100 best songs of all time
February 4 2003
The Sun-Herald
Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit made it to number 31.
There's no sign of Hotel California or Stairway To Heaven, so what does Peter Holmes rate?
What makes a great song? Melody, mood, lyric? Energy, production, arrangement? Musicianship, lack of musicianship? Empathy, wit, ego, insight, craftsmanship?
Or do we love a particular song because it reminds us so vividly of past holidays, parties, friendships and relationships, terrific and sad times alike?
In signing off on this list, I feel as if I'm leaving for a trip having spent three minutes packing. All I know is if stuck on an island armed with only a choice stereo and 100 songs to keep me company, this lot would do the business, for me, time and time again.
1. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay (Redding/Cropper) - Otis Redding, 1967.
Shortly before he died in a plane crash in 1967, Otis Redding had recorded six takes of the melancholy (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay. The slight crack in that sweet young soul voice, the sparse semi-acoustic arrangement, the whistled solo - divine.
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2. I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Whitfield/Strong) - Marvin Gaye, 1968.
A terrific arrangement and a stunning vocal performance from Marvin Gaye on this classic tale of betrayal. The ominous organ andgrim, tribal drums are warning enough badnews is afoot.
3. Fall On Me (Mills/Buck/Berry/Stipe) - R.E.M, 1986.
A few years before they became one of the biggest rock bands in the world R.E.M. delivered this supreme piece of jangly, post-Byrds folk-rock. Counter-melodies fromthe angels.
4. Everybody's Talking (Neil) - Harry Nilsson, 1969.
A simple bassline, the tap-tap-tap of a hi-hat cymbal, zippy, finger-picked acoustic guitar, keyboard pads and Harry Nilsson's suitably weather-beaten delivery of Fred Neil's greatest triumph.
5. Take Me To The River (Green/Hodges) - Al Green,1974.
Later covered by Talking Heads, but I'll take the Reverend Al Green's funky, horn-drenched mid-1970s original version any day of the week. Check out the Rev's dedication to his cousin over the opening bars - very, very smooth.
6. That's All Right (Crudup) - Elvis Presley, 1972.
When Elvis first covered this in the 1950s it was a pioneering manoeuvre. By the 1970s he had cranked it up to fifth gear, added blazing horns and gospel vocals and it kicked like an irritated mule.
7. Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/McCartney) - The Beatles, 1966.
Paul McCartney's grim, evocative, two-minute narrative about Eleanor Rigby, a curious, lonely woman who dies sad and alone. The song is brought to life, as it were, by the stark staccato string arrangement.
8. Sympathy For The Devil (Jagger/Richards) - Rolling Stones, 1968.
Driven by Rocky Dijon's congas, Nicky Hopkins's piano and Keef's bassline, this was a cleverly constructed, tightly-coiled piece of late-1960s pop.
9. River Deep Mountain High (Barry/Greenwich/Spector) - Ike and Tina Turner, 1966.
A mega-production from Phil Spector's School Of More. A mini-opera, it swings from finger-clickin' cool to oceans of swelling strings and vocals. All these years later it still sounds incredible.
10. Hurricane (Dylan) - Bob Dylan, 1976.
A devastatingly potent protest song about the imprisonment of boxer Rubin Carter. When Dylan sings "He coulda been the champion of the world", it's truly spine-tingling. Justice, American-style.
11. People Get Ready (Mayfield) - the Impressions, 1965.
12. Matty (Mulhearn) - Christy Moore, 1985.
A poetic Irish drunk heads out into the night and never makes it home. Johnny Mulhearn's tune about Matty is so exquisitely written and touching you'll need Kleenex at hand.
13. Superstition (Wonder) - Stevie Wonder, 1973.
14. Respect (Redding) - Aretha Franklin, 1967.
15. The Boy In The Bubble (Simon/Motloheloa) - Paul Simon, 1986.
16. Positively 4th Street (Dylan) - Bob Dylan, 1965.
17. Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Strong/Whitfield) - the Temptations, 1972.
18. Good Vibrations (Love/Wilson) - the Beach Boys, 1966.
19. Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) (Harley) - Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, 1975.
Steve Harley's only true global hit is a gold radio staple and is still used regularly in film soundtracks. A perfectly formed pop song topped off with a memorable flamenco-tinged nylon string acoustic guitar solo.
20. Feelin' Alright (Mason) - Joe Cocker, 1969.
21. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (John/Taupin) - Elton John, 1973.
22. Everlovin' Man (Lynch/Lovett/Anderson/Humphreys/Clyne) - the Loved Ones, 1966.
23. Last Great American Whale (Reed) - Lou Reed, 1989.
24. Ain't Too Proud To Beg (Holland/Whitfield) - the Temptations, 1966.
25. Stand By Me (Leiber/Stoller/King) - Ben E. King, 1962.
26. Monkey Wrench (Grohl/Foo Fighters) - Foo Fighters, 1996.
Full of crashing power chords and over-the-top pregnant pauses, this is asgood as melodic grunt gets. Thehighlight is when Grohl starts screaming the last verse. Let it out,Dave.
27. Downtown (Hatch) - Petula Clark, 1965.
28. Stuck In The Middle With You (Egan/Rafferty) - Stealer's Wheel, 1973.
29. Back In Black (Young/Young/Johnson) - AC/DC, 1980.
30. Sloop John B (Trad/Wilson) - the Beach Boys, 1966.
31. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Cobain/Nirvana) - Nirvana, 1991.
32. I Feel The Earth Move (King) - Carole King, 1971.
33. In The Ghetto (Davis) - Elvis Presley, 1969.
34. Spoonman (Cornell) - Soundgarden, 1994.
35. Big Hat, No Cattle (Newman) - Randy Newman, 1999.
"Since I was a child/I've tried to be what I am not/I've lied, and I've enjoyed it/All my life." So begins Randy Newman's hilarious tune about a loser whose whole life is a lie. All set to a tasty, Floyd Cramer-ish country feel.
36. You Should Be Dancing (Gibb/Gibb/Gibb) - Bee Gees, 1976.
37. Golden Years (Bowie) - David Bowie, 1976.
38. It Was A Very Good Year (Ervin Drake) - Frank Sinatra, 1965.
39. Kinky Afro (Happy Mondays) - Happy Mondays, 1990.
40. Sign O' The Times (Prince) - Prince, 1987.
41. The Disappointed (Partridge) - XTC, 1992.
42. That's The Way (I Like It) (Kasey/Finch) - KC and The Sunshine Band, 1975.
43. Power And The Passion (Hirst/Moginie/Garrett) - Midnight Oil, 1983.
44. Son Of A Preacher Man (Hurley/Wilkins) - Dusty Springfield, 1969.
45. Lady Marmalade (Crewe/Nolan) - LaBelle, 1976.
46. Built For Comfort (Dixon) - Howlin' Wolf, 1966.
47. California Dreaming (Phillips/Phillips) - Mamas and the Papas, 1966.
48. Song 2 (Blur) - Blur, 1997.
49. All Along The Watchtower (Dylan) - Jimi Hendrix, 1968.
50. No Regrets (Rush) - Walker Brothers, 1975.
51. Higher Ground (Wonder) - Stevie Wonder, 1973.
52. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (Benjamin/Caldwell/Marcus) - the Animals, 1965.
53. I Got You (I Feel Good) (Brown) - James Brown, 1966.
Ow! Get on the good foot! Get On up! The Father of Funk. The Godfather of Soul. The Hardest Working Man In Show business. General Groove. The dynamic dancing machine. Ow!
54. Love Is In The Air (Vanda/Young) - John Paul Young, 1978.
55. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And If Feel Fine) (Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe) - R.E.M, 1987.
