Well, Psychobabblers, today is a banner day for Psychobabble
as I cross the threshold of 900 fun-filled posts (amazing to think that the
quadruple digits are not that far away!). To mark this milestone, I’m knocking
a zero off that 900 to present my personal 90 favorite songs of my favorite
musical decade, the sixties. Read carefully now, kiddies: these choices are personal
and this is not in anyway intended as some sort of definitive “these are the
best songs of the sixties” list. No one person can select such a list. The
personal nature will really become apparent in the top twenty, which is
seriously dominated by my all-time favorite band, a 17-headed beast I like to
call The Beatlestoneskinkswho.
So here it is from my keyboard to your eyes and ears… my 900th
post...
90. “All Our
Yesterdays” by Small Faces
And now, for your delight, we begin with a good-time song
with an exhilarating introductory shout, a wild knees up from the darlings of
Whapping Warf launderette that comes in just under two minutes. Think of “All
Our Yesterdays” as an hors d'oeuvre for all the psych/garage/soul mania to follow.
89. “Reflections”
by The Supremes
Here’s a hit that bridges the soul and psych gap with
pulsing genius. Motown gets with the times for a lysergic peak through the
window of lost time. Diana Ross breaks her cool with a touch of desperation on
the ever-escalating bridge and James Jamerson pumps out one of the all-time
bass lines of all-time.
88. “Alone Again, Or”
by Love
Arthur Lee was the face and voice of Love, but Bryan MacLean
arguably delivered their finest moment. Beginning the magnificent Forever Changes with a
south-of-the-border slow burn, “Alone Again, Or” breaks loose with a rousing
trumpet solo. Gorgeous.
87. “Louie, Go Home”
by Paul Revere and The Raiders
First attempted as a rowdy frat house shaker that became an
unlikely mod favorite covered by The Who and David Bowie, “Louie, Go Home”
really came into its own when Paul Revere and The Raiders gave it the ominous
psych/garage treatment on their break-out LP Midnight Ride. Mark Lindsay’s scream before the eastern-flavored
guitar jam will crack your skull open.
86. “Hurdy Gurdy Man”
by Donovan
Hypnotic psychedelia transmitting from some stormy shoreline.
Donovan tromps up and down the sand with his hurdy gurdy strapped to his chest,
and makes a dark, dark sound quite at odds with the supposed “song of love” his
hurdy gurdy man sings. John Paul Jones on bass aside, this isn’t really the Led
Zeppelin audition tape the rumor-mongers want you to believe it is, but who
cares once Clem Cattini’s neck-breaking drum fills and Alan Parker’s wailing
guitar solo come rolling off the waves.
85. “Trust” by
The Pretty Things
Expansive and prayerful, this track from the first LP-length
rock opera sounds like an outtake from Brian Wilson’s SMiLE (had that album not consisted of nothing but outtakes, of
course). For anyone who needs proof that the raw Pretties had some of the most
sumptuous harmonies of the sixties, here it is.
84. “This Old Heart
of Mine (Is Weak for You)” by The Isley Brothers
Say “so long” to your heart, because The Isley Brothers are
about to rip it out of your chest like the cult leader in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. A soul love shout that sends
a chill up my spine and a lump down my throat.
83. “Lucifer Sam”
by Pink Floyd
Syd Barrett’s snaky guitar riff hooks this nasty number
about a devilish kitty cat. The hardest rocking track on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a hit that never was.
82. “Bus Stop” by
The Hollies
Nagging, full of momentum, and catchy as all hell, “Bus
Stop” is pop at its most delectable. At once euphorically romantic and
brooding, The Hollies reached a new plateau of artistry with this hit.
81. “Cardboard Watch”
by The End
Produced by Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, The End’s one and only
LP was delayed so long that the public lost its taste for this kind of
Mellotron-soaked psychedelic pop. Hardcore fans of Mellotron-soaked psychedelic
pop have since rediscovered The End, and I believe they never got better than
this pop shape-shifter with the goofy name.
80. “My White Bicycle”
by Tomorrow
More obscure psychedelia from a band that produced one of
the key prog musicians: Steve Howe. Hear his guitar weave in and out of “My
White Bicycle” backwards Beatle-style. That rider must have really been pumping
the peddles because this thing races more like a freight train than a bike. For
some reason, I always found the line “I ring my bell and smile at him, then I
go by his rubbish bin” hilarious.
79. “Positively 4th
Street” by Bob Dylan
Sure, Bob, this withering track wasn’t directed at all those
fair-weather folkies who turned their backs on you when you strapped on that
electric guitar. Whatever. There’s no hiding all the very personal hurt and
anger that roils up from “Positively 4th Street”, the finest
stand-alone single from an artist who favored the long player.
