Well, anyone who has listened to a classic rock station before has probably heard the hit, All Right Now. Of course, that song by Free, is probably not even close to their best. As some of you may already know, sometimes a band's best songs don't get played on the radio. A song getting popular is really up to a DJ who decides to play the song and a lot of luck and listeners.
Of course, Free is an interesting band. Their lead singer, Paul Rodgers, is considered the epitome of the rock and roll voice and has been in numerous other bands including Bad Company (remember such hits such as Bad Company, Can't Get Enough, Ready For Love, Rock 'N Roll Fantasy, etc), and more recently Queen.
In any case, one great song by Free is Heavyload from the 1970 album Fire and Water. Equal parts piano and guitar and a bluesy feel make this song very memorable and very catchy. Check it out:
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
White Rabbit by The Great Society
When most of you hear the words "White Rabbit," what do you think of? Is it Alice in Wonderland? Is it Jefferson Airplane? For most of us, these two things pop into our minds. What you might not know about the song White Rabbit is the fact it's not originally a Jefferson Airplane song.
Actually, the song was originally done by The Great Society, a band only existing for two years, 1965 and 1966, in San Francisco. Of course, interesting to note that Grace Slick was in this band along with her husband at the time, and his brother. As trippy as the Jefferson Airplane version of the song is, many versions of The Great Society's last two to three times longer and are just as trippy. Listening to this one might bring back memories of Klezmer music. Amazing to think this was recorded in 1965, way ahead of its time. I should also note this might have the longest intro of any song ever. Enjoy.
Actually, the song was originally done by The Great Society, a band only existing for two years, 1965 and 1966, in San Francisco. Of course, interesting to note that Grace Slick was in this band along with her husband at the time, and his brother. As trippy as the Jefferson Airplane version of the song is, many versions of The Great Society's last two to three times longer and are just as trippy. Listening to this one might bring back memories of Klezmer music. Amazing to think this was recorded in 1965, way ahead of its time. I should also note this might have the longest intro of any song ever. Enjoy.
Combination by Aerosmith
I'm not going to bore you with the facts about Aerosmith. Why? Because everyone knows who Aerosmith is! I'll cut right to the chase. This song is on what is arguably Aerosmith's best album, Rocks from 1976, depending on who you ask. The first song on the entire album is Back in Saddle, one of their well known songs. The last song on the first side is Combination, a song that is very very catchy and I've never heard on the radio in my life for some reason.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sufficiently Breathless by Captain Beyond
Somewhere in the discussion about 70s music, Captain Beyond gets lost in the mix somewhere even though they recorded a few brilliant and very good albums. What is interesting to find out about them is their lead singer, Rod Evans, was the original lead singer of Deep Purple (you can hear him in their hit Hush). It doesn't stop there though as two of their other members were part of Iron Butterfly, the same guys who did In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
Sufficiently Breathless is from the 1973 album titled Sufficiently Breathless. For some reason, it's never played on the radio. Why is this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbgqTUm1lw
Sufficiently Breathless is from the 1973 album titled Sufficiently Breathless. For some reason, it's never played on the radio. Why is this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGbgqTUm1lw
Open My Eyes by The Nazz
The Nazz were a psychedelic garage band in the 1960s from Philadelphia perhaps best known for having Todd Rundgren on guitar. Although they were marketed as a teeny bopper band, they really weren't.
Open My Eyes was their first single debuting in 1968 , which did not become popular. Instead, the B-side "Hello It's Me" became popular. Wonder what the A-side sounds like?
Open My Eyes was their first single debuting in 1968 , which did not become popular. Instead, the B-side "Hello It's Me" became popular. Wonder what the A-side sounds like?
Euphoria by School of Fish
Up until now, all of my song postings have been from either the 60s or 70s. Back a short while ago, I had a few shows on a radio station every week. One was exactly for this -- underrated songs and the other was for 90s music. The next song fits both of the categories.
School of Fish only existed for a handful of years, producing a few albums, but their 1991 self-titled debut proved to be fairly solid. In fact, they did have a minor hit on MTV in 1991 entitled Three Strange Days. Not much else is known to the general public about the band, except two of the members went on to play with Jakob Dylan (Bob Dylan's son) in The Wallflowers. Unfortunately, the lead singer of School of Fish passed away from Testicular Cancer in 2000 at the age of 32.
Euphoria is a great five minute ballad. Why it is not more well known is beyond me.
School of Fish only existed for a handful of years, producing a few albums, but their 1991 self-titled debut proved to be fairly solid. In fact, they did have a minor hit on MTV in 1991 entitled Three Strange Days. Not much else is known to the general public about the band, except two of the members went on to play with Jakob Dylan (Bob Dylan's son) in The Wallflowers. Unfortunately, the lead singer of School of Fish passed away from Testicular Cancer in 2000 at the age of 32.
Euphoria is a great five minute ballad. Why it is not more well known is beyond me.
The Green Manalishi by Fleetwood Mac
Many people are well aware of Fleetwood Mac. Actually, let me redact that statement. Many people are aware of Stevie Nicks' Fleetwood Mac. How many of you are aware of the original Fleetwood Mac -- Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac?
That's correct -- Fleetwood Mac is actually older than you thought. They were formed in 1967 by Peter Green, a blues guitarist who replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers because he was known to be a better guitarist than Clapton. Between 1967 and 1970, Peter Green led Fleetwood Mac as a blues/blues rock band and by 1969 were outselling the Beatles and Rolling Stones combined in Europe. Little known in fact is that Fleetwood Mac originally wrote and performed Black Magic Woman, not Santana.
The Green Manalishi is actually the last song Peter Green recorded with Fleetwood Mac recorded in 1970, before he quit music all together for the next 20-30 years. Actually, this song was covered by Judas Priest in 1978 as well.
