The Heart of Rock and Soul Poll Part 40 #1-25

We've reached the beginning, but this won't be the last of these polls. There's a 1998 postscript where Marsh lists another 101 worthy songs released after the book was originally published. Also, I'll probably do a semi-finals round of some kind for the winners & strong runners up for these polls.

to be honest I'm sick of most of these.

yeah they're all massive piles of shit

rip canon

That's not actually a bad choice for GOAT, actually.

my top 3 would be "johnny b goode", "what's going on" and "satisfaction"

Dylan

Voted for Elvis and then realized that out of all these songs, it probably gets played the least. Big Joe Turner would be close, though. Just an observation.

I'd go Dylan > Kingsmen > Elvis > Crystals I think. Don't really want to think about it.

actually all these songs are great, voted dock of the bay

There's a 1998 postscript where Marsh lists another 101 worthy songs released after the book was originally published.

Oh holy hell! Are you serious? How many BoDeans songs are on it?

And yeah, the ubiquity of a lot of the songs above makes them impossible to hear. They're so monumental (which doesn't imply anything necessarily good; landfills are monumental; so are the shelves of Harlequins at your local Salvation Army).

Anyhoo, "Everyday People."

Thanks to Marsh, though, I'll always hear the quiver in Ronnie Spector's voice on the "had" in "And if I had the chance..." from "Be My Baby."

"Only the Lonely" still gives me shivers whenever I play it, which isn't often (my least-played Orbison for no good reason), so that one.

Bob

"Nowhere to Run," though Darlene Love at #22 is so o_0 I almost had to vote for it.

I agree with Marsh on this one.

1. "Everyday People" (still find it very moving, believe it or not), 2. "Like a Rolling Stone," 3. "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," 4. "Nowhere to Run." A couple that I've never liked in the least: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "Respect."

Holy shit.

What I mean is: these songs: woah. The thought that normal fallible human beings wrote and recorded Heard It Through The Grapevine. Haven't wrapped my head around that yet.

There are five or six or seven or eight of these I have no use for (I only ever want to hear "Satisfaction" again if it's sung by Otis Redding or Britney Spears), but several of these are solid candidates for best evers in a number of contests - "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" for the best ever arrangement, "The Dock of the Bay" for best ever whistling, "Be My Baby" for best ever opening three seconds, "Louie Louie" for best ever guitar riff, "Tutti Frutti" for best ever dirty lyrics, and "Born to Run" for best ever overproduction. Not that any would be my pick to win said contests, but they'd sure make the shortlist. But I'm going with "Mystery Train," which I love as a great proto-No Age dead end, all hushed weirdness and pulsating enigmas washed over by an Elvis vocal that wanders off into the ether of rhythm and reverb.

"Mystery Train" over "Tutti Frutti" for me; I love all of these songs but as Kevin said, they're hard to hear critically at this point; they're like listening to the wind.

james brown, elvis and the four tops are probably the three songs that have meant the most to me, so i guess it's probably one of those, and probably jb or elvis now that i think about it, but i'm stuck right there.

the one song i've never quite gotten is "whole lotta shakin' going on."

Only songs that still jump out of the radio for me are:

"What's Going On" (because something always is), "Tutti Frutti" (undeniable argument for whatever it is he's saying), "Mystery Train" (never overplayed enough to lose its power), "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" (a performance that always seems to be happening right at that moment), and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," whose riff remains mysterious.

I'm going with "Dock of the Bay," which has the best ending, the oddest sentiment, and is something like a version of heaven.

I love Mystery Train, but I could never quite figure out why it's held in such high regard compared to the rest of the Sun Sessions. Is it really that much better than That's Alright, Blue Moon Of Kentucky or Baby Let's Play House?

Better title for a book?

1. dock of the bay
2. grapevine
3. everyday people
4. nowhere to run
5. be my baby

Toss up between Everyday People and Nowhere to Run for me.

Christmas!

I love Mystery Train, but I could never quite figure out why it's held in such high regard compared to the rest of the Sun Sessions. Is it really that much better than That's Alright, Blue Moon Of Kentucky or Baby Let's Play House?

Those are all great, obviously, but "Mystery Train"'s easily my favorite of those four -- probably at least partly because it feels much darker and more emotional than the others, while forfeiting none of their energy. The other three strike me as almost frivolous in comparison, somehow.

