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CLASSIC ROCK
When I was
working at Jasmine's, when I would get tired of the top ten pop station, I
would switch it to classic rock to try to wean out the Beatles and Led
Zeppelin songs. I got a lot more out of it than I had originally intended.
However, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin continue to be my first loves of
classic rock and are first on the list.
The Beatles From hearing "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" in high school
to buying the 2nd Anthology, renting their albums from the
library, buying "Sgt. Pepper", the White Album, and "Magical
Mystery Tour" all in one shot, buying the rest from "Revolver"
to "With the Beatles" when I had the money over the course of the
next year, and seeing all their movies, the Beatles moved something in me
that was always there and woke up the part of me that was not happy with the
way the world was going. Sure, some of the music is over-happy and
idealistic, but some of it's not. I highly recommend hearing
"Revolver", the White Album, and "Abbey Road" if you
haven't. If this is the case, prepare to be impressed. Recommended tracks: "Sexy Sadie", "Baby You're a Rich Man", "A Day in the Life", "Tomorrow Never Knows" Led Zeppelin Forget Phil
Spector. Led Zeppelin is the group who produced the "wall of sound"
in a way that was enjoyable while not being too trite. The first song I
enjoyed of theirs was "Thank You" but found out they did much
better songs than that when I heard "The Battle of Evermore". The
guitar playing by Jimmy Page and the psychedelic noodlings of John Paul Jones
made atmospheric conditions around every song, from lithe to stormy to
sexual. Even John Bonham made himself apparent once in a while, "When
the Levee Breaks" being of note. Robert Plant's voice detracted me at
first but once I realized how well it fit into the song I forgot about how
weird his voice actually is. I still wonder where they would have gone. Recommended
tracks: "The Battle of Evermore", "When the Levee
Breaks", "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp", "The Rain Song",
"Poor Tom", "Kashmir" The Guess Who This
band composed the first song I noticed I liked that was not the Beatles or
Led Zeppelin: "No Time". I remember asking Dan
when he used to visit there who did this song and you can imagine the
misunderstanding that ensued. I ended up getting their greatest hits and not
going much further than that. Recommended
tracks: "No Time", "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature",
"Undone" Janis Joplin This
is another lady that didn't go much further than the greatest hits
collections. I was hooked onto "Piece of My Heart" and then any
other song of hers that came on I was very attracted to her raspy voice. Recommended
tracks: "Piece of My Heart", "Try Just a Little Bit
Harder", "Me and Bobby McGee" Pink Floyd Of
course, "The Dark Side of the Moon" was the first album I got of
theirs since the song "Time" struck me the right way. "Wish
You Were Here" soon followed, "The Division Bell" was a
throwback to my high school days when it had come out (1994), and of course
"The Wall". Then I met my friend Toaph and
he showed me more about Pink Floyd then I ever would have found out about
before, starting with "Atom Heart Mother" and recommending
"Ummagumma". After that I found out I enjoyed their early albums
and when someone came to sell their old copies I jumped right on them. The
last one I got was "The Final Cut", which I would not recommend. I
still don't jive with the 10-minute instrumentals as much, but when you talk
about atmospheric music, someone will probably mention this band. Recommended
tracks: "Hey You", "Wish You Were Here", "Summer
'68", "Time", "Brain Damage/Eclipse"
The Doors I
can't really say I was a huge Doors fan initially, but I loved "The
Alabama Song" and "Hello I Love You" and still do. It was when
I heard "Love Street" and "Land Ho!" that I realized that
there was something excellent going on with this band who could also write
very serious songs while putting out ones that made you laugh. I still don't
think anyone knows if they were speaking for anyone besides themselves, but
the peeks into Jim Morrison's mind that he let us in on are more than worth
noting. Recommended
tracks: "The Alabama Song", "Waiting for the Sun",
"Land Ho!", "My Eyes Have Seen You", "The Unknown
Soldier" Simon and Garfunkel I
actually liked a few Simon and Garfunkel songs when I was a teenager but
since I hadn't heard the whole collection until long after The Beatles and
Led Zeppelin's, I couldn't make a judgment until I bought a collection of all
of their five albums. I was in love. Their folk music, perfect pitch
harmonies, and lyrics are worth the music over-appreciator's full listening
ear. Recommended
tracks: "Fakin' It", "Mrs. Robinson",
"Cecilia", "At the Zoo", "Scarborough
Fair/Canticle" The Rolling Stones How could I
not include these guys? Who knew a puckered face like Mick Jagger's could
ever become pasted on CD's, posters, and billboards? How the heck are they
still doing concerts? These and many more answers are answered within the
music. They were another band that I hadn't gone far past their greatest hits
collections until I heard that they had an album called "Their Satanic
Majesties Request" where they had tried to be as trippy as the Beatles.
While they did not succeed in copying the Beatles, they made an album of
music that is definitely worth exploring. Recommended
tracks: "Emotional Rescue", "Paint it, Black", "We
Love You", "She's a Rainbow", "Gomper" The Eagles This is a
band I had ignored for the longest time mainly because my father had listened
to them. Well, kudos to them for reaffirming how good they really are, they
hooked me in again with songs everybody knows. Their mix of country and rock
in which they told stories, made love in the desert, and got tired of the
people in charge made this band who they are and spoke for all sorts, hippy
and redneck alike. Recommended
tracks: "One of These Nights", "Already Gone", "You
Never Cry Like a Lover" The Moody Blues I hadn't
really listened to this band due to Dan's uneducated opinion that the Moody
Blues were Pink Floyd copyists, while others were saying it was the other way
around. Martin set me straight on the subject by
playing a little bit of them here and there. Okay, listen: Once you hear
everything by a band can you say that they are "like" another band,
and the Moody Blues and Pink Floyd are not those two bands. The Moody Blues
did do very atmospheric music, but the content was on a much broader spectrum
by far. Recommended
tracks: "The Best Way to Travel", "It's Up to You",
"Never Comes the Day" Back to the other music
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