Month: May 2019

Back during the Summer of 1981, as well as the rest of that year, you could not escape the music of Stevie Nicks’ debut album Bella Donna. The radio here in Central Indiana was awash with cuts from that album, and who could blame the programmers? Every young woman may age seemed to love the topics Nicks wrote about, while nearly every young man dreamed of being with her. Such is youth, as it springs eternal, even though we all race to leave it behind all the while pining for those bygone days. And, doesn’t that seem to be what Stevie’s lyrics always seemed to be inferring, all the while maintaining the strength that only a woman with a singular vision could maintain. Personally, I loved Nicks because she reminded me of every other strong woman in my life.

Obviously, Stevie Nicks has not been one to trifle with. Some people may say she is something of a bitch, but I don’t see it that way. Every other person in the world who is focused upon becoming the best in their field must have a singular vision and focus. Growing up, I’m certain many of my friends thought I was dick because I was focused on things well beyond high school. I never meant to be a jerk, but my vision, whatever it was in my teens, went well beyond what I was getting in high school.

Stevie Nicks, whether she was creating music with Fleetwood Mac or on her own, possessed a singular focus to create perfection. How else do you explain the success of her Mac songs like “Dreams” or “Rhiannon,” or those classic songs of her from that wonderful Bella Donna album? The woman heard the song and pushed every musician and producer to help her fulfill that sound.

Unlike many others, I thought it was fantastic and very appropriate that Stevie Nicks became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice this year. Perhaps, the only other women who could have been given that honor were Tina Turner, Diana Ross or Chaka Khan. But, it ended up being Stevie, and that’s just fine with me, though Tina does deserve the very same honor soon.

Today, I am giving you my 25 favorite Stevie Nicks songs, including those recorded with the Mac. Step back and enjoy, because here’s Stevie!

25. “Ghosts” (The Other Side of the Mirror, 1989)

24. “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?” (Rock a Little, 1985)

23. “Beauty and the Beast” (The Wild Heart, 1983)

22. “If Anyone Falls” (The Wild Heart, 1983)

21. “Rooms on Fire” (The Other Side of the Mirror, 1989)

20. “Seven Wonders” – Fleetwood Mac (Tango in the Night, 1987)

19. “Sometimes It’s a Bitch” (Timepiece: The Best of Stevie Nicks, 1991)

18. “Planets of the Universe” (Trouble in Shangri-La, 2001)

17. “For What It’s Worth” (In Your Dreams, 2011)

16. “Blue Denim” (Street Angel, 1994)

15. “Gypsy” – Fleetwood Mac (Mirage, 1982). A great song from a mediocre Mac album.

14. “Silver Springs” – Fleetwood Mac (The Dance, 1997). Explain to me how this song ever got overlooked for so long?

13. “Talk to Me” (Rock a Little, 1985). Yes, dear, Stevie could do a rock song in mid-80s style.

12. “Sara” – Fleetwood Mac (Tusk, 1979). This song evokes so many memories that are special to me that make it rank higher than maybe it should.

11. “I Can’t Wait” (Rock a Little, 1985). The sound of Stevie Nicks adapting to the sound of a bygone era.

10. “Gold Dust Woman” – Fleetwood Mac (Rumours, 1977). No list of Stevie Nicks’ greatest songs can leave this brilliant one off.

9. “Nightbird” (The Wild Heart, 1983). This is the classic Stevie Nicks sound updated for the 80s.

8. “Stand Back” (The Wild Heart, 1983). This is what happens when a 70s folkish icon creates a song with a 80s purple icon. Yes, Prince wrote and recorded the keyboards for this one.

7. “After the Glitter Fades” (Bella Donna, 1981). Many say this is Stevie’s finest moment. These Top Seven songs could go in any order.

6. “Landslide” – Fleetwood Mac (Fleetwood Mac, 1975). Sometimes, I am amazed by the poignant of the lyrics written by such young artists, as though they had lived more experiences in their short lives than their peers. This is one such song.

