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

From: Operation: Mindcrime ; Year: 1988; Genre: Progressive Metal Today is my last pick of March, tomorrow will be the start of a new month. I had some Queesrÿche on my mind and thought I would pick one. This is one of the more popular tracks off the the hit concept album Operation: Mindcrime . Hear Speak on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Beach Boys - God Only Knows My song pick two years ago today: Hawkwind - Living on a Knife Edge My song pick three years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Graveyard Train My song pick four years ago today: Sethian - Blood Calling My song pick five years ago today: Azteca - You Can't Take The Funk Out Of Me My song pick six years ago today: Bryan Adams - Run To You

From: So Far, So Good... So What! ; Year: 1988; Genre: Thrash Metal I had the urge to listen to some classic Megadeth this morning, and thought I would pick one too. This is an excellent instrumental with incredible guitar work; an great track to get the day started with. Hear Into the Lung of Hell on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Soundgarden - Bones of Birds My song pick two years ago today: Nightwish - Know Why the Nightingale Sings My song pick three years ago today: Stuart Hamm - Black Ice My song pick four years ago today: Waylander - Brú Na Bóinne My song pick five years ago today: Rammstein - Klavier My song pick six years ago today: Johnny Rivers - Summer Rain

From: Renegades ; Year: 2000; Genre: Alternative Metal/Funk Metal Yesterday I heard this track for the first time and have been listening to the entire album quite a bit since. This is, of course, a cover of the song originally wrote and recorded by Bruce Springsteen about one of the main characters in the Steinbeck epic The Grapes of Wrath . I absolutely love the how they turned a heartfelt folk track into a hardcore protest metal anthem only in the way RATM could. Hear The Ghost of Tom Joad on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Dire Straits - Walk of Life My song pick two years ago today: The Foggy Mountain Boys (Flatt & Scruggs) - Cripple Creek My song pick three years ago today: Queensrÿche - Fear City Slide My song pick four years ago today: Dream Theater - Light Fuse and Get Away My song pick five years ago today: The Doors - Ghost Song My song pick six years ago today: Badfinger - Day After Day

From: Fly Some Funk Up to the Moon ; Year: 1978; Genre: Funk/Soul/Disco It's yet another Friday and I'm still keeping my streak of making Funky Friday picks with this being my 28th consecutive. This track has a little more of a dated 70's sound to it, but it's excellent all the same and a great track for a Funky Friday. Hear Fly Some Funk Up to the Moon on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Laura Branigan - Self Control My song pick two years ago today: Yes - Starship Trooper My song pick three years ago today: Buffalo Springfield - Mr. Soul My song pick four years ago today: Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode My song pick five years ago today: J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers - Last Kiss My song pick six years ago today: Queensrÿche - Anybody Listening?

From: Ten ; Year: 1991; Genre: Alternative Rock I had some Pearl Jam come on the radio whilst out and about the other day, and they've been on my mind off and on, so I thought I would pick one of their songs. Definitely this is one I remember hearing back in my early teens, but to me it's not that dated and still sounds pretty fresh even though it's 20 years on since Ten was released. Hear Once on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - Lock and Key My song pick two years ago today: Porcupine Tree - Time Flies My song pick three years ago today: David Bowie - Life on Mars? My song pick four years ago today: Lorenzo Barcelata - El Cascabel My song pick five years ago today: Jethro Tull - Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die My song pick six years ago today: The Platters - Twilight Time

From: Can't Buy a Thrill ; Year: 197 2; Genre: Rock I had some songs from Can't Buy a Thrill running through my mind this morning, so I took it as a sign I should pick one off the album. This is one of the biggest hits from the record and while not my absolute favourite from the band, it's still one I like quite a bit. Their jazz/rock stylings is a perfect fit for an otherwise laid-back workday. Hear Reelin' in the Years on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Led Zeppelin - All of My Love My song pick two years ago today: Shocking Blue - Never Marry a Railroad Man My song pick three years ago today: Hawkwind - Mirror of Illusion My song pick four years ago today: Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven - Melancholy Blues My song pick five years ago today: Lynyrd Skynyrd - That Smell My song pick six years ago today: Pink Floyd - Brain Damage/Eclipse

From: Third Stage ; Year: 1986; Genre: Hard Rock Whilst thinking about what song I would pick today these two songs came to mind and I thought they would be a good selection. The Launch is an instrumental piece that when listening to the album sets up for the much more famous Cool the Engines . It's interesting how they used a pipe organ and keyboards to simulate the sound of a rocket launch; it's quite a neat track. Cool the Engines is very much a normal sounding song for the band, but excellent as well. Hear The Launch/Cool the Engines on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Stratovarius - Dreamspace My song pick two years ago today: Queensrÿche - Promised Land My song pick three years ago today: Ed Bogas & Merl Saunders - The Riot My song pick four years ago today: J. S. Bach - BWV 870 - Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major , from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book No. 2 My song pick five years ago today: Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell My song pick ...

