Classic Rock Song of the Day (Deep Cuts now being featured!!)

[Orbert]

I got into The Who later than most, especially most people my age, and this was the first album of theirs that I got (and also the last one with the original lineup, as most people know).  So I dug into it pretty heavily, and ended up liking it a lot.

I like the synth work, even if it's just a programmed sample-and-hold.  Pete said that this song is just "Won't Get Fooled Again" done over.  Also, that acoustic guitar solo during the break is pretty hot.  And finally, that's none other than Rod Argent on piano.  I got a kick out of seeing him in the credits. 

And come on, "Who the f*%# are you?" got played on the air regularly, because it came late into the song and the censors weren't paying attention anymore.

Does any of that make it a great song?  Not really, I guess.  But I like it.

[Jaq]

For me, the Who has always been "everything up to and including Quadrophenia, awesome, everything after, less so." Though I actually think Face Dances is a far better album than Who Are You, but I live to be a heretic. This gets a lot of airplay even still because it's the best latter day Who song, but it's not a patch on their early work.

[KevShmev]

For me, the Who has always been "everything up to and including Quadrophenia, awesome, everything after, less so." Though I actually think Face Dances is a far better album than Who Are You, but I live to be a heretic. This gets a lot of airplay even still because it's the best latter day Who song, but it's not a patch on their early work.

 

[KevShmev]

The Police - Message in a Bottle

Good song, although whoever's idea it was to sing the line, "Sending out an S.O.S.," 592 times at the end of the song should be repeatedly punched in the nuts.

[masterthes]

everything you just said I agree on

[Jaq]

The Police - Message in a Bottle

Good song, although whoever's idea it was to sing the line, "Sending out an S.O.S.," 592 times at the end of the song should be repeatedly punched in the nuts.

Sting always went on about having four hour long tantric sex sessions. That'd slow him down. 

[DebraKadabra]

The Police - Message in a Bottle

Good song, although whoever's idea it was to sing the line, "Sending out an S.O.S.," 592 times at the end of the song should be repeatedly punched in the nuts.

I don't know which is worse - that, or Roxanne.  Good song before that, though.

[Hayden]

Good song, although whoever's idea it was to sing the line, "Sending out an S.O.S.," 592 times at the end of the song should be repeatedly punched in the nuts.

Oh, you must LOVE "Take it to the Limit" by the Eagles, then, yeah?

[nicmos]

Good song, although whoever's idea it was to sing the line, "Sending out an S.O.S.," 592 times at the end of the song should be repeatedly punched in the nuts.

Oh, you must LOVE "Take it to the Limit" by the Eagles, then, yeah?

Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' anyone? has anyone counted the number of "Na"s at the end of that one?

I agree with Kev though.  In fact, I'm a fan of almost no Police songs pre-Synchronicity.  very overrated.  Don't Stand So Close To Me?  Blah.  Roxanne?  blah.  I don't know what happened to them but Synchronicity is a quantum leap forward from the rest of their catalog.

[KevShmev]

Those aren't nearly as offensive as Message in a Bottle in that regard.

And I agree about the Police and Synchronicity.  With them, every album was seemingly much better than the one before it.

[jjrock88]

love this song.  it is amazing how long "sending out an sos" goes on and on for

[KevShmev]

Blue Öyster Cult - Take Me Away

This isn't nearly as well-known as their previously-featured three big classic rock staples, but this is still a song that some classic rock stations play quite a bit, including the one here in St. Louis, so it is a good one to feature.  I love this song to death.  That main guitar lead, with the screaming guitar in the background, is so freaking awesome, and the way the catchy chorus leads back into it each time is terrific songwriting.  This is one of those songs that I will never turn off.  And always crank up.

[Orbert]

Wow, this one doesn't sound familiar at all.  I may have to check YouTube later.

[jjrock88]

That BOC song is fantastic.  Top three from the band for me.

[Jaq]

Factoid: Take Me Away was co-written by Aldo Nova.

And clearly I need to move to the midwest, since Take Me Away hasn't been played on the radio since, oh, two months after that album came out here 

[KevShmev]

Shooting Shark, from the same album, gets played from time to time, too.

