Top Ten Of The Week-I've Got Your Classic Rock Right Here

Basically, it's been a very quiet week here at R Smith's House Of Hits due to the annual allergy flu and lack of ambition to go out to seek out new music so this will have to do.

1. Green Grass & High Tides-The Outlaws 1975 Funny how classic rock radio plays the hell out of Free Bird but avoids this FM underground classic. I mean this is one of the greatest mullet rock songs ever. Even Beaker Street used to play this alot back in the mid 70s although I haven't seen Clyde Clifford played it recently judging from reading what songs he did play. I know growing up, that Green Grass would be the perfect song to end my busy day. In fact I played this to conclude my sunday night showcase. Yeah I'm still trying to convince one of these web radio stations to take a chance on my playlist but no takers. I'm on dialup anyway so nevermind.

2. You Don't Know What You Mean To Me-Wet Willie 1979 From their disco album Which One's Willie? Don't know what happened to them but Lennie Penze didn't do them any favors by going for a more disco sound. Most of side two sucks but the last song, which is this Sam & Dave cover actually is more in tune of what Wet Willie does best. Too bad Epic didn't let them go in that direction. Found the album for a dollar at Mad City Music Exchange in my Madison bargain hunt trip of a couple weeks ago.

3. Phamton Writer-Gary Wright 1977 Yeah I'm stuck in the 70s this week kids. Gary had a major hit with Dream Weaver and then Love Is Alive but this single bombed big time on the charts to the point that Warner Brothers didn't even include this song on a Gary Wright best of. Had to wait till the cheapo cheapo label Flashback put this on the Dream Weaver and other hits compliation. I love this song, the call and response of the chorus. From Light Of Smiles, to which made a beeline to the cutouts in record time.

4. Please Don't Touch-The Pirates 1977 Punk rock was the rage but pub rock was for the old farts at that time. Mick Green reformed The Pirates and added the raging Frank Farley on drums and Johnny Spence on bass and vocals and this band was dynamite on stage, they blew everybody away. Originally a 1960 something UK hit with original singer Johnny Kidd, which was more rockabilly pop. By 1977, Mick Green was teaching the punks a thing or two on how to play the guitar, which influnced Wilko Johnson of Dr. Feelgood fame. The reformed Pirates made two loud and crashing albums for Warner Brothers which sold about 28 copies. Produced by the late, great Vic Maile.

5. Personality Crisis-New York Dolls 1973 Glam punks or just plain boozed out drug addicts? The original NY Dolls was one crazyassed band with Johnny Thunders bashing those guitar riffs to David Johansen's vocals. Critics loved them, the buying public ignored them and if anybody did buy their albums they became punk rockers. Go figure. Took me about 30 plus years to warm up to them and still have reservations about their music, perferring the later day Dolls which lasted twice longer than the originals although Johansen and Sylvian Sylvian are the only two original members still alive.

6. Mercury Blues-Steve Miller Band 1966 This from a forgotten soundtrack from the 60s this is more hippy dippy blues than the version you're more familar with, which is off Fly Like An Eagle. Boz Scaggs does the vocals on this hard rocker. You can find this version on History Of Texas Music Volume 3, which came out on Rhino and now is out of print. Happy hunting.

7. Let Her Dance-Bobby Fuller Four 1965 Another track from History Of Texas Music Volume 3, Bobby Fuller remains one of the most tragic rock and roll artists ever. The guy never made a bad album and his singles are the stuff of legend to wear 45s out of. I think Marshall Crenshaw did a cover of this 20 years later but you simply can't beat the original.

8. Time Was-Wishbone Ash 1972 From Argus. Wishbone Ash never sold that many copies of albums but those who managed to listen to their early 70s LPs became big fans of their music and Beaker Street plays this every other month. Even Bob Lefsetz made a comment that Blowin Free is a must download track. Hell with that Bob, just download the whole Argus album. What to confuse a classic rock station? Request for some Ash. ;)

9. Caroline-Jefferson Starship 1974 Well Jefferson Airplane was history when Paul Kantner decided to rename it Jefferson Starship and try for a more spaced out rock but yet with an eye on the top forty charts to which they would score big with Miracles. Surprise was that Marty Balin returned to the band and cowrote this little boogie number with Kantner, a rare cowrite together. This got played on some of the more underground FM stations at the time. Wheras The Airplane was more folkish with Balin, with the Starship they were more mainstream rock and roll with a corporate edge although not to be confused with We Built This City to which by then Balin and Kantner were out of the picture. GD you Mickey Thomas. Later Balin and Kantner would do a project known as KBC Band with Jack Cassidy back on bass but nobody cared much to buy that album either.

10. Ripples-Genesis 1976 To conclude our classic rock edition of the Top Ten, we pick an obscure track from Trick Of A Tail and one of the highlights of the Genesis Platinum Collection, that mammoth 3 CD box set that I got for 12 bucks at FYE last month and finally getting around to hear the whole thing. I think they were still doing the progressive rock thing but with Peter Gabriel out of the way, it was still Steve Hackett with Phil, Tony and Mike moving on. Hackett would leave after the next album. But Trick Of The Tail actually sold a lot more albums than anything that Gabriel did (although I never did hear any Genesis music in the mid 70s prior to Follow You, Follow Me). Ripples seems to be a bit more accessible but it's still prog rock and still doesn't show much in terms of the big hits that was forthcoming from Collins and company. I still find Genesis before the hits a acquired taste at best and have to be in a certain type of mood to listen to such prog rock. But in the final analysis, I think I'd rather much party with Phil Collins more than Peter Gabriel who seems to be a stuck in the mud type of fellow. Your opinion may vary.