323. All I Have to Do Is Dream (Everly Brothers). Take 2, apparently! This is a fabulous performance. It is hard to analyze, because I feel like I have been familiar with it for my whole life (probably true). This is the first song where I noticed that lovely effect when the main line and the harmony line are so coupled they become the melody together. It only sounds right with both voices (see also many early Beatles and Sound of Silence). An all time great song. 322. After the Gold Rush (Neil Young). A stand out song on an excellent album. The slightly amateur piano playing, made me more comfortable with my own playing. The beautiful melody and vocal performance makes me sad for the immediacy we have lost in music these days--this vocal would be totally pitch adjusted today, losing its vulnerability. It would also be one click, losing yet more feeling. Another all time great song
321. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (U2) As usual for U2, a song about faith and religion that can be interpreted as a love song. I'm not sure which tracks are from the original jam (drums, bass and the edge guitar on the delay? Maybe the tambourine?) and which were overlaid afterwards, but it gives the song a great groove. Daniel Lanois's soundscape for the song is immersive and amplifies the yearning quality of the song. I particularly love the feedbacked guitar mixed quietly which pops up throughout. The intro with the delay guitar timed to the song's beat is iconic (although track 1 on the same album makes better use of it). Another all time great. (I'm never gonna catch up on this am I?) Songs I Didn’t Know Well, but Now I Love Them: 463. Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker). I know some blues, but haven’t heard this before (listening to the 1962 version). A simple blues riff, but has a great vibe to it. Love the growl on the last few lines. Doesn’t overstay its welcome. 454. Bam Bam (Sister Nancy). Love it. No idea what it is about (yet), but what a great groove. I love how her voice pierces through the recording and the crazy loud delay adding a little “bop” to the rhythm. That bass is great! 449. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult). The overlapping lead melodies and circular chord pattern create a wonderfully ominous momentum. The guitar riff is a bit reminiscent of “Badge”. The song shifts into the second part around 2:30 at exactly the moment I was hoping for something new in the song. 448. Tyrone (Erykah Badu). I’ve always loved her voice. This song is a wonderful performance—a fully created character that breathes life and reality to the song lyrics, imbuing them with comedy, soul, anger, sarcasm, sometimes overlapping, sometimes concurrent. It sounds improvised (but definitely isn’t). I wish there was more of a melody, but the delivery makes up for it.
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For: A decent song; the lyrics are pretty good with plenty of imagery, and the music provides a nice soundscape presumably conjured up with large numbers of guitars. It's not a favourite, but gets a "pass" on a pass / fail basis. New Years Day remains my favourite U2 song, with a few others scattered here and there over several decades of releases.
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" During the recording of The Joshua Tree, U2 came up with so much extra material that the band found an unusual way to get the album outtakes released. On the singles from the album, U2 put not one, but two songs on each 45 B-side, and had a prominent note on each two-song side to play that side at 33 1/3 rpm. Well, this created a problem for jukeboxes, because you couldn't tell one to play at a slower speed on demand (unless you had one of those older boxes that played mini-LPs, but the last of those came out in 1974 -- and they were in a special part of the machine that played at LP speed). So Island Records, U2's label, created special 45s for jukeboxes with only one of the two B-sides on them. Island didn't initially press "With or Without You" that way. Once the issue came to its attention, it hastily made a version for jukeboxes, using white labels that make it look like a promo. The other three singles were released in regular and jukebox versions simultaneously, one catalog number apart. Except for the fourth and final U.S. single from the album, "In God's Country," which didn't sell that well in