I don’t start threads often, and I don’t think I’ve ever started a thread before asking people to list their favorite pieces of any artistic form. I occasionally contribute to a thread asking for people’s favorite examples of some such form. I would never argue with anyone else’s choices. I decided to just this once start such a thread. It’s not about books or movies, where I decided long ago on my favorites, and I would be tempted to argue about other people’s choices. I have long lists of my favorite books and movies in my computer files. Instead, I’d like to know your favorite ten songs. Songs aren’t something I discuss with people often, like I do books or movies. Mostly I just hear them on the radio or on albums or on YouTube or whatever and then forget about them.
What I’m asking for isn’t just the song as it was written. I’m asking for your favorite performance of that song. So list the song, the performer, and the particular performance of that song by that performer (in case there are, say, slightly different versions on different albums of that performer). These are mine, listed alphabetically by the name of the song:
“Bad Romance” in the version by On the Rocks in the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp_TBm3Gwq0
“Benson, Arizona” in the version by Clam Chowder
“California Dreaming” in the version by The Mamas and the Papas
“Desperado” in the version by Sheila Behman on the album The Langley Schools Music Project: Innocence & Despair
“Good Vibrations” in the version by The Beach Boys
“I Can’t Help Myself” in the version by The Four Tops
“My Apartment’s Very Clean without You” in the version by Garfunkel and Oates
“Over the Rainbow” in the version by Eva Cassidy
“The Sound of Silence” in the version by Simon and Garfunkel
“These Dreams” in the version by Heart
In my case, my favorite version is usually the original.
“Rosalita” by Bruce Springsteen
“Another Day of Sun” – La La Land soundtrack
“Lola” by the Kinks – album version
“House in the Country” – Blood, Sweat and Tears
“Atom Heart Mother” – Pink Floyd
“Hey Bulldog” – Beatles. From the Yellow Submarine album
“Darling If” – Spirit
“Kings and Queens” – Renaissance
“Girl with No Eyes” – It’s a Beautiful Day
“Monster Mash” – Bonzo Dog Band version from Tadpoles
“All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles
“At Last” by Etta James
“Cloudy” by Simon & Garfunkel
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack
“Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash"
“Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys
“No Frontiers” by Mary Black
“Rhapsody in Blue” by Paul Whiteman
“A Saturday Night At The World” by Mason Williams
“St. Louis Blues” by Louis Armstrong
This excludes Christmas songs (the list would probably be all Christmas songs if I included them), and hymns that are of great sentimental value to me but probably not of much interest to anyone else.
This was a great idea for a thread, I look forward to seeing other responses.
‘At Last’, Etta James. YES. GOD I love it so much.
‘Cecilia’ by Simon and Garfunkel. (I saw an ice dancing competition on tv with this song and it was just enchanting. I always liked it, and I love all of Simon and Garfunkel).
‘Uptown Funk’ by Bruno Mars - never get tired of it. Joyous!
‘Boogie Wonderland’ by Earth Wind and Fire. (I love them, but this one is special)
‘Light My Fire’ and ‘Riders on the Storm’ - the Doors. two of them. Sue me.
‘Carry On’ and ‘Judy Blue Eyes’ - Crosby Stills and Nash. two of them, sue me again.
‘Heroes’ - David Bowie. I don’t know why, but I start blubbering whenever I hear it. Anthemic.
‘Let’s Dance’ - David Bowie. Serious moonlight.
‘In My Life’ - the Beatles. Wanna make me cry?
‘All I Ask of You’ - from Phantom of the Opera. I am a Phantom Phreak, and will go to my grave as one.
This is such fun, I could make lists of 10 favorites on and on and on. Maybe by decades, lol.
