Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
haven't heard this in a very long time - man, I love these guys ...I don't get the Tull hate25. Sweet Dream -- Jethro Tull (released as a single)
"BUT IT'S GOT A GD FLUTE!!!"
haven't heard this in a very long time - man, I love these guys ...I don't get the Tull hate25. Sweet Dream -- Jethro Tull (released as a single)
Is it a case of "their fanbase is easy to hate on"? They draw both the Rush nerds and the Renaissance Faire nerds.haven't heard this in a very long time - man, I love these guys ...I don't get the Tull hate
"BUT IT'S GOT A GD FLUTE!!!"
love the rush - hate the faire nerdsIs it a case of "their fanbase is easy to hate on"? They draw both the Rush nerds and the Renaissance Faire nerds.
ExcellentPip's Invitation said:Randy California's guitar solo is iconic; I still have every note memorized in my head
Thanks. Good timing...Hey, this is a bit off-topic, but wanted to post as @Pip's Invitationand @Binky The Doormat, both of whom post frequently here, seem to have an affection for Todd Rundgren. Rhino did a podcast/interview with him recently which was forwarded to one of my email accounts.
https://www.rhino.com/podcast/special-guest-the-legendary-todd-rundgren
Every time I listen to this album this song grows on me more.21. King Harvest (Has Surely Come) -- The Band (from The Band)
The final track on the second Band album leaves us in awe. Incorporating elements of soul and even funk into the group's meld of sounds. The music has a certain anguish to it, reflective of the narrator, a down-on-his-luck sharecropper who decides to join a union in hopes of improving his lot. Unusually, the verses are loud and brash and the choruses and hushed and slow; we see the reverse often, but rarely this. Excellent performances by Robbie Robertson on guitar and Garth Hudson on organ.
There is something about Peaches that is tough to pin down. Zappa has better melodies, better instrumentals, but this one rose to the top. I wonder how much adoration it got prior to when Phish started covering it and they blew up. They played it in the mid-eighties and got really big in the 90s so I attribute some portion of this songs' rise to that. But my suspicion is that Peaches was revered even before it was covered by other artists. Maybe it is just pop enough to appeal to non-FZ fans but also Zappa enough to soothe the diehards. I love it, myself, but do not elevate it in the pantheon of Frank. Instead it sits at the top tier along with dozens of other masterpieces that he wrote and performed. Happy to see it on this list, but does this mean it is #220? That's kinda harsh.20. Peaches En Regalia -- Frank Zappa (from Hot Rats)
In late 1969, Frank Zappa released his first album after the breakup of the Mothers of Invention. Most of the songs are instrumental and are jazz or something like it; we could consider it one of the first examples of jazz-rock fusion. I dunno how it was received at the time, but today it is revered among Zappaphiles and people in the jamband scene.
The first track, Peaches En Regalia, is arguably Zappa's signature song and has a highly memorable melody in addition to the strange time signatures he often worked in. Despite Zappa's renown as a guitarist, there is no guitar on this track; Zappa solos on something called an octave bass. The bass guitar was performed by a then-15-year-old Shuggie Otis. Everything else except drums and percussion is played by ex-Mother Ian Underwood.
The song has been covered numerous times, including by Phish, the Dixie Dregs and Zappa's son Dweezil's Zappa Plays Zappa project. Dweezil's version won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental in 2009.
There's really no coordination between the list makers. I think they just take songs that the others haven't. And Bracie and timscochet aren't really what you'd think of as Zappa fans, so maybe think of it as one in three concerned individuals had it in their top twenty. That's how I would look at it.Happy to see it on this list, but does this mean it is #220? That's kinda harsh.
Whatever I do here has no bearing in what anyone (including myself) can do in GP.There's really no coordination between the list makers. I think they just take songs that the others haven't. And Bracie and timscochet aren't really what you'd think of as Zappa fans, so maybe think of it as one in three concerned individuals had it in their top twenty. That's how I would look at it.
And here's what I think of Pip's Invitation taking the artist that was to have my jam band pick about seven hours before I make my next selection in Genrepalooza.![]()
Unwritten rules and dice are the threads that keep the thread going.Whatever I do here has no bearing in what anyone (including myself) can do in GP.![]()
It was released as a single and got FM radio play, so the average rock listener in the '70s and '80s might have heard it on occasion, unlike most other Zappa songs. I had heard Zappa's version before Phish's, but not often.There is something about Peaches that is tough to pin down. Zappa has better melodies, better instrumentals, but this one rose to the top. I wonder how much adoration it got prior to when Phish started covering it and they blew up.
That's it. Tim makes his list, then Bracie takes what he likes that Tim didn't, then I take what I like that Bracie and Tim didn't. It's not a coordinated objective ranking.There's really no coordination between the list makers. I think they just take songs that the others haven't. And Bracie and timscochet aren't really what you'd think of as Zappa fans, so maybe think of it as one in three concerned individuals had it in their top twenty. That's how I would look at it.
reaction19. A Sailor's Life -- Fairport Convention (from Unhalfbricking)
@zambonicalled it.