78. “All This and
More” by Procol Harum
A Salty Dog is a
moody album, and it reaches its wrenching emotional climax with “All This and
More”. Jesus Christ, Gary Brooker is such an incredible singer. And take note
of how the left and right stereo channels switch places after Brooker’s
fleeting piano solo. Very cool!
77. “Astral Weeks”
by Van Morrison
The title track of Van Morrison’s masterpiece is everything
that LP is: intense, meditative, autumnal, a bit folky, a bit jazzy, and very
soulful. It’s also happy, which is not quite an appropriate word to describe
much of the rest of Astral Weeks. That
may also be why it stands out so strikingly on that album. Plus Tom Kielbania’s
hypnotic bass line is the closest thing Astral
Weeks has to a memorable riff.
76. “(If You Think
You’re) Groovy” by P.P. Arnold
Another tremendously intense record, former Ikette P.P.
Arnold receives ample support from Small Faces (featuring her then boyfriend
Steve Marriott). But it’s Arnold’s voice that really propels “(If You Think
You’re) Groovy” into the realm of hysteria. This track makes me cuckoo. And
doesn’t that horn riff sound like “Deck the Halls”?
75. “Cinderella
Sunshine” by Paul Revere and The Raiders
Here’s another Paul Revere and the Raiders remake that kills
the original. Like “Louie, Go Home”, “Cinderella Sunshine” was recorded in
garage mode and released as a flop single. Mark Lindsay gave the song one of
his fattest productions for the Hard ‘n’
Heavy (with Marshmallow) LP in 1969. With its fuzz bass, marimba, and
assorted percussion, it sounds more like the Stones circa ’66. In a perfect
world, that ending vamp would go on forever.
74. “96 Tears” by
Question Mark & The Mysterians
One of the all-time great garage singles, “96 Tears” is a
masterpiece of macho posturing and Farfisa stabbing. The mysterious Question
Mark delivers a vocal that sounds like Jagger at his coolest. The bridge sounds
like jewels falling from the clouds.
73. “Itchycoo Park”
by Small Faces
Small Faces light one up and kick on the phasers. Skipping
school to get high gets its ultimate anthem. As was often the case with Small
Faces’ best songs, the group thought “Itchycoo Park” was corny. Lucky for us
that didn’t stop them from releasing it as a single. Lucky for them too, since
it became their only hit in the states.
72. “Yes, the River
Knows” by The Doors
The Doors weren’t known for their restraint, but they give a
perfectly controlled performance on this smoky ballad with what may be Jim
Morrison’s most touching vocal and simply beautiful interplay between Robby
Krieger’s dusky guitar and Ray Manzarek’s jazzy piano. Then it all reaches an
unexpectedly powerful climax in the final refrain. “Yes, the River Knows”
breaks my heart.
71. “The Kids Are
Alright” by The Who
The Who achieve power-pop perfection with a track amazingly
buried on their first LP. Insidious his move may have been, but producer Shel
Talmy did show some real savvy by releasing “The Kids Are Alright” as a single
(though drastically chopping down the mid-song freak out was a dumb stroke). It
wasn’t a hit, but “The Kids Are Alright” has since taken its rightful place as
a Who classic and one of pop’s best expressions of love, friendship, and trust.
70. “Wicked Annabella”
by The Kinks
And here’s one of the best odes to witches, goblins, and
Halloween of the sixties. From what I believe to be the greatest album of all
time, The Kinks Are the Village Green
Preservation Society, “Wicked Annabella” is spooky, grungy, and wild in a
way its bucolic record-mates certainly aren’t. Dave Davies’s near-whispered
vocal is perfect and his absolutely filthy guitar sound has never been copied.
I’m still wondering what he did to the instrument to make it sound like that.
69. “The Train Kept
A-Rollin’” by The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds’ version of this garage band staple first
given the R&R treatment by Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio is
still the best. Jeff Beck’s crying guitar solo is as inventive as Keith Relf’s
out-of-sync double-tracked yelping. And that a cappella break is fabulous.
68. “(Tell Me) Have
You Ever Seen Me” by Small Faces
“(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me” is not necessarily a great
composition, but Small Faces perform it with such unfettered gusto that it
stands as one of their most exciting tracks. Steve Marriott turns the cute line
“Pretty flowers are breaking through the concrete” into a scream of triumph. Kenney
Jones wrecks his drum kit in a way he never did with The Who.
67. “Carrie-Anne”
by The Hollies
From its wordless vocal and percussion intro through its
exhilarating choruses through its tangy steel-drum solo through its
from-out-of-nowhere coda, “Carrie-Anne” is pop perfection. You cannot blame
Graham Nash for falling in love with Marianne Faithfull or for being
intimidated enough to change her name when singing this love letter to her.
