Three for the Ride: Bruce Springsteen, Cheap Trick, Utopia

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:

Bruce Springsteen: "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"
From the ever classic Born to Run (1975) comes this song that was the second single released from the album. It's more of a story kind of song that tells about the formation of the E-Street Band. The third verse says "...the Big Man joined the band" clearly referring to saxophonist Clarence Clemons. Great little ditty. Born to Run is my favorite Bruce album. It should be a part of any serious music collection.



Cheap Trick: "I Can't Take It"
It's strange sometimes how one thing mysteriously flows into another here. This amazing song (songs like this are why I started this theme on my blog) appears on 1983's Next Position Please. Crunch pop just doesn't get any better than this. The cover for this record is a comical version of the cover for Born to Run. The album was produced by Todd Rundgren and there's no denying his influence on the sound.



Utopia: "More Light"
Speaking of Todd, here's yet another great song from Todd Rundgren's band, Utopia. This is from 1985's P.O.V. which is an acronum for Price of Victory, Pillar of Virtue, Point of View, or maybe Persistence of Vision. You choose. P.O.V. is, thus far, Utopia's final record. (Insert sad face here.) The song is huge. Right at about 2:35, the song just melts your face as Todd reminds us all of what an incredible guitar player he is and drums by John "Willie" Wilcox that will give you chills. Layered background vocals on this song just add to its hugeness. Listen over and over.

I couldn't find it on Youtube, but I found this: More Light on rdio

Until next time...

Three for the Ride: The Pursuit of Happiness, Badfinger, KXM

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:

The Pursuit of Happiness: "I"m an Adult Now"
Todd Rundgren is a prolific producer, having produced some of the biggest selling records of all time, including Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell. He's produced Cheap Trick, The Tubes, Patti Smith, XTC, New York Dolls, Badfinger, Grand Funk Railroad, Hall & Oates, the Psychedelic Furs, Bourgeois Tagg and the Canadian band, The Pursuit of Happiness - just to name a few. The album, Love Junk, was released in 1988. This was the first of three singles from the record. At the time, it was a pretty heavy tune. You can definitely hear Todd's influence on it.



Badfinger: "No Matter What"
1970's No Dice was Badfinger's second album and this was the band's first top-ten single. Written by the late Pete Hamm and the late Mal Evans. It has a distinct Beatle flavor to it. The band was on Apple records and the song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios so there was definitely a Beatle influence there.. I recently got to see Joey Molland play this song. Joey is the surviving guitarist who played on the original track. He's the McCartney look-alike strumming happily away on the Gibson Firebird in the video.



KXM: "Rescue Me"
What do you get when you put together drummer Ray Luzier (Korn), bassist, vocalist Dug Pinnick (King's X), and guitarist George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob)? KXM. It's soulful, heavy, kick-ass, melodic metal with amazing drums and a killer hook. This track, "Rescue Me", is from 2013's self-titled debut.



Until next time...

Three from the Train: Utopia, Genesis, Stereophonics

Every morning that I decide to drag myself to the city, I have a little over an hour to listen to music on the train. I put the iPhone music player on shuffle, and off I go. Calling my collection eclectic would be an understatement. So it's often an interesting mix.

Here's what found its way into rotation today:

Utopia: "Abandon City"
Great song from a woefully unknown Utopia album, 1977's Oops! Wrong Planet. This song features Roger Powell on vocals and Trumpet. Great trumpet solo leads into an amazing Todd Rundgren guitar solo. One of my favorite songs on this album.



Genesis: "Squonk"
Trick of the Tail is Genesis's first album sans Peter Gabriel, released in 1976. It's one of my three favorite Genesis Albums (the others being Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. "Squonk" is a bit overplayed, and I have many other preferred songs on the album, but it's still great stuff. The video is a live version.



Stereophonics: "Dakota"
When 2005's Language. Sex. Violence. Other? was recorded, this Welsh band was a three piece. I've become a big fan of front man/songwriter Kelly Jones's writing and own most of this band's catalog. Check out the video. The car says it all.


Until Next Time...

Three From the Train: Thomas Dolby, Todd Rundgren, Peter Gabriel

Every morning that I decide to drag myself to the city, I have a little over an hour to listen to music on the train. I put the iPhone music player on shuffle, and off I go. Calling my collection eclectic would be an understatement. So it's often an interesting mix.

Sorry for the recent break, I was in London for a week.

Today, we have samples from three of my favorite songwriters and performers.

Thomas Dolby: "Hot Sauce"
From his 1988 release, Aliens Ate My Buick. If you don't own this album, you should. It's a masterpiece. Criminally overlooked.



Todd Rundgren: "Is It My Name?"
What can I say about Todd? Every bit as important to pop-music as Carole King or Burt Bacharach. And an amazing guitar player. And an accomplished producer (Meatloaf, The Tubes, Cheap Trick, and far too many more to list here). This track is from his 1973 release A Wizard, a True Star.



Peter Garbriel: "Family Snapshot"
After he left Genesis, Peter released a series of albums simply called, Peter Gabriel. This is from the third of such albums, released in 1980. The song is apparently based on would-be assassin Arthur Bremmer who attempted to kill George Wallace mixed in with imagery from the Kennedy assassination.



Until Next Time...