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The 100 Greatest Songs of 1972. #1. All The Young Dudes (1 Viewer)

25. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (from All Directions) 

https://youtu.be/nXiQtD5gcHU

So here is another 60s group that had a traditional Motown sound and then were heavily influenced by funk in their 70s material. If you watch the link (a classic Soul Train performance) they’re still doing the iconic dance moves, but the sound is definitely a new one. 
This is a legendary, great tune. That bass line: why do so many funk classics begin with a great bass? 

 
timschochet said:
25. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (from All Directions) 

https://youtu.be/nXiQtD5gcHU

So here is another 60s group that had a traditional Motown sound and then were heavily influenced by funk in their 70s material. If you watch the link (a classic Soul Train performance) they’re still doing the iconic dance moves, but the sound is definitely a new one. 
This is a legendary, great tune. That bass line: why do so many funk classics begin with a great bass? 
Click to expand...
This is my pick for number one. One of the best songs of all time IMHO

 
timschochet said:
25. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (from All Directions) 

https://youtu.be/nXiQtD5gcHU

So here is another 60s group that had a traditional Motown sound and then were heavily influenced by funk in their 70s material. If you watch the link (a classic Soul Train performance) they’re still doing the iconic dance moves, but the sound is definitely a new one. 
This is a legendary, great tune. That bass line: why do so many funk classics begin with a great bass? 
Click to expand...
This one would be much higher for me. 

As to what I bolded, the sound on this record (except for the intro) wasn't really new for the Temptations. They had been doing variations on this type of thing since 1968's "Cloud Nine" and on through "Runaway Child", "I Can't Get Next To You", "Psychedelic Shack", "Ball Of Confusion", et al. Lead vocal swaps and a kind dance-while-you-protest vibe. Sly Stone's influence is all over these records, which was sort of producer Norman Whitfield's thing.

What made "Papa...." even more extraordinary to me was the long instrumental intro, which owed as much to Miles Davis as it did to Sly with its echo-y B*tches Brew style trumpet. 

The wild thing is that this was - as often happened at Motown - a cover of an Undisputed Truth original. Both were produced by Whitfield (who also wrote it, along with Barrett Strong of "Money" fame). UT's version was good and made some chart noise, but it couldn't hold a candle to the Temptations' version.

 
Pip's Invitation said:
In funk, the bass is kind of the whole point.
Click to expand...
True.

I recall a famous quote by a brilliant person: "If you can't set the bottom, you can't be funky".

(Narrator: actually, Uruk just made that quote up; he's full of crap)

Though it doesn't have to be an actual bass guitar. Keyboards and other instruments can do it, too.

Bootsy Collins (one of the dozen or so best bass guitarists in rock/pop/r&b/whatever history) wrote Parliament's classic hit "Flashlight". Guess what "Flashlight doesn't have? A bass guitar. It's done on keys. The effect sounds better on the record than it does live, though..... at least the times I saw P Funk live, where that line on the keyboards is way too juiced-up (I'd liken to 80s video game music) while the "live" bassist  - usually Bootsy - was doing things that sounded like another song.

 
timschochet said:
24. The Kinks “Celluloid Heroes” (from Everybody’s In Showbiz) 

https://youtu.be/yp_QkUVZGPc

For my money, the best song about Hollywood ever written. The lyrics are poignant, funny, and true. The melody is among Ray Davies’ very best. IMO, the single verse about Marilyn is better than Elton’s entire song on the same subject matter. This is a masterpiece. 
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This is probably my favorite "softer" Kinks record. 

 
Uruk-Hai said:
True.

I recall a famous quote by a brilliant person: "If you can't set the bottom, you can't be funky".

(Narrator: actually, Uruk just made that quote up; he's full of crap)

Though it doesn't have to be an actual bass guitar. Keyboards and other instruments can do it, too.

Bootsy Collins (one of the dozen or so best bass guitarists in rock/pop/r&b/whatever history) wrote Parliament's classic hit "Flashlight". Guess what "Flashlight doesn't have? A bass guitar. It's done on keys. The effect sounds better on the record than it does live, though..... at least the times I saw P Funk live, where that line on the keyboards is way too juiced-up (I'd liken to 80s video game music) while the "live" bassist  - usually Bootsy - was doing things that sounded like another song.
Click to expand...
I saw Bootsy Collins play at the Cubby Bear bar in Chicago.   He rarely gets mentioned for live performances, but he’s a hell of a performer.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Though it doesn't have to be an actual bass guitar. Keyboards and other instruments can do it, too.

