"Musical Orgasms"

Oooh! Ah! ...No no no, not like that....
& no, we R not gonna discuss Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" here -- at least not at this time. Even tho it might B more intresting....
This post is dedicated 2 the proposition that part of what makes really great rock&roll so freakin great is the way that U can sometimes Cm 2 tell from a song's Bginnings roughly where it's going 2 go ... & then it goes there, in the best possible way, w/ some Xtra added suprises along the way ... & the result leaves U thrilled & satisfied & refreshed every time ... roughly in the same way a good round of sex w/ some1 U love works.
In short, the inevitability of the way the song plays-out is part of what makes it so freakin great. U know where it's going, but....
Naturally, I have some nominees 2 support this theory:
* "Stairway to Heaven" -- This is mayB the only song I know of (perhaps also "Light My Fire"?) that feels like it was predestined, inevitable -- that somehow if Jimmy Page & Robert Plant hadn't found the pieces 2 put 2gether this mystical fantasy, some1 else woulda HAD 2, just 2 keep the universe in order. It just Cms like it's always bn w/ us, like some kinda 4got10 folksong that should date back 1,000's of yrs.
Starting out delicately w/ acoustic guitar & flutes & slowly building in in10sity 2 Page's truly orgasmic gtr solo at the Nd, is there NE1 who doesn't have the lyrics 2 this song memorized by age 12? & is there NE1 who wants 2 take a shot at Xplaining that solo? Sounds awful fiery 2 me, like the heavens falling down in2 hell -- tho what that has 2 do w/ the lyrics beats me.
It's really un4gettable, & it holds up even if U've heard the song 10,000x, which we all have. & it's not even my fave song, or probly even in my Top 100. But every time I play it, it Does The Job.
Zep's "When the Levee Breaks" is also pretty cosmic & worth a mention in this context. "Kashmir," tho also brilliant, is more like tantric sex -- prolonged Byond Ndurance, which may B 1 of the reasons Robert howls all thru the fade-out....
* Elton John: "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" -- This opener 4 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Bgins w/ a long, morose synthesizer-&-sound-effects instrumental (the only time Elton ever did this, far as I know), later joined by Davey Johnstone's gtr, which pulls the instrumental outta its swirling Dpression & in2 The Real Reason 4 this medley: "Love Lies Bleeding" is 1a Elton's greatest rockers, & Johnstone's slashing gtr (along w/ Bernie Taupin's lyrics & the great group vocals on the choruses) keep the song rushing 4ward. But Johnstone's the secret weapon here, the way his gtr accents the song as it proceeds & keeps shrieking as it fades out. I've always loved the crashing impact of this -- why didn't they release the 2nd 1/2 as a single?
* REO Speedwagon: "Roll With the Changes" -- Back when I was a teenager, this flattened me the 1st time I heard it: Neal Doughty's rolling keyboards leading in2 Gary Richrath's charging gtr, & later the "Keep on rolling" group-vocal choruses -- the speed of it impressed me, & the fact that they kept it going 4 6+ mins.... Tho whether it's a happy breakup song or an Xstatic new-love song I've never quite figured out....
* Journey: "Feeling That Way/Anytime" -- "Feeling That Way"'s the build-up, "Anytime"'s the release. The only time I've ever heard this on radio, they've always played both parts, showing mayB that radio programmers Rn't ALWAYS idiots. Steve Perry & Gregg Rolie shoulda teamed-up on vocals more often. & Neal Schon has a pretty great gtr solo near the Nd of "Anytime."
* Rush: "Time Stand Still" -- I think this is the best thing they ever did, just 4 the nostalgia content of Neal Peart's lyrics -- but the way it builds, & Aimee Mann's howling-in-the-wilderness "Ooooohs" toward the Nd on top of Alex Lifeson's repeating gtr figure, it's just a freakin knockout. "Force Ten" is also superb -- especially toward the Nd as Geddy Lee moves from verse 2 chorus & back....
* ABBEY ROAD, Side 2 -- Basically everything from "You Never Give Me Your Money" onward. A lot of it's freaking gorgeous, & the build toward "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End" is amazing, even w/ the occasional breaks, even w/ the silly character songs ("Bathroom Window," "Polythene Pam," "Mr. Mustard"). & the closing is perfect. My X-wife 1nce hadda theory that ABBEY ROAD was a comedy album, but mercifully I can't remember what she was on about.... Some people might think "A Day in the Life" would fit in2 this discussion, but I'd think it would havta B a real downer, a reminder of some REALLY BAD sex....
* "You Can't Always Get What You Want" -- Ghod, I love all of it, from the choir & the French horn at the Bginning thru Jagger's tortured vocal & the twisted lyrical imagery, thru Richards' usual Xcellent gtr, 2 the Nd where it all falls 2gether in all its hugeness. Not sure Xactly why the choir was here, but man they do they job -- they're probly my faverite part of the whole thing....
* Boston: "A Man I'll Never Be" -- 4 me, their best work, an admission of the insecurity that was always at the center of Tom Scholz's lyrical concerns, & the way it piles up & up til Brad Delp's vocal disappears in2 the gtrs.... Another knockout. "More Than a Feeling" is a real close 2nd....
* Easybeats: "Friday on My Mind" -- The best "It's the WEEKEND!" song ever rushes & blasts from 1/2way thru the 1st verse, & by the time U get 2 the 1st chorus U'd better get outta the way cos these guys R in a HURRY 2 get 2 that Good Time they've waited all wk 4. Still sounds great every time I hear it....
* Caravan: "The Dog, the Dog, He's At it Again" -- This starts out gently, but after some silly choruses & a warped & twiddly keyboard solo, it Nds w/ the prettiest (& yet most driving) circular-vocal Nding yr ever likely 2 hear. & of course the subject is sex. Their "Memory Lain/Hugh/Headloss" starts off w/ a lotta drive 2, great gtr riff, but they lose it in the less-intense (tho still Xcellent) 2nd 1/2. "Be All Right" is like a freight train running right at U, & lacks only a really good Nding 2 rank higher on this list. The 12-min live version of "For Richard" takes awhile 2 get going, but in the last 2/3rd's the band & the orchestra Bhind them POUND the Ndlessly repeating riff in2 dramatic submission until a huge & shuddering ... climax....
* Steve Tibbetts: "Ur" -- This gtr-meltdown piece starts w/ strummed acoustic, gourds & other percussion, & w/ pauses 4 an occasional shimmering chance 2 catch R breath, morphs in2 a spiralling gtr showcase that (I swear) has bits that sound like a lightning strike, an Xplosion, a shooting pain across yr 4head, acid splashed in2 yr face, a smear of blood across a wall, another detonation & thunder echoing 4 miles.... Then back 2 the hushed silence & the rattling percussion. U look over & yr speakers have bn reduced 2 ashes....
Prefer a quickie instead...?
* Five Man Electrical Band: "Absolutely Right" -- Opening w/ a quickly strummed acoustic, then added electric piano & then the fat gtr tones B4 we get 2 Les Emmerson's sorta-phased vocal w/ him begging 2 come back home. Shakers come in as he pleads, & U'll B hooked by the 1st chorus, which Nds w/ more great gtr interjections from Emmerson. The pace picks up, & from the point in the middle-break when the group-vocals start: "Oh, I wish that you could see....," the rest is a screaming headlong rush 4ward w/ more great group-vocal choruses & looping gtr until the band stomps on those last 4 notes. & they do it all in about 2:16. A near-perfect shoulda-bn #1 hit that everybody missed the boat on....
I'm sure U have yr own recommendations. Diffrent strokes 4 diffrent folks, right? Let's hear em....