Hidden Treasures - Most Treasured

[Scott]

Typically this forum would try to look at deep cuts, music that contains some sort of hidden treasure.  I think we've uncovered some really cool music in the process, but what we haven't done, yet,  is expose the true treasures of our musical hearts. These are the songs that we guard with our lives, the best of best!

 

My list, at least the top 3, has always been a pretty big constant for me for quite a long time. These songs never get old, they could never-ever become overplayed, and if someone doesn’t like them , well then they are totally wrong! No two-ways about it.  So this week I’m challenging you to bring your Top 3 EVER and let the discussion begin.  Were not doing this because we are compiling another list, but because these are your most treasured songs, your best of the best...

 

Here's mine,

 

PLAYLIST --> http://snack.to/a1c8b9ph

	Fleetwood Mac - ST 1975 3 - Monday Morning My first ever album purchase consisted of Bob Seger's "Night Moves" and this self titled album. Monday Morning was one of the very first tunes I listened to "cranked up". I was sitting between two large speakers (which is most optimal) when my friend’s brother-in-law put the needle down and my life changed at that moment. After Bob Welch announced that he was leaving the band, Fleetwood began searching for a possible replacement. While scouting Van Nuys, California, the house engineer for California's Sound City Studios, Keith Olsen, played him a track titled "Frozen Love", which he had mixed there for an American band, Buckingham Nicks. Fleetwood liked it, and was introduced to the guitarist from the band, Lindsey Buckingham, who coincidentally was at Sound City that day recording some demos. Fleetwood soon asked him to join. Buckingham agreed, on the condition that his musical partner and girlfriend, Stephanie "Stevie" Nicks, also become part of the band. Monday Morning was written for a second Buckingham-Nicks album, but when they joined Fleetwood Mac they brought this with them along with "Landslide" and "Rhiannon." The song is about a guy who is really into a girl, but just can't get her to commit.
	Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy 1973 2 - Over The Hills And Far Away Best Acoustic riff and acoustic geetar in a song ever! This song grabs you right away and then just builds and builds. It also has the best pick-up line ever; "Hey Lady! You got the love I need". Tried it a few times, success rates may vary... Jimmy Page and Robert Plant originally constructed the song in 1970 at Bron-Yr-Aur, a small cottage in Wales where they stayed after completing a grueling North American concert tour. Page plays a six-string acoustic guitar introduction with a melody reminiscent of "White Summer" (A Yardbirds tune). Page repeats the theme with a 12-string acoustic guitar in unison. Through the pre-verse interludes and instrumental bridge, "Over the Hills and Far Away" stands out as an example of Jones and Bonham's tight interplay. Following the final verse, the rhythm section fades out, gradually replaced by the echo returns from Page's electric guitar and a few chords played by Jones on harpsichord. Set lists from Led Zeppelin concerts frequently contained "Over the Hills and Far Away", the song being one that the band introduced on stage well ahead of its studio release. The live recording on How the West Was Won, a combined edit of the concerts on 25 and 27 June 1972, was the second public performance of the song. In his spoken introduction to the song before the 27 June 1972 performance in Long Beach, California, Robert Plant says "we did this song once before, the night before last at the Forum, and it was too much, really great." The band continued to play it on the rest of the 1972 concert tour of North America and retained it consistently through 1979, before omitting it from their final tour of Europe in 1980.
	The Who - Who's Next 1971 1 - Baba O'Riley "It's only Teenage Wasteland" ... Name a better lyric? A better battle cry? A better written song? Can't do it! This song is simply the best classic rock tune ever written or recorded. Townshend originally wrote "Baba O'Riley" for his Lifehouse project, a rock opera that was to be the follow-up to The Who's 1969 opera, Tommy. He later claimed in an interview that, in part, "Baba O'Riley" was about what he witnessed during the Who's performance at Woodstock. He stated in an interview that "'Baba O' Riley' is about the absolute desolation of teenagers at Woodstock, where everyone was smacked out on acid and 20 people had brain damage. The contradiction was that it became a celebration: "Teenage Wasteland', yes! We're all wasted!'" Townshend wanted to input the life information of Meher Baba into a synthesiser, which would then generate music based on that information. That music would have been the backing track for "Baba O'Riley", but in the end, the frenetic sequence was played by Townshend on a Lowrey Berkshire Deluxe TBO-1 organ using its marimba repeat feature. This approach used for the synthesiser track was inspired by the work of minimalist composer Terry Riley. The names of Riley and Meher Baba were incorporated into the song title as a tribute by Townshend. Although they never actually did it in concert, The Who considered pulling a person from the audience and programming their vital statistics into a synthesiser that would, in effect, translate that person into a musical theme around which a song could be built, an idea later resurrected as The Lifehouse Method.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Great topic bro.  And three outstanding choices for you.  Monday Morning was a song I really never noticed until a few years back when I saw The Mac in Charlotte.  They opened with it and nailed it.  I've liked it ever since.  But, my most treasured from them would be Rumours.  Imagine that next Buckingham-Nicks album with those 3 tracks on it...speaking of Buckingham-Nicks, I wonder if anybody will ever get around to remastering their debut?  I'd like to hear it.  I keep watching for it at the record store but no luck.