5. “Edge of Seventeen” (Bella Donna, 1981). I do not think I am speaking for myself when I say that we were all blown away by this song, thinking that Stevie was just a balladeer. Boy, was I ever wrong!

4. “Rhiannon” – Fleetwood Mac (Fleetwood Mac, 1975). Generally speaking, this song was our introduction to Stevie’s brilliant songwriting.

3. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around (with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)” (Bella Donna, 1981). Yes, it IS a Tom Petty song. And, yes, the guys had recorded it. And, yes, Stevie wanted to be a Heartbreaker (Tom says that there’s no girls in the band). And, or course, all she had to do was add her vocals. But, wow, did the chemistry ever work! If this song had been included on Tom’s Hard Promises LP, it would have gone to number one just like Bella Donna did.

2. “Dreams” – Fleetwood Mac (Rumours, 1977). Once again, Stevie proved that she was wise beyond her years with the lyrics of this terrific song. Some days, this is my favorite of hers.

1. “Leather and Lace (with Don Henley)” (Bella Donna, 1981). I am a big romantic at heart, and this is Stevie Nicks’ most romantic song ever. This is one sexy duet with Don Henley’s voice making a beautiful counterpoint to Stevie’s gravelly voice. The juxtaposition of Henley’s smooth silk-like voice as leather versus Stevie’s unique vocals as lace is down right brilliant. What a perfect song!

 

Did any of you catch the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on HBO this weekend? Well, since I have nothing better to do, with the Pacers eliminated from the NBA Play-offs and the Cincinnati Reds continuing to have a sputtering offense, I watched it a couple of times and continue to turn it off believing The Cure stole the night with their masterful performance.

Now, let’s back up to the Fall of 1980. I had read in Billboard magazine that I found at my high school’s radio station where Robert Stigwood, the mastermind of the Bee Gees’ mid-Seventies resurgence in addition to the release of films with brilliant soundtracks such as Saturday Night Fever and Grease, was releasing a new movie with a soundtrack compilation of punk and new wave artists called Times Square. When I read a listing of the artists to be included on this release, my teenage head was blown! Let’s see, there was The Pretenders, Roxy Music, Gary Numan, Talking Heads, Joe Jackson, XTC, Ramones, Lou Reed, Patti Smith Group, among many others, including a band that I had been reading about in rock rags of the day, The Cure. Until I purchased this soundtrack, I had no idea what to expect from this band. I had read that they were being touted as something of a punk Pink Floyd for the Eighties. What I heard was something completely different when I finally played their song “Grinding Halt.” There was something dark that appealed to my angst-ridden soul with tinges of some psychedelia and actually some hope sprinkled between the lines. I was smitten, but I never really pursued the band’s music for another five years when I found myself in Oxford, Ohio, for my first job out of college.

That first weekend we lived in town, several of my wife’s college friends road tripped down to visit us. On that Saturday, we all wondered into Looney T-Bird’s Records, perhaps the greatest record store I ever frequented. That day, after a month of listening to the local alternative rock radio station, I picked up two albums: Lifes Rich Pagaent by R.E.M. and Standing on the Beach, a compilation by The Cure. Both of those albums remain two of my favorites to this day. And, nothing grabbed me again like The Cure did when we listened to that dark yet comforting album.

The day after my mother passed away last February, I wrote how I listened to that compilation. And, in the midst of the tension between the dark lyrics and the upbeat music, or the converse, I found comfort. For a band associated with so much darkness and moping, as many critics would mention totally missing the point, their music helped me deal with Mom’s passing.

Yes, I was excited that The Cure got inducted into the RRHOF. For me, after the extremely long drought following the induction of R.E.M., I thought people would be reluctant to honor the college rock artists of the Eighties in favor of those damned hair metal bands who all sounded the same. Seriously, after Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe, they ALL sound and look alike, including the somehow beloved Bon Jovi. Anyway, I hope this opens the door for bands such as The Replacements, The Smiths, Pixies, Hüsker Dü, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, among others. But, if you go back and listen to The Cure’s catalog, you will hear strains of so many genres that followed, much as Trent Reznor listed in his heartfelt induction speech. Without The Cure, we might not have gotten Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies, Nirvana, Ministry, as well as so many other darker sounding bands of the late-Eighties and Nineties.

