1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die - 1969

easily the worst list so far, oddly

Great efforts from Jackson 5, CSN and even Elvis.

Yet, it has to be "Court Of The Crimson King", which sort of perfected the symphonic rock suite.

The Yes pick is the weirdest yet, but it will appear in the next years the authors don't like prog much, almost consequently picking short tracks over the suites that the acts' own fans always preferred.

Many Rivers to Cross. Though almost went with In The Ghetto.

Usual complaints: nothing off Scott 3 or 4, Trout Mask Replica or VU s/t...and no "Octopus' Garden" ffs???

Voting either I Want You Back or I Want To Take You Higher.

stewges

I went with Syl Johnson just ahead of the Jackson 5.

I would like to anti-vote "The Court of the Crimson King".

Voting Jackson 5.

Serge & Jane, or J5? Tough one.

I have to check out Sweetness, but I'm thinking its down to Oh Well, I Wanna Be Yr Dog, and Heartbreaker...

xp - Je t'aime... is about my 20th favourite Gainsbourg song.

fewer universally acknowledged classics on here than, say, the '67 list, but i don't think it's a big drop from '68. these are all great:

Candi Station: I'm Just a Prisoner (of Your Good Lovin')
Jimmy Cliff: Many Rivers To Cross
Elvis Presley: In The Ghetto
Fleetwood Mac: Oh Well
Marianne Faithful: Sister Morphine
Peggy Lee: Is That All There Is?
Elvis Presley: Suspicious Minds
Crosby, Stills & Nash: Suite Judy Blue Eyes
The Who: Pinball Wizard
Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg: Je T'aime...Moi Non Plus
Sly & The Family Stone: I Want To Take You Higher
King Crimson: The Court Of The Crimson King
Led Zeppelin: Whole Lotta Love
The Stooges: I Wanna Be Your Dog
MC5: Kick Out The Jams
Jackson 5: I Want You Back

I'm wondering if I'm sleeping on Suspicious Minds

i voted for "i wanna be your dog" out of loyalty and for sentimental reasons, but i could just as easily have gone for the jackson 5, peggy lee, CSN&Y, "suspicious minds", or king crimson. and i'm loving "sister morphine" today, not sure why.

No Gimme Shelter? What the heck is going on, Dave Marsh?

^ yeah, there is that, and the absence of "pale blue eyes" or anything else from that 3rd VU album.

oh well, suspicious minds, i wanna be yr dog, i want you back

voted stooges

3rd VU album is overrated anyways; would much rather vote for "St. Stephen" or "Hey Fredrick" or even "Father Cannot Yell" #toocool4school

(Voted Stooges too)

"Sweetness" is such an odd one to turn up here, also my favourite.

No 1910 Fruitgum Company, no credibility.

3rd VU album is overrated anyways

http://cdn.crooksandliars.com/files/movieimages/2009/08/9368.jpg?key=1249885948

Believe it or not, "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes." No rational advocacy, just nostalgia. After that, "Whole Lotta Love" and "I Want You Back," either or which could win. (As could "I Wanna Be Your Dog," which I'm not crazy about.) Ditto third VU album--I could lift four or five songs off there. More nitpicking: Roberta Flack belongs on the '72 list, when it was #1 for many weeks (I don't even think Play Misty for Me came out till '71). Nine favourites not listed: 5th Dimension's "Wedding Bell Blues," B.J. Thomas's "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," Flying Burrito Brothers' "Christine," Grachan Moncur III's "When," Jan & Lorraine's "Number 33," Neil's "Cinnamon Girl," Sly's "Everyday People," Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Wonder," Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover" (a pretty dumb omission).

No Cale No VU

Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover" (a pretty dumb omission).

Yeah, there were a ton of great bubblegum hits from '69 that I would listen to before about half of this list.

Voting for Fairport. Had to think twice about "I Want You Back," but "The Love You Save" is my favorite early J5 hit.

"My Cherie Wonder"--almost as good as "Like a Rolling Dylan."

yeah, shit, you put it that way. would have loved to see "crimson & clover", "everyday people", and "cinnamon girl" on here. and i'm a sucker for "raindrops keep fallin' on my head". that said, i do like that the list makes so much room for underrated soul/r&b jams and oddball personal favorites. gives it some character.

Favorite of Clemenza's unlisted favorites: "Wedding Bell Blues"
Favorite on the list: "I Wanna Be Your Dog"
Next favorites: "I Want You Back," "Oh Well," "Okie From Muskogee," "Kick Out the Jams," both Elvises, both Zeppelins
Least favorite Velvet Underground album by far (of the first four): the third one (which is still pretty good)

"The Love You Save" is my favorite early J5 hit.

