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The 100 Greatest Classic Rock Albums of All Time: #1. Sticky Fingers (4 Viewers)

26. Rod Stewart- Every Picture Tells A Story (1971)
Classic rock radio hits: Maggie May, Mandolin Wind, (I Know) I’m Losing You, Every Picture Tells A Story, (Find a) Reason to Believe
Consistent with my radio experience. A brilliant record with a unique vibe that seems like an outlier in Stewart's trend-hopping career.

25. The Beatles- Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Classic rock radio hits: Magical Mystery Tour, The Fool On the Hill, I Am the Walrus, Hello, Goodbye, Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, Baby You’re A Rich Man, All You Need Is Love

Again consistent with my radio experience. An amazing collection of songs but not really a proper album. In the UK it was an EP consisting of side 1 (in a different running order). In the US it was fleshed out to an album with recent non-album singles comprising side 2. I agree with your praise of Flying and Blue Jay Way -- they have a lot of haters but I've always enjoyed them.

24. Led Zeppelin- Houses of the Holy (1973)
Classic rock radio hits: Over the Hills and Far Away, Dancing Days, The Rain Song, The Song Remains the Same, D’Yer Mak’er, The Ocean

Again consistent with my listening experience. I have no idea why the Philly stations didn't play No Quarter, but they didn't. D'Yer Mak'er and The Crunge are awful (I agree with Uruk that the latter is mostly due to Plant) but the rest of the songs are top-notch. In Anarchy's countdown, I had No Quarter at #3, The Song Remains the Same at #9, Over the Hills and Far Away at #22 and Dancing Days at #23.

23. Black Sabbath-Paranoid (1970)
Classic rock radio hits: Iron Man, Paranoid, War Pigs/Luke’s Wall
My stations didn't play much Sabbath, so I never heard War Pigs until I was an adult. They did play Iron Man and Paranoid, though.

22. Derek & The Dominos- Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)
Classic rock radio hits: Layla, Bell Bottom Blues, Little Wing
My stations would also play Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad? on occasion. I selected that one in the Worldwide Countdown. This record is Clapton's greatest accomplishment and his interplay with Duane Allman is amazing.

21. Steely Dan- Aja (1977)
Classic rock radio hits: Deacon Blues, Josie, Peg, Aja
I don't remember my stations playing the title track. Maybe on rare occasions late at night. I selected the title track in the US Countdown and it is my #1 Steely Dan song. The rest of the record is fantastic as well -- not enough credit is given to Home at Last, which is a chillingly good ballad.

20. The Who- Tommy (1969)
Classic rock radio hits: Pinball Wizard, We’re Not Gonna Take It, I’m Free

My stations also played Overture/It's a Boy, The Acid Queen, Go to the Mirror and Sparks. This album has some amazing high points but also IMO a lot of filler -- the idea is better in concept than in execution. I would rank Who's Next, Quadrophenia and The Who Sell Out over it. Interestingly, Townshend asked Entwhistle to write the child-abuse songs because he wasn't comfortable doing it himself. The band also hates "Welcome" and has not included it in live performances of the full work. ("Underture" usually gets skipped as well.)

19. The Beatles- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Classic rock radio hits: the entire album
My stations were never brave enough to play Within You, Without You, but otherwise they played everything from this. I rank it behind Abbey Road, Revolver, The White Album and Rubber Soul, and about even with Let It Be, because it doesn't rock very much. But most of the songs are excellent.

18. The Rolling Stones- Beggars Banquet (1968)
Classic Rock radio hits: Sympathy for the Devil, Street Fighting Man, Stray Cat Blues, No Expectations, Salt of the Earth
Only the first three ever appeared on my stations. But this record has a great vibe that ties up all of the Stones' influences neatly.