Now, I love both leader Robert Smith’s lyrics and voice, both of which are unique in the rock world. Yet, I find myself drawn more to his long time partner, Simon Gallup’s bass sound, that always sounded so bottom-heavy and deep even during the trebly sound of Eighties rock production. It is his grooves that made the band sound, well, sexy, not unlike Echo & the Bunnymen or, I hate to mention them in the same breath, The Doors. Yet, the darkness and the sexiness combination that always sold the band to the ladies. Never forget that!

With that said, I would love to present my Top 20 list of my favorite songs by The Cure.

20. “10.15 Saturday Night” (Three Imaginary Boys, 1979)

19. “The Caterpillar” (The Top, 1984)

18. “Shake Dog Shake” (The Top, 1984)

17. “A Letter to Elise” (Wish, 1992)

16. “Let’s Go to Bed” (Japanese Whispers, 1982)

15. “Hot Hot Hot!!!” (Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, 1987)

14. “The Walk” (Non-album single, 1983)

13. “The Hanging Garden” (Pornography, 1982)

12. “Why Can’t I Be You” (Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, 1987)

11. “Friday I’m in Love” (Wish, 1992)

10. “In Between Days” (The Head on the Door, 1985)

9. “Disintegration” (Disintegration, 1989)

8. “Pictures of You” (Disintegration, 1989)

7. “Fascination Street” (Disintegration, 1989)

6. “The Love Cats” (Non-album single, 1983)

5. “Close to Me” (The Head on the Door, 1985). I prefer the original version over the 1991 remix, though there is no way this song could ever be ruined in my book.

4. “Boys Don’t Cry” (Non-album single, 1979). The song that ignited a whole new generation’s sound.

3. “A Forest” (Seventeen Seconds, 1980). Confirmed the brilliance of The Cure, plain and simple.

2. “Lovesong” (Disintegration, 1989). Robert Smith’s most direct love song is also his biggest American pop hit. It is his most accessible and sexiest song.

1. “Just like Heaven” (Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, 1987). Honestly, is there a more perfect pop song with the perfect instrumental opening? It gets me every time!

My older son just will never let it go. Even after I took his wife and him to see them live, Graham constantly digs at me for being a U2 fan. I think deep down he is a fan, like the two-year-old version of him cruising into Oxford, Ohio, with me to pick up The Joshua Tree at the local record store. I knew he was excited about going to the record store even back then, but I really thought I was training his musical tastes. But ever since he and his brother watched that South Park episode in which Bono was the biggest piece of crap in the world, he will not let it go. Ah, who cares?! I know that one day he will catch the same grief about his days of loving Old Crow Medicine Show or Blink-182 when his daughter gets old enough. It’s a circle of life thing.

Back in 1980, I first heard U2’s Boy album. I thought that this band is interesting, but I still loved The Clash better. As a matter of fact, I still maintain the idea that if The Clash would not have imploded, U2 might never have ascended to fill that void of righteous indignation in rock music. Then again, we’ll never know.

Three years later, U2 moved into superstardom with their 1983 album War. For the first time since The Clash released Combat Rock the previous year, the world had a heavy message rock album dropped on it. And, U2 was bringing compassion, empathy and grace to their moral indignation message. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” actually was a call-to-arms for a generation besieged by violence. Suddenly, a group of young people were hearing a voice of reason during a time of Cold War military buildup, terrorist attacks in Ireland and all the world and the ignoring of the plight of the poor and the sick due to conservative policies. Yet, these four Irishmen were trying to take a stand while making terrific yet challenging music.

