Mitchamatrudo-Top 10 Songs

Top 10 Best Rock Songs of All Time

OK guys, before you all start e-mailing me saying "how could you possibly omit this or that", keep in mind the following points:

1.    This list is constantly subject to change, addition, or omission
2.    I literally "call 'em as I hear 'em". I don't have a list of every rock song ever recorded in front of me. If I happen
       to hear something on the radio or throw in a CD and I hear something that I think deserves the list I'll add it.
3.    I grew up in the 70's, so most, if not all of the songs on this list will be from that era.
4.    The songs on this list are in no particular order, ie; number 1 is not "the best".
5.    I am limiting this list to only those songs that the "average 30 or 40 year-old rock fan" is familiar with. As much as I'd
       love to list something like Grand Funk's "Aimless Lady", for example, I will refrain from doing so.
       (nice how I snuck that in, isn't it?)
6.    I don't have 10 songs compiled yet. As of now there's 8. I've been getting reports of people spending hours trying to
       the "rest of the songs".

Comments ? Other songs you'd like to see on the list ? I'd love to hear 'em !
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HERE WE GO !!!

1. "Smokin" Boston (Boston, 1976)

Driven by that cool guitar riff that opens the song, this is a fast-mover that is guaranteed to provoke auto-acceleration when
heard in the car. The drums and bass kick in in the 4th bar, followed by Delp's always awesome lead vocal. At one point he tells us to "let yourself go, the band's gonna take control". What a cool lyric. Then in the middle Tom Scholz gives us that wild B3 organ solo, manages to work in that cool harpsichord-sounding thing, all the while being backed by a rhythm track that could probably even stand on it's own, even for the duration of what for most bands would be an unthinkable 84 bars ! Then we get back into another verse, Brad Delp wails into a finale high-note, and finally they end it short, sweet, and tight. Speaking of Boston, you can have all the Lees, Fleas, and Stings you want, but Boston's Fran Sheehan gets my vote for my favorite bass player. Listen to almost any Boston song, tune everything else out and just listen to his contribution to the song. His bass lines flow with creativity and chops, but always feel effortless and never overbearing.

2. "China Grove" Doobie Brothers (The Captain and Me, 1973)

The production is crisp and tight. The song opens with that solo guitar part, which must have been a real crowd pleaser in their live show. By the 9th bar we get into it with the whole band working together, then finally when Tom Johnston starts singing the 1st verse you just know you are listening to one of those great old DB tunes. The "C" section ("every day there's a new thing comin") lead vocal is very groovy, as are the "ooohs" that back it up. We get a cool, melodic guitar solo that maybe I should consider for that top-10 list, and this gem ends with a nicely done little crescendo, the most under-used production tool in rock.

3. "Carry On Wayward Son" Kansas (Leftoverture, 1976)

A rock song that begins with an a capella 3-part harmony ? Who woulda thought ? By the way, for you harmony guys...take a few minutes to work out those 3 parts sometime and see how interesting they are. Maybe that's why it works so well. Kansas was kind of a weird band. Most of their stuff had that progressive feel to it with a lot of odd measures and unexpected changes. Plus they had the guy with the violin, and that guitarist that looked like he could easily be cast as a wizard in a Harry Potter film. They were a talented bunch though, and even though they had some great songs like "The Wall", it still might seem unlikely that a Kansas song could make this list. "Carry On" changes all that. Every rock fan knows that familiar guitar riff that opens and drives this song. Probably one of those that was written accidentally while screwing around one day. This song endures lots of trade-mark Kansas changes, but they all fit together nicely and never go off in too-weird of a direction. I think everyone likes this song. By the way, Phil Ehart also gets the vote as one of my favorite drummers, and this song has long been a favorite of "air-drummers" everywhere. Ehart is one of the drummers who helped to influence my own drumming style, and for that I thank him.