17. Led Zeppelin- Led Zeppelin (1969)
Classic rock radio hits: Communication Breakdown, Good Times Bad Times, Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, Dazed and Confused
My stations played every single track, even Black Mountain Side. Gen-Xers in Philly were STARVED for Zeppelin in the '80s. In Anarchy's countdown, I had Dazed and Confused at #6 and Communication Breakdown (which anticipated the arrival of punk more than 5 years before the fact) at #24. Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You is in my top 30.

16. Queen- A Night at the Opera (1975)
Classic rock radio hits: Bohemian Rhapsody, You’re My Best Friend, Love of My Life
Just the first two on my stations. Pre-Wayne's World, Queen wasn't as huge a huge deal in Philly as they were in some other places. Sweet Lady and The Prophet's Song are my favorite deep cuts here.

15. Pink Floyd- The Wall (1979)
Classic rock radio hits: Comfortably Numb, Another Brick In the Wall Pt. 2, Mother, Young Lust, Hey You, Run Like Hell, Goodbye Blue Sky

A lot of radio variance here. My stations: Comfortably Numb, Another Brick in the Wall Part 1, The Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, Empty Spaces/Young Lust, Hey You, Run Like Hell. Maybe one of the In the Fleshes occasionally. I love disc 1 but I straight-up hate disc 2 other than Hey You, Comfortably Numb and Run Like Hell. Here is where Waters jumped the shark and I haven't been able to take him seriously since. In Anarchy's countdown I had Run Like Hell at #3, Comfortably Numb at #9 and One of My Turns at #24.
 
Seaside Rendezvous
More music hall. One of those songs I hear now and wonder, how did anyone not realize Freddie was gay? “I feel like dancing”.

Why do you think that nobody thought he was gay? It was a different time, when people didn't really talk about it publicly, but it was pretty obvious he wasn't a straight arrow. I mean he was no Boy George but Liberace or Elton John wouldn't be far afield imo.

Hell people had George Michael pegged before he even knew himself. Then again we also thought Simon Lebon was gay. So there's that.
I think there is a big difference between 70s artists like Queen and 80s artists after New Wave. When I saw Queen live in 1980 the crowd was filled with teenage guys like me- rock fans who were, I would guess, pretty homophobic.
Were you homophobic? Put another way, would you have gone to see them had you known he was gay?

Also do you think you may have been naive? They were four guys who called themselves "Queen". Frankly I'm surprised it only turned out that one of them was gay. If you had asked me at the time I'm quite sure I assumed they were all gay tbh.
I was absolutely homophobic as a teen and absolutely naive about Queen. The thought of gay men back then completely disgusted me when I thought about it at all (I tried not to.) Would I have seen them anyhow? Can’t say.
Fair enough. I'd say my general feelings about gay men were (are?) on par with what you describe here, but I never particularly cared what persuasion they are - rally has nothing to do with their talent as a musician imo, and it didn't interfere with my appreciation for thir art. In fact in some cases it might even enhance the art, if they use it to express themselves in ways I can relate to (and suffering is something we can all relate to).

I'd call that a more general comment than specific to Freddy Mercury, who mostly (mostly) stayed fairly upbeat in his music I think.

To be fair it sounds like you're a bit older than I am, and/or paid more attention to popular music earlier than I did.
 
Seaside Rendezvous
More music hall. One of those songs I hear now and wonder, how did anyone not realize Freddie was gay? “I feel like dancing”.

Why do you think that nobody thought he was gay? It was a different time, when people didn't really talk about it publicly, but it was pretty obvious he wasn't a straight arrow. I mean he was no Boy George but Liberace or Elton John wouldn't be far afield imo.

Hell people had George Michael pegged before he even knew himself. Then again we also thought Simon Lebon was gay. So there's that.
I think there is a big difference between 70s artists like Queen and 80s artists after New Wave. When I saw Queen live in 1980 the crowd was filled with teenage guys like me- rock fans who were, I would guess, pretty homophobic.
Were you homophobic? Put another way, would you have gone to see them had you known he was gay?

