New Post Coming soon

Sorry for the long delay in posts, I've been really swamped with school work and this is finals week right now. I get back home on Friday and I promise a new post this weekend!

Top 209 Beatles Songs, Part 8

Here's the final part of the countdown. Thanks for your comments and Happy Thanksgiving!

19. Can't Buy Me Love
18. Get Back
17. Ticket To Ride
16. Nowhere Man
15. Revolution
14. I Want To Hold Your Hand
13. Penny Lane
12. I Am The Walrus
11. Let It Be
10. Come Together
9. Hey Jude
8. A Hard Day's Night
7. Help!
6. She Loves You
5. Eleanor Rigby
4. Yesterday
3. In My Life
2. A Day In The Life
1. Strawberry Fields Forever

Top 209 Beatles Songs, Part 7

Part 7, almost there:

39. You Never Give Me Your Money
38. Baby You're A Rich Man
37. Blackbird
36. Michelle
35. All You Need Is Love
34. Tomorrow Never Knows
33. Drive My Car
32. She Said She Said
31. We Can Work It Out
30. Girl
29. Rain
28. Day Tripper
27. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
26. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
25. Something
24. Across The Universe
23. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End
22. Dear Prudence
21. Happiness Is A Warm Gun
20. Here Comes The Sun

The Top 209 Beatles Songs, Part 6

Part 6:

59. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
58. If I Fell
57. You Won't See Me
56. She's A Woman
55. Baby's In Black
54. I'm A Loser
53. Back In The U.S.S.R.
52. Julia
51. Because
50. And I Love Her
49. The Ballad Of John And Yoko
48. Helter Skelter
47. Revolution 1
46. Hello Goodbye
45. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
44. Please Please Me
43. Sexy Sadie
42. Twist And Shout
41. All My Loving
40. I Saw Her Standing There

Top 209 Beatles Songs, Part 5

Part 5:

99. I Feel Fine
98. Good Day Sunshine
97. When I'm Sixty-Four
96. You Can't Do That
95. Till There Was You
94. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
93. She's Leaving Home
92. Eight Days A Week
91. If I Needed Someone
90. Hey Bulldog
89. Old Brown Shoe
88. Lovely Rita
87. I'm Only Sleeping
86. Taxman
85. P.S. I Love You
84. This Boy
83. I'm So Tired
82. Got To Get You Into My Life
81. Mother Nature's Son
80. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
79. I Will
78. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
77. The Word
76. I'm Looking Through You
75. The Fool On The Hill
74. Here, There, And Everywhere
73. For No One
72. From Me To You
71. Lady Madonna
70. Paperback Writer
69. Getting Better
68. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey
67. The Long And Winding Road
66. Dig A Pony
65. Birthday
64. No Reply
63. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
62. I'll Cry Instead
61. I've Got A Feeling
60. Don't Let Me Down

Top 209 Beatles Songs, Part 4

Part 4:

139. I Want To Tell You
138. Love Me Do
137. Wait
136. Your Mother Should Know
135. With A Little Help From My Friends
134. Fixing A Hole
133. Good Morning Good Morning
132. Oh! Darling
131. Magical Mystery Tour
130. Octopus's Garden
129. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
128. For You Blue
127. Sun King
126. I'm Down
125. One After 909
124. Misery
123. Tell Me What You See
122. And Your Bird Can Sing
121. Love You To
120. Martha My Dear
119. Two Of Us
118. Tell Me Why
117. Anna (Go To Him)
116. You Really Got A Hold On Me
115. The Night Before
114. Rocky Raccoon
113. Another Girl
112. Cry Baby Cry
111. Any Time At All
110. I Call Your Name
109. Things We Said Today
108. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
107. Maxwell's Silver Hammer
106. I Should Have Known Better
105. You're Going To Lose That Girl
104. I've Just Seen A Face
103. Yellow Submarine
102. It Won't Be Long
101. Long, Long, Long
100. Within You Without You

Top 209 Beatles Songs, Part 3

Part 3 of the countdown:

159. Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey
158. Polythene Pam
157. Savoy Truffle
156. Boys
155. Run For Your Life
154. The Inner Light
153. Honey Pie
152. I Me Mine
151. It's All Too Much
150. I'll Follow The Sun
149. Think For Yourself
148. Every Little Thing
147. I'm Happy Just To Dance With You
146. Yer Blues
145. Why Don't We Do It In The Road?
144. Rock And Roll Music
143. I Need You
142. Don't Pass Me By
141. Glass Onion
140. Long Tall Sally

Top 209 Beatles Songs, Part 2

Part 2 of the countdown:

184. I'll Be Back
183. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
182. Bad Boy
181. Baby It's You
180. What You're Doing
179. Yes It Is
178. You Like Me Too Much
177. Doctor Robert
176. Blue Jay Way
175. Mean Mr. Mustard
174. It's Only Love
173. Do You Want To Know A Secret
172. Only A Northern Song
171. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)
170. Piggies
169. Slow Down
168. Ask Me Why
167. I'll Get You
166. Hold Me Tight
165. Not A Second Time
164. Roll Over Beethoven
163. Money (That's What I Want)
162. I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
161. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band (Reprise)
160. All I've Got To Do

The Top 209 Beatles Songs

Back in the summer I spent some time and ranked every song the Beatles officially released during their "lifetime" (1963-1970), and I am going to share that list with you now. I will be posting roughly 20 songs per day for the next ten days until we reach #1.

Here's the first 25:
209. Dig It
208. Maggie Mae
207. Wild Honey Pie
206. A Taste Of Honey
205. Words Of Love
204. Honey Don't
203. Little Child
202. There's A Place
201. Her Majesty
200. Matchbox
199. Flying
198. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
197. Revolution 9
196. All Together Now
195. Mr. Moonlight
194. Devil In Her Heart
193. Thank You Girl
192. Good Night
191. Don't Bother Me
190. I Wanna Be Your Man
189. Please Mister Postman
188. Act Naturally
187. When I Get Home
186. Chains
185. What Goes On

My Favorite Political/Anti-War Songs

With election day being tomorrow, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on some of my favorite political/anti-war classic rock songs. Some of them are very well known, and others are songs I'm scraping off the floor of my music library. Anyway, here's some of my favorites in no particular order:

Graham Nash-Chicago/We Can Change the World (1971) This is arguably Nash's most popular solo song. It is refers to the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the trial of the Chicago 8.
Edgar Broughton Band-American Boy Soldier (1969) A real deep cut here. The song starts off with conversation between a young male and what seems to be a military recruiter trying to get the boy to go to war. The song then breaks into a 1950's style beat complete with sounds bombs and guns in the background.
Rolling Stones-Street Fighting Man (1968) Street Fighting Man is the Rolling Stones most political song they ever wrote. It is also one of their most powerful. I think it really shaped the tulmotous year of 1968.
The Fugs-Kill For Peace (1966) The Fugs are considered one of the very first underground rock bands, and they were very ahead of their time. Kill For Peace influenced many other protest songs to follow.
Buffalo Springfield-For What It's Worth (1967) The short lived supergroup of Buffalo Springfield released For What It's Worth in 1967 and it is since considered one of the best protest songs of all time.
Elvis Costello-(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding (1979) Originally written and recorded by Nick Lowe in 1974, Elvis Costello popularized the song in 1979. This is my favorite Elvis Costello song, even better than Alison and Accidents Will Happen.
John Lennon-Working Class Hero (1970) Lennon has made his share of political songs, but none is better musically then Working Class Hero. The song was controversial when it first came out because of John's use of the f-word and was banned by the FCC.
Barry McGuire-Eve of Destruction (1965) This song absolutely blew me away the first time I heard it. Not just because of the subject matter, but because of how forceful and passionate Barry McGuire was singing this song.
Country Joe & The Fish-I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag (1969) Except for Hendrix's performance, I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag has to be the musical highlight of Woodstock. Starting with the "F*ck" chant, Country Joe broke into the upbeat, sarcastic song about the Vietnam War with just about everyone in attendence singing along.
Creedence Clearwater Revival-Fortunate Son (1969) CCR has a few other political songs, but no other makes the impact that Fortunate Son does. John Fogerty's lyrics about the thoughts of a man getting drafted, combined with the rocking beat make this one of the best songs of all time.
Bob Dylan-Blowin' In The Wind & Masters Of War (1963) Written in 1962, Blowin' in the Wind is the first ever protest song by a classic rock artist and is also considered one of the best songs all time. Masters of War, which was released on the same album as Blowin' in the Wind, is always referred to by music experts as being as good or even better then Blowin' in the Wind.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-Almost Cut My Hair (1970) Not the most obvious choice, but CSNY takes the topic of getting your hair cut into an anti-establishment, fly your freak flag anthem. Combined with some of Neil Young's best guitar work, this is one of my favorite CSNY songs.
The Beates-Revolution 1 (1968) Lennon's original slower version of Revolution gets the nod over the faster single version. Complete with the "You can count me out-in" line and the "Shoo-be-doo-wops," Revolution 1 is one of the highlights of the amazing White Album.
Eric Burdon & The Animals-Sky Pilot (1968) Sky Pilot is Eric Burdon's first attempt at a political song, and man does he really hit the mark with this one. The seven minute album version featured a musical interlude that included the sounds of war.

