Best Classic Rock Songs

[nappy4eva]

What are your favorite classic rock songs? This time era is a *little* before my time and I'm unframiliar with the total genre of music. But the classic rock songs that I've heard are really good, and I'd like to download more. Any suggestions?

[nanook]

well, nappy, what is some of the stuff you've found, that you like, and i'll give you some that i know of that you may also be interested in.

cause you know, classic rock has a few different genres within itself.

until then, ROCK ON!

[Malk-a-mite]

Almost anything pre-82 by Clapton [aka Cream]


Also Slowhand is a great album.

[Headbanger]

It kinda depends on your musical preference. Being raised on hard rock / metal, what I consider classic comes mostly from that genre. I also tend to think in terms of full albums / CDs rather than individual songs. Here's a few of them:

Led Zep I through Physical Graffiti, all are classic.
Black Sabbath - Paranoid.
Kansas - Leftoverture.
Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Foutune.
Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic.
Van Halen I.
Fleetwood Mack - Rumors.
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon.
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak.

[nappy4eva]

Okay, here's a partial list of the classic rock songs that I know I like:
The Beatles - Revolution
Jimi Hendrix - Smoke on the Water
The Monkeys - I'm a Believer
Rolling Stones - Paint It Black, Sympathy For the Devil
Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride
Billy Joel - Captain Jack, Piano Man
Strawberry Alarm Clock - Incense and Peppermint
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising, Up Around the Bend
ACDC - Highway to Hell, Back in Black, Shook Me All Night Long
The Who - Babba O'Riley

Will post more later. Any songs similar to these that you would recommend?

[nanook]

well....headbanger's list is VERY good.

albian wench had a good site with the top 500 classic rock songs that would give you a definate starting point here

have fun nappy..........checking out all the "classic" stuff.

[nappy4eva]

hey nanook - thanks for the great link! That should keep me busy for a while. Here's a list of some more classic rock songs that I like.
Animals - House of the Rising Sun
Paul Revere - Kicks
Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze, All Along the Watchtower
Bob Dylan - Hurricane

What else? In case you can't tell, I don't like the really heavy stuff... only Hendrix.

Yardbirds- Heartful of Soul
Aerosmith- Dream On
Sir Douglas Quintet- Mendicino

[thinker]

Deep Purple did "Smoke on the Water." It was about Frank Zappa's place at Montreux, Switzerland that got crispified.

I really wish I had time to list all the classic rock I would recommend for you, because I could literally type down thousands of titles. I will, however, throw some more albums out there.

After their least successful album to that point, Presence, Led Zeppelin released In Through The Out Door in 1979. It marked a resurgence after some tragic events for frontman Robert Plant and was paving the way for a Zep thrust into the '80s. It had multiple covers and premiered at No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, drummer John Bonham would die an untimely death in September 1980 due to alcohol poisoning, and there would be no more Zep albums, save for Coda, a 1982 release which compiled some tracks which didn't reach earlier Zeppelin albums (for example, "We're Gonna Groove, which Zep performed live many times in the late '60s), along with some post-In Through The Out Door work. Tracklist for In Through The Out Door:
1. In The Evening
2. South Bound Saurez
3. Fool In The Rain
4. Hot Dog
5. Carouselambra
6. All My Love
7. I'm Gonna Crawl

Dire Straits - Dire Straits (1978) - includes "Down To The Waterline," "Sultans of Swing," "Wild West End."

Dire Straits - Communique (1979) - includes "Communique," "Lady Writer," "Where Do You Think You're Going?"

Dire Straits - Making Movies (1980) - includes "Tunnel Of Love," "Romeo And Juliet," "Expresso Love."

Dire Straits - Love Over Gold (1982) - includes "Telegraph Road," "Industrial Disease," "It Never Rains."

Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms (1985) - includes "So Far Away," "Money For Nothing," "Walk Of Life."

Dire Straits - On Every Street (1991) - includes "Heavy Fuel," "My Parties," "Fade To Black."

Also, check out Dire Straits: Live At The BBC(1997? - performances from the late '70s/early'80s), Alchemy (1984), and On The Night (1993) for good live performances including at least a couple of tracks not on studio albums. Money For Nothing (1988) and Sultans Of Swing: The Very Best Of Dire Straits (1998) are compilations featuring studio and live tracks. On both of these you can find "Twisting By The Pool," which wasn't featured on studio albums.

The Police - Outlandos d'Amour (1978) - includes "Roxanne," "Can't Stand Losing You," "Be My Girl/Sally."

The Police - Reggatta de Blanc (1979) - includes "Message In A Bottle," "Walking On The Moon," "Does Everyone Stare."

The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) - includes "Don't Stand So Close To Me," "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," "Canary In A Coalmine."

The Police - Ghost In The Machine (1981) - includes "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Invisible Sun," "Spirits In The Material World."

The Police - Synchronicity (1983) - includes "Every Breath You Take," "King Of Pain," "Wrapped Around Your Finger."

