inb4 The Light at #1.
NOPE
Oh wait, maybe you were..
1. The Light (from The Light)So, the time has come to finish this list as we arrive at the number one, the one that started it all and the one that will end this list. If you would ask me right now what my favourite song of all time would be, I could give you about a dozen answers, but the one that will most likely always make it is The Light, from the band's first album. The first track you'll hear when you listen to their discography in chronological order and no song the band have done after this one surpasses this one. Not one. This is where it's at, it's the band's best and it has served as a doorway into their music for many people, including me. But how in the hell can an 8-movement prog epic of 15 minutes be good? It should be disjointed, not makeing any sense whatsoever, but not this one! This one works.
The Light, to me, is the telling of a story about a man or different people, moving through various stages in life, searching for the source of everything, of all they want to know, like The Light is a God of some sorts. In
I. The Dream a man gets judged before the Light.
II. One Man introduces the character going through various stages in his life,
III. Garden People is about those who haven't received the gift of the Light yet, which they do get in
IV. Looking Straight into the Light.
V. The Man in the Mountain is about a loner who doesn't care or doesn't WANT to know about the Light, whereas
VI. Seņor Valasco Mystic Voodoo Love Dance tells about a person who lives in the moment or is content with that. In
VII. The Return of the Horrible Catfishman we see an antagonist in the Catfishman, which also resides with the Man of the beginning and the Light fights him off, to make sure the man will stand up in the Light at the and in
VIII. The Dream (Reprise).
Go ahead, have a nice day, I have no idea if that's actually what the song is trying to say and frankly, I don't really care either. This song isn't really about the lyrics for me, but the way the music is put together. This song moves through so many different styles and ideas, yet flows wonderfully, you can help but wonder where this beauty came from. It's over in a flash before your eyes, yet doesn't leave anything more to desire. I'd say this is one of the few 'perfect' songs I know of and this lies in the melodies, the instrumentation, the progression and the direction the song takes. There's something amazing about the 'One Man' part where Neal sings with the distorted vocals, blaring stuff that doesn't make sense. 'CALL ME CAVANAUGH!'. Sure, I'll call you Cavanaugh, you're the one with the caveman jaw! Yet, when that same thing return in 'The Horrible Catfishman' we see Spock's Beard at the angriest they have EVER been. 'I AM THE CATFISHMAN'. Regarding the rest of the song, this comes across as fucking heavy. Also of special notice is the Spanish guitar solo in 'Seņor Valasco' and the whole 'Man in the Mountain' movement. I think what makes this song so fucking great is that within this
one song, Spock's Beard have an all-time angriest, all-time softest and all-time most-movements, yet also for me an all-time greatest songwriting. Everything is put together here brilliantly and I wouldn't have anything rearranged or altered, this song is perfect as it is.
Now really, I get that this is a long write-up without really saying anything, but at the end of the day, I know most Spock's Beard fans regard this song very highly and it's a pretty mythical song at that. It probably doesn't really need explaining why I put this at the top spot. It's my favourite Beard song, has been ever since I first heard it (I was hooked on it for weeks) and I think that all that matters. This one will stand up to the light.
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Thanks everyone who followed this! I hope I got some people into the band as well, although I think most of the people here are Spock's Beard veterans for far longer than I have been. I had a blast making this list, hope you enjoyed it
Topic: Elite's top 30 Spock's Beard songs - #1: I AM (Read 20002 times)
