Monday, February 11, 2008

My Rock 'N' Roll Favorites - the 'E's and 'F's


Eagles, The: "Life In the Fast Lane" - I sort of define the Eagles' career in four stages. There was the pre-Joe Walsh era, during which I really didn't like them (aside from "One of These Nights"), as they tended to be too "country" for me. Then there was the pre-Tim Schmitt era, which produced Hotel California and "Life In the Fast Lane," still my favorite song of theirs. Then came the pre-breakup era, during which they recorded The Long Run, which contains one of my favorite slow songs ever, "I Can't Tell You Why." Finally, there's the reunion era, about which I can't get very excited.
Earth, Wind & Fire: "That's the Way of the World" - I don't know why I'm including EW&F in this article, since they certainly are more R&B than rock 'n' roll; however, I had to get a plug in for this song, which reminds me now of good times in the late 70s. Several years ago I was wandering around downtown Las Vegas by myself one day, and the "Fremont Street Experience" PA system happened to play this song; I was in a reflective mood anyway, but at that point I lost it completely.
Electric Light Orchestra: "Don't Bring Me Down" - The whole "rock orchestra" thing never worked as far as I was concerned, but "Don't Bring Me Down" was the rocking-est of their tunes and therefore my favorite.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: "From the Beginning" - I own a copy of the Ramones documentary End of the Century, and I think it's funny how it uses ELP as the prime example of mid-70s onanistic rock excess. I tend to agree -- ELP was highly over-rated and seemed to believe the hype -- but the understated "From the Beginning" is still a nice number.
Eurythmics, The
: "Would I Lie to You?" - It has guitar on it...end of story.

Fleetwood Mac: "Hypnotized" - Thirty years ago, I never would have imagined picking a Bob Welch tune as my favorite Mac song; at that point in time, I would have picked either "Tell Me All the Things You Do" (the Danny Kirwan song from Kiln House, which a local Albuquerque band named Traveller did a great version of -- much better than the original) or "You Make Loving Fun" (the Chris McVie number from Rumours). Time puts things in perspective, however, and actually my two favorite Mac songs now are Welch's, the other being "Bright Fire" from the Penguin album.
Flock of Seagulls, A: "I Ran" - This band may be the best proof of the vacuousness of early-80s New Wave music, but at least "I Ran" made a good dance number.
Fogelberg, Dan: "Phoenix" - When I was a missionary in Chile, the girlfriend of one of my companions sent him the Phoenix album on cassette (which also included "Longer," a song that Chilean radio played into oblivion). I can't say it made me a life-long Fogelberg fan, but I have "Phoenix" on my iPod and listen to it once in a while.
Foo Fighters, The: "End Over End" - My daughter Devery turned me on to this song, as it reminded her of me and the type of music I like to listen to and play on my guitar. It's a great "running" song -- when I'm on the treadmill and my "gym" iPod Shuffle happens to play it, I never skip to the next song. (I also like "I'll Stick Around," which I think was the Foo Fighters' first single.)
Foreigner: "Feels Like the First Time" - Foreigner should now be known (and loathed) primarily for its terrible lyrics (cf. "Jukebox Hero," "Hot Blooded," "Urgent"). However, at least "Feels Like the First Time" and "Waiting for a Girl Like You" bring back memories of good times for me in 1978 and 1983, respectively.
Frampton, Peter: "Do You Feel Like We Do?" - I'll admit I owned Frampton Comes Alive when it was a big hit in 1976. Peter Frampton is actually a fine musician, someone I'd be willing to pay to see in concert (and there aren't many people who fit that definition these days); however, I think less of his songwriting and singing voice now than I once did.
Free: "Oh I Wept" - Most people know Free these days for "All Right Now," which is a great song; however, "Oh I Wept," also off their Fire and Water album, holds the most haunting memories for me.