That's correct -- Fleetwood Mac is actually older than you thought. They were formed in 1967 by Peter Green, a blues guitarist who replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers because he was known to be a better guitarist than Clapton. Between 1967 and 1970, Peter Green led Fleetwood Mac as a blues/blues rock band and by 1969 were outselling the Beatles and Rolling Stones combined in Europe. Little known in fact is that Fleetwood Mac originally wrote and performed Black Magic Woman, not Santana.
The Green Manalishi is actually the last song Peter Green recorded with Fleetwood Mac recorded in 1970, before he quit music all together for the next 20-30 years. Actually, this song was covered by Judas Priest in 1978 as well.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Heartbreaker by Grand Funk Railroad
Most everyone has either knowingly or unknowingly heard a Grand Funk Railroad song before whether it was We're An American Band or Some Kind of Wonderful. Most people associate GFR with that type of music; the type that is fast paced and nothing overly special.
A deeper look at GFR though reveals they are much deeper than the songs everyone knows them for. Their 1969 debut On Time is a decent blues oriented hard rock with a few very solid tracks.
One such track is Heartbreaker at just over six minutes long. You be the judge:
A deeper look at GFR though reveals they are much deeper than the songs everyone knows them for. Their 1969 debut On Time is a decent blues oriented hard rock with a few very solid tracks.
One such track is Heartbreaker at just over six minutes long. You be the judge:
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Cream
I can't say enough about Cream. In fact, they are one of my favorite bands of the era. Featuring members from John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and The Graham Bond Organization, Cream was a very solid band. While they are very well known and have songs everyone knows such as White Room, Sunshine of Your Love, and I Feel Free, they still have many, many great songs that are much lesser known.
One such song lesser known, but great song is Deserted Cities of the Heart from the 1968 album Wheels of Fire. The song might be in fact, Cream's most underrated tune ever.
Judge for yourself:
One such song lesser known, but great song is Deserted Cities of the Heart from the 1968 album Wheels of Fire. The song might be in fact, Cream's most underrated tune ever.
Judge for yourself:
Napoleon Bona - Parts 1 & 2 by Budgie
One of the first "heavy metal" bands in the world, Budgie, was formed in 1967 in Wales. Although their first album was released a year after Black Sabbath's first album, they had been around for longer than Black Sabbath, playing the music people believe Black Sabbath invented. Budgie is also very influential and quietly. Even Metallica has covered a song or two by them.
Napoleon Bona - Parts 1 & 2 is featured on the 1975 album Bandolier. At seven minutes long, the song features two distinct parts. The first is a slow minor moded part and the second is a faster, gruffer part. Perhaps what is interesting about this song, or Budgie in particular, is it is like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Rush (because of the singer) put together. Here is the song:
Napoleon Bona - Parts 1 & 2 is featured on the 1975 album Bandolier. At seven minutes long, the song features two distinct parts. The first is a slow minor moded part and the second is a faster, gruffer part. Perhaps what is interesting about this song, or Budgie in particular, is it is like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Rush (because of the singer) put together. Here is the song:
Lonesome Crow by Scorpions
Perhaps the Scorpions are best known to everyone for their arena hard rock/metal music and antics. A little lesser known is how Scorpions got their start and what they originally sounded like.
In 1972, Scorpions finally released an album entitled Lonesome Crow. What listeners who have never heard this album might be surprised by is how Scorpions sound. First of all, to give an indication, this is the only full album where Michael Schenker, later of UFO, played on. Give one listen and you realize the whole album has a Black Sabbath feel to it and sounds nothing like what we know from Scorpions.
Lonesome Crow by Scorpions is the song. At 13 minutes long, it is fairly long, but well worth it in my opinion at least. In fact, most of the album is deathly underrated. How it got only 2 stars on AllMusic is a mystery. Here is a shortened 9 minute version of the song via YouTube:
In 1972, Scorpions finally released an album entitled Lonesome Crow. What listeners who have never heard this album might be surprised by is how Scorpions sound. First of all, to give an indication, this is the only full album where Michael Schenker, later of UFO, played on. Give one listen and you realize the whole album has a Black Sabbath feel to it and sounds nothing like what we know from Scorpions.
Lonesome Crow by Scorpions is the song. At 13 minutes long, it is fairly long, but well worth it in my opinion at least. In fact, most of the album is deathly underrated. How it got only 2 stars on AllMusic is a mystery. Here is a shortened 9 minute version of the song via YouTube:
Friday, May 15, 2009
Evil Woman by Spooky Tooth
I am going to start out with some progressive/classic rock with this one. Spooky Tooth is an interesting yet forgotten music group. They have actually featured some members known for other groups. Mick Jones, one of the founders, was in Spooky Tooth for a few years, Gary Wright who had the hit "Dream Weaver" was also in the band. Other members include former members from Humble Pie and Mott the Hoople.
Maybe this song is not as popular because it's 9 minutes long, but then again, radio stations are notorious for editing songs and making them a little shorter. In any case, this is from their 1969 album Spooky Two. Parts of the song remind you of Black Sabbath while other parts remind you of many other groups. Check it out for yourselves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuT0diTFFjE
Maybe this song is not as popular because it's 9 minutes long, but then again, radio stations are notorious for editing songs and making them a little shorter. In any case, this is from their 1969 album Spooky Two. Parts of the song remind you of Black Sabbath while other parts remind you of many other groups. Check it out for yourselves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuT0diTFFjE
Underrated Songs
Well, I wanted t start this awhile ago, but figured I'd do it here. There has been a TON of music made and recorded in the last century. We all know the staples of certain genres of music, but not all amazing, great, etc songs get very well known. There is actually a lot of music out there, very good that should be well known, but isn't. This "blog" is going to be about that music.
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