Top 100 (5-1)

5. Pearl Jam - Alive

The best grungy classic rock song ever. Pearl Jam has always been kind of a hybrid band. They are definitely grunge and fit in nicely with the Seattle scene, but they always had more classic rock (especially Neil Young) influences to their music than fellow Seattle grungers did.

At the forefront of this influence are some absolutely blistering guitar solo by Mike McCreedy and this song features one of my favorites of any genre. The way this song crescendos into an all out rock fest at the end is absolutely amazing.

4. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird

Ok so it's cliche, but cliche or not it's just a damn good song. Another song with the classic start slow/end rocking format that is all but lost in new music nowadays with legendary guitar work from the triple-axe attack. The only danger this song poses is to motorists who don't have cruise control. Often times during the solo, 80 mph can be hit easily without being conscious of it.

3. Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone

From the first snare hit you just know this song is going to be a classic kick-off to Dylan's best album. After embracing the electric guitar, Dylan gives critics of the move nothing more to complain about after this song. How does it feeeeeel indeed.

2. Beatles - A Day In The Life

Reason number infinity Lennon & McCartney were the best songwriting duo ever. As was the case with a lot of Beatles classics, this tune was composed from half written song by each side of the duo melded perfectly together by George Martin.

The dreamy trance like music and lyrics from Lennon crescendos into Paul's verse then right back to Lennon before the final crescendo and the single biggest piano chord in rock history fading out in the oblivion.

1. Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road

I've always put this song hand in hand with Born To Run as a lot of fans probably do. But while I like Born To Run, I absolutely love this song. It is the epitome of classic rock and roll to me and probably a pretty controversial song for #1 overall, but this song instantly brightens any day in which I hear it.

It starts off with a simple harmonica/piano medley referencing Roy Orbison and picks up the pace ending with a sax solo by the great Clarence Clemons. It's probably also the Boss's greatest vocal performance (at times reminding me of The Big O himself) not to mention one of the best road trip songs ever.

So there you have it. My personal Top 100 list. Undoubtedly since I started writing it, some songs have changed their rankings in my own mind and I'm always on the outlook for good new songs I can add to the list in the future. I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions on both my list and your own personal list especially of why people favor songs that you don't find on traditional Best of lists.

Top 100 (10-5)

10. Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing

For a while when I was a teenager this was one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs. From the moment I realized it's Dire Straits it's been my favorite song by them as well. Yeah I know, now I can tell the difference pretty easily, but I was a neophyte then.

Mark Knopfler is really an underrated guitarist. The guitar work (and the drumming) in this song rate amongst the best of any classic rock song. The only thing that could possibly make it better were if the lyrics involved installing microwave ovens.

9. Aerosmith - Dream On

Most bands peak early and it's not a big surprise to find their best song is off their first album, however in a musical career as long and storied as Aerosmith it is a bit of an odd thing. Ironically this song is probably about as un-Aerosmith sounding as Aerosmith gets. If you squint, you can tell it's Steven Tyler singing, but it lacks his trademark scat. Still an absolutely fantastic song though.

8. Beach Boys - Good Vibrations

Why do the best ones always have to be crazy? If not for his neurosis it's very possible Brian Wilson may have become as big as Paul McCartney. While they started out as a fairly simply surf group they, like the Beatles, grew up in terms of complexity as the 60's waned. The Beatles begat Pet Sounds which begat St. Pepper's. Sometimes friendly competition is good when it leads to 2 of the best albums ever recorded.

With the Beach Boys it was always all about the harmonies and this song is the apex of that along with the dreamy quality of the music and lyrics.

7. The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again

In making this list, I realized I really really like The Who which came as no surprise, but they are the only band with two songs this high on my list. This song showcases everything that is good about the band. The structure of the song changes so many times up to the most defining yowl of any song ever made.

And the drumming, oh Lord the drumming. The track laid down by Keith Moon is probably the best drum track ever and thanks to the increasing blandness of newer song's drums may hold that title for a very long time.

6. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

There is no band out there quite like Queen. It's amazing what they managed to accomplish with the limitations of 1970's analog recording equipment. This signature cut has probably caused numerous traffic accidents as people were busy banging their head to this song a la Wayne's World.

To create this masterpiece the 3-part harmony was dubbed and overdubbed numerous times to create the choirlike vocals.

Top 100 (15-11)

15. Kansas - Carry On My Wayward Son

I'm really to the point now where depending on the day any of these may qualify as my favorite song. I play a variety of instruments and like songs for a variety of reasons, but this song nails it on every front. It's got several guitar solos, a killer bass line, good drums and soaring vocals. Probably my #1 most played song on Rock Band as well.

I'll have another post up soon about "The Loudness War" and why classic rock production is so much better, but one thing newer bands can learn from this is variation. My favorite points of the song are when the drummer plays a few well placed open hi-hat notes in the middle of a verse to really add to the build up.