[KevShmev]

Styx - Crystal Ball

Not that I wish I was older, but I wish I would have been old enough when this song and album came out to appreciate this song when it was brand new.  Think about it: Styx got a new guitar player and singer, and not only was a song he wrote good enough to be a released single from the new album, but also good enough to be the name of the album.  And for good reason, as it is a phenomenal song, featuring a great acoustic lead, a wicked good keyboard solo, a catchy-as-hell chorus, and a beautiful electric guitar solo at the end.  There is nothing about this song that isn't great.

[Orbert]

It was an exciting time.  Styx had had their first hit, "Lady" from the second album, but were doomed to be one-hit wonders until their almost-breakthrough Equinox and its (IMO) soundalike "Lorelei".  "Light Up" and "Suite Madame Blue" are radio staples now, but then as now, regular FM airplay did not necessarily translate to any kind of Top 40 popularity, which was the real sign of when a band had made the big time.

Crystal Ball was bigger, but still not quite a breakthrough, not like its successor The Grand Illusion.  The title track was their biggest hit yet, but it was the only hit from that album.  But it brought attention to their new singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw and so began the classic era of Styx.

[Jaq]

Shooting Shark, from the same album, gets played from time to time, too.

That is legit one of my top five BOC songs. Fuck local radio. 

[King Postwhore]

Blue Öyster Cult - Take Me Away

This isn't nearly as well-known as their previously-featured three big classic rock staples, but this is still a song that some classic rock stations play quite a bit, including the one here in St. Louis, so it is a good one to feature.  I love this song to death.  That main guitar lead, with the screaming guitar in the background, is so freaking awesome, and the way the catchy chorus leads back into it each time is terrific songwriting.  This is one of those songs that I will never turn off.  And always crank up.

I just saw BOC Friday night.  it's been 20 some odd years for me.  They pulled out Dancin' in the Ruins from Club Ninja which was a huge surprise.

[KevShmev]

It was an exciting time.  Styx had had their first hit, "Lady" from the second album, but were doomed to be one-hit wonders until their almost-breakthrough Equinox and its (IMO) soundalike "Lorelei".  "Light Up" and "Suite Madame Blue" are radio staples now, but then as now, regular FM airplay did not necessarily translate to any kind of Top 40 popularity, which was the real sign of when a band had made the big time.

Crystal Ball was bigger, but still not quite a breakthrough, not like its successor The Grand Illusion.  The title track was their biggest hit yet, but it was the only hit from that album.  But it brought attention to their new singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw and so began the classic era of Styx.

 

Shooting Shark, from the same album, gets played from time to time, too.

That is legit one of my top five BOC songs. 

Same for me.  I know a lot of BOC fans bag on The Revolution by Night, but it has three of my favorite BOC songs (the two we have talked about and Feel the Thunder), and the rest is solid.  I don't get the hate, although it did delve into a bit of that 80s sound with the keys (the beginning of Veins just screams 80s) and occasional drum sounds, so maybe that's it.

I just saw BOC Friday night.  it's been 20 some odd years for me.  They pulled out Dancin' in the Ruins from Club Ninja which was a huge surprise.

Very nice! I've seen them a bunch of times over the years and they are never afraid to pull out just about anything from any album, except of course Imaginos, which they ignore like the plague (for obvious reasons).

[KevShmev]

Dang, I was expecting a little more love for Crystal Ball.  

Oh well.  Moving on...

Gypsy - As Far As You Can See

According to a friend, this is one of those songs that did get played on the radio a ton back in the 70s, back when rock stations weren't scared to play songs this long (over 12 minutes), and is it now a bit of an obscure classic, in that it gets played on classic rarity shows rather than being one that gets regularly played.  Aside from that, this song is pretty dang great. The long proggy intro is totally rocking, and once it settles into the "regular" part, it is very nice and features some really nice melodies.  There is a shit ton of great organ and piano work in this song.  I'll be curious to see if Jaq or Orbert know this one. 

[Orbert]

Dang, I was expecting a little more love for Crystal Ball.  

