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Showing posts from June, 2012

1789 Jethro Tull - No Lullaby

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From: Heavy Horses ; Year: 1978; Genre: Progressive Rock For the last couple of days I've had this song running through my head off and on; I thought I would, as I always do, take as a sign and go ahead and pick it. This rather excellent/interesting piece of prog/rock is one of the heavier songs featured on their '78 Heavy Horses album, which is one of my absolute favourites from the band. It also clocks in at just under eight minutes, oddly enough that still makes it only the second longest track on the record. This one is by far more driven by both Martin Barre's excellent, blazing guitar work and John Glascock's driving and intricate bass line. I also believe that this is one of the few 'Tull songs to feature Ian Anderson playing an electric guitar instead of his normal acoustic one on the studio version. Hear No Lullaby on YouTube. Here is the live performance from their '78 Madison Square Garden show on YouTube. My song pick a year ago tod...

1788 Red Rider - White Hot

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From: Don't Fight It ; Year: 1980; Genre: Rock I was listening to some Red Rider the other day and got me thinking about picking another one of their songs. Even though they are probably best-known for their song Lunatic Fringe this one was also a minor hit for them off of their first album. While their overall sound was similar to the other mainstream rock bands of the time, one thing that set them apart for me at least was Ken Greer's lead guitar, which on some songs he played on a pedal steel guitar; it really gave his solos an amazing and very distinctive sound. Hear White Hot on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Allman Brothers Band - Melissa My song pick two years ago today: Queen - Play The Game My song pick three years ago today: Jerry Reed - Guitar Man My song pick four years ago today: Blind Faith - Can't Find My Way Home +

1787 Karussell - Entweder Oder

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From: Entweder Oder ; Year: 1979; Genre: Rock I had another one of Karussell's songs running through my mind, but, as usual when dealing with their music, I couldn't find it on YouTube. So, I decided I would pick one of their songs that is available at this moment. This is quite an excellent song all the way around and is quite dynamic. The sound throughout the track goes anywhere from harder rock to light and somewhat classically inspired music; of course the lyrics are just as awesomely put together with all of the neat imagery and symbolism. Hear Entweder Oder on YouTube. Here is a live television performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Nightwish - Last of the Wilds (Erämaan viimeinen) My song pick two years ago today: Rush - Caravan My song pick three years ago today: John Denver - This Old Guitar My song pick four years ago today: Rammstein - Stirb Nicht Vor Mir (Don't Die Before I Do) +

1784-6 Pink Floyd - Speak to Me/Breathe/On the Run

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From: The Dark Side of the Moon ; Year: 1973; Genre: Progressive Rock I heard these three songs that open up the epic Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon at some point yesterday and I happened to notice that I hadn't picked them yet. Well, seeing as how they are among my favourite songs from Pink Floyd I thought I would go ahead and pick them. While they are actually individual tracks on the album they are almost always played together, even on the radio, so I figured it would be best to do so with my pick as well. Hear Speak to Me , Breathe , and On the Run on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Aerosmith - Rag Doll My song pick two years ago today: John Lennon - Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) My song pick three years ago today: Fuel - Million Miles My song pick four years ago today: Tom Petty - Runnin' Down A Dream +

1783 Soundgarden - Rusty Cage

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From: Badmotorfinger ; Year: 1991; Genre: Alternative Metal/Grunge I heard this song this morning and figured it would make quite an excellent choice for my song today; it fits my mood almost perfectly. This is one out of many favourites I have from the band; I especially love the odd sounds the strange arrangements they used. Hear Rusty Cage on YouTube. Watch the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Lou Reed - I'm So Free My song pick two years ago today: Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys My song pick three years ago today: Hawkwind - Silver Machine My song pick four years ago today: Savatage - Complaint In The System +

1782 Earthless - Lost in the Cold Sun

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From: Sonic Prayer ; Year: 2005; Genre: Psychedelic Rock/Progressive Rock I happened to notice yesterday that I had only chosen one other song from Earthless thus far, so I figured that I would pick another. This is one of the two monstrous songs that make up their debut album, Sonic Prayer , both songs clock in at over 20 minutes in length and are both instrumentals. This is an awesome one to either listen to on headphones or just let play in the background whilst you get works done. Hear the full 20+ minutes of Lost in the Cold Sun on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Hawkwind - Star Cannibal My song pick two years ago today: Jigsaw - Sky High My song pick three years ago today: Steeleye Span - Thomas The Rhymer My song pick four years ago today: Donovan - Mellow Yellow +