Top 10 albums of 1968

With Jimi Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" celebrating its 40th anniversary on October 16, and three other landmark classic rock albums set to celebrate their 40th anniversary in November: The Beatles "White Album," The Kinks "Village Green Preservation Society," and Van Morrison's "Alstral Weeks," I thought I'd count down my top 10 albums from the year 1968.

10. "Truth" by the Jeff Beck Group
9. "Odessey and Oracle" by The Zombies
8. "Wheels Of Fire" by Cream
7. "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" by the Byrds
6. "Beggars Banquet" by the Rolling Stones
5. "Astral Weeks" by Van Morrison
4. "Music From Big Pink" by The Band
3. "The Village Green Preservation Society" by the Kinks
2. "Electric Ladyland" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience
1. "The Beatles" by the Beatles

Album Of The Week (10/13-10/19)

Steely Dan has, for as long as I can remember, been one of my favorite bands. I don't know exactly what it is about them, but they have always struck a chord with me. Nothing gets better than their 1972 debut album, "Can't Buy A Thrill." Walter Becker and Donald Fagan, along with Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, created a rock album that blended both pop and jazz elements. Highlights from the album include "Do It Again," "Dirty Work," and "Midnight Cruiser," along with one of my all-time favorite songs "Reelin' In The Years."

Happy Birthday John!

On October 9, 1940 one of the greatest and most influential musical figures of all time was born. John Lennon would be celebrating his 68th birthday today if he were still alive. No other person or band (Beatles) has had a greater influence on my life. For anyone who has been touched in some way by John or the Beatles, today should be a celebration of his life. Here are some of my favorite songs for you to listen to:

Favorite Beatles songs: I Call Your Name, I'm A Loser, Baby's In Black, No Reply, Ticket To Ride, Help!, Nowhere Man, Girl, In My Life, Rain, She Said She Said, And Your Bird Can Sing, Baby You're A Rich Man, A Day In The Life, Strawberry Fields Forever, Dear Prudence, Hapiness Is A Warm Gun, I'm So Tired, Everybody's Got Something To Hide..., Sexy Sadie, Revolution 1, Cry Baby Cry, The Ballad of John & Yoko, Don't Let Me Down, Dig A Pony, Across the Universe

Favorite Solo songs: Cold Turkey, Happy Xmas (War Is Over), Instant Karma, Mother, Hold On, Working Class Hero, Love, Well Well Well, God, Jealous Guy, Imagine, How?, Mind Games, #9 Dream, Stand By Me, Beautiful Boy, (Just Like) Starting Over, Woman, Watching The Wheels, Nobody Told Me

Album Of The Week (10/6-10/12)

After 1973's breakthrough album, Dark Side of the Moon, could Pink Floyd follow it up with another album just as great? In my opinion, they did just that and more. In 1975 the band released Wish You Were Here, which was a tribute to their former band member Syd Barrett who had left the band in 1968 because of mental problems from the use of psychedelic drugs. The resulting album is nothing short of a masterpiece. The album starts off and ends with the song Shine On You Crazy Diamond which is split into two parts. The song itself is a tribute to Syd Barrett. The other three songs on the album: Welcome to the Machine, Have A Cigar, and Wish You Were Here are all spectacular. There is not one weak moment on this album. Every track is amazing. The title track is easily my favorite Pink Floyd song with Welcome to the Machine being in the top 5.