Mine too, actually -- in fact, I'm fairly certain I put it on a 100-favorite-songs-ever list I did for a fanzine Clemenza put out in the early/mid '90s.

Because I'd never heard Marianne's version of "Sister Morphine" until YouTubeing it just now, because the source of my love for the Peggy Lee song is entirely my After Hours fandom, because "I Want To Take You Higher" is nowhere near my favourite Sly song, because I haven't played "Kick Out The Jams" in a long while, because for as much as I do adore "Suspicious Minds" voting for Elvis in a 1969 poll somehow just doesn't feel right, because I've never voluntarily listened to Led Zeppelin, I voted for "I Want You Back."

Voting for Fairport.

hate to admit this, but my favorite recorded version of "she moves through the fair" is the one with sinead o'connor off that early 90s jah wobble album. song benefits from the drony restraint. *ducks*

Is that Throw down your Arms?

I was half-joking abt 3rd VU album; What Goes On is better than 75% of this list.

Cinnamon Girl is a great call! Kinda wish Come Together was on here too

Only Jah Wobble album I heard was Molam Dub, but I heard and liked a Sinead OConnor reggae covers album (Throw Down yr Arms, mentioned above)

No Mayo Thompson no credibility.

'heartbreaker' seems awfully questionable (and i like zep)

I have a meta question...how many people look at what others voted for before voting? i did a couple of times, but i think i am going back to not looking (voted Fairport Convention w/out looking at others' votes)

Surprisingly underwhelming list. Kinda wanted to vote for The Stooges but it had to be "I Want You Back" in the end

Is that Throw down your Arms?

...Only Jah Wobble album I heard was Molam Dub, but I heard and liked a Sinead OConnor reggae covers album (Throw Down yr Arms, mentioned above)

― brodie_odie_dope (Drugs A. Money), Friday, June 10, 2011 5:45 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

okay, i was TOTALLY wrong abt this. what i get for shooting from the hip about half-remembered things. sinead did a gorgeous, stripped down version of "she moved through the fair" in the mid 90s, but the version i was thinking of apparently comes from a 1992 collaborative world/dub album on which jah wobble played (among many, many others).

the project was called "jam nation" (ugh, son) and way down below buffalo hell was their sole release. it's a producer-driven concept album and something of a mess overall, but it does boast a few great tracks, including a dubby, downtempo version "she moved", which features caroline lavelle on vocals and billy cobham (!) on drums.

in retrospect, it's hardly the definitive version, with a dated sound and a somewhat mannered vocal (sinead's version kills this), but i liked it then and like it still. for reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Yy0DeYH7Q

^ i bought it for the cover, obviously

"I Want You Back" and "Suspicious Minds" were already part of the canon the moment they hit #1. I hear these 2 on Oldies radio nowadays and they are still part of my DNA. Voted Elvis for the awesome fake fade-out.

Peggy Lee

Went with "I Want You Back".

Wanted to toss a vote to MC5, just because a buddy of mine had an awesome Wayne Kramer story. Back in the early 90's, my 19 year old bandmate found out that Kramer was living in Nashville and invited him to one of his gigs. He cold called him after looking him up in the phone book and told Kramer that he was a huge fan. Well, the dude actually showed up to the gig and was super cool! I've always had a soft spot in my heart for these guys ever since.

I'm giving my vote to 'The Real Thing', though there are a couple of tracks that are probably better (Serge, MC5). Russell Morris does kick ass, though, especially Part 2, and I figure nobody else is going to vote for it if I don't.

That's the only song + artist I've never heard of on this list.

Ahhh, it's great. It kind of starts out as a fairly normal slightly-psychedelic guitar strumalong, but it builds and builds over the course of the track until by Part 2 it's an absolutely insane mass of explosions and choirs and random noises. So brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BjxWrJCbtU

Actually, fuck it, it may well be the best song on the list. <3

^ yeah, listened to this for the first time yesterday, amazing. not super fond of the song it's built around (the first 3 min or so), but LOVE the crazy, piano-driven psych meldown of the last few minutes. doesn't seem to be terribly well-known in the US?

sorta lame to pick Okie for Merle which will no doubt be only his only inclusion in the 1001... in my world that shit is like
picking the Laughing Gnome for bowie. MY WORLD.

IS THAT ALL THERE IS, obviously.

'I Want You Back' for me. Second place would maybe be the Yes track - definitely an odd choice but it is lovely and it works nicely over the credits to Buffalo 66 (wonder if that's where the compilers know it from? It was the first place I heard it anyway).

