Deep Tracks Part 1

I have a never ending thirst to find new exciting music. I've found many times though that doesn't necessarily mean new, just new to me. Even after nearly 20 years of listening to classic rock, I still stumble across lesser known songs by popular artists I come to love. In this series of posts I'll point out some of my personally underrated favorites by popular artists along with reminiscing about when I first discovered the song myself.



Elton John - Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters (Honky Chateau - 1972)



Always one of my favorite artists, Elton has such a back catalog that it can be very cumbersome picking through everything to find the gems that don't appear on greatest hits packages or public opinion. Luckily I have tv to help me out.



A few years ago I got hooked on the new show after "Lost" called "Life On Mars". Sadly it was cancelled after one season as most shows that I actually like are, but they played lots of good 70's music throughout. In the series finale they played this song at the end and I was awestruck by how great it was. It's in the same vein as Tiny Dancer and other piano ballads. It's been in my regular rotation ever since.



Kid Rock - Blue Jeans And A Rosary (Rock N Roll Jesus - 2007)



Juxtaposing Kid Rock and Elton John is strange. I feel kind of wrong doing it. Imagine how surprised I was to hear this song off his very solid Rock N Roll Jesus album. After a few times of listening to it, I said to myself "My God this song (especially the chorus) sounds like an Elton John song". Obviously Kid Rock's vocals can't hold a candle (in the wind) to Elton's, but the use of strings, some of the vocal inflections and even the lyrics to a degree all fit. I could easily see Elton performing this song.



Tom Petty - Louisiana Rain (Damn The Torpedoes - 1979, Live Anthology - 2009)

Honestly I don't know how this one slipped through the cracks all these years. Tom Petty has always been one of my favorite artists since I discovered I loved music and this is one of his better album albeit one that for some reason I don't own. I'm sure I had heard this song at some point in my life, but re-discovered it when the live anthology came out a few years back. Maybe it's because the live version is considerably better than the studio track. It's just your classic Petty tune, but newish to me.

Allman Brothers Band - Seven Turns (Seven Turns -1990)

A product of their nth lineup change, I don't remember this song when it was new so I doubt it received much radio play in my area. I discovered this song about five years ago. I really don't remember the first time I heard it, but I remember instantly loving it. Around that same time, I experienced a rather disheartening breakup and one of the things that got me through was teaching myself how to play this song on guitar. I couldn't find any tabs for it online at the time, so I charted every note and taught it to myself.


Guns N Roses - Estranged (Use Your Illusion II - 1991)

Being a big GNR fan, I do remember this one when it was new, but I feel it still really doesn't get the respect it deserves. Maybe that's because it's a lot like November Rain only not quite as good. This was the third video in the overblown video trilogy following November Rain and Don't Cry which both received significant airplay at the time. Do yourself a favor. Watch the video of this. Maybe it'll push the memory of Slash playing while Fergie butchers one of the best songs ever out of your mind.

CCR - Wrote A Song For Everyone (Green River - 1969)


CCR and John Fogerty crammed a lot of memorable songs into a pretty short timeframe in the late 60's/early 70's. This one I discovered on Chronicles II which is all the lesser known songs still worthy of greatest hits. It's one of my favorites by them. A simple acoustic guitar with ever powerful vocals by Fogerty. I like uniqueness in rock and roll and anytime you hear Fogerty sing you instantly know who it is.