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| King Rollo's Top 1000 Songs Of All Time, Completed |
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 25th November 2018, 08:17 PM
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#1301
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 BuzzJack Platinum Member
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27. Awaken - Yes (1977)
Like the time I ran away Turned around and you were standing close to me A sixteen minute song from Yes' number 1 album 'Going For The One'. It's a prog rock masterpiece with all five members of the band making great contributions. Jon Anderson has said it's the best song the group recorded. The part from 10.30 to 13.30 with Jon being backed by a choir of Swiss female singers is heavenly. The track was recorded in Montreux with Rick Wakeman's organ parts played at a church in nearby Vevey. |
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25th November 2018, 08:31 PM
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#1302
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 Say that hiss with your chest, and...
Joined: 24 May 2016
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Two Tribes is fantastic, definitely one of my favourite tracks of the 80s. The production is very energetic and dancey for the time and and very dramatic too.
Awaken I have heard before on one of my parents' CDs and my favourite bit is from 1:33 to 4:43 which is the catchiest bit of the song of course, I love the Far Eastern sounding guitar and the dramatic sounding vocal in it! |
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25th November 2018, 08:41 PM
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#1303
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
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Indeed,Steve Howe's guitar parts on that song are very good.
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26th November 2018, 07:24 PM
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#1304
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
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26. In The Backseat - Arcade Fire (2004)
My family tree's Losing all its leaves The ninth and final song on my chart by Arcade Fire. Of those nine,two of the top three are sung by their occasional lead singer,Regine Chassagne. Maybe she she should sing more of their songs,she sings this one beautifully and with great emotion which is understandable considering it's about her mother who died in a car crash in 1999. I like the lyrics about sitting in the backseat of your parents' car,not having to say anything,looking out of the window or falling asleep. This peaceful bliss is shattered when her mother dies and taking more responsibilty is compared to having to learn to drive. The lovely piano chords,strings,brass and guitars all add to the narrative. |
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27th November 2018, 09:29 PM
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#1305
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,155 User: 23,961
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25. Shangri-La - Electric Light Orchestra (1976)
My Shangri-La has gone away Faded like the Beatles on Hey Jude A wonderful ballad from the 'A New World Record' album. The outro from 3.40 to the end of the song is truly stunning with Jeff Lynne's echoed vocal,the opera singer,the choir,Bev Bevan's heavy drum sound and the strings all coming together perfectly. Lyrically,this is one of many of Jeff's "rain" songs. |
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28th November 2018, 07:34 PM
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#1306
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
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24. Vienna - Ultravox (1980)
Haunting notes,pizzicato strings The rhythm is calling Alone in the night as the daylight brings A cool empty silence My favourite Ultravox song turns out to be the one you might have expected. It was famously kept off the top of the chart in 1981 for three weeks by the dreadful novelty song 'Shaddap You Face' by Joe Dolce and also for the first week by John Lennon's 'Woman' but the blame for this not reaching number 1 should really go to Chrysalis Records who sat on it for more than six months. The 'Vienna' album came out in July 1980 but the record company didn't want to release it as a single as they considered it to be too slow and long. They eventually gave in to the band's wishes but still refused to pay for the video which was financed by Ultravox themselves. It was given an honorary number 1 award by the OCC in 2012 after finishing top of a BBC poll to find Britain's favourite number 2 single. The six repeated notes at the start are iconic and this may be filed under synthpop but it's the piano and violin that really give the song its memorable sound. This post has been edited by King Rollo: 29th November 2018, 10:01 PM |
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28th November 2018, 09:26 PM
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#1307
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 🔥🚀🔥
Joined: 30 August 2010
Posts: 74,569 User: 11,746
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Great pick, one of the best 80s songs!