66. “S.F. Sorrow Is
Born” by The Pretty Things
With its instantly ear-catching dobro and jiving beat,” S.F.
Sorrow Is Born” is the most straight-forward thing in the rock opera S.F. Sorrow. Simple, however, might not
be a good description for a track with such a swirling brew of Mellotron,
guitars, and choral harmonies. “S.F. Sorrow Is Born” is a stirring start to one
of the best albums of the sixties.
65. “Wreck of the
Hesperus” by Procol Harum
Matthew Fisher’s thin voice was no match for Gary Brooker’s rich
pipes, but he captures the desperation of a doomed sailor on this ode to
Longfellow perfectly. Brooker still shines though with his rippling,
tremendously challenging piano lines. You can hear him fumble it once or twice.
That’s not a bad count as far as I’m concerned. The string arrangement will
blow your hair back like that guy in the old Memorex ads.
64. “Open My Eyes”
by Nazz
Todd Rundgren takes a little Who riffage, a little Beatle
phasing, and a jazzy vocal arrangement all his own and makes the best
1966-sounding record of 1968. Locked in by its “I Can’t Explain” riff, “Open My
Eyes” takes enough twists and turns to show off how individual Nazz were.
63. “Cabin-Essence”
by The Beach Boys
One of Brian Wilson’s most complex pieces from his complex SMiLE project was too good to toss out
with the bath water. While most of those tracks didn’t see release during their
time, “Cabin-Essence” came out a few years after its recording on the 20/20 odds and sods comp. Not catchy by
any means, there’s enough going on in this collage of dissimilar sections to fascinate
your ears after 900 listens.
62. “Sensation”
by The Who
By the time it found its place on Tommy, “Sensation” went from love song to spiritual. Its
spine-tingling romance survives nonetheless. With its layers of acoustic
guitars and heartfelt Townshend vocal, “Sensation” sounds like it could have
fit well on The Who Sell Out. Instead
it ended up as my favorite song on their first rock opera.
61. “Little Girl”
by Syndicate of Sound
The almost politely jangling guitar lick that begins “Little
Girl” gives no indication of how nasty it’s about to get. Two and a half
minutes of swift-wrist action strumming and sneering Jagger-esque put downs
straight from a San Jose garage. Syndicate of Sound never had another hit, but
“Little Girl” is enough to make them legends. Plus, has any band ever had a
cooler name?
60. “Blackberry Way”
by The Move
Bassist Trevor Burton hated “Blackberry Way” so much that
its release drove him to quit The Move. He thought it was too poppy. Poppy for
sure, “Blackberry Way” is also an incredibly downbeat track sometimes viewed as
a parody of The Beatles’ “Penny Lane”. Full of atmosphere and catchy melody set
to an attractively descending chord progression, “Blackberry Way” gets all the
ingredients right no matter what Trevor thought.
59. “Turn Down Day”
by The Cyrkle
Bubblegum and raga rock collide like some sort of
mid-sixties Reese’s peanut butter cup. The Cyrkle had their biggest hit with
Paul Simon’s cute “Red Rubber Ball”, but the equally sunny and brooding “Turn
Down Day” is an infinitely more alluring track.
58. “Homburg” by
Procol Harum
Often written off as a “A Whiter Shade of Pale” retread,
Procol Harum’s second single is much more evocative to my ears (and I love “A
Whiter Shade of Pale”). Brooker does his stately thing with his classically inclined
piano line, and when he sings “and the sun and moon will shatter” I get chills.
Every time.
57. “Dark Is the Bark”
by The Left Banke
One of the darkest mood pieces on this list, “Dark Is the
Bark” is full of resigned menace. The Left Banke had so much more in their
trick bag than “Walk Away Renee”, and “Dark Is the Bark” was one of their
finest tricks. The mournful French horn on the chorus is an exquisite touch, as are the
churning cellos on the second verse.
56. “Auntie’s
Municipal Court” by The Monkees
Murky psychedelia is one of my favorite things (there’s lots
of it on this list), and Mike Nesmith cooked up one of the best examples of it
for The Birds, The Bees, & The
Monkees. That album is notoriously uneven, but pretty much everyone agrees
that the densely jangling “Auntie’s Municipal Court” gets it right. Mike and
Micky Dolenz’s voices merge into a single entity. The effect is eerie indeed.
55. “Crimson and
Clover” by Tommy James and The Shondells
Pseudo-psychedelic wordplay and some serious tremelo abuse transform
the silly “Crimson and Clover” into a masterpiece. This is as sexy and freaky
as the sexy and freaky sixties got.
54. “I Am the Walker”
by The Creation
Defiantly weird, exhilaratingly tuneful, this outtake by The
Creation might have been a huge hit if listeners could wrap their heads around
a lyric about a guy who looks like he’s going to drown a dog—but doesn’t—and a pet-shop parrot that
supposedly talks— but has been sold, so who knows? What does it all mean? Who
cares?
