I don’t believe in top 10 lists, generally. If a song or movie or book is great, you should hear it or see it or read it, regardless of whether or not it is anyone’s top 10 list.
Still, it is useful sometimes to have a list of “essentials”. These are works of art that almost certainly will prove rewarding, if you haven’t yet experienced them. You could argue all day and all night about whether “Citizen Kane” is #1 or #10 on your list of all-time great movies, but few people would dispute that it is very worth seeing.
So granted that valuations and rankings have very limited value, they do have that one particular virtue.
A few years ago, in 1992, the London Free Press published a list of the top 1,000 popular songs of the rock era. These songs were chose by a bunch of DJ’s, I believe, and reflect some bizarre criteria. What on earth is Bryan Adams doing anywhere near the top 100? And Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway” at #12? Weird!
Here’s my own list. I don’t put much significance in actual position. Do you think I care if “Like a Rolling Stone” should be first, or “Satisfaction”? The point is that both of them are great songs.
One thing I do care about: you will notice that not a single twisted, pompous, over-blown, mannerist “magnum opus”-- like “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” or “Hotel California” or even “Stairway to Heaven” is on my list. Sure, these songs do have their virtues, and I can enjoy them once in a while. But great artists are economical with their material. Sometimes the greatest talent is that of knowing what to leave out. That’s the difference between the Beatles’ White Album-- a disaster in many respects-- and Abbey Road, a masterpiece. That’s difference between the brilliant Blonde on Blonde and the abysmal Self Portrait, both by Bob Dylan.
There’s great music in both, somewhere, but only one of each pair is a great album.
|
1. |
I Fought the Law |
Bobby Fuller
Four |
The greatest
most complete compact piece of music ever created.
The Clash’s version is pretty impressive too, but Bobby
Fuller’s lean and mean Fender strat takes the cake. |
|
2. |
Like a Rolling Stone |
Bob Dylan |
Lyrically and
musically, a masterpiece of it’s time-- a vitriolic indictment of
everything superficial and phony and materialistic about our
society. |
|
3. |
Suzanne |
Leonard Cohen |
A beautiful,
moody, and mystical tribute to the essence of feminine grace. |
|
4. |
(I can get no) Satisfaction |
Rolling Stones |
The greatest
riff in rock’n’roll. |
|
5. |
Good Vibrations |
Beach Boys |
I am not a fan
of Brian Wilson and company, but there is more invention and musical
imagination in these three minutes than there are blondes in Malibu. |
|
6. |
Eleanor Rigby |
Beatles |
Inspired by Bob
Dylan, the Beatles raised their music to a new level with the albums
Rubber Soul and Revolver. |
|
7. |
Sultans of Swing |
Dire Straits |
Mark
Knopfler’s amazing lead guitar punctuates this crisp, driving
paean to musician’s musicians. |
|
8. |
All Along the Watchtower |
Bob Dylan |
Or Jimi Hendrix.
Both versions are excellent, but Dylan’s is more compact
and efficient. |
|
9. |
Anchorage |
Michelle Shocked |
Weirdly
evocative punk-country tune that never ceases to tickle. |
|
10. |
Runaway |
Del Shannon |
During the lean
years between Elvis and the British Invasion, this was one of the
few marvels. |
|
|
Honorable Mentions |
|
|
|
11. |
Sweet Jane |
Lou Reed |
|
|
12. |
Twist and Shout |
Beatles |
|
|
13. |
Reelin’ in the Years |
Steely Dan |
|
|
14. |
Layla |
Derek and the
Dominos |
|
|
15. |
Won’t Get Fooled Again |
Who |
|
|
16. |
Go Your Own Way |
Fleetwood Mac |
|
|
17. |
Thunder Road |
Bruce
Springsteen |
|
|
18. |
London Calling |
Clash |
|
|
19. |
Norwegian Wood |
Beatles |
|
|
20. |
Hallelujah |
Leonard Cohen |
|
|
21. |
Psycho Killer |
Talking Heads |
|
|
22. |
Money |
Pink Floyd |
|
|
23. |
Me Myself I |
Joan Armatrading |
|
|
24. |
Diamonds are a
Girl’s Best Friend |
T-Bone Burnett |
|
|
25. |
Heart of Gold |
Neil Young |
|
|
26. |
Stage Fright |
The Band |
|
|
27. |
Down by the River |
Neil Young |
|
|
28. |
Rip in Heaven |
Til Tuesday |
|
|
29. |
Don’t Fear the Reaper |
Blue Oyster Cult |
One of the most
chilling songs ever recorded. |
|
30. |
Frederick |
Patti Smith |
|
|
31. |
Lucy |
Al Stewart |
|
|
32. |
Joey |
Concrete Blonde |
Hmmm.
Maybe. |
|
33. |
Criminal Under My Own Hat |
T-Bone Burnett |
|
|
34. |
Tokyo |
Bruce Cockburn |
|
|
35. |
This Wheel’s on Fire |
Band |
|
Whenever I do this sort of thing, I almost unconsciously start thinking, well, gotta have a woman in there, and a black, and, geez, you can’t leave out this band or that band or whatever. That’s not the right way to choose your favourite albums of all time. So I tried to simply stick to the best 40 minutes of music, period. I have also excluded collections and greatest hits albums. If I did include them, Dylan’s Greatest Hits Volume II would be the winner, hands down.
|
1. |
Highway 61 Revisited |
Bob Dylan |
|
2. |
Rubber Soul |
Beatles |
|
3. |
Brothers in Arms |
Dire Straits |
|
4. |
New Skin for the Old Ceremony |
Leonard Cohen |
|
5. |
Harvest |
Neil Young |
|
6. |
Born to Run |
Bruce
Springsteen |
|
7. |
Exile on Main Street |
Rolling Stones |
|
8. |
Rumours |
Fleetwood Mac |
|
9. |
Déjà vu |
Crosby, Stills,
Nash, & Young |
|
10. |
Music From the Big Pink |
Band |
Honorable
Mentions:
|
11. |
Songs of Leonard Cohen |
Leonard Cohen |
|
12. |
Bookends |
Simon and
Garfunkel |
|
13. |
After the Gold Rush |
Neil Young |
|
14. |
Blood on the Tracks |
Bob Dylan |
|
15. |
Blonde on Blonde |
Bob Dylan |
|
16. |
Aja |
Steely Dan |
|
17. |
Ghosts that Haunt Me |
Crash Test
Dummies |
|
18. |
Trinity Sessions |
Cowboy Junkies |
|
19. |
Songs of Love and Hate |
Leonard Cohen |
|
20. |
Everything’s Different Now |
Til Tuesday
(Aimee Mann) |
Disagree? So do I. Lists are stupid. But they get you thinking about great songs and about what makes a song great.
