cryptique Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Not just in terms of songwriting -- this is all about THE RECORDED SONG -- the whole package, as represented by a single recording by a specific artist. Here's my pick: Dion - "Runaround Sue" This record has everything you need ... great vocals (lead and backing), danceable beat, punchy instrumentation, saxophone solo ... I defy you to name a better record. ...and that's the point. What do you think is better? ONE SONG ONLY, AS RECORDED BY ONE ARTIST -- you have to pick your ultimate, absolute favorite record. No hedging by posting a list. Take a stand, make a decision! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 strictly rock n roll:like a rolling stone Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viatroy Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 All I've got is an everchanging list, to the top of whichRemember the Mountain Bed keeps floating. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 My favorite song is Tangeld Up In Blue.There. I said it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Ballad of a Thin Man. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 For R&R... We Won't Get Fooled Again Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viatroy Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 My favorite song is Tangeld Up In Blue.There. I said it. Ballad of a Thin Man. Friends ... Elton John (see, there I go) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kalle Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Tomorrow Never Knows, it was light years ahead of it's time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 Dylan scores three quick entries. I should probably have been a bit more explicit ... when I said "song," I meant "recording of a song." So, not necessarily the lyrics and melody, but the whole package, as recorded by a particular artist. (I'll fix my initial post to reflect that.) Are you Dylan fans voting for Dylan's recordings of those songs? Or do you prefer someone else's? What's the one recording you prize above all others? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 i just love the song itself but my fave recording of it is from live 66. however, this is not my fave song ever ('sitting on the dock of the bay is') Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Campaigner Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Really only one song that comes to mind... 'Thunder Road' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lizish Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Strange Fruit Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 Strange FruitBillie Holiday's version, I assume? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lizish Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Billie Holiday's version, I assume? you are correct. Although the Aqua version is also very good.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 The Band, "Jawbone" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 you are correct.Although the Aqua is also very good.... so is the twilights singers' version. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 GD---Dark Star--"Live Dead" (1969)...what a shocker, huh? Although MChris' choice has to be a very close second Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Twisted Acres Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Some great, great choices here, and there are at least a trillion finalists for me, but oddly enough I was having this very same discussion yesterday with some friends, and after a few hours and beers, my choice is "My Girl" by the Temptations. Simple, effective and universal message that pertains as much to love of a daughter, mother, aunt, sister, as it does to a girlfriend/wife, brilliant arrangement from a musical and vocal standpoint... Jamerson's heartbeat bass intro, Robert White's masterful guitar line, the strings at the end... I still melt when I hear it, nearly 35 years after liking it for the first time. I've heard mixes of just the instrumental, and just the vocals, and both stand alone nearly as strongly as the combination. cryptique, I did my best to defy you, and believe me, I adore "Runaround Sue," but "My Girl" has got everything. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 cryptique, I did my best to defy you, and believe me, I adore "Runaround Sue," but "My Girl" has got everything.I would put "My Girl" up in my top 5, probably. For me, the reason it's not # 1 is the string arrangement. I would love to hear that same recording with the strings stripped out in favor of a guitar solo, or even just a single violin playing the same part -- the string section is just too much. In the end, that's a pretty minor complaint, though. That's definitely one of the great records of all time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Twisted Acres Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Maybe Otis Redding's version would be more to your liking, with Booker T & the MGs putting down a gorgeous, stripped-down arrangement, and the Memphis Horns taking on the string arrangement. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
c53x12 Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Won't Get Fooled AgainI could easily second this. Or maybe Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic" just for the goosebumps I get when the horns play. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 Maybe Otis Redding's version would be more to your liking, with Booker T & the MGs putting down a gorgeous, stripped-down arrangement, and the Memphis Horns taking on the string arrangement.Nothing against Otis, but that lead vocal by David Ruffin can't be beat. I have to give the nod to the Temptations version, string section and all. Or maybe Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic" just for the goosebumps I get when the horns play.Nice choice. I'd be lying if I said I haven't re-thought my original pick a few times already. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Twisted Acres Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Nothing against Otis, but that lead vocal by David Ruffin can't be beat. I have to give the nod to the Temptations version, string section and all. You're absolutely positively right... Ruff kills it! And "Into the Mystic" is a fantastic choice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WilcoFan Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 "True Happiness This Way Lies" The The - From "Dusk" And have you ever wanted something so badlythat it possessed your body & your soulthrough the night & through the dayuntil you finally get it!And then you realise that it wasn't what you wanted after all.And then those selfsame sickly little thoughtsnow go & attach themselves to something........or somebody....new!And the whole goddamn thing starts all over again.Well, I've been crushing the symptoms but I can't locate thecause.Could God really be so cruel?To give us feelings that could never be fulfilled. Baby!I've got my sights set on you. I've got my sight set on youAnd someday, someday, someday, you'll come my way.But when you put your arms around meI'll be looking over your shoulder for something new'cause I ain't ever found peace upon the breast of a girlI ain't ever found peace with the religion of the worldI ain't ever found peace at the bottom of a glasssometimes it seems the more I ask for the less I receivesometimes it seems the more I ask for the less I receiveThe only true freedom is freedom from the heart's desires& the only true happiness....this way lies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mpolak21 Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 The Beatles: Strawberry Fields Forever, but ask me tommorrow and it could be The Kinks' Waterloo Sunset. --Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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