October 20, 2012
This is going to be the most fun we’ve had on this show yet! We are going to debate, argue, and ponder who is crazy, and accuse each other of poor taste or great taste or whatever. We are discussing which songs are the TOP 10 GREATEST ROCK BALLADS of all time… and they are all by us White people!!!! Hard to believe isn’t it?
Robert discloses which songs are considered the top songs, at least according to the many and various websites and magazines. He will take probably the top 15 and see what the listeners will think in parring down the number to a cool top 10.
*How far back will it go in time;
*Who and/or why many of the songs were written;
*What type of song would qualify;
*The mistaken values that listeners sometimes read into a song;
*Why a songwriter gets credit or why not for a certain song…
Again, this may be Robert’s best show to date. Hold on for the ride of your musical life!!!!
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Primary school in the UK is normally ages 5 to 11. We start children in full time school here too young I think.
Irresistible topic, Robert.
It’s funny that when you were discussing what constitutes a classic song I couldn’t help but think of the Nazareth version of Love Hurts — and then later in the podcast you played it! In 1976 here in Australia when that song was a minor hit another version of the song, by a guy called Jim Capaldi, was also playing on the radio and was a much bigger hit. Capaldi’s cover of the song was a terrible throwaway uptempo version but it was Nazareth’s slower, soulful rendition that has stood the test of time. I’ve lost count of the number of movies set in the 1970s that have the Nazareth version on their soundtracks, but I’ve yet to hear the Capaldi version in any movie.
Here are my top ten ballads in no particular order. I’ve included YouTube links to songs, mainly by Aussie artists, that you might not know.
1. Golden Slumbers — The Beatles
2. Year of the Cat — Al Stewart
3. Fooled Around and Fell in Love — Elvin Bishop
4. I Was Only Joking — Rod Stewart
5. Comic Conversation — John Farnham
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjpaYaFYaDo
6. Love Me Somebody — Bad Company
7. It’s Not Easy — Normie Rowe (Jimmy Page played on this)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U1EAAhdUjA
8. Gordon Lightfoot — Beautiful
9. Words Are not Enough — Jon English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCMpG-aJAzo
10. The Rascals — How Can I Be Sure?
As an utterly committed Anglo-Irish Aussie White Nationalist activist and lifetime Headbanger it pains me somewhat to have to admit, in absolute HONESTY, that the one, single, Power Ballad that kicks the backsides of every competitor is written and performed by a ‘Native American’ band named Blackfoot and that song is ‘Diary Of A Workingman’from the 1981 album ‘Marauder’. Check it out. I kid ye not. It is an absolute killer of a song and the lead singer/guitarist has impeccable credentials back to ‘Muscle Shoals’ no less…
Obadiah 1:18:
Wow… ‘Fooled Around And Fell In Love’ is one of my all-time favorites!!! Thank you. And some of the cuts from Abbey Road could absolutely be on this lists.
Peter:
I would love to hear the song. Can it possibly be on YouTube and can you post the link for the viewers?
I think Grooveshark (a free service but might require an account) has the Blackfoot song.
Power Ballads, as opposed to simply ‘Rock Ballads’…
Perhaps we need to better and more accurately define the parameters and terms of reference as to what constitutes a ‘Power Ballad’. I believe you used the term yourself in this program. Perhaps we need to sketch out an anatomy of the definitive Power Ballad. Much of those nominated thus-far have been nice, melodic and moving songs rather than the real P.B. You see, what you get little of these days, in both songs and their production/engineering is ‘DYNAMICS’. Put another way, there’s no ‘journey’ anymore, no up and down, light and shade, no ADVENTURE. It’s all a dull monotonous, monochromatic, all the sliders pushed to the max, drone that gives one a blinding headache even at modest volume. That is why most, but certainly not all, so-called Heavy Metal of today is just screaming NOISE with lots of aggression and volume but no ART.
If we take Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway To Heaven’ (‘that song’ as Page and Plant now contemptuously refer to it with the jaded boredom only overfamiliarity can elicit) as a template, in that it has the classic formula of progression through several stages of the piece with increasing tempo and intensity in the instrumentation from ‘unplugged’ acoustic folky vocals and guitar through gradually introduced instruments and layered production leading to a dramatic crescendo of guitar and drums onto a brief and somewhat morose acoustic coda, then we can make far more accurate selections from the vast Rock canon. A delicate, almost fragile, melody gives way, via building momentum, to crunching power chords and searing guitar solos made all the more dramatic by the contrasts. Let’s face it, Life itself is a dichotomy where the good things are all the better for being taken in contrast to the bad.