1781 Nightwish - The Crow, the Owl and the Dove

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From: Imaginaerum ; Year: 2011; Genre: Symphonic Rock Ever since hearing this song at some point during the day I've had it running through my mind. This happens to be one of the band's softer and more poppy tracks, but is still an excellent one nevertheless. There are actually quite a few songs that I like from their newest album, Imaginaerum , which is another recently-released concept album, however this song in particular seems to stand out to me. Hear The Crow, the Owl and the Dove on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Wilson Pickett - Mr. Magic Man My song pick two years ago today: PAIN featuring Anette Olzon - Follow Me My song pick three years ago today: Nightwish - Phantom of the Opera My song pick four years ago today: Rush - Natural Science +

1780 Asia - Sole Survivor

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From: Asia ; Year: 1982; Genre: Progressive Rock I had no song in mind this morning, but I've been listening to a lot of Asia recently, so I will go ahead and pick another one of their songs. While they released a lot of good material over the history of the band, I have always love their first album the most. This is one the better-known tracks on the album; it is very much in the more electronic/mainstream feel that permeated progressive rock during the early-mid '80s. Hear Sole Survivor on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Ray Stevens - I Need Your Help Barry Manilow My song pick two years ago today: The Who - Rael (1 and 2) My song pick three years ago today: The Clifford Brown & Max Roach Quintet - Joy Spring My song pick four years ago today: Eric Burdon & the Animals - San Franciscan Nights +

1779 Booker T. & the MGs - Melting Pot

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From: Melting Pot ; Year: 1971; Genre: R&B/Soul/Funk A little over a month ago legendary bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn passed away; it thoroughly amazes me with how many artists' songs and albums he appeared on . He is probably best known as being the bassist for Booker T. & the MGs, which not only made their own material, but were also the house band for Stax Records similar to what The Funk Brothers were to Motown. Anyway, even though I'm over a month late I thought I would make a pick of one of the songs he appeared on. This is, of course, the title track to their '71 Melting Pot album; both the song and the record are among Booker T. & the MGs' best material. Hear Melting Pot on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '91 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - Don't Get Yourself In Trouble My song pick two years ago today: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue My song pick three ye...

1778 Nocturnal Rites - End of our Rope

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From: Grand Illusion ; Year: 2005; Genre: Power Metal I was listening to Nocturnal Rites last night and it seemed like an excellent time to pick another one of their songs today. As with much of the material from the '05 Grand Illusion album, this is a rather empowering track with a lot of energy and superb musicianship; one of my favourites. Hear End of our Rope on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - Velvet Green My song pick two years ago today: Rammstein - Das Alte Leid My song pick three years ago today: Savatage - The Piper Rap My song pick four years ago today: The Steve Miller Band - Take The Money And Run +

1777 Rush - BU2B

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From: Clockwork Angels ; Year: 2012; Genre: Hard Rock/Progressive Rock Ever since I got the Clockwork Angels album this song is steadily becoming one of my favourites from the band's more recent catalogue along with Caravan and Headlong Flight . While it was released over two years ago as the B-Side to the Caravan single, in my opinion the version from the album simply blows the single version away. For those wondering " BU2B " means "Brought Up To Believe;" it's very much a song that you'd expect from the pen of Neil Peart. Hear BU2B on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Born to Run My song pick two years ago today: Jethro Tull - Moths My song pick three years ago today: Steely Dan - Dirty Work My song pick four years ago today: John Denver - Opposite Tables +

1776 Jaco Pastorius - Amerika

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From: Invitation ; Year: 1983; Genre: Jazz Fusion It's kind of an odd coincidence that my 1776th song picked would be about two weeks from Independence Day, (July 4th). With today's pick number being 1776, I figured that I should choose something appropriate. There were quite a few songs that came to mind, however this Jaco Pastorius bass solo based on the anthem: "America the Beautiful" came to mind and I couldn't help but make it today's song pick. As far as I know this song was only released twice on two live albums: The '83 Invitation album and the posthumously released Birthday Concert album. This is actually quite a fun little rendition to learn and is actually deceptively easy, that is, once you get down Jaco's pinch harmonic technique. Hear the version of Amerika from Invitation on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '82 on YouTube. Here is a performance of the song from an instructional video on YouTube. My song p...

