Scotch Sampler

[scotchandcigar]

Growing up in NJ, and playing tenor sax, you'd think I'd be all over Springsteen. But when he hit the scene in '73, I was still a kid, and he initially had an underground following. Plus, all the bands I was into were heavy on instrumentals, like Yes, ELP, Chicago, and Kansas. Springsteen appealed to the Dylan/ Stones crowd.

Anyway, when Born to Run hit the radio, he got national attention, so - again - I didn't pick-up on the local connection. But when I got into college in NJ, I realized he was our Savior, The Boss. Whatever people would say about New Jersey, we had Springsteen. He really is an amazing songwriter and performer, and his band consists of some very talented players. Also, the sax-oriented sound is pretty unique in rock.

While I like many of his early songs, I'll just pick my favorite to represent pre-80's Bruce.

Bruce Springsteen – Jungleland (live)

 

[sadchild]

That was a great read about your history with the Savi...er, the Boss.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

As great as he is, he is still not good enough to salvage New Jersey.

 

[scotchandcigar]

As great as he is, he is still not good enough to salvage New Jersey.

New Jersey doesn't need salvaging, thank-you. It's a great state, and one of the most productive in the nation.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Bonus round! Heart is one of those bands that I don't know anything about (other than it's sisters), but they had some rockin' songs on the radio. Turns out, they have some pretty good guitarists. Here are two of my favorites of theirs:

This first one is from an early tour, and although the video's a bit shaky, you can see how dynamic they were live
Heart – Magic Man (live)



Now this is an awesome cover, check it out!
Heart (covered by Gretchen Wilson & Alice in Chains) – Barracuda (live)

 

[HecticArt]

Heart was great live.
The sisters could bring it.
I'm glad that they made up and are playing together again. It was a shame to see them at odds. They aren't Oasis after-all.

 

[sadchild]

Heart rocks!

But again ... I'm an oddball on this band too. I love a lot of their music, but can't stand Magic Man and Barracuda.

And to make myself even more at odds with the popular opinion, my favorite Heart song came out just a few years ago!

1. Beautiful Broken
2. Dog & Butterfly
3. All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You
4. These Dreams
5. Nothin' At All
6. If Looks Could Kill
7. Even It Up
8. Never
9. How Can I Refuse
10. Crazy On You

 

[HecticArt]

I dated a girl that was convinced These Dreams was satanic.
She was great right up till then.
It’s another 80s song that has a great sound and production. I still love it.
It can make the hair on your arms stand up. Well, maybe not Koop’s gorilla arms, but you get what I mean.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Heart rocks!

But again ... I'm an oddball on this band too. I love a lot of their music, but can't stand Magic Man and Barracuda.

And to make myself even more at odds with the popular opinion, my favorite Heart song came out just a few years ago!

1. Beautiful Broken
2. Dog & Butterfly
3. All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You
4. These Dreams
5. Nothin' At All
6. If Looks Could Kill
7. Even It Up
8. Never
9. How Can I Refuse
10. Crazy On You

3. All I want to do is Eat Cheese Fondue.

Heard that on an FM station when that song was out. I can't get it out of my head when I hear that song even to this day.

 

[scotchandcigar]

3. All I want to do is Eat Cheese Fondue.

I think you may have triggered a Hectic craving.

 

[HecticArt]

Yep.

 

[scotchandcigar]

You may have noticed that I'm doing this chronologically, except in some cases I got on the bandwagon (get it?) a bit late, so that's where I'm placing it in my timeline. Such is the case with Jethro Tull. A mix of prog rock, classical, and rock & roll, with the incomparable Ian Anderson up front; they had hits on the radio before I ever bought an album. The first Tull album I was old enough to go out and buy was Songs From the Wood, which is very good. But my all-time favorites are from their earlier work. Here's 4 of them

Jethro Tull – Locomotive Breath from Aqualung


Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick (Part 1) Edit #1


Jethro Tull – Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of the New Day) from War Child


Jethro Tull – Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die!

 

[sadchild]

Jethro is another band I just can't click with. I think it's the flute that throws me.

However, I did once recommend to my band that we try to cover "Locomotive Breath". I don't mind that one, and I thought we could do a cool moderner-ized heavier-ized version. But alas, again I was overwhelmingly outvoted.

