Got Live If You Want It

As the introduction to Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time says, it’s impossible to capture the frenzy (and I would add joy) of a great live show on record.  But as the list shows, there have been some awesome live recordings.

Confession:  in general, I have always preferred studio albums, because the sound quality is better, there’s less self-indulgence from the band, and the mistakes land on the cutting room floor.  But I still enjoy a good performance, and I love going to concerts.

The list has something to satisfy just about every musical taste, and it includes some career-establishing performances.  But for me, its main virtue is that it serves as a healthy reminder that music is meant to be enjoyed live.

Crash and Burn

OK, I get Guitar World’s point about the ending can be – should be - the most dramatic part of the song, and, like, fade outs are maybe over done.  So, I wasn’t surprised to see Hotel California left off their list of Top 10 Greatest Rock and Roll Song Endings of All Time.

And the idea of a climax, as it were, to end the song, is laudable.  But the songs selected seem to have endings bordering on the apocalyptic.

Don’t get me wrong.  Won’t Get Fooled Again probably does have the best ending in the history of rock and roll, and the ending of 21^st Century Schizoid Man sure fits the song.  But how about The Beatles’ A Hard Days Night?  Oops, GW doesn’t like endings with strange chords.  Sure fits the song though.  OK then, how about Help!  Not enough guitar for you?  So what.  Listen to John’s voice.

Or, speaking of voices, how about Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit?

Well, if you want even more drama, how about Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody – or Under Pressure?  Not loud enough?

OK, I give up.  Drama bordering on self –immolation it is.  So then how about including Deep Purple’s Child In Time, then?  Or Hendrix’s Manic Depression?

But I’ll still take Nowehere Man or even Eight Days A Week.

Groundbreakers

Hey, Rolling Stone!  What’s with these lists delivered as advertisements?

You need to work at Rolling Stone’s 40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time to get to the detail, but it’s more or less worth it.  Probably.

Well, Kanye West should pleased to be included on a list featuring Woody Guthrie and Frank Sinatra.

And Perrey and Kingsley – whoever they were - should be mighty proud to be on a list that includes Bob Dylan, Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck.

Are we surprised to see pioneers like Nirvana, The Ramones, The Allman Brothers, Paul Butterfield or James Brown on such a list?  Of course not.  Or masters such as Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye or Carole King?  Nope.

Nor, though I’ll never understand it, can we be surprised to see The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, The Velvet Underground’s Nico, The Mothers of Invention, or Sabbath.

This couldn’t have been an easy list to assemble.  It covers every major music genre over seven decades.  And I know I’m just a rabid fan, which in no way qualifies me as an expert, but I do wonder why there are so many entries on the list that I have never heard of.  I mean, I have been paying attention and all.  And while it’s nice to see The Beatles with two entries, how can such a list omit Elvis, Buddy Holly or Chuck Berry?  I’m just sayin’.

Nevermind

One of the comments below Gibson’s 10 Great Grunge Bands article says it best: I miss hearing snarling guitars and adult subject matter on the radio.

Grunge was the last great innovation of the rock ‘n’ roll era.  A refreshing kick in the pants to self-indulgent 80’s hair metal, a rude finger to the fashion driven synth pop Kool-Aid that was dominating the airwaves, grunge reminded us that rock ‘n’ roll is punk.

The guitar playing was perhaps not as noteworthy as that served up by the guitar gods of the 60’s and 70’s, and the lyrics were a tad on the angry side, but even old fogey’s in their forties like me got it.

An all too brief revitalization, though.  Before long the corporate pop machine had driven us back to its predictable formula of catchy but forgettable nonsense. 

The next wave is overdue.  Hey, you snarling guitarists!  Pick up the torch!

The Second Time Around

Most of us have a few records/tapes/CD’s/MB of memory that are basically collecting dust because we:

1) Were blown away by someone’s debut album, and so …

2) Rushed to buy the second album, then went ‘oops!’

In many cases, it seems the more amazing the first album was, the easier it was to be disappointed with the second.  Maybe it goes back to the adage that bands have their whole lives to come up with that first album but no time for the next one.  Whatever the cause, a flop the second time around can be fatal.  Lots of one hit wonders probably released more than one record.  We just ignored them.

Rolling Stone’s 20 Best Second Albums provides a list of happy exceptions, albums that were every bit as good – or even better – than the debuts.  Examples from the list include second efforts by Neil Young, Springsteen, Radiohead, Elvis Costello, Dylan, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Band, and Nirvana.

Yeah, I know these acts are all legendary and most people cherish their entire catalogues, but what if that second album had been awful?  Maybe then the legend is stillborn.  Or maybe the examples listed nicely illustrate why these acts became legends.  “You that was good?  OK, have a listen to this!”

