Saturday, July 30, 2022

Lizzo “About Damn Time” hit #1

About Damn Time

Lizzo

Writer(s): Blake Slatkin, Eric Frederic, Larry Price, Malcolm McLaren, Melissa Jefferson, Ronald Larkins, Stephen Hague, Theron Makiel Thomas (see lyrics here)


Released: April 14, 2022


First Charted: April 23, 2022


Peak: 12 US, 13 AC, 12 A40, 40 AA, 15 RB, 3 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU, 12 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.6 UK, 1.22 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 133.0 video, 531.48 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

R&B singer, rapper, and flutist Lizzo was born Melissa Viviane Jefferson in Detroit, Michigan, in 1988. In 2019, her two-year-old song “Truth Hurts” became a viral sleeper hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100. Then her song “Good As Hell” from 2016 also became a delayed success, peaking at #3. Both songs were added to deluxe editions of her third studio album, Cuz I Love You.

Three years later, her fourth album, Special, was released. The lead single, “About Damn Time,” became Lizzo’s second chart topper. Billboard’s Rania Aniftos praised it for its “feel-good” chorus while Nardine Saad of the Los Angeles Times had an “affirmative, instantly, uplifting disco beat.” WK NME’s Alex Gallagher called it “a funk-tingled, classically Lizzo cut that comes replete with a groove-heavy bassline, an instantly memorable flute melody and lyrical gems.” WK

The “funk-inspired disco number” SF was the last song written for the album. WK Lizzo didn’t feel like the album was complete; she wanted another song with the same kind of uplifting emotional impact as “Good As Hell.” WK She wrote it “as music therapy for when she’s down about herself and wants to feel better.” SF It was her “melodic medicine for her blues.” SF

As she said, “Life had thrown some major traumas and hard experiences at us, especially globally these last few years. And I wanted to write a song that allowed us to take a moment and celebrate our survival, and celebrate how far we’ve come.” WK She didn’t fully embrace the song and the idea of it being a single until it was completed and she realized “its message was something the world needed to hear.” SF

“About Damn Time” won the Grammy for Record of the Year and the People’s Choice Award for Song of the Year. It also received a nomination for the MTV Song of the Year.


Resources:


First posted 1/15/2023; last updated 2/6/2023.

Friday, July 29, 2022

Beyoncé: Top 50 Songs

Beyoncé

Top 50 Songs

Pop/R&B singer born Beyoncé Giselle Knowles on 9/4/1981 in Houston, TX. With the girl group Destiny’s Child before going solo. Married rap singer and record executive Jay-Z.

For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.


Spotify Podcast:

Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast The Best of Beyoncé, 1997-2022 based on this list. Debut: Aug. 2, 2022, at 7pm CST. New episodes based on Dave’s Music Database lists are posted every Tuesday at 7pm CST.

Awards:


Top 50 Songs


Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Crazy in Love (with Jay-Z, 2003)
2. Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (2008)
3. Perfect (with Ed Sheeran, 2017)
4. Irreplaceable (2006)
5. Independent Women (Destiy’s Child, 2000)
6. Say My Name (Destiny’s Child, 1999)

DMDB Top 2%:

7. Halo (2008)
8. Formation (2016)

DMDB Top 5%:

9. Baby Boy (with Sean Paul, 2003)
10. Telephone (with Lady Gaga, 2009)

11. Survivor (Destiny’s Child, 2001)
12. Check on It (with Slim Thug & Bun B, 2005)
13. Drunk in Love (with Jay-Z, 2013)
14. If I Were a Boy (2008)
15. Bootylicious (Destiny’s Child, 2001)
16. Savage (with Megan Thee Stallion, 2020)
17. Jumpin’ Jumpin’ (Destiy’s Child, 1999)
18. Beautiful Liar (with Shakira, 2007)

DMDB Top 10%:

19. Hymn for the Weekend (with Coldplay, 2015)
20. Lose My Breath (Destiy’s Child, 2004)

21. Black Parade (2020)
22. Bills, Bills, Bills (Destiny’s Child, 1999)
23. Mi Gente (with J. Balvin & Willy William, 2017)
24. Countdown (2011)
25. Sweet Dreams (2008)
26. Love on Top (2011)
27. ’03 Bonnie & Clyde (with Jay-Z, 2002)