Essential tracks: All of them. You have to listen to the album in its entirety to fully appreciate it.

Artist Spotlight: The Kinks

Every so often I will spotlight a different Classic Rock band/artist for a various number of reasons. The reason I have chosen the Kinks is because I have really been digging them lately and I think it's a shame that most of their best work goes mostly unnoticed now-a-days. Sure, everyone has heard You Really Got Me and Lola, but I wouldn't even rank those songs in the top 5 of their best songs. Other than the Beatles and maybe a couple of other bands, I believe the Kinks had the best string of albums in the mid and late 1960's. In their early days they released a number of great songs the include "You Really Got Me," "All Day And All Of The Night," "A Well Respected Man," "Tired Of Waiting For You," "Till The End Of The Night," and "Dedicated Follower Of Fashion" among others. After their 1965 Summer US tour, they were banned from touring in the States for four years by the American Federation of Musicians. This took a huge toll on the Kinks popularity in the States during the height of the British Invasion. The best and most creative period of the bands career began with the release of the single "Sunny Afternoon" in June of 1966. Their first great album, "Something Else by The Kinks" was released in September 1967. The album produces a handful of strong songs that include "David Watts" and "Death of a Clown," but the best song by far on the album is "Waterloo Sunset." This song is widely regarded as the groups best song. In November of 1968 the band released what I consider to be their greatest achievement: "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society." At the time of its release it was greatly overshadowed by the Beatles White Album (which was released on the same day). The album was largely ignored by the public and critics at the time of its release but it slowly started to gain a cult status and you can now find it on almost everybody's list of Greatest Albums of All Time. The Kinks would then go on to release to more great albums: 1969's "Arthur" and 1970's "Lola." The former contains the songs "Victoria" and "Shangri-La", with the latter producing the mega-hit "Lola" and "Apeman." 1971's "Muswell Hillbillies" is a favorite among Kinks fans and "Everybody's In Show-Biz" contained the song "Celluloid Heroes" in 1972. The bands popularity dipped in the mid-1970's but had a little resurgence in 1977 with the song "Father Christmas" off the album "Misfits." The Kinks last popular album came in 1983's "State of Confusion" which spawned the hit single "Come Dancing." Personal differences between brothers Ray and Dave Davies disintergrated the band, and they haven't played together since 1996.

Here are some of my favorite Kinks songs that I think are definitily worth listening to:

All Day And All Of The Night, A Well Respected Man, Sunny Afternoon, Deadend Street, David Watts, Waterloo Sunset, Days, Village Green Preservation Society, Lola, Apeman, Celluloid Heroes, Father Christmas

Album Of The Week (9/29-10/5)

In 1967 the Moody Blues created a whole new genre of rock music by releasing Days Of Future Passed, which is widely considered the first ever Progressive Rock album. The album is a landmark and groundbreaking album in its own right. Never before had a rock album mixed the rock style with classical music. The album traces the day of an ordinary person from dawn to dusk. Although this album is not considered the Moody Blues best, it is arguably their most important contribution to music as it would influence generations to come.

Essential tracks: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) (AKA Tuesday Afternoon) and Knights In White Satin/Late Lament

Paul Plays Israel

As many of you classic rock fans already know, Sir Paul McCartney played his first ever gig in Israel on Thursday. This performance came after Israel's ambassador to Britain publicly apologized to the former Beatle for "missing an opportunity" when the group was banned from playing in Israel in 1965. The ban came during the height of Beatlemania. Because of this, Israel banned the Fab Four's performance for fear that it would corrupt its young people. Over 40 years later, Paul McCartney performed at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park to a crowd of over 40,000 people despite death threats from terrorists. I admire Paul for not backing away from the threats and going ahead with his concert with a message of peace. Paul greeted the crowd with a mixture of English, Hebrew, and Arabic before he started off his set with "Hello, Goodbye." The highlight of the concert for me would have been seeing Paul singing John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance" with the entire Islamic crowd singing along. Paul is truly a great man who is trying to send a simple message of peace and understanding around the world and that is one of the reaons I admire him so much. I invite you to share your thoughts on Paul's historic concert in Israel.