Bootsy Collins (one of the dozen or so best bass guitarists in rock/pop/r&b/whatever history) wrote Parliament's classic hit "Flashlight". Guess what "Flashlight doesn't have? A bass guitar.
Click to expand...
When I think of iconoclastic rock bands without a bottom, I think of the Doors with Densmore and Manzarek. 

----------------

John Densmore explains how The Doors worked without a bassist

---------------------------

How did Ray Manzarek play bass?

Simon Beck, Have played bass and keyboards for 43 years

Answered Apr 2, 2022 · Author has 93 answers and 27.2K answer views

He played a purpose-built Fender Rhodes piano Bass keyboard with his left hand. The small (but still bulky and heavy) instrument was placed on top of his other keyboard, originally a Vox Continental organ and later a Gibson G-101 organ. 

In the studio, his bass parts were usually double by a session bass guitarist, but for live performances it was all Ray’s left hand.

-----------------------------------

The Doors
(October 1965 – July 1971) Jim Morrison – lead vocals
Robby Krieger – guitar, vocals
Ray Manzarek – keyboards, keyboard bass, vocals
John Densmore – drums, percussion

----------------------

(Here's a comment that I saw)

Manzarek had one of the greatest left hands in Classic Rock history, capable of complex contrapuntal figures far more demanding than typical rock basslines. I suspect he studied a lot of J. S. Bach’s fugues for organ. The man was a monster, and among the best all-round musicians in the genre.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
timschochet said:
24. The Kinks “Celluloid Heroes” (from Everybody’s In Showbiz) 

https://youtu.be/yp_QkUVZGPc

For my money, the best song about Hollywood ever written. The lyrics are poignant, funny, and true. The melody is among Ray Davies’ very best. IMO, the single verse about Marilyn is better than Elton’s entire song on the same subject matter. This is a masterpiece. 
Click to expand...
As good as the studio version is, the live version from One For The Road is even better with Dave Davies really strutting his stuff.

 
timschochet said:
22. Stevie Wonder “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (from Talking Book) 

https://youtu.be/3wZ_b_uUAdQ

Stevie is one of our nation’s greatest songwriters, and this was his most creative period of music. A gorgeous love song for the ages. 
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Can’t find a relevant link, but there is a great scene from the TV show Taxi where this song plays as the backdrop after Reverend Jim’s father passes away.  Fathers and sons can be complicated, after all.

 
21. Randy Newman “Sail Away” (from Sail Away)

https://youtu.be/HCRGrnhdNQE

In America, you get food to eat. Don’t have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet. 
 

So begins what might be Randy Newman’s most brilliant song, a darkly satirical tune in which he plays the role of a slave trader from the 1700s trying to benignly convince free Africans to come aboard his ship. Both hilariously funny and deathly serious, and set to a New Orleans style gospel melody, Newman manages in a few short lines to skewer the worst chapter in American history better than any long book on the same subject. If I were teaching a class about the 1619 Project or Critical Race Theory, this song would be part of the first lesson. 

 
timschochet said:
20. Eagles “Take It Easy” (from Eagles) 

https://youtu.be/4v8KEbQA8kw

The top 20 begins with this song that Jackson Browne gave to the band, which became the epitome of the early 70s soft rock sound. It’s obviously been overplayed throughout the years and we’ve all heard it a million times, but it remains one of the great classics of the era. 
Click to expand...
Sounds like something Aaron Rodgers would sing at karaoke.

 
timschochet said:
20. Eagles “Take It Easy” (from Eagles) 

https://youtu.be/4v8KEbQA8kw

The top 20 begins with this song that Jackson Browne gave to the band, which became the epitome of the early 70s soft rock sound. It’s obviously been overplayed throughout the years and we’ve all heard it a million times, but it remains one of the great classics of the era. 
Click to expand...
I am on a NYC-based email list for music fanatics. A guy from there got on Jeopardy. In the Double Jeopardy round he found the Daily Double in a music category and bet everything. He was asked to name the band associated with a statue of a man standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. He couldn’t come up with the Eagles. Derp!