DMDB Top 20%:

28. Déjà Vu (with Jay-Z, 2006)
29. Naughty Girl (2003)
30. Soldier (Destiny’s Child with T.I. & Lil Wayne, 2004)

31. Run the World (Girls) (2011)
32. 7/11 (2014)
33. No, No, No Part 2 (Destiny’s Child with Wyclef Jean, 1997)
34. Sorry (2016)
35. XO (2013)
36. Me, Myself and I (2003)
37. Emotion (Destiny’s Child, 2001)
38. Best Thing I Never Had (2011)
39. Hold Up (2016)
40. Partition (2013)

41. At Last (2008)
42. Cater 2 U (Destiny’s Child, 2004)
43. Break My Soul (2022)
44. All Night (2016)
45. Girl (Destiny’s Child, 2004)
46. Flawless (with Nicki Minaj or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2013)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

47. Apeshit (with Jay-Z, 2018)
48. Listen (2006)
49. Diva (2008)
50. Bug a Boo (Destiny’s Child, 1999)


Resources and Related Links:


First posted 7/29/2022; last updated 8/2/2022.

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Jack White: Top 50 Songs

Jack White

Top 50 Songs

Rock singer and guitarist Jack White was born John Anthony Gillis on 7/9/1975 in Detroit, Michigan. He first made his name with ex-wife Meg White in the White Stripes, one of the prominent garage rock revival bands of the early 21st century. He went on to form the Raconteurs and the The Dead Weather before starting his solo career.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.


Spotify Podcast:

Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast The Best of Jack White, 1997-2022 based on this list. Debut: July 26, 2022, at 7pm CST. New episodes based on Dave’s Music Database lists are posted every Tuesday at 7pm CST.

Awards:


Top 50 Songs


Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.)

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes, 2003)

DMDB Top 5%:

2. Fell in Love with a Girl (The White Stripes, 2001)

DMDB Top 10%:

3. Steady, As She Goes (The Raconteurs, 2006)
4. Icky Thump (The White Stripes, 2007)
5. Blue Orchid (The White Stripes, 2005)
6. Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes, 2001)
7. My Doorbell (The White Stripes, 2005)
8. Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes, 2001)
9. Hardest Button to Button (The White Stripes, 2003)
10. Sixteen Saltines (Jack White, 2012)

DMDB Top 20%:

11. Lazaretto (Jack White, 2014)
12. Love Interruption (Jack White, 2012)
13. Portland, Oregon (Loretta Lynn with Jack White, 2004)
14. I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself (The White Stripes, 2003)
15. We’re Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes, 2001)
16. You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told) (The White Stripes, 2007)
17. Conquest (The White Stripes, 2007)
18. Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes, 2003)
19. The Denial Twist (The White Stripes, 2005)
20. I’m Shakin’ (Jack White, 2012)

21. Jolene (The White Stripes, 2000)
22. Level (The Raconteurs, 2006)
23. Salute Your Salution (The Raconteurs, 2008)
24. Two Against One (Danger Mouse with Jack White, 2011)
25. Another Way to Die (Jack White with Alicia Keys, 2008)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

26. Connected by Love (Jack White, 2018)
27. Hello Operator (The White Stripes, 2000)
28. Help Me Stranger (The Raconteurs, 2019)
29. The Big Three Killed My Baby (The White Stripes, 1999)
30. Over and Over and Over (Jack White, 2018)

31. Many Shades of Black (The Raconteurs, 2008)
32. I Cut Like a Buffalo (The Dead Weather, 2009)
33. Die by the Drop (The Dead Weather, 2010)
34. Hands (The Raconteurs, 2006)
35. Freedom at 21 (Jack White, 2012)
36. Love Is Selfish (Jack White, 2022)
37. Now That You’re Gone (The Raconteurs, 2018)
38. Would You Fight for My Love? (Jack White, 2014)
39. Treat Me Like Your Mother (The Dead Weather, 2009)
40. Old Enough (The Raconteurs, 2008)

