William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

I'm rushing around today and have to make a quick pick. This is another one of my more loved songs from Rush; it's a well arranged track in every facet, the hook to this song is the chorus and the transition back out of the chorus. The song deals a lot in subject matter with helplessness and how little control you have or perceive to have. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

Ever since I bought my first iPod all of the different medium of music that I own have been woefully neglected; they are just not as convenient. Anyway, last night I was looking through my old vinyl records that I have collected over the years and I came across the Grass Roots' Golden Grass album; this radio-friendly track was the main hit on the album. The sound of this song reminds me of the band Chicago to a point, this is mostly due to the horns and the use of certain chords and chord progressions in the song. Oddly enough, the bass guitar is the most prominent instrument in the song even against the horns and the signature guitar. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

This song came out of my memory yesterday and I knew that I needed to pick it. Ever since I first heard it I have liked this song, more than likely it is not only because of the music itself, but from events happening around the time when I first heard it. It is a bit different that a lot of their material, mostly because it is a blues that has an optimistic message in it. John Fogerty vocals is what really drives this song, however the whole band really makes this song incredible. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

These songs were running through my mind today, so I figured that I would choose them. I have always liked "spacey" songs and this is a classic. Usually when someone hears the title of these songs it immediately makes one think of dated 60's sunshine pop music. However, if one looks beneath all of the 60's sunshine exterior these are a couple of excellent songs, especially in the rhythm section. The vocal harmonies are a high point as well as the driving bass throughout. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

After hearing this song on the radio this morning I realized that I had not chosen a Boston song yet. Boston is one of the bands that I like and have never been overdosed by their music. The major draw for me to this band is the vocal harmonies along with the signature guitar sound; from what I read from an album liner note, the sound was created by an ancient Vox tone bender with a bad transistor. This song was a minor hit for the band's first album, but obviously still sees a lot of air play today. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

Happy Memorial Day everyone! The main Holiday for honouring the dead, sure almost everyone is honouring the dead by playing in their boats or recreating someway. Instead today I will honour "The Dead" by picking one of their songs. The most striking part of this song is the tight harmonies throughout. This Folk/Rock song is very unobtrusive and is quite mellow with beyond excellent musicianship. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a classic live performance circa '70 on YouTube. +

This is another song that I meant to pick many times in the past but for reasons did not. This track, along with many of his other songs tell stories about life event that most can identify with, which I believe helps to give his songs a lot of popularity. I love the imagery that he puts in this song that makes you feel almost as if you are watching a film. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a music video on YouTube. +

After playing around with some Kinks songs the other day I knew I needed to choose one soon; today seemed like an excellent time as any. On a television documentary I saw a while ago Ray Davies told an interesting story about this song. He said that an interviewer was asking him why he did not follow the fashionable trends and apparently got rather rude about it. Davies immediately went to a typewriter and wrote the song in a couple of minutes. Probably the main reason why I love this song is to me it reminds me of and pokes fun at a lot of shallow, image centered individuals similar to those who I have run into throughout my life Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '73 on YouTube. +

Now, time for my song pick. I have been listening to a lot of European Metal recently and I happened upon this song and figured I should choose it. Very much in the Symphonic Metal genre, this song is a treat to the ears; there is many layers to the song; every time I listen to it I hear something new. Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I needed something with a driving bass line and beat and this song filled the bill quite well. Crabby Appleton was kind of a one-hit-wonder and this is really their only hit. I love the excellent job of the bass and drums and how they keep the driving force of the song with the vocals while the guitar plays almost an ethereal part above. Here is a recording on YouTube. Here is a better recording on YouTube. +

Most likely today Rahsaan Roland Kirk is best known as the flautist who played on Quincy Jones' Soul Bossa Nova ; most would remember this song as the Austin Powers movie theme. However, Roland Kirk is actually one of the most unique Jazz musicians and is considered the master of black classical music. One of the more interesting aspects of his performances is that he plays multiple reed instruments at the same time and he used circular breathing so he could sustain a note indefinitely. This song has some of the most beautiful and intricate flute music and definitely blurs the line between classical and Jazz. Here is a studio version on YouTube. +

This is probably one of the best-known songs by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, however the song was originally written before the band's inception and was used to fill up space on the record. From what I understand not much care was taken with this song; some of the studio recording was done in one take and was completely improvised. They are probably the best band that utilizes the synthesizer, they do not over use it, but rather blend it with the acoustic sounds. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

I have always liked this song and after I saw a live performance of this song on the T.V. I thought that I would pick it. Phil Collins puts a lot into his performance and really shows off his vocal talent in this one; it is the highpoint of this song for me. You just got to love his maniacal laughing as well. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I love most of what I hear from Slade, but not usually in overly large doses. Anyway, I needed a good rocking song with heavy guitar today and this song really came through for me. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

While out on the road on this busy day this song came on my iPod and I figured that I should choose it. This is one song that I fell in love with instantly when I first heard it. I don't know if it is the vocals or the guitar riffs that first got me hooked on this track, but I like it all the same. This song is one of those songs where everything just clicks into place almost perfectly. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

I have been thinking about this song originally written by Bart Howard a bit lately and I knew I needed to choose it. The song has been covered and re-covered by so many great artists, which made deciding on a single artist's rendition to pick very hard. After a bit of going over the different versions of the song, I decided that I could not go wrong by picking the Sinatra version. However there are a lot of other excellent versions of this song as well that I might choose in the future. This an incredible piece of music that deserves to be in any list of music. Here is a studio version on YouTube. +

I did not have a song ready to choose again, so I decided on this incredible one by Van Morrison. Most would agree that this song is one of his best and usually is enjoyed by all sorts of different individuals. Anyway, this nice Jazz tune makes an excellent song for today. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

