I heard Jimmy Webb tell the story of "Wichita Lineman" in an interview once. Glen Campbell had become a very big star, with a popular TV show, and he had just had a hit with Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," suddenly elevating the songwriter out of the obscurity he'd been working in. Campbell asked him to write another song specifically for him. This was a make-or-break opportunity, so Webb got to work to try to craft his very best song. He'd had an idea about a lineman missing his love and meditating on the long-distance conversations being carried on the phone lines he was working on.. He'd been fussing with it for some time and Campbell had been calling him every couple of days asking how it was coming. Webb wanted him to know he was taking his request seriously, so he sent him a letter explaining what he was working on with a draft of what he had so far. A couple of days later, the two ran into each other and Jimmy told Glenn that the song was coming along really well. Glenn said, "Oh yeah, Wichita Lineman! It's great! We recorded it yesterday!" "But it's not finished," said Webb. "It is now!" replied Campbell.
10. Dirty Boy - Cardiacs 09. Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden 08. Ghosts - Japan 07. Hang on to a Dream - Tim Hardin 06. Little Green - Joni Mitchell 05. Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell 04. Embraceable You - Ella Fitzgerald 03. Nature Boy - Eden Arbez 02. St. James Infirmary - Louis Armstrong 01. Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday
That one artist was actually known as "Eden Ahbez." You're close enough for it to be clear who you're referring to, though! BTW, there is footage on UA-cam of him appearing on TV if you're curious.
Great stuff Andy. You're a scream. 😂😂😂😂. Love the harry casual style of your channel. Love your passion, and quite liked the way you brought some politics into a previous show. Europe and the UK are heading down a slippery slope towards fascism. Hope it changes soon. I've been watching Beato for a few years. Great channel. His huge fan base could get you some new punters. Worth a try. I'm always in a good mood after watching your channel. Ta very much.
I prefer your conversational style to the so-called “professional” channels, it’s almost like you’re having a chat with friends and often only reaching a conclusion at the end of the video. This is enhanced by the fact that you don’t look directly at the camera, so you never come across as lecturing your viewers. Please don’t change.
Hey! Love your videos. American here--I am a massive Cardiacs fan since finding them in 2019 from the Tantacrul video, and now they are one of my all-time top 3 musical artists. Anyway, that algorithm'd me to your channel, which I really enjoy. Just wanted to let you know, you have blown my mind with the Baggy Trousers recommendation. In the States (as you perhaps know), Madness was a one-hit wonder with Our House. There was simply no awareness of their body of work. Now I'm listening to Baggy Trousers and plan to dig into their discography, starting with "Rise and Fall" (never even released in the U.S.), based on your interview with Jon Poole. Anyway, just wanted to thank you for doing the great work of helping people find music that they will truly love, but have not yet discovered because of quirks of personal or cultural history. Cheers! Aaron
Great list Andy! It's interesting that you and others have mentioned that your list could change at any time and this is your favourite 10 today, as my 10 have pretty much been the same for the last 15 years or so, not sure what that says about me. 1. Paranoid Android - Radiohead - my favourite band doing my favourite song containing my favourite guitar solo off my favourite album; just brilliant in every way. 2. 21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson - As heavy as early prog got, great riff, solos, and is even improved in the early 70's live versions 3. Third Eye - Tool - great dynamics, masterful ebb and flow, a trip 4. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere - The Who - An ode to freedom and looking to do or go somewhere new, great drumming and feedback solo (especially live) 5. One - Metallica - the greatest heavy metal song, the build up, the super heavy bit, the solo, the dark lyrics (and unsettling music video) 6. Fools Gold - The Stone Roses - the greatest groove, funky beyond belief, great guitar solo 7. Bullet The Blue Sky - U2 - another great groove/beat, cool feedback use, ominous atmosphere 8. Astronomy Domine - Pink Floyd - cool psychedelic classic, the drumming, guitar and vocals all perfect psych 9. Manic Depression - Jimi Hendrix - such a cool beat, great guitar (of course) and solo 10. Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles - another cool beat, and a lot of neat tricks in this one, my favourite of The Beatles psych songs
I wouldn't even try this, but if I did, Wichita Lineman would definitely be on there; I love that song so much, but I don't often hear anyone mention it (my wife thinks it's corny, but hey, she's often wrong). It makes me very happy to find it here.
Your #1 is such an incredible song!! On another level for sure. Billie was one of the all time greatest singers ever. Period. Very cool and diverse list Andy 👍
My favourite song is - Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun by Pink Floyd, 14th century Chinese poetry set to amazing rock music.........always loved it.
Conquistador All Along the Watchtower (Hendrix) Tales of Brave Ulysses Roundabout Kashmir Solsibury Hill Rain Wish You Were Here 21C Schizoid Man Like a Rolling Stone In no particular order. Chris Cornel was a genius singer, player, songwriter. RIP
Nice. Id struggle with a top 10 as it would change from day to day Let's give it a go.. God Only Knows Soothsayer Solsbury Hill Bar n grill Vienna O Superman Billion Dollar Babies Equinoxe part 5 Killer Healing part 2
Come on Andy, ten minutes in and no offer on the Edward's Book? Love how you are not Rick Beato, I find him hard work and, as a teacher, not always a great educator. As a teacher, I want to share the joy, not show off my knowledge. More natural hair too 🤣 Thank you for sharing the joy Andy.
Andy, I'll tell you a personal story about Dirty Boy. I've loved Sing to God for many years. The day after Tim Smith's passing, I'm sitting in my office in the evening. I was unaware that he had left us, but thankfully UA-cam's fancy algorithm had decided that Dirty Boy should be on my front page that night. I had my studio headphones on, and thought, sure why not have a listen? Little did I know what I was in for.. From the start, the song kind of set you straight in a strange mood, but it's when the singing comes in, that the process of taking you to heaven starts. It's a process that does not end for about 9 minutes. But it's not really heaven we end up in either, is it? It's somewhere else. Somewhere different, and nice, and warm, and weird! For 9 minutes, Tim had me in his grip, on this spaceship that was driving at full speed somewhere deep into space, to a place that no-one has ever gone before. For each minute that passed, my jaw dropped further and further down, and my mood shifted into this strange mix of sadness, curiosity, melancoly, and HOPE! With that magnificent cover shining at my face in all its glory, I was trying to picture Tim's mind. I saw a giant universe of stars and galaxies, and all the fantastically weird ideas popping in and out of existence. The ideas being there solely for Tim's grabbing, which he then would pull out, and give birth to in "our" world of mortals. The song felt as a warm good-bye, and as it was hitting its high peak, and I DO mean its high peak, I was left crying and in awe to this man with his beautiful musical mind. I was in a mind state I've never been before, and I can not even try to describe it. If there was a drug that would make me feel this way again, I'd take it every single day. After the song ended, I was just sitting there in silence, processing all these feelings and impressions. I finally read the first video comment, which said something like "RIP Tim". I'm not a spiritual guy, but I have no rational explanation of why this happened to me on the following day that he died. It had never happened before, or since, and it's an experience I will take with me until I die. Rest in peace, Tim.
Yes, Dirty Boy seems to have a big impact on people! It’s like the rock epic I was waiting for without realising it. Left me in a mess the first time too.
Interesting thing about Wichita Lineman -- it doesn't have an obvious tonal center. And I believe that guitar melody is a baritone guitar played by Carol Kaye. And I love anything By George Gershwin, but Ira Gershwin is a lousy lyricist and "Embraceable You" is a great example of both.
Supper's Ready - too obvious. Be Bop Deluxe Crying To The Sky. Gentle Giant Memories of Old Days. Wilco Impossible Germany. Jorma Kaukamen's song Genesis. These list changes all the time...
"Crying to the sky Weeping like a silver fountain..." Be Bop and Bill are sooo underrated. Wait, it's the internet! They are "criminally under rated!" 🙂
Since you mentioned Be Bop Deluxe, I always thought Maid in Heaven was as close to a perfect song as possible - blistering playing, hummable melody... does so much but doesn't outstay its welcome.