56. D.C. (Clark/Peno) - Died Pretty, 1991.
57. X-Ray Style (Strummer) - Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros, 1999.
58. Tenterfield Saddler (Allen) - Peter Allen, 1972.
59. Hallelujah I Love Her So (Charles) - Ray Charles, 1963.
60. Get A Little Dirt On Your Hands (Anderson) - the Delltones, 1962.
61. Dream Lover (Darin) - Bobby Darin, 1959.
62. Heartland (Johnson) - the The, 1986.
63. Gypsy - (Nicks) Fleetwood Mac, 1982.
64. Love Rears Up Its Ugly Head (Reid) - Living Color, 1990.
65. You're No Good (Ballard) - Linda Ronstadt, 1974.
66. Jolene (Parton) - Dolly Parton, 1973.
67. Back On The Chain Gang (Hynde) - The Pretenders, 1982.
68. To Her Door (Kelly) - Paul Kelly, 1987.
Over the years the great Paul Kelly has messed around with the lyrics on this quietly hopeful folk-pop diamond, adding various expletives and changing "The Buttery" to "the North Coast" and "Olympic" to "McCaffertys".
69. The Honeymoon Is Over (Cruickshank/Perkins/Rumour) - the Cruel Sea, 1993.
70. I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City (Nilsson) - Wayne Newton (release date unknown).
71. Fairytale Of New York (Finer/MacGowan) - the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, 1987.
72. Don't Look Back In Anger (Gallagher) - Oasis, 1995.
73. Get Off My Cloud (Jagger/Richards) - Rolling Stones, 1965.
74. Run Through The Jungle (Fogerty) - Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1970.
75. Everything's Turning To White (Kelly) - Paul Kelly, 1989.
76. Sparky's Dream (Love) - Teenage Fanclub, 1995.
77. (You're The) Devil In Disguise (Baum/Kaye) - Elvis Presley, 1963.
78. Scorn Of The Women (Thomas)
- Weddings, Parties, Anything, 1987.
79. Relating To A Psychopath (Gray/Ruzumna/Swann/Wilder) - Macy Gray, 2001.
80. Anarchy In The UK (Cook/Jones/Matlock/Rotten) - Sex Pistols, 1977.
81. Oliver's Army (Costello) - Elvis Costello, 1979.
82. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (Croce) - Frank Sinatra, 1973.
83. For What It's Worth (Stills) - Buffalo Springfield, 1967.
84. If I Can't Change Your Mind (Mould) - Sugar, 1992.
85. No Myth (Penn) - Michael Penn, 1989.
86. Into Temptation (Finn) - Crowded House, 1988.
87. Cheaper To Keep Her (Rice) - Johnnie Taylor, 1973.
Over a cruisy walking bassline velvet-suited Johnnie Taylor does the math: "Five little children that you're leaving behind/Son, you're going pay some alimony/Or do some time/It's cheaper to keep her". Finger-clickin', pre-PC gold.
88. Love Will Keep Us Together (Greenfield/Sedaka) - the Captain and Tennille, 1975.
89. Play That Funky Music (Parissi) - Wild Cherry, 1976.
90. Ray Of Light (Madonna/Orbit/Muldoon/Curtis/Leach) - Madonna, 1998.
91. Senses Working Overtime (Partridge) - XTC, 1982.
92. Still In Hollywood - (Napolitano) Concrete Blonde, 1987.
93. Not Fade Away - (Holly/Petty) - Buddy Holly, 1957.
94. Blister In The Sun (Gano) - Violent Femmes, 1983.
95. Nothin' But A Woman (Cray) - Robert Cray, 1986.
96. The "In" Crowd (Page) - Ramsey Lewis Trio, 1965.
97. Bittersweet Symphony (Ashcroft/Jagger/Richards) - the Verve, 1997.
A loop of an orchestral version of the Rolling Stones song The Last Time formed the basis for this sweeping pop tune. To gain clearance to record it, English band the Verve had to hand over 100 per cent of the royalties to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards's publishers.
98. Freak Scene (Mascis) - Dinosaur jnr, 1988.
99. Come Fly With Me (Cahn/Van Heusen) - Frank Sinatra, 1965.
100. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Bono/Clayton/Edge/Mullen) - U2, 1987.