41. I Feel Love (Every Million Miles) (The Dead Weather, 2015)
42. Love Is Blindness (Jack White, 2011)
43. Taking Me Back (Jack White, 2021)
44. I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman (The White Stripes, 2001)
45. There’s No Home for You Here (The White Stripes, 2003)
46. Let’s Shake Hands (The White Stripes, 1998)
47. Black Math (The White Stripes, 2003)
48. Hypocritical Kiss (Jack White, 2012)
49. You Are the Sunshine of My Life (Jack White & the Electric Mayhem, 2016)
50. One More Cup of Coffee (The White Stripes, 1999)


Resources and Related Links:


First posted 4/8/2022; last updated 7/26/2022.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Glam Rock: Top 50 Songs

Glam Rock:

Top 50 Songs

Glam rock was a genre which emerged in the early 1970s which was characterized as much by fashion as the music itself. Performers wore flamboyant costumes (which often included glitter and platform shoes), makeup, and hairstyles. The look often flirted with andryogyny and fluid gender roles and a camp style. Musically, the genre drew largely from rock and roll, but incorporated cabaret, bubblegum pop, and throwaway pop culture.

The movement was largely British. David Bowie, T-Rex, Mott the Hoople, Sweet, and Slade were among the genre’s most popular artists. Some American artists such as Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and the New York Dolls also incorporated glam into their music in the 1970s. There were also British artists such as Elton John and Queen who adopted some elements of glam in their ‘70s music. The genre influenced punk rock, goth, new wave, and hair bands.

This list was created by aggregating 18 lists (see sources at bottom of page) focused on the best glam rock songs of all time. Those songs appearing on 3 or more lists were then ranked based on overall Dave’s Music Database status. Then the top 50 of those songs were reranked based on their status specifically on the glam-rock lists.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Mott the Hoople “All the Young Dudes” (1972)
2. T-Rex “Get It On (Bang a Gong)” (1971)
3. Sweet “Ballroom Blitz” (1973)
4. Roxy Music “Virginia Plain” (1972)
5. New York Dolls “Personality Crisis” (1973)
6. Slade “Cum on Feel the Noize” (1973)
7. Alice Cooper “School’s Out” (1972)
8. Slade “Mama, Weer All Crazee Now” (1972)
9. T-Rex “20th Century Boy” (1973)
10. Sweet “Blockbuster” (1973)

11. David Bowie “Starman” (1972)
12. Sparks “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us” (1974)
13. David Bowie “Ziggy Stardust” (1972)
14. David Essex “Rock On” (1973)
15. Lou Reed “Vicious” (1972)
16. David Bowie “The Jean Genie” (1972)
17. Queen “Killer Queen” (1974)
18. T-Rex “Children of the Revolution” (1972)
19. Gary Glitter “Rock and Roll Part 2” (1972)
20. David Bowie “Rebel Rebel” (1974)

21. T-Rex “Hot Love” (1971)
22. Roxy Music “Do the Strand” (1973)
23. Pilot “January” (1975)
24. T-Rex “Telegram Sam” (1972)
25. David Bowie “Queen Bitch” (1971)
26. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
27. Sweet “Action” (1975)
28. David Bowie “Suffragette City” (1972)
29. Roxy Music “Love Is the Drug” (1975)
30. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (1972)

31. Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)” (1975)
32. T-Rex “Metal Guru” (1972)
33. T-Rex “Ride a White Swan” (1970)
34. Sweet “Fox on the Run” (1975)
35. Sweet “Love Is Like Oxygen” (1978)
36. Sweet “Little Willy” (1972)
37. Suzi Quatro “Can the Can” (1973)
38. The Stooges “Search and Destroy” (1973)
39. Elton John “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” (1973)
40. Elton John “Bennie and the Jets” (1973)

41. Elton John “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Gonna Be a Long Time)” (1972)
42. Alice Cooper “Elected” (1972)
43. Lou Reed “Satellite of Love” (1972)
44. Lou Reed “Perfect Day” (1972)
45. Slade “Merry Xmas Everybody” (1973)
46. David Bowie “Space Oddity” (1969)
47. T-Rex “Jeepster” (1971)
48. David Bowie “John, I’m Only Dancing” (1972)
49. Bryan Ferry “Let’s Stick Together” (1976)
50. The Darkness “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” (2003)


Resources/Related Links:


First posted 7/22/2022; last updated 7/23/2022.