Also do you think you may have been naive? They were four guys who called themselves "Queen". Frankly I'm surprised it only turned out that one of them was gay. If you had asked me at the time I'm quite sure I assumed they were all gay tbh.
I was absolutely homophobic as a teen and absolutely naive about Queen. The thought of gay men back then completely disgusted me when I thought about it at all (I tried not to.) Would I have seen them anyhow? Can’t say.
Fair enough. I'd say my general feelings about gay men were (are?) on par with what you describe here, but I never particularly cared what persuasion they are - rally has nothing to do with their talent as a musician imo, and it didn't interfere with my appreciation for thir art. In fact in some cases it might even enhance the art, if they use it to express themselves in ways I can relate to (and suffering is something we can all relate to).

I'd call that a more general comment than specific to Freddy Mercury, who mostly (mostly) stayed fairly upbeat in his music I think.

To be fair it sounds like you're a bit older than I am, and/or paid more attention to popular music earlier than I did.
I should add that I do realize the level of snarkiness in Mercury's lyrics and he definitely straddled the line between joy and angst, so maybe I'm a little off base there. It's probably more projection on my part, a young man who didn't relate to that world.

But I never didn't think he was gay. I always understood that meant a struggle that people like me can't fully understand.
 
Seaside Rendezvous
More music hall. One of those songs I hear now and wonder, how did anyone not realize Freddie was gay? “I feel like dancing”.

Why do you think that nobody thought he was gay? It was a different time, when people didn't really talk about it publicly, but it was pretty obvious he wasn't a straight arrow. I mean he was no Boy George but Liberace or Elton John wouldn't be far afield imo.

Hell people had George Michael pegged before he even knew himself. Then again we also thought Simon Lebon was gay. So there's that.
I think there is a big difference between 70s artists like Queen and 80s artists after New Wave. When I saw Queen live in 1980 the crowd was filled with teenage guys like me- rock fans who were, I would guess, pretty homophobic.
Were you homophobic? Put another way, would you have gone to see them had you known he was gay?

Also do you think you may have been naive? They were four guys who called themselves "Queen". Frankly I'm surprised it only turned out that one of them was gay. If you had asked me at the time I'm quite sure I assumed they were all gay tbh.
I was absolutely homophobic as a teen and absolutely naive about Queen. The thought of gay men back then completely disgusted me when I thought about it at all (I tried not to.) Would I have seen them anyhow? Can’t say.
Interesting that you have this take on Queen and yet you have huge praise for David Bowie. Bowie's appearance was effeminate or androgynous for much of his early career.
If you were homophobic, how did he fly under your gaydar?
 
Tim, I've defended you more than anyone in this thread (not that you wanted or needed it). I'm going to invoke the Thumper Rule an not speak to your last selection.
 
Seaside Rendezvous
More music hall. One of those songs I hear now and wonder, how did anyone not realize Freddie was gay? “I feel like dancing”.

Why do you think that nobody thought he was gay? It was a different time, when people didn't really talk about it publicly, but it was pretty obvious he wasn't a straight arrow. I mean he was no Boy George but Liberace or Elton John wouldn't be far afield imo.

Hell people had George Michael pegged before he even knew himself. Then again we also thought Simon Lebon was gay. So there's that.
I think there is a big difference between 70s artists like Queen and 80s artists after New Wave. When I saw Queen live in 1980 the crowd was filled with teenage guys like me- rock fans who were, I would guess, pretty homophobic.
Were you homophobic? Put another way, would you have gone to see them had you known he was gay?

Also do you think you may have been naive? They were four guys who called themselves "Queen". Frankly I'm surprised it only turned out that one of them was gay. If you had asked me at the time I'm quite sure I assumed they were all gay tbh.
I was absolutely homophobic as a teen and absolutely naive about Queen. The thought of gay men back then completely disgusted me when I thought about it at all (I tried not to.) Would I have seen them anyhow? Can’t say.
Interesting that you have this take on Queen and yet you have huge praise for David Bowie. Bowie's appearance was effeminate or androgynous for much of his early career.
If you were homophobic, how did he fly under your gaydar?
I didn’t really listen to David Bowie, or come to love him, until my mid 20s. By then I had a gay roommate and completely changed my views on the subject of homosexuality.
 
