While I wait my turn at the very end of the first round in Summerpalooza, random thoughts about some of the known-to-me songs from #3:
Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel is masterful, and may be the track that does the best at fusing poppy Todd and weird Todd. It should have been a hit, but Todd refused to release singles from A Wizard, A True Star.
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic has an incredible melody and incredible rhythms (if you can tear yourself away from the earworm).
Dance on a Volcano was a great introduction to "new Genesis," track 1 of side 1 of album 1 with Phil as frontman. It's just as majestic as the best Gabriel material but is more grounded.
Stevie Ray's version of The Sky is Crying is gut-wrenching, especially due to its release coming so soon after his death.
Living on a Thin Line is the best Dave Davies song I have heard and is every bit as good as his brother's best. It was played at my 1990 show -- and I suspect it was played at almost every show after Word of Mouth's release given that it was easily Dave's best-known song, at least to American audiences.
Freewill has powerful riffage and an insistent melody that cover up for the "high school kid who just read Ayn Rand" lyrics.
Josie is funkier than anyone from Bard College has any right to be.
As with many people, Longview was my introduction to Green Day. The bassline remains iconic and the song endures as a time-and-place memory for pretty much everyone I know.
I remember Waltz #2 (XO) because Krista took it in the This Is Their Best Song draft. The passage that ends "but I'm gonna love you anyhow" is perfection.
As with many folks, Superstition is my #1 Stevie. I ranked it #3 in the US countdown. What I said there:
This is one of the funkiest AND hardest-rocking songs ever released, and it is no surprise that many people in this group love it. It has always held a special place in my heart not only for that, but also because one of my very first memories is seeing Stevie perform this on Sesame Street. I asked my mom why Stevie was wearing dark glasses and moving his head unusually, and that's when I learned what blindness was.
Clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE. The guitarist to our right (Stevie's left) is Michael Sembello, later of "Maniac" fame. Stevie JAMMED THIS THE HELL OUT on a CHILDREN's show. He didn't have to do that. What a performer.
The versions by
Jeff Beck (whom Stevie was going to give the song to outright until his management intervened) and
Stevie Ray Vaughn are top-notch as well.
I knew I was going to double up with @DrIanMalcolm but I had no idea that @jwb would make it a threepeat.


all around!
Fluffhead is another early Phish track that resulted from Trey Anastasio's studying jazz composition. The full version (split up on their first album into two tracks, Fluffhead and Fluff's Travels, but always played as one in concert) is part jazz, part prog, part silliness and all ambition.
In the Hall of the Mountain King is ELO bludgeoning their way through their classical-rock fusion ideas, that would get more refined soon after.
The FM stations I grew up with played Lawyers, Guns and Money despite the S-word. It helps that Zevon kind of mumbles it. His personality really comes through on this one.
Would? is my #1 AIC on days that Rooster isn't. And it was my first introduction to them via the Singles soundtrack, a disc that was remarkably influential on my tastes in the '90s.
Keep Yourself Alive is a hoot.
Thunderstruck is the only post-For Those About to Rock AC/DC song that I really care for, and boy do I care. That intro is ... striking.
I'll Stick Around is a perfect fusion of grunge and power pop, and was a big reason why the Foos debut album resonated with me.
The Sound of Silence remains haunting despite being ubiquitous.
How Can I Refuse has a great melody and vocal. It's better than their subsequent monster hits and doesn't get enough credit.
Bennie and the Jets is something you have to be in the mood for, but when you are ... BEN-NIE! BEN-NAY! BENNYBENNYBENNY BENNY! And the JEEEEE-ITS!