The three hundred and fifty-fourth song: Silver Machine - Hawkwind
Wikipedia describes Silver Machine as "space rock" and Hawkwind as a space rock band, a subgenre I'd never heard of (but evidently that's just me). The minute long intro contains enough effects that I would have had that idea anyway and we get a fairly simple rocksong, uplifted by the odd intro. It's subdued, considering where Lemmy went afterwards, but it works well here to emphasize the weirdness of some of the music.
The three hundred and fifty-fifth song: Tumbling Dice - The Rolling Stones
Having just covered Jimi Hendrix for the album list, falling into the Stones' blues rock helps bring some things back around. It rocks more, but it feels loose, a bit more disjointed and not as produced - it feels like just the band hanging around recording a song (which is how it went). The appeal is in there, a song aimed at just the right tempo and working well to create a mood and feeling, one that isn't too hard, more a smaller party than a big concert song.
The three hundred and fifty-sixth song: Thirteen - Big Star
A beautiful rock ballad, it feels like the musics of a teenager - a thirteen year old at this time, slightly rebellious, very awkward, making his way through the world dealing with relationships, parents and everything that's happening. Small and constrained, the beautiful vocals layer on top of a voice that sounds about to break from the uncertainty in life. A beautiful slice of life.
The three hundred and fifty-seventh song: Big Eyed Beans from Venus - Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
I'm not sure where to place this next song. Captain Beefheart has always been eclectic and what stands out here is how loud his voice is compared to the backing track, his words being more important than everything else. It almost feels like it's spoken word, disjointed and loose, linked to the music but not always actually singing along. It feels like there's an almost intentional clash, music and lyrics both working together and fighting each other, but there's a winner in Captain Beefheart himself.
The three hundred and fifty-eighth song: Rocket Man - Elton John
With Candle in the Wind now being Elton John's most famous song, I feel I've never gotten an idea of what else he did. Rocket Man is a soft rock song that is melancholic and about the emptiness of space and living out there. It uses the synthesizer sparingly, but to great effect where it does, all adding to a sound that feels slightly out there and distant and the book's reference to the Radiophonic workshop feels incredibly accurate in places. There's something flowy in places and it feels right, showing the loneliness and emphasizing it.
The three hundred and fifty-ninth song: Mama Weer All Crazee Now - Slade
Inspired by the wreckage left after an audience riot after one of their concert, we get a hard rock, glam song that approaches metal and clearly wants to rile up the audience, involving them in the song, getting loud and getting them crazy. It feels like it's pandering, but in a way that suits the image they want to have portrayed here. I'm not sure it's quite as strong of an effect sitting at home, but live this would be amazing.
The three hundred and sixtieth song: Rocky Mountain High - John Denver
I feel like every once in every batch of songs, we get a "don't forget about folk or country" moment. Even with rock ballads in thi srun, the quieter folk guitars make for a welcome change, and my appreciation for it is one of the things i feel has grown while doing these lists. John Denver sounds clear and the appreciation of Colorado is quite infectious, taking you on that journey. It complains about the risk of it being spoiled, but also that great feeling of being out in and enjoying nature, one that I miss at times and want to go out and do.
The three hundred and sixty-first song: The Night - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
This feels like a throwback to the barbershop quartet, doo wop ish male groups, with a lead and several background singers, perfectly on key and with some instrumentation added. And Frankie Valli's powerful voice really adds in creating this atmosphere, one that's more aggressive and a bit darker than the genre implies. It would be a different song if this was a capella - something they could have pulled off, but the instruments make the sound a bit darker, a bit more ominous, and on the whole this feels like one of the ways these groups could have grown up.
The three hundred and sixty-second song: Reelin’ in the Years - Steely Dan
A happy, poppy rock song, there's something really uplifiting about this song, harmonies and decent, well produced music that takes a bit of hard rock, but keeps it simple, accessible and feel-good. There's some excellent chords in the guitar playing, but there's something about the lyrics that really work best for me.
The three hundred and sixty-third song: Always on My Mind - Elvis Presley
A song known for its many covers, it seems to be Elvis' one that made it to list, one of his last big hits, he gives a passionate recording as you would expect from him, but subsequent recording may have done it better. There's a bit of strength missing, it's not quite his, but the polish really shows even at this point. In a way, it's the end of an era. A lot of this comes from his experiences at the time - in particular his own divorce - although it doesn't quite show here. It's important in the story of Elvis... maybe not quite as much the song, although he brought it to the front.