Like most Floyd albums, it's an EP dressed up as an LP
I feel this way about the majority of double albums released by artists in general. Single albums sometimes already have filler, but expanding to 70-80 minutes just dilutes things even further.
I don't think this applies to The Wall at all. There isn't a single track from The Wall I would cut. Not every song has to be a home run like Comfortably Numb or Mother. The deep cuts are there to reinforce that feeling of isolation. You cannot gloss over stuff like that and expect it to evoke the same feelings. They are all needed to really get what the character is feeling and going through.
 
They are all needed to really get what the character is feeling and going through.
It's Waters feeling sorry for himself. He did it better (and exhaustingly) on other albums.
I get thinking this way, but I view the album through the lens of the character in the story. I saw the film back in 1990 before I heard the full album, so it is probably easier for me to see the main character as not Roger Waters (even if huge elements of the story are from his life).
 
Like most Floyd albums, it's an EP dressed up as an LP
I feel this way about the majority of double albums released by artists in general. Single albums sometimes already have filler, but expanding to 70-80 minutes just dilutes things even further.
I don't think this applies to The Wall at all. There isn't a single track from The Wall I would cut. Not every song has to be a home run like Comfortably Numb or Mother. The deep cuts are there to reinforce that feeling of isolation. You cannot gloss over stuff like that and expect it to evoke the same feelings. They are all needed to really get what the character is feeling and going through.
There are a couple of songs that I skip on the Wall but it is my favorite PF album and one of my favorite albums from any artist.
 
Seaside Rendezvous
More music hall. One of those songs I hear now and wonder, how did anyone not realize Freddie was gay? “I feel like dancing”.

Why do you think that nobody thought he was gay? It was a different time, when people didn't really talk about it publicly, but it was pretty obvious he wasn't a straight arrow. I mean he was no Boy George but Liberace or Elton John wouldn't be far afield imo.

Hell people had George Michael pegged before he even knew himself. Then again we also thought Simon Lebon was gay. So there's that.
I think there is a big difference between 70s artists like Queen and 80s artists after New Wave. When I saw Queen live in 1980 the crowd was filled with teenage guys like me- rock fans who were, I would guess, pretty homophobic.
Were you homophobic? Put another way, would you have gone to see them had you known he was gay?

Also do you think you may have been naive? They were four guys who called themselves "Queen". Frankly I'm surprised it only turned out that one of them was gay. If you had asked me at the time I'm quite sure I assumed they were all gay tbh.
I was absolutely homophobic as a teen and absolutely naive about Queen. The thought of gay men back then completely disgusted me when I thought about it at all (I tried not to.) Would I have seen them anyhow? Can’t say.
Interesting that you have this take on Queen and yet you have huge praise for David Bowie. Bowie's appearance was effeminate or androgynous for much of his early career.
If you were homophobic, how did he fly under your gaydar?
I didn’t really listen to David Bowie, or come to love him, until my mid 20s. By then I had a gay roommate and completely changed my views on the subject of homosexuality.
Was it the same with Elton John?
 
Seaside Rendezvous
More music hall. One of those songs I hear now and wonder, how did anyone not realize Freddie was gay? “I feel like dancing”.

Why do you think that nobody thought he was gay? It was a different time, when people didn't really talk about it publicly, but it was pretty obvious he wasn't a straight arrow. I mean he was no Boy George but Liberace or Elton John wouldn't be far afield imo.

Hell people had George Michael pegged before he even knew himself. Then again we also thought Simon Lebon was gay. So there's that.
I think there is a big difference between 70s artists like Queen and 80s artists after New Wave. When I saw Queen live in 1980 the crowd was filled with teenage guys like me- rock fans who were, I would guess, pretty homophobic.
Were you homophobic? Put another way, would you have gone to see them had you known he was gay?

