What are the classics every rock band simply must be able to play?

Chicago Tribune ^ | June 21st, 2018 | Randy Blaser

[Mariner]

I have a theory about rock ’n’ roll bands that I haven’t really expressed to many people, but I will offer it here.

I think any rock ’n’ roll band that wants to consider itself serious needs to be able to competently perform a certain set of standard rock songs. If they can’t play these songs, they should just stop the music and get day jobs.

I’m talking about classic songs that are basic to the genre.

Let me explain.

Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi were not blues musicians. However, they knew enough about music to know any band worth its salt had to be able to perform certain standards at any time.

Thus The Blues Brothers were born. The idea led to a hit album called “Briefcase Full of Blues,” which contained the standards, and a hit movie. The song “Soul Man,” was immortalized thanks to The Blues Brothers.

So it should be with any competent rock band. If you want to be good, if you want to entertain, there are certain basics which must be mastered.

But which songs are the songs that must be part of any competent band’s repertoire.

[sparklite2]

In my day, the cover band standards were...

Johnny Be Good
Heartbreak Hotel
I Walk the Line
Apache
Runaway

[rolling_stone]

papa du run de run was originally named goodie two shoes...IIRC

[rolling_stone]

papa du run de run was originally named goodie two shoes...IIRC

[rolling_stone]

papa du run de run was originally named goodie two shoes...IIRC

[thoughtomator]

Orange County Lumber Truck or GTFO

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

And Allan Holdsworth passed away last Easter at age 70 from a heart attack.

But then considering what passes for music today,(and many, many moons long before)I don’t really Give a !@#$ about the masses tastes.

The fact that some musically illiterate 3 or 4 minutes of droning banality is considered a ‘Classic’ because ‘Everybody’ recognizes it, I view as reason enough to run from it.

Stairway to Freebird sucked back then and the fact that it’s been shoved down our throats ever since only makes it suck harder.

And BTW, Thanks for that piece with Rudess and Levin. Hadn’t seen it before. TOP DRAWER!

[leaning conservative]

American Girl
Stairway to Heaven
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

[OrioleFan]

Speaking of Clapton, how about that Jesse Fuller song, San Francisco Bay Blues.

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

Shawn Lane
Not Again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eDV4fJcRUI

Get You Back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-gfceU0l1s

Gray Pianos Flying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbPTeFta4lw

[jmacusa]

“Wild Thing’’.

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

Brett Garsed
Got The Horn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X0jFeiO70I

Steve Vai
Crossroads Duel Extended Version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ7-IhxxPiQ

And 2 for the ‘Unplugged’ segment of the show

Marcin Dylla
Tres Piezas Espanolas (by Rodrigo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78DMEzg9qNo

Rossiniani #1 by Guiliani
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_6xz1MwAn4

[1L]

Well, my ‘80s cover band did the following:

— Dreams (Van Halen)
— Several Chicago tunes
— Everything/Magic and Don’t Stand (Police)
— Several Cars tunes
— Rio/Hungry Wolf (Duran Duran)
— Rosanna (Toto)
— She’s Beauty (Tubes)
— Do Believe Love (Huey Lewis)

These are the ones I recall that we did at just about every gig. We had a couple where we got some ladies to sing with us and we did some Go Gos and Madonna stuff. I wouldn’t, however say that there is a single list of things one must know as we often had fill ins that didn’t know some of the stuff listed very well. The list was mainly put together by our tastes and what we thought our audience would like. Plus, I’d rather have done 5 songs well than 15 not very well.

It was a fun time but I didn’t have the time to do it right then (over a decade ago) and still don’t. Maybe when I retire.

[Husker8877]

Ah, Eric Clapton, the most overrated guitar player on earth. The lead guitarists in every bar band in the world are just as good and just as original as the great Slow Hand... if he created even one technique or one feel or one original riff in his career, I might like him better. A fine bar band guitar player, nothing more, never was anything more.

Clapton never did an original thing in his life, but he hung with the coolest of all the rock bands of the 60’s.

And omg, his songs... Layla, one of the most wretched rock songs of all time... Wonderful Tonight, Tears in Heaven... horrible!!!! aaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh!!!

