Just like great sex and fine foods, music is one of those things that can send chills up my spine. What songs do that to you? Here’s a partial list for me:
[li]Water Song[/li][sup]HOT TUNA[/sup]
The introduction’s false crescendo breaks perfectly into the more complex mainline of the song.
[li]Lady Goes To Church[/li][sup]JOHN RENBOURN[/sup]
The central passage of this acoustic piece contains an intricate combination of harmony and melody line.
[li]Take Five[/li][sup]Dave Brubeck[/sup]
Composer Paul Desmond’s immortal saxophone riff so perfectly embodies a sense of pure elation.
[li]Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor[/li][sup]J.S. BACH[/sup]
The term “pull out all of the stops” was invented to describe this specific style of Bach’s organ works.
[li]Brandenburg Concerto #3 in G Major[/li][sup]J.S. BACH[/sup]
The rubbing of the basses in the fast movements lifts the flute solo to make your heart soar.
[li]Fugue in C from Volume 1 of The Well Tempered Clavier[/li][sup]J.S. BACH[/sup]
Glenn Gould’s second track on the A side is some beautifully intricate piano work.
[li]No One Like You[/li][sup]THE SCORPIONS[/sup]
The dual unison guitar work during the introduction breaks down into a pair of superb solos in the heart of the song.
[li]Always With You Always With Me[/li][sup]JOE SATRIANI[/sup]
The classical phrasing of the fundamental melody line is almost painfully lyrical.
[li]Bulgarian Dance[/li][sup]DAVY GRAHAM[/sup]
The guitarist’s complicated and nearly atonal “Turko-Arabic” motif resolves in and out of harmonic phase.
[li]Definitely Maybe[/li][sup]JEFF BECK[/sup]
Seeing him play this by making slide excursions directly over the guitar’s pickups with perfect voicing reinforced the beauty of this song for me.
[li]Cliffs of Dover[/li][sup]ERIC JOHNSON[/sup]
Rock-solid meter and harmony almost mandates the blistering transition passages in this rock instrumental masterpiece.
[li]The Crush of Love[/li][sup]JOE SATRIANI[/sup]
What seems to be an almost classical rock piece suddenly cranks over into ripples of pure speed metal.
[li]Birdfingers[/li][sup]LARRY CORYELL[/sup]
The fluttering fretwork of this fleet jazz gemstone sparkles with a crystal clarity.
[li]Brandenburg Concerto #6 Allegro[/li][sup]J.S. BACH[/sup]
The flute line interweaves with the strings with all of it mantled by crisp brass ornamentation.
[li]Righteous[/li][sup]ERIC JOHNSON[/sup]
The harmonica and guitar crescendo near the end pour on the coal to superheat this bit of molten blues rock.
[li]Light Flight[/li][sup]PENTANGLE[/sup]
Jaqui M[sup]c[/sup]Shea’s angelic vocals front one of the most versatile European bands ever.
[li]Fingerbuster[/li][sup]DAVY GRAHAM[/sup]
This slick blast of boogie woogie glides down the scale in perfectly interlocked licks.
[li]Fanfare for the Common Man[/li][sup]Aaron Copeland[/sup]
The dignified scrolling of the brass section comes into a final resolution that sets the soul to keening.
[li]Now That We’ve Ended As Lovers[/li][sup]Jeff Beck[/sup]
An almost weeping electric guitar suddenly flares with daredevil virtuosity in this unabashed jewel of hotshot jazz rock.
[li]Whammer Jammer[/li][sup]J. Geils Band[/sup]
Magic Dick’s stellar harmonica work is unrivaled in this scintillating old fashioned rock and roll treasure.