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Dave’s Faves: #1 Albums in the 2020s

Dave’s Faves:

#1’s: 2020-2029

These are my personal #1 albums during the 2020s. Check out my #1 albums from other decades here.


2020:
  • Jan. 4: Beck Hyperspace (2 wks)
  • Jan. 18: The Who Who (4 wks)
  • Feb. 15: David Bowie Is It Any Wonder? (2 wks)
  • Feb. 29: Huey Lewis & the News Weather (4 wks)
  • Mar. 28: Pearl Jam Gigaton (3 wks)
  • Apr. 18: The Strokes The New Abnormal (2 wks)
  • May 2: Fiona Apple Fetch the Bolt Cutters (1 wk)
  • May 9: David Bowie Changes Now Bowie (1 wk)
  • May 16: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit Reunions (1 wk)
  • May 23: Indigo Girls Look Long (2 wks)
  • June 6: Dennis DeYoung 26 East Vol. 1 (5 wks)
  • July 11: Michael Franti & Spearhead Work Hard and Be Nice (5 wks)
  • Aug. 15: Alanis Morissette Such Pretty Forks in the Road (4 wks)
  • Sept. 12: The Killers Imploding the Mirage (2 wks)
  • Sept. 26: Prince Sign ‘O’ the Times: Super Deluxe Edition (3 wks)
  • Oct. 17: Fish Weltschmerz (6 wks)
  • Nov. 28: Bruce Springsteen Letter to You (4 wks)
  • Dec. 26: The Struts Strange Days (2 wks)

2021:

2022:

First posted 5/19/2022; last updated 7/20/2022.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Alan Parsons: Top 100 Songs

Alan Parsons (right) & Eric Woolfson (left)

Top 100 Songs

Alan Parsons was born December 20, 1948, in London, England. Early in his career, he worked as an engineer on classic albums such as the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. He also worked with Ambrosia, the Hollies, Pilot, and Al Stewart. He has received 13 Grammy nominations.

In 1976, he launched the Alan Parsons Project with Eric Woolfson (born 3/18/1945 in Scotland). While the group had an ever-changing lineup, Parsons and Woolfson remained constants until 1987. The pair then worked together on Woolfson’s Freudiana project before going their separate ways. Woolfson then focused on musical theater, bringing some of the Alan Parsons Project’s work to the stage. Parsons recorded as a solo artist. Woolfson died on December 2, 2009.

This list also includes the short-lived group Keats which featured neither Parsons nor Woolfson, but was comprised of members who’d worked with the Alan Parsons Project.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards (Alan Parsons/Alan Parsons Project):


Top 100 Songs


Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.

DMDB Top 5%:

1. Eye in the Sky (1982)

DMDB Top 10%:

2. Old and Wise (1982)
3. Don’t Answer Me (1984)
4. Games People Play (1980)
5. Time (1980)
6. Damned if I Do (1979)
7. I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You (1977)

DMDB Top 20%:

8. Let’s Talk About Me (1985)
9. The System of Dr. Tarr & Professor Fether (1976)
10. Prime Time (1984)

11. Stereotomy (1986)
12. Standing on Higher Ground (1987)
13. Don’t Let It Show (1977)
14. You Don’t Believe (1983)
15. Days Are Numbers (The Traveller) (1985)
16. What Goes Up… (1978)
17. The Turn of a Friendly Card Part II (1980)
18. Breakdown (1977)
19. Psychobabble (1982)
20. Snake Eyes (1980)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

21. The Raven (1976)
22. Pyramania (1978)
23. The Never Ending Show (2021)
24. I Robot (1977)
25. Some Other Time (1977)
26. Oh Life (There Must Be More) (1993)
27. Limelight (1986)
28. You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned (1982)
29. Turn It Up (1993)
30. As Lights Fall (2019)

31. La Sagrada Familia (1987)
32. In the Real World (1986)
33. Ammonia Avenue (1984)
34. Can’t Take It with You (1978)
35. Silence and I (1982)
36. I’m Talkin’ to You (1993)
37. Nothing Left to Lose (1980)
38. Freudiana (Eric Wooflson, 1990)
39. Vulture Culture (1985)
40. Siren Song (1993)

