Rate the songs! Jan. 16

[Dawn]

Let's look at another round of songs. As before, our scale is:

5.0 - A song you absolutely love, one of your absolute favorites
4.0 - While not quite top-tier, a song you enjoy a lot
3.0 - Not a favorite, but you basically like it
2.0 - A"meh" song, you could take it or leave it
1.0 - Yikes! Turn that song off!

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 3.5

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 3.0

Jazzman - Carole King 5.0
(remember this well from childhood, and still love it today)

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 3.25

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.5

Urgent - Foreigner 4.75
(one of my favorites from them; love that sax solo!)

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 3.5

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 1.5
(at one time I liked this quite a bit, but now it seems annoying, and hasn't held up well)

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.5

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 4.25

Reminiscing - Little River Band 5.0
(reminds me of my 10th birthday, as it was very popular around that time. A fabulous song all around, with a great dreamy quality)

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 3.0

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 1.0
(Peter's early work with Chicago was superb, but this was a long way away from that, very bland)

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 4.75
(phenomenal guitar work on this one. The edited single version is kind of awkward, though)

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 3.25

[55dodger]

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 3.5
Get’s a 3.5 only because there is so much more by Bruce I like much better.

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 3.0
Great Oldie

Jazzman - Carole King 5.0
One of my top 3 songs by Carole

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 4.0
An Elvis favorite

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.0
So much more by George I like better

Urgent - Foreigner 3.0
Love that sax solo, song is OK

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 3.5

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 1.5

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.5

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 4.25

Reminiscing - Little River Band 5.0
A great one by LRB

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 3.0

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 1.0

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 4.75
Great song. I remember back when I was in basic training in 73-74, one of two songs always seemed to play on the Rec Center jukebox. This one & Smoke On the Water. Could never figure out why those two songs were the most popular during that 7 week period.

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 4.0
Maybe my favorite from Tommy.

[Ken]

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 4.5
This was my introduction to Bruuuuuce back in 1980.

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 4.5
Good stuff. I have an original copy of the 45 on the "Laurie" label

Jazzman - Carole King 5.0
One of Carole's best. I picked up a copy of the 45 (along with pic sleeve) a couple of years back.

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 3.25

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.5
Among my faves from George.

Urgent - Foreigner 4.85
It still sound really good! I remember recieving Foreigner 4 along with Journey's Escape for my birthday in '81.

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 5.0
A huge fave!

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 1.5
Yuck!

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.9
Great bass line on this one

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 5.0
Among my favorite Beach Boys ballads.

Reminiscing - Little River Band 4.8
I remember recording this off the radio at the time.

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 4.75
An excellent oldie!

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 1.0
Peter should never have left Chicago.

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 4.5
Love it

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 4.5
Love all the hits, very much

[H2IZCOOL]

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 4.5
One of my two favorites by The Boss. Top 500 song!

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 2.7
Never cared that much for the Chiffons. I really didn't like their sound. -- And I am also pissed at them for recording He's So Fine and plagiarizing George Harrison's My Sweet Lord years before he even wrote it!

Jazzman - Carole King 3.2
Good song - but I was never a huge fan.

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 3.5
Like this one a lot, but it suffered from being overplayed back in the day.

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.0
Good song!

Urgent - Foreigner 4.4
A fringe top 500 song

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 4.85
#22 all time top 250. Love it muchly.

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 2.0
Whatever

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.6
Good song, but not top tier 3DN.

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 3.9
Beautiful melody, but I just don't really get the lyrics. They just seem way too adolescent for the melody (if that makes any sense)

Reminiscing - Little River Band 3.8
Very good song, but I like oyhers by them more.

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 3.2
Not a great song, but great memories. (Including hearing this song playing while being thrown out of a bar because I was underage. )

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 2.7
I like this more than I probably should. Probably just because I do like Peter's voice.

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 3.8
I was always kind of slightly positive to neutral on this song. Probably because I had other things on my mind in the fall of '73 - like picking up roots from Maine and moving to Canada. So I had never heard the entire 5+ minute version until just now. That extended guitar solo is indeed awesome.

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 3.5
One of Tommy's signature songs, but I always preferred the follow-up, (Sweet Cherry Wine). -- and this is one case where the single edit , IMO, is better than the full version. The instrumental solo just before that psychedellic finish goes on WAY too long.

[edehl]

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 3.0

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 2.0

Jazzman - Carole King 4.0
(I can never hear this song without thinking of Lisa Simpson---re: an old Simpsons episode where she sings this. Love Carole King. Totally reminds me of my childhood.)

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 2.0

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.5

Urgent - Foreigner 4.5

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 5.0 (One of my faves from one of my favorite bands. Na na na na na na naaaaa na!)

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 1.0
(Not a big Madonna fan)

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.0

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 4.0

Reminiscing - Little River Band 5.0
(Another great one that reminds me of being a kid.)

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 3.0

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 1.0

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 3.0

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 5.0

[Dawn]

Jan 16, 2009 14:41:53 GMT -5 55dodger said:

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 3.5
Get’s a 3.5 only because there is so much more by Bruce I like much better.

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 3.0
Great Oldie

Jazzman - Carole King 5.0
One of my top 3 songs by Carole

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 4.0
An Elvis favorite

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.0
So much more by George I like better

Urgent - Foreigner 3.0
Love that sax solo, song is OK

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 3.5

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 1.5

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.5

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 4.25

Reminiscing - Little River Band 5.0
A great one by LRB

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 3.0

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 1.0

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 4.75
Great song. I remember back when I was in basic training in 73-74, one of two songs always seemed to play on the Rec Center jukebox. This one & Smoke On the Water. Could never figure out why those two songs were the most popular during that 7 week period.

