Dez's Favorite Rock/Pop Records, #'s 50-46

The thing about making these lists is that they are never static. Over a period of 20 weeks, I am giving you a Top 100 list that I finalized a couple of months previous. But now already I might change a couple of things. This is not to say that this list is not representative of my favorite music. But still, you always want to go back and tweak. Where I put The Rolling Stones Beggar’s Banquet at #82, I might now switch that out for The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street. Anyway, now that we are in the top half of the list, the remainder of these selections is set in more solid stone than the half you have already seen.

50. Uncle Tupelo – Still Feel Gone, 1991
Uncle Tupelo’s debut was the perfect hybrid of punk abandon and country weariness; on their second album, these alt-country icons stretched out a little more in the punk direction. The opening “Gun” announced Jeff Tweedy’s arrival as Jay Farrar’s equal in the band. (Unbeknownst to fans at the time, it was also the beginning of the end. After a mere four albums, this beloved band split, with Tweedy going on to form critic darling Wilco and Farrar forging parallel solo and Son Volt careers.) “Gun” is a rousing rocker with their signature stop-start electric guitar volleys, showing that although Tweedy was stepping out as a songwriter, at this point he still leaned heavily on Farrar’s style. “Postcard” and “Punch Drunk” both take the punk/country fusion as far as Tupelo ever would take it (arguably a little too far), but Tweedy’s “Watch Me Fall” and Farrar’s “Still Be Around” rank amongst the greatest acoustic tunes ever. “Still Be Around” is the clear highlight, with warm layered acoustic guitars underlying the type of desolate lyrics that Farrar does so well.

49. Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy, 1973
Zep released six absolutely essential records (and the other ones weren’t bad), but none better than #49. One of my favorite things about #49 is the variety and the looseness, which demonstrates an absolute mastery and confidence in their craft. While the opening “The Song Remains the Same” indeed reassures fans that they can still be the hard rock behemoth we all know and love, they then quickly move into more experimental territory. “Rain Song” is a gorgeous and expansive orchestral piece, showcasing Jimmy Page’s less appreciated arranging skills. “D’yer Mak’er” shows them rather clumsily trying to tackle reggae, but they are clearly having a great time and it is infectious, while “The Crunge” and “Dancing Days” are about as funky as Zeppelin ever got. “The Ocean” rocks hard with a guitar riff for the ages. The elegiac Norse mythology epic “No Quarter” is the type of thing only this band could pull off seriously and without irony, and John Paul Jones’ underrated keyboard prowess really comes to the fore and creates a haunting atmosphere. “Over the Hills and Far Away” is stunning, an acoustic folk / electric hard rock hybrid that has never been equaled, and with a killer riff to boot. Not only one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs, but one of my favorite songs, period.

48. Dire Straits – Dire Straits, 1978
Nobody knew quite what to make of Dire Straits’ debut when it came out. It was released in the midst of musical turmoil, when punk was reacting to disco and when New Wave was emerging. But out comes this straight forward pub rock record with a guitarist who finger picks lightning yet fluid guitar leads and sings in a gruff, offhand Dylan-esque voice. Mark Knopfler has long been my favorite guitar player, mastering a striking finger picking technique and using a crisp and clean Stratocaster tone (at least in the early period). The classic “Sultans of Swing” is here, which remains their de facto anthem (a tale of an underappreciated hardworking bar band, albeit a jazz band in the song). Knopfler’s guitar solo on the song is deservedly one of the most recognizable from the period and highlights what was so great about his early playing style. One of my favorite songs is “Wild West End,” a lovely story-song that features Knopfler’s occasional use of National Steel guitars. #48 sounds as fresh today as the day it was released.

47. The Police – Ghost in the Machine, 1981
#47 is their “densest” record, sonically speaking. Following the almost skeletal Zenyatta Mondatta, they decided to lay on the sound textures, adding synths, strings, horns, steel drums…and Sting even allows Andy Summers to stretch out on a rare extended guitar solo on “Demolition Man” (showing why that was such a rare thing. Summers' forte was atmospheric rhythm playing, not soloing). #47 is also their darkest record thematically, taking on the dehumanizing effect of technology (even down to the computer characters on the album cover that create stark drawings of the band members). There are quite a few highlights here. “Spirits in the Material World” has one of Sting’s all time best bass lines, but I have always been disappointed that the relatively short tune fades out just as they start to really jam on it. I could use a couple more minutes of that. I have always held out hope that somewhere there existed an extended version. “Invisible Sun” is a haunting song of political protest, “Demolition Man” is a rare time where the three of them jam rather loosely, “One World” is one of their best reggae-influenced tunes, and “Secret Journey” is a musical dry run for “Every Breath You Take.” And I’ve always really dug Andy Summers’ ignored rocker, “Omegaman.” Amongst all of this darkness is the joyous, perfect pop song “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”


ABOVE: (From left to right) Andy Summers, Sting and Stewart Copeland.

46. The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America, 2006
The most recent entry on my list. I know it is often necessary to let some time pass in order to fully assess the greatness of a work, but I feel confident that ten years from now, this would still make the cut on my list. I have not heard epic rock and roll like this in a long time. This is epic in the sense of 70’s era Springsteen (just listen to opener “Stuck Between Stations”), street operas that capture youth rebellion and uncertainty in equal measure. It is like both 70’s Springsteen (prominent pianos and street stories) and top shelf Kinks (devastating guitar riffs); and that description doesn’t even do justice to it (it is near impossible to be completely original in rock anymore, so I bring up those reference points.) The best new bands take their influences, integrate them, and then make their own distinct music from it. First among equals for me are “You Can Make Him Like You” and “Citrus,” with my new favorite lyric “Lost in a fog of love and faithless fear / I’ve had kisses that made Judas seem sincere.” But there really is not a bad song here. I like the story of how this band came to be. Evidently friends Craig Finn (vocals) and lead guitarist Tad Kubler were hanging out watching the brilliant film about The Band, ‘The Last Waltz’, and Finn asked Kubler “Dude, why aren’t there any bands like this anymore? Let’s do this from now on.” And thus God created The Hold Steady, and it was good. I don’t really hear The Band in their sound, but it makes for a cool story.


ABOVE: Epic rock lives on Boys and Girls in America