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Artists you never really got much into...but they had a song or three you liked


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As I listen to ELP's "From the Beginning" I'm reminded of this. Never was much for them generally, but this and "Still You Turn Me On" are great great songs IMO. And the cover of Fanfare for the Common Man was great fun too. 

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I was never a huge fan of John Cougar Mellencamp (I take that back, I used to be a huge fan of his before he got played too damn much), but Ain't Even Done With The Night is one of my favorite songs of his.

 

I also tend to have a love-hate relationship with Heart, a lot of their Eighties output is usually critically panned, but Barracuda is one of their best songs. That riff is instantly classic, and showcases why Roger Fisher was one of their best guitarists. Never and These Dreams are also candidates for good Heart songs.

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Yes,  in my guitar days I like a few tunes on the Fragile album but that was it.   Genesis heard more than enough of them working in the record store never a fan, but liked some of the stuff from Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel when they went solo.   Led Zeppelin liked a tune here and there but not a fan of the band in general.   

 

Working in a record store off and on for so many years and hearing so much music of all genres a lot of bands liked a song or two, but not the rest of what they did.   

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4 minutes ago, Docbop said:

Led Zeppelin liked a tune here and there but not a fan of the band in general.   

This is another good example for me. Plant's voice mostly was for me fingernails on a chalkboard but they had their moments. 

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22 minutes ago, IMMusicRulz said:

I was never a huge fan of John Cougar Mellencamp (I take that back, I used to be a huge fan of his before he got played too damn much), but Ain't Even Done With The Night is one of my favorite songs of his.

 

I also tend to have a love-hate relationship with Heart, a lot of their Eighties output is usually critically panned, but Barracuda is one of their best songs. That riff is instantly classic, and showcases why Roger Fisher was one of their best guitarists. Never and These Dreams are also candidates for good Heart songs.

Coincidentally, I saw Heart at the Birmingham, Alabama Civic Center on September 12, 1982, and John Cougar was the opening act. The only song of his that I knew was  'I Need a Lover' and his new hit 'Jack and Diane'. This was Heart's 'Private Audition' tour, and Denny Carmassi (Montrose) was playing drums for them at the time. Good show, horrible acoustics. 

 

As for the tread topic:

 

U2

Tears For Fears

Bruce Springsteen

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The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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This is a hard one for me as I tend to be a ravenous music nerd and like artists and bands from almost every genre, and if I like a band...I LIKE a band, meaning I will stick with them through every period...even the albums I know are not as strong as others. I feel it's an artist's right to explore and experiment and grow, even if that means failure. Also, often when I make a statement, I don't like artist 'x'. No sooner have I said that, and I end up finding a song I like, then an album, then pretty much the whole catalog.

 

However, sticking with the thread, there are a few bands/artists over the years that just never clicked with me: 

 

Styx comes to mind, they have 3-4 songs I like, and the rest, I just cannot dig the, let's call them theatrical (as in, this guy should sing musicals) vocals. 

 

I also kind of agree, for the most part, with @bill5 on ELP. I respect the heck out of them, and I like 4-5 songs, but I prefer Lake with King Crimson, and generally, I just never clicked with Emmerson's keyboard style. Similarly, Asia had 2-3 good songs on the first album, and then its downhill for me.

 

Oh...and pretty much any 90s - 2020's boy-band...😀

 

 

 

 

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I liked some Heart material but not when they made songs to sound like something good by someone else.

 

Heart's Barracuda borrowed heavily from Led Zeppelin's Achilles Last Stand.

 

They did the same thing stealing Scandal / Patty Smyth's style with All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You which borrowed heavily from Hands Tied and Beat Of A Heart. There is another Heart song I cannot recall which is a better example where they were copying Patty Smyth.

 

At least the songs Heart wrote were good even when they were ripping someone off. You could say their imitations were great compliments.

 

Steven Stills did a live album in the 70's and inserted a cover of Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way in the middle of a song (Jet Set (Sigh) ) done like Rocky Mountain Way but with different lyrics. It got some airplay here and there. Next thing you know Stills has an "original" song on one of his following albums which blatantly attempted to sound like Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way including Stills singing with Joe Walsh's unique nasal vocal style. It was a disaster. "Maybe if I sound more like him people will buy my records?" I don't remember the name of the song and I could not find it when I searched as I was writing this post.

 

As for the thread topic:

 

Out of a huge catalog I only like a handful of songs from Chicago. If I had to name 5 all time favorite songs two would be Beginnings (Chicago) and Fool On A Hill (The Beatles). Beginnings is in good company considering the few songs I like by Chicago and that I like around 95% of The Beatles's catalog. And by favorite I mean they have stood the test of time, having heard them countless times they still conjure good feelings reminiscent of the time they were released.

 

 

 

 

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Because this is something I've been saying for decades, I'm well aware of the reaction it will cause, and I am prepared for the heat...

 

The Grateful Dead have more than a few songs that I like more than a little when said songs are performed by competent musicians... i.e. not the Grateful Dead.

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A few years ago I might have said Alabama 3,  But I like their new stuff.  But they always the had balls to do different stuff.

 

PS - Hell the stuff I didn't like isn't that bad tonight.  I guess I'm in the right mood.

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"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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Disregard my post.  I guess I forgot how good they could be.  I'd come out of retirement if they would call me.  .... or a good Meatloaf tribute act.

 

 

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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On 5/9/2023 at 8:50 PM, bill5 said:

This is another good example for me. Plant's voice mostly was for me fingernails on a chalkboard but they had their moments. 

I mostly do not like Led Zeppelin but Immigrant Song was awesome. 

Dave Clark Five wasn't my jam overall but Glad All Over rocked. 

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It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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