My top 10: (And as a Beatle-maniac, I'm going to challenge myself and disqualify any tunes by The Fabs). - Stayin Alive, Bee Gees - Wanna Be Startin Something, Michael Jackson - Bad, U2 - She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals - There's No Other Way, Blur - Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana - Superwise, Goodness (Post-grunge Seattle band. Look them up.) - Jesus Etc., Wilco - Belated Promise Ring, Iron and Wine - Black Ballerina, Ariel Pink
For me, production is a really important factor in whether or not I like a song, to the point that I pretty much can't listen to any 80's mainstream music, because I find the production so offensive, moreso as the decade went on. It's a little frustrating, because there are songs that I think I would probably like if they had been made in another decade. Also, if it's just about the song and the melody, can I point out Stairway To Heaven by Rolf Harris. If people who died in the 60's and 70's fell into obscurity unless they were already legends, how did Nick Drake become so much more popular after his death in 1974.
To paraphrase William Blake, great songs are songs that you like. Period. As usual, you are pleasantly unpredictable in your picks. And thank you for not including Mr Blue Sky.
I don't love or even like all the songs on the list (except fot the last 3) but I LOVE what the list represents and how you articulated it. Great video and looking forward to the lists of singers.
Wonderful Video Andy. So much more than a top ten list. I have nothing but respect for your leaning towards great songs that are not only great but also have historical and cultural importance. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Great idea. It helps to define the direction of your commentary. Of anyone’s commentary. A counter argument would aim to define a narrower frame of reference for the list. Also, to suggest that to pick 10 is enough; and to construct a ranking order after that is a distraction (why not present them chronologically instead?). The history that I reference in my record collection is a blend of my own lifetime and the history of developments in the recording industry. The first is unavoidable. I would have to be a professional critic of recorded music to go through the time, effort and personal development, required to distance myself from my own life experience. Here, you have a special niche as a musician with a trained ear. Obviously, you can listen and hear in the music things that I cannot. I appreciate that through my own ‘trained eye’: I can look at art and appreciate things people who love Monet (etc.) just cannot. However, the second ‘the history of the recording of sound’, its sale and promotion, brings us both right up to the hearth where we can have a few moments of intense discussion together. More or less on equal footing. The history of recorded music is pretty intense, as we can witness living through the emergence of the LP (Elvis Presley 1956); the CD (Brothers in Arms or Tripping the Life Fantastic); and streaming (I don’t have a single ‘streamed’ song, I just borrow CDs from the library). Armstrong, Holiday, are not on the mainstream owing to the fact that the recording was done much too early to capture the full essence of their performance. They also belong to another gengre: Jazz. And I argue (with Northrop Frye) that we must ‘separate where we cannot divide.’ We can reach back to Louis Armstrong as an innovator in records; Ella dn Billie; or Frank Sinatra; but this is research. Their product will not pass the test of dropping down the needle in the groove and producing a sound that is instantly recognizable to music fans and aficionados. Of course it also fails the test of being created during the 1955-1990 period when the album reigned supreme; it was radio and not videos that were promoting the music (for better and for worse); and we did not have the wide open field for experimentation we have today. So here is a list of 20 as a suggestion (getting down to 10 would require a second pass, and a close listen, but is suggested with asterisks): Heartbeat - 1958 *Like a Rolling Stone - 1965 Whipped Cream - 1965 Good Vibrations - 1966 *Hey Jude - 1968 *Here Comes the Sun - 1969 Space Oddity - 1969 *You Can’t Always Get What You Want - 1969 *Bridge Over Troubled Water - 1970 Me and Bobby McGee - 1971 *Carey - 1971 *Stairway to Heaven - 1971 *Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - 1974 *Thunder Road - 1975 Bohemian Rhapsody - 1975 Sweet Caroline/Beautiful Noise - 1969/1976 *Go Your Own Way - 1976 Hotel California - 1977 *Skateaway - 1980 Unknown Legend- 1993 (Four Strong Winds; After the Gold Rush; Heart of Gold; Powderfinger) On the list, in some cases, other songs by the same artist are included, suggesting the need to dig a little deeper. Are we looking for an early or late work, for example? The strike of lightning, or the fruit of maturation? Chronologically, I’ve broken out a 10-year period that seems to dominate the list. From a personal perspective, it brakets with my high school years (1971-1976). However, from the perspective of the music industry, it represents the period where recording techniques matured (best seen by listening to live albums from the same period). And before the studio took over, with multi-tracking to the nth degree, synthetic sounds, and digital. It’s not a definitive list. It’s just a work in progress triggered by your work on this site. PS Some notable exclusions: Bob Seger, Boz Scaggs, Michael Jackson, Eurhythmics, CCR, The Who, Billy Joel, Steely Dan, Hendrix …
Looking forward to Sing To God special. My list today would be: Everso Closely Guarded Line - Cardiacs Koeeoaddi There - ISB Deacon Blues - Steely Dan Eleanor Rigby - Beatles Reasons For Waiting- Tull The Man I Love - Ella Kalimankou Dankou - Mystere Des Voix Bulgares The Trees They Do Grow High - Martin Carthy Worker’s Song - Dick Gaughan Anecdotes - Joanna Newsom
Nice to see Ghosts on there amongst other more established classics. Also nice that you avoided the big artists with cliched choices like Stairway to Heaven.
I love this channel so much. Andy, you are a brilliant music guy. But I am utterly bored by jazz and prog rock. Maybe I'm unsophisticated or something. Anyway keep on doing your thing!
Top 10 Favorite Songs Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen Imagine - John Lennon American Pie - Don McLean Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel A Day In The Life - The Beatles Blackbird - The Beatles Dust In The Wind - Kansas God Only Knows - The Beach Boys
"The Unfortunate Rake" (anon), to the tune that later became "Only the Heartaches", clearly sits on the path that led to St James Infirmary. In that song it's unprotected sex that's the victim's undoing. And there's a similar list of all the things he wants at his funeral. "The Streets of Laredo", famously covered by the great Johnny Cash, transitions the song to the Wild West, where gambling joins forces with Rosie to finish the lad off. Moving on to another song, you're going to hate me for saying this but "Dirty Boy" reminds me an awful lot of the last movement of "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers", which similarly keeps rising and rising. I'll get me coat.
Wouldn't it be nice if it made the top ten. When I get around to doing this again I will do it again and wipe out one of my choices and put it in at 409
A list of favorites off the top of my head: Billie Holiday: Strange Fruit Bob Dylan: It's All Right Ma, I'm Only Bleeding The Clash: Complete Control Otis Redding: Cigarettes And Coffee Public Enemy: Bring The Noise Van Morrison: Into The Mystic Aaron Neville: Tell It Like It Is PJ Harvey: Man-Size Sex Pistols: Holidays In The Sun Marvin Gaye: Inner City Blues Mighty Diamonds: Tamarind Farm Joni Mitchell: Carey Tracy Chapman: Fast Car
Great choice. May I make one correction? You have selected the Ella Fitzgerald version of Embraceable You and rightly praise the arrangement by Nelson Riddle. This was included in the five 12 inch vinyl 1959 Verve release Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George And Ira Gershwin Songbook. The album cover that illustrates your selection is of the one 10 inch 1950 Decca/Brunswick release Ella Sings Gershwin on which she was accompanied by solo pianist Ellis Larkins. Although the album includes some lesser known Gershwin compositions such as Looking For A Boy, Maybe and Soon, it does not include Embraceable You.
Dirt - The Stooges Police and Thieves - The Clash If I Was Your Girlfriend - Prince There Goes a Tenner - Kate Bush My Man - Billie Holiday Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise - June Christy No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley Werewolf - Cat Power Miss You - The Rolling Stones It's a Man's World - James Brown
Just commenting to help the channel, don't know what to say! I love your style, I hope the new content doesn't lose this charm. Your delivery is informative, cheeky, spontaneous, spiritual
I'm a Cardiacs fan. Love to be on your video explaining why I love'm so much. Songs for Ships and Irons is the album I like best even though it's a combination of two mini albums. I'm a Can super fan as well. Love to talk more aboit Can. Really great band.