stores, the jukebox versions of the singles from The Joshua Tree are much less common than the two-speed versions. Also, the jukebox 45s weren't issued with picture sleeves, and the regular stock versions were. To add to the fun, the picture sleeves exist with both card-stock paper and regular slick paper. The latter were used on later copies, except for "In God's Country," which as best as I can determine was never sold in the card-stock version. (I recall searching for one exhaustively when it was on the charts, and I never saw one. If it does exist, I guess you could say that I still haven't found what I'm looking for.) With the next album, Rattle and Hum, Island got around the problem by selling 12-inch singles with the extra track(s). I remember having to buy a 12-inch to get their cover of Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love," which received airplay in Philadelphia, because Island didn't use it as a 7-inch B-side. Here's what the stock B-side of "I Still Haven't Found" looks like: And this is the B-side of the jukebox edition: --- When The Joshua Tree came out, "With or Without You" was several weeks old already. In search of other songs to play, FM radio immediately latched onto "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," which already was an airplay hit when "With or Without You" was heading toward #1. Logically, it became the second official single from the album. The new single debuted at #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #56 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles charts, both reasonably high for the era (June 1987). It also debuted at #32 on the Radio & Records CHR/Pop chart. Within about two months, it hit #1 on all three charts, U2's second straight chart-topper in the U.S. Outside the States, it wasn't quite as big. It hit #1 in Ireland, but outside U2's home country, it peaked at #2 in New Zealand; #6 in Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, and the UK; #10 in Austria; and between 11 and 20 in Australia, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, and West Germany. On the genre charts in the U.S., "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" got to #2 on the Top Rock Tracks and #16 on the Adult Contemporary chart in Billboard, and #1 on the AOR Tracks chart and #15 on Adult Contemporary in Radio & Records. --- My feelings about "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" are complicated. When it first came out in 1987, I loved it. When FM rock stations started playing it, I figured that it would have to be the second single from The Joshua Tree. (According to Wikipedia, U2 considered "Red Hill Mining Town" as a possible follow-up to "With or Without You," which would have killed the album's momentum entirely.) I loved the lyrics, which were not hard to piece together and interpret; it felt like one's search for meaning, whether in nature, love, religion, or other things, but none of it was truly satisfying. I get it. I got it. But boy, did I get tired of the song fast. I love me a lot of U2 music, at least through Achtung Baby. Three of the four U.S. singles from The Joshua Tree are on volumes of A Few of My Favorite Things. This is the one that is not. Maybe it's that intro that sets the wrong mood after all these years. Until today, I never made the connection to "Eye of the Tiger," which I never liked and to these ears is one of the worst #1 hits of the 1980s. I don't know. Perhaps by my age (60), I would have least found something I was looking for, but I still haven't. Maybe it hits too close to home in the wrong way. For the second time in the past few songs, I'm going to call this one overrated. 'Tain't horrible, but 'tain't great, either.
Well, another 10 songs have passed. And the past group was a major disappointment. Only three of them are on, or worthy of consideration for, A Few of My Favorite Things. And one of the other seven is among the worst songs in the countdown, not even worthy of the RS 50,000, much less the RS 500. This group has no "maybe" selections. Either they are included, or they are not. The first group are on, or will be on, A Few of My Favorite Things; the others aren't and won't be. Ranking 330-321 x. After the Goldrush (Prelude version) 1. Under the Bridge 2. All I Have to Do Is Dream 3. After the Gold Rush (Neil Young version) --- --- 4. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For 5. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant 6. Lust for Life 7. Real Love 8. Portions for Foxes 9. Big Poppa 10. Safaera The songs are in an increasingly rough order of how much I like them. I've moved "I'm a Believer" from the "maybe" to the "definitely" list, and a few more may make that move over the next several weeks as I start to prepare material for new volumes. Included on a volume of A Few of My Favorite Things: "Time of the Season" (vol. 6, track 3) "The House of the Rising Sun" (vol. 30, track 17) "Help!" (vol. 17, track 14) "Crying" (vol. 14, track 20) "Go Your Own Way" (vol. 20, track 4) "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (vol. 29, track 9) "The Harder They Come" (vol. 37, track 10) "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (vol. 20, track 9) "California Dreamin'" (vol. 78, track 5) "Peggy Sue" (vol. 53, track 15) "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (vol. 18, track 1) "Under the Bridge" (vol. 7, track 9) "Summertime Blues" (vol. 77, track 3) "Call Me Maybe" (vol. 50, track 1) "Solsbury Hill" (vol. 3, track 1) "Our Lips Are Sealed" (vol. 32, track 15) "Enjoy the Silence" (vol. 20, track 8) "You're So Vain" (vol. 17, track 5) "Without You" (vol. 41, track 20) "Criminal" (vol. 36, track 2) "Summertime Sadness" (vol. 47, track 21) "It's Too Late" (vol. 77, track 16) "Buffalo Stance" (vol. 12, track 14) "Enter Sandman" (vol. 40, track 1) "Under Pressure" (vol. 75, track 12) "Because the Night" (vol. 47, track 7) "Midnight Train to Georgia" (vol. 65, track 14) "Don't Leave Me This Way" (vol. 39, track 2) "Hungry Like the Wolf" (vol. 62, track 7) "Gloria" (Them version) (vol. 79, track 16) "Uptown Funk" (vol. 58, track 1) "Get Lucky" (vol. 64, track 11) "Help Me" (vol. 71, track 15) "She's Gone" (vol. 78, track 18) "Mr. Brightside" (vol. 79, track 15) "Just What I Needed" (vol. 79, track 10) "West End Girls" (vol. 77, track 5) "Bad Romance" (vol. 77, track 12) "Believe" (vol. 72, track 16) "Brass in Pocket" (vol. 72, track 4) "Stand By Your Man" (vol. 15, track 8) "Buddy Holly" (vol. 76, track 3) "Goodbye Earl" (vol. 48, track 22) Included on a volume of A Few of My Favorite Things but in a different version than on the RS 500: "Sunday Morning Coming Down" (Johnny Cash version) (vol. 6, track 2) "Pancho and Lefty" (Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard version) (vol. 5, track 17) "After the Goldrush" (Prelude version) (vol. 4, track 12) Not on a volume of A Few of My Favorite Things, but definitely will include later: "All I Have to Do Is Dream" "Da Doo Ron Ron" "White Rabbit" "Heartbreak Hotel" "Green Onions" "I Can't Make You Love Me" "Merry Go 'Round" "Ace of Spades" "Ripple" "Passionate Kisses" (Mary Chapin Carpenter version) "After the Gold Rush" (Neil Young version) "Fade Into You" "Please Mr. Postman" "Paranoid" "The House That Built Me" "I'm a Believer" "Loser" "It Was a Good Day" "I'm Coming Out" (single edit) "In Da Club" Not on a volume of A Few of My Favorite Things, but may include later: "Pancho and Lefty" (Townes Van Zandt version) "Time After Time" "Father and Son" "Come As You Are" "Passionate Kisses" (Lucinda Williams version) "Up on the Roof" (single version) "Africa" "Alison" "Lola" "Bennie and the Jets" "1999" (edit) "Little Red Corvette" (edit) "Black Hole Sun" "Be Thankful for What You Got" (single) "Rapper's Delight" (edit) "Truth Hurts" "So What" "Powderfinger" "Sign of the Times" "Rock and Roll All Nite" (live single mix) "Mama Tried" "Planet Rock" "Just a Friend" "Umbrella" "212" "Move On Up" (single edit) I'm down to 89 of the 180 songs that I would at least consider among my all-time favorites. We've fallen back to 49% that, to these ears, are worthy selections.
320. 2Pac, 'California Love' 1995 WRITER(S):Tupac Shakur, Andre Young, Larry Troutman, Mikel Hooks, Norman Durham, Ronnie Hudson, Woody Cunningham There are a few myths surrounding the creation of 2Pac’s biggest hit. One claims that Dr. Dre made the beat during a barbecue at his Calabasas, California, home, and 2Pac jumped in the booth and dropped his verse in a few minutes. Another claims that Dre intended the track for his follow-up to The Chronic, but Death Row don Suge Knight coerced him into giving the single to Pac — whom he had just bailed out of prison and signed to the label. Regardless, “California Love” represents gangsta rap at its most flamboyant and cinematic.