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 4.0
Maybe my favorite from Tommy.

Jazzman is one of my top 3 Carole songs as well. I've heard it many times, but it still sounds as fresh as it did back then.

That's interesting about Smoke on the Water and That Lady being the two most popular jukebox songs during that time. Both are great songs with very memorable guitar work.

[Dawn]

Jan 16, 2009 22:05:05 GMT -5 Ken said:

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 4.5
This was my introduction to Bruuuuuce back in 1980.

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 4.5
Good stuff. I have an original copy of the 45 on the "Laurie" label

Jazzman - Carole King 5.0
One of Carole's best. I picked up a copy of the 45 (along with pic sleeve) a couple of years back.

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 3.25

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.5
Among my faves from George.

Urgent - Foreigner 4.85
It still sound really good! I remember recieving Foreigner 4 along with Journey's Escape for my birthday in '81.

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 5.0
A huge fave!

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 1.5
Yuck!

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.9
Great bass line on this one

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 5.0
Among my favorite Beach Boys ballads.

Reminiscing - Little River Band 4.8
I remember recording this off the radio at the time.

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 4.75
An excellent oldie!

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 1.0
Peter should never have left Chicago.

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 4.5
Love it

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 4.5
Love all the hits, very much

Same here about Bruce, Ken. Although I may have heard Born to Run a time or two before, it wasn't until after Hungry Heart came out that I really became aware of Bruce as an artist.

Those two albums were great birthday presents! Along with REO Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity, they were the "must-have" albums at my junior high school back in the day.

[Dawn]

Jan 18, 2009 13:01:34 GMT -5 H2IZCOOL said:

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 4.5
One of my two favorites by The Boss. Top 500 song!

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 2.7
Never cared that much for the Chiffons. I really didn't like their sound. -- And I am also pissed at them for recording He's So Fine and plagiarizing George Harrison's My Sweet Lord years before he even wrote it!

Jazzman - Carole King 3.2
Good song - but I was never a huge fan.

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 3.5
Like this one a lot, but it suffered from being overplayed back in the day.

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.0
Good song!

Urgent - Foreigner 4.4
A fringe top 500 song

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 4.85
#22 all time top 250. Love it muchly.

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 2.0
Whatever

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.6
Good song, but not top tier 3DN.

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 3.9
Beautiful melody, but I just don't really get the lyrics. They just seem way too adolescent for the melody (if that makes any sense)

Reminiscing - Little River Band 3.8
Very good song, but I like oyhers by them more.

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 3.2
Not a great song, but great memories. (Including hearing this song playing while being thrown out of a bar because I was underage. )

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 2.7
I like this more than I probably should. Probably just because I do like Peter's voice.

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 3.8
I was always kind of slightly positive to neutral on this song. Probably because I had other things on my mind in the fall of '73 - like picking up roots from Maine and moving to Canada. So I had never heard the entire 5+ minute version until just now. That extended guitar solo is indeed awesome.

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 3.5
One of Tommy's signature songs, but I always preferred the follow-up, (Sweet Cherry Wine). -- and this is one case where the single edit , IMO, is better than the full version. The instrumental solo just before that psychedellic finish goes on WAY too long.

I agree with you about the extended That Lady being superior - the single edit cuts out a lot of the best part of the song, and it ends too abruptly. I'm guessing they thought the full version was too long for AM radio formats back then.

Sweet Cherry Wine is great, one of my favorite Tommy James songs, yet it seems that no oldies stations play it anymore for some reason.

[Dawn]

Jan 18, 2009 13:33:06 GMT -5 edehl said:

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 3.0

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 2.0

Jazzman - Carole King 4.0
(I can never hear this song without thinking of Lisa Simpson---re: an old Simpsons episode where she sings this. Love Carole King. Totally reminds me of my childhood.)

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 2.0

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.5

Urgent - Foreigner 4.5

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 5.0 (One of my faves from one of my favorite bands. Na na na na na na naaaaa na!)

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 1.0
(Not a big Madonna fan)

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.0

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 4.0

Reminiscing - Little River Band 5.0
(Another great one that reminds me of being a kid.)

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 3.0

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 1.0

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 3.0

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 5.0

Carole is great, so talented. Her songs always remind me of childhood too, especially this one and Nightingale.

The Grass Roots are a band I've always enjoyed a lot also. My favorite from them would probably be I'd Wait A Million Years, but they had so many good songs.

[Dawn]

Let's see how our ratings turned out:

Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen 3.8

Sweet Talkin' Guy - Chiffons 3.04

Jazzman - Carole King 4.44

It's Now or Never - Elvis Presley 3.2

Blow Away - George Harrison 4.3

Urgent - Foreigner 4.3

Midnight Confessions - Grass Roots 4.37

Causing A Commotion - Madonna 1.5

One Man Band - Three Dog Night 3.5

Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys 4.28

Reminiscing - Little River Band 4.72

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & the Starliters 3.39

The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant 1.34

That Lady (Pt. 1) - Isley Brothers 4.16

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells 4.05

****************************************************

Our top three: Reminiscing, Jazzman, Midnight Confessions

Our bottom three: The Next Time I Fall, Causing A Commotion, Sweet Talkin' Guy

Thanks for playing! Another round will begin in a few!