IMO this is the apex of Fairport's brand of folk rock. It's an 11-minute workout of a traditional English folk song that takes all kinds of twists and turns that you're not expecting. Richard Thompson's guitar and Dave Swarbrick's violin make all kinds of haunting noises, and Sanny Denny turns in one of her most captivating vocals. Thompson's solo starting around 7:00 is a must-hear.
Fairport had up to this point mostly been aping the American folk scene. The success of this track led them to focus on English and Celtic folk/traditional music for the rest of their career. There are a couple of great examples on their late 1969 album, Liege & Lief, but I didn't have room for them here.
This is fantastic!A Sailor's Life -- Fairport Convention
the keyword to your ambivalence might be 'resolution' . it's neat, resolved, from someone whose biggest fans look for reach, disrupt, rub that rancid knob. dont jamband fans usually have problems with their singly things?There is something about Peaches that is tough to pin down. Zappa has better melodies, better instrumentals, but this one rose to the top. I wonder how much adoration it got prior to when Phish started covering it and they blew up. They played it in the mid-eighties and got really big in the 90s so I attribute some portion of this songs' rise to that. But my suspicion is that Peaches was revered even before it was covered by other artists. Maybe it is just pop enough to appeal to non-FZ fans but also Zappa enough to soothe the diehards. I love it, myself, but do not elevate it in the pantheon of Frank. Instead it sits at the top tier along with dozens of other masterpieces that he wrote and performed. Happy to see it on this list, but does this mean it is #220? That's kinda harsh.
to be fair, 1969 cannot be held to only a couple hundred great tunes.That said, all but two of my top 12 are in the "HOW COULD THEY HAVE MISSED THESE?" category.
Yep. Sometimes you'll see it listed as '70 because that was the UK release date. But it happened at the same time as Abbey Road and all that.hard to think that this was in '69
I wouldn’t mind seeing some more album genes later in this countdown.20. Peaches En Regalia -- Frank Zappa (from Hot Rats)
Dweezil's version won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental in 2009.
Too cryptic again, I guess. “Son of Mr. Green Genes” is my Hot Rats fave.zamboni said:I wouldn’t mind seeing some more album genes later in this countdown.Pip's Invitation said:20. Peaches En Regalia -- Frank Zappa (from Hot Rats)
Dweezil's version won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental in 2009.
Edited 14 hours ago by zamboni
I knew what you meant.Too cryptic again, I guess. “Son of Mr. Green Genes” is my Hot Rats fave.
Hell yeah - this is an intense song. Jesse Colin Young is one of the more underrated singers of his day.16. Darkness, Darkness -- The Youngbloods (from Elephant Mountain)
In 1969, the rock scene was evolving, adding more country and folk elements to the psychedelic sounds developed a few years earlier. The Youngbloods' album of that year is a good time capsule of that. And the best example on it is its opening track and first single, which starts out sounding like a traditional song and ends up going out in a blaze of fuzzed-out glory, remaining haunting the whole time. The emotion seethes in every second. Why this doesn't get more attention in the rock canon, I have no idea.
I also enjoy the covers by Screaming Trees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg7EVvgXxJM and Robert Plant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qd_rEYSyWY.
Now we head into the top 15. With one exception (two if you're not too familiar with jazz), these are all songs you know well.
Just listened to the Screaming Trees cover for the first time - really good. Had never heard it before. Plant's is good too, albeit he mellows it out a bit too much IMO.16. Darkness, Darkness -- The Youngbloods (from Elephant Mountain)
I also enjoy the covers by Screaming Trees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg7EVvgXxJM and Robert Plant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qd_rEYSyWY.
I definitely missed this one, good catch.
I linked to the video. The album version is more than twice as long and is much more intense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bF3dVXvY1cPlant's is good too, albeit he mellows it out a bit too much IMO.
Surprised this one wasn't selected previously.15. Space Cowboy -- The Steve Miller Band (from Brave New World)
One of the best examples of how the blues became psychedelicized, this merges a thunderous rhythm that wouldn't sound out of place on a Muddy Waters record with freaky guitar pyrotechnics and far-out lyrics.
It's also the first example of Miller including references to his older songs in a new song (here, Living in the USA and Gangster of Love), a trend which peaked with The Joker.
I had a whole discussion over PM with Binky in which we were both shocked that nothing from either of Miller's 1969 albums was taken.Surprised this one wasn't selected previously.
reaction15. Space Cowboy -- The Steve Miller Band (from Brave New World)
One of the best examples of how the blues became psychedelicized, this merges a thunderous rhythm that wouldn't sound out of place on a Muddy Waters record with freaky guitar pyrotechnics and far-out lyrics.
It's also the first example of Miller including references to his older songs in a new song (here, Living in the USA and Gangster of Love), a trend which peaked with The Joker.
####in' sweet13. In the Court of the Crimson King -- King Crimson (from In the Court of the Crimson King)
Omission will be my epitaph.13. In the Court of the Crimson King -- King Crimson (from In the Court of the Crimson King)
One of two iconic songs from Crimson's debut (Tim took the other),
And there's more where that came from!Wow, hard to believe the last 3 songs didn’t make the original list. So much great music in ‘69