1775 Three Dog Night - It's For You

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From: Three Dog Night " One " ; Year: 1968; Genre: Rock I'm in a mood to hear some Three Dog Night this morning; this track is one of the more interesting arrangements from the band. As with most of Three Dog Night's music It's For You is also a cover; it was originally written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney to be recorded by Cilla Black, which can be found here on YouTube . While Three Dog Night's version is a cover, the lyrics are really the only aspect borrowed from the original. From what I read about their version of the song, they were getting ready to record it in the studio but for some reason only the three lead vocalists and drummer Floyd Sneed were there on time. As the story goes they started practicing it a cappella with only hand claps and the drums providing a beat. Apparently they liked how it sounded and scrapped the original idea and kept most of the arrangement that way. Eventually, towards the end of the song, the entire band do...

1774 Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - Last Train to London

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From: Discovery ; Year: 1979; Genre: Symphonic Rock/Disco Today this song came on whilst I was on the road; being that it's one of my personal favourites from ELO I though that I'd most likely picked it already. I decided that if I hadn't chosen it yet I would today and amazingly I had not. I don't know exactly why, but I've always loved this track. Here is the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jaco Pastorius - Kuru/Speak Like a Child My song pick two years ago today: The Grass Roots - Let's Live For Today My song pick three years ago today: The Ventures - Walk-Don't Run My song pick four years ago today: Ten Years After - I'd Love To Change The World +

1773 Cybotron - Colossus

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From: Colossus ; Year: 1978; Genre: Progressive Rock/Electronic Rock Having one of those days today and have been spending my time with headphones on listening to progressive/electronic sounds from Cybotron, (the one from Australia). I absolutely love how well their music works to help you zone out and ignore the world around you. Watch a video with a version of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: AC/DC - Let There Be Rock My song pick two years ago today: Steeleye Span - Black Jack Davy My song pick three years ago today: Heart - These Dreams My song pick four years ago today: The Police - Message in a Bottle +

1772 The Jimmy Castor Bunch - Troglodyte (Cave Man)

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From: It's Just Begun ; Year: 1972; Genre: Funk/Comedy I had no song in mind for today and for no reason whatsoever this hilarious and funky track started to play in my mind. I thought that I might've already picked it; I checked and surprisingly I hadn't, so I figured that I would go ahead and make it my song for today. And since it's a Friday and all and this is a funky track I guess I should make it a "Funky Friday" pick. I've loved this song ever since I first heard samples from it on my dad's old Convention '72 record. Luckily he also had Troglodyte (Cave Man) on a 45 rpm record, so I was able to hear the original source of those snippets; suffice it to say over the years we all but wore that record out. Hear Troglodyte (Cave Man) on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '73 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Stahlhammer - Eisbär My song pick two years ago today: The Lovin' Spoonful - Summer in the City ...

1771 Eddie Rabbitt - I Love a Rainy Night

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From: Horizon ; Year: 1980; Genre: Country/Rock For the last couple of days we had some wonderful thunderstorms rumbling across the area. The other night we had an especially feisty one roll through; as I watched it whilst standing in front of the open window this apropos song kept running through my mind. It was quite a nice soundtrack to go along with the claps of thunder that shook the house. Anyway, this was one of Eddie Rabbitt's most popular songs and was part of the Country/Rock crossovers that permeated the late '70s and early '80s. His Horizon album will always have a special place for me; I grew up hearing it quite a bit, well, at least the first 3 songs; those were the ones that got a lot of play in particular. Hear I Love a Rainy Night on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Joe Jackson - Steppin' Out My song pick two years ago today: Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John My song pick three years ago today: Savatage - If I Go Away My song pick...

1770 Ludwig van Beethoven - Op. 67 - Symphony No.5 in C

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Op. 67; Year: 1808; Genre: Classical Period/classical My song pick number today, 1770, is the same as the year that legendary composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born. He is by far one of my favourite composers and I thought I would go ahead and pick one of his pieces for today. He was one of the main composers that broke out of the "absolutes" of the Classical Period and helped to usher in the more expressive and art driven Romantic Period . I realized that I have yet to pick any of his symphonies, so I figured I would pick one of his most famous. This symphony is best known for its four-note "fate knock" theme or "riff" that the entire piece is written around. Here is the entire symphony conducted by Grant Llewellyn: Here is the first movement on YouTube. Here is the second movement on YouTube. Here is the third movement on YouTube. Here is the fourth movement on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Al Di Meola - Bianca's Midnight...