Also do you think you may have been naive? They were four guys who called themselves "Queen". Frankly I'm surprised it only turned out that one of them was gay. If you had asked me at the time I'm quite sure I assumed they were all gay tbh.
I was absolutely homophobic as a teen and absolutely naive about Queen. The thought of gay men back then completely disgusted me when I thought about it at all (I tried not to.) Would I have seen them anyhow? Can’t say.
Interesting that you have this take on Queen and yet you have huge praise for David Bowie. Bowie's appearance was effeminate or androgynous for much of his early career.
If you were homophobic, how did he fly under your gaydar?
I didn’t really listen to David Bowie, or come to love him, until my mid 20s. By then I had a gay roommate and completely changed my views on the subject of homosexuality.
Was it the same with Elton John?
A little different. With Elton I liked the hits and didn’t really consider his persona: I remember the news of him getting married in the early 80s. I didn’t really start listening to Elton seriously (as in albums and deep cuts) until the early 90s. I always get there real late.
 
14. Boston- Boston (1976)

Classic rock radio hits: the entire album


What an extraordinary record. And it just occurred to me that I rank this as the greatest debut album of all time, beating out Led Zeppelin and The Cars for that honor.

Unfortunately this band would never reach such heights again. The song “Don’t Look Back” from their second effort is awesome and would fit right in on the first record; the rest of the second album is weaker material and doesn’t. The less said about the third album the better. But their debut effort has stood the test of time.

More Than a Feeling
What a start. An explosion of epic, good feeling rock and roll. Anthemic and iconic.

Peace of Mind
Great guitar, great melody, and even better lyrics. So good.

Foreplay/Long Time
The third song on side 1 has always left me wondering if this isn’t the single best side 1 on a rock album ever. It’s certainly up there. Like most people reading this I’m guessing, I’ve heard this magnum opus so many times in my life that I know every note by heart, and yet it still gets to me every time- that triumphant guitar that begins “Long Time” is so sublime…and so is the rest of it.

Rock and Roll Band
More greatness and this might be Delp’s best vocals.

Smokin’
And this one is probably the hardest rocking song on the album. More great guitar here.

Hitch a Ride
For many years my favorite song on the record. Love the acoustic elements and the melody.

Something About You
For a while I considered leaving this off the list of classic rock radio hits because I heard it less than the other 7 songs here. But I DID hear it from time to time so I decided to leave it in.

Let Me Take You Home Tonight
A gorgeous love song ends this amazing record. But not for me; I’m going back to “More Than a Feeling” so I can hear the whole thing again.
 
14. Boston- Boston (1976)

Classic rock radio hits: the entire album

wow - another group I saw when they were breaking big ...caught them at Bogarts in Cincy on their swing through Ohio in the late summer/fall when this album came out ...it was everywhere.

it was my freshman year at Miami of Ohio and it would blare out of almost all of the the dorm windows - same album ...

can't say I want to hear it much these days but it was amazing in it's day.
 
The amazing part about the first Boston album is all the songs still get played on the radio even now, 47 years later. To be fair, I live outside of Boston, so maybe that’s not the case everywhere. But in these parts, they are still in regular radio rotation. The other amazing part is they couldn’t get a record deal. It took them two years of shopping their demo tape around (with almost all of the songs from the first album) until the album finally got released.
 
More Than a Feeling
What a start. An explosion of epic, good feeling rock and roll. Anthemic and iconic.

Peace of Mind
Great guitar, great melody, and even better lyrics. So good.

Foreplay/Long Time
The third song on side 1 has always left me wondering if this isn’t the single best side 1 on a rock album ever. It’s certainly up there. Like most people reading this I’m guessing, I’ve heard this magnum opus so many times in my life that I know every note by heart, and yet it still gets to me every time- that triumphant guitar that begins “Long Time” is so sublime…and so is the rest of it.

