings to me. There have certainly been much better artists that have already appeared. So I am happy to take some of the criticism.
That being said, I do still really like Dana Fuchs, and not just because of the movie. That’s of course how I discovered her and in my opinion, she is by far the best part of that movie. The vast majority of the songs in my library, however, are her original songs and there is some really good stuff there. In terms of stuff from the movie soundtrack, I still think a lot of it is quite good. Is her performance on “Oh! Darling” Paul’s performance on the song? No, but that is an impossible bar. I still like her version.
People have frequently compared her to Janis Joplin and in my opinion one can do worse than being the subject of those comparisons.
T-158. Jerry Lee Lewis (63 points)
Total number of songs: 37
Average song score: 1.97
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Mean Woman Blues; What’d I Say)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Chantilly Lace, live; Cold Cold Heart; Mean Woman Blues, live; Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, live
Jerry Lee Lewis is obviously one of the most important pioneers of rock. But I think this ranking seems a little high. In terms of gut feeling rankings, there is no way he should be ranked above Little Richard, for instance. The ranking is more related to total volume than anything.
Still, he does have a lot of great songs. I previously highlighted his version of “You Win Again.” Here we get versions of a couple of other songs that have previously been featured in the countdown, “Mean Woman Blues” (mentioned in the Roy Orbison entry) and “What’d I Say” (mentioned in the Duane Allman entry). Of course, the songs known as his signature songs like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” are also great.
T-158. Joe Cocker (63 points)
Total number of songs: 18
Average song score: 2.61
# of 5-point songs: 3 (Feelin’ Alright; Feelin’ Alright, live; Space Captain, live)
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Cry Me a River, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #14 multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell (partial bonus)
Recommended listening: Blue Medley, live; Delta Lady, live; Feelin’ Alright; The Letter, live
I know Joe Cocker is a little contentious on this board. Out of respect for @krista4 I won’t even mention a certain cover song (though I do like that cover, especially Jimmy Page’s guitar). Unfortunately, you can’t be a fan of jam bands without loving Mad Dogs & Englishmen, so I haveto give Joe some props. He was a great singer, but of course his greatest talent was making use of the strengths of other gifted musicians.
I mean, let’s be honest, this entry is really just the first of two entries for Leon Russell. In fact, given his contribution to this body of music, I actually awarded a fraction of Leon’s personnel bonus here.
T-158. Joni Mitchell (63 points)
Total number of songs: 23
Average song score: 2.65
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Big Yellow Taxi, live x2; Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire, live; Woodstock, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Big Yellow Taxi, live; Cactus Tree, live; Coyote, live; Furry Sings the Blues, live; Love or Money, live
Joni is probably my wife’s favorite artist. While she isn’t quite my favorite style, she is extremely talented and you have to respect someone who played at both The Isle of Wight and The Last Waltz, and was invited to Woodstock.
The version I link of “Furry Sings the Blues” is from The Last Waltz and features Joni accompanied by Neil Young and Robbie Roberston. Super cool.
I should note that here we have a situation in which I have two live versions of the same song at the same point total. Moving forward this is going to start happening fairly frequently, so it won’t be too long until I change the format for how I do these entries.
I have no idea who this person is or what this movie is.
I have no idea who this person is or what this movie is.T-158. Dana Fuchs (63 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 3.01
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Helter Skelter; Oh! Darling; So Hard to Move, live; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: So Hard to Move; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live; Vagabond Wind, live
I anticipate I will get some criticism for this pick and maybe that’s deserved. When I ran the numbers, this was probably one of the two or three most surprising rankings to me. There have certainly been much better artists that have already appeared. So I am happy to take some of the criticism.
That being said, I do still really like Dana Fuchs, and not just because of the movie. That’s of course how I discovered her and in my opinion, she is by far the best part of that movie. The vast majority of the songs in my library, however, are her original songs and there is some really good stuff there. In terms of stuff from the movie soundtrack, I still think a lot of it is quite good. Is her performance on “Oh! Darling” Paul’s performance on the song? No, but that is an impossible bar. I still like her version.
People have frequently compared her to Janis Joplin and in my opinion one can do worse than being the subject of those comparisons.
Sorry. I may be remembering incorrectly, but I thought Krista had talked (derisively) about Across the Universe a bit in her thread so I assumed people were familiar.
T-155. Ozark Mountain Daredevils (64 points)
Total number of songs: 21
Average song score: 2.86
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 3 (If You Wanna Get to Heaven; Look Away; Standing on the Rock)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Country Girl; It’ll Shine When It Shines; Jackie Blue; Look Away; Standing on the Rock
Interesting fact, the original full name of this band was "Cosmic Corn Cob & His Amazing Ozark Mountain Daredevils" which I think is significantly better. These guys are pretty interesting. They have been around for five decades and have a lot of good songs, some of which did ok on the charts, though I don’t think they are probably a household name to the average music fan.