1769 Rush - The Garden

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From: Clockwork Angels ; Year: 2012; Genre: Progressive Rock Well, my wait is finally over:  the new Rush album Clockwork Angels was released and I was able to finally give it a listen. While it's a "concept album" it is very different from what the band has done in the past on albums of this sort. Each song is very much playable unto itself without its siblings both musically and lyrically, but still is a part of the greater story told throughout the album. On past conceptual albums they would usually make multi-section concept pieces that were based thematically both musically as well as lyrically that truly didn't do that well outside of the greater piece. In my opinion I can't at this point say its among their best or even better than their last one: Snakes and Arrows , but I will say that it's growing on me with each listen. Whatever the case, it's been good time to be a progressive rock/metal fan with all of the concept albums being released...

1768 Hawkwind - Quark, Strangeness and Charm

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From: Quark, Strangeness and Charm ; Year: 1977; Genre: Progressive Rock/Space Rock For some reason for most of the morning I've had this song stuck in my mind; I like it, so I'm taking it as a sign that I should pick it. This, the title track from their '77 release, has to be among the most nerdy songs in existence. The song's title is a play on words that refer to the subatomic particle known as a quark . Strangeness , and charm are terms used in particle physics to denote how many of certain kinds of quarks are present in a given particle. They use a lot of cute wordplay in the lyrics that are mostly about scientists' and physicists' love lives or lack thereof. As for the music, this song is kind of rolled back and more basic than the normal stuff from the band; it is almost has a punk flare to it. As with most of their songs from this period, Robert Calvert's vocals are one of my favourite aspects; his delivery of the lyrics was perfect. Hear ...

1767 Queen - Somebody to Love

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From: A Day at the Races; Year: 1976; Genre: Rock I've been meaning to choose this song for quite a while now and am finally getting around to picking it today. Actually, until just a little bit ago I thought I'd already picked it, but ever since I discovered that I hadn't, I made it a priority to do so. Somebody to Love was one of my first songs that I heard from the band that I fell in love with; there is just something about that rock-meets-gospel sound combined with the awesome harmonies that Queen is known for that makes this song truly amazing. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush (Neil Peart) - O Baterista (Drum Solo) My song pick two years ago today: Hawkwind - Zarozinia My song pick three years ago today: Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City My song pick four years ago today: The Wallflowers - One Headlight +

1766 Fleetwood Mac - Hypnotized

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From: Mystery to Me ; Year: 1973; Genre: Rock I'm picking yet another song written by the recently-deceased guitarist and singer Bob Welch. For the last couple of days, ever since hearing about his death, I've been going over the music he wrote and performed. I figured I would pick this jazzy tune with a nice groove for this Saturday; I absolutely love the mood this song creates along with the surreal lyrics and Mr. Welch's delivery of them. This was one of the hits from Fleetwood Mac during the Welch era and should be recognizable even to those who aren't really into the band; even to this day it gets a bit of radio play. Hear Hypnotized on YouTube. Here is a Bob Welch solo performance of the song featuring Mick Fleetwood and John McVie on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Les Paul and Mary Ford - Whispering My song pick two years ago today: Rush - The Pass My song pick three years ago today: Days of the New - The Down Town My song pick fo...

1765 Fleetwood Mac (Bob Welch) - Sentimental Lady

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From: Bare Trees ; Year: 1972; Genre: Rock Yesterday I heard on the radio that, sadly, Bob Welch died from an apparent suicide ; from what I have heard he was suffering from some health issues. I've always been a fan of Bob Welch and his music, even before I knew it was him that performed the songs I heard. Just like me, many others might not know about him, but have heard his music as well. He is mostly known for his stint with Fleetwood Mac after Peter Green left and just before Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined. While he didn't see as much success with Fleetwood Mac as they did or get the accolades, he was every bit as good. I, personally remember hearing most of his music from either his "supergroup" Paris or from his subsequent solo career in particular. His solo career was doing well at the time I was young and listened to the radio a lot, thus I ended up hearing his music a lot. While I'm not a big fan of this song in particular, I thought...

1764 Typhoon24 feat. Tatsuzo of YKZ - Spice of Life

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From: KEITH: Animation Beck Original Soundtrack ; Year: 2005; Genre: Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad has been one of the animés I've enjoyed the most in a while. For those unaware of it, it's a 'making of a band' animé about a fictitious band from its inception to making it big. One aspect of the show I really find interesting is how most of the band members' characters are based off of real-world musicians like Jimmy Page, Liam Gallagher, and Flea to name a few. They also pay tribute to many other musical acts throughout the show, mostly through the music being played. This song, Spice of Life , was done in the style of Rage Against the Machine and is somewhat similar to their song Bulls on Parade . Actually, from what I've read the lead singer character, Tsunemi Chiba , was loosely based on their lead singer Zach de la Rocha. Anyway, this track has ended up being one of my favourites from the show, mostly due to the kick arse bass line, which is actually no...