It may be the greatest first 3 songs on an album ever - considering it’s the only 3 songs on side 1 I think it has to be up there.
 
14. Boston- Boston (1976)

Classic rock radio hits: the entire album


What an extraordinary record. And it just occurred to me that I rank this as the greatest debut album of all time, beating out Led Zeppelin and The Cars for that honor.

Unfortunately this band would never reach such heights again. The song “Don’t Look Back” from their second effort is awesome and would fit right in on the first record; the rest of the second album is weaker material and doesn’t. The less said about the third album the better. But their debut effort has stood the test of time.

More Than a Feeling
What a start. An explosion of epic, good feeling rock and roll. Anthemic and iconic.

Peace of Mind
Great guitar, great melody, and even better lyrics. So good.

Foreplay/Long Time
The third song on side 1 has always left me wondering if this isn’t the single best side 1 on a rock album ever. It’s certainly up there. Like most people reading this I’m guessing, I’ve heard this magnum opus so many times in my life that I know every note by heart, and yet it still gets to me every time- that triumphant guitar that begins “Long Time” is so sublime…and so is the rest of it.

Rock and Roll Band
More greatness and this might be Delp’s best vocals.

Smokin’
And this one is probably the hardest rocking song on the album. More great guitar here.

Hitch a Ride
For many years my favorite song on the record. Love the acoustic elements and the melody.

Something About You
For a while I considered leaving this off the list of classic rock radio hits because I heard it less than the other 7 songs here. But I DID hear it from time to time so I decided to leave it in.

Let Me Take You Home Tonight
A gorgeous love song ends this amazing record. But not for me; I’m going back to “More Than a Feeling” so I can hear the whole thing again.
I heard the entire album on the radio as well, also with Something About You as the least-played (but still occasionally heard). In contrast, only the title track of Don't Look Back was played regularly, with Feelin' Satisfied surfacing once in a while.

Like many people, teenage me was obsessed with this album, as it is an amazing feat of songwriting, production, arrangement and performance.
 
More Than a Feeling
What a start. An explosion of epic, good feeling rock and roll. Anthemic and iconic.

Peace of Mind
Great guitar, great melody, and even better lyrics. So good.

Foreplay/Long Time
The third song on side 1 has always left me wondering if this isn’t the single best side 1 on a rock album ever. It’s certainly up there. Like most people reading this I’m guessing, I’ve heard this magnum opus so many times in my life that I know every note by heart, and yet it still gets to me every time- that triumphant guitar that begins “Long Time” is so sublime…and so is the rest of it.

It may be the greatest first 3 songs on an album ever - considering it’s the only 3 songs on side 1 I think it has to be up there.
I had the cassette, which had a different order as cassettes often did in order to minimize blank space at the end of one of the sides.

Side 1: More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind, Something About You, Let Me Take You Home Tonight
Side 2: Rock and Roll Band, Smokin', Hitch a Ride, Foreplay/Long Time
 
Boston is certainly a great album beginning to end.

Put me down as another "Hitch a Ride" fan, terrific song. Really epitomizes what Boston about, along with "More Than a Feeling".

Anyone know what they use to produce the "clapping hands" effect in the chorus of "More Than a Feeling"? It's pretty cool, maybe it's a little goofy to enjoy that, but I do. :)
 
13. Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti (1975)

Classic rock radio hits: Kashmir, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot


Looking at the above list of hits, it seems odd to me that such a revered double album should contain so few songs that actually made the radio. But perhaps my memory is faulty. I’m so familiar with this record that all the tunes feel like hits to me, particularly the highlights of which there are so many. Let’s get to them:

Custard Pie
Great hard rocking blues. Page sure is fascinated with lemons isn’t he? Lone this.

The Rover
Included in my 25 for @Anarchy99 . Always has been one of my favorites by this band. Love the guitar solo.

In My Time of Dying
That guitar is so mesmerizing. It makes the entire song. Epic.

Houses of the Holy
Considered not quite enough for the album with the same name. Really? Maybe they should have included this and gotten rid of the Crunge instead? If so that record might be higher on my list.

Trampled Under Foot
Simple but great rock and roll. Should be played loud.

Kashmir
Any top 5 list of greatest Zeppelin songs would have to include this. Probably higher. If you want to make it #1, I wouldn’t argue (though I have a different choice in mind.) always makes me feel like I’m watching a thriller movie.

In the Light
Of the great Zeppelin classics (and this one, like Kashmir, is pretty high on my list,) this has the slowest beginning and the biggest payoff. It’s so worth the ride.

Bron-Yr-Aur
Gorgeous instrumental. So pretty.

Down by the Seaside
I actually used to skip over this as a young man- way too slow for me. It’s grown on me as I’ve gotten older and now I find it very pleasant.

Ten Years Gone
Splits time with The Rover and In The Light as my very favorite song on this record. Another guitar riff that I absolutely adore.

Night Flight
Maybe this one did get some radio? I just can’t remember. A fine rocker.

The Wanton Song
Opening guitar is very similar to Custard Pie but this isn’t quite as good. For me the weakest tune on the record.

Boogie With Stu
For some reason many critics don’t seem to like this collaboration with keyboardist Ian Stewart. I like it. It’s simple New Orleans style boogie woogie but it sounds good.

Black Country Woman
The Stones weren’t the only British band who mastered acoustic Delta blues. Led Zeppelin could do it just as well as demonstrated here.

Sick Again
The album ends how it began: with a great hard rock blues song. What could be better?
 
13. Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti (1975)

Classic rock radio hits: Kashmir, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot


Looking at the above list of hits, it seems odd to me that such a revered double album should contain so few songs that actually made the radio.

Before the conglomeration of terrestrial radio, this album was sometimes mined more deeply by independent classic-rock DJs who curated their own programming. On various stations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Jackson MS, we'd also get -- in addition to the three you named -- "The Rover", "In My Time of Dying", and "In the Light".
 
I'm usually the no double album guy, but this one works because they fleshed out an oversized single by adding in some quality unreleased songs.
LZ could practically do no wrong with the material on their first 6 albums. Even when they pulled out some unreleased songs for PG they worked really well. IMO, Presence and ITTOD were not close to being on the same level as their output from 69-75. Real life issues and excessiveness took their toll past PG. The next time they tried to pull out some unreleased tracks (for Coda), they proved to be a lot less successful. I hope at some point that there is an effort to clean up the other existing unreleased songs / outtakes / leftovers . . . such as Don't Start Me Talking (which IIRC came from the PG recording sessions). I get it, none of whatever is scraping the bottom of the barrel will compare to what was mixed and released at the time, but I'd still take a bad / cheesy / cash grab Zeppelin album over 99.9% of what gets released these days. If the Beatles can release a song after all this time, why not Zeppelin?
 
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Physical Graffiti is my favorite LZ album. Here in Los Angeles a large number of those songs were in heavy rotation on the classic rock station.
That’s my station. Which ones am I forgetting?
I think Custard Pie, In My Time Of Dying. I'd even hear the Wonton Song occasionally (which I really do like, though you don't - great guitar riff and drum track). Not as often as Kashmir, but that seems to still get played like 4 times a day, so it's hard to compete with that one.
 
Physical Graffiti is my favorite LZ album. Here in Los Angeles a large number of those songs were in heavy rotation on the classic rock station.
That’s my station. Which ones am I forgetting?
The only one that got pretty much no airplay in the Northeast was Bron-Yr-Aur. Night Flight, Down By The Seaside, and Boogie With Stu sometimes would make occasional appearances during rock blocks or Stairway to Seven programming (7 Zep tracks at 7 pm).
 
13. Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti (1975)

Classic rock radio hits: Kashmir, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot
In addition to these three, my stations played Custard Pie, Ten Years Gone and Boogie With Stu. Everything else, I heard for the first time when I got PG on cassette when I was in 8th grade. I wish I could experience that again. This is my favorite Zep album and a contender for the best double album of all time.

