"Breakdown" was my highest Petty vote, because its groove seems custom-built for classic rock radio. Like Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Stan Lynch foresaw the entire format and realized there was a slinky little piece missing in its foundation.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:29 (nine years ago) link
it's all roght
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:31 (nine years ago) link
argh
speaking of grooves, I'm surprised and delighted to see "midnight rider" place
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:32 (nine years ago) link
Half of these results have basically been "songs I know well but never had any idea what the titles were".
― Eat Your Heart Out And Fingerblast Your Pancreas (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:33 (nine years ago) link
also: since "highway to hell" went generally unremarked lemme just say for the record that Malcolm Young is a genius. get well soon man.
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:34 (nine years ago) link
Amen. I hope AC/DC get in one last hurrah with a tour and album.
― some dude, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:36 (nine years ago) link
"novelty song"?
― some dude, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:17 (18 minutes ago) Permalink
A lot of this is my 90s baby perspective. The first time I heard "Evil Woman" was in Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
― voodoo chili, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:37 (nine years ago) link
re "lunatic fringe": that's a top ten jam for me. never not stoked to hear it. still ominous after all these years, nice gilmourish solo riding the edge of 80s-ness. file with "twilight zone" for sure, but it's a cut above imo.
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:38 (nine years ago) link
ELO is a novelty freakin' band
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:39 (nine years ago) link
Word is, Malcolm's out (but physically present), and his nephew took his place for recording (and presumably will do so for the tour).
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:40 (nine years ago) link
And now, we're going to smooth things out for a few minutes.
http://i.imgur.com/b9fGuh8.jpg
75. The Alan Parsons Project – Eye In The Sky 896 points, 13 votes
― some dude, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:49 (nine years ago) link
YES! This song is so smooth and creepy.
― cross over the mushroom circle (La Lechera), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:49 (nine years ago) link
It was in my top 10! It also very strongly reminds me of a certain place and time, namely waiting for my mom in her giant Caprice Classic.
― cross over the mushroom circle (La Lechera), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:51 (nine years ago) link
images are something special today.
― Strictly EZ Snappin' Nhex (Spottie), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:52 (nine years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/xDZYpFC.jpg
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:54 (nine years ago) link
I had midnight rider at 11. Probably could have gone higher though. Awesome song.
― Jeff, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:55 (nine years ago) link
this song & coast 2 coast AM* are forever fused in my mind
*and weed and french fries
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:55 (nine years ago) link
didnt vote for it because its not sufficently CR imo, but its prob in my top-10 of all songs that were nominated
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:56 (nine years ago) link
Based on that performance, I'm gonna say the Suzi Q cover of Breakdown was the keyboardist's idea. It was a good idea.
― Three Word Username, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 14:57 (nine years ago) link
UGH work and not feeling well kept me from these festivities for the past 24 hours.5 songs of mine so far. WALK AWAY! Twilight Zone, Highway to Hell, Evil Woman, and Midnight Rider.Work better be slower today, I am not in the mood to try to play catch up, it all just goes to hell when that happens.
― PEOPLE LIVING IN COMPETITION (Sandy), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:03 (nine years ago) link
I had never knowingly heard "Eye In The Sky" before this poll, I'm a little mystified by its placement
― some dude, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:04 (nine years ago) link
It was a top 40 hit, was it not? I remember it getting a lot of airplay in the early 80's.
― Darin, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:08 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, it was a big hit. I didn't vote for it, but it was definitely ubiquitous on rock radio at least through the '80s.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:09 (nine years ago) link
Eye in the Sky is from 1982 btw.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:09 (nine years ago) link
(I prefer the second single from that album, "Games People Play" -- which is not as good as Joe South's "Games People Play," but is still good.)
I don't doubt that it was a hit, I've just never heard it on classic rock radio
― some dude, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:10 (nine years ago) link
I used to have some pills that made me smaller, but I decided the weight loss just wasn't worth the night terrors.
http://i.imgur.com/FbUTIq4.jpg
74. Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit 897 points, 14 votes
― cross over the mushroom circle (La Lechera), Tuesday, July 29, 2014 9:49 AM
Yeah -- I was not a fan of it in its first-run days, but I like its bland menace now. A late cut from my ballot though.