 
19. Neil Young “Heart of Gold” (from Harvest)

https://youtu.be/V51Itpvc1Pw
 

Neil has been to Hollywood and he’s been to Redwood, and he wrote a song about it that’s easy to play (it’s one of the first tunes I was ever taught on guitar.) And it’s a lot of fun to play because even though it’s easy, the opening riff sounds mighty impressive, and the whole thing sounds great on an acoustic guitar. 

 
timschochet said:
19. Neil Young “Heart of Gold” (from Harvest)

https://youtu.be/V51Itpvc1Pw
 

Neil has been to Hollywood and he’s been to Redwood, and he wrote a song about it that’s easy to play (it’s one of the first tunes I was ever taught on guitar.) And it’s a lot of fun to play because even though it’s easy, the opening riff sounds mighty impressive, and the whole thing sounds great on an acoustic guitar. 
Click to expand...
#50 in my Neil countdown. It’s a very good song, and his best-known song, but he has dozens that are better. There were three from this album that I rated higher, one of which has already appeared in this countdown.

 
17. Joni Mitchell “You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio” (from For the Roses) 

https://youtu.be/CMY39HSoT78

For the Roses came directly in between Blue and Court and Spark, two of the greatest albums of all time, and it suffers by comparison. But this song rises to to the level of those brilliant works and even exceeds it- it’s one of Joni’s best ever works. Ironic because it was written quickly in response to the studio demanding that she come up with a “hit”, and it was her idea to use the word “radio” a lot because that would cause radio stations to play it. 

 
Top Of The Pops performance of "Starman," which was apparently huge and propelled Bowie to superstardom in Britain. 

https://youtu.be/iWLRrQmSSMA

I'm still not that huge of a fan. Nice enough. I love Ronson's playing during the breakdown/coda, actually. That rocks mucho. 

Love the dancers trying to figure out what the heck to do. 

 
rockaction said:
Top Of The Pops performance of "Starman," which was apparently huge and propelled Bowie to superstardom in Britain. 

https://youtu.be/iWLRrQmSSMA

I'm still not that huge of a fan. Nice enough. I love Ronson's playing during the breakdown/coda, actually. That rocks mucho. 

Love the dancers trying to figure out what the heck to do. 
Click to expand...
I love that clip - have posted in other threads. Bass player Trevor Bolder with the Santa Claus mutton chops, plus the dancers as you mentioned (love the guy with the rainbow striped vest).

Top three Bowie tune for me. 

 
Just curious . . . with so many Bowie songs on the list, was the Hunky Dory album fair game for the 1972 list (it was released at the end of December in 1971)?

 
Anarchy99 said:
Just curious . . . with so many Bowie songs on the list, was the Hunky Dory album fair game for the 1972 list (it was released at the end of December in 1971)?
Click to expand...
No. I did a 1971 list, and there were several Hunky Dory songs on that one. Not on this one; it’s only song from Ziggy plus “Jean Genie” which was released as a single towards the end of the year. 

 
timschochet said:
15. Carly Simon “You’re So Vain” (from No Secrets) 

https://youtu.be/j13oJajXx0M

Mick Jagger sang backup vocals but the song isn’t about him. Supposedly the 2nd verse is about Warren Beatty, but not the rest of it. Taylor Swift apparently knows but has sworn not to reveal. 
I prefer the mystery. It makes the song better. 
Click to expand...
The guy who it was about was right, not vain! 

I always say that when it comes to this song. If was about you, don't you don't you think you'd just think you were the ####in' bee's knees like Beatty did. 

 
timschochet said:
15. Carly Simon “You’re So Vain” (from No Secrets) 

https://youtu.be/j13oJajXx0M

Mick Jagger sang backup vocals but the song isn’t about him. Supposedly the 2nd verse is about Warren Beatty, but not the rest of it. Taylor Swift apparently knows but has sworn not to reveal. 
I prefer the mystery. It makes the song better. 
Click to expand...
My parents had most of her '70s albums. Of her big hits, this one may be the best, it's a marvel of songwriting, production and arrangement. 

I personally am partial to "Just a Sinner" from her first album and the title track of Playing Possum. 

 
rockaction said:
I was working on a response to your comment a bunch of times and went with "I hate the Eagles, man!" for a bunch of them but then shelved them all. I hate the Eagles, man. All of the bands and teams denoted with eagles. Booooo! 
Click to expand...
What about the United States of America?

 
I walk around singing Carly Simon's "He Wants To Marry Me" song whenever I see my mother. It makes her sad, but I laugh. I'm really rather cruel, aren't I? Then i talk about child soldiers and say, "now that's sad, never mind the warblings of a second-wave feminist" and she sort of just shakes her head.

 
zamboni said:
Always have been a big fan of "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be", her first big hit and from that same debut album. So haunting.
Click to expand...


oh, man ... did you just itch me where i scratch with that one - captures the inescable ennui that the early 70s "hangover" was to picket fences and key parties - Hollywood chased it for years (Ordinary People, Ice Storm, American Beauty, etc).

balls out love for this one. 

 
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