Baby Please Don’t Go

Here’s a list that reminds us there is a lot of wonderful music outside the ridiculously short playlists of commercial radio:  Gibson’s 10 Great Bands That Ended Too Soon.

Predictably (and correctly) the list includes the likes of Nirvana, The Doors and The Clash, but it also includes bands that are all but forgotten, such as Alice Cooper, New York Dolls, J. Geils and The Faces.  These bands don’t get near enough airplay.

My only complaint is: what about Cream?  Talk about a great band that didn’t last long enough!  If Clapton had died in a plane crash the night before their final U.S.  concert in 1968, we’d still be weeping.

Nice to see The Beatles on the list, though.  Even though their body of work dwarfs everyone else mentioned, nothing wrong with some self-indulgent, “ya, but they could have given us so much more” thinking.  It’s only love.

We Will Rock You

So, there are all these lists out there, but I can’t find a list of best rock anthems.  Curious or what?  Radio DJ’s, critics and the like use the term casually, but no one’s bothered to assemble a list.  Interesting.

Wikipedia says an anthem is a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people.  With that as a reference, we could easily come up with a few rock anthems, right?

Like: Won’t Get Fooled Again, Stairway to Heaven, We Will Rock You,

Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2, Born in the U.S.A., Imagine, Sunday Bloody Sunday

Or, if you soften the definition to say people easily identify with the song, you could add: Won’t Back Down, Hotel California, Smoke on the Water, Woodstock,

Bohemian Raphsody, Hey Jude, All You Need Is Love

Or maybe the song just gets your juices flowing, like: Armageddon It, Layla, Southern Man, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Solsbury Hill, Born to Be Wild, American Woman

Or  …  it just feels like an anthem, say: My Sweet Lord, Free Falling, Let It Be, or pretty much anything by Rush

Hmmm  …  that wasn’t easy.  Maybe the ‘identify’ bit makes such a list too personal; you could build your own list but couldn’t expect anyone else to agree.

Anyway, for my money, the song that should top the list is Won’t Get Fooled Again.  It kicks you in the butt, fills you with a “ya, dammit!” attitude, and entertains you with some of the most powerful rock ever recorded.  If that isn’t an anthem, I don’t know what is.

Mayday! Mayday! We’re Listing!

Yes, I can take umbrage when I see a list that elevates someone I don’t respect/like or disrespects my idols.  Guilty as charged.

Seems I’m not alone, though.  The “puffed-up pontificators” at Entertainment Weekly appear to have deeply offended Joel Rubinoff with their list of Top 100 Albums, at least judging by his You Call This a List? rant in the Toronto Star.

Rubinoff’s Exhibit A is that the “whims of personality and ego” omitted Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Not just from the Top 10, but altogether.  He has many other issues, but that’s the big one.

By the way, here’s the Top 10:

 1. Beatles, Revolver

 2. Once-Again-Known-As-Prince, Purple Rain

 3. Stones, Exile

 4. MJ, Thriller

 5. The Clash, London Calling

 6. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks

 7. Aretha, Lady Soul

 8. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

 9. Beach Boys, Pet Sounds

10. Nirvana, Nevermind

I mean, chill out Joel.  It’s not that different from many other lists I’ve seen - and commented on.  Yes, I agree that leaving out Pepper’s is crazy.  But frankly, I don’t care whether Blood on the Tracks outranks Highway 61 Revisited.  Like, they’re both good, right?

Perhaps the folks at EW were “determined to stoke debate” by going “out of their way … to tick of readers.”  Fair enough.

As Mr. Rubinoff admits, it’s a classic marketing ploy, and it works, cause it’s got people talkin’.

Take it easy, Joel.  At least the Beatles hold down top spot on the list.  For now, anyway.  Tomorrow never knows.

Oh, Just Nevermind

Well, they say your musical tastes are pretty much chiseled in stone by the age of 16, so no big surprise that I only knew the names of 27 of Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the 90's, the decade when I left my 30’s – still kicking – and entered my 40’s, more or less screaming, I guess.

I mean, I probably recognize 80 or so of the artists by name, but the actual album names?  A paltry 27.  And that’s based on, you know, name recognition on the radio (possibly before I changed the station) or browsing for CD’s in the record store.

Remember CD’s?  In stores?

27.  Recognized.  By name.  Ownership?  Well, less than that.  A lot less.  And I bought a ton of CD’s in the 90’s.  A boatload.

Look:  I wasn’t entirely out of it.  I had some Nirvana, Petty, Oasis, Neil Young, REM, U2 and Red Hot Chili Peppers.  That’s not so bad, right?  And, you know, I kinda liked Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and Radiohead and Metallica.  That’s good, isn’t it?