I was going to pick this song quite a few times in the past, however upon hearing it again on the radio today I decided to choose it. Probably the most memorable aspect of this song is the distinctive electronic piano. The music is very much in the progressive genre and is quite good, especially the guitar. I believe that the raucous, rebellious nature of the song is really what makes it quite fun to listen to. Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. +

In my opinion one of the best and most under rated songwriting duos in recent history is Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. A lot of the music that they collaborated on has become iconic; this is one of those songs. The subject matter of the song is about a jilted love and how jilter took pleasure in hurting the other and how the hurt lover is coping with it. Every aspect of this song really comes together incredibly; the music really compliments the vocals and adds emotion to them in the verses. I love how the song builds up and releases in the chorus. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a music video clip on YouTube. +

I had not heard this song in years and I figured that I would pick it today; I grew up heard this track quite a bit. Some straight-up 80's Country music. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

I have been listening to a lot of The Guess Who's music lately and without a pick for today I decided to choose one of their songs. The song sounds very similar to a lot of the beat group music of the time, however the guitar riff along with the vocals give the song distinction; it is quite a fun song to listen to. This was one of their first hits and was a cover originally performed by Johnny Kid & the Pirates. The song was recorded before Burton Cummings was with The Guess Who and in fact the band was officially called: "Chad Allen and the Expressions." However, their record company had a promotion to drum up attention to the band by hiding their name and instead saying "Guess Who?"; this was to originally make listeners think that it was a major group playing under a pseudonym. At the time of this recording they went by both names and later they abandoned the name "Chad Allen and the Expressions" after Chad Allen left the band and the rest i...

I listen to this song from time to time and I decided today that it needed to be my pick. This very popular bluesy instrumental from '62 mostly features both a Hammond organ and guitar as the lead instruments. Most would remember this song as being part of the American Graffiti soundtrack; it was played toward the end of the movie. A very nice grooving song for an otherwise mellow Saturday. Here is a studio recording on YouTube. Here is a classic live performance on YouTube. +

I was listening to some Santana today and I realized that I had not chosen any from this great band yet. The album on which this song comes from, Caravanserai , which is not one of the band's most popular albums. However, it is viewed more as a musician's album because of the complexity of the music and the influences, such as different kinds Jazz that Carlos Santana was into at the time. Every musician on this song does an incredible job that make this a joy to listen to. Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. +

For some reason last night whist I was trying to get to sleep this song was running through my mind keeping me awake; I took this that it was time to pick it. This song's music was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA and the lyrics were written by legendary lyricist Tim Rice for the musical Chess. A lot of the lyrics are tongue-in-cheek about the city in which the supposed chess tournament was being held; it has a disco feel to it with Murray Head talk-singing through the verses. The song's chorus is the part of the song that is really catchy and is the main hook of the song. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a performance of the song on YouTube . +

I really had no song in mind today, so I spun my playlist and this song came up and I thought that I would choose it. Anyway, what can really be said about the sound of Motown that has not already been said? The musicianship is beyond excellent, as with most other Motown acts; the vocals are excellent and very tight as well, which makes this song a treat to listen to. Here is a studio recording on YouTube. Here is a classic live performance on YouTube. Here is a more recent live performance of the song in a medley with a cover of The Left Banke's Walk Away Renée on YouTube. +

I heard from many individuals as well as from DJs on the radio that Kansas must be one of the most depressing bands in existence. A lot of their music in their catalogue can be a bit depressing at times, but a lot of people can relate to their messages. This song itself is very much in the genre of '70s Progressive Rock and is excellently done. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

I have been hearing this song a lot lately on the radio and other medium as well and I figured that it might be time to choose it. From what I understand the title of the song was supposed to be called " Double Drum Solo ," however, after splicing all of the pieces of the song together from various masters they decided on Frankenstein ; Edgar Winter also thought that the lumbering rhythm of the song fit the title as well. From what I've read, this song was not originally supposed to be released, but was put on the album as an afterthought/joke. From what I understand it was a B-side on a single as well and eclipsed the A-side song. The musicianship is excellent on this track; it really shows off Edgar Winter's talent. One of my favorite aspects of the song is that I love the synthesizer sound and how it was used in this song as a lead instrument. Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is an amazing live performance on YouTube. +

I had not heard this song in a while until today, so I figured that it would make an excellent pick. This was one of their minor hits and was out shown by Hold on Loosely on this album. The song is quite deep lyrically; as for the music, it not very different from many other of their songs, however the guitar work is still excellent. Here is the studio version on YouTube. There are many live performances of the song available on YouTube as well. +

For some reason this song was going through my head this morning, so I figured that it was time to pick it. Def Leppard is another band that I like, but have never fully gotten into. In this song the vocals are one of the big draws as well as the guitar work. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

A while ago I came across this song and was very much intrigued. The band "The Highwaymen" were a Supergroup that is made up of Country superstars: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. The song was written by the famous songwritter Jimmy Layne Webb; it deals with the subject of reincarnation and how the man in the story meets his death many times but never is gone. One interesting aspect of the song is that it really has no chorus. All of the singers sing a different verse; their vocals are excellent. I love Johnny Cash's verse in particular; it gives no closure and the man is wandering to find the end of it all and ponders becoming a highwayman again. Here is a studio recording on YouTube. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

Happy Beltane, or May Day as it be; for this reason I decided on picking this song today. This was originally recorded in the late 70's during the Songs From The Wood / Heavy Horses period, but did not make the final cut. It was later released on the 20 Years of Tull boxed set and as a bonus track on the remastered version of the " Songs From The Wood " album. It gives some of the imagery of the earlier Gaelic Beltane Festivals. The musicianship, as with most other 'Tull song is extremely good and quite brooding. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +