MIKE PERCIACCANTE
New song. Old song. Classic Rock song. Blues song. Psychedelic song. Rock song. Funk song. Pop song. Party song. Punk song. Motown song. Beatles song. Stones song. Socially conscious song. This column features only five songs but they could fit into many of the groups listed above. As usual my mission is to list and pay homage to musical excellence. Each of the following five songs has been included here because they NEED to be on your iPod. I hope you enjoy them!
161. Superstition – Stevie Wonder
Because it’s the biggest hit on Stevie’s Talking Book album, the second album of the five that make up his “golden” period (artistic peak) from 1972 – 1976.
This song is so good, so funky and rocks so hard that it has been covered by a diverse group of artists including: Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5, Quincy Jones, The Kills, Paul Hardcastle, Doug E. Fresh, UB40, The Ventures, Widespread Panic and Mario Van Peebles. Wow, if these people all saw something that made them want to cover this song. There must be something there. Well, there is. It’s got a riff that won’t quit, a grooving beat, serious interplay between the horns drums and guitar. This is beyond a doubt truly the first truly “great” Stevie Wonder track.
Recommended versions can be found on: Talking Book (Tamla, 1972—reissued on Motown in 2000) and the “Greatest Hits” collections Original Musiquarium I (Motown, 1982), Definitive Collection (Motown, 2002) and Number 1’s (Motown, 2007).
162. Gimme Shelter – Rolling Stones
Yeah I know. I devoted entire columns to The Rolling Stones. Yeah I know that they’re planning a full-sized tour. That’s why I decided to add another Stones classic. “Gimme Shelter’s” lyrics paint a picture of social apocalypse — storm, fire, flood, war, rape, murder, all “just a shot away” — finally capped by the assertion that “love, sister, it’s just a kiss away.” Couldn’t have said it any better myself. Leave it to Keith, Mick and the boys to paint a rosy picture of the future.
If those reasons aren’t good enough for you… how’s this one… it’s the third best song on Let It Bleed, the Stones (in my opinion best album – EVER). Third best on their best album for many other groups it would be their career apex. That’s how good a song it is.
Oh, a storm is threat’ning
My very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
Oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away
War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
Ooh, see the fire is sweepin’
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost it’s way
Recommended versions can be found on: Let It Bleed (London/ABKCO, 1969), the live collections No Security (Virgin, 1998), Live Licks (UMe, 2009), Some Girls: Live in Texas ’78 (Eagle Records, 2011) and the “Greatest Hits” collections Hot Rocks (London/ABKCO, 1972), 40 Licks (Virgin, 2002) and Grrr! (Interscope/ABKCO, 2012) among others.
163. A Day In The Life – The Beatles
I couldn’t leave The Beatles out when I went back to The Rolling Stones again. So I give you the best song on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Lennon and McCartney, in what is likely their last collaborative effort, blended Lennon’s verse and chorus with McCartney’s bridge. Lennon begins the song by describing a car accident that he read about in the morning paper:
I read the news today oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph
He blew his mind out in a car
He didn’t notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They’d seen his face before
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords
The song basically has two sections separated by a 24 bar section building to a crescendo and ending with the sound of an alarm clock and McCartney singing:
Woke up, got out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And looking up, I noticed I was late
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream
Ah
The song ends with another extended orchestral crescendo and a final sustained piano chord that extends for approximately forty seconds. If you listen carefully toward the end you can hear a squeaky chair and the shuffling of papers. The song is avant-garde, orchestral and psychedelic. It’s also friggin’ brilliant!
Recommended versions can be found on: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Capitol, 1967), (the Blue Album) 1967-1970 (Capitol, 1973), the soundtrack to Imagine: John Lennon (Capitol, 1988) and the soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil show The Beatles: Love (Apple/Capitol, 2006).
164. The Boys Are Back – The Dropkick Murphys
Yup, I should have included this in the last column. Because I’m writing this column on March 17, I felt it appropriate to include now. The Dropkick Murphys and their special brand of Celtic punk celebrate everything Irish. This song is undoubtedly a great way to get psyched for a night on the town… especially if the celebration might be a bit to expressive and the revelers might not remember the evening on the following morning. It kinda makes the listener want to both dance and fight at the same time. The lyrics say it all:
The boys are back
The boys are back
The boys are back
And they’re looking for trouble
The boys are back
The boys are back
The boys are back
And they’re looking for trouble
The boys are back
The boys are back
The boys are back
And they’re looking for trouble
The boys are back
The boys are back
The boys are back
And they’re looking for trouble
Standing on the highway, …
I’m missing my home, and it’s killing me
Down the ramp passed the jail, I’m feeling alright
Bought roses for my ladies from a corner …
It’s time to get ready for that song and dance
Let’s go my friends, it’s time to take a chance
We’re back in town, we’re gonna get it done
We got nowhere to hide, we got nowhere to run
It’s been a long time coming,
It’s been a long time coming,
Recommended versions can be found on: Signed and Sealed In Blood (Born & Bred Records/Dropkick Murphys Records, 2013).
165. Lemon Pie – Shemekia Copeland
The daughter of the late, great Texas bluesman Johnny “Clyde” Copeland is truly a force of nature. A star in her own rite, Lemon Pie is the socially conscious ode to the loss of the American dream and the country’s depressed economic climate. It’s here because it isn’t a depressing song; in fact it rocks and rolls. But it is an angry rocker that condemns the greedy rich while bringing to light the plight of the other 99 percent. Check out these lyrics:
Lemon pie for the poor,
that’s what we’re working for,
I hope you weren’t expecting more
than lemon pie for the poor
Lastly, it’s here because its damn good. It’s a damn good song, not just a damn good blues song, but also a great song P E R I O D. It’s absolutely fantastic and it’s a great opening track to her excellent 33 1/3 CD. Check it out!
Recommended versions can be found on: 33 1/3 (Telarc, 2012).
Okay. Time for me to plead… again. That’s right. It’s that time… again. I want to hear from you. Please write me and tell me some of your favorite songs. What song or songs do you like and why do you like it or them. By like, I mean really like… what are the songs you can’t live without? What songs always put a smile on your face? So send me an e-mail and tell me what music you love. I’ll feature your song selection in a future column. E-mail me at: [email protected]. Type Can’t Live Without in the Topic. Til Next time!