And of course I love Dylan and Springsteen and The Stones, and they’re on the list (although come one, RS, Bridges To Babylon and not Voodoo Lounge?  Really?) – so, I was, like, not in a cave or anything.

But 27% sort of makes it official: I had given up.  I had grown old.  My score on the Top 10 (60%) is cold comfort.  Crap.

I always knew that rock/pop is for young people, but retreating to “well the music was better in the 60’s (or 70’s (for the most part), or the 80’s (at least for a time)) – even though it was – is, is, is oh nevermind.

No point in raging against the machine.  I’m not ready to die and I know I’m not out of time.   OK Computer, how we gonna handle this?

And One For All

I need to take a second pass at this…

So speaking of riffs, New Musical Express’s 50 Greatest Guitar Riffs of All Time is nothing if not democratic.  Everyone seems to get a turn.  You’ve got at least one each for rockabilly, British Invasion, psychedelia, hard rock, metal, glam, classic rock, new wave, euro pop, alt, grunge, hair, punk, thrash … have I missed anything?

And kudos to NME for spreading the joy, but really, shouldn’t the likes of AC/DC, the Stones, or U2 been on the list more than once?

And if you insist on limiting to one apiece, is Sunshine of Your Love really Clapton’s best riff?  Is Free Fallin’ Tom Petty’s?

As for the Stones, limiting it to one is kinda silly, so it might as well be Satisfaction.

Oh, and even though even one isn’t enough for them either, no Beatles?  At all?  Does NME have something against them?  For heaven’s sake!

I was delighted to see the likes of The White Stripes, The Kings of Leon and The Black Keys on the list, but some of the others just seem to be arbitrary.  I dunno.  When I read these lists I try not to let my peronal taste get in the way (really, I do), but I’m not sure what NME’s criteria was.  Influence?  Sales?  Recognizability?  Airplay?  Fairness and diversity?

Cool collection of pictures, though.

Postscript - best write-up goes to the one for Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit:  “Is the most remarkable thing about this riff that it killed hair metal or that it made Nirvana superstars against their will?  No, the most remarkable thing about this riff is that even after hearing it 87 million times it still sounds so visceral.”

Monster Live

The Rolling Stone 10 Best Live Albums list makes the point that a good live album could actually make a career, and that’s true.

The reverse was almost true too.  There were some pretty bad – make that pathetic – releases that seriously damaged the image of some otherwise unimpeachable stars (at least for me).

Here’s the list:

 1.  The Who – Live at Leeds

 2.  Allman Brothers – Live at the Fillmore East

 3.  Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive!

 4.  Rolling Stones – Get Yer Ya-ya’s Out!

 5.  Kiss – Alive!

 6.  Deep Purple – Made In Japan

 7.  Little Feat – Waiting for Columbus

 8.  Nirvana - Unplugged

 9.  The Band – The Last Waltz

10. Bob Seger – Live Bullet

I wonder if it helps to have an exclamation mark as part of your title?

Some great music by some fabulous bands here for sure.  Some are amongst my all time favourites.

The write-up talks about the colossal mistake Townshend made by destroying the rest of the recordings from the tour  - featuring mostly material from Tommy, which is what dominated their shows at the time.  But I remember how incredibly refreshing it was to not hear Tommy, how cool it was to hear The Who rock out, simple, pure and raw.

The albums on the list that had the most impact on me were the ones that were accompanied by films.  The visuals helped overcome the poor sound quality.

To be fair, technology, professional standards and perhaps reduced or alternative substance abuse have tremendously improved what can be achieved in a live recording.  But back then, things were a bit rough and uneven.

Speaking of visuals, when I first heard The Beatles at Shea Stadium, I was embarrassed.  It sounded just awful.  Remember, this was released not long after Abbey Road, one of the cleanest, best produced albums of all time.  Now, when I watch the doctored-up clips on Anthology, I’m convinced Shea Stadium was the best concert performance of ever.

And I guess that’s the challenge of a live album: technology and taste aside, does the recording and the performance manage to convey the magic these musicians can conjure up?  

Anyway, this list sure is a good representation of my generation.

Surrealistic Pillows

Stumbled across this fun list called 50 Things We Wouldn't Have Without The Beatles.

50 things.  That’s a lot.  Some of them even matter, like: long hair, music videos, stadium concerts, concept albums, backmasking, eastern philosophy, and intentional feedback.  Examples of how The Beatles changed the world.  Speaking of which: musicians trying to change the world.

Other things are true but more curious than impactful:  heavy metal (yes, check Helter Skelter), Monty Python’s The Life of Brian (well, if George didn’t have the money …)

50 things is a lot.  So some are a stretch:  Apple (copycat name and logo), Thomas the Tank Engine (Ringo was cool and all, but …), Nirvana?  Cher?  Phil Collins?