53. “Do You Remember
Walter?” by The Kinks
The deceptiveness of nostalgia is a recurring theme of The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation
Society. Ray Davies captures that theme masterfully on the record’s second
track. He reunites with an old friend with whom he no longer has anything in
common. “Do You Remember Walter?” is heartbreaking because it rings so true, and
powerful because The Kinks roil up a hurricane on the chorus. And most critics
would have you believe Village Green
is all-delicate, all the time.
52. “Heroes and
Villains” by The Beach Boys
Jimi Hendrix denounced “Heroes and Villains” as “psychedelic
barbershop.” I say, “psychedelic barbershop… make me an appointment!” What
would have been the flagship single from SMiLE
ended up getting rerecorded and released as the second single on Smiley Smile. That album lacks luster,
but I personally think its version of “Heroes and Villains” is more powerful
than the weedier SMiLE version.
51. “Love Is Only
Sleeping” by The Monkees
The Monkees’ place in light-pop history was etched in
bubblegum when they released “Daydream Believer”, but the original plan was to
release Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s weirdly philosophical, psychedelic love
song in 7/8 time as the A-side. Further complicated by the relatively uncommercial
vocals of Mike Nesmith, “Love Is Only Sleeping” probably would not have been
the #1 monster “Daydream Believer” turned out to be if that song was left on
the B-side. Still “Love Is Only Sleeping” is a hell of a lot cooler. Mike’s
wiry guitar riff and ghostly falsetto launch it into the cosmos.
50. “Rejoyce” by
Jefferson Airplane
“Love Is Only Sleeping” is spooky, but it’s as bubblegum as
“Daydream Believer” compared to Grace Slick’s terrifying jazz-rock summary of
James Joyce’s Ulysses. Shifting
legless free time to a sneering waltz, “Rejoyce” constantly starts and stops,
but Slick’s icy howl and Jack Casady’s growly bass supply as much Rock &
Roll momentum as “Louie Louie”.
49. “Happiness Is a
Warm Gun” by The Beatles
Paul McCartney was The Beatles’ resident champion of the
through-composed song (a song with sections that do not recur), but the first
Beatle to experiment with that unusual format was John Lennon. He strung
together dissimilar bits about perverts, junkies, and gun nuts into the most
eclectic single piece on the eclectic “White Album”. “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”
is sort of like an encapsulation of that records’ diverse styles. It’s part
folk-rock, part acid-rock, part doo-wop, part dark vision, part absurd parody,
all mesmerizing.
48. “Wait Til’ My
Bobby Gets Home” by Darlene Love
A tiny piano lick sets a restrained scene, but Darlene Love
is just itching to crack out and wail. And she does on one of her and Phil
Spector’s most underrated pieces. Happiness bottled in a jar.
47. “Epistle to Dippy”
by Donovan
Donovan’s first single of 1967 sports a lyric daringly
personal and impenetrable. The catchy tune and brilliant arrangement are as
inviting as ever. Baroque flashes of violins and harpsichord offset a totally
funky rhythm section. And that guitar sounds like someone’s twanging a rusty
piano wire. Awesome!
46. “Darlin’” by
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys bounce back from the disintegration of the
experimental SMiLE to make a gloriously
simple piece of Californian soul. Carl Wilson pushes his voice to the limit and
crushes all our hearts.
45. “Christmas (Baby
Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love
Christmas songs are generally supposed to make you feel
holly and jolly and full of seasonal cheer, but the greatest Christmas record
makes me feel like someone has ripped out my guts and is stomping them into the
mistletoe. That’s just why I love “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” so much. Darlene
Love’s devastating vocal could make Santa weep.
44. “I Feel Free”
by Cream
Psychedelicized doo-wop introduces a beat made for
involuntary head bobbing. Jack Bruce’s bass is the fat foundation and his voice
is the way-high skyscraper. Clapton’s solo is as tasteful as Bruce’s final
refrain (“I can walk down the street…”) is out-of-fucking-control. That bit
makes me crazy.
43. “Eight Miles High”
by The Byrds
Chris Hillman’s bass in the opening seconds of “Eight Miles
High” is the definition of bracing power. Roger McGuinn’s whirling, twirling
riffing is the definition of manic. Uniting the rock-steady powerful and the
wild is the essence of the alchemy of “Eight Miles High”.
42. “A Day in the
Life” by The Beatles
The Beatles break the whimsical spell of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
for a big, big come down. Roadwork needs to be done. A man dies in a car
accident. Time to get up and go to work. This is the mundane stuff songs like
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” did not
address. The arrangement is anything but mundane. It is a horror show of
Ringo’s cavernous drumming and the orchestra’s apocalyptic climax. The final
note is pure doom. “A Day in the Life” makes good on Sgt. Pepper’s promise as the most progressive pop album of all-time
even if several of its other tracks do not.
