The Third 100 from 1969. #1: Everyday People (1 Viewer)

[Pip's Invitation]

love it so much.  

man - you are zinging through these ...got to keep catching up.

As I said in the first post, I'm gonna try to do 4 a day. One when I wake up, one just before lunch, one when I'm done work and one at night. So far I've been able to prewrite some or all the night before, which has helped. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

77. Share Your Love with Me -- Aretha Franklin (released as a single)

This lament, originally recorded by Bobby "Blue" Bland and later done by The Band, Kenny Rogers and Van Morrison, was released as a single by Aretha in July '69 and topped the R&B charts, also winning her a Grammy. Though Aretha released two albums in '69, this track wasn't included on an album until 1970's This Girl's in Love with You.

Her rendition just exudes soul. Her command of the high notes is just stunning, and her delivery brings out the pain and anguish of the lyrics in a remarkable fashion. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and King Curtis turn in fine work as well. 

 

[shuke]

79. Sea of Joy -- Blind Faith (from Blind Faith)

@zamboni alert!

This song doesn't get the attention it deserves because side 1 of this album is <chef's kiss> and side 2 has this and a bunch of screwing around. But I've always loved it. It blends the players' rocking and rustic sides effortlessly. The guitar solos from Eric Clapton and the violin solo from Ric Grech play in my head all the time, and Steve Winwood's vocals are at their ethereal best here.

Should be a top 10 song.  The entire album belongs in the top 50.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

76. Traces -- The Classics IV (from Traces)

This seems like standard '60s pop fare on the surface, but there's a lot of interesting stuff going on. The song makes great use of oboe and xylophone and has a fun bass part. Dennis Yost turns in a fine vocal, and I especially enjoy the turn his voice takes at the end of the chorus ("that didn't work out right"). 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

75. I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City -- Harry Nilsson (from Harry)

Nilsson wrote this for Midnight Cowboy, but director John Schlesinger decided to use an older song, his cover of Everybody's Talkin', instead. But this song is every bit as good. Nilsson's vocal evokes the volatile mix of hope and despair we saw in the movie's characters, and I love the interplay between banjo and guitar. 

 

[shuke]

75. I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City -- Harry Nilsson (from Harry)

Nilsson wrote this for Midnight Cowboy, but director John Schlesinger decided to use an older song, his cover of Everybody's Talkin', instead. But this song is every bit as good. Nilsson's vocal evokes the volatile mix of hope and despair we saw in the movie's characters, and I love the interplay between banjo and guitar. 

Never heard this before.  Sounds very similar to Everybody's Talkin'.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

76. Traces -- The Classics IV (from Traces)

This seems like standard '60s pop fare on the surface, but there's a lot of interesting stuff going on. The song makes great use of oboe and xylophone and has a fun bass part. Dennis Yost turns in a fine vocal, and I especially enjoy the turn his voice takes at the end of the chorus ("that didn't work out right"). 

one of their three "classics" I love

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Never heard this before.  Sounds very similar to Everybody's Talkin'.

Indeed it does. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

74. Nothing Is Easy -- Jethro Tull (from Stand Up)

Stand Up is another great album from 1969 that wasn't represented on either of the previous lists (Tim took a song that was released as a single at the time but didn't appear on the album until a deluxe edition many years later.) This song as much as any exemplified how Tull was expanding the blues/rock from their debut album into something more diverse and adventurous. Flute and electric guitar battle for the spotlight in a thrilling showdown, and Clive Bunker contributes some marvelous drum fills. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

73. Poem 58 -- Chicago (from Chicago Transit Authority)

As I said during Tim's thread, the first Chicago album (when they were still called Chicago Transit Authority) is a treasure trove. Almost every song is a gem, and many of them shattered contemporary expectations of what a rock band was capable of. This track is one of the more thrilling exploratory moments from that record. As always, Terry Kath just tears stuff the hell apart. 

 

[zamboni]

73. Poem 58 -- Chicago (from Chicago Transit Authority)

As I said during Tim's thread, the first Chicago album (when they were still called Chicago Transit Authority) is a treasure trove. Almost every song is a gem, and many of them shattered contemporary expectations of what a rock band was capable of. This track is one of the more thrilling exploratory moments from that record. As always, Terry Kath just tears stuff the hell apart. 