41. Light of the World (1986)
42. Sirius (1982)
43. There But for the Grace of God (Eric Wooflson, 1990)
44. May Be a Price to Pay (1980)
45. So Far Away (Alan Parsons with Christoper Cross, 1996)
46. Little Hans (Eric Woofson, 1990)
47. The Same Old Sun (1985)
48. I Don’t Wanna Go Home (1980)
49. Lucifer (1979)
50. Out of the Blue (1999)

51. Heaven Knows (Keats, 1984)
52. You’re on Your Own (Eric Woolfson with Kiki Dee, 1990)
53. The Call of the Wild (1999)
54. Back Against the Wall (1993)
55. Miracle (Alan Parsons with Jason Mraz, 2019)
56. Sooner or Later (1985)
57. Since the Last Goodbye (1984)
58. Day After Day (The Show Must Go On) (1977)
59. Let Me Go Home (1984)
60. Call Up (1999)

61. Dancing on a High Wire (1984)
62. The Three of Me (1993)
63. Brother Up in Heaven (1996)
64. Blue Blue Sky (1996)
65. Money Talks (1987)
66. Uroboros (with Tommy Shaw, 2022)
67. To One in Paradise (1976)
68. Wine from the Water (1993)
69. Hyper Gamma Spaces (1978)
70. You Won’t Be There (1979)

71. You Lie Down with Dogs (1979)
72. I Am a Mirror (Eric Woofson with Leo Sayer, 1990)
73. More Lost Without You (2004)
74. Too Close to the Sun (1996)
75. Beaujolais (1986)
76. Funny You Should Say That (1990)
77. No One Can Love You Better Than Me (Eric Woolfson with Kiki Dee et al, 1990)
78. Separate Lives (1985)
79. Mammagamma (1982)
80. Tragedy (Keats, 1984)

81. Sometimes (Alan Parsons with Lou Gramm, 2019)
82. The Cask of Amontillado (1976)
83. You’re the Voice (1995)
84. Pipeline (1984)
85. The Time Machine (1999)
86. Press Rewind (1999)
87. Children of the Moon (1982)
88. All Our Yesterdays (2010)
89. Fragile (2013)
90. Do You Live at All? (2015)

91. One Good Reason (1984)
92. Somebody Out There (1985)
93. The Tell-Tale Heart (1976)
94. Inside Looking Out (1987)
95. I Can’t Get There from Here (Alan Parsons with Jared Mahone, 2019)
96. Where’s the Walrus? (1986)
97. I’d Rather Be a Man (1979)
98. Closer to Heaven (1987)
99. Fall Free (1996)
100. Too Late (1987)


Resources and Related Links:


First posted 12/20/2019; updated 7/19/2022.

Friday, July 15, 2022

Alan Parsons From the New World released

From the New World

Alan Parsons


Released: July 15, 2022


Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK)


Genre: progressive rock lite


Tracks:

Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Fare Thee Well [4:36]
  2. The Secret [4:17]
  3. Uroboros (v: Tommy Shaw) [4:08] (5/25/22, --)
  4. Don’t Fade Now [4:16]
  5. Give ‘Em My Love (v: James Durbin) [3:22] (7/15/22, --)
  6. Obstacles [3:37]
  7. I Won’t Be Led Astray (v: David Pack) [4:40] (6/23/22, --)
  8. You Are the Light [4:26]
  9. Halo [4:18]
  10. Goin’ Home [4:57]
  11. Be My Baby [2:51]


Total Running Time: 45:28


The Players:

  • Alan Parsons (vocals, backing vocals, guitar)
  • Tommy Shaw, David Pack, James Durbin, P.J. Olsson, Todd Cooper, Dan Tracey, Mark Mikel, Tabitha Fair (vocals)
  • Tommy Shaw, P.J. Olsson, Todd Cooper, Dan Tracey, Doug Powell, Mark Mikel, Chris Shutters, Scott Hunt (backing vocals)
  • Jeff Kollman, Dan Tracey, Doug Powell, Jeff Marshall, James Durbin, Tim Pierce (guitar)
  • Joe Bonamassa (guitar on “Give ‘Em My Love” and “I Won’t Be Led Astray”)
  • Guy Erez (bass)
  • Danny Thompson (drums)
  • Tom Brooks, Doug Powell, Matt McCarrin, Kim Bullard (keyboards)
  • Todd Cooper (sax)
  • Mika Larson (cello on “I Won’t Be Led Astray”)

Rating:

3.180 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)


Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

Alan Parsons, “the eleven-time Grammy nominated legendary music icon and master of progressive rock,” AZ made a name for himself in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s when he did production and engineering work on legendary albums such as the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. In 1975, he formed the Alan Parsons Project and released ten studio albums through the ‘70s and ‘80s. The collective featured a wide variety of players with Eric Woolfson being the one constant.

