Dez's Favorite Rock/Pop Records, #'s 5-2 and Honorable Mentions

Here we are. The cream of the crop. The Best of the Best. But in the words of Styx, "Don't Let It End." This post will give you #'s 5 to 2, and then I want to give you a quick list (don't worry, no commentary) of the Honorable Mentions. These are (in alphabetical order) what probably would have been #'s 101-150. Or, the ones who might have slipped into one of the upper quarter slots if I had made the list on a different day. Such is the nature of lists. I figured that it was only fair to mention the ones that almost made it (or, if a band had filled out their three maximum slots, I can now list some other favorites here). My #1 Pick will get its own post next week.

5. Peter Gabriel – So, 1986

His commercial breakthrough, #5 marks a dividing line in Gabriel’s career between well regarded cult artist and huge commercial success. Some records just hit you in a way that changes your whole perspective on music. I remember buying this on cassette on a family vacation, and that was it. I sat down for hours, listening to this from start to finish, over and over again. What is so impressive here is that although this record was deservedly a smash hit, he maintains his experimental edge. He delivers his most accessible set of songs of his entire career, and hits it out of the park. (The success of the record was helped by the groundbreaking music videos that accompanied some of the singles). “Red Rain” opens with a driving intensity (helped by guest Stewart Copeland). Gabriel then slides into the mega-hit “Sledgehammer” (his stilted but infectious take on Motown). His duet with Kate Bush “Don’t Give Up” is a touching classic, as is “In Your Eyes” (in the running for greatest love song of our time and immortalized in the 80’s movie ‘Say Anything’). “Big Time” was a groovy hit. Overall, #5 has all you would expect from Gabriel as far as detailed production and intriguing sound textures, but it also delivers a set of undeniably catchy tunes.

4. The Who – Who’s Next, 1971

The Who at the peak of their classic rock bombast. This music was saved from the ashes of the failed Lifehouse project. The rest of the band talked a despondent Pete Townshend into giving up on the cumbersome concept piece he was planning and to salvage some of the better tunes from the project and just release a regular record. This was the result. Townshend is a rock genius for many reasons, but he must be acknowledged for his pioneering use of synthesizers. Remember this is the beginning of the 70’s! His use of synths and sequencing in “Baba O’Riley” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, two of the greatest classic rock songs ever released, is still unmatched. “Behind Blue Eyes” is Townshend angst at its best and most effective, while John Entwhistle contributes his hilarious “My Wife” to lighten the mood (as his one or two songs per Who album often do). Keith Moon’s drumming is manically brilliant throughout, while Roger Daltrey is in full rock god mode. “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is typical Townshend. Instead of writing a simple protest song that would have fit with the times, he delivers an anti-anti rant (“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”).

3. Men At Work – Business As Usual, 1982

Anyone who knows me is aware of my fierce loyalty to what, on the surface, may appear to be a lightweight 80’s pop band. And it is true they were relatively short lived, and that they copped some of the “white” reggae textures made popular by the Police at the time. But this quirky unit from Down Under created a body of work that at its best is consummate pop rock with superb and idiosyncratic musicianship, featuring a vocalist almost without parallel. Colin Hay possesses my favorite voice in all of rock, it is instantly recognizable, and he can reach up to the stratosphere or sing low and sly, he can sing straight or he can give his voice so much vibrato that it teters on disaster, all with his odd hybrid Scottish/Australian brogue. Hits like “Down Under,” “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Be Good Johnny” are amongst the catchiest of the decade, but the album tracks are just as good. Not a misstep on the entire record (well, I might be able to do without Greg Ham’s “Helpless Automation”). It was a huge smash, and held the record as the most successful debut in rock history for awhile; holding the U.S. #1 spot for an impressive 15 weeks, and at one time it was the #1 record simultaneously in the U.S., the UK and Australia. With Hay’s voice, Greg Ham’s flutes and saxes and Ron Strykert’s underrated guitar playing, they ruled the charts for a brief time in the early 80’s. The Men At Work phenomenon was so ubiquitous that McDonald’s even offered the McVegemite Sandwich for a brief time, in honor of the newly famous Australian sandwich referenced in the hit “Down Under”:

“Traveling in a fried-out combie, on a hippie trail head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous, she took me in and gave me breakfast
And she said, ‘Do you come from the land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder, can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder
You better run, you better take cover’
Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was 6-foot-4 and full of muscles
I said ‘do you speak my language, brother?’, he just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich…”

Are those great lyrics or what? Men At Work were one of the very first bands that I ever got into. In fact, after some Kiss records, my first three rock/pop records that I ever owned (for better or for worse) were #3, Madness by Madness, and Duran Duran’s debut. So, I have been familiar with #3 longer than almost any record here, and it still sounds fresh and gives me a thrill when I hear it. There is a purity in this band’s sound that is hard to describe.

2. Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, 1972

Bruce’s sophomore effort best captures the spirit of those early club days. Key to this line-up are early members of the E Street Band who soon left the ranks, like drummer Vinnie Lopez (who swung much more than Max Weinberg) and jazz pianist David Sancious. “The E Street Shuffle,” the groovy “Kitty’s Back” and “New York City Serenade” are equal parts jazz, soul, and rock and roll. But Bruce was already honing his songwriting craft, painting the detailed and lovely Jersey Shore portrait “4th of July, Asbury Park(Sandy).” “Wild Billy’s Circus Story” is one of the more remarkable tunes in his repertoire, both musically (employing a tuba, mandolin and flutes along with his acoustic guitar) and lyrically as he paints a vivid picture of life in a traveling carnival show, infused with whimsy and a hint of darkness as well:

“The machinist climbs his ferris wheel like a brave
And the fire eater's lyin' in a pool of sweat, victim of the heatwave
Behind the tent the hired hand tightens his legs on the sword swallower's blade
And circus town's on the shortwave
Well the runway lies ahead like a great false dawn
Oh fat lady, big mama, Missy Bimbo sits in her chair and yawns
And the man-beast lies in his cage sniffin' popcorn
As the midget licks his fingers and suffers Missy Bimbo's scorn
The circus town's been born
Whoa, and a press roll drummer go, ballerina to-and-fro
Cartwheelin' up on that tightrope with a cannon blast lightin' flash
Movin' fast through the tent Mars bent, he's gonna miss his fall
Oh God save the human cannonball.
And the flying Zambinis watch Margarita do her neck twist,
And the ringmaster gets the crowd to count along: "Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven"
A ragged suitcase in his hand, he steals silently away from the circus grounds
And the highway's haunted by the carnival sounds
They dance like a great greasepaint ghost on the wind
A man in baggy pants, a lonely face, a crazy grin
Runnin' home to some small Ohio town
Jesus send some good women to save all your clowns
And circus boy dances like a monkey on barbed wire
And the barker romances with a junkie, she's got a flat tire,
And now the elephants dance real funky and the band play like a jungle fire
Circus town's on the live wire
And the strong man Sampson lifts the midget little Tiny Tim way up on his shoulders, way up
And carries him on down the midway past the kids, past the sailors
To his dimly lit trailer
And the ferris wheel turns and turns like it ain't ever gonna stop
And the circus boss leans over, whispers into the little boy's ear "Hey son, you want to try the big top?"
All aboard, Nebraska's our next stop.”

Aside from the vivid lyrics, the music emphasizes the changing moods of the song, as the tuba stomps along as the “elephants dance real funky,” a drum roll accompanies the countdown, and a mandolin plays sprightly as the “circus boy dances like a monkey on barbed wire.” This is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard where the music comments on the lyrics so perfectly. But the true highlights are the epics “Incident on 57th Street” (his most dynamic song and a personal favorite) and the joyous, fan-favorite “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight).” Bruce has never been this loose on record.

The Honorable Mentions...

Bryan Adams – Reckless; Allman Brothers Band – Idlewild South; The Band – Music From Big Pink; The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night and Abbey Road; Beck – Sea Change; Jeff Beck – You Had It Coming; Big Head Todd & the Monsters – Riviera; Big Star – Radio City; Black Sabbath – Paranoid; David Bowie – Let’s Dance; The Byrds – Younger Than Yesterday; The Cars – Candy-O; Gene Clark – White Light; Counting Crows – Hard Candy; Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River; David Crosby – If I Could Only Remember My Name; Derek & the Dominos – Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs; Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms; The Doors – L.A. Woman; Genesis – Selling England By the Pound and Genesis; Grateful Dead – Workingman’s Dead; Guns ‘n Roses – Appetite For Destruction; Colin Hay – Peaks and Valleys; Bruce Hornsby & the Range – The Way It Is; The Kinks – Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround, Pt. 1; Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II and Physical Graffiti; The Mermen – A Glorious Lethal Euphoria; Van Morrison – Moondance and Into the Music; Graham Nash – Songs For Beginners; Pink Floyd – Piper at the Gates of Dawn; The Police – Regatta de Blanc; The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street; Paul Simon – Graceland; Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on the Edge of Town; Stephen Stills – Manassas; Sting – The Soul Cages; Traffic – Low Spark of Hi-Heeled Boys; The Tragically Hip – Up To Here; U2 – War; Velvet Underground – Loaded; The Who – Quadrophenia; Wilco – AM; Yes – Close To the Edge; Neil Young – Harvest and On the Beach; Frank Zappa – Hot Rats.

Next week...Dez's Favorite Rock Record of All Time!!