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29th November 2018, 10:00 PM
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#1308
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
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23. Gaza - Marillion (2012)
But any way you look at this Whichever point of view For us to have to live like this It just ain't right The opening track from 'Sounds That Can't Be Made',this 17 minute epic is as political as Marillion have got. H spoke to people on both sides of the dispute before writing the lyrics and he doesn't take sides. The lyrics are from the perspective of a child growing up in Gaza. Steve Rothery's aggressive guitar sounds in the first few minutes of the track represent rocket attacks and the quieter section that follows is the aftermath. The whole thing is very cinematic and took a long time for the group to put together. |
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30th November 2018, 07:36 PM
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#1309
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
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22. Kuiama - Electric Light Orchestra (1973)
Kuia please believe me,I just couldn't help myself I wanted to run but they gave me a gun And they told me the duty I owed to my fatherland I made my stand From ELO's second album,this is easily the longest song they recorded at eleven and a half minutes long. Jeff Lynne's lyrics have never been particularly deep,he normally writes the music first and then adds whatever words come into his head at the last minute. However,for this song he comes up with a story of Kuiama,a girl whose parents are both killed in the Vietnam War. An American soldier adopts her and takes her back with him to America. It's only when she is settled there that he tells her that he was the one who shot both of her parents dead. The instrumental break from 4.20 to 8.30 contains possibly the best violin solo in any pop/rock song. |
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1st December 2018, 07:39 PM
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#1310
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
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Hi Rollo, getting close to finishing now!
Woman In Chains is a goodie, Can't Get It Out Of My Head went top 10 for me in 1975 for ELO, and 2 again in 1978 when it charted as part of the ELO EP, Strange Magic equally fab on it, Evil Woman genius, and also Ma ma ma Belle was on it (not quite int he same league) - the lead track on the radio was Can't Get It Out Of My Head though, so hooray it belatedly charted (but hasnt to date "sold" enough to make my top 850, doh!). So many 10CC and ELO tracks. I adore Twilight and was very pissed off when it peaked at 30, it was more the music scene shifting than ELO records declining in quality (it topped my chart)!. I'm Mandy Fly Me also topped my chart, I guess the airline advert quote that inspired it means nothing these days, so it might come over as a little odd, but it's gorgeous to me. Blue Order classic of course and in my listing too, along with 10CC and ELO, ditto Vienna, another classic. My first chart-topping singles from 10CC and ELO were both in 1972, ELO have had a popular re-appraisal after decades out of fashion (quite rightly) and it's overdue for 10CC! Two Tribes is also a long-running chart-topper in my listings, but John Miles fabulous Music isn't - oddly my fave track of his is High Fly, hugely under-rated that one. That leaves the jaw-droppingly heart-rending Chris Rea brilliance of Tell Me There's A Heaven, far and away his greatest work, give or take a Christmas classic that also underperformed until recently in streaming-world charts. Sadly Tell me... isn't in my lsiitngs, needs reissuing! Driving Home For Christmas is though, it passed the million mark last christmas after years of accumulated sales by virtue of being the only christmas classic that charts in the UK each year that still sounds fresh to me, makes me all gooey and optimistic. I melt. 
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1st December 2018, 07:57 PM
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#1311
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
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I was very pleased to see Jeff Lynne chose to perform 'Can't Get It Out Of My Head' when he did his comeback concert at Hyde Park a few years ago (shown on the BBC).
Good to see you also like 'Tell Me There's A Heaven'. It didn't do as well as I had hoped when I entered it into the BJSC 90s v 00s spin off. |
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1st December 2018, 08:06 PM
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#1312
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Say that hiss with your chest, and...
Joined: 24 May 2016
Posts: 18,460 User: 23,308
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Vienna is an excellent epic ballad. I like how Ultravox's next top 10 single after it 'All Stood Still' is completely different in style to it.