Double albums?  In 1968, everyone had a double album!

Maybe 50 is just too many things.  Like, of course we wouldn’t have Beatles cover bands without The Beatles!  And I guess we wouldn’t have had The Monkees, but …

Keeping the list to 20-25 might have bee a good idea.  A shorter list would have contained less whimsy – a definite Beatles characteristic – but would have carried more credibility.  The impact of the guys is immeasurable.  We don’t need a longer list to establish that.

And yes, Ringo was apparently the first to put a pillow inside his kick drum.  And now it’s time to say goodnight.

When I Paint My Masterpiece

Gibson’s list of 10 Iconic Album Covers reminds us of perhaps the best thing about vinyl. 

Here’s the list:

The Beatles, Abbey Road

The Clash, London Callling

Green Day, Dookie

Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin

Michael Jackson, Thriller

Nirvana, Nevermind

Pearl Jam, Ten

Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon

OK, I know CD’s ruled by the time Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Green Day came along, but you get my point.  Album art – and it was art – had such a bigger impact when the real estate was, well, bigger.

Great album covers don’t just inform or appeal, they make a statement.  So all of the ones on the list are deserving.  As the article says, whittling it down to a list of only 10 is a tall order.  Sgt. Pepper, Rubber Soul or With the Beatles were also super icons, and Zep 4 easily rivals Zep 1, but let’s not quibble.  Great album art made great albums even better, providing another way to enjoy, to savour, to immerse oneself.

I know we have videos and websites and tweets and all that, but it’s not the same as a 12-x12 piece of cardboard you can hold in your hands.  It’s not as personal.

Rock Trinities

Another interesting list: the Gibson Top 10 Rock Trios

Here's the list:
1. Jimi Hendrix Experience
2. Cream
3. Rush
4. Nirvana
5. ZZ Top
6. Green Day
7. Muse
8. SRV and Double Trouble
9. Primus
10. The Police

Well, I would have included The James Gang there somewhere.  And I would have swapped Cream for Hendrix, but otherwise the list is predictable.

The inclusion of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble poses and interesting question, though. What about the quartets that had a singer backed by a trio? Led Zeppelin, The Who, etc.? These bands had the same limitations in terms of what they could put out - especially live. Might make for a different looking list.

The trigger for the question is: Double Trouble started out as just bass and drums behind Stevie. The keyboard was added later - so they weren't always a trio.  Guess there isn’t a big list to choose from.

The Lists Get Grungy

So here's a list I almost didn't look at, given I'd almost given up on new music by then: the Gibson Top 50 Albums of the 90's

It surprised me, because I knew a lot of them, even bought a bunch. Here's the Top 10:
1. Nevermind, by Nirvana
2. OK Computer, by Radiohead
3. Achtung Baby, by U2
4. Definitely Maybe, by Oasis
5. Automatic For The People, by R.E.M.
6. Ten, by Pearljam
7. Metallica
8. Time Out Of Mind, by Bob Dylan
9. Grace, by Jeff Buckley
10. The Bends, by Radiohead.

Gee. Good for Radiohead. Nevermind is a no brainer. I would have swapped What's The Story (Morning Glory)? (#23) with Definitely Maybe, but it really doesn't matter.

Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic by RHCP almost squeaked in to the top 10 (#11), and I would have let it. Glad to see Shake Your Money Maker, by The Black Crowes as high as #24. Sad to see Clapton's Unplugged at only #44, but whatever.

Mainly, it's very cool - and maybe telling - that Bob Dylan managed a top 10 appearance in his fourth decade of recording, influencing and reflecting our souls. 

Good on ya, Bob.

What Happened

I'm back on to the lists. Here's an interesting one, Gibson's 10 Events That Changed Rock & Roll Forever

1. Ike Turner records Rocket 88 - arguably the first rock song.
2. Elvis records at Sun Studios - got it going for the white folk
3. Buddy Holly dies in a plane - who knows what he could have accomplished?
4. The Beatles Appear on Ed Sullivan - and changed everything, forever
5. Bob Dylan Goes Electric - the stuff of legend, but can't say I noticed
6. Woodstock - we actually thought we would change the world, versus vice versa
7. The Sex Pistols release Never Mind the Bollocks - well, punk arguably saved rock. I guess.
8. MTV Launches - and it was so very exciting for a couple of years, then Broadway took over.
9. Nirvana topples Michael Jackson - yes, and that was cool, but have we ever recovered?
10. Napster - well, we certainly haven't recovered from piracy, have we?

Good list. Glad to see Ike Turner instead of Bill Haley. Some other notable deaths might have made the list: Hendrix, Morrison, Joplin? 4-8-16-32 track recording? Synthesizers?

Nice to see a list without The Beach Boys on it, anyway.