Love this. I’ve selected it a few times over the years in a few different drafts. Showcases Kath’s immense talent as much as anything in the band’s catalogue.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

72. Singing Cowboy -- Love (from Four Sail)

Arthur Lee was at a crossroads after Love's masterpiece Forever Changes. The flip side of that record's incredible use of orchestration was that a lot of it was there because Lee's bandmates weren't technically capable of reproducing the sounds he heard in his head. So he dissolved the band and put together a new one using the same name. 

The output of this version of the group isn't as storied as that of the first version, but it's still of very high quality, just different. This incarnation had a muscular, blues rock sound and featured lots of wailing, fuzzed-out lead guitar. Likely this was a product of Lee's friendship with Jimi Hendrix, whom he had known since 1964 (they did record together before Hendrix' death; one song appeared on a 1970 Love album). 

Another factor in the move toward a harder sound may have been that Lee was warming up to the idea of touring. The original incarnation never played outside of California because Lee, an African American, feared for his safety. Perhaps seeing that Hendrix had pulled off successful national tours inspired him to put together a band geared for the stage. The new incarnation did indeed play outside California in 1970 and 1971. 

Forever Changes came out in late '67, and the new band wasn't in place until early '69, and Lee had written a ton of songs in the interim. The band recorded three discs' worth of songs in an LA warehouse. It owed one more record to Elektra, its original label. Elektra selected the 10 songs it liked best and released them as Four Sail in September. The rest of the songs were released in December by their new label, Blue Thumb, as the double album Out Here. 

Both records are fantastic and are among my favorites of the year, though Out Here has some filler, as you might imagine. One of the high points is Four Sail's Singing Cowboy, a defiant statement against the racists he found so threatening, backed with chilling lead guitar work from Jay Donnellan. 

I saw Lee/Love in 1994 (just before he was jailed) and in 2002 (just after he got out). He played this at both shows, with absolute glee (at the second show, while taunting a guy who was being removed for unauthorized videotaping). 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

71. Till You Get Enough -- Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (from In the Jungle, Babe)

This languid groove sounds like a more laid back James Brown in spots, and points the way to a looser, freer form of funk that would emerge in the early '70s. Wright co-wrote this with, among others, Al McKay, who would go on to Earth, Wind and Fire, and Melvin Dunlap, who would go on to Bill Withers' band. "We're gonna start a new thing never been done before," indeed. 

 

[zamboni]

72. Singing Cowboy -- Love (from Four Sail)

Arthur Lee was at a crossroads after Love's masterpiece Forever Changes. The flip side of that record's incredible use of orchestration was that a lot of it was there because Lee's bandmates weren't technically capable of reproducing the sounds he heard in his head. So he dissolved the band and put together a new one using the same name. 

The output of this version of the group isn't as storied as that of the first version, but it's still of very high quality, just different. This incarnation had a muscular, blues rock sound and featured lots of wailing, fuzzed-out lead guitar. Likely this was a product of Lee's friendship with Jimi Hendrix, whom he had known since 1964 (they did record together before Hendrix' death; one song appeared on a 1970 Love album). 

Another factor in the move toward a harder sound may have been that Lee was warming up to the idea of touring. The original incarnation never played outside of California because Lee, an African American, feared for his safety. Perhaps seeing that Hendrix had pulled off successful national tours inspired him to put together a band geared for the stage. The new incarnation did indeed play outside California in 1970 and 1971. 

Forever Changes came out in late '67, and the new band wasn't in place until early '69, and Lee had written a ton of songs in the interim. The band recorded three discs' worth of songs in an LA warehouse. It owed one more record to Elektra, its original label. Elektra selected the 10 songs it liked best and released them as Four Sail in September. The rest of the songs were released in December by their new label, Blue Thumb, as the double album Out Here. 

Both records are fantastic and are among my favorites of the year, though Out Here has some filler, as you might imagine. One of the high points is Four Sail's Singing Cowboy, a defiant statement against the racists he found so threatening, backed with chilling lead guitar work from Jay Donnellan. 