14. Radiohead - Karma Police

Thom Yorke genius..blah blah blah. Yeah it's still true. The beautiful archepellago harmony of the acoustic guitar and piano during the chorus is fantastic. It's both simple and complex at the same time and then fades into a noise at the end that somehow works.

13. Guns N Roses - Sweet Child O Mine

I think one of the points I realized when I was getting a little bit older was when I started hearing this song with regularity on classic rock stations. Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Pink Floyd, that stuff is classic rock. It came out before I was born. I remember buying this album when this song was new. That was only...umm...over 20 years ago...crap. And for over 20 years this has been among my all time favorites.

I remember driving around the country in high school with some friends looking for another friends house where we were supposed to play paintball. We were completely lost down county roads and lo and behold Axl was singing on the stereo, "Where do we go now?" Very appropriate.

12. Boston - More Than A Feeling

A rock song with dynamics? A build up from a softer sounding song into an all out rock fest? Must be from the 70's. Those types of songs don't exist anymore in the mainstream. Probably one of the first songs, I ever learned how to play on guitar and when I started concentrating on drums, this is one of the songs that made me realize I really really like the sound of a rimshot on the snare.

11. The Who - Baba O'Riley

Another thing my study of drums has taught me is I love the bass drum and I love lots of crashing cymbals. This song is tame by Keith Moon's standards, but still has a ton of cymbals at just the right spots to support Roger Daltrey's always excellent vocals. Nobody seems to appreciate this song as much as they should because they think the name of it is Teenage Wasteland.

Top 100 (20-16)

20. Radiohead-Creep

What other word can you use to describe Thom Yorke other than "genius". This song is the epitome of songwriting. Perfect lyrics and perfect weathered vocals to go with them. I usually think cursing in a song is unnecessary and just makes for bad radio edits, but when he sings "You're so fucking special" it just punches me in the face every time.

19. Garth Brooks-The Thunder Rolls (Long Version)

Garth Brooks was definitely my gateway drug into appreciating country music and I'm not nearly alone on this. The last verse which only shows up on the live version adds a final kick to the classic country tale of the somebody done somebody wrong song.

18. Guns N Roses-Patience

Proof that Guns N Roses could pull off more than just rock. Not exactly a monster ballad, but an excellent acoustic song at least and one of the more criminally underrated tunes of all time. The outro is simply amazing. As a side node, one of those memories that just sort of sticks with me: Back when MTV actually showed music videos, I would always watch the Top 10?20? countdown and then it was bedtime. This song was #1 for several weeks in a row and right before the coda when the music pauses the screen goes black. Every single week, at this moment my dad would say "Time for bed" and I'd have to remind him without fail the song was not in fact over.

17. Bob Dylan-Tangled Up In Blue

Probably my favorite lyrics ever in a Dylan song. I've always loved the imagery in this one. The jangly guitar and the random drums accentuate the song perfectly.

16. CCR-Have You Ever Seen The Rain

A classic mid-tempo rocker. A very basic rhythm that lets John Fogerty's vocals shine through on a rainy day.

Album Review The Offspring - Rise and Fall Rage and Grace

For some reason this album, which has been out for a year now, stayed pretty under the radar. This is surprising considering any band that was ever good releasing a record seems to get hyped nowadays. However in anticipation of seeing the Offspring live last weekend I decided to refresh myself on some of their songs and learn a few of the new ones to get the full concert experience.

First of all, the concert was fantastic. It was opened by a generic punk band called Time Again then the Dropkick Murphys came out. While I have an ancillary relationship with them, they were a solid live band and surprisingly enough I even knew a couple of their tunes.

After paying $3 for a lukewarm bottle of water to prevent heat exhaustion, we crowded a little bit closer for the headliners. We were instantly engulfed in a big hazy smoke as I half expected at a show like this. There was also about 400% more crowd-surfing than I have ever seen at a concert before.

I left the concert venue with very achy feet, no voice whatsoever and a sore neck. So in other words the concert was everything I hoped it would be. They mixed in about half of the new album with their old classics in a nice tight set list.

Now about those new songs...

The Offspring formed nearly 25 years ago and released their first album 20 years ago. They didn't hit it big until their smash 3rd album appropriately titled "Smash". Let this be a lesson to any aspiring bands who don't think album titles are important. After a few other strong albums (Ixenay on the Hombre and Americana) they released a few clunkers (A Conspiracy of One and Splinter) the latter of which was 5 years ago.

This album falls squarely in the middle of those two groups. There are a few stellar tunes on here and a few not so stellar. Overall it's a good album, but if you go in expecting a classic you'll be disappointed.

As is common with bands who are entering into their mid-40's there are a number of slower tempo songs and even ballads! However, there are a few songs that let their punk roots shine through and those are generally the best cuts.

The album starts out with the almost anthemic Half-Truism which is probably my favorite song on the record. I tend to hate political statement songs, but this one is thinly veiled enough and still catchy without getting overly preachy.