41. “Runaway” by
Del Shannon
Everything in “Runaway” works together so perfectly—the
sullen minor key verse and ecstatic major key chorus, the flamenco flecked
guitar lick and the creepy-crawly Musitron solo, Del Shannon’s throaty growl
and his sudden falsetto cry—that it might have been made in a lab. But this is
one organic piece of Rock & Roll, as superbly constructed as it is
performed.
40. “Friday on My
Mind” by The Easybeats
The weekend receives the rallying cry of all-time from
Australia’s Easybeats. Morse code beeping and raga riffing and a verse that
builds and builds to a euphoric chorus that says everything every other song
ever written about Friday or Saturday ever wanted to say and in the simplest
terms imaginable. “Gonna have fun in the city. Be with my girl she’s so
pretty.” It’s the sound of office and school doors being kicked down, of floods
of lager pouring, of running to your girl or guy and knowing there’s nothing
ahead for the next two days but kissing, fucking, partying, and trouble-forgetting.
39. “Making Time”
by The Creation
If “Making Time” was nothing but the slamming riff that
starts it, it would deserve a place in the upper reaches of this list. But that
riff then spills into a heavy-duty bass line, a deliciously sneering vocal, a
killer chorus, and some of the angriest tambourine punching on vinyl. Plus
there’s that crazy violin-bowed guitar solo.
38. “Citadel” by
The Rolling Stones
The heaviest thing The Rolling Stones ever recorded is
inventive in every way. Jagger’s Metropolis-inspired
lyric is vivid yet evocative. Richards’s guitar seems to be slathered with
every effect available. The Mellotron does double duty impersonating mandolins
and snake-charming saxophones. The Stones lost none of their power when they
went psychedelic, and here’s your proof, Merlin.
37. “Circle Sky”
by The Monkees
Like the Stones’ “Citadel”, The Monkees’ “Circle Sky” has a
simple chord progression, but its arrangement lends it immeasurable depth. All
the skidding guitars (must be about half a dozen), shakers, wood blocks, and
organs are so overwhelming that Mike Nesmith can only shout out nearly
inaudible from the eye of the hurricane. The other Monkees were bummed he
didn’t include their live version on the Head
soundtrack album, but the studio version is the truly awesome one.
36. “Under My Thumb”
by The Rolling Stones
OK, so Jagger’s vile misogyny has always been indefensible, but as funky records go, “Under My Thumb” remains a
masterwork. The marimbas, stomping drums, wiry guitars, humming and farting
basses all work together as only The Rolling Stones could make them. Mick goes
nuts on his vocal, panting and barking and huffing and puffing like the mangy mutt he is.
35. “Walk Away Renee”
by The Left Banke
Sixties pop fans didn’t have The Smiths or The Cure to weep
along with, but they made due with The Left Banke. The New York band’s most
enduring song is still just as heart-rending as ever; an extraordinarily
beautiful expression of unrequited love. The strings rain down like tears, the
flute solo moans, and Steve Martin sounds like he’s choking back sobs through
it all. How could he not be when singing something like “Walk Away Renee”?
34. “Have You Seen
Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?” by The Rolling Stones
“Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?”
sounds like The Rolling Stones were trying to reproduce the last minute of “My
Generation” over an entire song. A magnetically catchy chorus and Keith
Richards’s jittery bass work give it substance. The band thought producer
Andrew Oldham totally messed up their latest record with heavy-handed echo and
distortion, but that much makes this one of the Stones’ most overpowering
discs. That title is pretty overpowering too.
33. “Dogs” by The
Who
There aren’t a lot of happy memories of “Dogs”, a song
regularly denounced as lightweight and silly at a time when The Who should have
been getting as serious and heavy as Hendrix and Cream. Balderdash. Fun was one
of The Who’s greatest appeals in the sixties, and they are rarely more fun than
they are on the twisty “Dogs”. It’s a great sing-a-long played with all the
band’s requisite power and a neat tribute to…
32. “Lazy Sunday”
by Small Faces
…Small Faces, who had as little love for “Lazy Sunday” as
The Who had for the very, very similar sounding “Dogs”. Both records are great
chunks of imaginative English pop with choruses crafted to get pub crowds on
their feet. “Lazy Sunday” also expresses the very Rock & Roll stance of a
partier who just wants to party without getting bugged by the neighbors.
Nothing lightweight about that.
31. “Ride on Baby”
by The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones got slaphappy when arranging “Ride On
Baby”, tossing every instrument they could find into the mix. Instead of
sounding like a cluttered mess, it dazzles and makes a very simple tune seem
much more complex than it is. The Stones thought little of the song, handing it
off to Chris Farlowe and leaving their own recording of it on the outtakes heap.
