Familiar Bands - Unfamiliar Songs

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(Paul says:)
OK, three posts in one day is a bit excessive, but I had these all worked up and just haven't been able to post them for lack of time. This list differs slightly from previous one of forgotten and overlooked bands; in this case, the bands are familiar, but these are tunes that should've been bigger hits (if not signature tunes). Some are minor hits, some probably only get airplay on "album side" plays or on public radio and internet shows. No matter - I'm here to remedy that today.

Track 1 - Van Halen - "Dirty Movies"
I wish I could've just put the whole "Fair Warning" album here, but that would unfairly favor my favorite group. FW is the favorite album of many guitarists and long-time fans, but it has few "radio-friendly" hits. Which just illustrates more clearly what is wrong with FM radio these days.

Track 2 - Boston - Feelin' Satisfied
I love the "Don't Look Back" album, which has a bunch of good B-side singles such as this, "It's Easy", "Used to Bad News" and "Party". It seems like every track from the debut album gets airplay, but only the title cut gets played from the second album - at least on The Arrow, which is what we in Utah have to settle for when it comes to classic rock on commercial radio. I hope this will inspire you, Gentle Reader, to give this classic record either a first, or another, listen.

Track 3 - Rush - The Camera Eye
This track from "Moving Pictures" is overshadowed by "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight" on the radio, and the fan-favorite "Red Barchetta", but I love the lyrics - first about New York City, then London - which capture the heart of those cities so eloquently.

Track 4 - Def Leppard - Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)
Way overlooked track from the classic "Pyromania" album.

Track 5 - Stevie Ray Vaughan - Chitlins Con Carne
Everything SRV did before his death was overlooked, but "Lenny" and "Riviera Paradise" are more lauded as classic instrumentals.

Track 6 - Chris Isaak - Things Go Wrong
I picked this because it was an obscure track from a great album, "Forever Blue". As was the case with "Fair Warning", you either need to listen to it for the first time or hear it again.

Track 7 - Robben Ford - Help the Poor
Robben and Chris Isaak probably would've been more accurately listed on the "Overlooked and Forgotten" entry, but they are both well-known enough that I think they're worth mentioning here. This is a remake of an old B. B. King song, and it's from another classic album, "Talk to Your Daughter". Listen to that one, too. (My, I'm giving a rather extensive assignment, aren't I?) But listen to the playlist I've posted here first.

Track 8 - Tot0 - Stop Loving You
A great track that was obscured by the fact that when it was released in 1990, classic rock bands were already being labeled as "corporate rock". Nevertheless, this is a great Toto tune, and they're still making them as good as this.

Track 9 - ZZ Top - She Loves My Automobile
A minor hit for the best little ol' band from Texas, it's part of the excellent Deguello album, which features "Cheap Sunglasses", "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide", "Fool For Your Stockings", and even (a very minor hit) "Manic Mechanic". But this tune is perhaps my favorite ZZ Top song from the pre-Eliminator, semi-obscurity years.

Track 10 - Journey - Be Good to Yourself
Another casualty of the "corporate rock" anti-movement, this track features Randy Jackson (of American Idol fame, not the one from Zebra) on bass. Impress your friends with that trivial nugget. (I impress mine with Robert Plant's "Big Log".)

Track 11 - Styx - Boat On a River
A largely forgotten track from the great "Cornerstone" album, I like this one because it features the mandolin skills of one Tommy Shaw. I can close my eyes and visualize myself in Venice.

Track 12 - Night Ranger - Goodbye
NR is remembered more for "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", "Sister Christian", and "You Can Still Rock in America", and I wanted to pick an even more obscure song - the band made plenty of great ones - but I settled for this one that should've been a bigger hit than it was.

Track 13 - Ted Nugent - Hey Baby
Completing the Damn Yankees trilogy... This one is on most compilation of Ted's career, but I think this one should've been beaten to death on the radio the way "Stormtroopin'" and "Cat Scratch Fever" have been (and are). I hope you'll like this (even though it says on the playlist that it's by the "Philly Dogs", whoever they are).

Enjoy!

P