Strange Fruit is an amazing song. I was thinking about that song earlier today. I could quibble about your list. But it's hard to argue that Strange Fruit is not one of the most important songs of the 20th century. Really a chilling tune, particularly for someone like me from the American south. You mentioned Autumn in NY at the end of your list. Also an amazing song.... I also like How Deep is the Ocean, particularly the Diana Krall version. Interestingly, I think Rick Beato put out a video today saying that Wichita Lineman is the greatest country song. LOL Jimmy Webb was a helluva songwriter. There are so many great songs that I could not possible pare a list down to 10.
Well right off the bat you made a horrible mistake!! You have conflated two different lists. Are these your favorite songs? Or the greatest songs??? These are two entirely different things. Recognizing greatness and recognizing songs that your personal favorites take a different mindset all together. Most importantly you must eliminate the cultural and musical impact from the equation. When a song is your favorite you are evaluating how it makes you feel and you alone. Nothing else matters. Popularity, impact, complexity, etc, etc. If your favorite song is a punk jam from a 7" only 50 people have ever heard that is your favorite song. But I doubt you'd consider it one of the greats. Anyway, here is my list of favorites: By the way lyrics factor in about 3 or 4% tops. Music is all I mostly care about... 10. Killing Joke - The Wait 9. Celtic Frost - Circle of the Tyrants 8. Bennie Green - Lullaby of the Doomed 7. Rush - Vital Signs 6. Radiohead - Separator 5. Talking Heads - Born Under Punches (Live version specifically) 4. Judas Priest - Breaking the Law 3. The Stooges - Dirt 2. The Who - Going Mobile 1. Black Sabbath - Paranoid Now the greatest songs of all time is a different story. And obviously impossible. But here goes.... 10. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues 9. Big Joe Turner - Shake, Rattle & Roll 8. Ray Charles - Mess Around 7. Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog 6. Hank Williams - Wedding Bells 5. Lead Belly - The Midnight Special 4. Sister Rosetta Tharpe - This Train 3. Blind Willie Johnson - John The Revelator 2. Bob Dylan - Hurricane 1. Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit
That Rick Beato sorta running joke made my day ;-) Beautiful video, by the way. I love the fact that we’re traveling from punk to 30’s jazz at the blink of an eye. Great cultural span.
I am so delighted that I agree with you about the greatness of Ella, Joni as incomparably beautiful, the importance of Louis, but your Strange #1 is brilliant. Billy Holiday brings all the power to the greatest song of the 20th century. All the brutal reality is encapsulated in the soul of Ms. Holiday. Brilliant!
@@zootallures6470 agreed. I think Radiohead have definitely been influenced, with the inclusion of strings that serve a similar purpose, on a couple of their tracks,( just my opinion of course).
@@zootallures6470interesting. You’ve obviously recognised Greenwood as their strings arranger. It’s nice to know that Gentle Giant fans are aware of, and appreciate Radiohead.
Andy, you have a deep knowledge of music and musicios. I love your channel and always look forward to new concepts and new insights of the music I love. Don`t concern yourself with Rick Beato. His channel is excellent and so is Pete Pardo`s. You are making a unique forum for Andy.( P.S. ever thought about teaching ... ha ha )
looking particularly Trotskyesque today Andy. Nice list. Given your focus on songs lately. Have you listened to Fred Neil? Most know him as the composer of Everybody's Talkin, but he was a great singer too. Check out Little Bit of Rain, Merry Go Round, Look over Yonder, and his own Everyone's Talkin. His bluesy rendition of Merry Go Round is absolutely incredible on The Many Sides of Fred Neil
Great video Andy. Thank you....I remember the Soundgarden tune but will obviously have to listen again along with a couple of others. Also I have one for you......I have no idea if you would know this song, but if not please seek it out. It has the stature of Strange Fruit, Nature Boy, Song to the Siren and Wild is the Wind, and is likewise a bit 'spooked' just like those songs. It sounds like a shamanistic ritual is being performed, it's lyrics deal with a strange transfiguration towards hope from murky/ambiguous events of the past with some added local colour, it has drums/percussion off the charts (tight? loose?), the arrangement is sublime, it is sung by two absolute legends of Brazilian music.....oh yeah....and it's totally prog: O Que Foi Feito Devera---Elis Regina and Milton Nascimento (1978). Number one on my list.
That is a strange list of favs , Glad you had the awareness to include "Wichita Lineman" ..which I consider the best song of All time ... yes these lists are always subjective , I would suggest (Whole of the Moon ) Waterboys , Timeless-Rick Derringer, Love of the Common man-Todd Rundgren, Baby Blue - Badfinger, Josie- Steely Dan, Alex Chilton- The Replacements, I am the luckiest - Ben Folds,
Nice list Andy, and I agree with your premise/parameters. Mine (based on song itself/songwriting) would be this list below. The order of this listing is unimportant: And You and I (Jon Anderson/Bill Bruford/Chris Squire/Steve Howe) - Yes 1972 Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma/Johnny Mercer/Jaques Prevert) - Eva Cassidy 1998 Close to the Edge (Jon Anderson / Steve Howe) - Yes 1972 Netherlands (Dan Fogelberg) - Dan Fogelberg 1977 Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb) - Johnny Cash 2002 Roads to Moscow (Al Stewart) - Al Stewart 1973 If It Be Your WIll (Leonard Cohen) - Leonard Cohen 1984 The Rain Song (Jimmy Page / Robert Plant) - Led Zeppelin - 1973 The Gates of Delerium (Yes) - Yes 1974 A Day In the Life (Jon Lennon / Paul McCartney) - The Beatles 1967
"Hang on to a dream" cover by The Nice (Keith Emerson) ua-cam.com/video/AMbSDOi8kZk/v-deo.html Tim Hardin and drummer Pete York formed "The world's smallest Big Band" ua-cam.com/video/oAI9D7jztFc/v-deo.html
Music for me above all is Harmony-Melody and Emotions. So a song that brings me all that, a song with vocals but no lyrics, my absolute favorite, is... "THE GREAT GIG IN THE SKY" by Richard Wright (music) and Clare Torry (vocals). Some other Great Songs that i like... YESTERDAY WHEN I WAS YOUNG - Shirley Bassey THE WAY WE WERE - Barbra Streisand OH MOTHER AND OH SISTER MINE - Manos Hadjidakis (composer) YOUR BLUE LETTERS - George Hadjinasios (composer) FROM SOUVENIRS TO SOUVENIRS - Demis Roussos AUTUMN LEAVES - Nat King Cole ALL BY MYSELF - Eric Carmen ( based on the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff from his second Piano Concerto - Part II) and many more...
Hooboy. Might as well try this myself. Nah. I know 3 Days by Jane's Addiction would be there. America cover by Yes. Genesis' Can Utility and the Coastliners. Radiohead's Street Spirit. Iron Maiden's Wasted Years. Does Beethoven's sixth count? Heh. Anyway... oh. Zeppelin's That's the Way.
very good about cardiacs - nothing can replace their healing qualities of making a man happy...and all the related bands around the artists, are amazing!!! keep on the good path,.
10 GOAT songs (In no particular order) Al Stewart - Year of the Cat Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven Rush - Tom Sawyer Porcupine Tree - Anesthetized Looking Glass - Brandy Triumph - Blinding Light Show Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Waters Kansas - Carry on Wayward Son Logins and Messina - Danny's Song Jason Isbell - Elephant
One of my favorite songs is "It's Love" by King's X. Aside from their incredible band chemistry, the harmony vocals are glorious and the guitar tone is, of course, amazing. Too many superlatives? Not for these guys.