1763 Hawkwind - City of Lagoons

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From: Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music ; Year: 1976; Genre: Space Rock It's a sad day for us Sci-Fi geeks; this morning I found out that legendary science fiction author Ray Bradbury passed away. A writeup can be found here on BBC.com . I know for a fact that there are more appropriate songs out there, but for some reason they are totally slipping my mind this morning. However, being a Hawkwind fan, I immediately remembered this album that the band got some of their inspiration in creating it from Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine, a magazine which Ray Bradbury contributed stories to. I know it's not much of a connection, but it will suffice. They not only gave the album a cover similar to what you'd see on a science fiction magazine cover, but wrote songs as if they were sci-fi short stories with titles like you would've seen in those magazines as as well; they even added fake advertisements and such on the record sleeve. Anyway, this is one of my fav...

1762 Pearl Jam - Alive

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From: Ten ; Year: 1991; Genre: Alternative Rock/Grunge Yesterday this song happened to come on the radio and it got me into the mood to listen to some more of their music; I figured that I'd go ahead and pick it as well. This has to be one of, if not their most recognizable song(s). At least for me it is; I remember hearing it a lot back when they first hit it big. Pearl Jam is another one of those bands that hit it big right off the bat with their first album, Ten , but they also continued to make hit albums long afterwards as well. Their music seemed to transcend the whole "grunge" movement, and now that I think about it, I have never really categorized them with the whole "grunge" thing. In fact, back then I looked at them more as a good alternative rock band; even today I have trouble thinking about them as a "grunge" band. It doesn't really matter whatever "shelf" you want to put them on, their music is all that matters and it...

1761 Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

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From: Black Sabbath ; Year: 1970; Genre: Metal/Hard Rock Most of the morning I had this track running through my mind, and since I like the song as well I'm making it my pick. This, of course, is one of the more legendary songs from the last 50 years, which helped launch the heavy metal genre with both dark sounding music written around the menacing diabolus in musica tritone and its dark lyrics. Hear Black Sabbath on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Louis Armstrong - C'est si bon My song pick two years ago today: Jethro Tull - Journeyman My song pick three years ago today: Kansas - The Pinnacle My song pick four years ago today: Rammstein - Asche Zu Asche +

1760 Rush - Headlong Flight

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From: Clockwork Angels ; Year: 2012; Genre: Progressive Rock/Hard Rock After yet another rather busy Sunday I'm finally able to get around to making my pick for the day. Anyway, thus far it has been a very busy year as far as album releases. On Tuesday the 12th Rush's latest album Clockwork Angels finally releases; I've been waiting quite a while for this one. Headlong Flight was released as a single over a month ago and is the third song that has already been released as singles with the other two being Caravan and BU2B , which were both released exactly two years ago. After listening to these songs it's made me all the more to want the album; I can't wait for it to come! Here is a video with the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Frank Zappa - I'm the Slime My song pick two years ago today: Joachim Witt - Und... Ich Lauf My song pick three years ago today: Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al My song pick four years...

1759 Argent - Music from the Spheres

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From: Nexus ; Year: 1974; Genre: Progressive Rock This morning, for no reason whatsoever, I felt like listening to something from Argent; this somewhat interesting track hails from their '74 Nexus album. In my opinion parts of this one sound a lot like they might've started out as a jam of sorts, especially the first four minutes or so; after that some more defined sections emerge. Whatever the case it's quite an interesting song to listen to. Hear Music from the Spheres on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Heart - Who Will You Run To My song pick two years ago today: Benny Carter - All That Jazz My song pick three years ago today: David Bowie - Rebel Rebel My song pick four years ago today: U2 - Sunday, Bloody Sunday +

1758 Asia - The Heat Goes On

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From: Alpha ; Year: 1983; Genre: Rock I felt like listening to something from Asia this morning; I have to admit that I've never listened to their '83 release Alpha , so I thought I would go ahead and give it a listen. After a couple of go arounds this was one of the songs that really caught my attention and thought I would make it today's pick. While this is a pretty good album that I definitely will pick up at some time in the future, it is a bit odd to hear alumni from progressive rock bands such as: Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson Lake & Palmer to name a few create an album with this much mainstream pop sound contained within, with that being said, really there is nothing wrong with mainstream pop and the album and song contain a lot of excellent music from this cast of great musicians. Hear The Heat Goes On on YouTube. Watch a live performance from Budoukan circa '83 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Dream Theater - In the Presence of Ene...