February 4 2003
The Sun-Herald
Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit made it to number 31.
There's no sign of Hotel California or Stairway To Heaven, so what does Peter Holmes rate?
What makes a great song? Melody, mood, lyric? Energy, production, arrangement? Musicianship, lack of musicianship? Empathy, wit, ego, insight, craftsmanship?
Or do we love a particular song because it reminds us so vividly of past holidays, parties, friendships and relationships, terrific and sad times alike?
In signing off on this list, I feel as if I'm leaving for a trip having spent three minutes packing. All I know is if stuck on an island armed with only a choice stereo and 100 songs to keep me company, this lot would do the business, for me, time and time again.
1. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay (Redding/Cropper) - Otis Redding, 1967.
Shortly before he died in a plane crash in 1967, Otis Redding had recorded six takes of the melancholy (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay. The slight crack in that sweet young soul voice, the sparse semi-acoustic arrangement, the whistled solo - divine.
advertisement
advertisement
2. I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Whitfield/Strong) - Marvin Gaye, 1968.
A terrific arrangement and a stunning vocal performance from Marvin Gaye on this classic tale of betrayal. The ominous organ andgrim, tribal drums are warning enough badnews is afoot.
3. Fall On Me (Mills/Buck/Berry/Stipe) - R.E.M, 1986.
A few years before they became one of the biggest rock bands in the world R.E.M. delivered this supreme piece of jangly, post-Byrds folk-rock. Counter-melodies fromthe angels.
4. Everybody's Talking (Neil) - Harry Nilsson, 1969.
A simple bassline, the tap-tap-tap of a hi-hat cymbal, zippy, finger-picked acoustic guitar, keyboard pads and Harry Nilsson's suitably weather-beaten delivery of Fred Neil's greatest triumph.
5. Take Me To The River (Green/Hodges) - Al Green,1974.
Later covered by Talking Heads, but I'll take the Reverend Al Green's funky, horn-drenched mid-1970s original version any day of the week. Check out the Rev's dedication to his cousin over the opening bars - very, very smooth.
6. That's All Right (Crudup) - Elvis Presley, 1972.
When Elvis first covered this in the 1950s it was a pioneering manoeuvre. By the 1970s he had cranked it up to fifth gear, added blazing horns and gospel vocals and it kicked like an irritated mule.
7. Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/McCartney) - The Beatles, 1966.
Paul McCartney's grim, evocative, two-minute narrative about Eleanor Rigby, a curious, lonely woman who dies sad and alone. The song is brought to life, as it were, by the stark staccato string arrangement.
8. Sympathy For The Devil (Jagger/Richards) - Rolling Stones, 1968.
Driven by Rocky Dijon's congas, Nicky Hopkins's piano and Keef's bassline, this was a cleverly constructed, tightly-coiled piece of late-1960s pop.
9. River Deep Mountain High (Barry/Greenwich/Spector) - Ike and Tina Turner, 1966.
A mega-production from Phil Spector's School Of More. A mini-opera, it swings from finger-clickin' cool to oceans of swelling strings and vocals. All these years later it still sounds incredible.
10. Hurricane (Dylan) - Bob Dylan, 1976.
A devastatingly potent protest song about the imprisonment of boxer Rubin Carter. When Dylan sings "He coulda been the champion of the world", it's truly spine-tingling. Justice, American-style.
11. People Get Ready (Mayfield) - the Impressions, 1965.
12. Matty (Mulhearn) - Christy Moore, 1985.
A poetic Irish drunk heads out into the night and never makes it home. Johnny Mulhearn's tune about Matty is so exquisitely written and touching you'll need Kleenex at hand.
13. Superstition (Wonder) - Stevie Wonder, 1973.
14. Respect (Redding) - Aretha Franklin, 1967.
15. The Boy In The Bubble (Simon/Motloheloa) - Paul Simon, 1986.
16. Positively 4th Street (Dylan) - Bob Dylan, 1965.
17. Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Strong/Whitfield) - the Temptations, 1972.
18. Good Vibrations (Love/Wilson) - the Beach Boys, 1966.
19. Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) (Harley) - Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, 1975.
Steve Harley's only true global hit is a gold radio staple and is still used regularly in film soundtracks. A perfectly formed pop song topped off with a memorable flamenco-tinged nylon string acoustic guitar solo.
20. Feelin' Alright (Mason) - Joe Cocker, 1969.
21. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (John/Taupin) - Elton John, 1973.
22. Everlovin' Man (Lynch/Lovett/Anderson/Humphreys/Clyne) - the Loved Ones, 1966.
23. Last Great American Whale (Reed) - Lou Reed, 1989.
24. Ain't Too Proud To Beg (Holland/Whitfield) - the Temptations, 1966.
25. Stand By Me (Leiber/Stoller/King) - Ben E. King, 1962.
26. Monkey Wrench (Grohl/Foo Fighters) - Foo Fighters, 1996.
Full of crashing power chords and over-the-top pregnant pauses, this is asgood as melodic grunt gets. Thehighlight is when Grohl starts screaming the last verse. Let it out,Dave.
27. Downtown (Hatch) - Petula Clark, 1965.
28. Stuck In The Middle With You (Egan/Rafferty) - Stealer's Wheel, 1973.
29. Back In Black (Young/Young/Johnson) - AC/DC, 1980.
30. Sloop John B (Trad/Wilson) - the Beach Boys, 1966.
31. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Cobain/Nirvana) - Nirvana, 1991.
32. I Feel The Earth Move (King) - Carole King, 1971.
33. In The Ghetto (Davis) - Elvis Presley, 1969.
34. Spoonman (Cornell) - Soundgarden, 1994.
35. Big Hat, No Cattle (Newman) - Randy Newman, 1999.
"Since I was a child/I've tried to be what I am not/I've lied, and I've enjoyed it/All my life." So begins Randy Newman's hilarious tune about a loser whose whole life is a lie. All set to a tasty, Floyd Cramer-ish country feel.
36. You Should Be Dancing (Gibb/Gibb/Gibb) - Bee Gees, 1976.
37. Golden Years (Bowie) - David Bowie, 1976.
38. It Was A Very Good Year (Ervin Drake) - Frank Sinatra, 1965.
39. Kinky Afro (Happy Mondays) - Happy Mondays, 1990.
40. Sign O' The Times (Prince) - Prince, 1987.
41. The Disappointed (Partridge) - XTC, 1992.
42. That's The Way (I Like It) (Kasey/Finch) - KC and The Sunshine Band, 1975.
43. Power And The Passion (Hirst/Moginie/Garrett) - Midnight Oil, 1983.
44. Son Of A Preacher Man (Hurley/Wilkins) - Dusty Springfield, 1969.
45. Lady Marmalade (Crewe/Nolan) - LaBelle, 1976.
46. Built For Comfort (Dixon) - Howlin' Wolf, 1966.
47. California Dreaming (Phillips/Phillips) - Mamas and the Papas, 1966.
48. Song 2 (Blur) - Blur, 1997.
49. All Along The Watchtower (Dylan) - Jimi Hendrix, 1968.
50. No Regrets (Rush) - Walker Brothers, 1975.
51. Higher Ground (Wonder) - Stevie Wonder, 1973.
52. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (Benjamin/Caldwell/Marcus) - the Animals, 1965.
53. I Got You (I Feel Good) (Brown) - James Brown, 1966.
Ow! Get on the good foot! Get On up! The Father of Funk. The Godfather of Soul. The Hardest Working Man In Show business. General Groove. The dynamic dancing machine. Ow!
54. Love Is In The Air (Vanda/Young) - John Paul Young, 1978.
55. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And If Feel Fine) (Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe) - R.E.M, 1987.