Hi. I'm way down the comments and so you'll probably never see this. But thought I'd chip in. Enjoyed the video very much. One song should be on your list - Strawberry Fields Forever. It stands alone in terms of lyrics, instrumentation, what it means, how it was constructed... from the opening notes to the last wild drum fills... Agree with your No 1. My Great American Songbook choice would be Smile by Nat King Cole. It's heartbreaking. The sadness behind the upbeat be cheerful lyrics. I wouldn't choose Ghosts. It's okay but not brilliant. I'd have a Dylan track. Poss the groundbreaking Like a Rolling Stone. I actually dislike Wichita Linesman. A nice idea but bland. Anyway - keep up the good work. Better than er... whatsisname... Rick someone. - Roger Stevens.
The only song on the list that I know is Tim Hardin's, but I know of some of the other singers. I half expected Jeff Buckley with Hallelujah on the list, as that is incredible. I love the way you talk about these songs with such clear and passion, Andy. Great video again.
Tim Hardin over Scot Walker? 😉 Wichita Lineman 😍❤️ Grew up with Nature Boy…that’s just triggered a memory of Age of Aquarius…weird 😆😍 Ima go listen to St James Infirmary after this! Strange fruit hanging on the poplar trees…gorgeously evocative Great list mate, eclectic, wonderful…would expect nothing less
To me it's virtually impossible that any 'best song' could have been written on this side of 1980. That said, your mention here and elsewhere of Cardiacs, which I never heard of before, prompted me to check them out. Not half bad, my spontaneous impression is something along the lines of 'Radiohead if they were any good'. Certainly worth delving deeper into. On a pure song basis though, in 57 years no one has yet managed to top 'A whiter shade of pale', not even the Beatles, and I've stopped holding my breath.
Love Cardiacs, they were like gods to the rest of us bands in Kingston…completely bonkers, completely inspiring…would say I loved them almost as much as Magazine
The Nice did a great version of hang on to a dream. Great jazzy solo from Keith Emerson. BTW the video should be called, the weirdest songs of all time.
This is such a unique, heartfelt, and surprising compilation. Thank you for sharing these particular choices. I appreciate your inclusion of Ella, whose 'Angel Eyes' is also amazing, and for me, the best is 'The Nearness of You', which is an archetype of love, with a beautiful ambiguity between romantic and spiritual love. Ella seems unique in her ability to render tenderness, and her technique is tuned to this emotion. I was surprised and touched by your choice of 'Wichita Lineman' also. It has resonance for my generation I guess. Did not know about the Cardiacs and Japan but they are both very interesting, I got the grand hymn vibe from 'Dirty Boy' and the Bryan Ferry trill from 'Ghost', and had completely forgotten about Tim Hardin, who makes me wonder what your thoughts are about the sad poet types of the seventies like Scott Walker and Nick Drake. 'Chime of a City Clock', 'Northern Sky', and 'Saturday Sun', and many others are so great. Looks like I have to make my own list. Cheers and Happy New Year!
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer 30th century man is great and almost everything on Scott 4. Great career. But Nick Drake is special. Every album is perfect and otherworldly for me. Regards and Thanks for your work.
Loved this, great choices. Can't really argue with the number one. Nice surprise to see Ghosts in there, I kind of dismissed Japan at the time (they were very popular with girls) but rediscovering them now and I'd say this is probabaly their best song. More great work, I'd discovering lots of new music, thanks Andy
Great selecting Billie Holliday as number one. She had the hardest life of any musician I know of outside of Allen Collins from Skynyrd. Should have "Sex, Drugs and Rock N' Roll" on the list someway.
Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Joni Mitchell will definitely figure among the greatest singers of all time. Add to that perhaps Sarah Vaughan, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, even David Bowie, and maybe Frank Sinatra. When it comes to it, I don’t think Taylor Swift has a very good voice, and even Adele doesn’t make the cut. Just possibly Beyoncé. Who among the more contemporary singers could it be? Maybe Justin Timberlake and that because he can act a bit as well as sing. I think acting ability, even if not a great actor, is necessary in order to be a great singer.
not to worry Andy - totally agree - Grateful Dead - way overrated - BS noodling - not real jamming - Workingmans Dead - probably best work - Pink Floyd - never got in to - feel I didn’t miss anything - - have you done “ underrated guitarists - not as popular as deserved - Alvin Lee , Kim Simmonds , Dave Clemson, Rory Gallagher , Leslie West , etc -
WoW! Strange Fruit Whodda thunk? but who can really argue? As for those pholks agreeing with you on any of these things...top notch. Must be time to listen to my fave current band, The Hu.
Can't argue with Louis Armstrong singing St James Infirmary Blues. For me personally though the real tragedy of the song is best interpreted by Kenny Ball on a live recording from the Sixties. His playing and singing in the moment makes me feel he truly has just lost someone. Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen - King of The Swingers 1969 on Fontana
I think the most important song ever, which really has all music history in 1 perfect song is Summertime. There are great great versions of it. Louis and Ella, Janis, Love Sculpture, and more. It's the single most important song in the 20th centrury. IMHO. But.... A great list. Super interesting, compelling and deep. Brilliant, lovely, dunn... See ya on ya next video, bye.
There is a wonderful version on the debut album of Dutch band Brainbox, the band Jan Akkerman was in before joining Focus. They also did a great version of Scarborough Fair on that album.
Interesting....I would have a hard time to pick my top 10 favorite songs, but it would for sure be 10 different ones. And guess what: We're both right, there is no wrong here.
Top marks Andy you are a brave man. I have endured ridicule in the past for my unapologetic love of Japan. Ghost is indeed a beautiful haunted piece of music.
I heard Jimmy Webb tell the story of "Wichita Lineman" in an interview once. Glen Campbell had become a very big star, with a popular TV show, and he had just had a hit with Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," suddenly elevating the songwriter out of the obscurity he'd been working in. Campbell asked him to write another song specifically for him. This was a make-or-break opportunity, so Webb got to work to try to craft his very best song. He'd had an idea about a lineman missing his love and meditating on the long-distance conversations being carried on the phone lines he was working on.. He'd been fussing with it for some time and Campbell had been calling him every couple of days asking how it was coming. Webb wanted him to know he was taking his request seriously, so he sent him a letter explaining what he was working on with a draft of what he had so far. A couple of days later, the two ran into each other and Jimmy told Glenn that the song was coming along really well. Glenn said, "Oh yeah, Wichita Lineman! It's great! We recorded it yesterday!" "But it's not finished," said Webb. "It is now!" replied Campbell.
10. Dirty Boy - Cardiacs
09. Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
08. Ghosts - Japan
07. Hang on to a Dream - Tim Hardin
06. Little Green - Joni Mitchell
05. Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell
04. Embraceable You - Ella Fitzgerald
03. Nature Boy - Eden Arbez
02. St. James Infirmary - Louis Armstrong
01. Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday
That one artist was actually known as "Eden Ahbez." You're close enough for it to be clear who you're referring to, though!
BTW, there is footage on UA-cam of him appearing on TV if you're curious.
Great stuff Andy. You're a scream. 😂😂😂😂. Love the harry casual style of your channel. Love your passion, and quite liked the way you brought some politics into a previous show. Europe and the UK are heading down a slippery slope towards fascism. Hope it changes soon. I've been watching Beato for a few years. Great channel. His huge fan base could get you some new punters. Worth a try. I'm always in a good mood after watching your channel. Ta very much.
@@chrisfactmanolitsis5070well said!
I prefer your conversational style to the so-called “professional” channels, it’s almost like you’re having a chat with friends and often only reaching a conclusion at the end of the video. This is enhanced by the fact that you don’t look directly at the camera, so you never come across as lecturing your viewers. Please don’t change.
I love his style too. I think many who "are looking straight at the camara" are reading their script off a screen.
Yes I like that about him
I Completely agree.
Very much agree. He has a nice cadence.
Hey! Love your videos. American here--I am a massive Cardiacs fan since finding them in 2019 from the Tantacrul video, and now they are one of my all-time top 3 musical artists. Anyway, that algorithm'd me to your channel, which I really enjoy.
Just wanted to let you know, you have blown my mind with the Baggy Trousers recommendation. In the States (as you perhaps know), Madness was a one-hit wonder with Our House. There was simply no awareness of their body of work. Now I'm listening to Baggy Trousers and plan to dig into their discography, starting with "Rise and Fall" (never even released in the U.S.), based on your interview with Jon Poole.
