C~G
Untouchable
- Joined
- May 24, 2006
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Great idea for thread again from Ram.
Some not so rare stuff but I consider these being one of my favourites of all time and the younger generation should get to know all these "classic songs".
The Stranglers - Golden Brown
The Jam - Town Called Malice
And Oldie but Goodie, originally was introduced to this song by the Shadows cover version which ain't bad either.
Mason Williams - Classical Gas
Some not so rare stuff but I consider these being one of my favourites of all time and the younger generation should get to know all these "classic songs".
The Stranglers - Golden Brown
Answers.com said:Golden Brown" is a waltzing, harpsichord-led ballad in a 6/8 and 7/8 time signature from The Stranglers. (The instrumental bridges add an extra beat in every other measure, effectively producing a 13/8 time signature), with the 7 inch record featuring B-side "Love 30".
The song featured on the group's album La Folie, which was released in November 1981. "Golden Brown" was released as a single in early 1982 and reached number two in the official UK singles chart in February of that year, behind "Town Called Malice" by The Jam. The song was accompanied with a video.
The highly conservative Radio Two, at that time an MOR station, decided to make the record the single of the week, a surprising step considering the band was almost as notorious as The Sex Pistols only a few short years before.
The band claimed that the song's lyrics were akin to an aural Rorschach test and that people only heard in it what they wanted to hear, although this did not prevent persistent allegations that the lyrics were about heroin. The success of this song commercially is probably the single factor that secured The Stranglers their continuing life in pop mainstream for the remainder of the 1980s.
However, even as of 2004, the Irish Today FM radio station will always play this track as a substitute for The Stranglers' "Skin Deep", which is more obviously about heroin usage (lead singer Hugh Cornwell had been jailed for two months for heroin possession in 1980). This is done for requests and even in retro chart rundowns.
This song is also on the soundtracks of the movies Snatch, and He Died With A Felafel In His Hand.
The Jam - Town Called Malice
Answers.com said:Featuring one of the easily-recognisable bass-lines in British music history,"Town Called Malice" is a song recorded by The Jam from the album The Gift. It was the A-side of a single also featuring "Precious". Released as the first single from the album on February 13, 1982, it reached number one on the British music charts, staying at the top for three weeks, but failed to chart in the United States. It was the band's third #1 single in the UK. Paul Weller has said that it was written about his hometown Woking as a result of his teenage experiences there. A music video of the song was filmed and was in moderate rotation on MTV in 1982 and 1983. The song was featured prominently in the 2006 film The Matador and also appeared in the film Billy Elliott. It is also on the soundtrack to FIFA 2004.
Interestingly enough, the bass line that the song is famous for actually appearing two years earlier in the Elvis Costello album Get Happy!! on the song "Love for Tender". If you listen to both songs carefully, "Town Called Malice" also features the same use of handclaps and keyboard notes as "Love for Tender". The song "Love for Tender" was recorded in 1980.
And Oldie but Goodie, originally was introduced to this song by the Shadows cover version which ain't bad either.
Mason Williams - Classical Gas
Answers.com said:"Classical Gas" is an instrumental piece by Mason Williams. Williams plays guitar and is accompanied by an orchestra backing. It was released in February 1968 from the album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record. In August 1968 it reached the top 5 in the American charts and went on to sell over a million copies.
Awards
In 1968 the piece won three Grammy awards: Best Instrumental Composition, Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental, and Best Instrumental Arrangement.
In 1998 Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) awarded Williams a special Citation of Achievement. The piece has logged over three million broadcast performances to become BMI's all-time number-one instrumental composition for radio air play.