When it comes toclassic rockmusic, I’ve beenan enthusiast of the genre for many years. Growing up, I was well-educated in the melodic arts, such as some of themost underrated, must-listen classic rock albums of the ’70s and ’80s, as well as the musicians of the “classic” era who left their bands behindin favor of starting an ultimately successful solo career. Whether it was through radio airplay or the work of CDs, vinyl, and cassettes, my personal music library has long included a classic rock wing of a significantly large and ornate size.
Whilewe can’t exactly replicate the legacy of classic rockand expand upon it here in the modern era, I have long known that the genre has never lacked for additional past surprises (you just have to dig up and discover them). That’s how I’ve been able to find (more and lesser known) works from some of classic rock’s most renowned creators that have becomepart of my absolutely essential listening list. Songs that would dim the lightbulb of the medium if they didn’t exist, ranging from popular singles to critically overlooked tracks.
1The Beatles, Two Of Us (Let It Be, 1970)
A Song To Powerful Lasting Friendship
What I’ve always loved about The Beatles on the song “Two of Us"is how carefree the track sounds. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to his storied songwriting tandem with John Lennon, “Two of Us” was released on 1970’sLet It Be(with a more tightened version put out on 2003’s superiorLet It Be… Nakedproject). Despite the band’s tenure winding down at this point and often being consumed by problems/disagreements toward the end, it doesn’t feel like it on “Two of Us.”
Originally conceivedby McCartney about travels alongside then-girlfriend Linda Eastman, the lyrics of “Two of Us” frame with even greater feeling the friendship between McCartney and Lennon. The line, “you and I have memories, longer than the road that stretches out ahead,” has an emotional undercurrent beneath a cheery surface that calls to mind the duo’s early days playing skiffle and rock and roll. The Beatles had their share of acrimonious moments as their split loomed, but to me, “Two of Us” is Lennon, McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr in harmony together, which is what made The Beatles special.
2Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now (Jazz, 1978)
An Excitable Ode To Joy
If it’s one thing that British rock band Queen specialized in with every fiber of their being, it was pumped-up classic rock sounds that hit the listener with the strength of a hundred thunder and lightning storms. “Don’t Stop Me Now” is my personal favorite choice from that category, originating with a triumphant roar on the group’s 1978 albumJazz. The songinitially lulls you to sleep with an opening piano medley that feels like a ballad, until it takes a sharp left turn.
Showcasing vocalist Freddie Mercury at his peak skill (with plenty of room for fellow Queen members Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon), Mercury quite literally wrote “Don’t Stop Me Now"as a showcase of how the band felt they were letting loose and having a good time making their best work. I feel like that approach was made with razor-sharp accuracy here, as I always have a livewire experience of excitement when this song comes on. “Don’t Stop Me Now” feels like a movie montage’s worth of fun, and it’s impossible not to get swept up by it.
3Creedence Clearwater Revival, Who’ll Stop The Rain (Cosmo’s Factory, 1970)
Meaning For A Generation’s Feeling
Creedence Clearwater Revival has such an ageless quality wrapped into the roots of their sound. Songs like “Who’ll Stop the Rain” clearly belong to their classic rock-tinged era (in this case the ’70s), but also don’t feel unnatural or out of sequence from the realm of the modern perspective. Despite the lyricsthat allegedly protest the then-ongoing Vietnam War, as well as mentioning the crowds at the 1969 Woodstock Festival on “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” the track is not direct enough on either subject to feel dated.
Instead, “Who’ll Stop the Rain” has a general folk-rock commentary buoyed by frontman John Fogerty’s trademark rasp that feels like an overall weariness overlooking the trials and worries of humanity.The troubles of the present world sadly still relatetoand reflect the uncertainties of the past generations, and that’s one of the ways in which I feel like the work of Creedence Clearwater Revival continues to strike so close to home with such relevancy.
A Cover Song’s Heavenly Swell
I’ve long had a loving fixation with bands that know how to vocally harmonize at a high level (talents both past and present). The Eagles have done this quite well for many years, though their best song with harmonies, in my opinion, is “Seven Bridges Road.” The track from 1980’sEagles Liveconcert LPis a cover of a Steve Young song from 1969(something I wasn’t aware of for a long time), rearranged to fit the Eagles' unique tone.
The result embraces Young’s lyrical homage to a favorite place of his youth with a mixture of country-folk and bluegrass music,dancing between unadorned harmony sections and an upbeat acoustic guitar stroll. The vocal work is so clean and so smooth, and for a classic rock group like the Eagles that has carved out so much notoriety through full-band arrangements, it might just be in the quiet of “Seven Bridges Road” where they do their most remarkable (and replayable) work.
5The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Foxey Lady (Are You Experienced, 1967)
A Blues-Fuzzed Rock Out Attack
“Foxey Lady” was released by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 debut albumAre You Experienced(quite possibly about a girlfriend Hendrix had at the time). Listening to this song encompasses one of the many tracks that feel on a next-level plane of exhilaration when beginning to explore Hendrix’s body of work. I find it amazing that the singer and guitarist had to initially move his music career to England due to a lack of success after seeing what he’d become, but perhaps that was just meant to be.
