1,001 songs to listen to before you die...

[METALMAN]

These are three good ones! I'm less keen on Pinball Wizard. For me, Tommy was where the Who moved away from the pop songs they were really good at to patchy overblown "rock opera" tyoe stuff. They still had their moments -and Pinball Wizard was one of them - but they were on a downwards slope.

Crosby Stills and Nash are great, that's a good album too. Although if you want to hear more I'd recommend Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. It's a wonderful album, one of the best rock albums ever.

Je t'aime ... moi non plus is brilliant. One of the most idiosyncratic songs of the decade.

[Liam]

286.      

‘Is It Because I’m Black?’, Syl Johnson (1969)

In the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, attitudes towards race relations became more radical and polarised in some areas. Rather than some of the hopeful songs that have been on this list before, Johnson sings mournfully about the challenges he faces being a black man in America at the time. Bluesy and slow, the song allows Johnson’s lyrics to shine in particular as you’d probably expect on a tune that aimed to take a swipe at systemic prejudice. Johnson’s vocals sound equally bitter, world-weary and desperate as things play out over the seven minutes, though there is some hope that black people might come together to make a change. A sobering slice of history.

287.      

‘I Want To Take You Higher’, Sly and the Family Stone (1969)

Slapping bass, funky guitar and the charisma of Sly Stone make this an earworm from the get go, though there was some suggestion that it was the live version in particular that people grew to love. This was probably borne out by the relative lack of chart success even though the song was released three times: once as a B side and twice as a single. It isn’t hard to imagine this being a banger live as the funky music is coupled with call and response style vocals – all good fun for getting down to.

288.      

‘The Court of the Crimson King’, King Crimson (1969)

Influenced by: The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles, and Fripp • Giles, Giles and Fripp (1968)   

Influence on: The Devil’s Triangle • King Crimson (1970)   

Covered by: Doc Severinsen (1970) • Saxon Killing Ground (2001)

Your mileage may vary with a song like this is probably the best way to start. I’m not always the hugest fan of prog music but I don’t mind, so this isn’t too bad for me. The epic instrumentation, especially in the first half of the song, are particular highlights, though they then do give way to some interesting woodwind work that gets all a bit twee for my liking. That the writer, Ian McDonald, went on relatively shortly after this to play for the band Foreigner, which feels very, very different in tone. I think this is a song where you just have to admire the vision, whether you like what it actually sounds like or not.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Liam

[METALMAN]

1969 was a hell of a year for Sly and the Family Stone. They could easily have had about three or four songs in this book. I Want to Take You Higher is great.

Dunno Syl Johnson but that song sounds good.

I thought they'd go for one of the songs off the first side of that King Crimson album - if any. I always assumed they were a bit better known. I like this song, and I quite like King Crimson - Robert Fripp is a really interesting guitarist. Not sure I'd pick this song though. It's probably worth pointing out that that version you shared isn't from the 1969 album - I don't know what the one in the post is - or if its even by King Crimson. I think it's very hard to find their real music online. This one is bit of a dirge, nonetheless. The original is much better. It skips along whereas the one in the video lumbers forward like a blind troll.

Edited April 28, 2020 by metalman

[Liam]

Yeah, I went with the first video that seemed to work, but it was a really haphazard selection.

[Liam]

289.      

‘Whole Lotta Love’, Led Zeppelin (1969)

Influenced by: You Need Love • Muddy Waters (1962)   

Influence on: Whole Lotta Rosie • AC/DC(1977)   

Covered by: CCS (1970) • King Curtis (1971) • Tina Turner (1975) • Coalesce (1999) • Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals (2001) • Prince (2003) • The Dynamics (2007) • Mary J. Blige (2010)

This is another song where my first exposure to it somewhat coloured my impression of it. The use of a remix (IIRC) of it for the opening to Top of the Pops meant I ‘knew’ it before I really had ever heard it properly. This – whilst still having some poncing about that I don’t like: a technical term, poncing – is one of the better songs by Led Zeppelin in my opinion mostly because of the power of the guitar work. Plant still has his moments to wail, there is still a fair bit of widdling, but the crunch of the guitar is golden.

290.      

‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’, The Stooges (1969)

I’ve not really listened to much of Iggy Pop outside of ‘Lust for Life’; I’m pretty sure I’ve never listened to anything by the Stooges. Dirgy in all the right ways, the pummelling guitar/piano work rarely varies, if at all, creating a nihilistic soundscape for which Iggy Stooge (at the time) to explore ideas around adolescent sex. It was dubbed as ‘boring’ by some in the music media at the time, but it stands out as an interesting next step from blues to rock and roll and into what the Stooges were now offering.

291.      

‘Kick Out The Jams’, MC5 (1969)

It is great that the first release of this song was a live version as it helps to fully encapsulate the raw aggression and power that the song still has. Eventually becoming something of an anti-establishment/counter-culture anthem even without lyrics that were particularly political, the song earned that position due to the various political leanings of the band, as well as their manager who was a founder of the White Panther movement. A precursor to punkier things to come, as well as a nod towards garage rock – a great song to just blast out loud.

