Three for the Ride: Dire Straits. Black Sabbath, Supershine

Some days, I take the train to work. Other days, I drive. Either way, I listen to music on the way. I put the iPhone music player on shuffle, and off I go. Calling my collection eclectic would be an understatement. It's often an interesting mix. There are songs though, that I really wish the world could appreciate as much as I do. Songs that make me say, "Ooh, listen to THIS! Isn't it great?!"

Here's what I heard this morning:

Dire Straits: "Telegraph Road"
Most albums I buy, I recall the circumstances. 1982's Love Over Gold is one of those records that I just don't know how I came across it. But I'm glad that I did. "Telegraph Road" is a 14-minute long masterpiece that is, IMHO, Dire Straits's best work. It never gets radio play, so if you've never had the record, you've probably never heard the song. The kinda hokey "Industrial Disease is the only single from the album to chart in the U.S. "Telegraph Road" is an epic, moody piece, best listened to in solitude with headphones. I liken it to being Dire Straits's "Stairway to Heaven", "Freebird", or "Jungleland".



Black Sabbath: "Neon Knights"
Ozzie Osbourne left Black Sabbath in 1979 and was replaced by the now-late Ronnie James Dio. That following year, 1980, the band recorded and released their first-ever album without Ozzie, Heaven and Hell. This song, cowritten by Dio, was the opening track and the first time anyone had heard the new Sabbath sound. I bought the album immediately after hearing the song on the radio.



Supershine: "Take Me Away"
Guitarist Bruce Franklin teamed up with bassist and vocalist Dug Pinnick of King's X in 2000 to release the self-titled Supershine. It's heavy riff-driven rock reminiscent of Black Sabbath and Grand Funk Railroad. As one reviewer on Amazon put it, "it generally makes you want to get into powerful American cars and drive fast with the radio blaring." Which, oddly enough, is exactly how I initially listened to this record, driving my Mustang GT convertible across the Arizona desert. This link is to the entire album, but the first track is "Take Me Away." So, listen to as much as you like, but at least listen to the first track.



Until next time...