I saw Lee/Love in 1994 (just before he was jailed) and in 2002 (just after he got out). He played this at both shows, with absolute glee (at the second show, while taunting a guy who was being removed for unauthorized videotaping). 

Forever Changes is one of my very favorite albums, but as much as I've tried, I can't get into their other material anywhere close as much. Even the debut, Da Capo and Four Sail. Just a bit uneven, but I guess that's too be expected when you have one incredible album that's hard to replicate (see Television, The Cars, etc.) All that said, this is a really good tune IMO. 

 

[Uruk-Hai]

71. Till You Get Enough -- Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (from In the Jungle, Babe)

This languid groove sounds like a more laid back James Brown in spots, and points the way to a looser, freer form of funk that would emerge in the early '70s. Wright co-wrote this with, among others, Al McKay, who would go on to Earth, Wind and Fire, and Melvin Dunlap, who would go on to Bill Withers' band. "We're gonna start a new thing never been done before," indeed. 

These guys don't get near enough credit for their innovations. As your bolded comment hints, you can bet your ### George Clinton wore Wright's records out. Also, I don't think There's A Riot Goin On would have been made without Wright showing the way (well, Wright and heroin).

I always found it hilarious that Al McKay went from this to the most tight-assed band on the 70s.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Forever Changes is one of my very favorite albums, but as much as I've tried, I can't get into their other material anywhere close as much. Even the debut, Da Capo and Four Sail. Just a bit uneven, but I guess that's too be expected when you have one incredible album that's hard to replicate (see Television, The Cars, etc.) All that said, this is a really good tune IMO. 

Nothing else they did sounds anything like Forever Changes, so if that's what you're expecting, you're going to be disappointed. 

With Four Sail, it definitely helps to think of them as a different band that happened to have the same name. This is also the best way to consider the post-Sweetheart of the Rodeo Byrds. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

70. Walk on By -- Isaac Hayes (from Hot Buttered Soul)

I can't imagine what hearing this for the first time in 1969 would have been like. No one had heard Burt Bacharach -- or soul music -- done this way before. Drenched in organ, punctuated by guitar and horn explorations and anchored by the unique vocal stylings of Hayes that seem detached one minute and reaching for the heavens in the next, this was an entirely new way to interpret songs. It's freaky as hell and spawned a new adventurous era in R&B, as it should have. George Clinton doesn't get the chance to showcase his vision unfettered without this record becoming a success first. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

69. Sugar Mountain -- Neil Young (released as a single)

See @simey, I don't hate this!

I took some guff for ranking this #111 in my Neil countdown, but Neil's #111 is better than most artists' top 5 in my book. 

While not collected on album until the 1977 compilation Decade, Sugar Mountain is actually one of Neil's oldest songs, dating back to when he tried to make it as a folkie in 1965-ish before he co-founded Buffalo Springfield. Its first official release was in early 1969 as the US B-side to The Loner (the European B-side was an early version of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere); the recording was taken from one of the solo acoustic shows he played in 1968 after leaving Buffalo Springfield but before beginning work on his debut solo album. It was also used as a B-side for a few later singles, including Heart of Gold. 

Despite its status as a B-side, the song garnered much attention in folkie circles because it inspired Joni Mitchell's The Circle Game. It resonated with anti-war hippies because, while the narrator laments aging out of an under-20 club, it reminded many listeners that they had aged out of exemption from being drafted, and thus they shared its nostalgia for simpler and less dangerous times. 

It has been a regular fixture in Neil's concerts for his entire career, and according to sugarmtn.org, it is his 12th most played song. 

 

[zamboni]

69. Sugar Mountain -- Neil Young (released as a single)

See @simey, I don't hate this!

I took some guff for ranking this #111 in my Neil countdown, but Neil's #111 is better than most artists' top 5 in my book. 