From: Red ; Year: 1974; Genre: Progressive Metal Here's some heavy progressive music for ya; an amazing instrumental piece that started off one of King Crimson's best albums. I guess you could call this song as well as the whole album as a kind of proto metal, but that's for people who like to place labels on bands; for me it's just great music. Hear Red on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Sky - March to the Scaffold My song pick two years ago today: Rhapsody of Fire - Holy Thunderforce My song pick three years ago today: Guided by Voices - Everybody Thinks I’m a Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking) My song pick four years ago today: Gorō Yamaguchi - Tsuru No Sugomori (Crane's Nest) My song pick five years ago today: M83 - Don't Save Us From The Flames My song pick six years ago today: Heart - Dreamboat Annie

From: Brain Salad Surgery ; Year: 1973; Genre: Progressive Rock For the last month or so I've been listening to EL&P's Brain Salad Surgery album a lot. This is the first song on the album and is based on the early 19th century poem by Robert Blake And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time , which was later adapted to music and titled Jerusalem by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916. Anyway, this was their modern take on the hymn, which is quite a nice piece; I love the keyboard synth in this one! Hear Jerusalem on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Marillion - Kayleigh My song pick two years ago today: Johann Sebastian Bach - BWV 1062 - Concerto in C-Minor For Two Harpsichords My song pick three years ago today: Rammstein - Feuerräder My song pick four year ago today: Igor Stravinsky - Rite of Spring - Sacrificial Dance My song pick five years ago today: KISS - Detroit Rock City My song pick six years ago today: Johann Sebastian Bach - BWV 645 - Wachet auf ruft...

From: The First Family of Soul: The Best of the Five Stairsteps ; Year: 2001 (1970); Genre: Soul For a while now I've had this track on my mind and I've been meaning to pick it. This is actually one of the songs that I've like since the first time I heard it. I have always loved the incredible bright optimism throughout this track as well as the excellent music; especially the bass guitar. Hear O-o-o Child on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Delgados - Mr. Blue Sky My song pick two years ago today: Muse - Citizen Erased My song pick three years ago today: The Darkness - Is It Just Me My song pick four years ago today: Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground My song pick five years ago today: Devo - Come Back Jonee My song pick six years ago today: Weather Report - A Remark You Made

From: Let's Go Down To Funksville ; Year: 1972; Genre: Funk Today is my 27th straight Funky Friday in a row and I thought I would pick this sweet grooving track. This is one that I ran into a couple of years ago and ever since have loved it; you gotta dig that funky flautist. Hear Funky in Here on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Heart - Fanatic My song pick two years ago today: Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love My song pick three years ago today: Queensrÿche - Roads to Madness My song pick four years ago today: Jethro Tull - Roll Yer Own My song pick five years ago today: Naturally 7 - Wall of Sound My song pick six years ago today: Nightwish - Bye Bye Beautiful

From: Led Zeppelin IV (Zoso) ; Year: 1971; Genre: Hard Rock/Blues Rock Last night I was enjoying listening to this one and this morning it was still on my mind, so I decided that I would go ahead and make it my pick today. I love the way they blended traditional blues and British hard rock to make such an interesting sound. Hear When the Levee Breaks on YouTube. Watch John Paul Jones do some awesome shredding live on the lap steel on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Hawkwind - Wind of Change My song pick two years ago today: Alestorm - Set Sail to Conquer My song pick three years ago today: Pee Wee King and his Golden West Cowboys - The Ghost and Honest Joe My song pick four years ago today: Jerry Reed - Amos Moses My song pick five years ago today: Santana - All The Love In The Universe My song pick six years ago today: The Who - My Generation