4. "Cuts Like a Knife" Bryan Adams (Cuts Like a Knife, 1983)

Big 80's reverb on a brief but "in your face" snare drum intro opens this straight ahead, no BS rock and roll classic from our friends in Canada. Great guitar work throughout, and yet another song driven by the opening riff. The song has a great, consistent tempo and is guaranteed to be a "foot tapper" from start to finish. Lots of cool chord changes from the verses to the bridge and into the chorus. The guitar solo opens strong instead of having to rely on the usual build-up to a climax thing, then he cools things down with the quiet part after the solo, but the kick drum keeps pounding out 1/4 notes to keep everything flowing. This quiet part ends with a BIG crescendo and the big rock drum break at the end, leading us into the "Na na nas". These simple unison background vocals alone are probably one of rock's greatest moments, but in this song we get 'em along with all of the other cool grooves going on at the end, culminating in a nice, slow fade out. Bryan Adams pissed a lot of people off by doing some real poppy ballads later in his career, but he's one of those guys whom if you went to see him live you would sit there all night thinking...."I forgot about that one, great song", etc.

5. "Hotel California" Eagles (Hotel California, 1976)

Since I am unquestionably the world's #1 Eagles fan, I was reluctant to include any Eagles tunes on this list, for fear of being accused of bias. That said, how can a list like this not include a monster like Hotel California ? (incidentally, HC is not nearly my personal favorite Eagles song). Along with my #6 selection, It's probably the most well-known rock song of all time. Even though they make us wait an unthinkable 16 bars before getting into the 1st verse, the enchanting acoustic guitar intro mesmerizes all who listen. The song's dark, spooky, somewhat Spanish feel, along with Henley's kind of weird syncopated beat, would have ended up on a "B" side for most bands, but as always the Eagles' combined talents and still-unmatched production and arrangement skills made this a huge classic. In the end, they make us wait another 32 bars before even starting the fade-out, but nobody's tired of listening.

6. "Stairway to Heaven" Led Zeppelin (Untitled 4th album, 1971)

I was never a real big Zeppelin fan, even though John Bonham contributed much to my own drumming style, but I wouldn't think of not including "Stairway" on this list. The song needs no description or critique. Everyone knows every nuance of this timeless classic. Its still played on the radio, and we still leave it on and listen to the whole thing for fear of violating some kind of Classic Rock Code or something if we change the station. My family was recently in the car and it came on the radio. I had to tell my 15 year old to listen to it, and explained to him that it is the most classic rock song of all time. I can't think of any other song that I could say that about. He is a big metal fan and loves Metallica and all these weird Goth bands that I never heard of, so of course he thought it sucked at first, but by the time we "Winded on down the road" he got into it.

7. "The Boys Are Back In Town" Thin Lizzy (Jailbreak, 1976)

You often hear stories from musicians like "we wrote it in 10 minutes" (possible), or "we wrote it in the studio (always bullshit). My guess is that this is not one of those songs, in fact it probably took a long time to craft this one. The chord changes, the double-leads, and the mood changes that occur in this classic are just too complex to have been thrown together quickly, yet it still comes through as a straight-ahead hard rockin' song, not progressive or over-produced. Everyone remembers the cool double guitar licks that follow the choruses, ya know that "da diddle-a daah da, da diddle-a daah da, da diddle-a daah da, da diddle-a da da da da da da" thing. Then near the end Phil Lynott does that whisper thing leading in to the cool guitar solo, also a double-lead throughout, and we fade out with the cool lick again. Interesting that a song this good, and on this list, is, to the best of my recollection, a "1-hit wonder" from the TL boys.

8. "Rocket Man" Elton John (Honky Chateau, 1972)

There's not a great deal that I can narrate about this song, but it's just so good. The whole song has a weird, surreal, almost spooky feel to it, thanks mostly to the use of the (I think) ARP or Moog synthesizer used. You know the parts I mean. I can listen to the chorus of this song over and over again. It's one of those hooks that just flows so nice, and the overall production is mesmerizing to me. EJ is a little bit of a weird dude, but I have admired him since I was very young as being one of music's best composers. The songwriting team that is him and lyricist Bernie Taupin is also an interesting combination, since it seems that one has never been able to exist without the other, and I can't think of any other rock/pop act that shares this kind of relationship.