Anyway, just wanted to thank you for doing the great work of helping people find music that they will truly love, but have not yet discovered because of quirks of personal or cultural history.
Cheers!
Aaron
Inca Roads is the best song for me. And Debussy's Clair de Lune is perhaps the most beautiful composition ever....
Great list Andy! It's interesting that you and others have mentioned that your list could change at any time and this is your favourite 10 today, as my 10 have pretty much been the same for the last 15 years or so, not sure what that says about me.
1. Paranoid Android - Radiohead - my favourite band doing my favourite song containing my favourite guitar solo off my favourite album; just brilliant in every way.
2. 21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson - As heavy as early prog got, great riff, solos, and is even improved in the early 70's live versions
3. Third Eye - Tool - great dynamics, masterful ebb and flow, a trip
4. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere - The Who - An ode to freedom and looking to do or go somewhere new, great drumming and feedback solo (especially live)
5. One - Metallica - the greatest heavy metal song, the build up, the super heavy bit, the solo, the dark lyrics (and unsettling music video)
6. Fools Gold - The Stone Roses - the greatest groove, funky beyond belief, great guitar solo
7. Bullet The Blue Sky - U2 - another great groove/beat, cool feedback use, ominous atmosphere
8. Astronomy Domine - Pink Floyd - cool psychedelic classic, the drumming, guitar and vocals all perfect psych
9. Manic Depression - Jimi Hendrix - such a cool beat, great guitar (of course) and solo
10. Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles - another cool beat, and a lot of neat tricks in this one, my favourite of The Beatles psych songs
Fools Gold…long time personal favorite. Nice choice.
I wouldn't even try this, but if I did, Wichita Lineman would definitely be on there; I love that song so much, but I don't often hear anyone mention it (my wife thinks it's corny, but hey, she's often wrong). It makes me very happy to find it here.
Elbow did a cover of it on live radio a little while back. If they did a proper version without Guy's little vocal mishap, it could be a smash hit.
Your #1 is such an incredible song!! On another level for sure. Billie was one of the all time greatest singers ever. Period. Very cool and diverse list Andy 👍
My favourite song is - Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun by Pink Floyd, 14th century Chinese poetry set to amazing rock music.........always loved it.
Conquistador
All Along the Watchtower (Hendrix)
Tales of Brave Ulysses
Roundabout
Kashmir
Solsibury Hill
Rain
Wish You Were Here
21C Schizoid Man
Like a Rolling Stone
In no particular order.
Chris Cornel was a genius singer, player, songwriter. RIP
Nice. Id struggle with a top 10 as it would change from day to day
Let's give it a go..
God Only Knows
Soothsayer
Solsbury Hill
Bar n grill
Vienna
O Superman
Billion Dollar Babies
Equinoxe part 5
Killer
Healing part 2
Come on Andy, ten minutes in and no offer on the Edward's Book? Love how you are not Rick Beato, I find him hard work and, as a teacher, not always a great educator. As a teacher, I want to share the joy, not show off my knowledge. More natural hair too 🤣
Thank you for sharing the joy Andy.
Andy, I'll tell you a personal story about Dirty Boy.
I've loved Sing to God for many years. The day after Tim Smith's passing, I'm sitting in my office in the evening. I was unaware that he had left us, but thankfully UA-cam's fancy algorithm had decided that Dirty Boy should be on my front page that night.
I had my studio headphones on, and thought, sure why not have a listen? Little did I know what I was in for..
From the start, the song kind of set you straight in a strange mood, but it's when the singing comes in, that the process of taking you to heaven starts. It's a process that does not end for about 9 minutes. But it's not really heaven we end up in either, is it? It's somewhere else. Somewhere different, and nice, and warm, and weird!
For 9 minutes, Tim had me in his grip, on this spaceship that was driving at full speed somewhere deep into space, to a place that no-one has ever gone before.
For each minute that passed, my jaw dropped further and further down, and my mood shifted into this strange mix of sadness, curiosity, melancoly, and HOPE!
With that magnificent cover shining at my face in all its glory, I was trying to picture Tim's mind. I saw a giant universe of stars and galaxies, and all the fantastically weird ideas popping in and out of existence. The ideas being there solely for Tim's grabbing, which he then would pull out, and give birth to in "our" world of mortals.
The song felt as a warm good-bye, and as it was hitting its high peak, and I DO mean its high peak, I was left crying and in awe to this man with his beautiful musical mind. I was in a mind state I've never been before, and I can not even try to describe it. If there was a drug that would make me feel this way again, I'd take it every single day.
After the song ended, I was just sitting there in silence, processing all these feelings and impressions. I finally read the first video comment, which said something like "RIP Tim". I'm not a spiritual guy, but I have no rational explanation of why this happened to me on the following day that he died. It had never happened before, or since, and it's an experience I will take with me until I die.
Rest in peace, Tim.
This is a brilliant description of mthe power of this song
Yes, Dirty Boy seems to have a big impact on people! It’s like the rock epic I was waiting for without realising it. Left me in a mess the first time too.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer By the way, if you need a Cardiacs fan for a video, I could give it a go 😀
check out the smashing pumpkins doing "once in a lifetime" its smashing
I had to pause your video right off the top to listen to Dirty Boy. What a great song!
Interesting thing about Wichita Lineman -- it doesn't have an obvious tonal center. And I believe that guitar melody is a baritone guitar played by Carol Kaye. And I love anything By George Gershwin, but Ira Gershwin is a lousy lyricist and "Embraceable You" is a great example of both.
Supper's Ready - too obvious. Be Bop Deluxe Crying To The Sky. Gentle Giant Memories of Old Days. Wilco Impossible Germany. Jorma Kaukamen's song Genesis. These list changes all the time...
"Crying to the sky
Weeping like a silver fountain..."
Be Bop and Bill are sooo underrated. Wait, it's the internet! They are "criminally under rated!" 🙂
Supper’s Ready and Crying to the Sky …. Both very different but both great 👍
Since you mentioned Be Bop Deluxe, I always thought Maid in Heaven was as close to a perfect song as possible - blistering playing, hummable melody... does so much but doesn't outstay its welcome.
Over the Rainbow - The Greatest Song Ever!!!!
My top 10:
(And as a Beatle-maniac, I'm going to challenge myself and disqualify any tunes by The Fabs).
- Stayin Alive, Bee Gees
- Wanna Be Startin Something, Michael Jackson
- Bad, U2
- She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals
- There's No Other Way, Blur
- Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
- Superwise, Goodness (Post-grunge Seattle band. Look them up.)
- Jesus Etc., Wilco
- Belated Promise Ring, Iron and Wine
- Black Ballerina, Ariel Pink
Form content...your art background is showing. So pkease ket us see yer art wotk. Terrific mind and delivery.
For me, production is a really important factor in whether or not I like a song, to the point that I pretty much can't listen to any 80's mainstream music, because I find the production so offensive, moreso as the decade went on. It's a little frustrating, because there are songs that I think I would probably like if they had been made in another decade. Also, if it's just about the song and the melody, can I point out Stairway To Heaven by Rolf Harris.
If people who died in the 60's and 70's fell into obscurity unless they were already legends, how did Nick Drake become so much more popular after his death in 1974.
To paraphrase William Blake, great songs are songs that you like. Period. As usual, you are pleasantly unpredictable in your picks. And thank you for not including Mr Blue Sky.
Damn...Forgot Mr Blue Sky....
😀
Mother Earth (Memphis Slim)
Supernaught (Sabbath)
Angel From Montgomery (John Prine)
Nature Boy (Nat King Cole)
Louie Louie (Kingsman)
Gloomy Sunday (Billy Holiday)
Mailman (Soundgarden)
Venus in Furs (Velvet Underground)
Men With Broken Hearts (Hank Williams)
I don't love or even like all the songs on the list (except fot the last 3) but I LOVE what the list represents and how you articulated it. Great video and looking forward to the lists of singers.