Tears for Fears -“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
Eddie Money - “Baby Hold On”
Bob Welch - “Sentimental Lady”
Cold Chisel - “Forever Now”
Al Stewart - “Year of the Cat”
Dan Hartman - “I Can Dream About You”
OMD - “Souvenir”
Echo and the Bunnymen - “Nothing Lasts Forever”
Big Audio Dynamite II - “Rush”
The Grapes of Wrath - “I Am Here”
Rolling Stones - Angie
House of the Rising Sun - Animals
Yesterday - Beatles
All My Loving - Beatles
I’ve Got A Name - Jim Croce
Photographs & Memories - Jim Croce
Rocky Mountain High - John Denver
Country Roads - John Denver
Stop in the Name of Love - Supremes
Easy - Commodores
It’s the Same Old Song - Four Tops
Limiting myself to one song from an artist, perhaps these:
For No One - The Beatles
Rock and Roll All Night - KISS
Blinded by the Light - Manfred version
Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
Under Pressure - Queen
Southern Cross - CSN
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
Hotel California - Eagles
Hot Child in the City - Nick Gilder
Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
Sorry for the ties, I honestly cannot separate each pair, at all–and last week I updated my own personal list of my top c. 150 cuts, still could not stick a razor between.
“Gypsy” & “Eternity Road”, Moody Blues [consider one cut, 1st segues into the 2nd, subject matter is perfectly complementary]
“As You Will”, The Church.
“Seagull”, Ride [saw them in concert last night, recorded them performing this cut, yes, it blew the roof off of the place]
Tie, “Sumerland” & “Moonchild”, Fields of the Nephilim
“Myrrh”, The Church.
“Gravity Grave” & “All in the Mind”, The Verve
“Opium”, Dead Can Dance
[you can stop here if you insist it must be ten, no more, no less]
“In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion”, Agalloch
“All Night Long”, Peter Murphy
Tie, “The Thrill of It All” & “Out of the Blue”, Roxy Music
“Heard It THrough the Grapevine” Creedence Clearwater Revival (okay I also like Marvin Gaye’s version)
“Moanin’” Charles Mingus
As noted, this changes. One of my password questions for some site was “favorite rock group” and I had a hell of a time getting into that. I think I had to just set up another identity on that site, because, who was my favorite rock group at the time I set it up, and when did I set it up? Also it had to have eight letters and no spaces. Trick question.
Billie Holiday, Don’t Explain
The Fall, Hit The North
Tyrone Davis, I Had It All The Time
Bob Dylan, It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Ken McIntyre with Eric Dolphy, They All Laughed
Slim Gaillard, Mama’s In The Kitchen (But We’ve Got Pop On Ice)
The Fugs, Boobs A Lot
John Lennon, Isolation
Isaac Albeniz, Grenada
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Ring Dang Doo
“Waterloo Sunset,” The Kinks
“Norwegian Wood,” The Beatles
“Dandelion,” The Rolling Stones
“He’s in the Jailhouse Now,” The Memphis Jug Band
“I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” The Supremes and the Temptations
“Desolation Row,” Bob Dylan
“Captain Saint Lucifer,” Laura Nyro
“Scarlet Begonias,” The Grateful Dead
“Saint Anthony of Padua’s Sermon to the Fish,” composed by Gustav Mahler
“Mexico,” The Jefferson Airplane
Man alive this was hard. My taste in music has few limits, so narrowing it down is rough. I left a lot of dearly beloved songs out, but here’s the best cut I can make at the moment. Even at this I didn’t get a single funk song in, and I absolutely love funk. And 1930’s blues, none of that made it either. :sigh:
In no particular order - because my head might explode if I tried.
Carúl Inis Córthaidh - Libera (I heard them do it live all in Irish. This version has some English lyrics, but it’ll give you the jist) Wolf Totem - The Hu (Where heavy metal meets Mongolian throat singing.)
Faoiseamh a Gheobhadsa – Colm O’Snodaigh (Kila album: “Handel’s Fantasy”) Can’t for the life of me find a clip for that one. Stand By Me– as performed by Karen Gibson and the Kingdom Choir at Meghan and Harry’s wedding Dun do Shuile– As I sang it to my daughter when she was a baby (here’s a version to give you an idea of the song) Like the Rain – Clint Black Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park Duettino - Sull’Aria: Le Nozze Di Figaro - Deutsche Oper Berlin I won’t Take Less Than Your Love – Tanya Tucker, Paul Davis, Paul Overstreet La Vie en Rose – Edith Piaf