In 1990, Parsons lent a hand to Woolfson’s official debut album, Freudiana, before they parted ways. Parsons released his first official solo album, Try Anything Once, in 1993. It featured many of the same players he’d worked with on the Project. Now, nearly 30 years later, Parsons is releasing only his sixth album as a solo artist. From the New World “continues with the classic sound Parsons has become known for…fusing progressive, symphonic, and classic rock elements together throughout this stunning new album.” UCR

“An Alan Parsons album is a project by any name, regardless of how the veteran British artist and studio technician chooses to brand it.” GG From the New World “feels more intimate and reflective, but it has many of the same hallmarks, sonically in spots and with its corps of instrumental and vocal contributors. Parsons, meanwhile, spearheads everything as composer, producer and visionary, conducting and arranging all of the elements into a pristine but still organic-sounding 11-song set that would have worked as easily as the follow-up to 1977’s I, Robot as it does in 2022.” GG

Parsons turns to one familiar player from the Project days– David Pack. Pack was with the group Ambrosia in the ‘70s and ‘80s, singing lead on top-10 hits “Biggest Part of Me” and “How Much I Feel.” Parsons engineered the band’s debut album in 1975 and produced their 1976 album. He brought the entire group in to work on the Project’s debut album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Pack would return to work with Parsons on the Try Anything Once and 2004’s A Valid Path. He returns here to lend his vocals to From the New World’s second single, I Won’t Be Led Astray. The song has the feel of a classic Alan Parsons Project ballad.

The album’s lead single, Uroboros, features an even better known classic rock singer – Tommy Shaw from Styx. Shaw first appeared on the band’s 1976 Crystal Ball and sang lead on classics like “Renegade,” “Blue Collar Man,” and the top-10 hit “Too Much Time on My Hands.” Shaw not only lends his vocal chops to “the muscular ‘Uroboros,” GG but plays guitar.

Other special guests include “guitar viruoso Joe Bonamassa,” UCR who “lends nuanced guitar parts to Give ‘Em My Love and ‘I Won’t Be Led Astray.’” GG The former features American Idol alumni James Durbin, who adds “wonderful atmosphere to the stunning performances by Alan and his incredible backing band.” AZ The song was released as the third single from the album.

“Like most of Parsons’ work, From the New World has a thematic grounding to tie together its 45 minutes. The title nods to Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, aka New World Symphony, which Parsons writes in the album’s notes was a favorite of his father’s. In this case, it serves as a reference to the new world that's come in the wake of the pandemic, but there’s a direct connection, too, in Parsons’ inclusion of Goin’ Home. The 1922 song with lyrics by Dvorak’s student William Arms Fisher became the source for Symphony No. 9’s Largo movement, and it’s a deeply emotional elegy for the brink of death (‘Mother's there ‘specting me / Father’s waiting, too / Lots of folk gathered there / All the friends I knew’). Given Parsons’ 73 years and recent news of a serious spinal issue, it has profound resonance as the album’s penultimate track.” GG

“But the mood lightens when ‘Goin’ Home’ is followed by a faithful take on the Ronettes’ Be My Baby, as if that’s the music greeting Parsons’ narrator as he or she arrives on the other side. Before all that, however, From the New World is an easily digestible song set that’s generally more gentle and restrained than the Project approach, with nods to Parsons’ prog roots but little of the bombast that comes with it.” GG

Fare Thee Well starts things with a ringing guitar pattern that references I, Robot – as well as references to mortality.” GG “In addition to vocals, mainstay Todd Cooper accents "Fare Thee Well" with his saxophone.” GG