From: Never a Dull Moment ; Year: 1972; Genre: Rock I had another song in mind for my pick for today, but ever since I woke up this morning this track has been running through my mind. So, as I normally do, I took it as a sign to pick it. Hear You Wear it Well on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Steeleye Span - The Twelve Witches My song pick two years ago today: Georg Philipp Telemann - TWV 55:C3 - Wassermusik - Hamburger Ebbe und Flut My song pick three years ago today: Steve Winwood - The Finer Things My song pick four years ago today: Tarja Turunen - I Walk Alone My song pick five years ago today: Link Wray - Rumble My song pick six years ago today: The Carter Family - Wildwood Flower

From: Falling into Infinity ; Year: 1997; Genre: Progressive Metal I felt like picking a Dream Theater track this morning; this is an awesome instrumental off of their '97 release. Hear Hell's Kitchen on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Styx - Come Sail Away My song pick two years ago today: Alestorm - You Are a Pirate My song pick three years ago today: Bill Evans Trio - Waltz for Debbie My song pick four years ago today: The Box Tops - The Letter My song pick five years ago today: Azteca - Mazatlan My song pick six years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

From: Home of the Brave ; Year: 1994; Genre: Celtic Rock I know this is a politically charged song, but I felt like picking it none the less on this St. Patrick's Day. It was written about James Connolly and the Easter Uprising of 1916 . Whatever the case, it's a good lesson in modern Irish history. Hear The Big Fella on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Frank Mackey & the Keltic Cowboys - Kiss My Irish Ass My song pick two years ago today: Dropkick Murphys - Black Velvet Band My song pick three years ago today: Black 47 - Green Suede Shoes My song pick four years ago today: Savatage - St. Patricks My song pick five years ago today: Mose Allison - Your Mind is on Vacation My song pick six years ago today: Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar

From: Back in Black ; Year: 1980; Genre: Hard Rock/Metal For no reason whatsoever I was listening to a lot of AC/DC last night and thought I would pick one this morning. I've always really like their first album with Brian Johnson as lead singer; and this is a great song to wake up to in the morning. Watch the music video clip on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Porcupine Tree - Mother & Child Divided My song pick two years ago today: The Jimmy Castor Bunch - Space Age My song pick three years ago today: Bass Extremes - Mocha Soca My song pick four years ago today: Rush - Fly By Night My song pick five years ago today: Jon Hendricks - I'll Bet You Thought I'd Never Find You My song pick six years ago today: Tom Petty - Free Fallin'

From: Power Windows ; Year: 1985; Genre: Progressive Rock I was in the mood for some mid 1980s Rush today; you can't get much more into their mid '80s sound than Mystic Rhythms . It's definitely not one of their greatest songs, but is still a better track than many other band's best material. Hear Mystic Rhythms on YouTube. Watch the video clip on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Moody Blues - Dr. Livingstone, I Presume My song pick two years ago today: Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli (Quintette du Hot Club de France) - Chasing Shadows My song pick three years ago today: The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five My song pick four years ago today: Rammstein - Ich Tu Dir Weh My song pick five years ago today: Damn Yankees - Coming of Age My song pick six years ago today: Bread - Mother Freedom

From: Miz Lena's Boy ; Year: 1973; Genre: Funk/Soul It's another Funky Friday , and it's also my 26th Funky Friday in a row to be exact. I haven't picked one from Wilson Pickett in a while, after all, he is one of my favourite soul/R&B/funk artists. Hear Take That Pollution Out Your Throat on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody My song pick two years ago today: The Doobie Brothers - Listen to the Music My song pick three years ago today: Queen - Bijou My song pick four years ago today: Asia - Heat of the Moment My song pick five years ago today: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane My song pick six years ago today: Joni Mitchell - Coyote

From: The Division Bell ; Year: 1994; Genre: Progressive Rock I've been meaning to pick this song for some time now, but am now finally getting around to it. A cool track with awesome guitar work and you get to hear Dr. Stephen Hawking providing vocals, yes he was sampled, but it's still awesome. Hear Keep Talking on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Bud Tutmarc - Hilo March My song pick two years ago today: Soundgarden - No Wrong No Right My song pick three years ago today: Jethro Tull - Wond'ring Aloud My song pick four years ago today: Joe Walsh (The Eagles) - In The City My song pick five years ago today: Pearls Before Swine - (Oh Dear) Miss Morse My song pick six years ago today: Lou Reed - Walk on the Wildside