Thabks for adding Once in a lifetime
Wonderful Video Andy. So much more than a top ten list.
I have nothing but respect for your leaning towards great songs that
are not only great but also have historical and cultural importance.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Many thanks!
Billie's version of #1 is one of the few songs that can bring me to tears.
My grunge era band was Mudhoney. Not that you needed to know that.
Great idea. It helps to define the direction of your commentary. Of anyone’s commentary. A counter argument would aim to define a narrower frame of reference for the list. Also, to suggest that to pick 10 is enough; and to construct a ranking order after that is a distraction (why not present them chronologically instead?).
The history that I reference in my record collection is a blend of my own lifetime and the history of developments in the recording industry. The first is unavoidable. I would have to be a professional critic of recorded music to go through the time, effort and personal development, required to distance myself from my own life experience. Here, you have a special niche as a musician with a trained ear. Obviously, you can listen and hear in the music things that I cannot. I appreciate that through my own ‘trained eye’: I can look at art and appreciate things people who love Monet (etc.) just cannot.
However, the second ‘the history of the recording of sound’, its sale and promotion, brings us both right up to the hearth where we can have a few moments of intense discussion together. More or less on equal footing.
The history of recorded music is pretty intense, as we can witness living through the emergence of the LP (Elvis Presley 1956); the CD (Brothers in Arms or Tripping the Life Fantastic); and streaming (I don’t have a single ‘streamed’ song, I just borrow CDs from the library).
Armstrong, Holiday, are not on the mainstream owing to the fact that the recording was done much too early to capture the full essence of their performance. They also belong to another gengre: Jazz. And I argue (with Northrop Frye) that we must ‘separate where we cannot divide.’ We can reach back to Louis Armstrong as an innovator in records; Ella dn Billie; or Frank Sinatra; but this is research. Their product will not pass the test of dropping down the needle in the groove and producing a sound that is instantly recognizable to music fans and aficionados.
Of course it also fails the test of being created during the 1955-1990 period when the album reigned supreme; it was radio and not videos that were promoting the music (for better and for worse); and we did not have the wide open field for experimentation we have today.
So here is a list of 20 as a suggestion (getting down to 10 would require a second pass, and a close listen, but is suggested with asterisks):
Heartbeat - 1958
*Like a Rolling Stone - 1965
Whipped Cream - 1965
Good Vibrations - 1966
*Hey Jude - 1968
*Here Comes the Sun - 1969
Space Oddity - 1969
*You Can’t Always Get What You Want - 1969
*Bridge Over Troubled Water - 1970
Me and Bobby McGee - 1971
*Carey - 1971
*Stairway to Heaven - 1971
*Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - 1974
*Thunder Road - 1975
Bohemian Rhapsody - 1975
Sweet Caroline/Beautiful Noise - 1969/1976
*Go Your Own Way - 1976
Hotel California - 1977
*Skateaway - 1980
Unknown Legend- 1993 (Four Strong Winds; After the Gold Rush; Heart of Gold; Powderfinger)
On the list, in some cases, other songs by the same artist are included, suggesting the need to dig a little deeper. Are we looking for an early or late work, for example? The strike of lightning, or the fruit of maturation?
Chronologically, I’ve broken out a 10-year period that seems to dominate the list. From a personal perspective, it brakets with my high school years (1971-1976). However, from the perspective of the music industry, it represents the period where recording techniques matured (best seen by listening to live albums from the same period). And before the studio took over, with multi-tracking to the nth degree, synthetic sounds, and digital.
It’s not a definitive list. It’s just a work in progress triggered by your work on this site.
PS
Some notable exclusions: Bob Seger, Boz Scaggs, Michael Jackson, Eurhythmics, CCR, The Who, Billy Joel, Steely Dan, Hendrix …
The great Mick Karn definitely played on 'Tin Drum'...
Looking forward to Sing To God special. My list today would be:
Everso Closely Guarded Line - Cardiacs
Koeeoaddi There - ISB
Deacon Blues - Steely Dan
Eleanor Rigby - Beatles
Reasons For Waiting- Tull
The Man I Love - Ella
Kalimankou Dankou - Mystere Des Voix Bulgares
The Trees They Do Grow High - Martin Carthy
Worker’s Song - Dick Gaughan
Anecdotes - Joanna Newsom
Thank you Andy, great video. At 62, I have so much to learn.
Nice to see Ghosts on there amongst other more established classics. Also nice that you avoided the big artists with cliched choices like Stairway to Heaven.
Billie frikken Holiday.
I love this channel so much. Andy, you are a brilliant music guy. But I am utterly bored by jazz and prog rock. Maybe I'm unsophisticated or something. Anyway keep on doing your thing!
Just heard the Cardiacs tune for the first time and it's freakin amazing.
I have served my purpose then :)
Top 10 Favorite Songs
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Imagine - John Lennon
American Pie - Don McLean
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
A Day In The Life - The Beatles
Blackbird - The Beatles
Dust In The Wind - Kansas
God Only Knows - The Beach Boys
"The Unfortunate Rake" (anon), to the tune that later became "Only the Heartaches", clearly sits on the path that led to St James Infirmary. In that song it's unprotected sex that's the victim's undoing. And there's a similar list of all the things he wants at his funeral. "The Streets of Laredo", famously covered by the great Johnny Cash, transitions the song to the Wild West, where gambling joins forces with Rosie to finish the lad off.
Moving on to another song, you're going to hate me for saying this but "Dirty Boy" reminds me an awful lot of the last movement of "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers", which similarly keeps rising and rising.
I'll get me coat.
Ghosts by Japan is world-stopping great. I go back to it all the time and I'm still in awe of it.
Thank you for including Witchita Linemanas a true classic but God only knows how you managed to overlook Brian Wilson's perfect pop song.
Wouldn't it be nice if it made the top ten. When I get around to doing this again I will do it again and wipe out one of my choices and put it in at 409
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Andy, we need you to make a pun video now.
A list of favorites off the top of my head:
Billie Holiday: Strange Fruit
Bob Dylan: It's All Right Ma, I'm Only Bleeding
The Clash: Complete Control
Otis Redding: Cigarettes And Coffee
Public Enemy: Bring The Noise
Van Morrison: Into The Mystic
Aaron Neville: Tell It Like It Is
PJ Harvey: Man-Size
Sex Pistols: Holidays In The Sun
Marvin Gaye: Inner City Blues
Mighty Diamonds: Tamarind Farm
Joni Mitchell: Carey
Tracy Chapman: Fast Car
An illuminating and cerebral top 10 .. shocked no Shakin Stevens tho 😜
Behind The Green Door bubbling at number 11
Great choice. May I make one correction? You have selected the Ella Fitzgerald version of Embraceable You and rightly praise the arrangement by Nelson Riddle. This was included in the five 12 inch vinyl 1959 Verve release Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George And Ira Gershwin Songbook.
The album cover that illustrates your selection is of the one 10 inch 1950 Decca/Brunswick release Ella Sings Gershwin on which she was accompanied by solo pianist Ellis Larkins. Although the album includes some lesser known Gershwin compositions such as Looking For A Boy, Maybe and Soon, it does not include Embraceable You.
Dirt - The Stooges
Police and Thieves - The Clash
If I Was Your Girlfriend - Prince
There Goes a Tenner - Kate Bush
My Man - Billie Holiday
Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise - June Christy
No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley
Werewolf - Cat Power
Miss You - The Rolling Stones
It's a Man's World - James Brown
Are you allowed to like DIRT that much It makes me feel guilty Good Choice
The clash were great until they went anywhere near reggae.
holy moly, Andy you have achieved Vulcan Mind Meld with Rick ..he is just NOW doing Witchita Lineman ...this is more than a coincidence
Yes...this is a strange coincidence
Just commenting to help the channel, don't know what to say! I love your style, I hope the new content doesn't lose this charm. Your delivery is informative, cheeky, spontaneous, spiritual
I'm a Cardiacs fan. Love to be on your video explaining why I love'm so much. Songs for Ships and Irons is the album I like best even though it's a combination of two mini albums.