I dig the Zep track, but I'm just not sold on them being the greatest hard rock band ever.  I probably would have gone with IV, maybe The Battle Of Evermore.  But still a great pick here.

I do agree that The Who wrote the greatest rock song ever.  But this isn't it.  The greatest rock song ever is Who Are You.  But this one is dang good.  

As for me, mine would be something like this:

Kiss (Dressed To Kill) - Love Her All I Can - A deep album cut for Kiss, but something they had before the actual band was ever formed.  From their tightest musical album of the bunch with a tremendous riff.  The guitars, bass and drums work so well together on this track and Stanley's vocal is superb.  You know any list like this for me will have Kiss represented.

Van Halen (Van Halen II) - Light Up The Sky - I can't leave Van Halen off of a list like this either.  Easily one of the top 3 American bands ever.  Like Kiss, it's so hard to pick just one, but this track is probably my all time VH favorite.  Hearing it puts me in my cousin's front yard in my teens during the summer time as the light of day is fading.  That's exactly where it puts me.

Meatloaf (Bat Out Of Hell) - Heaven Can Wait - This isn't even my favorite ballad from the album, but it's 7 perfect songs.  This is my favorite album of all time.  It has a great cover and Meatloaf's vocals, along with Steinman's writing is just beyond the reach of any other humans.  I don't even mind hearing Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad or Paradise By The Dashboard Light for the zillionth time.

[Scott]

Not surprised to see KISS make your list.  And if we'd went with top 10 then they would have been on mine, but it would have been off of Rock and Roll Over for me... Love 'em Leave 'em.  Ace's geetar work on that tune was fresh and creative at the time, love everything about that song!

 

Also holds true for VH!  Top 10 and they were in like Flint!!!  Mine would have come off of Fair Warning though, Unchained's riff is way too good to ignore...

 

Meatloaf, not so much for me, but that doesn't take anything away from how great Bat out of Hell is.  It is truly a classic top to bottom.  I still love the video for Paradise by the Dashboard Light.  I still think the female he dueted with played the perfect part on that song and in that video.   She did an excellent job of making a young man think about what a girls got to know right now! 

 

Nice list!

[RJhog (Admin)]

I'd take Mean Street off of Fair Warning.  You can't go wrong with VH's debut, II or Fair Warning.

[Dannolonghair]

I would have better luck trying to touch the moon than to narrow it down to 3. I will give it some thought though and see what I come up with. (does anyone remember me, lol?)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Where have you been brother?  Nice to hear from you.

[Scott]

we remember you!  we forget no one!!!! 

 

I figured this would either be tough or really easy.  For me it was easy, these 3 songs have been pretty immovable for me for quite some time!  Looking forward to your response!

[Jon]

Yawn. I like none of these three. Everything lacks overall yippiness.

[Scott]

WRONG!

[Jon]

Excuses! Lay off, you!

[Michael J. Andrade]

Best Who song for me : Magic Bus or Young Man Blues - perfavorbly off of the Live @ Leeds LP.

Best Fleetwood Mac Song : almost anything off of the 1st phase of Fleetwood Mac - The Peter Green Period . Love That Burns comes to mind.

Led Zeppelin :  What Is and What should Never Be

__________________________

Now my three :

The Doors - " The Soft Parade "  

King Crimson - " In The Court Of The Crimson King "

Ashton , Garderner  & Dyke - "  Ressurection Shuffle "

 

[Scott]

I'm only 1 for 3 in knowing your songs! I need to go listen to the King Crimson and Ashton, Garderner & Dyke.  Thanks for chiming in! Always good to hear from you....

[Niels (Mod)]

Very glad to see a Led Zep-track and a Who-track among your favorite songs. Two of my absolute favorite bands!

Even though they (and The Beatles) are my absolute favorite bands, they haven't made my absolute favorite songs ever.

All of these tracks, I first heard around '76-'78, when I started out buying rock-albums, but I didn't buy the albums, where these songs "appeared". I bought them alright, but it was many years later. I never ever grow tired of listening to these tracks, and I can not make it 3. No way!! I HAVE to make it 4, or at least 2 tracks have to split the 3rd place. I can not choose between those two tracks. It's impossible. None of the artists, who made these tracks, did never make anything as good as these tracks in my opinion. Not even close.

1. Bohemian Rhapsody - QUEEN

2. Life On Mars - David Bowie

3. A tie between: Yellow Brick Road - Elton John/ Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush