Classic Rock Mega-Knockout: 32 to 16, Round 2 of 4

Vote for your favorite song from each pair

  • "Hotel California" (The Eagles)

    Votes: 8 47.1%

  • "Smoke On The Water" (Deep Purple)

    Votes: 9 52.9%

  • ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • "Crazy Train" (Ozzy Osbourne)

    Votes: 9 52.9%

  • "Won't Get Fooled Again" (The Who)

    Votes: 8 47.1%

  • ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • "Tom Sawyer" (Rush)

    Votes: 10 58.8%

  • "Don't Fear The Reaper" (Blue Oyster Cult)

    Votes: 7 41.2%

  • ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • "Sympathy For The Devil" (The Rolling Stones)

    Votes: 5 29.4%

  • "Paint It Black" (The Rolling Stones)

    Votes: 11 64.7%
  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .
SinisterMinisterX

SinisterMinisterX

Illuminatus
Staff member
Click here for Round 2 posts

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Classic Rock Mega-Knockout: 512 to 256, Round 2 of 64

This round introduces the #63 seed and its challengers...

A63.png


"Highway To Hell" (AC/DC) [63] vs. "Under My Thumb" (The Rolling Stones) [450]
"Highway To Hell" (AC/DC) - 1979 - #47 US, #56 UK
Ranked by 8 of 13 radio stations, highest in Boston: #5

"Under My Thumb" (The Rolling Stones) - 1966
Ranked by 4 of 13 radio stations, highest in Philadelphia: #81

"Good Vibrations" (The Beach Boys) [194] vs. "Hurt" (Johnny Cash) [319]
"Good Vibrations" (The Beach Boys) - 1966 - #1 US and UK
Ranked by 5 of 13 radio stations, highest in New York City: #25

"Hurt" (Johnny Cash) - 2002 - #39 UK
Ranked by 4 of 13 radio stations, highest in Seattle: #51
 
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"Rock The Casbah" (The Clash) [66] vs. "My Sharona" (The Knack) [447]
"Rock The Casbah" (The Clash) - 1982 - #8 US, #30 UK
Ranked by 10 of 13 radio stations, highest in Los Angeles: #32

"My Sharona" (The Knack) - 1979 - #1 US, #6 UK
Ranked by 4 of 13 radio stations, highest in New York City: #27

"Wild Horses" (The Rolling Stones) [191] vs. "Simple Man" (Lynyrd Skynyrd) [322]
"Wild Horses" (The Rolling Stones) - 1971 - #28 US
Ranked by 7 of 13 radio stations, highest in Philadelphia: #64

"Simple Man" (Lynyrd Skynyrd) - 1973
Ranked by 5 of 13 radio stations, highest in Atlanta: #52

Round 1 is still open too!
 
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My votes:

I usually love the Stones, but Under My Thumb is not a particular favorite. I'm on the Highway To Hell.
Good Vibrations kicked off the psychedelic era, good enough for me.
Not a Clash fan, but I do love a great bass riff. My Sharona
The toughest choice for me this round is the last. Good Stones song, but a better Skynyrd song. Simple Man
 
Stones, Clash, Cash. I didn't know Under My Thumb yet and I really like it. It will loose of course, but I thought it deserved some mention. The song lacks a mindblowing solo over the verse schedule.
 
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Highway to Hell
Hurt (a perfect example of a cover song improving upon, leaving a more lasting impression, and ultimately fulfilling the idea and mood behind the song better than the original).
My Sharona
Simple Man (tough choice, because Wild Horses is great, but Simply Man is better)
 
Good matchups this round. Simple Man is one of my favorite songs EVER, so it wins. Highway to Hell edges out the Stones, and The Clash.

Interesting choice of using Johnny's version of "Hurt" rather than the original NiN, which I would have assumed was more well known. The Cash version is more haunting given that he was dying when he recorded it, but I actually prefer the original. Either way, Good Vibrations is one of the greatest recorded songs in human history, a masterpiece of studio production, and I'm surprised the prog fans on the forum dismiss it, as it changes multiple times throughout. It wins.
 
Cornfed Hick said:
I'm surprised the prog fans on the forum dismiss it
Click to expand...

I didn't know any did. It's definitely prog, perhaps the first. Zappa's first album came out that same year, and the fourth side of Freak Out was unquestionably prog. (In fact it's nearly avant-garde. Help I'm a rock!). But in terms of the multiple sections, 180-degree changes and symphonic sound, "Good Vibrations" is clearly prog.