CALIFORNIA LOVE (2 Pac) Well I knew I shouldn't have said this countdown was improving... I remember chaperoning a dance when this song came on. There had been a bunch of kids on the dance floor and suddenly it was empty and this slow, boring song was playing. I asked a kid who I knew was really into music what it was and he said, "It is California Love by 2Pac." So that was my introduction to this song. This is the type of music/rap/hip hop, whatever you want to call it that I just don't get into at all. Too slow and boring. RATING: 1/5 My Current top 75 List: 1. Time Of The Season-The Zombies 2. Rosalita-Bruce Springsteen 3. Help-Beatles 4. Lola-Kinks 5. California Dreamin-Mama's & Papa's 6. Loser-Beck 7. House Of The Rising Sun-The Animals 8. Free Bird-Lynyrd Skynyrd 9. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For-U2 10. White Rabbit-Jefferson Airplane 11. Criminal-Fiona Apple 12. Go Your Own Way-Fleetwood Mac 13. Don't Fear The Reaper-Blue Oyster Cult 14. You're So Vain - Carly Simon 15. Buddy Holly-Weezer 16. Father And Son-Cat Stevens 17. Surrender-Cheap Trick 18. Cannonball-Breeders 19. Gloris-Them 20. Peggy Sue-Buddy Holly 21. Ripple-Grateful Dead 22. Under The Bridge-Red Hot Chili Peppers 23. Up On A Roof-The Drifters 24. Under Pressure-Queen & David Bowie 25. Dreaming-Blondie 26. Just What I Needed-The Cars 27. Heartbreak Hotel-Elvis Presley 28. I'm A Believer-The Monkees 28. Papa Was A Rollin Stone-The Temptations 30. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant-Billy Joel 31. Help Me-Joni Mitchell 32. Get Lucky-Daft Punk ft. Pharell Williams 33. After The Gold Rush-Neil Young 34. She's Gone-Hall & Oates 35. Heavy Metal Drummer-Wilco 36. Enter Sandman-Metallica 37. Hungry Like The Wolf -Duran Duran 38. Paranoid-Black Sabbath 39. Alive-Pearl Jam 40. Summertime Blues-Eddie Cochran 41. Green Onions-Booker T & the MG's 42. Everlong-Foo Fighters 43. 1999-Prince 44. All I Have To Do Is Dream-Everly Brothers 45. Portions For Foxes-Rilo Kiley 46. It's Too Late-Carole King 47. Allison-Elvis Costello 48. Summertime Sadness-Lana Del Rey 49. I Can't Help Myself-Four Tops 50. Move On Up-Curtis Mayfield 51. Oy Como Va-Santana 52. Baby Love - Supremes 53. Without You - Nilsson 54. Rapper's Delight-Sugarhill Gang 55. Fade Into You-Mazzy Star 56. Come As You Are-Nirvana 57. God Save The Queen-Sex Pistols 58. Da Doo Run Run-The Crystals 59. Merry Go Round-Kasey Musgraves 60. Little Red Corvette-Prince 61. Black Hole Sun-Soundgarden 62. Bennie And The Jets-Elton John 63. Limelight-Rush 64. Passionate Kisses-Lucinda Williams 65. Our Lips Are Sealed-Go Go's 66. Crying-Roy Orbison 67. Midnight Train To Georgia-Gladys Knight & Pips 68. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker-Ramones 69. Promised Land-Chuck Berry 70. Because The Night-Patti Smith 71. Pictures Of You-The Cure 72. All I Ever Wanted-Depeche Mode 73. Brass In Pocket-Pretenders 74. Mr. Brightside-The Killers 75. Real Love-Mary J. Blige Goodbye to Lust For Life. Iggy Pop may return with the Stooges if certain songs are included later!
California Love: Never heard it before. The beat is really good, the early horn riffs are a nice touch that aid in setting the mood, the rapping is fine and there are f/x-ed vocals that separate the main raps. The lyrics are alright too; they're not exactly deep, and they might have inadvertently helped trigger the ultimate downward spiral of rap into parody about guns'n'bling'n'hoes, but they live up to the title of the song. I'm not a fan of the genre, but records like this fit my notion of "rap done well".
