The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

You really can’t go wrong with anything Stevie Wonder released from 1971 through 1976, and this is but one example why.  Enjoy the sheer joy and songwriting brilliance of “Summer Soft” from his classic 1976 double album, Songs in the Key of Life.

SI.com published a photo gallery of Wayne Gretzky today.  Most of it is pretty unremarkable unless you’re already a big fan of the Great One.  But there is one exception, this little nugget of concentrated awesome.

Oh yeah, Wayne Gretzky spinning Styx on the bangin’ hi-fi system, complete with record player and 8-track deck.  And you just know he loves all those cheesy Dennis DeYoung ballads.  I mean, check out that Elton John poster.

Just because I’m in the mood for some vintage New Wave, here’s one of my favorite songs by the Cars.  It’s the title track from their 1979 sophomore effort, Candy-O.  While never released as a single, “Candy-O” nonetheless brilliantly showcases the darker and more sinister side of the group.  The main guitar riff is ferocious and I’m always down with Ben Orr’s vocals, but Elliot Easton’s lead work is the star here.

If ’70s prog band Babe Ruth is remembered for one song (and that is about all they’re remembered for), it’s “The Mexican.”  It’s from their 1973 debut album First Base and it’s one of the catchiest, grooviest prog tracks you’ll ever hear.

I found a really cool YouTube video with this song played over some Samurai Jack clips, but they faded the song too early for my liking.  Check it out though, it’s sweet.

OK, so maybe I need to change the title of this series based on the increasing infrequency of posts in it.  But whatever.  I just had to resurrect it when I saw the latest entry at one of my favorite .mp3 blogs, My Jazz World.  It features a great one-two punch of cheesy wordplay in the title and some freaky cover art.  It’s 1973′s Flute of the Loom, by flautist Frank Wess.

As much as the Who staked their claim as rock legends on high-octane numbers like “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “My Generation”, I find that often it’s the more contemplative songs where they really shine.  Take, for instance, this cut from 1975′s The Who By Numbers.  The lyrics are bleak but the music…the music is startlingly simple and beautiful.  Did Pete Townshend ever write a better ballad?

I’m not sure, but this is certainly a worthy contender.  Here’s “Imagine a Man”:

Imagine a man
Not a child of any revolt
But a plain man tied up in life

Imagine the sand
Running out as he struts
Parading and fading, ignoring his wife

Imagine a road
So long looking backwards
You can’t see where it really began

Imagine a load
So large and so smooth
That against it a man is an ant

Then you will see the end
You will see the end

Imagine events
That occur everyday
Like a shooting or raping or a simple act of deceit

Imagine a fence
Around you as high as prevention
Casting shadows, you can’t see your feet

Imagine a girl
With long, flowing hair
And the body of chalky perfection and truth

Imagine a past
Where you wish you had lived
Full of heroes and villians and fools

And you will see the end
You will see the end
And you will see the end
You will see the end
Oh yeah

Imagine a man
Not a child of any revolt
But a man of today feeling new

Imagine a soul
So old it it is broken
And you know your invention is you

And you will see the end
You will see the end
You will see the end
You will see the end
Oh yeah

More prog goodness, you say?  Sure!  Here’s my favorite KC tune ever, from their 1974 masterpiece Red.

Witness the majestic and face-melting drumming of one Bill Bruford, who absolutely owns on this number.  My favorite moment comes just after the 4:20 mark, when he kicks out this sinister groove that I could listen to on repeat all day.  That weird-sounding cymbal he uses, in a stroke of great luck, was the result of some impromptu dumpster-diving.

Forget just prog rock, kids, music doesn’t get much better than this.