[Malenko]

Stooges and MC5. Good stuff!

[METALMAN]

A good three!

Whole Lotta Love isn't much of a song but it's a really good groove. Fun to listen to and it just sounds good. I forgot how good and fat the bass sounds in this song.

I've got to admit I don't like the Stooges as much as I used to. Most of their music is a racket, which I used to like, but now I just find it to be a racket. But I Wanna Be Your Dog is one of the rare exceptions. Sinister, foreboding, numbingly repetitive (in a good way). It's probably their best song.

Kick Out the Jams is a racket too, but one that's done right.

[Bobfoc]

I feel as if I don't like Led Zeppelin as much as I ought to, considering my general musical tastes. Whole Lotta Love has a great hook, though, and I think it's one of their best efforts.

 

[Gorka]

It's impossible not to be sucked in by the energy from Kick Out the Jams, both the single and album.

It's a brilliant record.

Edited April 30, 2020 by Gorka

[MalaCloudy Black]

KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS

[VerbalPuke]

Yeah, MC5 and Stooges have both been favorites for a long time. Great songs choices also, though I think the Stooges best album was still to come (Raw Power which is possibly my favorite album ever). 

Both bands are obviously local legends and I think really influenced the way Detroit rock sounds (check out Death or the Punks for example).

Fun side note, Patti Smith and Fred Smith (of MC5 duh) lived in my town. My friend took drivers training with their kid. I'm not sure where they lived exactly but I suspect it was very close to my current neighborhood.

[Liam]

292.      

‘I Want You Back’, Jackson 5 (1969)

Sometimes the book that I’m reading to accompany this points out things that are very much hiding in plain sight for me. This is the case with ‘I Want You Back’. The happiness of the instrumentation pretty much made me forget that this is a song about a broken heart. It is easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but Michael Jackson at the age of 11 stands a fair bit beyond all of his siblings. He has that touch of stardust – already - that was cultivated to create one of the greatest careers in music history.

293.      

‘The Thrill is Gone’, B. B. King (1969)

A cover of a song that King had enjoyed playing as a DJ almost two decades previous to this, he set out to make the song somewhat moodier and more sophisticated. Restrained guitar and organ were accompanied by a twelve piece string section that were added late on to the proceedings. The book suggested that this brought strings – for better and worse – into mainstream radio just in time for the 70s, which I can neither confirm nor deny. However, this is a cool song that utilises its overall feelings of restraint effectively.

294.      

‘Up Around the Bend’, Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970)

Influenced by: I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail • Buck Owens (1964)  

Influence on: Out in the Street • Bruce Springsteen (1980)   

Covered by: Hanoi Rocks (1984) • Elton John (1994) • The Bates (2000)

Rocking into the 70s with a great opening tune. I’ll unashamedly admit that my enjoyment comes solely from time spent on Guitar Hero/Rock Band (delete as applicable) and playing along on the guitar and singing along. At a time – as we’ve seen – where there is a lot of messing around, wah-wah’ing and concept albums that explore the outer reaches of the mind, ‘Up Around the Bend’ is great because it just offers some great Southern-style rock that starts, rocks, and goes within three minutes. Tightly focused, catchy as all hell, there is no messing around with this tune.

[METALMAN]

Another really good set. I had no idea The Thrill is Gone was as recent as 1969. It sounds timeless. I Want You Back is quite magical.

And Creedence Clearwater Revival released five albums in 1969 and 1970. All five are good and three of them are brilliant. Pretty remarkable period for them.

[VerbalPuke]

Yeah, CCR are a fantastic group, John Fogerty had a powerful voice and they wrote some really catchy rock tunes. Fortunate Son is probably one of my favorites, good guitar work on that one. 

[Malenko]

Fogerty's still touring (not during these Covid times obviously). Plays a bunch of songs from CCR along with his own.

[VerbalPuke]

 

4 hours ago, Malenko said:

Fogerty's still touring (not during these Covid times obviously). Plays a bunch of songs from CCR along with his own.

I saw CCR in...2000 I think? It was my second show, wasn't that great honestly. 

Probably because Fogerty is the voice of the band, definitely a hard one to replace. I think I'd go see Fogerty if I get the chance, likely next year at this point if ever. 

[MalaCloudy Black]

Y'all got me wanting to listen to CCR now. Metalman's right, the '69-'70 period was brilliant for them. You had Up Around The Bend, Run Through The Jungle, Proud Mary, Fortunate Son.. and I'm leaving out more. That's the bulk of their known work, in just two years. 

[VerbalPuke]

Actually, I'm gonna post a cover of Bad Moon Rising that I love. 16 Horsepower covers it (they also covered the Gun Club, and the Gun Club covered CCR, so we've come full circle ;)) and they do a really cool version of it, giving it this southern gothic style. 

There's actually a live version of this that I think is even better actually. 

[METALMAN]

Speaking of Fogerty touring, I remember seeing a lot of adverts about him doing a joint thing with ZZ Too about a year or so ago. Makes sense, I guess...

[VerbalPuke]

ZZ Top was my first show. It was amazing.