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

[Malenko]

4 hours ago, How The Cloud Stole Christ said:

This is forever the song I associate with George Jones.

 

Same.

[Pooker]

George Jones is amazing. Great catalog of music.

[Liam]

403.      

‘You Haven’t Done Nothin’’, Stevie Wonder (1974)

Some more Wonder for your lugholes. This is another interesting one politically as this was around the time of the Watergate scandal. Using his celebrity to voice his disgust about Nixon’s overall conduct was a massive deal at the time as he was largely at the height of his musical powers during this time period. The book notes that this perhaps isn’t as strong as some of his other tunes, which I definitely agree with. Still, there is a dirty, funky rhythm throughout that makes it – as ever with Wonder – hard not to shuffle along to as you are listening.

404.      

‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us’, Sparks (1974)

I just absolutely fucking love this song. It is up there on my (non-existant) list of most favourite songs. The weirdness, the urgency, the sound effects, the staccato nature of vocals and melody – it all adds together to create something that is so good in my opinion. I find the fact that they moved from the US to the UK in order to pedal their brand of music as the British musical fan seemed more open to musical oddities only makes me love it that little bit more. They were right as this song went to Number 2, perhaps helped by the brother’s completely opposite presentation during live performances on shows such as Top of the Pops. Between visuals and execution, this was and is still great.

405.      

‘Only Women Bleed’, Alice Cooper (1975)

Influenced by: Isn’t it a Pity • George Harrison (1970)   

Influence on: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door • Guns N’ Roses (1992)   

Covered by: Tina Turner (1976) • Carmen McRae (1976) • Julie Covington (1978) • Elkie Brooks (1986) • Lita Ford (1990) • Tina Arena (2008)

A pretty significant step away from what Cooper was normally peddling, this ambiguous song told the story of repressive and abusive relationships, not necessarily menstruation like some people thought. This was popular, as can be seen by the list of singers who lined up to cover it, yet I don’t really see why. I guess there is some interest created by the change in style for Cooper, as well as the subject matter, but the song itself does little for me. It maybe was more groundbreaking than I can sense, yet the music is perfectly perfunctory and not a lot more.

406.      

‘Jive Talkin’’, Bee Gees (1975)

Influenced by: Superstition • Stevie Wonder (1973)   

Influence on: I Want Your Sex • George Michael (1987)   

Covered by: Ronnie Dyson (1976) • Cedar Walton (1976) • Boogie Box High (1987) • The Blenders (1995)   

Other key tracks: Massachusetts (1967) • Nights on Broadway (1975) • You Should Be Dancing (1976)

Having been producing music for close to a decade at this point, the Bee Gees transitioned to working with a noted R&B produce, Arif Mardin, after their career had stalled. This came from the second album working together and Mardin had a great influence, recommending that they listened to Stevie Wonder and that Maurice raised his vocal range an octave. To me, this isn’t as much fun as some of their other work, yet it feels like it is a protoype for what would become disco. It doesn’t feel quite all there yet, but the synthesiser, melody and falsetto vocals make for an intriguing package going forward.

407.      

‘Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet’, Gavin Bryars (1975)

This is a wild inclusion as it is a looped hymn, sung by a homeless person, with eventual incorporation of orchestral flourishes. It is a brave piece of work that spans twenty five minutes, which you had to be pretty assured in terms of what you were doing to commit a song to record that approached half an hour. Bryars worked with Brian Eno on this track, an attempt to create ambient music that bridged the gap between pop and classical. There is something ultimately mesmeric about the tune, with the layering and the looping sounding akin to bands like Jesu and their ilk. Worth a listen, if just to say you have.

408.      

‘Boulder to Birmingham’, Emmylou Harris (1975)

Harris has what I consider to be the stereotypical American female country music voice. Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on what you stance is on this style of music, I guess. Personally, I’m always less fussed about the lyrical content than I am in terms of the delivery, and Harris has that down for me. Admittedly, the lyrics here are meaningful as this was a tribute to Gram Parsons, one of the people who helped Harris to achieve a level of stardom. All told, it is a good song, irrelevant of genre.

[Bobfoc]

Jive Talkin' always reminds me of this.