Obstacles finds a common ground between the Beatles’ ‘Across the Universe’ and vintage Renaissance, while Don’t Fade Now also mines a folky field with Parsons and P.J. Olsson sharing lead vocals. You Are the Light is a joyous pop love song, and The Secret continues to express Parsons’ passion for magic, which was the topic of his previous solo album of the same name.” GG “At this point, Parsons is no longer dealing in the ‘tales of mystery and imagination’ of the Project heyday – to everyone’s benefit. Leading with his heart makes this New World a worthwhile place to spend some time.” GG

Resources and Related Links:


Other Related DMDB Pages:


First posted 7/20/2022.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Journey et al: Top 100 Songs

Journey et al

Top 100 Songs

left to right: Jonathan Cain, Ross Vallory, Neal Schon, Steve Perry, and Steve Smith

Rock group formed in San Francisco, California (1973-86, 1996, 2001-). Members: Neal Schon (g: 73-86, 96-), Gregg Rolie (v/k: 73-81), Ross Valory (b: 73-83, 96, 08-), Aynsley Dunbar (d: 73-79), George Tickner (g: 73-75), Steve Perry (v: 78-86, 96), Steve Smith (d: 79-83, 96), Jonathan Cain (k: 81-86, 96-), Randy Jackson (b: 86), Michael Baird (d: 86), Steve Augeri (v: 98-06), Deen Castronovo (d: 98-15), Jeff Scott Soto (v: 06-07), Arnel Pineda (v: 07-).

Schon and Rolie had been in Santana together. Schon, Cain, and Castronovo later formed Bad English 87-91). Rolie, Valory, and Smith were in The Storm (91-92). Schon and Castronovo worked in Hardline (92) together.

For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.


Spotify Podcast:

Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast The Best of the Journey, 1978-2022 based on this list. Debut: July 12, 2022, at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards:


Top 100 Songs


Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. This list includes Journey-related acts such as Bad English, Steve Perry’s solo work, and The Storm.

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Don’t Stop Believin’ (1981)
2. Open Arms (1981)

DMDB Top 2%:

3. Faithfully (1983)

DMDB Top 5%:

4. When I See You Smile (Bad English, 1989)
5. Who’s Crying Now? (1981)
6. Any Way You Want It (1980)
7. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (1983)
8. Lights (1978)
9. Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ (1979)

DMDB Top 10%:

10. Wheel in the Sky (1978)
11. Oh Sherrie (Steve Perry, 1984)
12. Anytime (1978)
13. You Better Wait (Steve Perry, 1994)
14. Feeling That Way (1978)
15. Be Good to Yourself (1986)
16. Still They Ride (1981)

DMDB Top 20%:

17. Only the Young (1985)
18. I’ll Be Alright without You (1986)
19. The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love) (1981)
20. When You Love a Woman (1996)

21. Girl Can’t Help It (1986)
22. Send Her My Love (1983)
23. Don’t Fight It (Steve Perry with Kenny Loggins, 1982)
24. After the Fall (1983)
25. Strung Out (Steve Perry, 1984)
26. Foolish Heart (Steve Perry, 1984)
27. She’s Mine (Steve Perry, 1984)
28. Ask the Lonely (1983)
29. Suzanne (1986)
30. Just the Same Way (1979)

31. Walks Like a Lady (1980)
32. The Price of Love (Bad English, 1989)
33. Stay Awhile (1980)
34. I’ve Got a Lot to Learn About Love (The Storm, 1991)
35. Good Morning Girl (1980)
36. Too Late (1979)
37. Forget Me Not (Bad English, 1989)
38. Possession (Bad English, 1989)
39. Why Can’t This Night Go on Forever (1986)
40. Stone in Love (1981)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

41. Heaven Is a 4 Letter Word (Bad English, 1989)
42. Straight to Your Heart (Bad English, 1991)
43. Message of Love (1996)
44. If He Should Break Your Heart (1996)
45. Only Solutions (1982)
46. Dixie Highway (live, 1981)
47. Natural Thing (1981)
48. Raised on Radio (1986)
49. Mother, Father (1981)
50. No Erasin’ (Steve Perry, 2018)

51. Best of What I Got (Bad English, 1989)
52. All the Way (2001)
53. City of the Angels (1979)
54. Missing You (Steve Perry, 1994)
55. The Eyes of a Woman (1986)
56. Good Times (live, 1978)
57. I Believe (Steve Perry, 1984)
58. After All These Years (2008)
59. Little Girl (1980)
60. Patiently (1978)

