Artist: AC/DC
Album: AC/DC Live
I’ve been on a bit of an AC/DC kick lately. (I blame the tribute show that I went to a couple of weeks ago.) Anyway, I’ve been listening to this album a lot lately.
Archive for the ‘Random Song’ Category
Random Song: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (live)
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Random Song: Open Arms
Friday, August 13th, 2010Artist: Journey
Album: Escape
I know that Journey isn’t the most respected of bands, but they are legendary. And I do have a soft spot for their music. Yes, it could be described as cheesy–this song in particular–but I don’t particularly care. It’s enjoyable stuff.
Random Song: Night Drive
Friday, August 6th, 2010Artist: The All-American Rejects
Album: Move Along
The All American Rejects are one of the few newer groups whose work I really enjoy. They always seemed to be one of the few who really got what rock should be all about. This particular song is one of my favorites off Move Along.
I like this particular song mostly because of the heavy drumbeat that drives most of it. It’s not a particularly complicated drum part, but it’s powerful. It shapes the entire identity of the song and provides the driving force that links the imagery of the lyrics with the instrumental part of the song.
If you’ve been reading some of my other posts, you also know that I’m a sucker for a good breakup song, especially the more defiant ones like this one. The lyrics of this song are especially good in that they really capture the ambivalence that comes with a breakup. The narrator is leaving because he can’t take a bad relationship anymore, but at the same time acknowledges that it hurts to leave as well. A lot of songs never really explore that kind of territory.
This kind of good, solid rock is why I really like this band so much.
Random Song: Pour Some Sugar on Me
Monday, June 21st, 2010Artist: Def Leppard
Album: Hysteria
This is a sleaze rock classic if there ever was one. Not only are the lyrics delightfully trashy, even the sound of the song is sleazy. And they mix it up perfectly with a big, arena-rock hook. This kind of in-your-face swagger is what finally truly got me interested in music.
And it sticks in your head. This is not a song that goes quietly out of your mind–but at least in my case, I never want it to. I sometimes wake up with a song stuck in my head–at least if it’s ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’, it’s a good one. (Hey, it beats some of my brain’s other choices–”100 Years” or “Diamond As Big As The Ritz” tend to just drive me nuts.)
This might well be the ultimate arena-rock anthem. It’s not deep, but the lyrics of the song are rhythmically well chosen–the way the words fit together and flow is amazing. (I have to admit, I had to look up the words the first time.) But once you’ve got them, it’s fun to sing along with this one. This is one of the songs that I always keep on my car playlist.
There’s no pretense here. It’s just big and loud and fun, and I love it.
Random Song: Two Story Town
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010Artist: Bon Jovi
Album: Crush
Crush was my second Bon Jovi album, after Cross Road. At the time, the only song from it that I was familiar with was ‘It’s My Life’. (I know, big surprise there.)
Anyway, for some reason, this particular song quickly turned out to be one of my favorites on the album. I do have a taste for the darker aspects of music–that was what eventually led me to get interested in true heavy metal. I think that played a role in my liking for this particular song. The imagery in the lyrics of this song is pretty much universally dark.
This particular song is also one of the more poetic works that Bon Jovi has produced. The band is capable of evoking some incredibly vivid imagery in their songs when they want to, and this particular song is a prime example of it. Each verse paints a distinct picture.
The intense delivery of the lyrics, coupled with the pounding bass line just reinforces the dark mood of the song. The harmonies used in the back vocals could have lightened the song and made it feel more pop-like, however even those are controlled well enough that they just keep the song from being too depressing.
Also, it’s Jon’s defiant delivery of the chorus that transforms the song from depressing to a battle cry. You can hear the resolve in his voice, and he makes you believe that he’s going to make it out.
All together, this is a very well crafted song. All of the pieces–the lyrics, the vocals, and the instrumental performances all come together perfectly here.
Random Song: Bed of Roses (TLFR)
Monday, June 7th, 2010Artist: Bon Jovi
Album: This Left Feels Right
Like many other fans of the band, I don’t really care for This Left Feels Right. However, I do have the CD in my collection, mostly for the sake of completeness. In this case, the slowed-down and mellowed out treatment that this song received did not do it any favors, so far as I’m concerned. It lost all of the emotional power in the original song.