From: Wide River ; Year: 1993; Genre: Rock I hadn't heard this song for quite some time, but for some reason it started running through my mind this morning. I remember back about 15 to 20 years ago it got played a lot, and when I say 'a lot' I mean it got run into the ground. Because of that overplay to this day it's a hard song for me to listen to without wanting to skip or change the channel. Besides that fact in my opinion it hasn't aged all that well in comparison to his other more notable songs. Sure, it has the incredible bluesy guitar sound and feel that is in most of his music. Whatever the case, all the same it's still an okay song and fun to listen to... in small doses that is. Hear Wide River on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Stratovarius - Fire Dance My song pick two years ago today: Jethro Tull - Aeroplane My song pick three years ago today: Styx - Renegade My song pick four years ago today: The Jaggerz - The Rapper My...

From: Stand Up ; Year: 1969; Genre: Progressive Rock For some reason I had this track on my mind this morning and as I usually do I thought I should pick it. While it's definitely not the strongest track on the album, it serves as a nice acoustical "cool down" song to bring the record's A-Side to a close or to mark a CD's midpoint. It is interesting though, with this song in particular, you can still hear a lot of their blues band feel remaining, but also the progressive art rock coming to the forefront as well. Quite an interesting hidden gem to say the least. Hear Look Into the Sun on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - Free Wheelin' My song pick two years ago today: Rush - Limbo My song pick three years ago today: Stevie Wonder - Superstition My song pick four years ago today: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Soul To Squeeze My song pick five years ago today: Electric Light Orchestra - Fire On High My son...

From: Bend Me, Shape Me ; Year: 1968; Genre: Pop/Rock I was drawing a blank this morning, so I'm picking one from my queue that has been there for a while. Hear Bend Me, Shape Me on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - Cat's Squirrel My song pick two years ago today: Amon Amarth - A Beast Am I My song pick three years ago today: Steve Vai - Little Green Men My song pick four years ago today: Fairport Convention - Maddy Groves My song pick five years ago today: Billy Joel - Allentown My song pick six years ago today: Meg Rock - Clover

From: Whitewater ; Year: 2004; Genre: Instrumental Rock About a week or so ago I came across this neat instrumental mashup/medley of the modern classic (Ghost) Riders in the Sky and The Doors Riders on the Storm . To say the least it's a real neat arrangement that takes an A B B/A A structure. They start out with (Ghost) Riders in the Sky and then transition into Riders on the Storm ; they then mix the two melodies and then finish by ending where they started. Quite a fun song indeed. Watch a live performance of Ghost Riders on the Storm on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Al Di Meola and Steve Vai - Race with the Devil on Turkish Highway My song pick two years ago today: Nightwish - Beauty of the Beast My song pick three years ago today: L'Arc~en~Ciel - Spirit Dreams Inside My song pick four years ago today: Led Zeppelin - The Battle Of Evermore My song pick five years ago today: Jethro Tull - Black Satin Dancer My song pick six years ago toda...

From: Dirt ; Year: 1992; Genre: Alternative Metal/Grunge The other night I had the TV going for background noise; specifically I had on a channel showing music videos. This happened to be one of the songs to come on and I thought I would pick it. In my opinion this is one of AiC's most soulful songs; it's loosely based on guitarist Jerry Cantrell's father's time in Vietnam; his nickname was and still is 'Rooster'. Watch the music video clip on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Steve Vai - For the Love of God My song pick two years ago today: Mastodon - Seabeast My song pick three years ago today: Vangelis - Blade Runner (End Titles) My song pick four years ago today: Karussell - Wer Die Rose Ehrt My song pick five years ago today: The Delgados - Accused of Stealing My song pick six years ago today: Bon Jovi - Always

From: Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome ; Year 1977; Genre: Funk I wish I was commemorating my 25th straight Funky Friday in a row in better shape, but this week has been both busy and wrought with all sorts of crap. I'll let this song speak for itself; nearly 11 minutes of funky goodness; the way music is supposed to be. Hear Funkentelechy on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Aerosmith - Make It My song pick two years ago today: The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden My song pick three years ago today: Modest Mouse - Float On My song pick four years ago today: Eric Burdon & The Animals - When I Was Young My song pick five years ago today: Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen My song pick six years ago today: Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin - Polovtsian Dances