Because of that move, Hendrix not only came back to the States even better, he got to have a coming-out party where his newly-shining star was melting the faces off of the unsuspecting and the uninitiated. With “Foxey Lady,” Hendrix has swagger and feels like his every blues-psych-rocking moveis not only firmly in control, but is also easy for him. Especially when it came to his guitar skills, which to this day still look almost alien to me with their wild sense of accomplishing insanely talented maneuvers under total calm.
6Fleetwood Mac, The Chain (Rumours, 1977)
The Full Band Power Statement
When it comes to Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 breakthrough smash hit albumRumours, picking a favorite or top track from it is nearly impossible, given how flawless an LP it is. But if a selection has to be made, I’d certainly make the argument for the choice to be the rocking sledgehammer known as “The Chain.” One of the few songs from the group’s catalogto have a writing credit for each member, “The Chain” was made up of a lot of different elements fused into a single track that thrives from all of them.
There’s enjoyment to be found in singer Stevie Nicks' lyrics, the guitar-plucking hybrid playing skills of Lindsey Buckingham, that infamously heavy bass line drop from John McVie, and the group’s overall singing/harmonizing as one unit. Fleetwood Mac may have been goingthrough significant levels of unrest behind the scenes when makingRumours, but they certainly knew how to make high-strung tension into some of the best classic rock art has ever seen.
7Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Against The Wind (Against The Wind, 1980)
When it comes tothe strength and profound nature of blue-collar Smalltown, USA-type of living in songs, I’ve long felt like Bob Seger has deserved more appreciation for his contributions. He’s certainly gained notoriety over the years of his career for tracks like “Against the Wind,” but I feel like he should be nearer to the conversation when it comes to the likes of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp. Seger might be closer to Mellencamp in his knack for slower country-rock-leaning balladry, but regardless, Seger matches up well with either talent.
“Against the Wind” is part of that pure storytelling in classic rock I happen to love, with a gentle pace that sucks you in only to break your heart with a lyrical metaphor ofsurviving the trials and challenges that come on the way to growing old. It takes a certain artist like Seger who (like Mellencamp or Springsteen) can not only explain and impart the wisdom of a tale, but can fill it with true emotion for the situation. Seger makes “Against the Wind” feel lived-in, and opens that door of the house for others to dwell within the song as well.
8Heart, Barracuda (Little Queen, 1977)
An Anthem Of Righteous Anger
Ann and Nancy Wilson of the band Heart have long had a knack for explosive, weighty, smoking-tires-on-the-highway rock that’s incorporated blues as well as heavy metal-verging/harder tones. The sisters are a perfect match, with Ann’s spiraling tower of a voice matched with equal ferocity by Nancy’s chugging, shrieking, horsepower guitar-working peaks. That heat is felt at full blast on “Barracuda,” a song written and devisedafter Heart’s initial record label made up an incestuous relationship between the two sisters.
Outraged by the fake story, the Wilsons wrote “Barracuda” as a response, which not only depicted their anger at their (soon-to-be former) record label but alsothe problems they’d had to deal with in the music industry as a whole. I love the feeling of how empowered “Barracuda” is and how unafraid the song is at calling out the adversities that Heart was facing, especially led by women in a male-dominated industry.
A Soft Rock Songwriting Sheen Of Beauty
Throughout his substantial career, Elton John has long had a knack for writing piano-based ballads that topped the charts (and tugged at heartstrings while doing so). “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” always felt to me like it was from the more sorely underrated side of that category for John; the track was written by his songwriting partner Bernie Taupinafter hearing a gun go off outside the window of his New York City hotel room.
That experience feels echoed by a song that lyrically lives inthe beautiful majesty of a city, the unpredictability that dwells within it, and the loneliness between those two feelings. Accentuated by John’s piano and a lilting mandolin, there’s an equal sense of uplift as there is an emotional sadness when it comes to “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters.” It’s a timeless ballad that hasn’t lost meaning or depth since it first hit the world in 1972.
10Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, Taken At All (Crosby Stills & Nash Box Set, 1991)
An Overlooked And Underrated Spare Track
Reportedly conceived for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s1976 reunion record that never got off the ground, “Taken At All” first found my attention when it was placed on the 2009 soundtrack for the George Clooney filmUp in the Air. The song has had a few other iterations and arrangements as well (including on a 1991 Crosby, Stills, & Nash box set), but no take has ever quite surpassed this one, in my opinion.
Accented by the taps and strums of acoustic guitar, it’s hard to believe “Taken At All” never found a bigger light with how goodthe song structure and harmonies are in this format. Mixed together with lyrics that encompass the ache and loneliness of the road behind and the unknown path ahead, “Taken At All” is a gem of some peak, overlooked CSNY that serves as a reminder of their legendaryclassic rockstatus.
