CLASSIC ROCK TRACKS POLL: THE RESULTS

Looks like our bits of biographical ephemera are spliced, much like the song itself:

According to interviews on the writing of Rumours, the final section of "The Chain"—beginning with a bass progression—was created by John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Stevie Nicks had written the lyrics separately and thought they would be a good match; she and Christine McVie did some reworking to create the first section of the tune. Other elements were worked in from an early project of Christine's called "Keep Me There".[1] The blues-style piano motif was removed, and the remainder combined with a bridge from yet another piece manually using a razor blade to cut and splice the tapes. To complete the song, Buckingham recycled the intro from an earlier song from a duet with Nicks, "Lola (My Love)", originally released on their self-titled 1973 album.

Due to the spliced nature of the record - the drums and guitar were the only instruments actually recorded in each other's company - and its sporadic composition and assembly from different rejected songs, "The Chain" is one of only a few Fleetwood Mac songs whose authorship is credited to all members of the band at the time.[1]

Well then, to be on the safe side, I hate The Chain, too.

>:(

a personal favorite coming up here

http://i.imgur.com/ZqkOgqM.jpg

93. (tie) The Knack – My Sharona
834 points, 13 votes

too low

i'd imagine a lot of voters cut it from their ballots under some "too new-wave" criteria?

Woo I love that song. Also fun trivia: it was the number one song the day Jeff was born.

lol at all the boozecentric jpegs up in here

"My Sharona" was kinda the new wave meeting classic rock halfway (Bonham drums) same as the Cars' debut xpost

lol at all the boozecentric jpegs up in here

baby, you aint seen nothin' yet

Hey, I did vote for one FM song! One of Lindsey's!

I prefer "My Bologna"

Yeah, we could probably fill out a good Weird Al playlist based on the parodies just from these results.

I had a relatively 80s-, and by extension, new wave-friendly ballot here. Had it at 79 here.

These images are fantastic.

http://i.imgur.com/A9kgZPL.jpg

92. Lou Reed – Walk On The Wild Side
837 points, 16 votes

Due to the spliced nature of the record - the drums and guitar were the only instruments actually recorded in each other's company - and its sporadic composition and assembly from different rejected songs, "The Chain" is one of only a few Fleetwood Mac songs whose authorship is credited to all members of the band at the time.

apologies for dragging the beatles into this, but one of the things i've always liked about "the chain" is that it's like one of those true lennon/mccartney co-writes where you really can't tell whose song it is. it sounds like it's expressing the essence of the band, not one of its three fron people. and that chorus has always sounded to me like the central thesis of all of rumours, lyrically, emotionally, and especially in the way the three voices don't harmonize with each other so much as they wrap around each other.

Still not buying this one as a CR radio staple, but maybe that's just the case where I'm from. Many of y'all had never even heard Shambala before, so I get it.

I first heard "Walk On The Wild Side" through CRR, but IME it's in super light rotation

and/or a song that stations will throw into medium rotation for a month or two and then remove from the playlist for years

I know that it was (and Vicious too) because it's how I first heard Lou Reed and his songs being on the radio helped me find VU's greatest hits at the library and I am really trusting my own personal memory not to fail me on this particular salient detail of my life.

greatest hits = best of
lol

anyway i am glad he made it!

CR radio was where I first heard (and was baffled by) "Walk on the Wild Side". I will always associate with that format and I didn't even vote for it.

associate it*

Classic rock radio is the place where she said hey baby...

Correct about it being in very light rotation. I remember after hearing it for the first time, waiting to hear it for months just to learn who/what it was.

http://i.imgur.com/4c5H1wx.jpg

91. Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight
839 points, 14 votes

Too low!

Great drum fill or THE GREATEST drum fill?

not sure if it's good or bad that this song now makes me think of the ad with the drum-playing gorilla

isn't it named after him? xp

off-topic but any fan of this song who's never heard the '88 remix really really needs to: http://youtu.be/On3jqw-tZsk

One of my great unused thread ideas is to poll those five fills.

lol

any fan who's never heard it skrewed really needs to as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnweKclCLRk

Have never liked SITAT, despite being a pretty big Phil Collins/Genesis fan for a couple years in the 1980s. Doesn't really fit into my concept of classic rock either. Nevertheless, I'm listening to the whole damn thing again for drum fill purposes.

HATE don't stop believing. My Sharona would be an amazing track if it wasn't for that hook, back half of the song is really fun.

Best about 'walk on the wild side' is that it's responsible for 'can i kick it'

http://i.imgur.com/VsNDnPL.jpg

90. James Gang – Walk Away
846 points, 12 votes

Cool images grady! Y'all shoulda hit me up for old Sh1pley family photos to add to the mix!

I hear "Walk on the Wild Side" reasonably often, actually (and don't know what "Shambala" is). In fact, it was on when we turned on CR radio while setting up our apartment a couple of weeks ago. I remember that when I was a kid and first listening to CR, I totally didn't get what the point of the song was, just some guy talking over a couple of chords.

The guitar tone on "My Sharona" is actually pretty ripping, I noticed when I heard it a little while ago!

i first heard about 'lola' on 'family ties,' so

Me too! Nick's preferred wedding song iirc.

xposts LOVE "Walk Away"

Sharona guitars are so good.

ITAT is a monster. never considered voting for it due to it's almost, like, anti-classic rock but imo this track can't be praised enough. changed everything. Phil Collins on LEAD DRUMS, motherfuckers.

My #9!

my sharona's lyrics are pretty uncomfortable if you sing them out loud

in my world of classic rock neither Genesis nor Phil Collins ever registered, because they were on top 40 / pop radio. I think?

yeah I hate "My Sharona" for the lyrics; but "My Bologna" is a classic

Lol

xpost

nah Genesis/Collins were AOR staples

ooh... seems to me "walk away" is the first track on my ballot to place. the Aorta is making Monday at the tool and die shop fly by.

I cut "Walk Away" pretty late, despite loving it; I remember hearing "Rocky Mountain Way" on classic rock radio but no James Gang.

Something about ITAT seems to draw inspiration from Wall-era Pink Floyd as well as laying the foundation for later Floyd music that came after Waters departed. Are Collins and Gilmour buddies? Seems like they would be.