Fast forward to 1985 and Live Aid. That day, U2 finally ascended to the throne they always desired behind the second best performance of the day. It wasn’t just the music; it was the moment Bono slow danced with that young lady during “40.” It was an image that struck a chord with a whole generation. After that day, even after Queen stole the day, U2 had gained the public’s, as well as their own, confidence to ascend to the throne of the Rock Gods. Two years later, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. took the throne as the World’s Greatest Band and haven’t given it up since.

No matter how the band tried to evolve, even during their supposed recording failures (Pop, Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience), U2 has reached for everything musically they haven’t found yet. These guys put it on the line every time they record a new album or perform a concert. As the great American distance runner of the Seventies Steve Perfontaine once said, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice The Gift.” And, the men of U2 understand this.

So, today, I wish to honor one of my favorite artists of all time with a list of my 30 favorite songs by U2. Let the honor roll begin!

30. “Vertigo” (2004)

29. “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)” (2014)

28. “Ordinary Love” (2017)

27. “Discotheque” (1997)

26. “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” (2000)

25. “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” (1991)

24. “Gloria” (1981)

23. “The Wanderer (with Johnny Cash)” (1993)

22. “I Will Follow” (1980)

21. “The Fly” (1991)

20. “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” (2009)

19. “All I Want Is You” (1988)

18. “40” (1983)

17. “Two Hearts Beat as One” (1983)

16. “Even Better Than the Real Thing” (1991)

15. “New Year’s Day” (1983). I remember watching this video after its release on New Year’s Day 1983. It was a moment that I will always remember, thinking at the time that U2 had become adults, and that I was becoming an adult as well.

14. “Sweetest Thing” (1998). Finally, U2 release a sweet song about love, while showing a playful sense of humor in the video.

13. “Red Hill Mining Town” (1987). This is a slow burning pop song that should have been the big fourth hit from The Joshua Tree. In my opinion, it was the showstopping song during the band’s 2017 tour.

12. “Pride (In the Name of Love)” (1984). I am going to catch hell for this ranking. Sorry, but it’s so difficult to do this list, especially with a song about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a fantastic song in a wonderful catalog. This does NOT diminish the importance of this song.

11. “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” (1995). On a terrific soundtrack from a crappy movie (Batman Returns), this song was a highlight that would have been a natural for a James Bond movie theme.

10. “Walk On” (2000). This song was released around the time of 9/11 and seemed to play an important role in a nation’s healing process.

9. “Mysterious Ways” (1991). How could this absolutely great song be the second best song on an album? I’ll explain that later.

8. “Desire” (1988). I have always been a sucker for the Bo Diddley beat, and this song has it in spades. If it had been released ten years earlier, “Desire” would be a punk standard.

7. “Staring at the Sun” (1997). I’ve always been a sucker for a great U2 ballad.

6. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1983). This is the band’s first true anthem. I prefer the version on the live EP Under Blood Red Skies.

5. “With or Without You” (1987). This was the song when U2 the Irish band became U2 the world phenomenon. And, the video images are so iconic that if you struck a Bono pose to this song back in the day, EVERYONE knew the reference.

4. “Beautiful Day” (2000). The comeback anthem of all comeback anthems. ‘Nuff said.

In my mind, the next three are interchangeable on any given day for me.

3. “Where the Streets Have No Names” (1987). One of the greatest buildups to the opening of a song in rock history. And, that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

2. “One” (1991). This song, much like The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” can be interpreted in so many different ways. Is it about carnal love, married love, compassionate love? Who know? Who cares! That’s what makes it great!

1. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987). This is the gospel song that Aretha Franklin should have recorded. I have always related to the lyrics, as I feel like I am continuing to strive to find myself and my beliefs. If you are striving for perfection, you’re dying.

Okay, U2 fans! Let the crap hit the fan. These are one humble man’s opinions. There are 70 more terrific U2 songs that I could have chosen, but I am deep down in my soul a pop music guy. Sure, there are few surprises, but this American Top 40 fan will always favor those songs. I will not apologize.