 

[Hobo]

I like Emmylou Harris' voice and quite a lot of songs that she's recorded with other artists but when I saw a solo Emmylou Harris perform live once it was so incredibly boring.

[METALMAN]

Jive Talkin is such a good song. It’s amazing how the BeeGees suddenly recorded a whole load of bangers after a decade+ of being fairly dull.

Sparks is good, while Stevie Wonder has so many songs that are much better than that one. Weird to turn up here. It’s still decent though.

I love Emmylou Harris as a backing vocalist but have never really listened to any of her own music. That one there is fine.

[VerbalPuke]

 Alice Cooper, love their music so much. But that seems a strange choice, not bad, but I'm surprised it wasn't one of the hits, but maybe that's not the point.

Sparks is sweet, great choice, my dad got me into them. He has Kimono My House and Woofer In Tweeter Clothing that got me started.

[Liam]

409.      

‘Fight the Power, Part 1 and 2’, The Isley Brothers (1975)

Another song that engaged with the political climate of the time, The Isley Brothers themselves were quick to point out that this wasn’t about black versus white, but about those without power against those in power. Coming off the back of Watergate, it was received particularly well, though the music didn’t need anything gimmicky to get people moving and grooving. Ok, they do drop a few ‘bullshits’, but the guttural croon of Ronald coupled with Ernie’s incessant guitar make this a very catchy song irrelevant of the circumstances it came out in. Throw in the anti-authority stance and its popularity was guaranteed.

410.      

‘That’s The Way (I Like It)’, KC and the Sunshine Band (1975)

A perfect example of a song that has been so ubiquitously used on radio and at various parties throughout my life that I’ve never really stopped to spend much time to actually pay attention to it. Apparently the sexy lyrics were toned down on the actual released version as they did risk not getting airplay on the original recording of the song. The mixed male and female vocals not always heavily link to the sexy times being described, but it adds layers to the vocals that take this away from something that threatens to be repetitive and into something more. At just over three minutes, this is done before it overstays its welcome (something it definitely could have done given more air time, I feel).

411.      

‘Kalimankou denkour’, Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (1975)

A Bulgarian polyphonic choir that was given an even larger air of mystery by being sold as a Swiss group singing ancient songs of their people. It is all a bit random, but the music is undeniably impressive. Whether you like this style of music or not, the vocal control and skill is something to behold, with the layers of vocals making this feel powerful even to this day.

412.      

‘Marcus Garvey’, Burning Spear (1975)

A tribute to the philosopher and activist, this was another example of reggae-based music having success on both sides of the ocean. I don’t have a lot to say about it personally – it is a fine song with some effective horn use throughout – but it is also a song that just is, for me. The significance of broadening musical horizons earns it a space on the list, yet the song itself isn’t particularly exciting personally.

413.      

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, Queen (1975)

Influenced by: This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us • Sparks (1974)  

Influence on: United States of Eurasia • Muse (2009)   

Covered by: Elaine Paige (1988) • “Weird Al” Yankovic (1993) • Rolf Harris (1996) • Lucia Micarelli (2004) • The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2005)

This is a great song to hear in the context of the time period. I – for reasons unknown – assumed this was a song released later than this. Early 80s, perhaps? I’m not entirely sure and it was never something I thought too hard about. This is a batshit crazy song no matter when it was created, yet it feels even more incongruous with the rest of what has been picked from the early and mid 70s. I personally love the song, but I could understand complete apathy towards it as well. What could be completely disparate bits fit together in my opinion in a way that turns a six minute song into one that never loses its energy. There is definitely nothing really like this, so it has that in its favour, for better and worse.

414.      

‘Gloria’, Patti Smith (1975)

Influenced by: Sister Ray • The Velvet Underground (1968)   

Influence on: C’Mon Billy • PJ Harvey (1995)   

Covered by: Jimi Hendrix (1979) • Eddie & The Hot Rods (1997) • Rickie Lee Jones (2001) • The Standells (2001) • Simple Minds (2001)

No pretensions, just good ol’ rock and roll here from Smith. I’ve never heard this before, but the list of people who pay homage to this as a seminal song in the evolution of the genre says a lot in support of its inclusion. Unlike ‘Piss Factory’, this is more of a song to me than spoken word and Smith has a voice that presents the yearning, sexually charged narrative presented in the lyrics. There isn’t a lot else going on with the music, outside of a driving guitar chord that powers the song along and creates just the right sort of racket.

