Throwback Tracks -- March 2, 2017
David R. Smith
Guys. Good news. It's not Wednesday as I write this. It's only Tuesday! I'm getting better. I mean; baby steps, am I right? I suppose I could give a preamble to this but let's be honest: if you're here, you most likely want to be listening to the songs I've put down, and you don't really care about the introduction. So without further ado...
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new (*cough*) and different retro music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website (if possible...which is totally hit and miss with oldies), so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
A Day In The Life - The Beatles
Can you believe we've been writing Throwback Tracks for (/checks date) closing in on a year now (our first TBT dropped on April 7, 2016) and we have yet to include a song by the Beatles? Arguably the most popular pop/rock band of all time and we have yet to have one of their songs. We have 2 songs by The Animals, and 2 from Soundgarden, but none from the Beatles. Weird.
Well we're fixing that today! And what better song than one from what some people have called "the most important and influential rock and roll album ever recorded" [1] (Footnoting like a boss)
This song is so good. It's kind of a medley of a few different songs mashed into one. (I guess that's the definition of a medley...) If we've learned anything from me, it's that I really love songs that take you on a journey. Someday I just might add the full 43:00 version of Thick as a Brick on TBT but today is not that day.
While it's not the most famous Beatles song (there wasn't even a number one hit on Sgt. Peppers) it's certainly one of my favourites. That could be because of my cousin Sean's influence, but that's not the point. The point is; it's good!
Pride and Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Oh the blues. They were so good back in the day and, thanks to SRV, (that's what I call him. Apparently.) they enjoyed something of a revival in the late 80s. I remember growing up when his songs came on, not particularly caring for them. Now as a grown up, I find I'm much more impressed and grateful for his musicianship.
This song has such a great old-time feel to it. It's hard to believe it came out in 1983 when we were really getting into metal and alt-pop. I could imagine that as somebody in their mid-20s who might not particularly want to listen to either Cinderella or Flock of Seagulls, that this would be a refreshing change of pace.
The saddest part about this is that Stevie Ray Vaughan seems like the sort of musician who could have endured and incredible career spanning decades (as the blues are pretty timeless.) But tragically his career was cut short in 1990 when his helicopter bound for Chicago crashed just outside of East Troy, WI killing him and four other passengers. Sigh. Billy Joel was right.
Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix
Apparently today is a journey through artists who are no longer with us. Not by choice, it just seems to be the trend. So henceforth, I'll probably just keep that train going. Spoiler alert for the last two songs, I guess... (Note: I know that Paul and Ringo are both still alive so it's not the entire band, but the most talented member - George, for all of you who are wondering - has passed on. As has John. So half the band are no longer with us, so I'm calling it a draw)
Not gonna lie: the reason I know this song is because Pearl Jam covered it on day 2 of 2 of their concerts at The Gorge in 2006. The night before, Mike McCready had sampled the guitar part in (I believe) Yellow Ledbetter at the end of the show so I guess they just decided to try and give it a shot and they killed it.
This is certainly not Jimi's most famous song. That honour would probably go to Purple Haze, or Fire. But there's something about this song. I feel like it's probably because of the chill guitar. It just has such a great relaxed feel to it. Definitely the sort of song that makes me want to take LSD and watch somebody set his guitar on fire...
Peace Frog - The Doors
What a great song! It's one of those songs of which I can never remember the title but it's one of those songs that makes me so happy when it comes on. As I was looking for a Doors song to put on, I was scanning titles and thought, "I think that's that song." And I was right! So now I get to listen to it. And so do you!
Once again, I am aware that not all the Doors have passed away. I am also fully aware that they are still sometimes touring, with Ian Ashbury singing for them. And I am one to argue that Ray Manzarek is almost as important to this band as Jim Morrison was. I mean; that keyboard sound is arguably THE sound of the Doors. If it wasn't for him, they'd be just another rock band. With that keyboard, they were unique.
Granted, Jim Morrison's antics onstage were also what made them unique. But that's beside the point...
The Song Remains The Same - Led Zeppelin
I'm definitely cheating on this one, but I don't even care. Yes; technically 3 of the 4 members of Led Zeppelin are still alive. Yes; technically they could still tour. But I don't see that happening. Robert Plant does not have nearly the same vocal range he used to. Also, Page and Plant don't tend to get along the way they used to. Besides; if you were a member of Led Zeppelin, enjoying your golden years, would you not want to just live peacefully and relax with the millions of dollars you've made by ripping off other bands?
Sorry. That was a bit of a dig on Zep. I really do love them, but they definitely got away with a few things.
I need to start writing down my list of themes for TBT. One of the ones I'll probably end up doing is best Side One, Track One from various albums. Granted, this is 100% because of High Fidelity but the fact remains, it's a great theme. The problem is, I wouldn't be able to use this song because it's already been used on TBT and Shaun has a very strict "once the song has been used it can't be used again" policy. Which is dumb. Anyway, this song rocks. If you haven't listened to Houses of the Holy start to finish yet, YOU'RE dumb and you should go do it now. Because the list is over anyway.
So go.
Now.
That's it for this week, friends. Here is the link to February's TBT playlist, as well as the rest of the playlists, should you want to go listen to those aforementioned Animals or Soundgarden songs.
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17
October 2016 Throwback Playlist,
September 2016 Throwback Playlist
Happy Thursday!
-D (@davidronn)