Btw, I'm now seeing lots of songs that definitely would have been in the runninng among the four I listed above; "Da Doo Ron Ron" isn't really my fourth favorite song here, in other words. But I already voted for Bob (and don't think I'd change that vote.)

Have you ever heard Cher and Rosie O'Donnell's version "Christmas (baby please come home)?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhNs42nhkhA

Well, now I have. La da dee, la da da.

Ronettes

don't think i could even imagine a universe in which i was sick of 'be my baby.'

Only the Lonely -- brings up a lot of great childhood memories from oldies radio and cassettes in my dad's Olds. Obviously Orbison's voice is incredible, but the use of space in the backing track is amazing and the backing vocals are worthy of their own entry on this list. And there's no dilly dallying, the track ends when it should end, right after an otherworldly high vocal passage. Crying is probably his best song but I'd take Only the Lonely from this list.

"reach out i'll be there", one of my favorite songs of the 60s. so powerful and haunting. "what's going on" 2nd, "dock of the bay" 3rd, "brand new bag" 4th...

"mystery train," i think. a song i love as much for what it doesn't say as for what it does say.

to this day i don't exactly understand the imagery of "mystery train," obvious as it as on one level, because when it comes right down to it elvis is kind of saying everything and nothing at the same time. he's on a train, a long train, the same train that has taken his baby away, but it won't take his baby again, and now it's bringing her back, and now he's not on the train. he isn't on the train that he is on, that is. the train that took his baby and is returning his baby. the train that is both coming and going. is she dying or being resurrected? leaving him or coming back? is he a force of good or evil or both? or is he just a character in that "twilight zone" episode about the passengers on a toy train that just keeps going around and around its toy train track?

everything about the lyric seems to reside outside of itself, and yet it's so evocative, so encompassing, so incompletely complete. the musicianship is never more than functional, never less than perfect. the performance is so ... implicit. so mysteriously knowing. they aren't really trying to do anything. they're just somehow doing it. rock and roll.

went with four tops, truly mesmerizing blend of all my favorite musical styles, over james brown's revolution of the ass

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," then "Reach Out, I'll Be There," then "Whole Lotta Shakin'," then "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," then "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." But yeah, could've voted most any.

...

Lots of good songs here, but perhaps surprisingly, not much that I really love. I guess I've always felt that "Like a Rolling Stone" was one of the weaker songs on Highway 61. I don't usually like Dylan so much in his hectoring mode. If I'm in the mood for that kind of song, something like "Positively 4th Street" expresses the same sentiment more concisely. "Mystery Train" is pretty great, but I think it lacks the boogie of the best Sun-period Elvis, though I guess it's Elvis at his most alt.country. Many other obvious classics here, but none that I can generate a very strong response to at the moment. I guess I'd vote Little Richard - that performance never gets old, despite overexposure.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

As Neil Young would say, inneresting. Glad something marginally less obvious came out on top. Surprised that "Be My Baby" would trounce "Da Doo Ron Ron" 9-0--maybe the Ronettes get credit for Mean Streets, and the Crystals get blamed for Shaun Cassidy. I thought "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was a disappointing #1 when the book came out, I think the same today, and I'm surprised it placed so high here. Finally--and I'm as guilty as anyone on this count--I always have the feeling that the '50s are slowly but surely fading from the pop-music consciousness (or whatever you want to call it). "Whole Lotta Shakin'" + "Johnny B. Goode" + "Tutti Frutti" + Big Joe Turner = 3 votes. (Not so simple, I know. The first two I love, the next two no, and Elvis got 5 votes. I have felt, though, that the story seems to increasingly begin with the Beatles as we move forward in time. Which is too bad.)

Fwiw, the three vote-getters I've never particularly cared to sit through are "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman)," and "Only the Lonely," which are probably three of the more obviously emotion-soaked songs up there. Don't dislike them, and I can totally understand why people think they're great. Their emotion just doesn't reach me. And though I like "Reach Out I'll Be There" more, Stubbs's over-the-topness in it has always struck me as kinda ridiculous, in a way. Make of all this what you will. (Definitely prefer the four '50s songs Phil just named to any of these, no contest.)