I think “Ride On Baby” makes a really good argument that The Rolling Stones
were just as deft with elegant pop as they were with gritty Rock & Roll. The
chorus is sublime.
30. “Tomorrow Never
Knows” by The Beatles
The Beatles had dabbled a bit with psychedelia on “Norwegian
Wood” and “Rain”, but no one could be prepared for how all-out they went with
the final track on their finest record. One chord is all that’s needed for a
song that’s really driven by John’s lysergic lyricism, Ringo’s elephantine
drumming, and a zany array of tape loops that soar in and out of the cacophony
like winged dragons. The Beatles always seemed a bit like they came from some
other world. “Tomorrow Never Knows” is your ticket to join them there.
29. “Mindless Child
of Motherhood” by The Kinks
The Kinks made music of tremendous poignancy, beauty, and
eroticism. They weren’t usually anguished though. Dave Davies’s “Mindless Child
of Motherhood” is a grand exception to that. An immensely personal song about a
lost relationship, its churning guitar riffs are topped by one of the most
intense vocals on record.
28. “Lucy in the Sky
with Diamonds” by The Beatles
“A Day in the
Life” is Sgt. Pepper’s at its most
terrifingly earthy. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is it at its most
enchantingly unearthly. The verses are airy, celestial. The choruses scoop you
up in their arms. Those immune to singing along with “Lucy” don’t know how to
experience joy. Paul’s bass is the glue that binds the celestial debris
together.
27. “Mother’s Little
Helper” by The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger focuses some of his young-buck anger to come up
with a pretty insightful sneer at middle-class hypocrisy (that he took aim at
middle-class women has elicited cries of misogyny, but I’m not sure that’s
deserved in this case). The Stones experiment with an “oompah” beat, and give
it true Rock menace with Bill Wyman’s slidey bassline and a really
nasty-sounding detuned guitar riff. Satire at its blackest.
26. “Eleanor Rigby”
by The Beatles
The strings on “Yesterday” were graceful with a tinge of
blues. On “Eleanor Rigby” they are the Psycho
soundtrack risen from the dead. Paul McCartney’s sunny nature is consumed by
storm clouds of loneliness and isolation and just the merest hint of sympathy. Even
he got caught up in the darkness of Revolver,
and I think he got his greatest song out of it.
25. “Forget All About
It” by Nazz
Nazz shatter and shudder and pull out the stops for a
crushing performance that doesn’t allow a wisp of space to break though the
sonic onslaught until a bridge that makes “Forget All About It” much more than
a one-note number. It’s a murderous opening to the band’s very underrated
second album.
24. “Rain” by The
Beatles
“Rain” is that rare Beatles record that is important for its
writing, production, and performance in equal proportions. John’s lyric about
the illusory nature of life is sophisticated but in terms anyone can dig. The
backwards and slowed down tapes were clever strokes of studio trickery. Paul
and Ringo’s incredible performances really put “Rain” over as one of the best
things The Beatles ever did, and the way they play off of each other is unlike
anything else in their catalogue.
23. “Sweet Thing”
by Van Morrison
Astral Weeks is
largely built on extended excursions. “Sweet Thing” is one of the record’s most
concise statements, saying everything it needs to in that limited framework.
Rising from the near silence of Van’s guitar and chiming percussion, the track
swirls with the vigor of young love. A guy shouting that he’s “dynamite” would
be pure cornball in any other setting. In “Sweet Thing” it is a declaration of
sheer romantic heroism.
22. “Sympathy for the
Devil” by The Rolling Stones
Is this Rock’s greatest lyric? Jagger paints a brilliant
portrait of the horned one prancing through history over a demonic rite of
clattering percussion. Keith Richards double fists a switchblade lead guitar
and a bone-shaking bass. The Stones had been scary before, and they’d be scary
again, but there is an adultness to “Sympathy for the Devil” that makes it a serious
threat. And has Mick Jagger ever used his voice more expressively?
21. “A Quick One
While He’s Away” by The Who
There ain’t no better way to spend nine minutes. “A Quick
One While He’s Away” wasn’t Rock’s first epic, but it was the first to rely on
song craft instead of instrumental improvisation. A mini-opera and an
incredible vehicle for The Who’s stage act, “A Quick One” is really great
because there are so many cool things happening in it from the spectacular mass
harmonies of the opening section to the contrapuntal nirvana of the final one.