[GoGo Yubari]

"Gloria" is the Patti Smith song I was alluding to thinking was also in this. I think like metalman, I was left cold by Horses overall but I do like that one a lot, albeit not as much as "Piss Factory."

I love Kimono My House. Right now it's the #1 album I'm hoping to stumble across at a good used CD store, once/if used CD stores come back. "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both of Us" is an absolute banger of a leadoff track on that one.

[gunnar hendershow]

Burning Spear is one of those reggae artists from the era of reggae I really love who I just haven't listened to very much of.

"Fight the Power" was a much bigger hit than "For the Love of You" and is so much more about its time. I think it fits this list better but the latter is maybe my favorite Isleys song.

"You Haven't Done Nothin'" wouldn't crack a top Stevie Wonder songs list for me. It's there, it's good, but his standard is so much higher. But in terms of the lyrical content and the message of the song, on the heels of Watergate, it certainly belongs on this list over some of his other hits.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is an inescapable part of our culture. A batshit insane song from a batshit insane album that against all odds works so well.

"Gloria" is probably the Patti Smith song I'd have picked for this list. I really like "Because the Night" but it sounds like a Bruce Springsteen song in the deluge of late 70s and early 80s singer-songwriters all trying to sound like Bruce. And that makes sense because Bruce co-wrote it.

[Malenko]

 

10 hours ago, GoGo Yubari said:

"Gloria" is the Patti Smith song I was alluding to thinking was also in this. I think like metalman, I was left cold by Horses overall but I do like that one a lot, albeit not as much as "Piss Factory."

I love Kimono My House. Right now it's the #1 album I'm hoping to stumble across at a good used CD store, once/if used CD stores come back. "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both of Us" is an absolute banger of a leadoff track on that one.

Personally, I'd pick Horses over any other Patti Smith album so I guess it makes sense I like these songs more than others.

Still surprised they picked at least 2 Patti Smith songs. I say at least because considering sales and mainstream popularity Because The Night may be included as well. And if it isn't included I'll still be surprised they picked two of her songs and none of them is Because the Night. I don't mind. Because the Night wouldn't be my choice on Easter, far from it, but it was by far her most commercially successful song. It doesn't mean much but in these lists it usually does. 

[Skummy]

Sparks are one of my all-time favourite bands; I love a band who, when you hear them, you immediately know who it is. And you're never going to mistake Sparks for someone else. I can't even be a hipster fan and point to all the better songs in their back catalogue, because "This Town..." fucking bangs.

"Only Women Bleed" is a song I first knew from the Tori Amos cover, but grew to know the original more as I became a bigger fan of this era of Alice Cooper. Bizarrely, it's one of the only songs my Gran ever owned, alongside a few Shadows singles. I have no idea how that came about.

"Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet" is a song I know from a later version, where Tom Waits' voice is added to the mix alongside Gavin Bryars' orchestration and the original found recording. It's gorgeous. I once thought I was having a complete mental breakdown, because I was lying awake in a chalet at Butlins, and someone in the next chalet started playing this song at such extreme volume that it sounded like it was coming from inside my room. The noise was just surrounding me, to the point that I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Even though Gavin Bryars was performing that weekend, it felt like such a bizarrely incongruous song to just be blaring out in the middle of the night, I couldn't comprehend that someone would be doing that. Drugs were maybe involved too, it might have been the last weekend before I got clean. I don't think I've listened to the song since.

I love Burning Spear. I used to reflexively hate reggae, because I associated it with a lot of incredibly dull pot-smoking hippies and surfers I knew who worshipped Bob Marley, and none of that ever did anything for me. I remember criticising an interminably awful, all-white local reggae band on a local music forum about 15 years ago, and their defence basically being, "reggae is music to chill out and smoke a spliff on the beach too, how can you not like it?". A massive misreading of what I might find interesting, and of what reggae is about. I gradually started to realise how much great stuff there was within the genre that went completely overlooked by the people who had put me off it, and Burning Spear was one of the first acts I got massively into. Marcus Garvey probably isn't their best song, but definitely their most well known, and arguably their most important - musically, but also culturally, as I've seen it credited for bringing Garvey's name back to prominence. 