61. Chain Reaction (1983)
62. Never Walk Away (2008)
63. Where Were You (1980)
64. Line of Fire (1980)
65. City of Hope (2011)
66. Remember Me (1998)
67. Takin’ Me Down (Hardline, 1992)
68. Higher Place (2001)
69. Escape (1981)
70. Baby, I Believe in You (1996)

71. To Play Some Music (1975)
72. On a Saturday Nite (1976)
73. She Makes Me Feel Alright (1976)
74. Hot Cherie (Hardline, 1992)
75. Liberty (1981)
76. Show Me the Way (The Storm, 1992)
77. Forever in Blue (1996)
78. Someday Soon (1980)
79. Young Hearts Forever (Steve Perry, 1994)
80. If Only for the Moment, Girl (Steve Perry, 1985)

81. We’re Still Here (Steve Perry, 2018)
82. If You Need Me, Call Me (Steve Perry with Alien Project, 1977)
83. Frontiers (1983)
84. Troubled Child (1983)
85. Rubicon (1983)
86. Spaceman (1977)
87. Can’t Tame the Lion (1996)
88. Where Did I Lose Your Love (2008)
89. The Way We Used to Be (2021)
90. The Time Alone with You (Bad English, 1992)

91. You Got the Best of Me (2022)
92. Anything Is Possible (2011)
93. Let It Rain (2022)
94. Of a Lifetime (1975)
95. Positive Touch (1986)
96. Happy to Give (1986)
97. Captured by the Moment (Steve Perry, 1984)
98. It’s Only Love (Steve Perry, 1984)
99. La Raza del Sol (1982)
100. When You’re in Love for the First Time (Steve Perry, 1988)


Resources and Related Links:


First posted 1/22/2013; updated 7/13/2022.

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Eurythmics/Annie Lennox: Top 30 Songs

Eurythmics/Annie Lennox

Top 30 Songs

Bio from DMDB Encyclopedia entry. Annie Lennox is a new-wave/pop singer/songwriter born 12/25/1954 in Aberdeen, Scotland. In the late ‘70s, she and Dave Stewart were in the Tourists. They went on to form the Eurythmics in the ‘80s and she launched a solo career in 1992. For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.


Spotify Podcast:

Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast The Best of the Eurythmics based on this list. Debut: July 5, 2022, at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards (Eurythmics):



Awards (Annie Lennox):


Top 30 Songs


Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. The list below consists of songs by the Tourists, Eurythmics, and Annie Lennox. Unless noted otherwise, a song is by the Eurythmics.

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Sweet Dreams Are Made of This (1983)

DMDB Top 5%:

2. Here Comes the Rain Again (1983)

DMDB Top 10%:

3. Would I Lie to You? (1985)
4. Put a Little Love in Your Heart (Annie Lennox with Al Green, 1988)
5. Why (Annie Lennox, 1992)
6. Love Is a Stranger (1982)
7. Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves (Eurythmics with Aretha Franklin, 1985)
8. Who’s That Girl? (1983)
9. Right by Your Side (1983)
10. No More “I Love You”’s (Annie Lennox, 1995)
11. There Must Be an Angel Playing with My Heart (Eurythmics with Stevie Wonder, 1985)
12. Walking on Broken Glass (Annie Lennox, 1992)

DMDB Top 20%:

13. Missionary Man (1986)
14. It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back) (1985)
15. Thorn in My Side (1986)
16. I Need a Man (1987)
17. Sexcrime (1984) (1984)
18. Don’t Ask Me Why (1989)
19. Winter Wonderland (1987)
20. Beethoven (I Love to Listen To) (1987)
21. You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart (1987)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

22. I Only Want to Be with You (The Tourists, 1979)
23. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (Annie Lennox, 1990)
24. Little Bird (Annie Lennox, 1992)
25. A Whiter Shade of Pale (Annie Lennox, 1995)
26. The Miracle of Love (1986)
27. Julia (1984)
28. I Put a Spell on You (Annie Lennox, 2014)
29. Sing (Annie Lennox, 2007)
30. Angel (1989)


Resources and Related Links:


First posted 12/21/2019; last updated 7/6/2022.