From: The Spell of Iron MMXI ; Year: 2011; Genre: Power Metal This morning I caught one of Tarot's songs on my iPod, and it felt like a good pick. Interestingly enough, this song was originally from their debut album, but upon its 25th anniversary they totally re-recorded and released the entire album. It is certainly interesting to hear a modernized studio version of this classic track; I actually like what they did with it. Watch Wings of Darkness video clip on YouTube. Watch the original 1986 video clip on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: John Denver - Shanghai Breezes My song pick two years ago today: Aphrodite's Child - The Beast My song pick three years ago today: Duran Duran - Lonely In Your Nightmare My song pick four years ago today: Jethro Tull - Dogs in the Midwinter My song pick five years ago today: John Denver - Season Suite: Late Winter, Early Spring (When Everybody Goes To Mexico) My song pick six years ago today: César Antonovich C...

From: The Way It Is ; Year: 1986; Genre: Soft Rock I was thinking about some of the music from Bruce Hornsby the other day and I decided to listen to some more this morning; this is one that I thought would make a great pick. Hear Mandolin Rain on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: George Strait - Ocean Front Property My song pick two years ago today: April Wine - Future Tense My song pick three years ago today: The Darkness - Hazel Eyes My song pick four years ago today: The O'Jays - Back Stabbers My song pick five years ago today: Tarja Turunen - Enough My song pick six years ago today: Modest Petrovitch Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain

From: Back Through Time ; Year: 2011; Genre: Power Metal/Folk Metal I've been listening to a lot of Alestorm recently and it felt a good day to pick one as well. This one tells the tale of the heavy metal pirates fighting with and slaying a giant sea monster; yeah, it's that epic. Watch the music video clip on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Of Monsters and Men - Mountain Sound My song pick two years ago today: Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast My song pick three years ago today: Larry Graham & Graham Central Station - The Jam My song pick four years ago today: Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli (Quintette du Hot Club de France) - La Mer (Beyond The Sea) My song pick five years ago today: Harold Faltermeyer & Steve Stevens - Top Gun Anthem My song pick six years ago today: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Flight of the Bumblebee

From: The Buddy Holly Story Vol.2 ; Year: 1960, (1959); Genre: Rock 'n Roll Over the last month there was a lot of Buddy Holly's music being played, being that it was the 55th anniversary of his death. This was one of his songs that I heard recently, which brought it back to my attention and I thought I would pick it today. I've always loved the way that he arranged it with the pauses in the vocals, but my favourite part is his overdubbed guitar work. Hear Crying, Waiting, Hoping on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Waylander - Erdath My song pick two years ago today: Jim Croce - Workin' at the Car Wash Blues My song pick three years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - Flaming Telepaths My song pick four years ago today: AC/DC - Carry Me Home My song pick five years ago today: The Eagles - Get Over It My song pick six years ago today: Mily Balakirev - Islamey: an Oriental Fantasy

From: Nursery Cryme ; Year: 1971; Genre: Progressive Rock I felt like picking something from Genesis this morning; this is another one of my favourites from Nursery Cryme . It's another pretty, but huge and bombastic pieces of music from the first golden age of prog rock. From what I understand this track was inspired by the work of King Crimson ; I have to say, it sounds pretty good. Hear Seven Stones on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Stuart Hamm - Call of the Wild My song pick two years ago today: Wilson Pickett - Funk Factory My song pick three years ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - Life Still Goes On (I'm Lonely) My song pick four years ago today: Nirvana - In Bloom My song pick five years ago today: Static X - I'm With Stupid My song pick six years ago today: Ian Anderson - Eurology

From: Superunknown ; Year: 1994; Genre: Alternative Metal/Grunge It's hard to believe that Soundgarden's hit album Superunknown was released 20 years ago this month; dang, I'm feeling old again. I can still remember when "Grunge" was the new thing; Soungarden is by far my favourite band from the sub-genre. Anyway, this one's about a street performer called Artis the Spoonman who, as his name suggests, plays the spoons.  Watch the music video clip to Spoonman on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses My song pick two years ago today: The Monkees - Daydream Believer My song pick three years ago today: Muse - Resistance My song pick four years ago today: Jethro Tull - From A Deadbeat To An Old Greaser My song pick five years ago today: Fleetwood Mac - Oh Well My song pick six years ago today: Aerosmith - Janie's Got A Gun