20. “Like a Rolling
Stone” by Bob Dylan
The snare strike that detonates “Like a Rolling Stone” is a
bullet firing into the troubadour Dylan once was. He’d now reinvent himself as
a grinning trickster who delighted in sneering at his fellow hipsters. Who was
he talking about? Brian Jones? Maybe he was talking about you. Are you in on
the joke or the butt of it? Dylan didn’t give a shit even as his greatest record
is a work of total commitment lyrically and musically. It’s an all-new
wall-of-sound. All we can do is put our ears up against that wall and let the
sound pound into our brains.
19. “Be My Baby”
by The Ronettes
The old wall-of-sound, of course, was Phil Spector’s
construction. “Be My Baby” is the defining artifact of that sound. Just as you
know exactly what you’re hearing the second stick hits drum in “Like a Rolling
Stone”, the same is true of Hal Blaine’s mighty wallop that ignites “Be My
Baby”. While Dylan’s song holds you at arm’s length, “Be My Baby” draws you in
with its valentine message and Ronnie’s totally disarming, totally real vocal. This
is what falling madly in love sounds like.
18. “Waterloo Sunset”
by The Kinks
Ray Davies’s tribute to the ants scurrying about London and
the quietly content loner observing them is a legendary work of beauty. His
voice is almost unimaginably tender. His then-wife Raisa’s is angelic. Dave
Davies tempers his usual urge to beat hell out of his guitar and employs a
delicate tone to match them both. “Waterloo Sunset” is like being rocked to
sleep by a loving father.
17. “Substitute”
by The Who
Pete Townshend’s acoustic guitar riff is light and jaunty.
When John Entwistle and Keith Moon join in, the mood goes haywire. So much
power derived from so few instruments, but “Substitute” is power-pop not hard
rock. The tune is unashamedly tuneful. Roger’s vocal is full of swaggering
attitude; the uncertainty of Pete’s lyric makes it totally relatable. Elvis
Costello called “Substitute” a perfect song. He was not wrong.
16. “Animal Farm”
by The Kinks
And then we’re back in The Kinks’ delicate realm, but there
is attitude here too. Ray’s delivery of the first line is almost raunchy. Yet
his sensitivity can’t be contained, and the tenderness seeps back in even as
the track continues at a sprightly pace. The Mellotron lends symphonic majesty
to the rural obsessions of “Animal Farm”, which is too loving to be a fitting
tribute to Orwell. His novel inspires the title only. The song is pure Kinks.
15. “Child of the
Moon” by The Rolling Stones
The Stones bid farewell to psychedelia on the backside of
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, perhaps unconsciously cribbing the melody of The Beatles’
“Rain”. Perhaps not. As they so often did, the Stones turned petty theft into
grand music. “Rain” is hypnotic, but “Child of the Moon” is more emotionally
effecting, one of the Stones’ rare celebrations of womanhood. Charlie Watts’s
drumming and Keith Richards’s experiments with open tuning make it panoramic
and the Stones’ “return to rock” single their best double-header.
14. “Porpoise Song”
by The Monkees
For their most adult statement, the feature-film Head, The Monkees produced some of their
most mature music. Their interpretation of Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s
“Porpoise Song” is a majestic piece of work with great use of multiple-Monkees
on the vocals and what is surely the best mesh of cello, tubular bells, and
drums in pop.
13. “Desiree” by
The Left Banke
As shifty and inventive as your basic prog rock tune,
“Desiree” derives its most vital power from The Left Banke’s incomparable way
with raw emotions. The jarring, descending riff that shudders from 7/4 to 4/4
to 6/4 time is cool, but it’s the utter romantic torment In Steve Martin’s
voice that will push you against the wall. Intense stuff.
12. “Pictures of Lily”
by The Who
The Who’s ways with power, humor, empathy, and slightly
taboo subject matter coalesces brilliantly on “Pictures of Lily”, a genuinely
moving tale of boyhood masturbation. This is one of Townshend’s most original
and complete short stories, and musically, it is as lean and fully-developed a
shard of power pop as The Who would ever cut.
11. “Big Sky” by
The Kinks
The Kinks match Ray Davies’s emotionless and all-seeing God
with a great, big, godly sound. When Ray plays the part of a worshipper who
find solace in simply thinking of the big sky, his voice turns small and
plaintive. Raisa’s high vocal counterpart makes “Big Sky” almost unbearably
beautiful. As part of Village Green
Preservation Society, “Big Sky” is a masterpiece’s masterpiece.
10. “Jumpin’ Jack
Flash” by The Rolling Stones
No one loves the Stones’ psychedelic phase more than I do,
so I don’t necessarily revere “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” as some sort of
return-to-form record or whatever. I just love it as a motherfucking great
piece of ass-shaking Rock & Roll. And there are still remnants of psych in
the way the treble-tripped guitars weave through each other, the droning
synths, and the weird, weird imagery. The Stones never did justice to “Jumpin’
Jack Flash” on stage because they leaned too heavily on its Rock while ignoring
its sorcery. On record, it is one of the greatest things you’ll ever shove in
your ears.