I too was surprised.  It happened to come up on my iPod recently, and was still pretty fresh in my mind, and I was thinking about what a great song it was, how cool it was that Tommy had a hit right out of the gate, pretty much everything you said.  Not a lot of classic Styx fans here, I guess.

[DebraKadabra]

Not a lot of classic Styx fans here, I guess.

 
Guess I'm chopped liver, then...
 
Anyhoo - on the subject of Crystal Ball - there are additional lyrics that Tommy apparently wrote but were never used in the studio version.  He'd use them live, especially in 1984 when he was touring Girls With Guns (his first solo album).
 
If you should see me walking
through your dreams at night
Would you please direct me
where I ought to be?
I've been looking for a crystal ball
to shed the light
To find a future in me
To find a future in me
 
I really wish they'd added that.

[Orbert]

Not a lot of classic Styx fans here, I guess.

 
Guess I'm chopped liver, then...

But you did not reply!  To be counted, you must reply, else chopped liver you truly are.


Interesting lyrics.  So was that a third verse, for after the break?

[DebraKadabra]

But...
 
Yep - third verse.  But--when Tommy played it during his solo shows, it was acoustic so there was no break for the keyboard solo.

[Orbert]

Ah.  That was probably closer to the original song.  I'm not a songwriter, but it seems to me that most songs start with the basic song, usually accompanied by guitar or piano, then once the band gets ahold of it, all kinds of things can happen.  We get glimpses of this when they do an unplugged version or the original writer does a solo version.  It's almost always a much simpler arrangement.

[DebraKadabra]

Exactly, and a little more... organic (is that the right word?) as well.

[Jaq]

I was too stunned by the notion of a radio station still playing Shooting Shark to this day to comment, but I've always had a soft spot for Crystal Ball, the song and the album.

And while I haven't even thought of Gypsy in ages, yes, Kev, I have heard of them. Guy I worked with was really into early prog and had the album this was on. Love that jammy intro. Kind of thing you could see a 70s band stretching out like half an hour on.

[KevShmev]

  Not a lot of classic Styx fans here, I guess.

I think it's probably more of a case of many don't check this thread.  Unless you have been following and/or participating in this thread from the start, it can seen daunting to suddenly jump in, it being at 64 pages, so I suspect some of those Styx fans simply don't look at this thread and had no idea the song was featured.

And while I haven't even thought of Gypsy in ages, yes, Kev, I have heard of them. Guy I worked with was really into early prog and had the album this was on. Love that jammy intro. Kind of thing you could see a 70s band stretching out like half an hour on.

Definitely.

[King Postwhore]

Crystal Ball is a top 3 Styx song for me.  I can never get sick of it.

[DebraKadabra]

  Not a lot of classic Styx fans here, I guess.

I think it's probably more of a case of many don't check this thread.  Unless you have been following and/or participating in this thread from the start, it can seen daunting to suddenly jump in, it being at 64 pages, so I suspect some of those Styx fans simply don't look at this thread and had no idea the song was featured.

True, but I kept up with this thread while in lurk mode and decided to add my .02 after deciding to come back.  So there!

[El Barto]

It's not the sort of thread you have to constantly keep up with. It's the Classic Rock Song of the Day thread, after all. I'll check out the day's song anytime I happen to notice it updated.

What's fascinating to me is how regional classic rock hits tend to be. There are songs that get put up that I've never heard (of, sometimes), yet everybody talks as if they're classic rock radio staples. Plenty of other songs get put up here that are staples on the local station that others have never heard of. I think that Head East song was one of them. You couldn't go a day without hearing it down here, yet I recall others not even knowing who Head East were.

As for Styx, it all seemed to sound mostly the same to me. Sometimes they did do their thing better than others, though. Crystal Ball was one I hadn't heard before (was honestly never a Styx fan since I was mainly exposed during the 80's when they were just another Foreigner). It's definitely Styx by numbers, but it's a very good rendition of the formula. No SMB, but still a pretty good tune.

[DebraKadabra]

Never woulda pegged you as a fan of SMB, Barto.

[masterthes]

I love me some Crystal Ball. Will have to check this other song out later as I've never heard it