"Good Vibrations" leads to Yes. Zappa leads to... tweezers?
 
I don't dismiss it, I like the Beach Boys a lot, Hurt is just fantastic though.

I'd consider Side 4 of Freak Out more on the side of the avant-garde than prog rock. At least what we consider prog to be today I mean. I lump that album more with stuff like Velvet Underground than stuff by bands like Yes and Genesis anyway.
 
1. Cash: haunting, great voice, dramatic song
2. Beach Boys: happy tambourine song.

1 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 2
 
The Beach Boys, The Clash and the Stones times two.

The Beach Boys are a fascinating band. I can't think of anyone else whose albums alternate masterpieces with total fluff like many of theirs do. With the exception of Pet Sounds, you really have no idea what you'll get from song to song.

Johnny Cash is alright, but in the end he's just a country singer, and country only works in Robert Altman movies.
 
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SinisterMinisterX said:
I didn't know any did.
Click to expand...

Well, here's one:
Forostar said:
2. Beach Boys: happy tambourine song.
Click to expand...

I can see good reasons why one would like Cash's "Hurt" better than "Good Vibrations," but that critique is pretty superficial. Did you listen to the entire song? Parts of it aren't even "happy"; they are in a minor key or discordant. And while there is a tambourine, there is also a cello (or bass violin) and a Theramin. To be clear, I'm not a big Beach Boys fan -- much of their catalog is indeed happy fluff -- and I'm a MUCH bigger Johnny Cash fan, but "Good Vibrations" was revolutionary: the greatest technical recording studio achievement of its time. I hear something different with each listen. Without this, there is no "Bohemian Rhapsody."
 
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Stones. I like some of AC/DC's stuff, but I would give them an attribute I normally detest - overrated. Vastly, vastly overrated.
Cash - but I agree with Cornfed and Shadow. It's very easy to be prejudiced about the Beach Boys based on their early hits to hear only happy surfer pop in all their music and not pay attention to the way they pushed the envelope musically in songs like Good Vibrations. Still, Cash is just beyond that.
The Knack. I strongly dislike both songs, but I really think Rock the Casbah is horrid, whereas My Sharona is at least kind of listenable. After five beers.
The last one is a hard decision for me, but I'll go with the Stones. It's one of my favourite songs ever (believe it or not!). The Skynyrd one is great, but it has the same atmosphere as Tuesday's Gone and Free Bird for me, so it's not a big loss if this one is gone.
 
Classic Rock Mega-Knockout: 512 to 256, Round 6 of 64

This round introduces the #59 seed and its challengers...

A59.png


"Tom Sawyer" (Rush) [59] vs. "Bye Bye Love" (The Cars) [454]
"Tom Sawyer" (Rush) - 1981 - #25 UK, #44 US
Ranked by 8 of 13 radio stations, highest in Ontario: #21

"Bye Bye Love" (The Cars) - 1978
Ranked by 6 of 13 radio stations, highest in Philadelphia: #178

"London Calling" (The Clash) [198] vs. "Shattered" (The Rolling Stones) [315]
"London Calling" (The Clash) - 1979 - #11 UK
Ranked by 5 of 13 radio stations, highest in Seattle: #8

"Shattered" (The Rolling Stones) - 1978 - #31 US
Ranked by 6 of 13 radio stations, highest in Boston: #70
 
"Paranoid" (Black Sabbath) [70] vs. "Hells Bells" (AC/DC) [443]
"Paranoid" (Black Sabbath) - 1970 - #4 UK, #61 US
Ranked by 9 of 13 radio stations, highest in Ontario: #52

"Hells Bells" (AC/DC) - 1980 - #50 US (Mainstream Rock chart), #127 UK
Ranked by 4 of 13 radio stations, highest in Philadelphia: #106

"Good Times Roll" (The Cars) [187] vs. "Get Back" (The Beatles) [326]
"Good Times Roll" (The Cars) - 1978 - #41 US
Ranked by 7 of 13 radio stations, highest in Philadelphia: #71

"Get Back" (The Beatles) - 1969 - #1 US and UK
Ranked by 6 of 13 radio stations, highest in New York City: #43

One day left for Round 3
Also open: Round 4 , Round 5
 
My votes:

Nice little Cars song there. It makes excellent cannon fodder. Tom Sawyer
Can't stand that Stones song. Clash by default. London Calling
Sabbath got a tough draw. That's one of AC/DC's best. Hells Bells
With all due respect to Billy Preston and his funky little solo, don't like the Beatles song much. Good Times Roll
 
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