[gunnar hendershow]

53 minutes ago, Skummy said:

all-white local reggae band

A leading contender for the worst 5 words to have next to each other 100% of the time.

[VerbalPuke]

Yeah, i felt much the same about reggae as Skummy. Like him I figured it was hippie dreck. I think once i started digging into first wave ska I appreciated it more since their pretty similar. I don't even mind Bob Marley on occasion. 

[Malenko]

56 minutes ago, VerbalPuke said:

Yeah, i felt much the same about reggae as Skummy. Like him I figured it was hippie dreck. I think once i started digging into first wave ska I appreciated it more since their pretty similar. I don't even mind Bob Marley on occasion. 

Wailers first album is pretty good. The rest of it, hit or miss for me. I don't mind when they play a random song at a pub but I usually get bored when someone plays a full album.

[METALMAN]

It’s obviously unfortunate that Bob Marley continues to be associated with boring pot smokers, but he is, undoubtedly, the best reggae has to offer. Plenty of reggae artists, like Burning Spear or the Abyssinians, were very good indeed, but none of them had anything like the melodic or harmonic gifts that Marley and the Wailers had.

Reggae, like garage rock or soul, is principally a singles game, hence the ubiquity of the Trojan collections. There are so many excellent singles that are on pretty ropey albums. More often than not, it was the only good thing these artists did (I’m sure we’ll see plenty of examples as this list moves into the mid and late 70s).

Yet, if you go beyond his greatest hits you’ll see that Bob Marley didn’t release a bad album. Two of these, Catch a Fire and Natty Dread, are among the greatest accomplishments in popular music. The original Jamaican version of Catch a Fire, which can be found in the album’s deluxe edition, is the summit of the genre.

Edited June 22, 2020 by metalman

[gunnar hendershow]

Island Records pushed really hard to make Marley a singles artist but he really was so much more. He was a special talent. He gets unfairly lumped in with UK and US pot-smoking hippie and subpar reggae artists but he was instead the pinnacle of a sound and style rooted in Jamaica. A small island by population standards that has made an outsized impact on world music.

I might be biased because my wife's parents were all born in Jamaica though and since we started dating I've been exposed to an absolute mountain of music out of Jamaica. And after that Marley still stands taller than the rest.

[Liam]

415.      

‘Tangled Up In Blue’, Bob Dylan (1975)

I’ll be honest, I don’t think I ever heard this song until it was on a Rock Band or Guitar Hero I owned. Still, I fucking loved it after belting it out a few drunken times in the lifetime of my involvement with those games. The song came on an album written around the time he was going through a divorce, which ties into lyrics that – in a scattershot approach – explored a relationship that was falling apart. It jumps around, though it offers up some interesting snapshots of their time together and what led to them breaking up. It is also, in my very limited exposure to Dylan’s songs, the main one that I can’t imagine being done better by someone else. I like Dylan’s songwriting, but not always his actual delivery when compared to other notable covers – this one is a perfect mix of the two.

416.      

‘Walk This Way’, Aerosmith (1975)

I’m pretty certain that I have never heard the original, non-Run DMC version of this song up until now. I’m sure people will have different opinions, but this doesn’t feel as good as the remix, whilst its position on the list feels as much about paying homage to what it would eventually become. Still, it is funky, with a title inspired by ‘Young Frankenstein’ apparently and a fair bit of sexual innuendo within the lyrics. A fun slice of rock and roll.

417.      

‘Wish You Were Here’, Pink Floyd (1975)

I always feel that there are certain bands I’ve never tried to get into and probably should – Pink Floyd is one of them. Considering how well loved they are by some, I mean to delve into their back catalogue, but have never found the drive required. This is arguably my favourite song I’ve heard of theirs, though the list is pretty short. There is something very sad, yet meditative at the heart of it that I really enjoy.

[Bobfoc]

I'm one of the few people who prefer Aerosmith's original version of Walk This Way. It feels like it has more of a groove to it. I imagine it will be the only Aerosmith song on this list, but I have several others that I like more than this.

[apsham]

I'll throw in on liking the original way more than the Run DMC remix, yeah.