Top Ten Of The Year-Beginning Year Nine

In 2003, I got the bright idea of starting my very own blog and put 10 songs of note of what I listen to every week. It began in the old MSN Groups under Yardbird's Roost, then branched out to My Space for four years and then I moved it over here to Blogspot since My Space went down the shitter.

Basically, I have another site over at Multiply from time to time I'll add something to there but the membership there is pretty low, just like it is over here. I'm sure I could have been a contender and put together the best damn website of music out there but I keep it low key and made a note that it's here and kept going from the most loyal of fans, namely my GF and those who added the link to their site. The rules are simple here, I used to do news tidbits, add a observation here, more comments there and then add 10 songs that have been on my player or what I heard on the radio or at the local restaurant. It's usually ten songs that I like, although sometimes I will put a song I detest and bash it. For the most part 90 percent of what I choose are actually album cuts or forgotten songs that radio don't play but sometimes I will had a Listen To The Music or Takin Care Of Business if I did play it. Comments are welcome although they are monitored for content. Name calling gets no consideration. I don't mind a good discussion and sometimes we do get those from time to time.

I wish I could quit my shitty job and open up my own music store/radio station but since those are about as certain and stable as a Jessica Simpson relationship, it's best that I continue with just doing the top ten with comment. And my favorite type of music comes from the golden age of rock and roll to the end of the shoegazer movement, which is 1954 to about 1998 before Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit came along and killed the music momentum once and for all. But I do add plenty of stuff from the lost decade (the 2000's) and new music but also stuff before 1954. Most of it is rock and roll but I do challenge the faithful by throwing in a blues number or country or jazz. I also tend to favor the forgotten artist or the flavor of the month back in the mid 90s before Limp Bizkit or American Idol. If I can get people to seek out the obscure on their own then my job is done.

This is a hobby and it's a attempt to keep the good music alive. Now let's see what 10 goodies we got in the bag for y'all.

1. I Can Hear You Calling-3 Dog Night 1970 When my GF was in town last week she asked if I was continue to do the top ten and I kinda shrugged and said yeah I'm sure it will continue. After all it's a hard habit to break so she offered a couple song suggestions and one of them was Joy To The World, the most overplayed 3 Dog Night song out there. Used to like it but after 100,000 plays and forty years later I tend to get sick of it mighty easy. However I did like the B side to that song which is this little boogie number to which KCRG would play a couple times between the 10 and 11 oclock hour before signing off for the night, before they went 24 hours. 3 Dog Night was famous for picking great songs from other bands and singer songwriters of note (Free, Spooky Tooth, Hoyt Axton, Nilsson). This song was originally done by Bush, a band featuring Roy Kenner, Dominic Troiano and the rhythm section of Pakash John and Whitey Glen who backed Lou Reed on the Rock And Roll Animal album. Choice quality stuff if you can find the original version. But 3 Dog Night does a nice job on this song. Roy Kenner went on to The James Gang and later The Law.

2. BOOGALOO-Diplomats Of Solid Sound 2010 Long time ago they were part of the Bend Scepters and Dangtrippers of the late 80s and early 90s before changing their name and their sound to offer a more Booker T and The MG's instrumental soul sound. On their last album they decided to add some female vocals and they got Sarah Cram from The Derelicts (a rockabilly band) to do this. Kinda reminds me of what would have happened if LaBelle would have sang in from of Booker T and Company.

3. Gonna Be Some Changes Made-Bruce Hornsby 2004 More of a cult artist now then when he was hitting the airwaves with The Way It Is, Hornsby has gone more into a jazzier side of things the last decade and while he played around trying for a feeble attempt to hit the charts, he did more experimenting on Hot House and on Halycon Days which was a flop for Columbia. Couldn't decide if he wanted to be Leon Russell or Elton John so he did a bit of both and then became Randy Newman Jr. on later tracks. Halycon Days is long album and hard to get through if you're not a big Bruce fan. Did a much better album a couple years later with Ricky Scaggs.

4. The Mighty Quinn-Manfred Mann 1967 As I get older I can't remember what I did the week before the prior but back in my growing up years, I always remember what was playing on the radio and this was one of those songs that when I first heard it, I was floored by the opening flute solo. I think this did better than Do Wah Diddy Diddy. Did find this on a forty five in the 3 for a dollar bins at Woolworth's in Fort Dodge in 68. Or maybe Arlan's at Cedar Rapids a couple years later, kinda fuzzy on that. BTW, my GF requested this number.

5. Yo Canto-Los Lobos 2010 Hard to say what the big comeback of last year was, but I do know that I never did buy into the Justin Bieber phenomenon that the media shoved down our throat. Or Twitter for that matter but however Los Lobos made their best album last year with Tin Can Trust. I also come to find out that I do like the spanish numbers that Cesar Rojas adds while giving David Hildago some rest. Great song to eat a burrito buy.

6. Everyone's Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine-Stealer's Wheel 1973 Sad to report that Gerry Rafferty, the leader of this band died yesterday at age 63. This was the follow up to Stuck In The Middle With You but the problem was this song sounded to same so they redid a more rocking version for the LP. I perfer the single version myself but your opinion may vary.

7. Time Changes Everything-Bob Wills with Tommy Duncan 1963 One of many many versions recorded for various labels but my guess this came out around the time Wills was recording for Liberty Records. You're guaranteed quality when Wills lets out his famous howls and calls and scatting and he does this a plenty. Course his best recording do feature Duncan doing the lead vocals but then again your opinion may vary on that. This was a part of the 2 Record Hall Of Fame Series that United Aritsts put out in 1973 but later Steve Hoffman would remaster and reissue this via S & P Records in the early 2000's. Found this as a cutout at Half Priced Books. Go figure.

8. I Don't Know What You Got But It's Got Me-Little Richard 1965 Mr. Penniman didn't do much for a while after denouncing rock and roll in 57, he became a minister and preached against the evils of rock and roll before getting the rock and rolls again and recorded for Vee Jay which were basically recorded versions of his earlier hits but they did pack a wallop of rock and soul. However, he did managed to do this Don Covey penned song to which Covey sang backup vocals and one James Marshall Hendrix played guitar on this. I actually had the forty five to this to which side one would fade out and side two came on with the vocals faded out becoming together again. Perhaps my favorite Little Richard song of all time. You can find this on the new Jimi Hendrix box set or the deleted Motown CD of Vee Jay's Greatest Hits. Either way you need this.

9. Bring It To Light-The Townedgers 2001 My GF thinks I should play more TE's. Perhaps she's right.

10. Hope-Mason Profit 1971 Best known for Two Hangmen, this actually got some airplay on AM radio and was a sizeable hit for Mason Profit. Came out on Ampex Records which was actually a company that specializes in making the cutting edge technology at that time called 8 Track Tapes! Later moved on to Warner Brothers after Ampex went belly up. Guess the future wasn't to be with the damned 8 Tracks which would not last very long. Thank God for Cd's eh?

And finally we say a fond farewell to Mick Karn of Japan fame who lost his battle with cancer at age 52. One of the best fretless bass players out there. And Anne Francis, that sexy woman who played Honey West and starred with Leslie Neilsen on Forbidden Planet in the late 50s also has departed from this world. She was 80. Both will be missed.