While not collected on album until the 1977 compilation Decade, Sugar Mountain is actually one of Neil's oldest songs, dating back to when he tried to make it as a folkie in 1965-ish before he co-founded Buffalo Springfield. Its first official release was in early 1969 as the US B-side to The Loner (the European B-side was an early version of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere); the recording was taken from one of the solo acoustic shows he played in 1968 after leaving Buffalo Springfield but before beginning work on his debut solo album. It was also used as a B-side for a few later singles, including Heart of Gold. 

Despite its status as a B-side, the song garnered much attention in folkie circles because it inspired Joni Mitchell's The Circle Game. It resonated with anti-war hippies because, while the narrator laments aging out of an under-20 club, it reminded many listeners that they had aged out of exemption from being drafted, and thus they shared its nostalgia for simpler and less dangerous times. 

It has been a regular fixture in Neil's concerts for his entire career, and according to sugarmtn.org, it is his 12th most played song. 

I always get a kick out of the guy in the audience coughing at the end, right before the crowd claps.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

68. Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yester-Day -- Stevie Wonder (from My Cherie Amour)

This perfect slice of soul would be the crowning achievement for many people's careers, but it was Stevie Wonder's third-best song of the year (the two ahead of it were taken for the other lists), and came before his artistic breakthrough in the early '70s. Stevie's soaring vocal is just heavenly. 

 

[Bracie Smathers]

68. Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yester-Day -- Stevie Wonder (from My Cherie Amour)

This perfect slice of soul would be the crowning achievement for many people's careers, but it was Stevie Wonder's third-best song of the year (the two ahead of it were taken for the other lists), and came before his artistic breakthrough in the early '70s. Stevie's soaring vocal is just heavenly. 

Always kinda wonder how much influence the Beatles had on other artists as this came out four years after the song voted in 1999 as the song of the century.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

67. Make Me a Smile -- Poco (from Pickin' Up the Pieces)

The title on the Youtube file is wrong; there's an "a" that distinguishes it from the 1970 Chicago hit. 

Lots of great stuff arose in 1969 from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield. Today we most remember the first CSN album and the first two Neil Young albums, but there was also the first album from Poco, formed by Richie Furay, the Springfield's third singer/songwriter, and Jim Messina, its last in a line of bassists. While Young and Stephen Stills pursued the emerging country rock sounds with an emphasis on the rock side, Furay and Messina went heavier on the country side. 

On the debut album Pickin' Up the Pieces, the purer country stuff is on side 2, while side 1 is more pop-oriented. Furay's Make Me a Smile, which boasts a strong pop melody and harmonies while featuring some fine steel guitar licks from Rusty Young in its second half, is on side 1 and is my favorite track from the record. 

 

[zamboni]

67. Make Me a Smile -- Poco (from Pickin' Up the Pieces)

The title on the Youtube file is wrong; there's an "a" that distinguishes it from the 1970 Chicago hit. 

Lots of great stuff arose in 1969 from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield. Today we most remember the first CSN album and the first two Neil Young albums, but there was also the first album from Poco, formed by Richie Furay, the Springfield's third singer/songwriter, and Jim Messina, its last in a line of bassists. While Young and Stephen Stills pursued the emerging country rock sounds with an emphasis on the rock side, Furay and Messina went heavier on the country side. 

On the debut album Pickin' Up the Pieces, the purer country stuff is on side 2, while side 1 is more pop-oriented. Furay's Make Me a Smile, which boasts a strong pop melody and harmonies while featuring some fine steel guitar licks from Rusty Young in its second half, is on side 1 and is my favorite track from the record. 

Great album. As you know, Messina shifted over to guitar with Poco, with Randy Meisner handling bass duties on the debut album. And on the second album, Meisner was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit for the first time. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Great album. As you know, Messina shifted over to guitar with Poco, with Randy Meisner handling bass duties on the debut album. And on the second album, Meisner was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit for the first time. 

Yes, but it's even more complicated than that. Meissner quit the band during mixing of the first album when he complained that Furay and Messina wouldn't allow anyone else to give input on the mix. His vocals were erased -- the songs sung by him got new vocals recorded by drummer George Grantham -- and his image on the cover was replaced with that of a dog. After the album was finished, they played live gigs as a quartet with Messina on bass until they were able to bring Schmit in. 