[MarkL]

“Working Man” by Rush was played by EVERY garage band in Kansas City in the late 70s and early 80s.

Other great “classics” that my band played during that time frame included “Dream On” by Aerosmith, “Slow Ride” by Foghat, and “Riding the Storm Out” by REO Speed Wagon.

Mark

[sargon]

“Working Man” by Rush was played by EVERY garage band in Kansas City in the late 70s and early 80s.

Orly? I'd like to hear some of the solo sections of "Working Man" from some those garage bands, because the original recording features some superb solo work by Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson—not easy to imitate or replicate.

Everybody should be covering Rush songs now, since the band will no longer be performing them.

I sure hope Alex and Geddy at least keep writing music—in some way, shape, or form—because that remains one of their greatest strengths, IMHO...

[BEJ]

I saw Portnoy in a guitar camp I attend a few years ago in the Catskills in NY. Richie Kotzen was playing with his own band and with the Winery Dogs which had Billy Sheehan on bass and Portnoy on drums. Just to let you know Portnoy is a total attention hog — it’s something to see. I use to play in a band with a drummer like that and it can be terrible if they don’t sing and just showboat all the time. Portnoy is a good drummer and I like his playing in Liquid Tension, especially the song “Another Dimension.” But I didn’t really like Rock Camp because you don’t really learn anything. Yes, you can sit around with the rock stars at the bar after the gig but they’re in the mood to shoot the shitte and not much else. The crazy thing is that I got along better with Billy Sheehan than Richie. Billy is a conservative but he is also the the kind of guy who could talk himself out of a concentration camp just on the strength of his personality. I tried to get along with Richie and I told him to knock it off with the Satanic puppets and that pissed him off. I’ve seen other musicians go down the Rosicrucian or occult route and the worse things happen to them... they try to harness the dark forces to help their career and it just goes down the toilet quicker that you ever thought. Richie’s wife was nice, from Brazil and I told her the same thing about the puppets and she agreed with me — I think the Latins kind of understand those things better. Anyway, the one thing I learnt in camp was from Billy who said stay away from sugar. I also like Billy because he’s from Rochester and knows a lot of the bars I use to frequent in Toronto during the 70s. It was like deja vu or something. Anyway, I didn’t know Buckethead had problems with his heart. I use to be into him because he could out-Hendrix Hendrix for playing with feedback — it was absolutely sublime on the song “Machine Gun.” He is quirky but really tasty when he wants to be.

[wardaddy]

Hey

That’s a narrative of my marriages....

[wardaddy]

Music to master for rock....forget the lyrics

Allright Now by Free.....if you have Paul Rodgers voice you’re gonna be a star

Paranoid.....Black Sabbath......it’s what it is.....powerful and ageless

Paperback Writer or Day Tripper.....power pop sells

Sweet Jane by Lou Reed...or the Velvet Underground ......there will never be anyone play it like Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner again.....ever....Lou will do....

Satisfaction or Jumping Jack Flash.....These are chuck berry derived chops ...master them

When you’re ready either the solo bending from Comfortably Numb or Dear Mr Famtasy....to showcase you’re there

Ike Turner ...Rocket 88...cause I don’t care what anyone says it’s the first rock and roll record I ever heard and Ike didn’t get much respect in his #metoo life and deserves it now

Statesboro Blues to show you know on which finger the bottle goes

Little Wing.......doesn’t everyone ?

Purple Rain .....to show off

How Soon is Now......Smiths....highly underrated guitar player ....unusual sound

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

...Play one then play the other one backwards.

LOL. Back in 1967 the Tommy James and the Shondells actually 'wrote' one of their follow up hits in that manner.

When the Tommy and the guys in the band were going to listen to the play back of I Think We're Alone Now, they inadvertently put the reel-to-reel tape on upside down. That means it played backwards. The song writers thought the chord progression backwards was just as good as it was forward and wrote lyrics to it with help from Tommy and the Shondells.

The resulting hit became the song Mirage.

[greedo]

"Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix

Voodoo Child  —  Chantel McGregor


"Panama" by Van Halen

Panama  —  Sina