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1st December 2018, 08:09 PM
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#1313
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,825 User: 17,376
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QUOTE(King Wencesrollo @ Dec 1 2018, 07:57 PM)  I was very pleased to see Jeff Lynne chose to perform 'Can't Get It Out Of My Head' when he did his comeback concert at Hyde Park a few years ago (shown on the BBC). Good to see you also like 'Tell Me There's A Heaven'. It didn't do as well as I had hoped when I entered it into the BJSC 90s v 00s spin off. I have yet see ELO - though Ive seen a fab tribute ELO several times, oops! Tell Me There's A Heaven under-performed? Outrageous! I can see why some might find the lyrics a little bit disturbing on the face of it, but it's a message that will never stop being relevant as long as there are people. |
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1st December 2018, 08:28 PM
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#1314
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,155 User: 23,961
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21. We're Here - Guillemots (2006)
The world is our carpet now After the heavy war protest songs at 23 and 22,comes something much lighter and happier. It's just about enjoying the outdoors. I love the sweeping strings on this one. It only got to number 156 on the singles chart. It wasn't until the next single,'Made Up Lovesong No.43' that Guillemots started having top 40 hits. |
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2nd December 2018, 07:54 PM
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#1315
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,155 User: 23,961
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20. Innuendo - Queen (1991)
If there's a God or any kind of justice under the sky If there's a point,if there's a reason to live or die If there's an answer to the questions we feel bound to ask Show yourself,destroy our fears,release your mask I was surprised when this went straight in to the singles chart at number 1. Queen had not had a number 1 single since 1981 and the song is six and a half minutes long with quite a complex arrangement. There is a prog rock sound to it with a Spanish style section in the middle. Steve Howe from Yes who was friends with the band was visiting Montreux when they were recording it and ended up playing Spanish guitar. |
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3rd December 2018, 07:12 PM
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#1316
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,155 User: 23,961
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19. Mr Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra (1977)
Hey there Mr Blue We're so pleased to be with you Look around see what you do Everybody smiles at you ELO's best known song which has endured into the 21st Century,being used in many films and TV programmes. Jeff Lynne was inspired to write it after two weeks of dark,misty weather in Switzerland,giving him writer's block,was replaced by sunny weather. He wrote 'Mr Blue Sky' along with the rest of the 'Out Of The Blue' album in the next two weeks. It's the last of the four songs that make up the Concerto For A Rainy Day and all four of them are in my top 250. The track is at the end of side 3 of the double album which explains why there is a vocoder voice (keyboard player Richard Tandy) at the end saying "please turn me over". This is just a classic summer anthem,the outro from 3.40 onwards often doesn't get played on the radio but it's my favourite part of the song. The official ELO video also doesn't cover the entire thing so here is a Super Mario version instead. |
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3rd December 2018, 07:41 PM
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#1317
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Say that hiss with your chest, and...
Joined: 24 May 2016
Posts: 18,460 User: 23,308
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Innuendo is brilliant and epic, definitely one of Queen's best songs I think!
Mr Blue Sky is a great tune too! |
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4th December 2018, 07:09 PM
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#1318
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,155 User: 23,961
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18. Welcome To The Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1984)
Shooting stars never stop Even when they reach the top This is the full fourteen minute album track. A much shorter and remixed version was released as a single in 1985,reaching number 2. Philip Bailey and Phil Collins' 'Easy Lover' prevented Frankie Goes To Hollywood becoming the first act to get to number 1 with their first four singles. Other than the vocals,it's unlikely that the group made much of a contribution to this track with both Trevor Rabin and Steve Howe from Yes and producer Trevor Horn himself all credited as playing guitars on the album. I like the second half of the song in particular. |
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5th December 2018, 07:26 PM
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#1319
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,155 User: 23,961
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17. Lights - Archive (2006)
The hurt's relentless The hurt of emptiness The hurt of wanting The hurt of going on Archive have been such a great discovery for me since I read a review of their 2015 album in a newspaper. If I had not seen it,I would still be unaware of them as I have not seen them mentioned anywhere since then. This is the 11th and last song from them on my chart. It would have been more than that as I had only listened to 7 of their 11 albums when I finalised the chart. I have been adding one album to my collection about every three months and have just got round to listening to their most recent album. 'Lights' is a 19 minute epic which repeats the same six notes on the keyboards throughout most of the song but it never gets boring,I find the whole thing to be utterly mesmerising. The guitar noise and drums are added to the main hook with the lead vocal finally coming in after eight and a half minutes making this surely one of the longest intros to a song by anyone. |
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6th December 2018, 09:02 AM
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#1320
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Buy yourself a car, and a house in Devon
Joined: 6 May 2016
Posts: 23,892 User: 23,247
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I'm really sorry I've not been commenting as much!
I remember Routine from BJSC, that video really is unforgettable isn't it, so sad. No Cars Go is a great tune, another one that's taking me back a few years. In the Air Tonight is a classic as well, I know Phil is quite a 'marmite' artist but I do quite like him! Hey Boy Hey Girl was one of the first dance songs I was introduced to as a child, it's a simple but incredible song and holds a place in my heart. |
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