With these guidelines in mind I wish to nominate the following and, yes I know, several of these musicians and their producers are Jewish and/or Homosexual. Nevertheless they are, in my opinion, good musical pieces and undiminished in their artistic impact by their sources.
‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ by New York Metal Monsters – Blue Öyster Cult
‘Napoleon’ by the Welsh Power Trio – Budgie
‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ by the drug fiends – Guns ‘n’ Roses
‘Victim Of Changes’ by the Metal Gods – Judas Priest
‘Love To Love’ by the legendary British Hard Rock band – UFO
‘In Your Park’ by the German Metal legends – Scorpions
‘The King’ by the ‘80’s German Heavy Metal band – Accept (The cover version by the Swedish Symphonic Death Metal band – Therion, is the better example)
Throw in ‘More Than A Feeling’ by Boston as a bonus track…and a couple of Aussies with ‘Seasons of Change’ by – Blackfeather and ‘The Ballad’ by – Heaven…and, not only but also, check out the Canadian band – The Tea Party. About half their songs would qualify. Excellent group. They sound like Led Zeppelin with Jim Morrison on vocals. Love ‘em.
For information on the Blackfoot/Lynyrd Skynyrd singer/guitarist who performs the classic Power Ballad ‘Diary of a workingman’ see this article… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickey_Medlocke
Pete:
You are correct in that there is a difference (sometimes a huge difference) in a ballad and a power ballad. I wanted just to add to the discussion the issue of the power ballad and sales figures. The power ballad is probably well defined by ‘Time For Me To Fly’ by REO and the ballad would be better described if one listens to Gordon Lightfoot’s ‘If You Could Read My Mind.’
Dictionary.com states a ballad is: any light, simple song, especially one of sentimental or romantic character… With that in mind ‘If I were a Carpenter’ is a ballad and ‘Time For Me To Fly’ is not, as it is certainly not light.
And when I say the word ‘describe’ and then to put it in a word definition, could never be fair. It is easier for most people to understand by using songs for examples, I believe.
As far as Jewish music, I allow mistakes to be posted, but I normally would not want to give Jewish music any promotion as they have destroyed the great White artists of our time by the ultimate blackballing in all of modern history. I wonder how many Beethovens’ are driving taxis, or how many Wagners’ are merely doing internet talk shows on music? I am extremely at odds with this Jewish world and do not want to assist it in any way.
I will, however, have a show coming up for Christmas on the Jewish writers and performers that make a living as parasites on our Christian faith and our celebration of the Lord’s birthday. They will be exposed. We need to go back to having the Star of David on their lapels, or better yet, ship them to Madagascar. This is an outrage.
My gosh, where was I? Oh yeah, thanks Pete.
Thanks for the sensible (non-confrontational) comments Robert. Bearing in mind that, when it comes to Music, objectivity is very much a subjective concept, I just can’t help myself with perhaps over-analysing music as I am something of a fanatic. At the risk of doing it to death I must post a few more strong examples of Power Ballads that occurred to me today. You really should ‘do yourself a favour’ as a certain person ‘downunder’ is wont to opine and check some of these out.
‘Metal’ by Manilla Road
‘Child In Time’ by Deep Purple
‘Dream On’ by Nazareth
‘Edie’ by The Cult
‘Herz Aus Stahl’ (Heart Of Steel) by Manowar
‘Comfortably Numb’ by Pink Floyd
Also, I’d like to say that Beethoven is also MY favourite composer and I am very familiar with his Symphonies, my favourites being the Third, the Fifth, the Seventh and the ‘Glorious Ninth’. Strange, isn’t it, that the odd numbered ones are (to me) more romantically rebellious and musically vital? I have a book about his life and it is very moving and inspiring to understand what a struggle as well as a triumph his life was. What a guy! As a Headbanger I have often said that the opening chords of the Fifth are proto metal or at least the beginnings of ‘Heavy’ music as in his ‘Sturm und Drang’ style. I do not exaggerate when I say I can pick his orchestral work with almost 100 percent certainty if I happen upon it by chance on the radio. A thing I cannot do with other composers I admire such as Mozart, Bach and Wagner.
Also I agree with many of your choices although I am more inclined toward ‘the Devil’s music’ (The Blues) and Rockabilly than Country and Western although I do like Neil Young, Joe Walsh’s solo work and Ry Cooder. How about you also do a program on good old hard ‘Southern Rock’? You know, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, ZZ Top, Canned Heat etc…
Pete… Southern Rock has just been added to my future show list. Thanks.