They are very creative and talented, I certainly see that. But I just can't get into 'em.

 

[Aaron]

I like their music a lot.
My favorites: Teacher, Hymn 43, Locomotive Breath, Cross-eyed Mary, Thick as a Brick.

They came to town when I was in college. I regret that I didn't go see them.

 

[HecticArt]

I had learned(ish) a couple of their songs back in the day, but even though the musicianship is great and the songs are well written, I don't click with them either. (That's a good phrase.)

Your lists are making me a bit more conscious of why I like the music I like.
It's not just great musicianship and thoughtful writing, but how polished the songs end up.
I'm a huge Rush fan, but it's the refined stuff that works best for me. (2112, Permanent Waves up to Roll the Bones (ish)) I like the raw stuff, but it's not my first pick. That may be what draws me more to bands like the Beatles & Bowie over the Stones & AC/DC.

 

[sadchild]

It's not just great musicianship and thoughtful writing, but how polished the songs end up.
I'm a huge Rush fan, but it's the refined stuff that works best for me.

Agreed! The Cure is my favorite band, but their 2nd, 3rd and 4th albums sound terrible - even if there are some good songs on there, the recordings are so poorly mixed, mastered, whatevered, that I don't really listen to them. On their live DVD trilogy, they play their 4th album in full and it sounds 10x better than the studio recordings from the 80s.

As for Rush, same! I have a lot of respect for their early work but the recordings don't grab me. For the most part, I prefer Moving Pictures (1981) up to Test For Echo (1996). The early stuff like "Fly By Night" and "Closer To The Heart" are good songs in and of themselves, but the recordings... not so much. Geddy's voice, recorded in the 70s, can clear my sinuses with a few of those shrill notes on a good day. I prefer "Closer To The Heart" live on A Show Of Hands.

 

[scotchandcigar]

OK, so The Cars were going to be coming-up after another band, but I've moved them up, due to all the Cars chatter. All of my favorites from The Cars come from their first 2 albums. I like some others (and despise some too), but none of them surpass The Cars and Candy-O.

Before I list my favorites, I have to share a discovery, formulated over many hours of drunken teen partying. Their self-titled first album is a stand-alone, do-it-yourself, stimulant-fueled party, put to music. Here's the track listing

Side 1

1.​	"Good Times Roll"
2.​	"My Best Friend's Girl"
3.​	"Just What I Needed"
4.​	"I'm in Touch with Your World"
5.​	"Don't Cha Stop"

Side 2

1.​	"You're All I've Got Tonight"
2.​	"Bye Bye Love"
3.​	"Moving in Stereo"
4.​	"All Mixed Up"

The party starts when the needle drops on Good Times Roll, and the drinking/drugging commences. The next few songs are happy-go-lucky dance songs, fueling the party mood, and culminating with Don't Cha Stop - literally prompting you to polish-off that bottle of whiskey, and take those last hits.

By the time side 1 is over, you realize you've done too much, you're sweating and nauseous, and people are starting to avoid you. You're getting sad and pathetic; that's when You're All I've Got Tonight comes on, and you desperately try to hold-on to whatever you have. But it's slipping away; Bye Bye Love is playing, followed by Moving in Stereo - which contains lyrics like
It's so easy to blow up your problems
It's so easy to play up your breakdown
It's so easy to fly through the window
It's so tough to get up
It's so tough
It's so tough to live up
It's so tough on you.
You're suicidal, and delirious, but you start to come down from your drunken stupor, and contemplate your situation. You're confused, and you think - it's All Mixed Up.

And with that, I present my favorites from the album The Cars

The Cars – Good Times Roll (live)


The Cars – Just What I needed (Live Aid 85)


The Cars – Don’t Cha Stop (live)


The Cars – Moving in Stereo (live)


The Cars – All Mixed Up

 

[scotchandcigar]

My favorites from Candy-O

The Cars – Let’s Go


The Cars – All I Can Do


The Cars – Dangerous Type (live)

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

The first Cars album has more 'hits' than 'album cuts'. Most albums have 2 or 3 really good songs and then filler. This does not. Others which IMHO do not have any filler that come to mind: Bat out of Hell and Born in the USA.

 

[Aaron]

The first Boston album also doesn't have much filler. The radio plays most of those songs.