In Anarchy's countdown I had Ten Years Gone #2, In the Light #8, Kashmir #10, Trampled Under Foot #12, The Rover #14, Custard Pie #20 and Houses of the Holy #21.
 
Ten Years Gone (#9) and In My Time of Dying (#15) were the only two songs from this record in my top 25 in that countdown. I loved Kashmir at first, but got sick of it pretty quickly; it's just too repetitive. I feel that most of the songs on this record are in the solid/good range, unlike the earlier LZ albums which were mostly filled with very good/great songs, but who was going to tell LZ that they couldn't do a double album. Putting this ahead of Houses of the Holy is a bit crazy if you ask me, but I have to remind myself that the order is incidental.
 
Anyone know what they use to produce the "clapping hands" effect in the chorus of "More Than a Feeling"? It's pretty cool, maybe it's a little goofy to enjoy that, but I do. :)

This gives me an opportunity to post the fantastic What Makes This Song Great about More than a Feeling

 
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Anyone know what they use to produce the "clapping hands" effect in the chorus of "More Than a Feeling"? It's pretty cool, maybe it's a little goofy to enjoy that, but I do. :)

This gives me an opportunity to post the fantastic What Makes This Song Great about More than a Feeling

Thanks - have to give that a listen. Rick Beato is right up at the top among my favorite YouTube folks.
 
Anyone know what they use to produce the "clapping hands" effect in the chorus of "More Than a Feeling"? It's pretty cool, maybe it's a little goofy to enjoy that, but I do. :)

This gives me an opportunity to post the fantastic What Makes This Song Great about More than a Feeling

Excellent, thanks for posting that! His take was that the hand claps had to be human generated, not using a drum kit or otherwise. That whole song is amazing.
 
12. Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run (1975)

Classic rock radio hits: Born to Run, Thunder Road, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Jungleland, Backstreets, She’s the One


The Boss’s third album is still his best; he’s never topped it. Musically and lyrically the performances here are sheer brilliance.

Thunder Road
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays. Terrific poetry here. I regard this as Springsteen’s greatest song (though most critics seem to prefer the title track.) Exquisite songwriting.

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
And another of his best songs. Great rock and roll. The E Street band has rarely sounded better.

Night
A showcase for the great Clarence Clemons, who was arguably the greatest saxophonist in rock history. The song is fine.

Backstreets
Gorgeous piano playing and a beautiful melody. One of this albums many highlights.

Born to Run
Obviously a classic and his signature song (though I like Thunder Road a little better.) But this one defines what Springsteen’s music has always been about: his vision of American freedom and desire. More great sax by Clemons.

Shes The One
A lot of critics really love this one. Great keyboards but for me the song is overall pretty ordinary.

Meeting Across the River
Soft jazz. I could see this song on a Steely Dan record. I like it when I’m in the mood for it (which isn’t always.)

Jungleland
Bruce’s tale about gang violence isn’t just epic, it’s gigantic. A triumph of storytelling.
 
12. Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run (1975)

Classic rock radio hits: Born to Run, Thunder Road, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Jungleland, Backstreets, She’s the One


The Boss’s third album is still his best; he’s never topped it. Musically and lyrically the performances here are sheer brilliance.
Have to agree, Bruce's best by far. Not a huge Bruce fan, but have seen him live and he and the band are pretty tremendous.

Backstreets does it for me. Also really enjoy 10th ave freeze out.
 
There are some artists on the list that I am not that wild over even though they are popular and widely appreciated. Bruce definitely falls under that category, but like the others on the list, the albums are undeniable (except Neil Young :wink: ). I know it may be overplayed like most classics are, but I could listen to the title track multiple times a day and not grow tired of it. The lyrics, the band, and the message hit me and still strike a certain chord, and the rest of the songs you list are certainly top notch. The rest of his catalogue I can take or leave.
 

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