What Is Classic Rock?

For as long as I have loved and followed Classic Rock music, the most talked about and heated discussion (other than the Paul Is Dead rumors, but that’s a whole other topic) has been about the definition of Classic Rock. What is Classic Rock? What makes an artist Classic Rock? When does the timeline start and/or end? You could ask one-hundred different music “experts” these questions and you could quite possibly get one-hundred different answers. I see Classic Rock as being an era of music with a definitive beginning and end (with the latter of the two being the hardest to distinguish). I believe this is the part of the argument that people’s opinions differ the most. It seems to me that most FM radio Classic Rock stations treat Classic Rock as a certain genre and sound, with no definitive cut off point for artists. They believe that by adding 80’s Hair Metal and 90’s Grunge to their playlists will attract new listeners. While I do not argue their logic for doing this, I cannot agree with playing artists such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Poison, etc. alongside the classic artists of the 60’s and 70’s. I am a firm believer that age does not constitute a band becoming “classic”. Classic Rock radio also tends to lean on the heavier side of Classic Rock and plays very little songs from the pre-Sgt. Pepper era. The Classic Rock era to me starts in 1963 with Bob Dylan releasing “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” and the Beatles releasing their first two albums “Please Please Me” and “With the Beatles.” All subsequent British rock bands who followed in the Beatles footsteps in 1963-1964 are considered Classic Rock to me. Some of these artists include: Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Searchers, The Kingsmen, The Animals, The Dave Clark Five, Manfred Mann, The Pretty Things, The Swinging Blues Jeans, and the Zombies to name a few. Artists from the second wave of British bands in the mid-1960’s as well as the garage rock and folk rock scene are included. Basically any “rock” band in the 1960’s starting with the British Invasion and folk rock movement is considered Classic Rock to me. The one band that raises the most controversy for me is the Beach Boys. I believe personally that everything pre-Good Vibrations and Pet Sounds and after their psychedelic stage is not considered Classic Rock. The early and mid 1970’s are a lot easier to sort out, but once we start getting into the punk and new wave scene are when things get a little blurry. I personally think that if a rock band was formed and released music in the 1970’s they are considered Classic Rock. This includes the original Punk Rock scene (Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash, etc) and the original new wave scene (Blondie, Pretenders, The Cars). This also brings up questions of bands like U2 and Def Leppard. U2 formed in 1976 while Def Leppard formed in 1977 with both releasing EP’s in 1979. Does this make them Classic Rock? No, not in my opinion because both bands’ hey-day’s were in the 1980’s and their sound was not in the style of the previous decade. With that said, rock music from the 80’s from bands who were popular and active in the 60’s and 70’s is considered Classic Rock to me as long as they stayed in the Classic Rock style. For example, all of AC/DC’s albums up to “Razor’s Edge” and all of Tom Petty’s material up to “Wildflowers” is Classic Rock.
Like I’ve said before, this is my opinion on what Classic Rock is. I would like to hear what you guys consider Classic Rock to be, whether you view it as an era or as a specific genre, or neither.

Album Of The Week (9/22-9/28)

Starting this week, and every week from now on, I will be post a classic rock album. Sometimes the album will be chosen for a special reason, other times it will be chosen because I am in the mood for that certain artist or album.

This week's album is The Beatles Abbey Road which will be celebrating its 39th Anniversary on Friday. In honor of the anniversary I thought I'd pay tribute to the album and I encourage everyone to give it a listen.

Essential tracks: Come Together, Something, Here Comes the Sun, The Abbey Road Melody (You Never Give Me Your Money through The End)

Layla's Classic Rock Blog

Layla's classic rock blog is one of the best music blogs that I have come across. Go check it out after you're done here, I promise you won't be disappointed.

http://laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/

My Classic Rock collection

To start off this blog I thought I'd post my Classic Rock music library which consists of over 6500 songs and is still a work in progress. Click on the link below to check it.

http://carlozzi006.googlepages.com/ultimateclassicrocklibrary