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Yes, but it's even more complicated than that. Meissner quit the band during mixing of the first album when he complained that Furay and Messina wouldn't allow anyone else to give input on the mix. His vocals were erased -- the songs sung by him got new vocals recorded by drummer George Grantham -- and his image on the cover was replaced with that of a dog. 

You really know your bandmates don't respect you when they replace your photo with that of a dog.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

66. 1969 -- The Stooges (from The Stooges)

This and Kick Out the Jams may have been the first punk records. But there was no code or sound for what was or wasn't "punk" back then. This song incorporates wah-wah pedals and Bo Diddley beats to go along with Iggy Pop's snarling vocals and Ron Asheton's noisy guitar solos. It took garage rock to a whole 'nother level. 

 

[Mister CIA]

Forever Changes is one of my very favorite albums, but as much as I've tried, I can't get into their other material anywhere close as much. Even the debut, Da Capo and Four Sail. Just a bit uneven, but I guess that's too be expected when you have one incredible album that's hard to replicate (see Television, The Cars, etc.) All that said, this is a really good tune IMO. 

I agree with the uneven comment, but man they still dripped with brilliance.

Love Love

 

[Mister CIA]

70. Walk on By -- Isaac Hayes (from Hot Buttered Soul)

I can't imagine what hearing this for the first time in 1969 would have been like. No one had heard Burt Bacharach -- or soul music -- done this way before. Drenched in organ, punctuated by guitar and horn explorations and anchored by the unique vocal stylings of Hayes that seem detached one minute and reaching for the heavens in the next, this was an entirely new way to interpret songs. It's freaky as hell and spawned a new adventurous era in R&B, as it should have. George Clinton doesn't get the chance to showcase his vision unfettered without this record becoming a success first. 

Note to self.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

65. Wild Child -- The Doors (from The Soft Parade)

This was not a great year for The Doors; IMO The Soft Parade is their worst album. All but two songs come off as half-baked to me. The best one, Touch Me, appeared on Bracie's list. Wild Child is the other. It features some pretty heavy blues riffage from Robbie Krieger and points the way to the bluesier sound they would develop on Morrison Hotel and LA Woman. The coda starting at 2:00 is a particularly triumphant moment in their oeuvre. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

64. A Salty Dog -- Procol Harum (from A Salty Dog)

This is one of my favorite ballads. The sound (which includes a string arrangement based on Chopin) is haunting yet sweeping, and Gary Brooker's vocal is heartbreaking yet exhilarating. 

It should be the band's second-most famous song behind A Whiter Shade of Pale, but didn't get the attention it deserved when it was released as a single. Legendary British DJ John Peel had a theory:

'A Salty Dog' ... was once released as a single, and should have done, er, a lot better in fact as a single than it did; unfortunately, um, seeing as it was longer than two-and-a-half minutes long and isn't exactly a bright tempo, a lot of my colleagues won't play it because they feel that, er, more than two-and-a-half minutes without some, er, feeble quip from them, er, is going to make the world a sadder place.

 

[timschochet]

I’ve been suspended for a while but wanted to express my appreciation. Great thread so far. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

it's like we had to scrape 200 tunes outta the way to git down2bidness...

66. 1969 -- The Stooges (from The Stooges)

This and Kick Out the Jams may have been the first punk records. But there was no code or sound for what was or wasn't "punk" back then. This song incorporates wah-wah pedals and Bo Diddley beats to go along with Iggy Pop's snarling vocals and Ron Asheton's noisy guitar solos. It took garage rock to a whole 'nother level. 

i thought this would be your #1, just as a wrap-it-up thing

74. Nothing Is Easy -- 

Stand Up is another great album from 1969 that wasn't represented on either of the previous lists (Tim took a song that was released as a single at the time but didn't appear on the album until a deluxe edition many years later.) This song as much as any exemplified how Tull was expanding the blues/rock from their debut album into something more diverse and adventurous. Flute and electric guitar battle for the spotlight in a thrilling showdown, and Clive Bunker contributes some marvelous drum fills. 

i probably listen to Stand Up more than any other 1969 album these days. Glenn Cornick gets the roundest bass tone i ever heard 

64. A Salty Dog -- Procol Harum (from A Salty Dog)

This is one of my favorite ballads. The sound (which includes a string arrangement based on Chopin) is haunting yet sweeping, and Gary Brooker's vocal is heartbreaking yet exhilarating. 