Then comes Trust In You, which is a little too metal sounding for my taste. Not surprising given that Bob Rock (Metallica) was the producer for this effort.

You're Going To Go Far Kid is very divergent from the roots as it features a disco like drum beat almost making it dancable. Also one of the better tunes on here.

Hammerhead, the first single, gets back to the punks roots and is very classic Offspring sound.

After this the album gets a bit murky. There are some experiments with pianos and they go 1 for 2 on the ballads as Kristy Are You Doing Okay? has some very touching lyrics and a very acoustic feel.

About the only other notable is Stuff Is Messed Up which is apparently Dexter's take on the politics that have sprung forth since the Offspring's last record. This is also what they led off the concert with. While I'm not a huge fan of the lyrics the song itself is rather catchy.

All in all, there are enough good classic punk tunes to justify the purchase of this album. Some of the forays into different types of music previously foreign to the Offspring fail, but I would still rather hear a band fail to branch into something different than just release the same tired drivel. *cough* Green Day *cough*

Really despite the critic's reception to this album as well as the past two Green Day albums, this album is what Green Day aspires to be. I would gladly listen to this album anyday over the boring pop-punk of American Idiot or 21st Century Breakdown.

Bottom line: If you like the Offspring, you'll probably enjoy at least some of this collection.

Top 100 (25-21)

25. Janis Joplin-Me And Bobby McGee



Janis is still the queen of female vocalists as far as I'm concerned. The husky bluesy voice has never been repeated in rock and roll. This song was actually written by Kris Kristofferson, but of course this is the one everyone knows.


24. Elton John-Tiny Dancer



This song just keeps going, but it never gets old. This is definitely peak Elton with all the words and music excellently arranged. Apparently he was also a big fan of 'Taxi' hence the hold me close you're Tony Danza line. Never understood why the song was named Tiny Dancer.



23. Eagles-Hotel California

This is one of the songs I credit for getting me into classic rock. Growing up in the 80's I obviously knew who Don Henley was, and when the Eagles re-united and released Learn To Be Still, I said "My gosh that's Don Henley. What is this band called the Eagles they are attributing this song to?"

Then I discovered Hotel California (both the song and album) and fell in love with the guitar work. Simply a classic.

22. David Bowie-Life On Mars?

To say David Bowie is peculiar is an understatement. While some of his Ziggy Stardust antics and way out there lyrics weren't to my liking, the man does have an incredible voice. This song, like most of his, is kind of non-sensical, but his soaring vocals during the beginning of the chorus are simply beautiful.

21. Journey-Don't Stop Believin'

Do I really have to give a reason for song? It's the white people anthem of the nation. I'm pretty sure I could have a day straight out of the most depressing country song ever, and if I put this on the cd player, my mood would instantly become better.
Plus what other song can you see Tony Romo and Mr. Belding perform together?

Album Review - The Gaslight Anthem - '59 Sound

If you are like me, you don't have a very large attention span so I'll do one short review and one longer one.



Short review:

Buy this album



Long review:



I've ready hundreds, probably thousands of reviews in my lifetime and one of the things that is hardest to define (and often wrong) is a reviewer's description of who the band sounds like. After all, when being introduced to a new band don't we all want to know they share something with bands we already know and love. This inevitably leads to any rock band out of New Jersey being labeled either "Sounds like Springsteen" or "Sounds like Bon Jovi".



I hate these classifications for two reasons

1. Often times it is far far from the truth. When I hear a band described as "Like the Who" only they have basic drumming and no rhythm section to speak of it makes me angry. Often times after hearing that, I'm left disappointed that the sound doesn't live up to the Who. And most bands can't.

2. It's just plain lazy in most instances. Just like when comparing athletes, white athletes are compared to other white athlethes and black athletes are compared to other black athletes. The comparison is made on visual similarities not actual styles of play. Just become a band is from the same area and has the same look of another band, does not mean those two are automatically related.


That said when I first listened to a few of this band's songs, I described them to a friend of mine as a punkish mix between Springsteen and The Killers and this was BEFORE I found out any other information about them.

The Springsteen similarity is what makes this band stand out from what I associate with "generic punk" music. The rhythm section plays punk, but the vocal stylings are much more melodic and rock based while the lyrics are often times like alt-country and can be very poignant at times. Also there are numerous references to other artists, which for some reason always wins points in my heart.

There are references to Tom Petty, Bob Seger, Counting Crows and (obviously) Springsteen.

"At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet,
It's a pretty good song maybe you know the rest"

If the Springsteen point hasn't been pounded home yet, do a YouTube search for them performing one of the Boss's underrated songs "I'm On Fire".

All in all the lyrics long for a time when music was actually music not overproduced marketing. While Green Day churns out another mediocre album, the mantle of melodic punk deserves to be passed on to bands such as this. In a small way though, even though this band deserves to hit it big, I kind of hope they don't so they can continue to produce music like this.

Key Songs: The '59 Sound, Old White Lincoln, Here's Looking At You Kid, High Lonesome