Joe, Alan, and the Eagles

Welcome to GSM. With this installment I will present three songs for your review. One song will have two samples, however I could have included the entire song as a M.O.M. The songs for this post are:

Song #1: Rocky Mountain Way

Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh from the 1973 "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get," CD. Right from the start the guitar hammers out the riff that will run through the entire song. By the third measure of the intro the air guitars are out and in play. Notice the first riff is in the left channel and the second riff is doubled in the right channel. Yes, a classic Joe Walsh tune!

Click play below to hear the sample of Rocky Mountain Way.


Song #2: Sirius

This is one of those songs that I am sure you have heard but have no idea where it came from. The song is titled, "Sirius." If you have ever been to a Chicago Bulls home game you have heard the song. They use it as the lights get turned off, the song starts and the announcer says, "And now..." to announce the starting line up of the Bulls. I am sure other sports teams use this at some point during a game.
The instrumental song is from the 1982 'Eye In The Sky" CD by The Alan Parsons Project.

Click play below to hear the sample of Sirius.


Song #3: Hotel California

This is one of those songs where the entire song is a Moment Of Meaning (M.O.M.) Just pick a spot. I decided on the intro where the guitars kick off the well known tune. Then I have Don Henley singing about the mirrors on the ceiling. I took this from the 1994 "Hell Freezes Over" CD. My all time favorite part of this song is where the two guitars of Joe Walsh and Don Felder play the riff at the very end of the song. In the original 1976 album version you can hear Timothy B. Schmit's bass driving the beat through this guitar riff.
This is one of those songs where I think I know where I was when I first heard it. I was just getting ready to go in to school in 1977 and one of my friends said, "You have to come out and hear this song," So, we went out to Kenny Park's MG Midget to listen. It gets a bit fuzzy here. I am pretty sure he put a tape in so we could listen. That's my story and I am sticking with it. The car and the song where too cool.

Click play below to hear the sample of Hotel California Sample Number 1.


Click play below to hear the sample of Hotel California Sample Number 2 and listen for the driving bass.


So, there you have it for this post. Look forward to more Alan Parsons Project stuff. And I have a couple of clips from Singer/Songwriters who we have lost recently where I will pay tribute to their work. See you next time.

Keenan

Great Song Moments (GSM) Welcome

Welcome to my blog that will identify Great Song Moments (GSM). The inspiration for this site comes from the fact that there are songs out there that are special. You have some, I have some. These are songs where there is ONE part that stands out. It might be a note, a lick, a passage or a raspy vocal. It could be at the beginning of the song or not. Maybe it is the hook that has meaning for you. Whatever it is, it is the part of the song that you wait for and enjoy. Maybe even get a goose bump or two.

For me it is often just a measure, a riff or even a note that stands out. It could be a sound or the words that provide that M.O.M. That Moment Of Meaning (M.O.M.) for you is the point of the song that you wait for and when it comes, you say to your self, “Yeah. That’s it.”

There are sites out there that get technical and offer actual notes on a staff. This site will be more focused on the “Feel” of the music and what it means to me and to you. I look forward to your comments, thoughts and ideas. Where possible, I will offer these few basic points of information regarding each M.O.M.:

1. Song Title

2. Artist

3. Album

4. Copyright Date

And add other interesting info like:

1. A bit of history of the song or group

2. Cool information

3. What exactly prompts the M.O.M.

4. Where I was when I heard the song

5. What I was doing or do when I heard/hear the song

6. Do I still listen to the song

7. Anything else I can think of

I will start with three examples that I think will quickly demonstrate what I mean about M.O.M. They are:

The Phil Collins tune, In The Air Tonight, will show how the moment happens at the point where the drums kick in and where just about everyone becomes an Air Drummer! The song was from the CD “Face Value.” Copyright 1981.

Click play below to hear the sample of In The Air Tonight.

Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas just kicks right off with a M.O.M. but the driving guitar riff begins 16 seconds into the song. This is from the 1976 “Leftoverture” CD.

Click play below to hear the sample of Carry On Wayward Son.

Santana’s She’s Not There is a cover song. The vocals are what make this song stand out for me. 2:10 into the song those vocals get gritty and powerful creating my M.O.M. The syncopated words, “Why should I care,” turns into the gritty, “Well, let me tell you 'bout the way she looked.” And the two syllable “Ha-ir” goes into the drawn out, “Therererere,” right before the too cool Santana guitar solo. The vocals were performed by Greg Walker. This song is the first song on disc number 2 from the 1977 CD, “Moonflower.”

Click play below to hear the sample of She's Not There.

As I expand the blog, I will share more of my M.O.M.s with songs from the rock world, country, jazz and maybe a few classical pieces thrown in. They might not be my favorite songs but will have meaning for me in some way. I look forward to sharing with you and developing dialog about the music that creates M.O.Ms for all of us.

Thanks for visiting.

Keenan