For the love of rock

Vol II, Issue 12 – Spirit in the sky (15 July 2017)

 

 

Name of song– Spirit in the sky

Singer- Normal Greenbaum

Album- Spirit in the sky

Writers– Norman Greenbaum

Release year– 1969

Peak chart positions (1969-1970)

# 4 – US Billboard Hot 100

# 1 – Australia

# 1 – Canada

# 1 – Germany

# 1 – Ireland

# 1 – UK

# 2 – Belgium

# 2 – Norway

# 1 – Netherlands

# 1 – Austria

# 1 – Switzerland

# 22 – Billboard rank for the year 1970

# 85 – VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders

# 333 – 500 Greatest Songs of All Times-Rolling Stones Magazine

 Similar artists– The Raspberries, Elvin Bishop, Three Dog Night, Mungo Jerry

Spirit in the sky

Reviewers- Bikash Shrestha/Nirab Kayastha

One Hit Wonders do make wonders. It did in 1970 when Norman Greenbaum made top of the charts worldwide with his single – “Spirit in the sky”. Norman Greenbaum did have low charting singles besides this one, but this was the one which made him famous all over the world. American Singer and songwriter Greenbaum had been a member of a psychedelic jug band Dr. West’s Medicine Show and Junk Band. After splitting up, he went solo and created this amazing number and the rest is history.

 

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For the love of rock

Vol II, Issue 11 – So far away (01 July 2017)

Name of song- So far away
Singer- Carole King
Album- Tapestry
Writers- Carole King
Release year- 1971
Peak chart positions
# 3 – US Adult contemporary singles
# 14 – US Pop singles
# 17 – Canada RPM singles

Similar artists- Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Laura Nyro, James Taylor, Janis Ian

So far away

Reviewers- Bikash Shrestha/Nirab Kayastha

Carole King does not need introduction; She is a legend by herself. Dubbed as one of the most successful female songwriters of all times, with numerous records as well as hits, she undoubtedly is all-rounder musician. She had started her musical career as a songwriter, and then she started singing, especially with a piano, and ultimately became one of the most successful female musicians. As a songwriter, as a singer, as a record breaker, her contribution to the world of music is definitely unparalleled.

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For the love of rock

Vol II, Issue 10 – Reelin’ in the years (15 June 2017)

 

Name of song– Reelin’ in the years

Band- Steely Dan

Album-  Can’t Buy a Thrill

Writers– Donald Fagen & Walter Becker

Release year– 1972

Peak chart positions

# 11 – Billboard Charts

# 11 – Pop Singles Chart

# 15 – Canadian Charts (1973)

# 62 – Australian Charts (1973)

Special Mentions

# 95 – 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks by Q Magazine

# 40 – Best Guitar Solo of all times by Guitar World Magazine

Similar artists– The Doobie Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Traffic, Steve Miller Band, The Allman Brothers Band

Reelin’ in the years

Reviewers- Bikash Shrestha/Nirab Kayastha

Steely Dan is an American Jazz Rock band which enjoyed the critical and commercial success in the seventies and were called “the perfect musical antiheroes of the seventies” by Rolling Stone Magazine. Founded by the core members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, the band had numerous hits and their songs are still resonant in so many ardent rock fan’s collection. Famous as perfectionist musicians, they were highly regarded for their sincerity and devotion in recordings of each musical instrument. Even in lyrics, they have always been fascinated by using occult meanings as well as slangs and probably never had any straight forward typical love ballad type of writings. The maturity of their songs is revealed by the variety of topics which they have covered in their songs. All in all, they had all the ingredients for a wonderful jazz rock band with amazing guitar sounds.

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For the love of rock- Vol II, Issue 9 – Born to be with you (01 June 2017)

 

 

Name of song- Born to be with you
Band- Dave Edmunds
Album- Subtle As A Flying Mallet
Writers- Don Robertson
Release year- 1973
Peak chart positions
# 5 – US chart hits
# 5 – UK chart hits
# 50- Billboard rank for 1972
Similar artists- Atomic Rooster, Wishbone Ash, Family, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Traffic, The Guess Who

Born to be with you

Reviewers- Bikash Shrestha/Nirab Kayastha

Dave Edmunds may not be a common name for most rock enthusiasts. However, he is an important figure in the rock scene with numerous hits to his credit, including “Baby I love you”, “I hear you knocking”, “Born to be with you” etc. He is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. With natural inclination towards rock ‘n’ roll, he is famous for his numerous hit singles in the seventies, especially in the area of pub rock and new wave. He had formed a short lived band “Love Sculpture” with amazing guitar hit-Sabre dance, and then moved on to remake the classics in his own studio and worked solo as well as in collaboration. He did have amazing remakes of the classics and almost all of them made their mark on the charts.

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For the love of rock

Vol II, Issue 8 – Hold your head up (15 May 2017)

 

Name of song– Hold your head up

Band- Argent

Album- All Together Now

Writers– Rod Argent and Chris White

Release year– 1972

Peak chart positions

# 5 – US chart hits

# 5 – UK chart hits

# 50- Billboard rank for 1972

Similar artists– Atomic Rooster, Wishbone Ash, Family, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Traffic, The Guess Who

Hold your head up

Reviewers- Bikash Shrestha/Nirab Kayastha

“Argent” is an English band formed by keyboardist Rod Argent after the break-up of “The Zombies” in the late sixties. With his cousin Jim Rodford, drummer Bob Henrit and guitarist/keyboardist Russ Ballard (Both former members of “The Roulettes” and “Unit 4 + 2), Rod took up the task of starting a band with the harmony and tune of “The Zombies” and the potential of any amazing progressive rock band. And Argent did complete that task successfully, with hit singles and impressive rock numbers.

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