Continuing with my own personal Top 40....
Morning Dew - The Grateful Dead
The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion was probably the second album I bought with my own money, prompted by the fact that I had seen the Dead live at the Village Gate. Ironically, they were OPENING for another band that dropped out of sight. Morning Dew is highlighted by Jerry Garcia's tentative vocals meshing with plaintive guitar chords. The song has such a loving quality to it, painting a picture and creating a mood. In my mind, it marks the beginning of the reign of the Dead.
Panama Limited - Tom Rush
Rush's deft use of a kitchen knife sliding up and down the guitar strings coupled with his authoritative vocals and meticulously clean finger picking makes this song a folkie classic, complete with the various "train" sound effects. He does his musical homework well, able to adapt and refine various guitar styles until he makes them his own. "Panama Limited" was best experienced from the vantage point of a crowded cafe table in the old Mooncusser on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs.
Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight and The Pips
This song simply drives itself - a blend of the funkiest piano hooks on record combined with Gladys' intense vocals and the staccato punctuation of the Pips, a solid R & B riff that never lets you down. I always wonder why Marvin Gaye's version got all the attention.
Chest Fever - The Band
A true virtuoso run for keyboardist Garth Hudson as he jumps from organ to piano to synthesizer and back, the song's refrain echoing like thunder across some vast imaginary plain. I used to always visualize the song being performed live, with Garth as the centerpiece, rising up from the stage on some kind of hydraulic platform during his solo, hunched over his array of instruments.
Leavin' Trunk - Taj Mahal
Or any of the other cuts off his first eye-opening album - who was this dude who ground out such tight, hard-driving, electrifying blues? Taj's voice on this cut is a controlled, melodic shout, while the harmonica provides a dynamic, amplified wail. If you ever get a copy of this record, sit back and relax to "The Celebrated Walking Blues", kind of like Taj Mahal's musical thesis on the nature and history of the blues.
By the way - how about YOUR Top 40? Send me some titles and brief descriptions and I'll add it to the list.
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