Sorry Who, this time I'm going with the greatest debut in the history of music ("I Want You Back").

Considered "I Wanna Be Your Dog," but went with "I Want You Back." Pretty much for the reason listed in the post above me. Embarrassed to admit I've never heard close to half of these. I'll have to check them out - while I could've done so before voting, not only didn't I imagine anything suddenly taking the place of the J5 for me, but I didn't want anything to take its place.

"I Want You Back" will obviously win this, which will not be too bad at all. It is an amazing song. As for the mention of "The Love You Save" upthread, I feel like both that one and "ABC" were a bit too much copies of the debut. However, "I'll Be There" is an amazing song and for me stands as the best Jackson 5 moment ever.

yeah I couldn't deny J5 either. But a shout out to Elvis, MC5, and Stooges at least.

Suspicious Minds. I love the Stooges but "I Wanna Be Your Dog" doesn't do it for me like some of the other songs on that album.

great stuff from sly, the who, and mc5, but i have to go with the jackson five. 'i want you back' is such a 10/10 stone cold classic for me. easily one of my favorite songs of all time.

Geir, I don't think I agree. I think bubblegum soul is a genuine soul sub-genre and "The Love You Save" isn't really all that close to "I Want You Back."

It's like if some really good '60s garage rock band had a hit that became their signature song, but then also had an even better 45 in the same style a couple of records later.

Like the Troggs or something?

Yeah, that might work as an example. Is "I Can't Control Myself" more dissimilar to "Wild Thing" than "The Love You Save" is to "I Want You Back?"

IS THAT ALL THERE IS, obviously.

― We make bouquets that fade immediately. (Turangalila)

First time I hear about Russell Morris too. The first part of the song is sort of unremarkable, sounding like lo-fi Donovan but yeah that psychedelic meltdown halfways is all sorts of amazing.

Yeah, that might work as an example. Is "I Can't Control Myself" more dissimilar to "Wild Thing" than "The Love You Save" is to "I Want You Back?"

"Wild Thing" is first and foremost a carbon copy of "Louie Louie".

(which even wasn't much of a song in its original incarnation)

I wish there was a hell so you'd go for saying that.

Rong ho!

If by "original incarnation" you mean the Kingsmen--and you may not--you're about seven years off.

Jackson 5 just over Roberta and "Whole Lotta Love"

There's a shitload of Grand Funk missing from this list.

I think this list is pretty weak compared to some of the prior ones, but it's still fine overall. I voted for "Suspicious Minds", but there's any of a few others that I could have easily picked as well.

i want you back is the greatest song of all time so

"Wild Thing" is first and foremost a carbon copy of "Louie Louie".

sb

"The Thrill Is Gone"--but "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" is a prog-(non)-rock classic.

xpost: They have the same three chords, but then so do "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Take the Skinheads Bowling," and about a third of the pop songs ever written, and they're far from carbon copies of each other.

Yes, a lot of songs (way too many) have those three chords. But those two have the exact same sequence.

they aren't even the exact same chords

hint: one contains a minor chord

The chords are on the same beats, though (IV chord on the upbeat of two).

Geir doesn't hear beats iirc

I know there is that minor chord in "Louie Louie". Still sounds like the same to me. There are so many chords, and so many chord combinations, not to mention so many keys to change between in the same song. So why use the same chords over and over?

Hello, interrupting to say:

I voted "Oh Well", and I'm sure I'm the only one.

Oh well... we'll see...

I know there is that minor chord in "Louie Louie". Still sounds like the same to me. There are so many chords, and so many chord combinations, not to mention so many keys to change between in the same song. So why use the same chords over and over?

― Hongroe (Geir Hongro)

You should blame the Beatles. They were the first ones to insist on pushing the same chords over and over

Hello, interrupting to say:

I voted "Oh Well", and I'm sure I'm the only one.

― Mark G

I would've voted for Oh Well. Hooks abound and I think it was the first coda I heard in a rock song... it blew my mind when I was younger.

Is that all there is? hits a more sensitive fiber in me tho.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

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You should blame the Beatles. They were the first ones to insist on pushing the same chords over and over

Rather the opposite. They were the ones who really started expanding the harmonic palette of "rock" music. Particularly in terms of key changes.

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

good results! peggy lee & marianne faithful deserved better, but minor quibbles...

I voted "Oh Well", and I'm sure I'm the only one.

Yup.

@ contenderizer, been consistently voting along the piaf, nina simone route so peggy lee would have seemed a fit but the j5 was too much here and love sister morphine but the later ravaged voice versions