9. “A Salty Dog”
by Procol Harum
“A Salty Dog” is nearly incomparable as a piece of
picturesque pop music. It sounds like the ocean: wide and deep and very
imposing. Gary Brooker gives one of the very best vocal performances. His
climactic wail of the title phrase leaves me emotionally shattered. The
pizzicato string/piano duet that follows is as exquisite as music gets. This
song would make a great movie.
8. “And Your Bird Can
Sing” by The Beatles
Since “And Your Bird Can Sing” is not usually thought of as
a cornerstone Beatle song, it’s ripe for rediscovery. That means it will
probably sound fresher to you than, say, “She Loves You” or “Hey Jude”. And
“fresh” is a good description of this joyous explosion of guitars and voices.
Lennon’s tartness gives it edge, as do the “how did they do that?” guitar
duets, but like all of the very best pop songs, “And Your Bird Can Sing” is more
about the whole than the parts.
7. “The Door Into
Summer” by The Monkees
The Monkees recorded a Bill Martin song for their first
single on which they played all the instruments. Publishing issues meant they couldn’t release “All of Your Toys”. Fortunately, they had no such
issues when they cut Martin’s “The Door Into Summer” later in 1967. “Perfect”
is starting to become an overused word in this list, but man, that clavinet
opening, that fluid acoustic guitar lick, Peter Tork’s shimmering piano runs,
Mike Nesmith’s dignified lead vocal and Micky Dolenz’s transcendent
counterpoint? Perfect.
6. “Paint It Black”
by The Rolling Stones
George Harrison made the sitar into a rock instrument with
“Norwegian Wood” and got more mileage out of it than any other major pop
musician, but Brian Jones used it better than anyone the one and only time he
wacked it onto a Stones record. That’s the element people most like to discuss
about “Paint It Black”. I’m equally impressed by Bill Wyman’s wild bass slides,
Jagger’s shouting and melismatic nuances, and Charlie Watts’s floor-shattering
drumming. His fill that snaps the song back from its ethereal mid-section blows
my mind.
5. “Autumn Almanac”
by The Kinks
“Autumn Almanac” has so much going on in it that it’s hard
to believe it’s just a little longer than three minutes. Ray Davies strings together
a jolly riff, bouncy verses, “yes, yes, yes” choruses, a bridge that sounds a
bit like a New Orleans funeral procession, and a psychedelic fade like a
wizard. That it’s an homage to my very favorite time of year furthers the
personal appeal of “Autumn Almanac”. Yes, yes, yes.
4. “Tattoo” by
The Who
Pete Townshend’s clearest and most masterful story song is
one of the mighty Who’s most ethereal performances. A rotating Leslie speaker
adds spacey elegance to Townshend’s guitar while the guys’ harmonies are
glorious. If there’s a heaven, it sounds like “Tattoo”. If there’s a hell, the
devil and his buddies are all guffawing over that verse about child beating.
When my college songwriting professor asked me had to recite a favorite lyric
to my class, I chose “Tattoo”.
3. “2000 Light Years
from Home” by The Rolling Stones
I love The Rolling Stones when they’re being demonic Rock
and Soul merchants. I love them when they pop on Merlin caps and pretend to be
psychedelic sorcerers. “2000 Light Years from Home” is my favorite Stones track
because it is the best of both worlds. The maraca wagging and funky
guitar/bass/drum propulsion is the Stones doing what most people expect them to
do. The weird tape experiments, synths, Mellotrons, and sci-fi lyricism are
what I want them to do. It all comes together in a magnificent noise, as big
and bad as we all want The Rolling Stones to be.
2. “God Only Knows”
by The Beach Boys
I fall to pieces when I hear “God Only Knows”. It’s the most
romantic record ever made, a deceptively complex piece of music considering how
simple its melody seems. But screw all the music theory. “God Only Knows” is
brilliant because it is such a purely emotional piece of music, and despite its
often-misinterpreted opening phrase (even Brian Wilson misinterpreted it as cynicism
when lyricist Tony Asher presented his words), it is a disarmingly direct
expression of devotion. I am devoted to “God Only Knows”. I love this song as
much as the dude singing it loves the person he’s singing it to…
1. “Strawberry Fields
Forever” by The Beatles
…but there’s a song I love even more. A song, in fact, I
love more than any other song. “Strawberry Fields Forever” has been my favorite
song since I got The Beatles 1967-1970 for
my thirteenth birthday. Why? Is it Lennon’s aching melody? His oddly confused and
confusing words? The mystery of the Mellotron? The regality of the trumpets and
cellos? The best drumming on any record ever (fuck you, Ringo haters)? The
crazy coda? Cranberry Sauce.
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