“Gimme Three Steps”, Lynyrd Skynyrd Essential

What is there to say about this song?  Great lyric, great guitar work, great bassline, great vocal all rolled into a magical four and a half minute ball of fun.  A buddy of mine (RIP Steve) used to play this in a cover band with his brother and it would always pack the dance floor full of booty shakers and drunken fools.  One of those “I can name that in four notes” kinda songs that everyone and their brother knows, especially those that grew up in the 70s/80s timeframe.  An all time fave Skynyrd cut.

“Passenger”, Nevermore The Politics of Ecstasy

As grunge was dying out in the mid to late 90s I was actively looking for something new and heavy that hearkened back to the 80s metal days and Nevermore fit that bill.  Ironically, Nevermore was born from the remnants of Seattle metal band Sanctuary as that band’s Warrel Dane and Jim Sheppard teamed with hotshot guitarist Jeff Loomis to create a darker, more gothic metal stock.  “Passenger” here is a bit gloom ‘n doom with snaky Loomis guitar and passionate Dane vocal.  Great band.

“When The Lights Go Out”, The Black Keys Rubber Factory

Early Black Keys is really it for me as it’s a bit more raw, primal, and underproduced, similar in vibe to the Hill Country blues artists from the Mississippi Delta with possibly a bit more percussive stomp to the occasional starkness of the presentation (especially here on this cut).  Dan Auerbach’s vocal is all cool in its subtleness as it slithers and slides between the simple guitar riff and thumping drums courtesy of Patrick Carney.  A ton of power here in the simplest of forms.

“Suzie Hold On”, Saxon The Eagle Has Landed III

Saxon were always one of the most underrated of hard rock/metal bands that came out of the early 80s (technically late 70s) which never got their just due in the States.  “Suzie” must have been pushed as an attempt at a hit single as it came out on TWO Saxon albums in the US; however, the song didn’t do anything and rarely found itself in the band’s setlists over the years.  This version does come from a live album released in 2006.  I always liked the melody and riff in this one although it falls in the middle tier of fave Saxon cuts.

“I Can”, Helloween Treasure Chest

Germany’s great pumpkins in Helloween (check out the album covers!) are full of what I’ve always called “happy” power metal.  “I Can” features a strong riff and fine vocal along with a positive lyric and cool guitar solos that should fill anyone’s bill looking for a rockin’ good time.  Dare I say this was written with the radio in mind as it is a bit more friendlier to the ear than some of their more heavier compositions, but don’t let that scare you.  More on the melodic side than some of their more well known songs.

“Back To Paradise”, .38 Special Flashback

Man, talk about a band that was an odd fit for the video heyday of MTV-  take a group of macho southern rockers and watch them act in some silly videos! “Paradise” was a minor hit in the ’80s and is a fun song although far removed from the heavier guitar approach of their early days.  A bit more keyboardy compared to their other stuff, but Don Barnes was always a great singer and does a fantastic job here.  That said, this could have fit on a Huey Lewis album back then too.  Theme from Revenge Of The Nerds II!

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

“Sco-Mule”, Gov’t Mule The Deepest End-Live

Do I loooove looove love this.  Warren Haynes, Matt Abts, and Danny Louis called on a huge number of guest stars for a live album to round out their “Deep End” series of discs put together in remembrance of their late bassist Allen Woody.  “Sco-Mule” here is a live instrumental featuring the talents of Bernie Worrell on keys and Victor Wooten on bass.  The playing here is phenomenal by all parties and the groove is ridiculous, plus this features what might be my favorite solo from Haynes himself.  Dat tone is sweeeeeet…

“First Date” Blink-182 Greatest Hits

I was never a huge fan of Blink 182 but the hits are major earworms and their “Fisher Price punk” was tons of fun in the 90s plus they never took themselves seriously in any of their videos.  This was my son Zach’s first ever concert and I enjoyed it immensely myself, especially the drum talents of one Travis Barker.  Besides the catchy music, the lyrical content of their songs is occasionally ha ha funny (in a middle school way) but it’s all good harmless fun.

“(I Got) The Fever”, Oasis Stand By Me

Oasis B-sides are often just as good as their A-sides and should really be on their albums.  “Fever” is hefty rock through the verse and catchy and melodic come chorus time, Liam all sneering vocal and Noel with layers and layers of noisy guitar all throughout.  However, if you don’t like loud and noisy production you may want to stay away as this is a bit of an ear bleeder but the song does hit some major sticky sweet goodness.  A bit of Slade here, a bit of psychedelia there, and lots of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXUsLEAN_T8

“Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, Poison The Best Of Poison: 20 Years of Rock

Normally I HATE power ballads with a passion but there was always something about this one that I always liked.  There is a ton of simplicity here that lends to its charms plus the lyric is something that many of us can relate to.  There’s no bombast here, just a simple cowboy song with a wonderfully over the top CC Deville solo and cool production touches here and there (tastefully done keyboards, simple percussion bits, background vocals, etc).

 

Favorite song of the week goes to “Sco-Mule” followed by “Gimme Three Steps”