Dec 29, 2006 10:03 PM
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It’s that time of the week when you post something on your favorites, and if you are exceptionally bored, post something which requires a fair amount of thinking. Choosing a list of twenty songs from the vast amount of English music which I have listened to over the years is a tough job, and having said that, I feel that tough is a mighty understatement. Anyways, here goes a purely subjective personal listing…
Hurricane(Bob Dylan): Based on the imprisonment of the renowned boxer, Rubin Carter, this is a spine-tingling song and was my introduction to Dylan’s music and https://lyrics. Evocative and human, it’s one of his best songs ever definitely composed at a time when he was on top of his composing skills.
No Woman, No cry(Bob Marley and the wailers): One of those great songs which never reached the top of the charts, this is probably not Bob Marley’s best song, but definitely his most popular and listened-to song. In the wake of some recent remixes which needless to say, have ruined the song beyond repair, it’s essential to see how much the song meant to him as a singer, since the credit of this song lyrics was given to Marley’s childhood friend to keep his soup kitchen running.
Comfortably Numb(Pink Floyd): Made popular by Gilmour’s prolonged guitar solos in most of the live shows after Waters left the band, this was written by Waters on some doctor who had injected him with tranquilizers just before a show in Philadelphia. Appearing in their magnum opus, *The Wall, *one of their most recognized songs with a rather wonderful keyboard-based arrangement.
Folsom Prison Blues(Johnny Cash):The songs starts in the same way as so many of Johnny Cash’s songs: “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash”. Cash starts the song with a lot of energy, but as the song progresses, you feel the tiredness in his voice and a little bit of fear, probably fear of captivity and identification with prison inmates. A gem of a song!
Like a rolling Stone(Bob Dylan, later covered by the Rolling Stones):This is one of Dylan’s most confused numbers, and the first time you listen to it, you have a desire to get up, switch of the tape, and mutter, “OK, what does the guy want to say?” The song doesn't even try to make a statement, it’s only when Dylan hits the chorus “How does it fee.ee.eel?”, that you realize the true import of the song. A brilliant composition in its own right.
Georgia on my mind(Ray Charles):One of his most popular songs, this was a part of so many of his unforgettable performances, including his fight against racism. An all-time great.
Layla(Clapton with Derek and the Dominoes): Arguably Clapton’s greatest song ever, this is taken from the Persian love story “Layla and Majnu”(something we know all so well). It’s got some absolutely stunning vocals and sharp riffs by Clapton, dissolving into a beautiful pianistic coda.
Shine on you crazy Diamond(Pink Floyd):* **An absolutely brilliant composition, supposedly dedicated to the memory of Syd Barrett, this is Pink Floyd’s crowning glory, in terms of fusion of psychedelia, rock and jazz.
Bohemian Rhapsody(Queen):One of Queen’s most bewildering and technically profound compositions, a confluence between rock and operatic daredevilry, this is a wonderful song with a lot of overdubbing, a task which turned out to be a nightmare in those days of backdated recording equipment.
Tiny Dancer(Elton John):Written by long-time lyricist Taupin, who wrote this song for his wife; this is one of Elton John’s best songs but not rated very highly, with a very interesting melody, supported generously by the strings and organ sections.
Bad Moon Rising(CCR):Written at a time when there was a war abroad as well as at home, this is one of their best songs with an extremely catchy swamp-rock guitar riff.
Free Bird(Lynyrd Skynyrd): One of this band’s most-performed songs, dedicated to Duane Allman, who died in a 1971 motorbike crash, this is arguably their best song ever, with a wonderful up-tempo section in the end with a whole lot of guitar wizardry.
Hey Joe(Jimi Hendrix): Hendrix was so embarrassed about singing this murder ballad that a female backing group was hired to make him feel at home and out of the limelight. A simple, yet powerful song, it’s a wonderful statement of the man’s genius.
Crossroads(Eric Clapton and Cream): John Peel once said about the live show of Cream in which Clapton plays the Delta blues for four amazing minutes of extraordinary technical proficiency and wizardry – “If you thought Clapton was human, you better listen to this…"
Hey Jude(The Beatles): One of their longest and least-understood songs, this was their biggest US single. Written by McCartney on his way to a social visit to Lennon’s then-wife, Cynthia, the song is a funny mixture of musical genius and confusion. Partly ridiculed and partly admired for the final two minutes of confusion, this is nevertheless a great musical achievement.
Walk the Line(Johnny Cash):Cash was never a brilliant guitarist, but it’s lovely to listen to this song, just to understand the way he uses the guitar a percussive instrument. Interestingly, Cash achieved the purpose by winding a piece of wax-paper through his guitar strings. As Bob Dylan told the Rolling Stone – “It was a song that came straight from the middle of the earth"
All along the watchtower(Dylan, Jimi Hendrix):originally written by Dylan, this song was fantastically covered by Hendrix for his album *Electric Ladyland. *Interestingly, Dylan was very pleased with Hendrix’s master arrangement of a four-part solo which makes listening to the cover an entirely different experience, and emulated Hendrix’s cover in all of the later versions of his own song.
House of the Rising Sun(Animals): Dylan had originally sung this song about a girl trapped in one of the brothels of New Orleans, but the Animals totally changed the meaning of the song, giving it a totally different feel with a bass-ish vocals and a wonderful backing organ track.
Your Song(Elton John):This song showcases Elton John’s pianistic talents in the best possible way, with a subtle mix of suspended, diminished and seventh chords in his trademark style, this was the song which introduced and popularized John to the USA.
Kashmir(Led Zeppelin): I have always preferred this song of Led Zeppelin to their more popular *Stairway to Heaven, *simply because I fell in love with the beautiful Arabic riff in the middle of the song, along with the wonderfully large-like lush orchestration in the background.
Review done.:)