― rockist popist papist (WilliamC), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:11 (nine years ago) link
Oops, "Games People Play" is actually from the previous APP album.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:11 (nine years ago) link
i love white rabbit
― SEEMS TO ME (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:13 (nine years ago) link
"Eye in the Sky" hit the top five..very much an L.A. pop hangover.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:13 (nine years ago) link
"white rabbit" is great but OLDIES
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:14 (nine years ago) link
(also i may blame Grace Slick more than she really deserves for Linda Perry)
APP is good and so creepy. I was most familiar with "Don't Answer Me" and its weird video as a kid. "Eye" is great, and "Time" is probably the most depressing top 40 hit ever but also really quite beautiful in the midst of its efforts to induce suicide in the listener.
― Eat Your Heart Out And Fingerblast Your Pancreas (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:15 (nine years ago) link
Weirdly, "White Rabbit" is by far the most-played Jefferson song on cr, while "Miracles" is all over the oldies station.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:15 (nine years ago) link
78-75 were all on my list!
"White Rabbit" is no "Somebody to Love" IMO
― Lewis - J'Agour (crüt), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:16 (nine years ago) link
Learning that Grace Slick wrote "White Rabbit" while tripping and listening to "Sketches of Spain" is pretty much the least-surprising song origin story ever.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:16 (nine years ago) link
White Rabbit is probably used a lot as a palate cleanser in the context of CRR.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:17 (nine years ago) link
"White Rabbit" is definitely one of the pre-68 songs holding strongest on classic rock radio, in my experience. Songs like that and "Paint It, Black" get a lot of leeway for being pretty dark for the era.
― some dude, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:17 (nine years ago) link
Interestingly enough, the first time I heard of the Alan Parsons Project was also in Austin Powers 2.
Eye in the Sky is pretty great, not really capital C capital R Classic Rock though.
― voodoo chili, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:18 (nine years ago) link
― Lewis - J'Agour (crüt), Tuesday, July 29, 2014
agree, and that's no knock on white rabbit. but "white rabbit" is important but also kinda herky-jerk and shouty where "somebody to love" is a 3-minute pop rampage that deploys slick's foghorn to devastating effect.
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:23 (nine years ago) link
Also agree, hopefully we'll be seeing it place later
― voodoo chili, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:26 (nine years ago) link
And now, we dispense with another biggie surprisingly early in the countdown...
http://i.imgur.com/O6OsSPA.jpg
73. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama 904 points, 14 votes, 2 first place votes
― some dude, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:30 (nine years ago) link
another excellent photo choice
― Lewis - J'Agour (crüt), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:31 (nine years ago) link
turn it up
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:32 (nine years ago) link
Jefferson Airplane, like CCR, were riiiight at that borderline to Oldies, but they just have so much in common with the core classic rock sound that follows. "Dark for the era" is one way of putting it for sure. I only gave them one vote and this wasn't it, but glad to see this here, it rules.
The last few images have just been stellar. 76-74 could have plausibly been the covers to the albums in question, especially Eye in the Sky - that's great!
In general, loving the kind of weird sideline choices for some of these acts - would never have expected Breakdown to make it here, but don't mind it at all. Also funny to imagine what ILM would have produced for this poll ten years ago or more - would there be so much southern rock?
lord, but i hate sweet home alabama
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:32 (nine years ago) link
ha ha 10 years ago ILM would have found some way to nominate every Eno song
― Now you're messing with a (President Keyes), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:35 (nine years ago) link
Speaking of Southern rock, I'll be sad if "Flirtin' With Disaster" does not beat "Sweet Home Alabama."
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:36 (nine years ago) link
Felt compelled to include Sweet Home Alabama in my Skynyrd ROCK BLOCK, felt equally compelled to put it very low, it's no Gimme Three Steps
― PEOPLE LIVING IN COMPETITION (Sandy), Tuesday, 29 July 2014 15:38 (nine years ago) link