I don’t think any are perfect, but I seem to be the first to say Rock And Roll All Night by KISS.
Interesting.
Here’s the tracklisting from Ministry’s last album, Cover Up:
- “Under My Thumb” - 3:58 - (The Rolling Stones)
- “Bang a Gong” - 4:48 - (T.Rex)
- “Radar Love” - 5:21 - (Golden Earring)
- “Space Truckin’” - 3:51 - (Deep Purple)
- “Black Betty” - 3:21 - (Lead Belly)
- “Mississippi Queen” - 3:14 - (Mountain)
- “Just Got Paid” - 3:13 - (ZZ Top)
- “Roadhouse Blues” - 4:27 - (The Doors)
- “Supernaut” - 7:08 - (Black Sabbath)
- “Lay, Lady, Lay” - 5:44 - (Bob Dylan)
- “What a Wonderful World” - 7:01 - (Louis Armstrong)
I haven’t given any thought about this recently, but when I was a kid I thought that “You Might Think” by The Cars was the perfect rock song. It had a great tempo, plenty of electric guitar, and I thought it was the embodiment of a perfect rock song.
Damn, I just came back to nominate Roadhouse Blues and you beat me to it.
I think there should be another criteria – the perfect rock song needs to be sung by somebody who overindulged, OD’ed, and died a tragically youthful death.
So, who does that give us? Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix are the first names that come to mind. Hendrix is already nominated, so let me toss in Down on Me for Janis.
On edit, Freddie Mercury needs to go on the tragically young death list, and I see he’s already been nominated song-wise.
A lot of the obvious (meaning, obviously great) examples have been cited already.
I was hoping to be the first to bring up The Cars, but I’m surprised you picked “You Might Think” as their examplar of rocking out as opposed to “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”. The only rockin’ extended instrumental I can remember them doing, and it’s pretty good.
FTR, my vote for all-time single exemplar of “rock song” is The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. I’m just trying to come up with more some unmentioned but worthy gems 
These are not necessarily my favorite songs by these guys, mind you, just what I would call “rocking”, by some subjective measure involving feeling a great urge to perform air solos and scream along with the lyrics. Air solos are an important feature here, which for me would rule out a lot of poetic or singalong classies like, say, “Celluloid Heroes” by The Kinks, or just about the entire Paul Simon catalog.
The Beatles could rock, too. “Helter Skelter” or “I’ve Got A Feeling” come to mind.
The Rolling Stones’ most rocking songs, “Sympathy For The Devil”, “Monkey Man” and “Shine A Light”.
Bumping forward the chonological ordering slide in the memory bank:
Neil Young and Crazy Horse, “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Blue / Into the Black)”.
Aerosmith, “Walk This Way”, “Love In An Elevator”.
Pink Floyd, “Run Like Hell”, “Another Brick In The Wall”, “Learning To Fly”.
The Clash, lessee, “Clampdown” and “London Calling”.
Guns ‘n’ Roses, “You Could Be Mine”.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”.
Smashing Pumpkins, “Zero”.
Oasis, “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, “Wonderwall”.
CAKE’s cover of “I Will Survive”.
The Killers, “Mr. Brightside”.
OK I’ll stop now.
Wow, this Guitar Hero version rocks more than the studio version. Good pick.
Sticking with studio versions I’m adding another Cars song to the list, “Just What I Needed”.
“Shake Some Action,” by the Flaming Groovies. Always gives me chills.
“Do It Again,” Queens of the Stone Age.
**“Back In Black” **by AC/DC. Fist-pumping rock in its purest form.
“Surrender” by Cheap Trick. Guess I’m the only one.
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim]
Damn, I just came back to nominate Roadhouse Blues and you beat me to it.
I think there should be another criteria – the perfect rock song needs to be sung by somebody who overindulged, OD’ed, and died a tragically youthful death.
[/QUOTE]
Have ya heard the Ministry version?
Are you aware this is a direct quote from Jim Morrison in one version of the same song?
Yes, very much. That’s why I added the cool smiley.
That would HAVE to be Springsteen and Born To Run. But I like Clothahump’s choice too (Running On Empty).
Sorry, didn’t make that connection.
Ok, a few more nominees, all from artists not yet mentioned and all IMO absolute rock classics:
Taking Care of Business – BTO
Heart of Glass – Blondie
Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater
Suffragette City – David Bowie
Invisible Touch – Genesis
Bad to the Bone – George Thorogood
We’re An American Band – Grand Funk
American Woman – Guess Who
Crazy on You – Heart
Somebody to Live – Jefferson Airplane
Dancing in the Street – Martha & the Vandellas
Addicted to Love – Robert Palmer
Maggie Mae – Rod Stewart
Smooth – Santana
Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf
In the Midnight Hour – Wilson Pickett
She’s Not There – The Zombies
For Queens, I would think most people would have picked Go With The Flow
Neil Young - Cinnamon Girl
Richard Thompson - The Wall of Death
Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin’ (has more cowbell, too)
Waaay too disco.
Good call on Bowie, and no worries 'bout the other thing, but… Blondie?
How about Jane’s Addiction? “Mountain Song” and “Ocean Size” come to mind.
After a little thought… Well, if you haven’t ever seen URGH!, here’s a clip from said film that kicks an amazing amount of ass.
I am too old to ever even have heard of this group. I started fading out on pop music in the early 80’s.
On edit, you’re probably right about Heart of Glass, but it’s damn GOOD disco, and there aren’t many songs I would say that about