56. D.C. (Clark/Peno) - Died Pretty, 1991.
57. X-Ray Style (Strummer) - Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros, 1999.
58. Tenterfield Saddler (Allen) - Peter Allen, 1972.
59. Hallelujah I Love Her So (Charles) - Ray Charles, 1963.
60. Get A Little Dirt On Your Hands (Anderson) - the Delltones, 1962.
61. Dream Lover (Darin) - Bobby Darin, 1959.
62. Heartland (Johnson) - the The, 1986.
63. Gypsy - (Nicks) Fleetwood Mac, 1982.
64. Love Rears Up Its Ugly Head (Reid) - Living Color, 1990.
65. You're No Good (Ballard) - Linda Ronstadt, 1974.
66. Jolene (Parton) - Dolly Parton, 1973.
67. Back On The Chain Gang (Hynde) - The Pretenders, 1982.
68. To Her Door (Kelly) - Paul Kelly, 1987.
Over the years the great Paul Kelly has messed around with the lyrics on this quietly hopeful folk-pop diamond, adding various expletives and changing "The Buttery" to "the North Coast" and "Olympic" to "McCaffertys".
69. The Honeymoon Is Over (Cruickshank/Perkins/Rumour) - the Cruel Sea, 1993.
70. I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City (Nilsson) - Wayne Newton (release date unknown).
71. Fairytale Of New York (Finer/MacGowan) - the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, 1987.
72. Don't Look Back In Anger (Gallagher) - Oasis, 1995.
73. Get Off My Cloud (Jagger/Richards) - Rolling Stones, 1965.
74. Run Through The Jungle (Fogerty) - Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1970.
75. Everything's Turning To White (Kelly) - Paul Kelly, 1989.
76. Sparky's Dream (Love) - Teenage Fanclub, 1995.
77. (You're The) Devil In Disguise (Baum/Kaye) - Elvis Presley, 1963.
78. Scorn Of The Women (Thomas)
- Weddings, Parties, Anything, 1987.
79. Relating To A Psychopath (Gray/Ruzumna/Swann/Wilder) - Macy Gray, 2001.
80. Anarchy In The UK (Cook/Jones/Matlock/Rotten) - Sex Pistols, 1977.
81. Oliver's Army (Costello) - Elvis Costello, 1979.
82. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (Croce) - Frank Sinatra, 1973.
83. For What It's Worth (Stills) - Buffalo Springfield, 1967.
84. If I Can't Change Your Mind (Mould) - Sugar, 1992.
85. No Myth (Penn) - Michael Penn, 1989.
86. Into Temptation (Finn) - Crowded House, 1988.
87. Cheaper To Keep Her (Rice) - Johnnie Taylor, 1973.
Over a cruisy walking bassline velvet-suited Johnnie Taylor does the math: "Five little children that you're leaving behind/Son, you're going pay some alimony/Or do some time/It's cheaper to keep her". Finger-clickin', pre-PC gold.
88. Love Will Keep Us Together (Greenfield/Sedaka) - the Captain and Tennille, 1975.
89. Play That Funky Music (Parissi) - Wild Cherry, 1976.
90. Ray Of Light (Madonna/Orbit/Muldoon/Curtis/Leach) - Madonna, 1998.
91. Senses Working Overtime (Partridge) - XTC, 1982.
92. Still In Hollywood - (Napolitano) Concrete Blonde, 1987.
93. Not Fade Away - (Holly/Petty) - Buddy Holly, 1957.
94. Blister In The Sun (Gano) - Violent Femmes, 1983.
95. Nothin' But A Woman (Cray) - Robert Cray, 1986.
96. The "In" Crowd (Page) - Ramsey Lewis Trio, 1965.
97. Bittersweet Symphony (Ashcroft/Jagger/Richards) - the Verve, 1997.
A loop of an orchestral version of the Rolling Stones song The Last Time formed the basis for this sweeping pop tune. To gain clearance to record it, English band the Verve had to hand over 100 per cent of the royalties to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards's publishers.
98. Freak Scene (Mascis) - Dinosaur jnr, 1988.
99. Come Fly With Me (Cahn/Van Heusen) - Frank Sinatra, 1965.
100. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Bono/Clayton/Edge/Mullen) - U2, 1987.