Also, seems odd to me that "Everyday People" -- which has always struck me as at least a little bit too corny, like say the OJays' "Love Train" only not as much -- is the highest Sly song. Appreciate the sentiments; maybe I'm just too cynical to love them. And Sly had way better hits.

The only one near the top that I don't really like is "Reach Out I'll Be There". Christgau's Four Over-the-Tops sums it up.

Yes, all of these songs are amazing. I just can't listen to them anymore.

I've always found 'I heard it through the grapevine' sorta boring

also I heard '(Sittin' on) The dock of the bay' in a grocery store today and thought of this thread

the story seems to increasingly begin with the Beatles as we move forward in time. Which is too bad.

i think that was actually true 20 years ago. i think out in the real world today, the beatles are largely considered quaint and maybe even antediluvian, and the story increasingly begins with led zeppelin. (unless everybody moved pass zeppelin when i wasn't looking and now maybe we're up to the clash or something.)

Well, indie rock for the past few years at least goes back to Pet Sounds, right? (Way more than the Clash or Zeppelin, at least.)

yeah, hard to argue with pet sounds. maybe the late '60s in general (bleeding into the early '70s, probably) is the new root of everything: pet sounds; white album and abbey road but certainly not with the beatles; zeppelin; sabbath; the doors; stevie wonder; yadda yadda yadda.

i was being rash when i said the clash. but in a lot of ways i don't think it's that far off.

I have no idea how anyone could consider led zeppelin the root of anything outside of hard rock.

the root of all evil?

As someone who grew up in the '70s and '80s, it took me a long time to appreciate '50s rock - in fact, I've only really started to enjoy it in the past couple of years. I never had any trouble appreciating the Beatles though - I liked them a lot in high school, whereas something like Elvis just sounded corny. There does seem to be some kind of divide in music history right around the Beatles - stuff before that is kind of antediluvian - whereas the Beatles still sound kind of contemporary. I'm not sure exactly why that is - I guess it's lots of things - the production, arrangements, more overt blues and country influence, the vocal styles, a kind of unironic innocence and enthusiasm. However, I think it's really worth trying to get through that mental block, because lots of '50s rock is actually a blast. I think I actually developed a taste for things like Chicago blues, Frank Sinatra, and Hank Williams first, but once I'd gotten into that stuff, it wasn't too hard to find lots to appreciate in Elvis, Ricky Nelson, the Everly Brothers, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, etc.

Well, Jack White's definitely listened to his share of Zeppelin (who had their big nostalgia moment in the late '80s: Cult, Beasties, Whitesnake, Kingdom Come, Soundgarden, Golden Palominos, etc). But I'd say White Stripes are an anomaly in the indie and even commercial hard rock world now (Drive By Truckers and Hold Steady too, plus probably a couple stray stoner metal bands, and all of Nashville if that counts) inasmuch as still acknowledging blues-based hard rock at all.

some hip-hoppers have listened to their share of zeppelin too. as has fergie to take one random pop example, of which i'm sure there are many others.

xp And okay, there's hack bands like Jet and Wolfmother and Buckcherry (as far as blues-based hard rock if not necessarily Zep goes), plus AC/DC and Black Crowes and Slash and Axl are still around. And I'm sure even Nickelback type bands have listened to lots of Zeppelin, even if they've never absorbed it successfully into their sound. Just saying the numbers are dwindling, and the sound may still be on its way out.

(but right, iatee said "outside of hard rock." Those are all hard rock obv.)

I hear tons of Zep in contemporary indie stuff - freak folk stuff can be pretty easily tied back to Zep III for ex.

but yeah, the 50s are disappearing. the 20s and 30s are already gone from contemporary memories, by and large.

that being said it was only this year that I really started to dig Little Richard. haha part of which grew out of noticing that Zep quotes the drum intro to "Keep a Knockin'" on "Rock n Roll"

xp Yeah, freak folk makes sense, I guess, as far as Zep's Celtic side. And early Chicago house music producers actually used to cite Zep's wide-screen expansive and epic approach to space, noise, and rhythm as an influence pretty often, but that was in the mid/late '80s again; not sure whether dance music has retained the influence since. (Well, big beat maybe -- I could see it in, say, Prodigy. Beyond that, who knows.)