"Good Times, Bad Times" -- Led Zeppelin (1969)
This is the song which introduced Led Zeppelin to the world. It was the first track on their debut album and contained some of the most amazing and complex instrumentation of Zep's career and that's saying something. Jimmy Page used a Leslie speaker (which was developed for the Hammond organ) to create the swirling affect on his guitar for this track which was risky for a band starting out but it worked beautifully. Bassist John Paul Jones still insists the riff he wrote for "Good Times, Bad Times" was the most difficult of his career. Think about that for a moment. Finally, the drum work from the late John Bonham is beyond amazing. Originally thought to have been done by a double kick drum it was later revealed Bonham used only a single kick drum which Page described as "superhuman".
Despite rarely being played in its entirety live and not being a commercial success upon its original release (#80 on Billboard), "Good Times, Bad Times" receives heavy airplay on rock radio stations and is truly one of Zeppelin's finest tracks and one of rock n' roll's greatest ever.
"Layla" -- Derek and the Dominoes/Eric Clapton (1970)
There may not be many songs which exceed "Layla" from a musical standpoint. Separate guitar pieces written by legends Eric Clapton and the late Duane Allman highlight the first part of the song with Allman being credited for the song's signature riff. Originally going to be a straight forward ballad, it was Allman's influence which steered the direction of the song to it's rocking final version.
The piano coda was written by former band member for the duo Delaney and Bonnie, Jim Gordon. Not originally to be part of the song, Clapton convinced Gordon to record it for "Layla". Clapton and Allman improvised the guitar work to accompany the piano. Clapton describes "Layla" as one of his most difficult songs to play live and emphasized the need for a large band to play it correctly. It's difficult to play live because "you have to play and sing completely opposing lines, which is almost impossible to do," as explained by Clapton.
The song was written for Patty Boyd who was married to George Harrison at the time. She would divorce Harrison in 1974 and marry Eric Clapton in 1979. The two would remain married until 1989. Upon initial release in 1970 it was not a commercial success. It was re-released in 1972 and reached #10 on the Billboard charts. Clapton would record an acoustic version of "Layla" for MTV Unpluggedin 1992 and win a Grammy for Best Rock Song.
"Stranglehold -- Ted Nugent (1975)
It's all about the music for this song. Let's face it. When it comes to lyrics, Ted Nugent isn't exactly Bob Dylan. His strength comes from his axe and it is on full frontal display here. "Stranglehold" was the lead single from Ted Nugent's debut album and did not feature him on vocals. On many of Nugent's early recordings, Derek St. Holmes provided the vocals and "Stranglehold" was no exception. Nugent did provide some backing vocals for "Stranglehold", however. As I stated, "Stranglehold" is all about the music. It contains one of the most hypnotic and mind-bending instrumental stretches in any rock song. It's very much musical sexuality. When I hear it, I picture scantily clad biker chicks on ecstacy dancing and making out in a seedy bar. Musically, "Stranglehold" was the best of Nugent's career. The guitar work here was never again duplicated by the loin cloth clad crazy man of rock n roll. However, very few others have even come close to matching what Ted did with "Stranglehold". It is, and always will be one of rock's greatest tunes.
"Who Are You" -- The Who (1978)
"Who Are You" is the title track from the final album featuring drummer Keith Moon who died shortly after the album was completed. It is also one of the highest charting songs in the US for The Who (#14 on Billboard). The framework for this song (minus the synthesizers), was set during a tour in 1976, most notably at a performance in Toronto. However, the first official live performance was December 15, 1977 at a show in London's Kilburn district. Pete Townshend's vocals carry "Who Are You". It's a gritty song set to a very opposite musical style with an opening verse reportedly inspired by true events in Townshend's life where he actually was found by a police officer in a Soho doorway.
The song is also infamous for two distinct uses of the work "fuck" which were surprisingly not edited for radio versions of the track. Although after the FCC heightened its regulations after the Janet Jackson nipple incident, many stations requested edited versions.
"Who Are You" has also become familiar to a new generation with it being the theme song for the immensely popular crime drama, CSI: Crime Scene Invetigation. It is not only one of The Who's finest, but one of rock's finest.
Sympathy for the Devil -- Rolling Stones (1968)
This song is my choice for the greatest rock song of all time and is incredible for many reasons. Not only is it widely considered to be the Rolling Stones most controversial song (which is saying something), it may lyrically be the best work from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It was also wrongly reported the Stones were playing this song during the killing of Meredith Hunter at a free concert in 1969. Hunter attempted to climb on the stage during the song and was pushed away by the Hell's Angels who were hired for event security. Hunter returned later with a gun but was stabbed and killed by a Hell's Angels member. The Stones were playing "Under My Thumb" by this time.
"Sympathy for the Devil" is a first person account from Lucifer of major atrocities throughout world history for which he takes full credit. The list includes the death of Jesus Christ, the Crusades, the rise of Stalin and Hitler and the assassinations of two Kennedys. It also includes a personal philosophy of Jagger's, "just as every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints". Following this list of horrors and bold accusations, Lucifer then pleads for sympathy. It drips with narcissism but Lucifer's argument is difficult to counter. In the late 60s, this angered many people who believed the band was promoting Satanism. Of course this song comes after the Stones previous album, Their Satanic Majesties Request which ironically contained no Satanic references outside of the album's title. It wasn't the Stones first bout with controversy as their song "Let's Spend the Night Together" gave television censors (and parents) everywhere heart attacks.
Musically Jagger originally envisioned this song in the style of Bob Dylan. It was Richards who suggested the samba style recording the song became. Outside of a brief hiatus in the early 1970s, "Sympathy" has been a staple in the Rolling Stones concerts and is very much a fan favorite.
There you have it. My greatest five greatest rock songs of all time. Until next time, if you cannot be a poet, be the poem.