The chorus of this song suffers the most. This ballad-ish treatment robs the chorus of all of the anguish and passion that was invested in the vocals of the original version of the song. This version, by contrast, just seems flat. The words and the delivery don’t match at all. Also, one of the other things that is conspicuously lost in TLFR is the build of the song. The original actually doesn’t start off all that differently–but it builds gloriously to the chorus. In this version, there’s no build at all.
The third verse doesn’t fare well here either–once again, the emotion is completely lacking. I think they were trying for a more regretful tone, but it just comes off flat to me. Also, the hummed last verse of this version doesn’t work for me. It just feels like the end of the song is being dragged out past its expiration date.
All told, this is one of the reasons that I really didn’t like This Left Feels Right. The original ‘Bed of Roses’ is one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs, and I’ve always felt that this version just stripped all of the passion from the song.
Random Song: Paint It Black (live)
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010Artist: The Rolling Stones
Album: Flashpoint
This is one of the odd songs where I really enjoy the live recording more than the studio recording. Flashpoint was one of the first Stones albums that I bought for myself, as opposed to borrowing my parents’ records. I went through a phase where I was really interested in the dynamics of the live performance and how it changes the songs.
In the case of this song, the live performance gives a much grittier feel to a naturally dark song. The live version has a slightly looser but somehow more intense groove than the studio version.
I love this song because it’s one of the few live tracks that I’ve encountered that truly captures the feel of a live performance. It’s just a straight up performance of the song without the polish and perfection of the studio recording. Also, whoever handled the sound mixing on the recording did an excellent job of managing the level of crowd noise. Some live albums almost completely remove the crowd noise, leaving something missing. That allows the music to stand out more, but in some ways, also leaves the most vital part of the live performance out of the equation.
Plus, I get a kick out of how you can hear somebody in the crowd repeatedly yelling out their request for this song throughout the album. That person must have had an enormous set of lungs to stand out from all the crowd noise in the background of the recording.
If you’re looking for my commentary on Bon Jovi’s performance of ‘Paint it Black’ at the O2, that’s in this post: Paint it Black at the O2.
Random Song: The Fire Inside
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010Artist: Bon Jovi
Album: 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong
This was one of the tracks the box set that I found difficult to get into when I first got the box set. I suppose a lot of it was because the song starts off so simply with just Jon’s voice and the guitar. Without the keyboards, drums and the heavier production of the regular album tracks, it was too far outside the boundaries of what I had accepted as Bon Jovi’s music.
But once you get to the chorus, this song really opens fire, and then I got it. Jon’s voice isn’t perfect here, but this song is built around the passion in the chorus and the slow burn of the verses that build up to it. Those choruses hit like the blows of a musical sledgehammer.
This is one of the songs that led me to truly appreciate Jon’s musical skills. The lyrics might not be the greatest–some of the choruses tend toward the repetitive, and the lyrics border a bit on cheesy. However, the building tension of the verses that lead up to the power of the choruses is very well performed here.
In a lot of ways, this song showcases the core of the best of Bon Jovi’s songs–their ability to write songs that build perfectly up to big choruses. This structure is what the best arena rock is built on–and ‘The Fire Inside’ displays the technical grasp of this format that made the band great. Like the demo version of ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ that’s also on the box set, this song really helped give me an insight into what made Bon Jovi so great at what they do.
Random Song: New Year’s Day
Friday, May 7th, 2010Artist: U2
Album: War
I’m not a particularly big U2 fan. They’re the darlings of critics and serious music aficionados everywhere. But for some reason, I always found their music to be a tad inaccessible. (Most of the bands that I listen to don’t require frequent trips to Wikipedia to understand what the lyrics are about.) I always feel like there’s some deeper subtext that I’m just not getting when I listen to their stuff.
That being said, I do enjoy an occasional song of theirs, and ‘New Year’s Day’ is one of those songs. This particular song has always stood out to me for its beauty. Listening to this song is what led me to recognize the true amount of skill that goes into their work–and made me realize that in many ways, they do deserve a lot of the praise that they get.
What has especially struck me about this song is how well-balanced this song is. No one part of the mix is allowed to overwhelm anything else. The bass and drums are the driving force here–but Bono’s voice manages to shine like a jewel. In a song with this sort of structure, it can be easy to let the bass overwhelm all else–but nothing ever gets lost here.
Perhaps some of that balance can be put down to good production, but I think a lot of it has to do with the skill with which the song was composed.