Five Songs for the Ages
All of us have certain songs that represent a memorable chapter or event in our lives. They are the soundtracks to our day to day travails, triumphs, success and sorrows, the good, the bad and the downright ugly. By listening to them, we can’t help but smile, cry or sing our heart out. In the tradition of Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity and “31 Songs” here is my own take on the songs (in chronological order) that define (and continues to) my so-called life…
Stairway to Heaven
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin IV/Four Symbols (1971)
Universally hailed as “the greatest rock song of all time”, this magnum opus from Led Zep is a swirling and mystifying journey into Robert Plant’s quest for spiritual perfection and the trappings of our mortality. It is quite simply the best known and most overplayed rock song of all time. Bar none. Who else but Zep could pull off this 8 minute miracle and forever change the course of rock music as we know it? The ambiguous and enchanting lyrics (There’s a feeling I get/When I look to the west), soaring guitar riffs by Jimmy Page capped off by Guitar World’s “Greatest Guitar Solo of All Time” and solidly complemented by the formidable rhythm section of John Paul Jones and John Bonham, the song is a cacophony of “Zeppelian” artistry and imagery. No song will ever capture the imagination or inspire more conspiracy theories to the listening public than Stairway did. If this isn’t the apex of musical creativity, then we’d all be better off finding a “lady who’s sure”.
Killer Verse: There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
Welcome to the Jungle
Guns n’ Roses
Appetite for Destruction (1987)
The first single on the very first record (sadly, forever gone from my collection) I bought and the song that made me a faithful servant of the metal militia. Axl and the boys were the prototypical in-your-face hard rocking band – loud and proud, hard-drinking, chain-smoking, drug-popping, anti-establishment lads who didn’t gave a rats ass but blazed the musical mainstream like no other. This was their clarion call, a sonic assault highlighted by Axl’s distinctive vocal style and Slash’s fiery guitar licks and solos. It was an unabashed autobiographical tour de force chronicling the decadent LA 80’s sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll scene – the halcyon days of glam metal. “Appetite for Destruction” was and still is a benchmark debut album peppered with raw musical emotions that produced anthemic hits (“Sweet Child O’ Mine anyone?) No surprise that it would turn out to be a chart topper and worldwide phenomenon (over 15 million in global sales). Not bad for a couple of would-be rock renegades who eventually unleashed to the masses its defining soundtrack for the ages. Too bad they weren’t in it long enough to enjoy the ride.
Killer Verse: Welcome to the jungle
We’ve got fun ‘n’ games
We got everything you want
Honey, we know the names
Black
Pearl Jam
Ten (1991)
1991 was the defining era when rock recaptured its mantle and spawned an exciting and innovative subgenre – the Pacific Northwest’s “grunge” movement. Hot off the heels of the explosive debut of Nirvana (they just toppled Michael Jackson’s album from the top of the charts), was another promising quintet from Seattle named Pearl Jam. Their debut album, “Ten” would catapult the band into the spotlight and transform vocalist Eddie Vedder as the poster boy of the angst-ridden, alienated generation. A good majority of the 11 songs from this resonant release struck a chord with the disenfranchised and troubled youth and was an uncanny foretelling of the times (Jeremy as a pre-Columbine tale). Undeniably the most heartfelt and emotional track is the stirring and edgy, “Black” – a staple in any drinking session with a guitar involved. This song is a somber soundtrack to unrequited love, of nostalgia and sorrow, and the whole spectrum of emotions associated with loving and losing. Eddie Vedder (and his gem of a song), modern day poet and troubadour who truly captured the pitfalls and agonies we so often endure.
Killer Verse: I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life,
I know you’ll be a sun
In somebody else’s sky, but why
Why, why can’t it be, why can’t it be mine?
One
U2
Achtung Baby (1991)
How do you follow up a seminal album like “The Joshua Tree”? That was the uphill challenge facing the boys from Dublin even before they recorded the smash “Achtung Baby”, their more experimental and distorted gem of an album. U2 is a band that is unafraid to reinvent itself and push the musical envelope to the creative extremes. The album marked U2’s emergence as the pre-eminent rock act on the face of the planet. Achtung strength lies on the immense diversity of the tracks yet still retains U2’s trademark musical stylings that according to Rolling Stone magazine “proves that the same penchant for epic musical and verbal gestures that leads many artists to self-parody can, in more inspired hands, fuel the unforgettable fire that defines great rock & roll.” At the heart of this fire is the unforgettable single, “One”. This song can move you to tears with its haunting and elegiac lyrics and subtle yet infectious melodies. Bono’s singing echoes like a lamentation on the terrible disease called apathy and ignorance.” One” is an enduring testament to the unmatched brilliance of U2 and their propensity to produce music that transcends boundaries and generations.
Killer Verse: Did I ask too much, more than a lot
You gave me nothing now it’s all I got
We’re one but we’re not the same
Well, we hurt each other then we do it again
Voices
Dream Theater
Awake (1994)
Progressive rockers are oftentimes shunned for their over-indulgence on musical virtuosity and technicality. This fetish for perfection claims purists, strips away the soul and personality in their music. However, Dream Theater is not your typical prog-rock band. Although the members are musically gifted and technically-schooled (some are from the renowned Berklee College of Music – the MIT or Harvard for musicians), their songs belie the oft-repeated observations about the subgenre. Their first album, “Images and Words” was a portent of things to come with such classics as Pull me Under, Another Day, Metropolis Pt. 1 providing the punch. The follow-up effort, ”Awake” further cemented their status as prog-rock’s leading lights. Tracks from the album are epics that cover a broad range of issues and topics. “Voices”, the second part of the 3-part “A Mind Beside Itself” concept song stands out because of the sheer majesty and genius of the lyrics and the musicianship – a 9-minute thought-provoking journey into the inner recesses of the minds and of the personal demons we continually confront. The track is representative of the band’s awe-inspiring musical skills and elaborate yet cerebral compositions. Listening to Dream Theater is a cathartic audio experience - a blissful aural assault in images and words and into our personal theater of dreams
Killer Verse: Is there fantasy in refuge?
God in politicians?
Should I turn on my religion?
These demons in my head tell me to