"California Love" Not mentioned in the blurb about the song is the source of that horn-based riff. It came from "Woman to Woman" by Joe Cocker, a hit from late 1972 into early 1973 that peaked at #52 in Cash Box, #55 in Record World, and #56 in Billboard. The same record had been sampled in several other early hip-hop records, but "California Love" was its most prominent use. The talk-boxed vocals were from Roger Troutman (also known simply as Roger), sampled from "So Ruff, So Tuff" on his first solo album from 1981, The Many Facets of Roger, by way of "West Coast Poplock" by Ronnie Hudson and the Street People (1982). Troutman's vocals on the 2Pac single are so prominent that he received a "featuring" credit on the record. "California Love" was originally a radio and club single only, without a commercial release. Most sources note that it was supposed to appear on Dr. Dre's highly anticipated The Chronic II: A New World Odor, which was never released. Thus it wasn't intended for a 2Pac album. And until June 1996, the only way it could be bought was either via promo or import. The U.S. versions and their mixes: -- Death Row DRPS 00001 (12"): LP Version 6:29; LP Instrumental 5:40 / Remix 6:26; Remix Instrumental 5:36 -- Death Row DRPD 00001 (CD): Short Radio Edit 4:00; Long Radio Edit 4:45; Short Remix Edit 4:03; Long Remix Edit 4:46; LP Instrumental 4:17; Remix Instrumenral 4:11 None of the European stock releases had any tracks that differed from the U.S. promo CD. But there was a jukebox 7-inch single with the Short Radio Edit on one side and the Short Remix Edit on the other. This is the A-side: The song was released to radio and clubs in December 1995. It debuted on the Billboard Hot R&B Airplay chart in the January 13, 1996 issue and the Hot 100 Airplay chart in the January 20, 1996 issue. "California Love" peaked at #6 on the R&B airplay chart on February 17 and #19 on the pop airplay chart on March 23 -- the latter remarkable because so many pop stations were openly hostile to rap. It also made the Radio & Records CHR/Pop chart and got as high as #35 in the March 15, 1996 issue. It also peaked at #4 on the CHR/Rhythmic chart and #7 on the Urban chart. In June 1996, the first commercial single from 2Pac's highly anticipated album, All Eyez on Me, was released: "How Do U Want It." In the U.S., it was issued with "California Love" as either a double A-side or B-side, depending on point of view. Five different formats were released, and very heavy sales pushed the two songs to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Top R&B Singles. The first two weeks the single was on the charts, "California Love" was listed first, because it was still receiving recurrent airplay; once the new song got some spins, however minimal (it never got higher than #68 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart), Billboard switched the listing to reflect the order of songs on the physical formats. In Cash Box, which was only a few months away from closing, the dual single peaked at #2 on both the Pop and Urban charts. Four different songs appeared on stock 12-inch, maxi-cassette, and maxi-CD formats; only the two songs listed in the chart entry are on the regular cassette single and CD single. "California Love" appears in its Long Radio Edit on the 12-inch, maxi-CD, and maxi-cassette; the Short Radio Edit is on the two-song CD single and cassette single. Some years later, a stock copy of "California Love" by itself was issued as a 12-inch on Death Row DRR 7003. The B-side has a bar code on the label. The contents match the original promo 12-inch from 1995. The only thing I know for sure is that this was released after Death Row's affiliation with Interscope Records ended. --- I am almost certain that I never heard "California Love" when it was on the charts. In 1996, I was in central Wisconsin, which was not a particularly diverse part of the country, and radio stations still played "no rap" versions of hit songs, though that would slowly change. But in the time since, this record has become downright iconic. That riff is everywhere in sports, especially on sports talk radio, and for a while, I think that sample was used in TV advertising for the NBA. This record is really good. Tupac's flow is excellent; I never got tired of listening to it. I'm not sure how I'd bear with a six-minute-plus version, but the version I posted is just right. I have that 7-inch UK jukebox 45 in my collection; I might just pull it out and add it to a future volume of A Few of My Favorite Things.
319. Tears for Fears, 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' 1985 WRITER(S):Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, Chris Hughes With a huge melody and timely geopolitical theme, Tears for Fears’ first Number One exemplified the era’s anthemic synth-rock. “Back when we were doing … ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World,’ we were really discussing the Cold War,” said Curt Smith. “We argued with the American [record] company about releasing [it] as a single.” Its success propelled their LP Songs From the Big Chair to go five-times-platinum in the U.S. — and forced them to rebook their 1985 tour into larger venues.
Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Tears For Fears) Tears For Fears had 4 top 3 hits in the US. (Shout, Head Over Heels, Sowing The Seeds Of Love, and this song) and I'd bet if you asked people to choose their favorite of the four, it would be fairly even. While I like all four songs, my personal favorite would be Sowing The Seeds, with Shout my least favorite. The other two are pretty even. I'd probably just put Sowing The Seeds in my own top 500, but within the scope of this countdown, Everybody Wants To Rule The World is a fine choice and will get a spot in the lower range of my current top 75. RATING: 3.5/5 My Current top 75 List: 1. Time Of The Season-The Zombies 2. Rosalita-Bruce Springsteen 3. Help-Beatles 4. Lola-Kinks 5. California Dreamin-Mama's & Papa's 6. Loser-Beck 7. House Of The Rising Sun-The Animals 8. Free Bird-Lynyrd Skynyrd 9. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For-U2 10. White Rabbit-Jefferson Airplane 11. Criminal-Fiona Apple 12. Go Your Own Way-Fleetwood Mac 13. Don't Fear The Reaper-Blue Oyster Cult 14. You're So Vain - Carly Simon 15. Buddy Holly-Weezer 16. Father And Son-Cat Stevens 17. Surrender-Cheap Trick 18. Cannonball-Breeders 19. Gloris-Them 20. Peggy Sue-Buddy Holly 21. Ripple-Grateful Dead 22. Under The Bridge-Red Hot Chili Peppers 23. Up On A Roof-The Drifters 24. Under Pressure-Queen & David Bowie 25. Dreaming-Blondie 26. Just What I Needed-The Cars 27. Heartbreak Hotel-Elvis Presley 28. I'm A Believer-The Monkees 28. Papa Was A Rollin Stone-The Temptations 30. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant-Billy Joel 31. Help Me-Joni Mitchell 32. Get Lucky-Daft Punk ft. Pharell Williams 33. After The Gold Rush-Neil Young 34. She's Gone-Hall & Oates 35. Heavy Metal Drummer-Wilco 36. Enter Sandman-Metallica 37. Hungry Like The Wolf -Duran Duran 38. Paranoid-Black Sabbath 39. Alive-Pearl Jam 40. Summertime Blues-Eddie Cochran 41. Green Onions-Booker T & the MG's 42. Everlong-Foo Fighters 43. 1999-Prince 44. All I Have To Do Is Dream-Everly Brothers 45. Portions For Foxes-Rilo Kiley 46. It's Too Late-Carole King 47. Allison-Elvis Costello 48. Summertime Sadness-Lana Del Rey 49. I Can't Help Myself-Four Tops 50. Move On Up-Curtis Mayfield 51. Oy Como Va-Santana 52. Baby Love - Supremes 53. Without You - Nilsson 54. Rapper's Delight-Sugarhill Gang 55. Fade Into You-Mazzy Star 56. Come As You Are-Nirvana 57. God Save The Queen-Sex Pistols 58. Da Doo Run Run-The Crystals 59. Merry Go Round-Kasey Musgraves 60. Little Red Corvette-Prince 61. Black Hole Sun-Soundgarden 62. Bennie And The Jets-Elton John 63. Limelight-Rush 64. Passionate Kisses-Lucinda Williams 65. Our Lips Are Sealed-Go Go's 66. Crying-Roy Orbison 67. Midnight Train To Georgia-Gladys Knight & Pips 68. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker-Ramones 69. Everybody Wants To Rule The World-Tears For Fears 70. Promised Land-Chuck Berry 71. Because The Night-Patti Smith 72. Pictures Of You-The Cure 73. All I Ever Wanted-Depeche Mode 74. Brass In Pocket-Pretenders 75. Mr. Brightside-The Killers Goodbye to Real Love by Mary J. Blige. I'm actually cutting some pretty good songs now. I'll likely cut a few more before expanding this list to a top 100. Goodbye to Lust For Life. Iggy Pop may return with the Stooges if certain songs are included later!
Everybody Wants to Rule the World: I believe I bought this LP shortly after it appeared, before any of its tracks could become hits. I haven't listened to it in full probably since the '80s, nevertheless I thought it was a pretty solid LP, and I've also added the CD. The song in question was one of the hits and it's very good, from the somewhat off-kilter sounding (but well-chosen) opening keyboard pattern (it isn't really unusual, it just presages the song in 6/8 time) to the last few notes. There's no single outstanding feature, it's just an all round good effort. The lyrics are surprisingly thin actually, but they're competent enough in that '80s synthy genre way. So yeah, one of the better ones on the list, and a big enough hit that that fact gives a little more credibility to its inclusion.
