Showing posts with label devil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label devil. Show all posts

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Devil songs - the top five

Hi All Sorry about the delay with this post, but life kinda got in the way!! I know you were all waiting on the edge of your seats to see what the top five is, so here it is:

5 - The Devil’s been Busy – Travelling Wilburys What a band – this collaboration between Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty , Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne is the ultimate example of a supergroup. After the hugely successful and brilliant first album, unfortunately Roy passed away, so the follow up (called volume three, just to confuse us) was released without his vocals. Although still an enjoyable listen, it is not as brilliant as the first. The Devil’s Been Busy is the fourth track from this album, a good little pop track.

4 - You’re the Devil in Disguise – Elvis Presley A UK number one single for the King, this is classic Elvis, with a catchy pop ditty. Lovely stuff.

3 - The Devil Went Down to Georgia – Charlie Daniels Band A great country music song, this narrative tells the story of a guy named Johnny who is challenged by the devil to a fiddle playing contest (as you do!). If the devil wins, he gets to take Johnny’s soul, Johnny’s prize if he wins is a golden fiddle. (Is it just me, or does the devil’s instrumental possibly sound better than Johnny’s, despite the song awarding the win to Johnny?)

2- Devil Inside – INXS A great rock track from INXS, possibly one of their harder songs. It contains a great hook, that immediately gets you into the song. Hutchene’s vocals also work really well on this track, the chorus being delivered in a breathy fashion.

1 - Sympathy for the Devil – Rolling Stones The top spot goes to this epic track from the Stones. What I really love about this song is how the repetitive beat increases in intensity throughout the track, with Jagger putting down a great vocal performance. I wouldn’t call myself a huge Stones fan, but this is one of their best. So there it is. Some used to say that rock and roll was the devil's music, and this list certainly doesn't dispel that comment! As a treat for the next list, its time to give God the right of reply. Look forward to your company for the next list, and as always, comments are most appreciated.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Top 15 "Devil" songs

Back in February, my wife and I took a little break down to Tasmania, a beautiful part of the world. We did a whole heap of different activities whilst down there, but one of the more different things (for us anyway) was that we took a ride on the Devil Jet, a jet boat that goes through the white water rapids of the Derwent River. It was great one, and has inspired this week’s list, which is all about the devil.

15 - The Devil’s Workday - Modest Mouse
I remember hearing the Modest Mouse song “Float On” on the radio, and being quite impressed, it was nothing like anything I had heard before. In recent times, I borrowed from a friend the album that “Float On” is from, and that was how I heard of this track, “The Devil’s Workday”, which allmusic.com describe as having a theatrical jolt.

14 - That Old Devil Called Love – Billie Holiday
Time for a change of pace, so I thought it would be nice to throw in a nice track from the jazz singing pioneer herself, Billie Holiday.

13 - Better the Devil You Know – Kylie Minogue
Ok, so to some of you I would have just killed every ounce of musical credibility that I might have, but for some reason, I don’t mind a bit of Kylie’s music every now and then. A nice little dance pop track coming from the early 90’s.

12 - Whiskey, You’re the Devil – The Pogues
I included this track on my booze-o list, and this is what I wrote back then: “When it comes to songs about alcohol, there are some artists that you would expect to feature prominently, and the Pogues are certainly one of them. If you are not familiar with them, they were an Irish rock group that sort of combined traditional Irish folk with the punk movement, the end result being a unique sound that is brilliant. In this track, they even take some lyrics from the traditional folk song “Whiskey in the Jar” and blend it into this song. Great, great stuff.”

11 - Devils and Dust – Bruce Springsteen
The title track from Springsteen’s 2005 folk album. Its one of the better songs on the album, but I find that I have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this album. When I am in the mood for it, I think its brilliant, when I am not in the right frame of mind, I find it sounds like an annoying mumble of an album.

10 - Devil in her Heart – The Beatles
A doo-wop cover version with George on lead vocals, from their second album “With the Beatles”, I quite like this track. Its simple, and its got a nice feel to it.

9 - Who Put the Devil in You? – You Am I
A blistering rock track from You Am I’s “Deliverance” album. Their last good album, in my humble opinion.

8 - The Devil You Know – Split Enz
A great track from the “Conflicting Emotions” album, this showcases Neil Finn’s talents, although is overshadowed by “Message to My Girl” as the great track from this album.

7 - Speak of the Devil – Chris Isaak
Some more of that moody music that Chris is famous for. Great stuff.

6 - The Devil’s Inside Your Head – Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson
Another track from the excellent “Rattlin Bones” album. This one is stripped down, mostly acoustic, and could almost be some long lost mountain song.

At this point, I am going to leave you hanging, and say come back next week when the top five is revealed, although its probably not a difficult one to guess this time around. Take care everyone, and keep those comments coming…hehehe…