Every Breath You Take: The Classics (1995) is a good compilation of The Police's greatest hits, and includes "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86" and "Message In A Bottle (New Classic Rock Mix)."

[zombywoof]

Here are a few more albums:

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Moody Blues - A Question Of Balance
Moody Blues - Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Frank Zappa - Apostrophe
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Rush - 2112
Steely Dan - Aja
The Beatles - White Album
The Beatles - Revolver
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
Aerosmith - Get Your Wings
Queen - Night At The Opera
Kiss - Kiss - (1st Album)
Kiss - Dressed To Kill

[theknife]

One of the best classic rock guitarists is not particularly well-known and doesn't appear on most lists.....Robin Trower. Check out the cd Bridge Of Sighs.

[zombywoof]

Originally posted by theknife
One of the best classic rock guitarists is not particularly well-known and doesn't appear on most lists.....Robin Trower. Check out the cd Bridge Of Sighs.

He's in my collection.

[theknife]

you know you're really a classic rock fan...

...when you find yourself saying,"check out this album"...

[theflaco]

FYI!
A few were missed by the guys!

Allman Bros. Band
Bruce Springsteen
Doors
Grateful Dead
Grand Funk Railroad
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Velvet Underground

theflaco

[theknife]

One other occurrd to me...this is along the lines of great classic rock that never made anybody's list...

The Who...Quadrophenia

This is one of the most powerful albums I have ever heard...a phenomenal double concept album. One of the most underrated albums of all time, imho...

[zombywoof]

Originally posted by theknife
One other occurrd to me...this is along the lines of great classic rock that never made anybody's list...

The Who...Quadrophenia

This is one of the most powerful albums I have ever heard...a phenomenal double concept album. One of the most underrated albums of all time, imho...

Love Reign O'er Me...Now thats a classic.

[greedy_lars]

while Quad is tight, Tommy is better

[theknife]

Originally posted by greedy_lars
while Quad is tight, Tommy is better

Tommy was always a little more pop to me...Quadrophenia was a little darker. Keith Moon's drums come down like thunder throughout QUadrophenia.

What's really striking to me to me is that most bands can't put together one cd of consistently good songs...these are two great double concept albums from the same band..

[thinker]

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John's 1973 double LP) is another goodie.

[nanook]

Originally posted by thinker
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John's 1973 double LP) is another goodie.

excellent choice!
okay, so i fell in love with elton, whilst listening to Def Leppard
i actually fell in love with such greats as Led Zeppelin, Yes, Pink Floyd, etc..........much later in my high school years, for they were still the musical icons that represented not only "Cool", but they were musical geniuses.
i wrote a post in another forum, concerning whether or not "Rock is Dead?".
especially Classic Rock.
i feel these musical legends slowly slipping away to the "Classic Rock" radio stations. Maybe it is inevitable and the way it is suppose to be. i mean rock from the 50's and 60's have their own radio stations. but i find the only way to get the new and upcoming generations to find and love this classic melee of talent, is, for example, me, mom, listening to it, and then actually watch my daughter create a playlist with these very artist.
15 years old and loving "slowride" by foghat.
so of course, she had to have the "Dazed and Confused" soundtrack. i was pleasantly surprised.
nevertheless, though i am loyal to our "forefathers of rock", i await and enjoy the up and coming talent of the future.
here is a response to my post, a very articulate young lady:

ElvisManson
Board Rookie
Member # 2406
Rate Member
posted 12-18-2001 05:53 PM
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Hi Lamourlady!
Interesting post. I agree with you that the face of Rock has definitely changed over the past couple of decades and of course will continue to do so. So, what consititutes Rock nowadays and how does it measure up to the cultural imperialism that "classic" Rock bands of the 70s, 80's and 90's enjoyed? I hate to say the word (we are all too familiar with the constant mud slinging on this subject these days) but...dare I say Pop? Alright, so here's the argument we all know too well, Rock has become Pop. But has it? Yes, these days commercially released music undoubtedly reaps the benefits of heavier marketing and promotional dollars behind it and we have to ask how does this affect fan culture? With more money driving recordlabels than ever before, does our perception of "Rock" (or is that Pop?) music change? I think it does. The days of the "cult bands" seem to be diminishing - our ears and eyes are more and more inundated with many more acts than ever before. Instead of enjoying and remaining loyal to a small number of omnipresent "classic" bands, we now choose from millions, with new ones appearing each month. Rock bands are marketed as popular music - fans come and go. It's much easier for current bands to fall prey to the one hit wonder syndrome or to maintain their popularity for 2 or 3 albums is an incredible feat in itself, unlike a couple of decades ago when bands continued to release record after record and their fans remained loyal throughout. I do believe, that like any other industry, the music industry runs in cycles, and therefore, we should (hopefully) see a resurgence in "classic" Rock bands soon probably in the form of backlash against Pop Rock. And then again, there are always the diehards of the past who continue to release Indie Rock in the hopes to reach the masses and build loyalty like the old rock bands of yesteryear. There are many like us who still believe in the way it was and bands who continue to live in an Anti-Pop Rock world. Elvis Manson being one of them.

what do u think?