It should be the band's second-most famous song behind A Whiter Shade of Pale, but didn't get the attention it deserved when it was released as a single. Legendary British DJ John Peel had a theory:

this almost forgives you for overlooking (all 3 of yas) Procol's best album (Broken Barricades) in the '71 countdowns. i dont like watching old people rock, but this 2006 PH show w the Danish National Concert makes me weep w grandiosity & nostalgia. the choral arrangement added to Salty Dog is splendiferous.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

it's like we had to scrape 200 tunes outta the way to git down2bidness...

i thought this would be your #1, just as a wrap-it-up thing

i probably listen to Stand Up more than any other 1969 album these days. Glenn Cornick gets the roundest bass tone i ever heard 

this almost forgives you for overlooking (all 3 of yas) Procol's best album (Broken Barricades) in the '71 countdowns. i dont like watching old people rock, but this 2006 PH show w the Danish National Concert makes me weep w grandiosity & nostalgia. the choral arrangement added to Salty Dog is splendiferous.

I don't think about serendipitous numerology when making my lists. If I did I might have had it at #69.

I haven't done a 1971 list -- I was mostly floating in the SP when Tim and Bracie did those. I may give that a whirl. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

63. Dark Eyed Woman -- Spirit (from Clear)

Like the last entry, this is another single that didn't get the attention it deserved. The band, which offered up an eclectic mix of rock, jazz and psychedelia, was coming off its first major success in late '68 with the hit I Got a Line on You. That kept them extremely busy with touring, plus an offer to score a movie, The Model Shop. When the label asked for a proper album for late '69, the band felt they hadn't enough time to develop enough material for a good one, and it appears the label ultimately agreed, as it failed to promote Clear or its single, Dark Eyed Woman, much. 

Which was too bad because in just a little over 3 minutes, Dark Eyed Woman encapsulates all the band's strengths into a neat little package. Most of the song has a great drive to it, Randy California turns in a fantastic fuzzed-out guitar solo, and drummer Ed Cassidy brings his jazz background to bear on a great set of flourishes around 2:20. I also love how the song slows down at the end and just when you think it is over, the power chords strike one more time. 

 

[Leroy Hoard]

64. A Salty Dog -- Procol Harum (from A Salty Dog)

This is one of my favorite ballads. The sound (which includes a string arrangement based on Chopin) is haunting yet sweeping, and Gary Brooker's vocal is heartbreaking yet exhilarating. 

It should be the band's second-most famous song behind A Whiter Shade of Pale, but didn't get the attention it deserved when it was released as a single. Legendary British DJ John Peel had a theory:

I don't always listen to sea dirges,  but when I do I listen to this .

 

[wikkidpissah]

I don't always listen to sea dirges,  but when I do I listen to this .

we should make an FFA tiktok chanty of it

 

[Leroy Hoard]

we should make an FFA tiktok chanty of it

A Salty Crow?

 

[Sea Duck]

63. Dark Eyed Woman -- Spirit (from Clear)

Like the last entry, this is another single that didn't get the attention it deserved. The band, which offered up an eclectic mix of rock, jazz and psychedelia, was coming off its first major success in late '68 with the hit I Got a Line on You. That kept them extremely busy with touring, plus an offer to score a movie, The Model Shop. When the label asked for a proper album for late '69, the band felt they hadn't enough time to develop enough material for a good one, and it appears the label ultimately agreed, as it failed to promote Clear or its single, Dark Eyed Woman, much. 

Which was too bad because in just a little over 3 minutes, Dark Eyed Woman encapsulates all the band's strengths into a neat little package. Most of the song has a great drive to it, Randy California turns in a fantastic fuzzed-out guitar solo, and drummer Ed Cassidy brings his jazz background to bear on a great set of flourishes around 2:20. I also love how the song slows down at the end and just when you think it is over, the power chords strike one more time. 