I'm a Can super fan as well. Love to talk more aboit Can. Really great band.
''If There is Something'' Roxy Music.. ''Death Trip'' Cockney Rebel.. ''Mainlines'' Doctors of Madness
Strange Fruit is an amazing song. I was thinking about that song earlier today. I could quibble about your list. But it's hard to argue that Strange Fruit is not one of the most important songs of the 20th century. Really a chilling tune, particularly for someone like me from the American south. You mentioned Autumn in NY at the end of your list. Also an amazing song.... I also like How Deep is the Ocean, particularly the Diana Krall version. Interestingly, I think Rick Beato put out a video today saying that Wichita Lineman is the greatest country song. LOL Jimmy Webb was a helluva songwriter. There are so many great songs that I could not possible pare a list down to 10.
I’ve just heard Martin (Jethro Tull) Parrish’s version of Dirty Boy and I was stunned! A clean & pristine hymn. 🥲
Well right off the bat you made a horrible mistake!! You have conflated two different lists. Are these your favorite songs? Or the greatest songs??? These are two entirely different things. Recognizing greatness and recognizing songs that your personal favorites take a different mindset all together. Most importantly you must eliminate the cultural and musical impact from the equation. When a song is your favorite you are evaluating how it makes you feel and you alone. Nothing else matters. Popularity, impact, complexity, etc, etc. If your favorite song is a punk jam from a 7" only 50 people have ever heard that is your favorite song. But I doubt you'd consider it one of the greats. Anyway, here is my list of favorites:
By the way lyrics factor in about 3 or 4% tops. Music is all I mostly care about...
10. Killing Joke - The Wait
9. Celtic Frost - Circle of the Tyrants
8. Bennie Green - Lullaby of the Doomed
7. Rush - Vital Signs
6. Radiohead - Separator
5. Talking Heads - Born Under Punches (Live version specifically)
4. Judas Priest - Breaking the Law
3. The Stooges - Dirt
2. The Who - Going Mobile
1. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Now the greatest songs of all time is a different story. And obviously impossible. But here goes....
10. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
9. Big Joe Turner - Shake, Rattle & Roll
8. Ray Charles - Mess Around
7. Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog
6. Hank Williams - Wedding Bells
5. Lead Belly - The Midnight Special
4. Sister Rosetta Tharpe - This Train
3. Blind Willie Johnson - John The Revelator
2. Bob Dylan - Hurricane
1. Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit
They are my favourite...hence the title
That Rick Beato sorta running joke made my day ;-)
Beautiful video, by the way. I love the fact that we’re traveling from punk to 30’s jazz at the blink of an eye. Great cultural span.
I am so delighted that I agree with you about the greatness of Ella, Joni as incomparably beautiful, the importance of Louis, but your Strange #1 is brilliant. Billy Holiday brings all the power to the greatest song of the 20th century. All the brutal reality is encapsulated in the soul of Ms. Holiday. Brilliant!
Tim Harden? I say Nick Drake's Northern Skies...
I’d go River Man for Nick but great choice
@@davidwylde8426 +1 on River Man. The strings are amazing.
@@zootallures6470 agreed. I think Radiohead have definitely been influenced, with the inclusion of strings that serve a similar purpose, on a couple of their tracks,( just my opinion of course).
@@davidwylde8426 I see Jonny Greenwood as the Kerry Minnear of the 90s.
@@zootallures6470interesting. You’ve obviously recognised Greenwood as their strings arranger. It’s nice to know that Gentle Giant fans are aware of, and appreciate Radiohead.
You‘re such a great guy, thanks.
Andy, you have a deep knowledge of music and musicios. I love your channel and always look forward to new concepts and new insights of the music I love. Don`t concern yourself with Rick Beato. His channel is excellent and so is Pete Pardo`s. You are making a unique forum for Andy.( P.S. ever thought about teaching ... ha ha )
looking particularly Trotskyesque today Andy. Nice list. Given your focus on songs lately. Have you listened to Fred Neil? Most know him as the composer of Everybody's Talkin, but he was a great singer too. Check out Little Bit of Rain, Merry Go Round, Look over Yonder, and his own Everyone's Talkin. His bluesy rendition of Merry Go Round is absolutely incredible on The Many Sides of Fred Neil
He is one of the secret favorites, secret forever
@@narosgmbh5916 yeah, it's like a secret society
Metheny once said that every song he ever wrote was based on wichita lineman….. he used to play a jazz version in the very early days…..
Yes...he has taken something of it's aesthetic and merged it with jazz. It may be his finest achievement
Somewhere over the Rainbow ..check out Eva Cassidy
Love your perfectly balanced snobbery. Keep hitting it mate
Great video Andy. Thank you....I remember the Soundgarden tune but will obviously have to listen again along with a couple of others. Also I have one for you......I have no idea if you would know this song, but if not please seek it out. It has the stature of Strange Fruit, Nature Boy, Song to the Siren and Wild is the Wind, and is likewise a bit 'spooked' just like those songs. It sounds like a shamanistic ritual is being performed, it's lyrics deal with a strange transfiguration towards hope from murky/ambiguous events of the past with some added local colour, it has drums/percussion off the charts (tight? loose?), the arrangement is sublime, it is sung by two absolute legends of Brazilian music.....oh yeah....and it's totally prog: O Que Foi Feito Devera---Elis Regina and Milton Nascimento (1978). Number one on my list.
That Glen Campbell solo in Wichita Lineman was played on Carol Kayes V6-bass.
St. James Infirmary. My favorite song of all time. It opened my eyes to the fact that there was something beyond the Billboard Top 20.
That is a strange list of favs , Glad you had the awareness to include "Wichita Lineman" ..which I consider the best song of All time ... yes these lists are always subjective , I would suggest (Whole of the Moon ) Waterboys , Timeless-Rick Derringer, Love of the Common man-Todd Rundgren, Baby Blue - Badfinger, Josie- Steely Dan, Alex Chilton- The Replacements, I am the luckiest - Ben Folds,
Great video as always Andy, your channel deserves a much wider audience, and hopefully 2023 will be the year it happens!
Black hole sun, what an incredible song. Definitely high up on my top 10
Nice list Andy, and I agree with your premise/parameters. Mine (based on song itself/songwriting) would be this list below.
The order of this listing is unimportant:
And You and I (Jon Anderson/Bill Bruford/Chris Squire/Steve Howe) - Yes 1972
Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma/Johnny Mercer/Jaques Prevert) - Eva Cassidy 1998
Close to the Edge (Jon Anderson / Steve Howe) - Yes 1972
Netherlands (Dan Fogelberg) - Dan Fogelberg 1977
Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb) - Johnny Cash 2002
Roads to Moscow (Al Stewart) - Al Stewart 1973
If It Be Your WIll (Leonard Cohen) - Leonard Cohen 1984
The Rain Song (Jimmy Page / Robert Plant) - Led Zeppelin - 1973
The Gates of Delerium (Yes) - Yes 1974
A Day In the Life (Jon Lennon / Paul McCartney) - The Beatles 1967
"Hang on to a dream" cover by The Nice (Keith Emerson)
ua-cam.com/video/AMbSDOi8kZk/v-deo.html
Tim Hardin and drummer Pete York formed "The world's smallest Big Band"
ua-cam.com/video/oAI9D7jztFc/v-deo.html
Music for me above all is Harmony-Melody and Emotions.
So a song that brings me all that, a song with vocals but no lyrics,
my absolute favorite, is...
"THE GREAT GIG IN THE SKY" by Richard Wright (music) and Clare Torry (vocals).
Some other Great Songs that i like...
YESTERDAY WHEN I WAS YOUNG - Shirley Bassey
THE WAY WE WERE - Barbra Streisand
OH MOTHER AND OH SISTER MINE - Manos Hadjidakis (composer)
YOUR BLUE LETTERS - George Hadjinasios (composer)
FROM SOUVENIRS TO SOUVENIRS - Demis Roussos
AUTUMN LEAVES - Nat King Cole
ALL BY MYSELF - Eric Carmen ( based on the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff from his second Piano Concerto - Part II)
and many more...