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" In parts of the rest of the world, Tears for Fears' debut album, The Hurting, had been a substantial hit; it got to #1 in the UK, #7 in Canada, and the top 20 in West Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. But in the U.S., it got only to #73. Neither of the two singles released in the States did much; "Mad World" failed to chart at all, and "Change" peaked at #73 in Billboard and #74 in Cash Box. Probably because of this lack of success, and also because, in the 1980s, American record companies liked to have an album to promote, neither of the 45s that preceded Songs from the Big Chair in other countries was released in the U.S. Instead, Mercury, the band's American label, waited until the album was finished, and then issued "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" as the album's first single. Evidently there was some hesitancy to use it to introduce the album; the U.S. 45 was not released with a picture sleeve, which by 1985 was rarely the case. Released in March 1985, it eventually soared to #1 in Billboard, Cash Box, and Radio & Records. The song's success helped the album get to #1 in the States, higher than its #2 peak in the UK. Outside the U.S., "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" peaked at #1 in Canada and New Zealand, #2 in Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK, and #3 in Belgium. The song also made three genre charts in the United States. In Billboard, it peaked at #2 on both the Adult Contemporary and Top Rock Tracks chart, which is not a combination one saw too often. Mercury also released a 12-inch single with a 5:40 extended version on it; this helped the song hit #1 on the Dance Club Play chart. In Radio & Records, "Everybody..." got to #1 on the AOR Tracks chart and #2 on Adult Contemporary. Cash Box had a Top 75 12" Singles chart in 1985, and the extended version peaked at #1. Outside the U.S., two more mixes of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" exist: an Urban Mix, slightly longer than the Extended Version, and an instrumental version. --- The genesis of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was a two-chord pattern Roland Orzabal played on his acoustic guitar near the end of the Big Chair sessions. He found it uninteresting, which interestingly led producer Chris Hughes to pursue it further. The whole thing came together in less than two weeks, which by Tears for Fears's usual glacial recording pace, might as well have been one take. Hughes figured that a more stripped-down, less labored song might lead to American success. He was right. Eventually, the U.S. caught up with the rest of the world by releasing four singles from Songs from the Big Chair. Of those four, only "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was the same in its 45 and LP versions. "Shout" was skillfully edited, and both "Head Over Heels" and "Mothers Talk" were remixed. Originally, the lyric was "Everybody wants to go to war," which was changed during the recording process. In 1986, Tears for Fears recorded an entirely new version of the song, entitled "Everybody Wants to Run the World," for the short-lived UK charity Sport Aid; it got to #4 in Ireland and #5 in the UK, and is obscure outside those two countries. --- Gosh, where do I start with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"? Its peak on the charts roughly corresponded to one of the strangest times of my life, when I was being pulled in many, often conflicting, directions. In 1985, I was in Indiana when most of my family was in Pennsylvania. I was probably in the best physical shape of my life, but my head was a mess. I had finished writing my first book, but couldn't find a job. And what I didn't know, or was kept in the dark about, at the time was that my younger brother was dying of a rare form of cancer (he would pass July 16, 1985). I knew about the cancer; what I didn't know is how serious it was... Much of my solace was in music, and even now it's hard for me to think of the popular hits of those months and not think of how crazy that time was. I don't have anything by Tears for Fears in the A Few of My Favorite Things series. Two songs probably belong there, and they are indeed "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Shout." But I keep going back and forth on them. Oh, what the heck. I'll add "Everybody..." to my "maybe" list.
Tears for Fears - "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" Great song by Tears for Fears, but "Mad World" will always be my favorite of theirs. Still, glad to see them in the list.
318. Big Mama Thornton, 'Hound Dog' 1953 WRITER(S):Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller Blues belter Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton had already made some records when she signed on with R&B bandleader Johnny Otis in 1952. In L.A., they cut “Hound Dog,” a raw, funny blues by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, two white hipsters who were writing R&B songs. The record’s release was held back; a year later, Thornton heard it on the radio in Dayton, Ohio. “I was going to the theater, and I just turned the radio on in the car,” she remembered. “And the man said, ‘Here’s a record that’s going nationwide!'” Of course, it would be even bigger when Elvis Presley cut his version a couple of years later.