You think maybe Jack White listened to this song about a million times as a kid?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

You think maybe Jack White listened to this song about a million times as a kid?

[magic 8 ball]signs point to yes[/magic 8 ball]

 

[Binky The Doormat]

This is one of my favorite ballads.

yep.  I have picked this bad boy in a couple different drafts - haunting and beautiful.  Makes me think of "Sea of Joy" a lot (#73) ...

I also agree with wikkid's take on Broken Barricades (which I may have taken in a 60s and/or album draft ...but can't confirm or deny that)

 

[wikkidpissah]

A Salty Crow?

All mods on deck , a thread's afloat,
I heard Joe Bryant cry.
Explore furloughs, replace the crude,
No Antifa need apply.
Across the straits, no RedLonghorn,
How far can these trolls fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course,
And no one left alive.

We voiced, opined, unknown to man,
Where ideas come to die.
No lofty screeds, no theories bold,
Could match timschochet's eye.
Upon the seventh seasick day,
Rockaction wondered why
A salty crow would like to know
Libido? my own hand

 

[Binky The Doormat]

All mods on deck , a thread's afloat,
I heard Joe Bryant cry.
Explore furloughs, replace the crude,
No Antifa need apply.
Across the straits, no RedLonghorn,
How far can these trolls fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course,
And no one left alive.

We voiced, opined, unknown to man,
Where ideas come to die.
No lofty screeds, no theories bold,
Could match timschochet's eye.
Upon the seventh seasick day,
Rockaction wondered why
A salty crow would like to know
Libido? my own hand

had to do this since I couldn't do both a laugh and love heart ...

pretty fast there wikkid

 

[Pip's Invitation]

62. Across the Great Divide -- The Band (from The Band)

This album is another treasure trove. Tim took three songs from it and I considered almost all of the other nine. The opener to their vaunted second album, this sets the tone for the rustic musical explorations and stories of misfits from olden times that run throughout the record. The lyrics display the complexity of the American Dream, alternating between hopeful plans of traveling to build a better life and domestic strife:

Standin' by your window in pain, a pistol in your hand
And I beg you, dear Molly, girl
Try and understand your man the best you can
&

Richard Manuel's vocal strikes just the right tone between compelling dreamer and carnival barker. The music matches that kind of sweep, particularly Garth Hudson's organ and saxophone playing. 

 

[timschochet]

62. Across the Great Divide -- The Band (from The Band)

This album is another treasure trove. Tim took three songs from it and I considered almost all of the other nine. The opener to their vaunted second album, this sets the tone for the rustic musical explorations and stories of misfits from olden times that run throughout the record. The lyrics display the complexity of the American Dream, alternating between hopeful plans of traveling to build a better life and domestic strife:

Standin' by your window in pain, a pistol in your hand
And I beg you, dear Molly, girl
Try and understand your man the best you can
&

Richard Manuel's vocal strikes just the right tone between compelling dreamer and carnival barker. The music matches that kind of sweep, particularly Garth Hudson's organ and saxophone playing. 

So good. Such a great song 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

61. My Dark Hour -- The Steve Miller Band (from Brave New World)

Brave New World, The Steve Miller Band's first of two albums in 1969, is chock full of good songs. The closer, My Dark Hour, has a unique origin story, and features the non-Steve Miller parts of the Steve Miller Band being played by none other than Paul McCartney.

The Beatles and Allen Klein were at Olympic Studios on the day after the Fab Four had agreed to a management deal with Klein. Well, the Fab Three, as McCartney was against the idea and held out. An explosive argument over the management contract ended with everyone except Paul walking out. According to The Beatles Bible (https://www.beatlesbible.com/1969/05/09/paul-mccartney-plays-drums-steve-miller-my-dark-hour/), Paul recounted:

There was a big argument and they all went, leaving me at the studio. Steve Miller happened to be around: ‘Hi, how you doing? Is the studio free?’ I said: ‘Well, it looks like it is now, mate.’ He said: ‘Mind if I use it?’ So I ended up drumming on a track of his that night. It was called My Dark Hour – a good track actually. He and I made it alone. I had to do something, thrash something, to get it out of my system.