Cant argue with any of that:all great!! My favourite song is early libre by billy cobham but theres at least 50 in my top10.. great vid as always 👍
Hooboy. Might as well try this myself. Nah. I know 3 Days by Jane's Addiction would be there. America cover by Yes. Genesis' Can Utility and the Coastliners. Radiohead's Street Spirit. Iron Maiden's Wasted Years. Does Beethoven's sixth count? Heh. Anyway... oh. Zeppelin's That's the Way.
very good about cardiacs - nothing can replace their healing qualities of making a man happy...and all the related bands around the artists, are amazing!!! keep on the good path,.
Cardiac... Superb. Thanks Richard Gorbutt.
Interesting show and great choices, Andy. Bowie's Nature Boy was from Moulin Rouge, right director though.
Close....
10 GOAT songs
(In no particular order)
Al Stewart - Year of the Cat
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
Rush - Tom Sawyer
Porcupine Tree - Anesthetized
Looking Glass - Brandy
Triumph - Blinding Light Show
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Kansas - Carry on Wayward Son
Logins and Messina - Danny's Song
Jason Isbell - Elephant
One of my favorite songs is "It's Love" by King's X. Aside from their incredible band chemistry, the harmony vocals are glorious and the guitar tone is, of course, amazing. Too many superlatives? Not for these guys.
Hi. I'm way down the comments and so you'll probably never see this. But thought I'd chip in. Enjoyed the video very much. One song should be on your list - Strawberry Fields Forever. It stands alone in terms of lyrics, instrumentation, what it means, how it was constructed... from the opening notes to the last wild drum fills... Agree with your No 1. My Great American Songbook choice would be Smile by Nat King Cole. It's heartbreaking. The sadness behind the upbeat be cheerful lyrics. I wouldn't choose Ghosts. It's okay but not brilliant. I'd have a Dylan track. Poss the groundbreaking Like a Rolling Stone. I actually dislike Wichita Linesman. A nice idea but bland. Anyway - keep up the good work. Better than er... whatsisname... Rick someone. - Roger Stevens.
Glen Campbell is a good shout for rop 10 guitarists IMO!
The only song on the list that I know is Tim Hardin's, but I know of some of the other singers. I half expected Jeff Buckley with Hallelujah on the list, as that is incredible. I love the way you talk about these songs with such clear and passion, Andy. Great video again.
A really interesting list! Great to see Japan on the list!! The first band I ever saw!! ❤️
I tried this and couldn't get below roughly 100 songs because on different days I felt different emotions about choices.
Tim Hardin over Scot Walker? 😉
Wichita Lineman 😍❤️
Grew up with Nature Boy…that’s just triggered a memory of Age of Aquarius…weird 😆😍
Ima go listen to St James Infirmary after this!
Strange fruit hanging on the poplar trees…gorgeously evocative
Great list mate, eclectic, wonderful…would expect nothing less
Japan, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears etc
Singers voices
ALL stuck in the mid-1980s and do not translate to any other decade or style.
How'd this and Rick Beato's vid on Wichita Lineman premiere on the same day, star-crossed😄
To me it's virtually impossible that any 'best song' could have been written on this side of 1980. That said, your mention here and elsewhere of Cardiacs, which I never heard of before, prompted me to check them out. Not half bad, my spontaneous impression is something along the lines of 'Radiohead if they were any good'. Certainly worth delving deeper into. On a pure song basis though, in 57 years no one has yet managed to top 'A whiter shade of pale', not even the Beatles, and I've stopped holding my breath.
Amazing video, Jazz holds incredible songs. Thank you very much for your thoughts on this 🙏
Love Cardiacs, they were like gods to the rest of us bands in Kingston…completely bonkers, completely inspiring…would say I loved them almost as much as Magazine
The Nice did a great version of hang on to a dream. Great jazzy solo from Keith Emerson. BTW the video should be called, the weirdest songs of all time.
This is such a unique, heartfelt, and surprising compilation. Thank you for sharing these particular choices. I appreciate your inclusion of Ella, whose 'Angel Eyes' is also amazing, and for me, the best is 'The Nearness of You', which is an archetype of love, with a beautiful ambiguity between romantic and spiritual love. Ella seems unique in her ability to render tenderness, and her technique is tuned to this emotion. I was surprised and touched by your choice of 'Wichita Lineman' also. It has resonance for my generation I guess. Did not know about the Cardiacs and Japan but they are both very interesting, I got the grand hymn vibe from 'Dirty Boy' and the Bryan Ferry trill from 'Ghost', and had completely forgotten about Tim Hardin, who makes me wonder what your thoughts are about the sad poet types of the seventies like Scott Walker and Nick Drake. 'Chime of a City Clock', 'Northern Sky', and 'Saturday Sun', and many others are so great. Looks like I have to make my own list. Cheers and Happy New Year!
I'm a big Nick Drake fan. River Man could have made this list. No Regrets by Scott is preety good too
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer 30th century man is great and almost everything on Scott 4. Great career. But Nick Drake is special. Every album is perfect and otherworldly for me. Regards and Thanks for your work.
Loved this, great choices. Can't really argue with the number one. Nice surprise to see Ghosts in there, I kind of dismissed Japan at the time (they were very popular with girls) but rediscovering them now and I'd say this is probabaly their best song. More great work, I'd discovering lots of new music, thanks Andy
Great selecting Billie Holliday as number one. She had the hardest life of any musician I know of outside of Allen Collins from Skynyrd. Should have "Sex, Drugs and Rock N' Roll" on the list someway.
Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Joni Mitchell will definitely figure among the greatest singers of all time. Add to that perhaps Sarah Vaughan, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, even David Bowie, and maybe Frank Sinatra. When it comes to it, I don’t think Taylor Swift has a very good voice, and even Adele doesn’t make the cut. Just possibly Beyoncé. Who among the more contemporary singers could it be? Maybe Justin Timberlake and that because he can act a bit as well as sing. I think acting ability, even if not a great actor, is necessary in order to be a great singer.
not to worry Andy - totally agree - Grateful Dead - way overrated - BS noodling - not real jamming - Workingmans Dead - probably best work - Pink Floyd - never got in to - feel I didn’t miss anything - - have you done “ underrated guitarists - not as popular as deserved - Alvin Lee , Kim Simmonds , Dave Clemson, Rory Gallagher , Leslie West , etc -
Not much prog on this list, I was expecting ten marillion songs
Didn't Jimmy Webb pen MacArthur Park? The version by Waylon Jennings with The Kimberleys is brilliant.
WoW! Strange Fruit Whodda thunk? but who can really argue? As for those pholks agreeing with you on any of these things...top notch. Must be time to listen to my fave current band, The Hu.
Nightporter is my favourite Sylvian song, he pulled that out of nowhere on the third album completely out of character at the time, as you noted.
Have you also seen the film Night Porter? The melody comes from that
@@jonathanwoodvincent no but I will find it
Can't argue with Louis Armstrong singing St James Infirmary Blues. For me personally though the real tragedy of the song is best interpreted by Kenny Ball on a live recording from the Sixties. His playing and singing in the moment makes me feel he truly has just lost someone.
Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen - King of The Swingers 1969 on Fontana
I think the most important song ever, which really has all music history in 1 perfect song is Summertime. There are great great versions of it. Louis and Ella, Janis, Love Sculpture, and more. It's the single most important song in the 20th centrury. IMHO.
But.... A great list. Super interesting, compelling and deep. Brilliant, lovely, dunn... See ya on ya next video, bye.
There is a wonderful version on the debut album of Dutch band Brainbox, the band Jan Akkerman was in before joining Focus. They also did a great version of Scarborough Fair on that album.
Interesting....I would have a hard time to pick my top 10 favorite songs, but it would for sure be 10 different ones. And guess what: We're both right, there is no wrong here.
Top marks Andy you are a brave man. I have endured ridicule in the past for my unapologetic love of Japan. Ghost is indeed a beautiful haunted piece of music.