I like this recording of Hound Dog well enough but have to wonder if it’s here because of its own merits or because of its role in a larger narrative, not that that’s a bad thing necessarily. It was enough of a hit in its day to inspire an answer song from Rufus Thomas, Bearcat. An early success for Lieber and Stoller as well as an inspiration for Elvis’s version (perhaps indirectly); nonetheless I think Thornton, Presley, and L&S all did better work elsewhere as I find this kind of crude and over the top. Probably not in my 500, fwiw.
Been absent again for some days, so having some catching up to do. First up is Scenes From An Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel. I think his songs are pleasant in general, though I'm satisfied with his Storm Front album (one of the first CD's I owned) and his Greatest Hits Volume I & II compilation. Scenes... is on that compilation, so I recognize it. Someone upthread compared it a bit to Bruce Springsteen during his The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle period and I can hear that as well. I'm not saying that Scenes... is a carbon copy of Rosalita or New York City Serenade or such but there are similarities in style. That Springsteen song (Rosalita) left my personal top 10 not that long ago and Scenes From An Italian Restaurant would be a bit under that one. Pretty nice but not enough for my personal top 10.
The Everly Brothers always have some beautiful duet singing and All I Have To Is Dream is no exception. There are several hits that can be a contender for this list and I have no qualms that All I Have To Do Is Dream was the one to make the cut. There is a beauty in its apparent simplicity, a close to perfect pop song. It does fall just outside my top 10, but that is more to the contender field for the top 10 being so crowded than of any shortcomings of the song.
This is my current Top 100 list ! (From 500 to 319 ) Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield The House of the Rising Sun The Animals Lola - The Kinks I Still Haven’t Found - U2 Get Lucky - Daft Punk Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel How Soon Is Now - The Smiths Because the Night - Patti Smith Black Hole Sun Soundgarden Cosmic Dancer - T. Rex Don’t Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult Fade Into You - Mazzy Star Lovely Day - Bill Withers No Ordinary Love - Sade Don’t Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston Crying - Roy Orbison Lust for Life - Iggy Pop Without You - Nilsson Enjoy the Silence Depeche Mode Green Onions - Booker T Paranoid - Black Sabbath Fix You - Coldplay Father and Son - Cat Stevens Free Bird - Skynyrd Pictures of You - The Cure Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley 1999 - Prince Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers Oye Como Va - Santana Never Too Much - Luther Vandross Help Me - Joni Mitchell Under Pressure - Queen and David Bowie Africa - Toto Sign of the Times - Harry Styles Come As You Are - Nirvana Time of the Season - Zombies Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone - The Temptations Say It Loud - James Brown In Da Club - 50 Cent Rock With You - Michael Jackson Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey Rosalita - Bruce Springsteen California Dreamin’ - Mamas and the Papas Little Red Corvette - Prince Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry I’m Coming Out - Diana Ross Redbone - Childish Gambino Be Thankful for What You Got - William DeVaughn Thinkin’ About You - Frank Ocean Killing Me Softly with His Song - The Fugees I’m a Believer - Monkees Untitled (How Does It Feel) - D’Angelo Portions for Foxes -Rilo Kiley Heavy Metal Drummer - Wilco Limelight - Rush Ain’t Nobody - Rufus and Chaka Khan Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac Brass in Pocket - Pretenders Mr. Brightside - The Killers God Save the Queen - The Sex Pistols Loser - Beck Hotline Bling - Drake Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - The Eurythmics Move Your Body (The House Music Anthem) - Marshall Jefferson It’s Too Late - Carole King Believe - Cher Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) - Sylvester Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys All I Have to Do Is Dream - Everly Brothers Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight and the Pips I Can’t Help - Myself Four Tops Tyrone - Erykah Badu Bennie and the Jets - Elton John Dreaming - Blondie Ripple - Grateful Dead Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran Angel in Montgomery - John Prine Ponta De Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma) - Jorge Ben Where Is My Mind - The Pixies Sheena Is a Punk Rocker - Ramones She’s Gone - Hall and Oates Up On the Roof - Drifters Promised Land - Chuck Berry Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa They Reminiscence Over You - Peter Rock and CL Smooth House of Balloons - The Weeknd Baby Love - The Supremes You’re So Vain Carly Simon Please Mr. Postman -The Marvelettes Stand By Your Man -Tammy Wynette Mama Tried - Merle Haggard Fantasy - Mariah Carey La Vida Es un Carnaval - Celia Cruz