The rest of the SMB wasn't around, but producer Glyn Johns was, and he recorded the collaboration. Paul:

I thrashed everything out on the drums. There’s a surfeit of aggressive drum fills, that’s all I can say about that. We stayed up until late. I played bass, guitar and drums and sang backing vocals. It’s actually a pretty good track.

It was a very strange time in my life and I swear I got my first grey hairs that month. I saw them appearing. I looked in the mirror, I thought, I can see you. You’re all coming now. Welcome.

In other words, Steve Miller lucked into his own Helter Skelter.

The song is indeed aggressive, from the punchy bass to the occasional screeches in the vocals to the guitar solos to the aforementioned drum fills. It's basically blues rock amped up beyond 11. And it's glorious. 

Paul was credited as "Paul Ramon" and didn't take a songwriting credit, but there was never any secret about who was involved. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

60. Take a Look Around -- The James Gang (from Yer' Album)

The first James Gang album introduced guitar legend Joe Walsh to the world. But its best original song was driven by Walsh's organ and piano playing, though there is guitar magic starting at 2:52 and again toward the end. It's atmospheric and dreamy yet grounded in rock rhythms, helped by some great fills from Jim Fox. 

The song is also notable for Pete Townshend cribbing parts of it for Pure and Easy, which was planned for The Who's Lifehouse concept album but ended up on Odds and Sods (and on Townshend's Who Came First). The James Gang opened for The Who in Pittsburgh in early 1970 and Townshend was so impressed with Walsh that he asked the band to open for them on their European tour. That began a lifelong friendship -- and helped integrate Walsh into the community of A-list rockers. 

 

[Mookie Gizzy]

61. My Dark Hour -- The Steve Miller Band (from Brave New World)

Brave New World, The Steve Miller Band's first of two albums in 1969, is chock full of good songs. The closer, My Dark Hour, has a unique origin story, and features the non-Steve Miller parts of the Steve Miller Band being played by none other than Paul McCartney.

The Beatles and Allen Klein were at Olympic Studios on the day after the Fab Four had agreed to a management deal with Klein. Well, the Fab Three, as McCartney was against the idea and held out. An explosive argument over the management contract ended with everyone except Paul walking out. According to The Beatles Bible (https://www.beatlesbible.com/1969/05/09/paul-mccartney-plays-drums-steve-miller-my-dark-hour/), Paul recounted:

The rest of the SMB wasn't around, but producer Glyn Johns was, and he recorded the collaboration. Paul:

In other words, Steve Miller lucked into his own Helter Skelter.

The song is indeed aggressive, from the punchy bass to the occasional screeches in the vocals to the guitar solos to the aforementioned drum fills. It's basically blues rock amped up beyond 11. And it's glorious. 

Paul was credited as "Paul Ramon" and didn't take a songwriting credit, but there was never any secret about who was involved. 

Great song. So great that he would reuse it for Fly Like An Eagle 

 

[wikkidpissah]

60. Take a Look Around -- The James Gang (from Yer' Album)

The first James Gang album introduced guitar legend Joe Walsh to the world. But its best original song was driven by Walsh's organ and piano playing, though there is guitar magic starting at 2:52 and again toward the end. It's atmospheric and dreamy yet grounded in rock rhythms, helped by some great fills from Jim Fox. 

The song is also notable for Pete Townshend cribbing parts of it for Pure and Easy, which was planned for The Who's Lifehouse concept album but ended up on Odds and Sods (and on Townshend's Who Came First). The James Gang opened for The Who in Pittsburgh in early 1970 and Townshend was so impressed with Walsh that he asked the band to open for them on their European tour. That began a lifelong friendship -- and helped integrate Walsh into the community of A-list rockers. 

rancid link

 

[Pip's Invitation]

rancid link

fixed

 

[Bracie Smathers]

The song is also notable for Pete Townshend cribbing parts of it for Pure and Easy

I just clicked on the link and was listening before I read this.

I thought that Townsend stole Pure And Easy.  

I loved Pure And Easy the second I heard it.

Obviously Walsh can play guitar but that high pitched whining voice isn't helped by whatever they did on that track.