FootballGuys are, of course, much more knowledgeable and I’m pretty sure I remember both “Jackie Blue” and “If You Wanna Get to Heaven” being discussed in the American artist countdown. They have a lot of other good songs too, if you like this style of country rock. I love the variable instrumentation they bring to their songs.
T-155. Sonny Boy Williamson II (64 points)
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 3.05
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Born Blind; Fattening Frogs for Snakes; Help Me; I Don’t Know; One Way Out)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Born Blind; Bring It on Home; Help Me; Keep Your Hands Out of My Pocket; One Way Out
For those who are new to the thread, I explain the difference between Sonny Boy Williamson I and Sonny Boy Williamson II here. Both were very impactful musicians, but I prefer the second iteration.
Sonny Boy Williams II recorded a lot of songs that would be famously covered by rock musicians, including “Bring It on Home” (Led Zeppelin) and “One Way Out” (The Allman Brothers Band). “Born Blind” is a reworking of a song he previously recorded with the title “Eyesight to the Blind” which has been recorded under the original title by B.B. King, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, and The Who, among others.
“Help Me” is based on the Booker T and the MG’s song “Green Onions” and itself became a blues standard.
T-155. Zac Brown Band (64 points)
Total number of songs: 24
Average song score: 2.58
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Alabama Jubilee, live; Can’t You See, live; The Devil Went Down to Georgia, live; The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, live; Who Knows, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Chicken Fried; Free/Into the Mystic, live; Highway 20 Ride; It’s Not OK, live; Junkyard, live
I never really know what to think about Zac Brown Band. Many of their best-known songs and albums are fairly straight country, probably a little too country for my tastes. But in concert, anything goes, and they’ll mix it up with everything from pure bluegrass to hard rock bordering on metal. The variety is pretty cool. Kind of like Chris Stapleton in that way, and while Zac Brown himself isn’t as good of a singer as Stapleton, he does surround himself with great musicians.
So for me, while some of their original songs are ok, it is some of their great live covers that I like best about this group. I’ve heard them do songs by everyone from Dire Straits to Def Leppard, from The Eagles to Rage Against the Machine. In honor of @Dan Lambskin I’ll just leave this here.
The first two Ozark Mountain Daredevils albums are incredible. Tracks I love that you didn’t mention include Colorado Song, Road to Glory, Beauty in the River, Spaceship Orion and You Made It Right.
They were fascinating to me. The original lineup had six members, four of whom were singer/songwriters, all with very different styles, yet the early albums cohere really well.The first two Ozark Mountain Daredevils albums are incredible. Tracks I love that you didn’t mention include Colorado Song, Road to Glory, Beauty in the River, Spaceship Orion and You Made It Right.
I know nothing of these guys.to you and turnjose for the recommendations.
The first two Ozark Mountain Daredevils albums are incredible. Tracks I love that you didn’t mention include Colorado Song, Road to Glory, Beauty in the River, Spaceship Orion and You Made It Right.
Imagine this was wild in 1970147. Black Sabbath (69 points)
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 2.85
# of 5-point songs: 1 (War Pigs)
# of 4-point songs: 3 (N.I.B.; Paranoid; Supernaut)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Black Sabbath; Children of the Grave; Heaven and Hell; N.I.B.; Supernaut; War Pigs; The Wizard
Maybe the most influential group to appear so far on this list, I can’t imagine what it would have been like to hear Black Sabbath when they first came out. Just five years before their first album, “Ticket to Ride” was considered heavy, and in the subsequent few years we only progressed to debating whether “I Can See for Miles” or “Helter Skelter” was heavier. Then these guys came along.
More than five decades later and after listening to some of these songs dozens and dozens of times, the guitar and bass riffs still sound incredibly fresh and innovative.
Even though RJD is the superior singer, I favor the Ozzy years over the Dio years. But there is a lot of good stuff from both (both singers were in the running for personnel bonuses, though both fell short). I’m not as big of a metal fan as some, but these guys were awesome.
Though I still think they would have been even cooler with their original name, The Polka Tulk Blues Band.
I'd bet you know "If You Wanna Get To Heaven".The first two Ozark Mountain Daredevils albums are incredible. Tracks I love that you didn’t mention include Colorado Song, Road to Glory, Beauty in the River, Spaceship Orion and You Made It Right.
have always loved "Jackie Blue" - that's all I know ...